priorities and child care was at the top of that list. now i'm calling on all of our colleagues on both sides of this aisle to work with us to pass a package that funds critical needs at home, especially child care. madam president, i think everyone understands there's a lot happening in the world today. that's why we absolutely need to pass supplemental funding to meet our urgent national security challenges and soon, but as we continue to work to do that, we also have to tackle the problems families face here at home and that means addressing the growing child care crisis. we are the united states of america, we can stand with our allies around the world and tackle the channels we face with our families here at home. if we are serious about the strength of this nation, our communities and our families, we have got to respond to the domestic challenges with the same resolve we do as we do with the national security

challenges. i am going to continue to work hard with everyone to do that and i appreciate everybody's support and all of my colleagues who are here today to speak out on this. thank you, madam president, i yield the floor. >> and the senate's about to gavel in. today members are expect today work on a couple of u.s. district court judicial nominations. you're watching live coverage on c-span2. ... the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. today's opening prayer will be offered by chaplain captain volodmyr steliac. he's the installation chaplain for the international readiness center joint base andrews and pastor of st. andrew ukrainian orthodox cathedral, silver spring, maryland.

the guest chaplain:almighty god, we come before you today, humbly seek your guidance and wisdom as we gather in the halls of the united stats senate. we recognize the importance of this esteemed institution and the impact it hs on the lives of millions of people, both within this nation and around the world. we are grateful for the principles of freedom, justice, and democracy the united states represents. we acknowledge this nation's roe as a beacon of hope and a force for good in the world. we lift up in our prayers the senators and all those who serve in this honorable chamber. may you grant them the insight to make decisions that align with your divine will, decisions that promote life, liberty, and the

pursuit of happiness. we also pray for the continued support and the pursuit of peac, freedom, and dignity for all people. we thank you for the compassion and solidarity shown by this nation under your leadership, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. almighty god, bless and guide this senate session. may it be conducted with integrity, wisdom and the commitment to the common good. may your presence be felt in every deliberation and may the decisions made here be in accordance with your divine plan. i offer this prayer in your holy name. for yours is the glory now and forever. amen. 6 the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge f allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic

for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., november 30, 2023. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable raphael g. warnock. a senator from the state of georgia, 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. shanlyn a.s. park of hawaii to be united states district judge for the district of hawaii.

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mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: yesterday, i spoke here on the senate floor about a subject that is highly personal and yet of immense importance, the rise of anti-semitism in america. i spoke out because, as the highest jewish elected official in the country and in american history, i felt an obligation to say aloud what is felt within the hearts of so many jewish people across the country and around the world. after october 7, jewish americans are feeling singled out, targeted and isolated. in many ways, we feel alone. the solidarity that jewish

americans initially received from many of our fellow citizens was quickly drowned out by other voices. i want to be clear -- i believe most americans who are chryst sizing -- criticizing israel policy are not anti-semitic. nor that israel's policies are anti-semitic per se. but it cannot be denied that in too many instances anti-semites are taking advantage of the pro-palestinian movement to he espouse hatred toward jewish people. on the hard right, the poison of anti-semitism has reached levels we have not witnessed perhaps ever in america. all americans share a responsibility and obligation to fight against anti-semitism. we have an obligation to fight back against all forms of bigotry, be it islamaphobia, racism against black americans, or demonizing the immigrant. whether it comes from the left or right, anti-semitism is an

evil that must be condemned. as i said yesterday, americans ask, how can we help combat that? as i said yesterday, my plea to the american people, of all creedz and backgrounds -- creeds and backgrounds is this, first, learn the history of the jewish people who have been abandoned repeatedly by their fellow countrymen, left isolated and alone to combat anti-semitism with disastrous results. i talked about this at some length in the speech i gave yesterday. i would urge all americans to read it. second, reject the illogical and double standard that is once again being applied to the plight of jewish victims and hostages, to some of the actions of the israeli government and even to the existence of the jewish state. the glaring double standard, where so many support nationhood for so many other peoples, but not for the jews. that must be condemned.

and third, understand why jewish people defend israel, not because we wish harm on palestinians, but because we fear a world where israel is forced to tolerate the existence of groups like hamas that want to wipe out all jewish people from the planet. we fear a world where israel, the place of refuge for jewish people, will no longer exist. if there is no israel, there will be no place for the jewish people to go when they are persecuted in other countries. i want to thank my colleagues for taking the time to listen, not just to my remarks yesterday but to all jewish americans speaking out against the rise of anti-semitism. i'd like to thank the republican leader for his gracious words after my remarks, and so many members in this chamber, democrat and republican, who made comments to me that they so respected my speech and many said it had to be given. i agree with that.

both parties have an obligation to work together to eliminate the poison of anti-semitism. and all forms of intolerance wherever we see it, regardless of who says it. i hope we can continue working together in this chamber to advance that very noble goal. now, on the supplemental, talks on finding a wy to pass -- a way to bass a much-needed supplemental package continue here in the senate. in our supplemental, we must deliver aid to israel, aid to ukraine, humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians in geaz -- gaza and fund security in the indo-pacific. all these are related and should move together. yesterday, i spoke directly to leader mcconnell and speernlg and made clear if republicans -- and speaker johnson. and made clear if republicans don't work with us on a bipartisan way on the border, passing a supplemental will be

very difficult. i was deeply trubd by -- troubled by reports yesterday that speaker johnson made a push to inject more h.r. 2 provincials into the senate supplemental. that is precisely the kind of thing that undermines the entire supplemental, including aid to israel, aid to ukraine, and humanitarian aid to gaza. we all know the border is a problem that we should deal with, but it's not related to ukraine or to israel or to the indo-pacific. it's been put in there by republicans, and that means there's an onus on them to make sure it's bipartisan. democrats are willing to work with republicans on commonsense realistic border security, but we can't have the hard right essentially say it's h.r. 2 or nothing. if speaker johnson or, for that matter, the negotiators feel they have to listen to what

johnson can pass just amongst his caucus, we'll never get anything done. democratic votes are going to be needed in the house to pass this legislation. we all know that. so this h.r. 2 or nothing, or something close to h.r. 2 or nothing, is a proposal that could not pass the senate or the house. democrats, the solution for passing the supplemental is bipartisan compromise, and we have shown that we are willing to do it. the wrong answer is to let ukraine aid, let israel aid, let aid to civilians in gaza all get bungled because the hard right wanted h.r. 2 or something close to it. i urge my republican colleagues not to let that happen, because at the end of the day, what's holding this up is not the issues of israel, ukraine, humanitarian aid or the indo-pacific, it's border, and that was injikd -- injected by our republican colleagues.

meese, they should work with us -- please, they should work with us to fix it in a bipartisan way or we won't get anything done. on tuberville, senator tuberville, anger is reaching a boiling point in the senate over the immense damage senator tuberville has done to our military, by holding up hundreds of critical military nominations. soon we will act to bring these holds to an end. a few weeks ago, the rules committee passed a resolution that would enable the senate to quickly confirm all the nominees currently on hold. the resolution is carefully tailored to solve the current impasse. now it sounds like senator tuberville has told republicans he is trying to find a way out of the men's he has created. though he has not -- out of the mess he has created though he's not provided many details. we're willing to let the republicans solve this on their own. let me be clear, if republicans are not able to get senator tuberville to stand down quickly, we are going to hold a

vote on our resolution to confirm these nominees before we leave this year. these reckless military holds must come to an end. on nominations, today, on the floor, the senate will proceed with the nominations of two extraordinary judicial nominees. we'll first confirm shanlyn a.s. park to serve as district judge for the district of hawaii. once confirmed, judge park will become the only native hawaiian woman on the federal bench. later this afternoon, we'll move forward with the nomination of irma ramirez to serve as circuit court judge for the fifth circuit. judge ramirez is an accomplished litigator. if confirmed, judge ramirez will be the first latina to serve on the fifth circuit and the only active latino judge on the court. i will enthusiastically support both nominees today and this

senate majority will continue to prioritize judges moving forward. on a.i. and our insight forums. yesterday the senate held the seventh bipartisan insight forum. i want to thank my senate colleagues who stopped by to listen and learn from the experts. our discussion focused on a few of the most critical issues that we face with a.i., transparency, explain ability, intellect ability and kobe rite -- copy right. we must protect american companies' i.p. and make sure that america sets the international standard for i.p. we must meac sure the public -- make sure that the public understand why a.i. produces the answers they do. thanks again to senators rounds, young, and heinrich for helping

organize these a.i. insight forums. on the judiciary committee's actions today. mr. president, the words etched on the front of the supreme court read equal justice under law. but when ultra rich deletion can use -- idealogues can use their wealth to jump ahead and it is a crisis of integrity in the court. today the judiciary committee is taking an important step to restore america's confidence in the supreme court by voting to authorize subpoenas to harlan crow and leonard leo. i support the judiciary committee's vote to authorize these subpoenas because, frankly, the american people are tired of seeing reports of supreme court justices accepting lavish gifts and vacations from billionaires and maga extremists, and then these same

justices turn around and gut affirmative action, block student loan relief. and so much else. the hypocrisy is undeniable and the american people see right through it. having these same billionaires who are pushing legislation -- pushing cases through the court have the ability to travel in jets and go to resorts and buy them gifts. it's just outrageous. so today senate democrats are taking action to look under the hood and make sure we increase transparency which these subpoenas would do. one again, i support the senate judiciary's vote to authorize these subpoenas. i thank chairman durbin and my colleagues on the committee for their work and 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.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: the past 100 years have seen few, if any strategic thinkers shape world events as profoundly as henry

kissinger. few academics have had such deep experience in the practice of foreign policy. few political appointees have had such bureaucratic slava. -- savy, few intellectual officials have carried such internettal heft. who could claim to advise presidents to take a seat across from every chinese head of state since chairman mao. yesterday marked the end of the extraordinary kissinger century. if you consider just the early chapters of this remarkable life, you might expect henry kissinger to be the quintessential idealist. but by the age of 30, he had

scraped nawz -- escaped nazi brutality for america, returned home to defeat hitler and launched a successful career as an ivy league academic. of course instead of an idealist, this made for hollywood origin story produced one of the world's staunchist realist, the kissinger calculus was in pragmatic assessment of national interest, the use of military force and diplomatic compromise. by expense so were decades of american foreign policy. several years ago, one particularly apt assessment of henry kissinger's legacy pointed out that he didn't believe the arc of history makes households.

