mr. wicker: thank you. and i thank the gentleman for yielding. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will resume executive session. mr. schumer: i yield back to my good friend from rhode island and thank him once again for his courtesy. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: thank you, leader schumer. the right wing fed soc justices also took away women's right to an abortion, leaving millions of women unable to make basic decisions about their own reproductive health, and endangering women experiencing troubled perhapsies. they -- pregnancies. they overturned long-standing and overwhelmingly popular gun safety laws, leaving our communities exposed to the epidemic of gun violence. they eviscerated the government's ability to fight climate change and to protect consumers from corporate profiteering. and they invented, out of thin air, the idea that former

presidents are absolutely immune from being held accountable for using their office to break the law to commit crimes, even to crit treason. on top of all this, the court has done its best to prevent the american people from fighting back through the democratic process. it's made it harder for other people to vote, while making it easier for billionaires and deep-pocketed special interests to impose their will on the american people with unlimited amounts of dark money. how did we get here? a decades-long scheme led by creepy billionaires and backed by deluge of dark money carpet urd the court like some 18th century railroad operation. the latest estimate put it at more than $580 million and

that's a minimum. that money flowed in from creepy billionaires, laundered through front groups where the real donors could hide their identities behind the front groups doing their dirty work. this dark money funded full-scale campaigns to stack the supreme court with justices who would deliver for the billionaires. this skeek's major victory came when the senate republicans blocked merck garland's girmgs -- merrick garland's nomination to the supreme court. this was outsourced almost entirely to the billionaire's operative leonard leo and his array of front groups. once these hand-picked nominees landed on the court, the dark money network tells them how to

rule, supplying them with extremist legal arguments through so-called friend of the court briefs designed to reach their desired results. and the parallel between what the friend of the court brief flotillas recommend and what the fed soc justices do is nearly perfect. leo and his cronies also orchestrated a secret gift program for their amenable justices, keeping them happy with lavish gifts of luxury vacations and other high-value freebies. despite a clear ethics law requiring supreme court justices to disclose even small gifts, these justices kept hidden years of free private jet travel, free yacht trips are free tickets to sporting events, even for one

justice $260,000 of loan forgiveness for a luxury motor coach. justices have flouted the federal law requiring recusal from cases where they have a conflict of interest. justice thomas sat on cases involving efforts to overturn the 2020 election despite his wife's involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 election. worst of all, the court has refused to take any real extents to clean up this mess. after substantial public pressure, it first wrote a useless letter about ethics and then it adopted a toothless ethics code with no mechanism for either investigation or determination or enforcement. the supreme court now stands alone in all of government, free

from any factfinding about ethical misconduct. as a result, the court's legitimacy in the eyes of the american people is now at an all-time low and falling. well, against all that mess, earlier this week something big happened. on monday, president biden and vice president harris endorsed two commonsense proposals to help restore the court's legitimacy. and happily, i have bills that perfectly align with both. first, the supreme court needs a binding enforceable code of conduct. the supreme court should not violate one of the most basic principles of the law, no one should be a judge in their own cause. yes, that is a principle so old

and so ven rated that -- so old that it is in latin and they violate it nonstop. the justices of the supreme court should have ethics rules at least as strict as the other branches of the government with a real process for finding out what happened and holding people accountable. overwhelmingly people agree. last week justice kagan suggested that a panel of experienced lower court judges could review ethics complaints, compile a report and make recommendations to the supreme court. that's exactly what my supreme court ethics recusal and transparency act would do. by the way, it's what most supreme court -- state's supreme courts do, they all face the problem of being the top supreme court in their southern

sovereign -- their sovereign entity and they face reviews by justices or panels. my bill would impose stricter disclosures for gifts and retiree the flotillas who lobby the court through friend of the court briefs to disclose their actual connections. my bill passed with the warm and welcome support of the presiding officer and it's now awaiting a vote on the senate floor. democrats stand ready and willing to deliver on president biden's and vice president harris's goal of bringing real transparency to the supreme court. president biden and vice president harris also announced their support for 18-year term

limits for supreme court justices with new appointments to the court occurring every two years. that would counter the republican supreme court justice's penchant for strategically timed retirements that tip the court into republican hands. term limits are a commonsense proposal with long bipartisan support. supreme court justices, including chief justice roberts, have expressed support for term limits, even some of our republican colleagues have endorsed the idea and a fox news poll earlier this month showed this support has -- this has support from more than 75% of americans. fortunately democrats stand ready to deliver on this idea. my supreme court biannual appointments and term limits act would make the court more representative of the american people and lower the political