in other words, if the free world waits passively for its noble convictions to be vindicated, we'll be waiting quite a while. instead, henry kissinger knew the organizing principle for american strategy must be american interest. and he left no room for wondering what this approach looked like in practice. his careful negotiations ushered in a period of day detente with america's greatest 20th century rival and his diplomacy opened a door to china. of course the enduring relevance of dr. kissinger's work is due in no small part to his prolific participation in public discourse on foreign policy and

grand strategy up until the very end. the author of 21 books confounded scholars half his age with the pace and volume of his brilliant scholarship on topics from the history of of diplomacy to artificial intelligence. perhaps the truest expression of both his intellectual horsepower and understanding of power, he is the only american statesman who served as secretary of state and national security advisor at the very same time. today the world henry kissinger leaves behind bears his indelible mark. the nation he served, the global superpower he helped create owes

him our gratitude. elaine and i, along with so many of henry kissinger -- so many others, send our condolences to his wife nancy and his children and family as they mourn a great american. now, on another matter. a good way to size up leaders at home and abroad is to look at how they treat borders. good leaders recognize sovereignty as the bedrock of national security. as a result, peaceful nations both respect the inval ability -- invalue ability of other borders, the world is awash of examples of this fundamental reality. putin has spent years trampling the sovereignty of his european

neighbors, but the people of ukraine are enduring occupation and torture and giving their lives to restore their homeland's lawful borders, iran's proxies violates the sovereignty of israel and its neighbors. but the people of israel respond with unwavering resolve to restore security. president xi is pouring unprecedented investments into chinese military power with the express purpose of shattering a sovereign democracy and undermining regional order. but taiwan and america's other asian partiers are stealing themselves to deter aggression. the united states has a direct interest in helping our friends maintain their sovereignty from europe to the middle east and to

the indo-pacific. according to a survey published just today by the reagan institute, that's exactly how overwhelming majorities in this country see it. by the latest account 65% of americans ■support american assistance to taiwan, 67% support assistance to ukraine and 71 support assistance to israel. in other words, a full two-thirds of the country recognizes the scope of america's interests and responsibilities as a global superpower. at the same time, vast majorities continue to affirm that national security begins at home. recent polling shows that even a majority of democrats say that they are at least very concerned about the state of american border security on president biden's watch.

over 9,000 illegal aliens arrive at our nation's southern border every day, and thanks to a profoundly broken system of asylum and parole, they know that the vast majority will be waved on through to settle in the interior. the consequences of this crisis touched every corner of our country. the overwhelming task facing border patrol personnel is drawing federal law enforcement personnel off of other important missions to help contend with the surging arrivals at port of entry. as the senior senator from missouri revealed yesterday, some officers charged with protecting federal buildings were being sent instead to ferry illegal aliens to and from the hospital. the vast stretches of border in

between are seeing massive flows of leeltsdzal drugs -- lethal drugs like fentanyl on their way to poisoning americans in states in the interior. across the country even progressive mayors of self-described sanctuary cities are at their wit's end. the biden administration's failure to secure the southern border is an embarrassing and dangerous policy failure. here in the senate, senate democrats are making a misjudgment of their own. the democratic leader would like us to believe the defense of sovereign boanders is an urgent -- borders is an urgent and noble cause when it takes place overseas, but an extraneous distraction here at home. some colleagues believe that america can profess to stand for the rule of law without enforcing it on our own soil.

the senate has two weeks to pass supplemental legislation to meet urgent national security priorities. that means time is running out for our democratic colleagues to recognize that national security begins here at home. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

quorum call: the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: mr. president, is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: it is. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: before i begin the subject i want to address today, i just want to make an observation about this discussion we're having on our southern border. and i would reiterate what i've been saying now for some time, and that is that it's not, it's no longer just a humanitarian

crisis. it is every bit of that, but it is a national security crisis. we see the numbers on a daily basis. a number of people who are apprehended at the southern border trying to enter the country illegally, the last three days, the last three days that's over ,000 per day. over 9,000 per day, and that doesn't include the got-aways or the unknowns. that's the people who are apprehended coming across the border illegally. and we now know in the month of september, for example, that there were a significant number of people, 18 actually, apprehended coming across the southern border who were on the terrorist watch list. people coming from all over the world have figured out if you want a portal, if you want to get into the united states, come to the southern border and we'll wave you in which is essentially what's happening today. the question i would ask, mr. president, is what universe does that make any sense?

i said this yesterday. we are a nation of immigrants. we've been a very welcoming country. we have ways of bringing people into this country legally. we do that on an annual basis. but we are a nation of laws, first and foremost. the rule of law is what distinguishes our country from many other countries around the world. and yet at our southern border that doesn't mean a thing. over 9,000 a day. annualize that. think about what that means. that's 3 million people a year. and we have people who want to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to it. we have an opportunity in this national security supplemental bill that will be on the floor perhaps as early as next week that will deal with issues like ukraine, issues like israel, what's happening there, indo-pacific where we have

national security interests at stake. mr. president, we have to deal with the national security crisis at our southern border. this is insanity. i don't understand it. i don't understand the administration. i don't understand some of my colleagues here in the senate who feel like this isn't something that we need to be dealing with or addressing. this is a national security crisis on a daily basis. over 9,000 in the last three days in a row, and again, some of which we know because they are catching them are people on the terrorist watch list. in what universe does what's being done at our southern border make sense to anybody, any rational person? it doesn't make sense to the mayor of new york, new york city, or mayor of chicago,

where as migrants arrive there, they're having to divert resources to address that. the mayor of new york city said he was going to freeze hiring police officers in new york city. that seems like that would be a problem if i was a new york city resident. said he was going to have to close libraries, cut funding for education. that is what we are talking about. this is not just an issue that affects communities on the southern border, although i've been down there a number of times, and believe me, they are profoundly affected. this is an issue where every state becomes a border state as literally thousands of people on a daily basis are released into the interior of the united states, waved by, no regard or respect for our heritage as a nation of laws in a country that is built upon a foundation of the rule of law.

it's got to be fixed. it's got to be done and need to be done now. and i hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and our folks at the white house understand that. we can't wait any longer. this is out of control. on another subject, mr. president, there are some things that are timeless, that are cherished by every generation, things that never get old no matter how long they have been going on. and in south dakota, one of those things is our if he sanity hunting tradition -- is our phesant hunting tradition, a part of south dakota's way of life. as the pheasant population grew, it is the pheasant capital of the world. the season open which begins in

october is all but an official state holiday. the hunting includes a lot of families including my own. i can't remember a time when i didn't look forward to the pheasant opener. my dad would take me and siblings out hunting, taught us how to bag a rooster and work together in the field. he wasn't one to miss a season even into his late 90's. over the years i've enjoyed sharing this tradition with my daughters and later with their husbands, and i'm looking forward to passing it on to the next generation with -- when my grandchildren are old enough. mr. president, i was able to get out pheasant hunting over the holidays and there is nothing like a day spent outdoors with friend and families. i think that's what keeps hunters coming back every year. of course they also come for the challenge of the hunt and

hopefully to limit out, in other words, to get a limit of pheasant, roosters. like i said, folks come from all over, come from all over for this. last year if you look at the actual number of people that came into south dakota to hunt pheasant there were 127,000 hunters who got licenses, came to our state, and bagged over a million roosters. and this year looks like it's going to be another great hunting season. mr. president, there's no shortage of satisfied hunters in south dakota this time of year, but pheasant season benefits go far beyond just the hunters. for communities in the heart of pheasant country, the hunting season has a significant economic impact. in just over 100 days of hunting, pheasant season contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to our state's economy. folks in a lot of these small towns, small communities, places like the one i'm from, always make sure that

out-of-state hunters feel welcome. it's just part of who we are in south dakota. and, mr. president, there could hardly be so many satisfied hunters each fall without the conservation efforts of so many landowners and agricultural producers in south dakota. the size of our famed pheasant population is thanks in no small part to land conservation efforts that provide quality habitat for birds to roost. a good hunting season in the fall depends on the spring nesting season and the ability of pheasants to hide their nests. south dakota's farmers and ranchers make sure there's habitat for that nesting. a lot of conservation efforts in our state are supported by the conservation reserve program which is the cornerstone of federal conservation programs. it plays a critical role in south dakota by supporting farmers who take environmentally sensitive land out of production.

taking this land out of production provides wildlife habitat including for pheasants and it provides an economical alternative for farmers who would otherwise have to invest in expensive fertilizers to keep this land in production. mr. president, i've been a long time supporter of the crp and am working to make sure this is supported in the next farm bill so farmers and ranchers can access its benefits and of course to make sure future pheasant seasons are as good as seasons past. mr. president, it might seem that pheasant season is the pride of south dakota and we are certainly proud of that. but the pride of our state is really our way of life. it's our values and it's our work ethic. from the plains to the ponderosa pines and the black hills, there is so much to appreciate about our state and its people. south dakotans cherish our

freedoms and we love our country. and we recognize that with freedom comes responsibility. we recognize that sometimes you've got to step up and do the work, and you need to help your neighbors when they're in need. these values have been forged in our small towns, the kind of places where everyone knows each other and everyone does their part. these are the timeless treasures that make life in south dakota so good. they are a big part of what makes me proud to serve our state here in the united states senate. under the values that my wife kymberly and i have tried to instill in our daughters that i'm confident the next generation of south dakotans will continue to uphold. mr. president, whether gathered around a meal of fresh pheasant in our great outdoors or gathered around the thanksgiving turkey, there's a lot to be thankful for as a south dakotan, and i'm l grateful,

very grateful to be a son of our great state. 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.

quorum call: i look forward to your questions. >> thank you very much for your testimony and commissioner, recognized for five minutes for your statement. >> thank you, chairman latta, ranking member smith, chairwoman maurice mig rogers. thank you for the opportunity to appear before you here today as a commissioner. i am deeply committed to ensuring that every american no matter who they are or where they live shares in the benefits of connectivity. i am proud of our leadership in working to make broadband universally accessible and affordable. ..

households everywhere. one thing i have heard is helping increase awareness for those who enroll in public housing. i went a woman we meet in washington who told me quote it was a blessing to have the internet. i agree.

the fundamental fairness on the internet, we have long-standing principles for legal content that can compromise innovation. these efforts to protect consumers from essential service while enhancing security and aligning broadband policy. we have incremented bipartisan infrastructure jobs act directed that we set forth and discrimination everywhere.

the conference and by our discussions shaping the future and i am confident for innovators to build a bright future and our ability to with a broad in here at home on an extension of the spectrum auction for me in particular while we work closely with our sister agencies relies on self-regulation alone hour networks are simply vital. the additional funding is needed to complete removal or insecure

equipment services from dish network. thank you for this opportunity to discuss these issues and look forward to this. thank you for your to rule in your recognizing member and his english members of the committee today. hearing the remains my hope the policymaking in short broadband and larger public is been a

shift in focus necessary for congress to ask legislation and the title to fight some pretty clear for all companies from e-commerce to social media platforms. engaged to provide redundant subsidies wi-fi on school buses has done to ensure funding mechanisms support for introducing consumer contributions to the service and

for broadband providers and i sincerely hope it is passed. in the meantime while it is distracted, a? necessary reforms for consumers. i will address the most urgent priority, renewal and offering they are informed of their will" my testimony earlier this year as this is for you. five months later this is even more urgent for the united states from falling behind in the roots technology leader. the united states system for commercializing the eraser to the highest best use global leaders in wireless leadership. recommend apartment continues providing his this and any

spectrum available for elections represent millions or billions for the innovation for the american economy. the authority to put new spectrums to use must be restored without further delay. how would like to purchase right here is the problem hour networks purchase financial and personal data at risk. there's a problem i believe it can and should do more to address from hundreds of millions of devices everyday and more application vulnerabilities for americans private data integrity for republican portability sleep north serious conditions. they modernize their equipment simply impartial the company level to protect. i believe manufacturers have the obligation for security

abilities at minimum disclose these vulnerabilities all american can make informed decisions. the devices are becoming more frequent and dangerous recent advisory from medical devices and the systems from the availability we have not yet seen the worst. larger numbers for the signal down the networks and hot water devices to be used to disrupt the power grid and blackout. the medical devices for widespread, injury and death. they are now behind us must take our attitude with industries product and the responsibility

for our money and we need greater confidence and security. this is why i advocate cybersecurity levels with rules requiring disclosure from manufacturer committee security update and by securities, one of many securities the public interest. my colleagues were embrace more going forward. >> thank you for your statement and you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, good morning. ranking member and members of the committee, it is an honor to appear before you today and i like to thank chairwoman and commissioners for the fcc staff for their warm, generous welcome to months ago.

to learn about the importance of the agency. i've been working in telecommunications close to 30 years. more than half of the time serving in government in various capacities of the fcc, and tia in the department of state and the white house. public services of special calling, i desire to get back and serve my community was instilled in me at a young age. my father was an immigrant, my mother passed away over 20 years ago. my brother is a computer programmer. we lost everything. we struggled like so many families after working briefly

at a law firm, when you talk opportunity arose to serve at the fcc, little did i know three decades of experience leaping here testifying before congress. i understand the importance of policy to protect the public interest and promotes competition and innovation. i worked on transformational role making something commission. the interest of our country's largest and most innovative corporations before government regulators and represent the united states and international spectrum negotiations. as commissioner, i am committed to ensuring a vibrant, strong competitive communications marketplace that promotes economic prosperity and security and also meeting the needs of all consumers. i believe we do best let's work on is the needs of people it serves that means connecting everyone everywhere to affordable, reliable broadband.

the past for success access to reliable broadband is a treacherousyd road. objection. mr. wyden: mr. president, i'm going to spend a few minutes discussing the three words on this chart next to me -- buy, borrow, and die. these three little words are allowing billionaires across america to legally get away with paying little or nothing in taxes for years and years on end. here's how it works -- a billionaire buys and holds assets, like works of art, more houses than they can possibly live in, stocks and bonds, you name it.

they increase in value untaxed. the billionaire then borrows against these assets to support a lavish lifestyle. and they can borrow at a fraction of the consumer rate due to the enormous holdings of these valuable assets. that loan is untaxed. the billionaire's assets appreciate at a higher rate than the interest on the loan. that's not hard to do. so the billionaire can essentially do all of this until they die, and then their kids can start all over again. so, let's now contrast buy, borrow, and die with the tax

system in america for firefighters and nurses. nurses and firefighters, for example, living in falomath, oh, are required to pay taxes out of every paycheck. working people don't get to play by these billionaire rules. they don't get to call up an army of high-priced lawyers and accountants every time they don't feel like paying their taxes. right now, the average billionaire can wriggle their way into a low 8% tax rate, while a nurse or a firefighter making $45,000 is paying a 22% tax on their wages. now, here's the gut punch for everybody who's following this and works for a wage. current buy, borrow, and die practices under our tax law are

perfectly legal. that's a pretty sickening reality. tax laws simply don't apply to billionaires in the same way they do to firefighters and nurses. nurses, firefighters have mandatory tax rules. mr. president, the billionaires can pretty much pay what they want, when they want to. how is that fair? americans overwhelmingly believe it's not. so it's time to look to solutions that restore fairness to the tax code while still rewarding success. after all, that's what our country was founded on. we believe deeply in success and the ethic of giving everybody a chance to get ahead. luckily there's a solution that achieves both fairness and economic growth.

today, along with 15 other members of the senate am introducing the first comprehensive billionaires' income tax that would finally end buy, borrow, and die. this is going to put a stop to one of the most common schemes billionaires can use to pay little or no taxes for years and years on end. now, as to implementation of our bill, there's a way already on the tax books that allows you to do it. in the tax code is market to market rules and policies. now, for the tax wonks out there, people who think tax policy and its root canal-like

pain is enjoyable. here are the sections. mark to market is in section 485, 877 and in section 1252 and section 296. there's your mdle, -- model, mr. president. that's how you do it. you use rules and policies on the books today, a blueprint right in front of us to use a model for taxes billionaires fairly. mark to market under the billionaire income tax would require billionaires to pay taxes every year just like those firefighters and nurses. it is time to close the loopholes and make sure that everybody at the very top are paying taxes on their income as it is earned, and our billionaire income tax is a way to do it.

this congress, our staff on the finance committee and i have investigated a number of tax schemes of the very wealthy with the help of armiles of tax lawyers and a -- armies and tax lawyers. the tax committee has investigated crooked swiss bankers. $34 billion in unpaid taxes from the very wealthy who won't even file, mr. president, a tax return. we're not talking about schemes. they won't even file a return. unpaid taxes for millionaires. tax dodging schemes between leon black and the notorious jeffrey epstein and the wealthy buddy of clarence thomas for secretly giving a massive private loan. billionaires looking to dodge their taxes are thriving todayed up the current tax laws.

so i want a tax policy, mr. president, as chairman of the finance committee, that gives everybody in america the chance to get ahead. our friend, our former colleague, senator bradley of new jersey, has a better jump shot than i do, but that's what he talked about is opportunity, giving everybody a chance to get ahead. unfortunately, the flawed tax policies that billionaires take advantage of promotes wealth building in the hands of a fortunate few. over one-third of families don't have the cash on hand to pay for a $400 emergency if they had to. meanwhile, during the pandemic, when families were forced to make tough choices between paying rent and buying groceries, the billionaires increased their wealth by over a

trillion dollars. and we have big needs in this country, mr. president. obviously the medicare solvency crisis. we've got seniors at the risk of losing the medicare guarantee unless there's a way forward for paying for it. if medicare becomes financially insolvent, seniors and americans who counted on those guaranteed health benefits need look no further than billionaires, tax cheats and their republican allies who refused to say that the billionaires would pay their fair share. the billionaire's income tax raises an estimated $557 billion. if the ultra wealthy paid their fair share under my proposal, we could be on the way of making medicare financially sound, protecting the medicare guarantee for millions of americans. i will close with this,

mr. president. the billionaire income tax is not an attack on success. it is a fundamental strike for fairness. so we want a successful economy, and to have a successful economy, you've got to have a tax code that ensures that everybody in america gets a fair shake, treats everybody fairly. it is time, in my view, mr. president, to close the unfairness gap between the billionaires at the top and everybody else, and our billionaires income tax is the way to make that hatch. i yield the floor -- to make that happen. i yield the floor and recognize the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the clerk: ms. baldwin.