stakes of supreme court nominations. under our bill, the president would appoint a new justice every two years. justices would serve full time on the court for 18 years. after which they would acquire a form of senior status, something familiar to anybody who knows federal courts where in district courts and circuit courts of appeal, judges go on senior status regularly. and these justices, on senior status, would remain on the court to hear the original jurisdiction cases that are required by the constitution for the supreme court to entertain. the nine month recently appointed justices would hear what the constitution calls appellate jurisdiction cases, which the constitution expressly gives congress the power to regulate. so congress can pass this long

overdue reform while preserving judicial independence and without a constitutional amendment. president biden noted that he has overseen more supreme court nominations as senator, vice president, and president than anyone living today. vice president harris, a former member of the senate judiciary committee herself, hasekoed the president's -- has echoed the president's calls for reform. both the president and vice president have immense respect for our supreme court and for a strong and independent judiciary. they've demonstrated it through their lifetimes, and that is exactly why we should listen to them when they tell us that the time has come for reform at the supreme court. this has been a long and often lonely fight in the senate. the big money right-wing

apparatus has tried over and over to shut me up. i think i may have a record for hos hostile "wall street journal" editorials, and may i tell "the wall street journal" editorial board, thank you, that is a badge of honor. the realization of what is needed to save the court from itself has spread. first through the halls of congress and then into the national consciousness and now to 1600 pennsylvania avenue. that is good reason for hope. so bravo, mr. president, and madam vice president. now it's up to us and congress to deliver and repair and redeem this captured court. to be continued. i yield the floor.

mr. wicker: mr. president. mr. whitehouse: may i ask unanimous consent that my remarks uninterrupted in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: thank you. i yield. the presiding officer: the senator from mississippi. mr. wicker: thank you, mr. president. i rise today to commend a great public servant captain eddie crossman of the united states navy, a friend, outstanding sailor and dedicated patriot. this year, after nearly three decades of service, captain crossman is retiring from the navy. i know i speak on behalf-my colleagues, my staff, and a grateful nation when i say thank you for a job very well done. since he left the naval academy in annapolis in 1996, he has set the standard for excellence and

achievement. today, on the other side of his navy career, i want to give captain crossman a proper sendoff by saying a few words about this remarkable public servant. this summer i travelled with eddie on a congressional delegation trip. as usual, he was a top-notch navy liaison with attention to detail and winning, positive attitude. we could not have accomplished so much without him. i know my colleagues would be able to share similar stories, very many of my colleagues. as a member of the senate legislative affairs team, captain crossman made sure no senate's question went unanswered. he has left no delegation unsupported. the relationship between this body and the navy is better because of his efforts. this summer's visit to three of

our strong allies kept a working relationship between captain crossman and me that began in 2009 when i was lucky enough to have him join my office as a defense legislative fellow. in that role, he conducted himself with distinction. he took his job seriously, completing thorough research and staff work, but he didn't take himself too seriously. i remember one day, halloween, when the captain entered my office dressed in full costume, not in a navy uniform. he had taken on the schoolhouse rock character, bill from capitol hill. he worked in that outfit all day alongside the rest of my staff who were wearing regular business attire. his work in my office clearly

benefited the pandemic -- benefited the people of mississippi and the united states. i would be remiss if i did not mention how the people of mississippi supported captain crossman, particularly the shipbuilders. the captain was at sea when covid hit, extending his deployment to 206 days at sea, the longest consecutive deployment for a warship for the navy. he completed his charge of the vessel, the one that carried him on his lengthy deployment, historic deployment was built on the mississippi gulf coast. earlier this year it was my privilege to pay one final visit to some mississippi shipyards with captain crossman. i traveled the country and the

world with this fine young man -- in some sensitive places an stressful situations. i've come to know the nature of captain crossman. i know he will continue to excel in whatever he does next. i've served with a lot of military liaison people, mr. president. i seldom come to the floor to do as i'm doing this afternoon. but on this occasion, for this fine navy officer and this great american and great friend, i say fair winds and following seas. i yield the floor. mr. cardin: will my colleague yield for a question? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: i'm glad you mentioned eddie crossman. as you know, we've had a chance