it is clear, do you believe authorities provided could help reduce the amount of global colors consumers receive? >> i'd be happy to talk about ideas we have for robo calls and texts, we need new authorities. >> can you give an example? >> first, you before last, supreme court different autodialer in a way that leads stuck in the 90s. using technology no longer covered by consumer protection act, we can't go after that. on top of, we have in the last year, issued about 600 million and plans that actors putting it

on the line and every time we to them, i have to hand it to the department of justice to collect from the fcc to take every one of those is a scam artist one company to set up another one. we have access bank information kick out of the business and the network. >> i focus on a drone. targeting sensitive information for students and families are growing more frequent and severe. more than 1000 incidents in 2022. i introduce partisan and hitting security act and resources. cyber resources for school let me try to figure out how we

might proceed on this. >> will committee the biden a lot more to regulate the congressional mandate adopting far-reaching rules resulted micromanaging basic business patients and providers like prices, contractors and marketing campaigns and regulating industries outside the jurisdiction including landlords thanks. the chair, the ij does not give the fcc authority to regulate these.

what is the fcc part authority and what expertise do they have to regulate these practices? sure congress gave a broad mandate in section 6506 hello conclusively to prevent and eliminate desquamation. the time limit only to internet service providers, i didn't limit to only some terms and conditions. the language is exceptionally broad. >> thank you, reclaiming my time. reclaiming my time. i have more questions. >> do you agree? >> it is clear to me the fcc went far beyond the one-page bill included in the infrastructure act, she said she was the republican in the senate, this is a regulatory overreach and i agree. >> thank you. he said many times you oppose rate regulation but does show discrimination rules include pricing as an indicator of

discrimination. use the rules to regulate rates? >> will make clear there will be no relation earlier this year kevin and i sent a letter urging not to reopen the 2014 proceedings, you stated and i quote from the commission's authority extend only to what congress provided in the 1984 act in 1992 cable act. fair to assume none of us in the room were contemplating the kind of services we have today and congress passed those laws. because you acknowledged the fcc does not have legal authority to regulate and bpd, do you commit to not taking action. >> i think the 1984 act of 1992 cable act which compensated

facility of delivery of the communication. i think the corporations and service providers is complex. we are coming over the record trying to understand copyright issues to figure out a way forward but i think fundamentally this is an issue for those who want to act will have to go to congress. i acknowledge my congress colleagues may not feel the same. >> a desperate impact so the fcc adopted a desperate impact standard for digital discrimination, even ordinary business decisions about where to deploy broadband company reliable. do you believe congress authorized fcc to adopt a desperate impact standard? >> congress did not include terms for impact nor did congress include the language of supreme court allowing an agency to read impact into the statute

so for those two reasons i think note. in addition, that introduced a lot of results in the agencies so i don't think so. >> thank you very much, i yield back. >> termite witnesses, each member yields from a when you're asked a question at this time the chair recognizes the ranking member of the full committee for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. the trump fcc advocated over the premier communication network of modern broadband, consumers without protections for legal gymnastics.

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 votingin the affirmative. cantwell, lujan, and schatz. sneg schenck barrasso, braun, britt, crapo, m{l1}c{l0}connell, and young.

vote:

the clerk: mr. murphy, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. cassidy, no. mr. moran, no.

ms. warren, aye. vote:

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

f. the clerk: mrs. capito, no. mr. wyden, aye.

the clerk: mr. scott of florida, no. ms. stabenow, aye. ms. hassan, aye. mr. wicker, no. the clerk: mr. tuberville, no.

the clerk: mr. boozman, no.

the clerk: mr. risch, no. the clerk: mr. johnson, no.

the clerk: mrs. hyde-smith, no. mr. peters, aye. mr. reed, aye.

the clerk: mr. king, aye.

the clerk: mr. cotton, no. mr. warner, aye. ms. collins, aye.

the clerk: mr. manchin, aye. mr. bennet, aye. the clerk: mr. hagerty, no.

the clerk: mr. romney, no.

the clerk: ms. cortez masto, aye. mr. vance, no. mrs. murray, aye. ms. lummis, no.

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

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

the clerk: mr. marshall, no. mr. markey, aye. vote: vote: : vote:

the clerk: mr. casey, aye. mr. thune, no.

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

the clerk: mr. brown, aye.

the clerk: mr. cornyn, no. mr. grassley, no. mr. schmitt, no. mr. van hollen, aye.

the clerk: mr. daines, no. mr. hoeven, no.

the clerk: mr. ricketts, no.

ms. smith, aye. ms. baldwin, aye. mr. kennedy, no. mr. graham, no.

the clerk: mr. booker, aye. the clerk: mr. carper, aye.

the clerk: ms. butler, aye. the clerk: ms. hirono, aye.

the clerk: mr. ossoff, aye. mr. blumenthal, aye. mr. tillis, no. mr. kelly, aye.

the clerk: ms. murkowski, aye. mr. cardin, aye.

mr. rubio, no. mr. paul, no. vote: the clerk: mr. scott of south carolina, no.

ms. ernst, no.

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

the clerk: mr. schumer, aye.

the clerk: mr. lee, no.

ms. rosen, aye. mr. cruz, no. mr. welch, aye. mrs. shaheen, aye.

the clerk: mrs. fischer is no. mrs. fischer, no.

the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye.

mr. budd, no. mr. sullivan, no.

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

the clerk: mr. hawley, no.

vote: the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye.

the clerk: mr. sanders, aye.

a boat that was supposed to happen today was moved to tomorrow but in lieu of keeping a schedule i decided stay with today's 8 a.m. commitment to all of you and to the american people. here's where we are. we are due to go for round three of expulsion of congressman george santos from ny three. i think we can all look back and say this is not at least i .biz

you go. most people any meaty would think this, this you would go. and it's just an unfortunate co. 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. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: the judiciary. irma carrillo ramirez of texas to be united states circuit judge for the fifth circuit. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, we're nearly halfway through the 118th congress, it's hard to believe. and despite the challenges that confront this chamber, working with the house and the president to get legislation passed, the senate has managed to advance

some great bipartisan bills this year. all of this attention that the media gives tends to focus on where we disagree, but -- and there's no question there are a lot of disagreements, but there are areas where we have found the chance to work together to do important things. while some of the bills i'm talking about actually passed this chamber unanimously and will have a positive impact on our constituents in communities from maine to texas to nebraska, and while a number of these bills have been signed into law, many are still awaiting action in the house. and i'd like to provide a few examples. project safe childhood is a bill that i introduced with senator klobuchar, the senator from minnesota, to provide greater protection for our children on line. the anonymity and accessibility

afforded in the digital realm have allowed predators to infiltrate our homes and target our children. this of course is the dark side of the internet, and it's been a problem since the advent of the digital age. but it gets worse. last year the national center for missing and exploited children received 32 million reports. 32 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation, an all-time record. one of our most valuable tools for combating these crimes is the project safe childhood program at the department of justice. this program was created in 2006 to bolster law enforcement efforts to invest in education and prevention strategies. since its inception, the number of cases and defendants prosecuted by the u.s. attorneys offices has increased by 40%.

this is a positive sign we're moving in the right direction, despite the dismal facts that i have recounted here. but it's clear more needs to be done. this bill reauthorizes and strengthens this program by modernizing the investigation and prosecution of these crimes. it will provide law enforcement with additional tools they need to bring more predators to justice. this bill passed the senate unanimously last month, but it's currently awaiting action in the house. i've been proud to works with representatives wesley hunt and debbie wasserman schultz, republican and democrat alike, on this legislation. again, this is bipartisan consensus legislation that just needs a vote in the house. another example is project safe neighborhoods. this bill reauthorizes this

program at the department of justice. now, at a time when we're all concerned about violent crime in our neighborhoods, this is one of the most efficient, one of the most effective ways of combating violent crime in our neighborhoods that we've devised. it's inspired by a successful program that i appropriated when i was attorney general of texas that started in richmond, virginia, called project exile. what they realize is that if they targeted the most violent criminals, the ones who in violation of the law possess and use firearms in the commission of a crime, if they were prosecuted under mandatory minimums that this would prove as a big deterrent for people using firearms to commit crimes or carrying firearms when they are prohibited by law. since this nationwide program was launched in 2013, we've seen

more than a 13% decrease in violent crime in cities with a high rate of program participation. this is a partnership between state, local, and federal. today, the american people are increasingly concerned about crime. we're concerned here in the nation's capital, where the number of carjackings has gone through the roof, including some of our colleagues in the house of representatives who have been a victim of carjacking. a gallup poll earlier this month found that 63% of americans view crime as either at extremely or very serious problem, marking a new record for the poll. so, it's clear we need to focus on crime and violence reduction strategies, like project safe neighborhoods, but again, this legislation passed the senate unanimously after being voted out of the judiciary committee, and is awaiting action in the house. finally, i want to mention another critical piece of

legislation that's stuck in purgatory, at least hopefully temporarily, and that's the debbie smith act. years ago, we learned that 400,000 rape kits were sitting in evidence lockers or at forensic labs and had gone untested. these unfortunately are the evidence that has to be collected from the victim of a sexual assault and using dna technology we're able to figure out, with basically certitude, who the perpetrator was. but 400,000 of them were sitting in lockers and untested. now, did hey smith is a heroic -- debbie smith is a heroic figure. she made it her life's work to eliminate this rape kit backlog, and her work is correctly responsible for hundreds of thousands of rape kits and