to be together when eddie crossman has been our escort. i want to underscore your comments and represent my tho thoughts as well. he is a true professional. i told him that what he has done in making sure that our representation around the world is done in a professional manner, that we stick to the important reasons for our missions, that he handles all this with safety and the way it should be done, he is an incredible individual who's served our nation, and i just really want to join new thanking him for his service to our country and service to the united states senate in advancing policies of our country globally that are critically important for our national security. so i thank you for taking the time. i should have thought about doing it myself, but thank you for giving me the opportunity to stand with you to thank eddie for his service. mr. wicker: reclaiming my time,

the distinguished chairman of the senate foreign relations committee has plenty to do to distract him from thinking of making remarks. i am delighted that he happened to be within the sound of my voice for this occasion, and as senator cardin proceeds towards the last five months of his distinguished service in both the house and senate, i do think it speaks volumes that he has been so appreciative and benefitted so much from the great patriotic work of captain eddie crossman. and i yield.

mr. cardin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senior senator from maryland. mr. cardin: mr. president, i come here to the floor today to once again call attention to the ongoing conflict in sudan. our presiding officer knows about this conflict very well. it's one of the most tragic circumstances that we have anywhere in the world. the humanitarian crisis is beyond description. the ethnic cleansing and tragedies of two factions at war has made this a living hell for so many people in that region. and after more than a year of brutal violence, the two sides may come together soon to talk. we certainly hope that's the case. this is a critical first step to ending the fighting that erupted last glier a country that has --

last year in a country that has seen beinged dids of war. i want to honor the biden-harris administration for their work. despite the best efforts of this administration, the violence and humanitarian crisis continues and the international community is falling willfully short. while we wait for talks to begin, civilians on the ground are being killed, abused, and forced out of their homes. nearly 11 million people have been displaced, half the population, close to 26 million, face crisis levels of starvation, 750,000 people are on the brink of starvation, and according to one published report, 2.5 million more people will die because of the

conditions related to the conflict and the use of food as a weapon of war. credible rights organizations claim that genocide has once again occurred in darfur. i remember darfur, we said never again. it's happening again in darfur. but there are no clear u.s. or u.n. plans to ensure humanitarian access across borders or across military lines. mr. president, as the chair of the senate foreign relations committee, i come to the floor to say we need to take urgent action now. we need to work with our partners and allies to pressure the parties to agree to an immediate cease-fire and for both sides to make it stick this time. to its credit, the biden-harris administration has imposed sanctions on a variety of actors, including at the senior levels of both warring parties. but our partners and allies have not followed suit. in fact, just this week the

center released an analysis around says that the european union has lagged behind in its implementation. it's time, it's past time to do more. it's time for our allies to prioritize these measures so we are speaking with one voice to the warring parties. we need also to work urgently with our african and european partners to devise concrete measures the international community can take to protect the civilians from a repeat of last year's mass atrocities. and we need to focus on the next phase -- creating and protecting space for the sudanese civilians to establish a peaceful path to a democratic transition and accountability for those responsible for the atrolls in -- atrocities, including unspeakable acts a of sexual

violence. we should not let them get away with their corrupt schemes that pillage the sudanese people's resources. we should not let them extinguish sudan's transition to democracy. that means taking steps against those actors who supply or facilitate arms and military materiel to any side in sudan. it means enforcing the existing united nations arms embargo and pushing for its extension to cover all of sudan so that neither side responsible for the violence is protected or immune and it means he can working collectively through the united nations and other institutions to support these efforts. and it means that the international community and the united nations must pursue any and all means to deliver humanitarian assistance into the hands of the sudanese people and ensure robust funding for a

humantain response. sailor leone is taking up. it is imperative that we work together on coordinated peace initiatives to end the impasse of humanitarian access and accountability. i have said this before but every life is precious. the sudanese people want to live in peace and security and prosperity. and so i urge all those who fight for justice, those who fight against atrocities, those who fight against famine, let us come together with the sudanese people and after decades of war let us end this conflict once and for all. mr. president, i would ask that my following comment be separated in the journal. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. cardin: mr. president, i've been in the senate now 18 years, and i am proud of the progress that we've made in dealing with mental health. i was served in the senate with the late-senator ted kennedy as he fought for mental health parity so that they would get the same type of coverage as someone suffering from a physical illness. we recognized that mental health is an illness and mental health parity was a priority. we made progress. during covid-19 i was very proud that we had bipartisan efforts to expand telehealth to mental health because we recognized that access was critically important and that during covid getting access to health care was particularly challenged. and then in the safer communities act that we all supported here, we provided help