locking up countless criminals. her advocacy was born of a personal tragedy. she was raped at home in 1989, immediately reported the crime to police, went to the emergency room for a sexual assault forensic exam. that's the rape kit. but she said while waiting for answers, she was overcome by fear. she was terrified for herself and her family, and even became suicidal. it wasn't until six and a half years later debbie finally received the answer she desperately wanted from this rape kit test, and it happened when a dna hit revealed the identity of her rapist. because, what they can do is take that information, match it against codus, an fbi-maintained database, to identify the perpetrator. she later said dna gave her her life back, and she chose to

harness her pain and use it to prevent others from facing years of fear and uncertainty. like that that controlled her. she is the namesake of the debbie smith act originally signed into law in 2004. as a result, more than 860,000 dna cases have been prosecuted. 860,000. it's hard to imagine how one person can make more of a difference than debbie smith has in terms of bringing closure and making sure that the guilty are investigated and prosecuted. but 860,000 cases have been processed. sadly, we're still facing a 90,000-case backlog. eve of those hold the key and an answer to bringing a violent criminal to justice. the senate, again flawm, has pass -- unanimously, has passed the debbie smith

reauthorization, and unfortunately the house took it up and passed a version of the bill that inadvertently deauthorized existing dpundz for the -- existing funds for the act. i encourage the house to take whatever action they need to swiftly take up and pass the senate version to reauthorize the debbie smith program for a full five years, without jeopardizing any existing funds being used by law enforcement to take violent criminals off the street. so, mr. president, these are just a few examples of bipartisan legislation that's enjoyed near unanimous support here in the senate, that is simply waiting for the house to act. i know we're coming up on the end of the year and there's not a lot of time, but my suspicion is that if the speaker would put these bills on the floor of the house, that they would pass overwhelmingly. but we can't get these bills to the president to actually sign

into law until the house acts. so my wish, my request, my prayer, is that the house simply take up these bipartisan bills and act. thank you, mr. chairman. mr. president, i yield the floor. mrs. fischer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mrs. fischer: thank you, mr. president. across the country, over 1.2 million americans live in nursing homes. many of our own parents, grandparents, and other loved ones are among them. nursing facilities provide specialized, attentive care to seniors in critical need of their services. long-term care facilities are

especially indispensable in small towns and rural areas, like much of my home state of nebraska. in those areas, a larger percentage of the population is over 65. unfortunately, the biden administration has released a rule this fall that could force many nursing facilities around the country to close their doors. the new rule, introduced in september by the centers for medicare and medicaid services, mandates new minimum staffing standards for long-term -- for long-term care facilities. it requires each facility to staff a registered nurse onsite 24/7, and would require staff to pro provide each resident with at least three hours of direct care per day. the administration believes this, rule would improve the quality of care in our nursing

homes. unfortunately, the rule as written would simply force many facilities to shutdown. denying care to seniors entirely. according to cms, 75% of nursing homes would have to increase staffing to comply with these proposed standards. but across our country, these homes already face historic staffing shortages. according to federal labor statistics, nursing homes lost more than 200,000 workers, from february of 2020 to december of 2022. the industry is still rebuilding its workforce after a devastating pandemic. under this rule, nursing homes would be forced to go to great

lengths to find staff in the midst of these overwhelming shortages. if they failed, they would likely need to shut their doors and deprive seniors of care. even one nursing home closure could be detrimental to seniors in certain rural communities. highly populated urban areas may host several long-term care facilities. a lot of different options are available. but these facilities, in rural areas they are few and far between. in one facility closes, the next closest one could be many miles or even hours away. it might not be feasible for every senior to move so far from their home. so this mandate from cms, it would devastate facilities across nebraska, across rural

america, and across this country. it would devastate families who are relying on these facilities to serve their loved ones. and it would devastate the seniors who urgently need care. after the release of this proposed rule in september, i joined the rest of the nebraska federal delegation in sending a letter to cms. the administrator, chaquita brooks-lashur, opposing these new standards. we have never received a response. so i plan to introduce legislation that would prevent these misguided standards from going into effect. my bill would also establish an advisory panel on the nursing home workforce. the panel would host members representing various

stakeholders, including members from rural areas and underserved areas. the biden administration must hear from voices outside the big cities on the coast. this proposed rule is a one-size-fits-all attempt at a solution, but the so-called solution simply doesn't fit. it's a misguided mandate that will prove destructive for communities that most need the care. i'm going to keep fighting for our rural communities and for the seniors who rely on long-term care facilities, and i encourage my colleagues to do the same. by joining me in support of this legislation to protect nursing homes and to protect the americans that they serve. thank you, 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.

quorum call:

good morning, thanks for coming out. it was moved to tomorrow but in lieu of keeping a schedule, i decided to stay with today's 8:00 a.m. commitment to all of you and the american people. here is where we are. we are due to go for around three of expulsion of don from

ny three. i think we can all look back and say this is not how i thought this year will go, not how most of people in media would think it would go and it is an unfortunate circumstance have to be here and watch american people waste, congress watch waste american people time on something that is the power of the people, not all congress which is to remove, elect and remove members of congress. obviously some want to cling to circumstances and allegations that they are sending long-standing precedents in the house that every single member ever expelled and they are trying to join in the group of three and two people convicted in the court of law so if i have to get expelled tomorrow, i will be number six the history of the omicron conviction or part of --

out committing treason. on that sense but let me go down a few things here, to give a sense of congress today and what it represents for the american people, it represents chaos. we have a house that doesn't work, a house where we have members with severe allegations against him having the goal and courage to call the speaker a joke. i read that today on the cover of politico where we are reading about members of congress trying to smear one of the most honorable members of our conference and the republican party so that is where we stooped down to, people who think and feel emboldened enough to get out other people for their policy. it's amazing they want to continue to push me out meanwhile we have secretary

mayorkas is committed absolute dereliction of his duty and all americans in danger and the christmas tree lighting something for years is one of the most beautiful celebrations, the most people democratic yet but yesterday we have a band of vandals thought was appropriate to fight the nypd. this is what took place yesterday and that's on secretary mayorkas because a lot of these people are not here because they love this country, not because they want the best for this country. why are they here? it's starting from inside and that's what you get when you have open borders, and administration oblivious to the of administration taking place. last, let's talk about consistency. a member of congress earlier this year took a plea deal to obstruct congressional hearing. that's not the plea deal he took. he took a plea deal from.a fire

alarm fire alarms that obstructed and delayed an official hearing and proceeding on the house floor. has the any other person, a member of the media, republican member of congress, we know that person would have been charged with obstruction of congressional hearing just like the 140 people in prison right now because of january 6 but jamaal gets a pass. that's why today at noon going to be introducing a motion for expulsion of convicted and guilty plea congressman jamaal and i think that is consistency. let's hold them accountable but do it with the president of the house. if house starts different president, that is going to be the undoing a lot of members of this body because this will haunt them in the future where

mere allegations are sufficient to have members removed from office when duly elected by the people in the state and district so i'm going to make this very brief comment on the process taking place the committee. by admission of the chairman himself he said the process was not full throttle and not complete because it would require many months for the committee to offer any punishment so they decided to stop short of completing the process putting out a sperm unprecedented nobody but yet again changing president bernie it seems it's all fair game so

there we go, we released this will littered and hyperbole and opinions have no decent one to bring this to a prosecutor for da go ahead and charge them and what they are doing brother workers. i believe they do work but this is not it going to make this brief for a couple of questions and screaming at me, we will go by hand. >> why didn't -- [inaudible] >> provided every document from my counsel.

[inaudible] >> as i leave, they went. if i leave, the bullies take place. this is bullying. the chair of the committee about a motion to expel privilege, designed to force them to resign but he didn't have the fortitude to go ahead and call the privilege. he had someone else do it, someone recently has done one so the reality is you just theater for the cameras and microphones, theater for the american people at the expense of the american people because no work is getting done. [inaudible] >> i will filing a slew of complaints in the coming hours today and tomorrow to make sure we keep the playing field even because at this time i have been

nothing but generous and kind with my time, i have not raised my voice or a single finger against another member of this body i guess it's fair game to continue to do that. >> i know you didn't want to get into this because you said you believe this -- [inaudible] >> i am not unpacking the report, it is counterproductive for me to do so at this time. there will be a time i will unpack it entirely and i will go on in time. [inaudible] >> he resigned.

>> you mentioned many numbers of congress, are you going to name them? >> why do i have to do your job for you? what you end up on other members? >> you talked -- [inaudible] >> it's the third time and each time for different reasons in the keep going. i don't know, i asked them. i don't care. [inaudible] >> i've said this many times. i'm fighting to defend myself and dispel each and every accusation as soon as i have the opportunity. go ahead. [inaudible] >> that's not true. i have two district offices in new york and they are constantly

busy with folks coming in for various issues, obviously from as simple as a need for expedited passport to more complex immigration issues, there is one thing sometimes deterring people, we have crowds of media and i'm not blaming the media, i just say that is not what services, people don't want to be on camera. they don't want that exposure of them but the service is there. i nominated 29 applicant to the service academy and already for has been accepted to earlier than most people in this building so i'm proud of the fact that i have veteran staff leadership in my d.c. office and in my district office and the operation runs pretty smooth. we haven't had no complaints of the organized anti- george santos groups obviously i didn't win my seat unanimously, it was every butter in the district, i had people who opposed me but we do best and are open to

everybody and i like to serve the people. >> in regards to the allegations in the report, these are items couldn't easily they did not happen and you have not participated in any of these things so why are you waiting until after the boat comes down to address these issues? >> i didn't say i was going for the boat to come down i understand, i'm doing this in a different schedule, not the schedule the house. >> why do you think this time compared to the others? >> from the way i'm looking at this, they are the most so if he has 150 votes what he said on record, he has the boat. this is just plain and simple. us consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. #. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session.

the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 263. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. opposed, nay. ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, lori -- mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 263, loren l. alikhan, of the district of calendar number calendar number, to be united states district judge for the district of colombia. the presiding officer: --

district of columbia. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. opposed will say nay. ayes appear to have it. they do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 144. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. opposed will say nay. ayes appear to have it. they do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of state, elizabeth h. richard, of virginia, to be coordinator for counterterrorism with the rank and status of ambassador. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on on executive calendar 144,

elizabeth richard to be coordinator of counterterrorism with the rank and stat yufs of ambassador at large. mr. schumer: i ask that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask that the mandatory quorum calls be waived. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. the presiding officer: the senator there tennessee -- from ten tn a senator: the united states has a long-standing of determination. from the 1940's to the 2010's under president trump, our nation has stood with israel in defense of israel. we were there in 1948 when israel became a country. we stood with them through the six-day war and the yom kippur war, the example david peace

talks, negotiations with the plo, two end take todays -- entifadas. under president reagan, we fought the spread of communism across multiple continents because we understand that the unchecked spread of marxist influence will threaten our very survival. mrs. blackburn: this wasn't just ideological saber-rattling. the soviets had a stagger number of nuclear warheads at their disposal. it was important to eliminate as many of those as we could. reagan was remarkably clear-eyed about this. again it wasn't a question of politics. it was a matter of recognizing the danger and then finding a way to neutralize that danger. we accepted that it was our duty to protect global security because no one else had the

power or the resolve to do that. and since russia invaded ukraine in 2014, the u.s. has been a leading provider of aid to the ukrainians because vladimir putin has the same propensity toward violence and conquest that motivated his predecessors. this is also why we have fought so hard to provide our partners in taiwan with the weapons and funding they need to defend themselves against communist chinese aggression. over the past three years, though, our reputation, our nation's reputation as a champion of freedom has become tarnished by joe biden's foreign policy and his policy of appeasement. nothing has been more damaging than his refusal to protect our sovereignty here at home. a strong border is the most basic element of our national

defense. it's what guarantees our right to exist as a country. and joe biden has abandoned it entirely. when he took office and declared law and order obsolete, he didn't just invite millions of migrants across our border. he invited the new access of evil, russia, china, iran, north korea to declare open season on their nashs. -- their neighbors. china became more aggressive toward taiwan. putin invaded ukraine and hamas violated a cease-fire and slaughtered israelis in their beds. the biden administration's response has only made things worse. they exploited the plight of the ukrainians as a distraction from their own terrible policies. they all but ignored china's human rights violations and to date they put more pressure on

israel than on hamas to lay down arms. mr. president, joe biden's attempts to curry favor with the new access of evil won't keep us safe because these nations aren't here to make friends. their goal? the goal of that access of -- ax decision of evil is to exploit our weaknesses until it becomes impossible for us to fight back. this is a battle over borders and if we want to win, we need to lead by example and reassert our right to exist as a sovereign nation. we should start by securing our very own border. in fiscal 2023, border patrol recorded more than 3.^ 2 million enforcement actions along our southern border. in addition we caught 151 known and suspected terrorists trying

to enter our country illegally. the senate will have an opportunity to address before the year ends but i fear my democratic colleagues will block those efforts or worse, offer a half-baked solution and call it a job well done. the majority leader insists that the issue of border security is just too partisan and the majority whip insists that since we've let the issue of border security go unattended for 30-plus years, we can afford to let it go just a little bit longer. this is absolutely nonsense. i think it's also dangerous. if joe biden refuses to defend the sovereignty of his own country, our adversaries will assume they can act as aggressively as they want without any meaningful resistance from the united states. if we refuse to defend

ourselves, how can we be effective in defending israel, our strongest ally in the middle east? israel's sovereignty has been established across thousands of years of history and still hamas denies israel's right to exist. that is how they justified violating the cease-fire and declaring war on the world's jewish community, and it is frightening to see so many people in this country defending that decision. mr. president, every one of those individuals should watch the videos that we have watched from the go-pro cameras of those hamas terrorists. it is revolting. no peace plan is possible until hamas is eliminated and the palestinians recognize israel's right to exist. to make this happen, we need to set an example by securing our own borders and then passing a

stand alone and straightforward aid package to help israel do the same. we all know that giving humanitarian aid to gaza at this point means letting it go to terrorists. i would ask the majority leader and my democratic colleagues to give israel this funding without attaching dangerous conditions that will force them to undermine their own security. ensuring a free and sovereign ukraine is also an important element of our foreign policy. but how can we speak with any real authority about ukrainian self-determination while holding ourselves to a lower standard? when putin attacked, the united states backed ukraine with our words and our actions because we knew that if we didn't, millions of people would pay the price for our appeasement. we have a historic obligation to

ukraine and continuing to send aid will serve as a powerful deterrent. the american people understand how important it is to maintain that pressure on russia and vladimir putin, but they don't think they should have to sacrifice their own security to do it. they also are very concerned about the total lack of transparency surrounding these aid packages. here's a stat. since february of 2022, the united states has approved $113 billion in total aid responding to putin's war. this includes defense times since the presidential drawdown authority with no oversight. it's imperative we have oversight and transparency around every single dollar that

is going into ukraine. the rein? right now -- the reason? right now americans can't afford to spend even one more cent on gas or groceries thanks to joe biden's bidenomics. so they need to see that their money is actually going to be accounted for and that it is actually going to make a difference. we owe them a full accounting of how their money is being spent in ukraine, how long we will maintain the flow of aid, and when can they expect to see us match those efforts here at home with our own border security plan. they also want to know what is the strategy and how are we going to make certain that vladimir putin does not win. mr. president, joe biden's actions speak much louder than his words.

for three years now he has projected nothing but weakness. he has sent a parade of diplomats to legitimatize relations with the chinese communist party. he has enabled iran and its terrorist proxies, hamas, hezbollah, the houthis, isis iraq, isis in syria. and he has sent billions upon billions of dollars in security aid overseas without giving a second thought to securing our own border. at the height of the cold war, reagan said that -- and i'm quoting him -- if history teaches anything, it teaches that simple minded appeasement or wishful thinking about our adversaries is folly. it means the betrayal of our past and the squandering of our freedom. end quote. a lot of wisdom in that.

we need to think about that history. thousands of innocent people have already paid the ultimate price because joe biden has refused to heed that warning. it is time to abandon this failed strategy of appeasement. it is time to project strength and resolve. it is time for our allies to know that they are our allies, that they can count on us. it is time for our enemies to fear us. it is time for us to make certain that we get an aid package, an aid package to israel. it is time for us to secure our southern border. it is time for us to know who is coming into this country and why they are coming into this country. if joe biden doesn't act toll secure our border and defend our right to exist as a free and

independent country, we're going to see the violence that threatens the sovereignty of israel, ukraine, and taiwan bleed on to american soil. and no level of negotiation or appeasement will be able to stop it. i yield the floor.

mr. carper:. the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: i understand we're not in a quorum call. is that correct? the presiding officer: that is correct. mr. carper: i ask that the vote begin immediately. the presiding officer: without objection, the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 223, irma carillo ramirez

of texas to be united states circuit judge for the fifth circuit. 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 irma carillo ramirez of texas to be the united states circuit judge for the fifth circuit shall be brought to a close. the acquaintance are mandatory under -- the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker.

mr. 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 -- budd, capito, carper, lujan, moran, peters, rosen, sanders, and smith. ms. collins, aye. senators voting in the negative -- blackburn and scott of south carolina.

the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye. mr. mullin, no. mr. cardin, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. cornyn, aye.

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

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

ms. murkowski, aye.vote: vote:ç

. the clerk: mr. lee, no. ms. cortez masto, aye. ms. hir hirono, aye. mrs. shaheen, aye. mr. tester, aye. mr. paul, no. mr. hagerty, aye.

mr. durbin, aye. mrs. hyde-smith, aye. mr. tillis, aye. mrs. fischer, aye. mr. romney, aye. mr. van hollen, aye. mr. brown, aye. mr. cassidy, aye.

mr. ricketts, no. mr. schmitt, no. mr. reed, aye. ms. hassan, aye.

the clerk: mr. crapo, no. mr. scott of south carolina, aye.

the clerk: mr. hawley, no. mr. johnson, aye. mr. scott of florida, aye. mr. whitehouse, aye. mr. sullivan, no. mr. menendez, aye. mr. welch, aye.

the clerk: mr. rubio, aye. mr. vance, aye. mr. kennedy, aye. mr. padilla, aye. mr. braun, no.

mr. hickenlooper, aye. ms. cantwell, aye. mr. risch, no. mr. hoeven, no. mrs. britt, no. mr. merkley, aye.

ms. ernst, aye. mr. heinrich, aye. mr. daines, no. the clerk: ms. baldwin, aye.

the clerk: mr. warnock, aye. mr. ossoff, aye. mr. cotton, aye. mr. boozman, aye.

the clerk: mr. coons, aye. mr. blumenthal, aye.

the clerk: mr. schumer, aye.

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

vote: the clerk: mr. barrasso, aye. mr. young, aye.

the clerk: mr. markey, aye.

the clerk: mr. thune, no. mr. marshall, no. the clerk: mr. wicker, aye.

the clerk: ms. warren, aye. mr. king, aye.

the clerk: mr. graham, aye.

the clerk: mr. booker, aye.

the clerk: ms. stabenow, aye.

the clerk: ms. lummis, no.

the clerk: mr. bennet, aye.

vote vote:

the clerk: mr. lankford, aye.

the clerk: mr. murphy, aye.

the clerk: ms. sinema, aye.

the clerk: mr. cruz, aye.

the clerk: mr. manchin, aye.

the presiding officer: the yeas are 80, the nays are 17, and the motion is agreed to. the senator from mississippi. mr. wicker: madam president, this is a difficult topic for me to discuss because it is so serious and because the united states has so much catching up

to do. two years ago congress created the bipartisan congressional commission on the strategic posture of the united states. we gave it the job of examining the strengths and weaknesses of our national security position. the report comments on an array of military issues, but it -- its findings can be distilled to a single alarming fact. china and russia are increasingly able to match our military might, and if we do not act now, the consequences will be seismic. not only could we fail to deter a war, we might actually lose the next war. the report finds that we are not prepared for what is coming and here's what's coming. for the first time, we must stand up to the ambitions of two

nuclear-armed peer adversaries in multiple regions of the world at the same time. that stunning conclusion means that this report should be required reading for each of my colleagues. so, madam president, i directed my staff to deliver a copy of this bipartisan report personally to every senator, and i hope we take its message to heart. the american military, in particular our nuclear deter rernts as-r been one of the principal guarantors of global security, not just american security but global security since the late 19 40es. -- 1940's. when the berlin crumbled and we emerged as the world's sole super power. but regrettably, instead of maintaining that competitive edge, we have allowed it to slip

away in both conventional and strategic deterrence. china and russia watched as we shuttered our shipyards and ammunition plants, as we let our ships rust and as we neglected to replace our aging cold war nuclear arsenal. then as successive administrations let defense assets deteriorate, china and russia poured more funds into their weapon stores. they built the kind of weapons needed to take us on in a conventional fight and keep us at bay in a strategic one. in is not one senator saying this, madam president. this is the bipartisan commission that we tasked with investigating this thoroughly. the autocrats who rule china and russia began paying attention to more than our guns and ships when our satellites and

next-generation communications capabilities gave us an unbeatable edge in the gulf war, these enemies, adversaries of ours, took notice. we can see and shoot farther than anyone else. when we deploy these tools, we inyouing rated new ways to protect ourselves. cutting edge technology, not mere masses of metal would win the final argument of nations. but the leaders of russia and china soon came to recognize this also. they began to meet our advances and ensure we could never do to them what we had done to saddam hussein's military in 1991. among the bipartisan xhirgs's direst -- commission's direst findings is that china and russia have largely succeeded. china has built strike complexes of their own that make the

prospect of war increasingly perilous. their fleet of antisatellite weapons and cyber warfare capabilities could render our military blind, deaf, and mute on a potential conflict over taiwan. the united states victory and therefore deterrence was once a fait accompli but today we risk war that would shake the foundations of everyday american life. and the foundations of global peace. the consequences of our negligence together with the chinese and russian investment are most acute when it comes to our nuclear position, which had been the foundation of our deterrence capability. russian submarines are becoming much more advanced and chan is rapidly bringing missile silos online. meanwhile, our air force personnel are still using floppy disks to operate missiles that

are older than their parents, and they are flying bombers that are older than their grandparents. our nuclear submarines, the crown jewels of u.s. military power, are having to remain at sea longer as our fleet shrinks. workforce problems and maintenance delays hold the fleet back from its potential. the aukus agreement is a tremendous diplomatic achievement that can be a game changer, but it must be implemented correctly and right now we're short of the attack submarines needed. china and russia now clearly realize that by joining forces, they can help each other reach their goals. china wants to occupy taiwan and their leader has said they need to be ready to do that as soon as 2027. russia wants to puncture nato's

iron wall and they want to help each other to do both. their senator -- their sinister intent and increasing capabilities make this the most dangerous national security moment we have faced in 75 years. paul nits sda who helps us win the cold war and said, our fundamental purpose is more likely to be defeated from lack of the will to maintain it than from any mistakes we may make. in other words, the future is ours to lose. but the future is still ours. this report recommends several policies that can help us end the damaging defense cuts of the past three decades and begin making investments we need. the commission's first recommendation is that we rebuild and expand the defense industrial base, including the national nuclear security

administration's nuclear weapons production infrastructure. in particular, congress should partner with the administration and the navy to establish a third public shipyard to conduct submarine maintenance. again, this is the recommendation of a completely bipartisan commission of experts. the second proposal builds on the first. we need educational institutions and a talent pipeline to bring skilled tradesmen to this industrial base. these high-paying stable and long-term jobs do not require masters or -- master's or bachelor's degrees. they can advance both national security and expand economic opportunity. finally, the report recommends a series of products we should prioritize. we need more conventional

forces, and we should increase procurement of strategic nuclear capabilities like the b-21 and the columbia class submarine. we need improved missile defenses and rapidly deployable theater nuclear forces like the c launched cruise missile. delivering these products would put our adversaries on notice and reassure our allies at the same time. of course these actions come with a price tag, but we've always found our defense investments to be both expensive and priceless. it will cost money to deter china and russia and iran from threat frning you -- threatening us but it will cost much, much more in money and in lives if we do not. in the words of former secretary of defense jim mattis, america can't afford survival. the good news is that we've done this before. in the late 1970's, the pentagon

sowed the seeds of our defense technological revival even when the carder administration this rank from the world stage. but then in 1979 the soviet union invaded afghanistan. that attack was a wake-up call. it taught washington there is no substitute for superior military might. again paul nitze helped form an organization that educated congress, the carter administration, and the american people about the soviet union's threat. the result was the reagan defense buildup that won the cold war. madam president, we can do that again, but we must abandon the status question and start thinking -- status quo and start thinking birth again. the shocking warnings in this report should spur us to abandon our inertia and take bold actions that will lead us into the next american century.

madam president, i thank the members of this commission for their years of hard work and i urge my colleagues in both the house and senate to take note. and 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.

>> good morning, everybody. thanks for coming out. as you all know the both of us supposed to happen today moved to tomorrow but in lieu of keeping a schedule i decided to stay with today's 8 a.m. commitment to all of you into the american people. here's where we are. we are due to go for round three of expulsion of coxon george santos from ny three. i think we can all look back and say this is not how at least i thought this you would go. i don't think this is how most the people in a meeting with think this you would go. and it's just an unfortunate circumstance that have to sit and watch american people waste, congress wastes the american peoples time over and over again on something that is a power of the people, not the power of congress which is to remove come selectmen and remove members of congress. obviously some want to cling to some circumstances and to

allegations, but there's been a long-standing precedent in the house that every single member that's ever been expelled, and they're trying to join me to the group of three confederates and to make people convicted in a court of law. so if i am to get expelled tomorrow, i will be number six in history, the first republican and the only one without a conviction or without being part of, or without having committed treason. so that's kind of where we stand today on that since. but let me go down a few things here that to get a sense of congress today and what it represents for the american people. it represents chaos. chaos because we have the house that doesn't work for the people. we have a house where we have members with severe allegations against them having the gall and the courage to call the speaker a joke. i read that today in and pol. was on the cover of "politico" where we are reading about

members of congress trying to smear one of the most honorable members of our conference in the republican party. so that's just where we stoop down to. people with rap sheets who think and feel emboldened enough to go callout other people for their policy. secondly, it's amazing to me that this house continues to want to push me out meanwhile we have secretary mayorkas who's committed absolute dereliction of his duty, , has put all americans in danger. if you saw last night the rockefeller center christmas tree lighting which is something that for years has been one of the most beautiful celebrations in new york city, most peaceful, but yesterday we had a band the vandals who thought it was appropriate to fight the nypd. this is what took place just yesterday and that's on secretary mayorkas because a lot of these people, then at you because you love this country. they are not here because you want the best for this country.

why are they here? it started from inside that's what you get when you open borders and that administration that is oblivious to the real issue that's taking place. and then lastly, let's talk about let's talk about consistency. we have a member of congress that order this year took a plea deal to obstructing a congressional hearing. that's not the plea deal he took him right? i'm kidding. he took a plea deal for pulling a fire alarm, a fire alarm which obstructed and delayed an official hearing and are sitting on the house floor. now had that been in the other person, had they been one of the mentors of a beatty, had it been a republican member of congress we all know that person would've been filed, would've been charged with obstructing a congressional hearing. just like the 140 people sitting in prison right now because of january 6th. but jamaal bowman gets a pastor that's why today at noon i'm going to be introducing a privilege motion for expulsion of convicted and guilty plea did

congressman jamaal bowman. and i stand there i think that is consistency. let's hold her own accountable bliss make sure that we do what the president of the house. now if the house wants to start different precedence and expel me, that is going to be the undoing of a lot of members of this body because this will haunt them in the future where mere allegations are sufficient to have members removed from office when duly elected by their people in the respective states and districts. so bearing that in mind i'm going to make this a very brief and a comment on the, on the process here that's taken place with the ethics committee. by admission of the chairman himself, he said that the process was not full throttled and not complete because it would require many more months in order for the committee to offer any kind of punishment.

so instead they decided to stop short of completing the process, going ahead and put it out a slanderous report, unprecedented. nobody here has ever seen ethics reports of any other members who's been under investigation that yet again changing precedent for me it seems that it's all fair game. so there we go. they go ahead and release this report littered, littered in hyperbole, littered an opinion that would have no decent cop would bring this to a prosecutor or nda and say here's our report. we'll hit and charge him. right? so this is what the ethics committee put up a god bless them and what they think they're doing and what their work is. you know, i believe they do good work when it's relevant but this ain't it. so with that going to make this a very brief opportunity for a couple of questions. in an orderly fashion. without screaming at me. we will go by hand.

go ahead. [inaudible question] >> i quattro. i provided them every single document for the most part that the with off of that came from a council -- i cooperated. >> a go ahead. [inaudible question] i know you been getting this question a lot but is this really truly -- why not just reside? >> because if i leave, they win. if i leave, the bullies take place. this is bullying. the chair of the committee putting out a motion to expelled just introducing it and not calling it a privilege was designed to force me to resign. but he didn't have the fortitude to go ahead and call the privilege. yet someone else do it, someone who's actually just recently done one on me, which is congressman dsps you do. the rally of what is it is all theater. its theater for the cameras. it's good for the microphones. it's good for the american

people at the expense of the american people because no real work is getting done. go ahead. [inaudible question] >> i will be finally, be filing a slew of complaints in the coming hours of today and tomorrow to make sure that we keep the playing field even because at this point i have been nothing but generous and kind with my time period i've not raise my voice or a single think it's a single of the member of this body but now i guess it's fair game to continue to do that. go ahead. >> i know he did what he didn't visit the other day but because -- can you specifically say -- >> i told you i told you the other day i'm not unpacking the report. it is counterproductive for me to do so at this time. that would be a time that i will unpack it entirely and go line by line. [inaudible] >> i will go line by line with

the time is proper. go ahead. [inaudible question] >> he resigned. he resigned. that's the rally, he resigned. he resigned. right? go ahead. >> you mentioned many members of congress have rap sheet spirit are you going naming them? why not put their names out? >> why do i have to do your job for you? you guys come you guys like digging stuff up on me. why did you go dig up on other members. there's so many. without any open. go ahead. [inaudible question] >> why do you think you are being bullied to? >> i mean it's of the third time and each time for different reasons and they just keep going. i don't know. ask them. i don't care. go ahead.

>> are the accusations basically to? >> i said this many times. i'm fighting to defend myself and to dispel each and every accusation. as soon as i have the opportunity. go ahead. >> they feel like you were not serving them. >> you see, that's not true. i have two district offices in new york and their consular busy with folks coming and for various issues obviously pertaining from the simple as the need for an expedited passport number couplets immigration issues. there is one thing that sometimes deters people from walking in is when we have crowds of media outside the office. and i am not blaming the media. i just think that does interfere with constituent services. people don't want to be on camera. they don't want, , then what tht exposure of them. but the service is there. i nominated 29, 29 applicants to the service academies and i would have four got accepted and a did a earlier than most people in this building. so i'm pretty proud of the fact

i have a staff that i veteran staff in leadership and my d.c. office and in my district office. and the operation went pretty smooth. i mean look we have had will complete other than organized anti-george santos groups. obviously i didn't win my seat unanimously with every single vote in the district. i had people who opposed me, but we do the best ever opened everybody and look, the thing i like to do mostly serve the people and talk to them. >> in regards to the allegation in the ethics report though, these are items that you could easily say did not happen, you did not participate so while you waiting until after this vote comes down to actual address of these major issue? >> i didn't say, i did say i was waiting for the vote to come down. i understand. i am doing this in a different schedule. it's up the schedule of house or the -- you already got a question. go ahead. >> why do you think this time

compared to get at? >> i don't know. look from what i understand we are looking at it is congressman said yes 150 votes. i mean if yes one of 50 votes, as he stood already come on the record, he has the votes. this is this is just plain and simple. >> wide you think the votes have changed? >> quite a few men who say they will not vote for this. you have mastered for them? >> i spoken to a lot of members that i don't ask people to come in my defense. i do not ask people to advocate for me. i did not with this. i stay steadfast on that because as my battle and don't want to drag people into the fray of this entire nonsensical operation right now. so i thank them for the courage because it's courage of these days to stand up for people especially emma position. so i thank them and is a people that i will never forget. go ahead. [inaudible question] knowing where we are today would you have done all over again?

>> i would've done a lot of things to be. i would associate with the different people. i definitely would've stayed away from a lot of people. of those you don't know this is -- you all know me because of her. interesting to see you here, but i will say this. today is my second year wedding anniversary and a going to enjoy it and try to forget the fact that is been one year from health but i would do a few things differently. michael. [inaudible question] can you reflect on -- [inaudible] >> yeah, sure. i mean look, proud of my voting record. i am proud of the work i got to do, and i came in your as a mad as hell activist who was just disenfranchised from the government, did not believe anything was getting done. i got to see if the process -- sausage is made from the inside. i get to see others please operates. i could to take that story back to the american people and say this is why we don't see as much progress as we expect.

what i can say that i leave here no regrets as far as my voting goes come the regrets as far as my advocacy for bills go. every single issue from health care that i've taken up with insulin or gay rights abroad or with foreign aid, i, i really stand firm that i'm proud of the work i put forward. i wish i could do more. if this is that this is it but if it's not i will continue to do is or as i can't. >> what would you say to the people and your colleagues that say -- [inaudible] >> so they are all judge, jury and executioner because evidence is in conviction or a verdict. and allegations of neither. the way they're looking at this, they just needed a reason to do. that's why the ethics committee released the statement two weeks ago to give them cover to vote no but little over two weeks ago

and then just get them the option to change the votes this time around. anything you're currently wearing by with campaign funds? >> i'm sorry. and repeat that? >> is anything you are currently wearing bob with campaign funds right alike issues? >> no. nothing, nothing. absolute nothing. these are years old. [inaudible] >> i'm sorry? [inaudible] >> aguada website. these are six years old. go ahead. >> howdy spoken again with speaker johnson and what do you make of his comet commenty that he has real reservations about this process? >> i have not spoken with and since i spoke to him last, , so there's no change. [inaudible] >> rich. good to see you here. >> you think you're representing the district well while you for residual not run for reelection? there's a whole lot of drama not a lot of focus on the issues that matter to logo. >> will you know what? if you put in perspective so

every lame duck member of congress is unproductive, is that what you're suggesting? >> you put that out there and know it as you do. why did you always say you're not going to run for reelection at the same time will not resign? >> i'm not running for reelection because i chose not to put myself my family through this process because he is a reality when it comes down. your local long islanders you have this works. i would have an uphill battle against the press, i will have an uphill battle against the party, and it's just you know what, there's a point in time were you just say enough is enough. i'm 35. 35. doesn't mean it's goodbye forever. that's just all i can say. >> howdy think of just generally of the speaker has handled this situation the third time around? >> look, i didn't want this to be on the speakers hands. i did want to have the speaker to do with this. he has bigger deals like funding the government and passing appropriation bills and just getting the house back in order. but i think the man is a gentleman.

he's an exemplary member of this body and he does a great job at everything he do, it does. look on with my dad always agree with him but i think he does his best effort to put out the best you know he can out there. i didn't see -- >> what is your timeline for outlining all this? what is next for you as you are looking potential at being conned by friday? >> while look i don't know. future, the future is endless. you just never know. you can do whatever you want next and just going to do whatever i want. whatever comes my way i have the desire to stay very much involved in public policy and advocacy for specific issues. we also have an anti-president to campaign coming up in 2024 and you you know i think i'e it very clear that i will not rest until i see donald trump back in the white house. last question. >> thank you so much. i spoke with jamal the majestic and he said -- [inaudible] >> okay. long overdue, he also get his

third at an expulsion vote because after all he pleaded to polling f ireland, shutting an official proceeding, lied about his time later i put his time one out. none of you pick that up but if you look at from the moment he pulled off the fire alarm to the moment he showed up into the house it was almost an hour later. so there was no rush to go. there was a rush to stall the vote so they can go into conference so that they can read the bill and figure out if they're going to vote yay or nay on that. again he lied to deese prostitute on it. anyway look to thank you all so much for come up. i appreciate the time. we will continue to do this. i'll be putting out some invitation request to some of you in the media to keep it mixed up and do it well and we will do another pen and pad in my office later today. thank you.

quorum call:

henry kinzinger.

you economics of have this experience and practice of foreign policy. political appointees have had such bureaucratic. if carried such intellectual. more than one fourth of all u.s. presidents to proceed from the chinese interstate. yesterday marks the end of the extraordinary kinzinger century. if you consider the early chapters of this you might expect henry kinzinger to be the quintessential idealist but by

the age of 30 he escaped not to totality objection. mr. kaine: thank you. i ask unanimous consent that the senate consider the following nominations. all nominations placed on the secretary's desk in the air force, army foreign service, marine corps, navy and spac force, that the nominations be confirmed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions in order to any of the nominations, and that the president be officially notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kaine: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session, 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. kaine: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 481 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 481 expressing support for the goals

of stomach cancer awareness month. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. kaine: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kaine: madam president, i have four requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. kaine: finally i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it stand adjourned until 3:00 p.m. on monday, december 4. that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed, that upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the ramirez nomination postcloture, and that all time be considered expired at 5:30 p.m. finally that if the nomination

is confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection,so ordered. mr. kaine: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until the u.s. in 1938. he became the u.s. five years later. counterintelligence during world

war ii and from harvard college. in 1969 henry kinzinger was chosen to be nixon's security advisor. he was appointed secretary of state in 1973 in 1973 awarded the nobel peace prize for his role in negotiating the start and end of the vietnam war and received presidential medal of freedom will 1977. he passed away at his home only kinzinger, at the age of 100. ♪♪ >> american history tv centers on c-span2, exploring the people

and events that tell the american story. look at how television and internet effective communication strategy with lori cox hahn and 9:30 p.m. eastern on the presidency, and look back 50 years to december 6, 1973 when gerald ford is richard nixon's vice president months after the resignation amid income tax evasion exploring the american story, watch american history tv set based on c-span2 and find a full schedule on your program guide to watch online anytime at c-span.org/history. ♪♪ >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government funded by these television companies and more including comcast.