to our children and our schools suffering from mental illness. so we've made progress. we've made progress. but more needs to be done. i rise today to urge my colleagues to recognize that we have just completed july as national minority health awareness month. so i want to comment on the gap that exists in regards to mental health services in our minority communities. this july the u.s. department of health and human services office of minority health is focusing on improving mental health outcomes for all communities through this year's theme "be the source for better health." let this month and all months serve sasse an opportunity to bring awareness of these mental health challenges and recommit our efforts to tackling long-standing health disparities in the united states. unfortunately, the subject of mental health is surroundtabled

by -- surrounded by stigma. mental illness can have devastating impact on the individual as well as their surrounding community. racial andeth nubbing minorities often -- racial and ethnic minorities often suffer from poor outcomes, lack of access to quality health care services, stigma surrounding mental health care. today because of deep-rooted inequalities that exist in our society, including those in our health care system, communities of color continue to face health disparities that result in poor quality of life and lower life speck tan sis when compared to their white counterparts. according to the kaiser family foundation 2023 analysis, 39% of black or african american adults, 36% of hispanic-latino

adults reported fair or poor mental health were less likely than white adults to say that they received mental health services in the past three years. in a country -- in our country we are incredibly fortunate to have the national institute of minority health. and i was proud to help create that division of the national health system. our national health status depends on our ability to improve health of all communities and eliminate mental health disparities. the stigma sursurrounding mental health proposes challenges. asian an black adults are more likely to result difficulty finding a provider who can understand their background and experiences compared to their white counterparts. hispanic adults also reported being afraid or embarrassed to

seek care. these are circumstances that we have to acknowledge and we have to deal with. suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the united states. certain groups have disproportionately high rates of suicide. between 2011 sand 2021, those ten years, the suicide death rate showed a substantial increase among people of color. there was a 70% increase among american indian and costa rica native people followed by a 58% increase among black people and a 39% increase among the hispanic population. thanks to the biden-harris administration, 988, the suicide and crisis lifeline, has served as a resource for over 20 million callers looking for support in times of distress. these numbers are to be commended, however overa wears

remains low, particularly among black, hispanic, and asian adults. the kaiser family foundation reported that immigrant adults with limited english proficiency were less likely to have heard about the 9-8-8 number. a 2032 milliman report showed that over half of the united states populations live in counties that are entirely designated as mental health professional shortage areas. the mental health provider workforce has not increased. the country has less than a third of the psychiatrists needed to meet provider shortages. the national average self-pay cost for someone who does not have insurance is over $170 per visit. these out-of-pocket costs that individuals can face can serve sasse a barrier to care. this is simply unacceptable. stigma, costs, and provider

shortages prevent many individuals from receiving necessary mental health care. we must act to improve access to high-quality, evidence-based mental health care services in our country. maternal mental health has been a persistent issue that has deeply affected individuals and families across our nation. depression, anxiety, and substance abuse disorder are the most prominent complications of pregnancy and childbirth. one of eight women experience postpartum depression and 50% of them are untreated. there is evidence, evident disparity in the rates at which certain ethnic groups are affected. women of color are three or four times more likely to experience complications during pregnancy and childbirth and die from these complications than white women. despite these statistics, these

mothers of color and black mothers in particular are still less likely to receive diagnosis and treatment for these disorders. many factors are affecting mental health and well-being. later in life start during childhood and adolescence. certain economic circumstances such as experiencing a trauma, which is all too common particularly in minority communities, economic circumstances -- again, the underserved communities and minority communities -- are causing much greater stress on a person's health care and leave racial and ethnic minorities and american indian and alaska native children at increased risk for many problems that are preventable. children and their families lack access to high-quality, especially child and adolescent behavior health care. there is a shortage of in

patient psychiatric beds. we say our youth are our priority and yet we don't provide the bed for the mental health services for our children. according to the american l kkd of child adolescents and psychiatry there are 1.8 children in the state of maryland but only 386 practicing child and adolescent psychiatrists. this means for every 100,000 children there are 28 professionals covering them. unfortunately the number of counties in maryland that had no child or adolescent psychiatrists available has increased from 6 to 90. we only have 24 jurisdictions in our state. nine of them have zero help for child psychiatry. this is simply unacceptable. children should have access to a full range of prevention, early intervention and treatment options within our mental health

system. the time to act is now. the lack of behavioral health services in maryland and the u.s. prompted me to help introduce the medicaid insuring necessary telehealth is available long-term health kids for act in 2022, long title but an important title. this bipartisan legislation offered guidance to the center for medicare and medicaid services to increase access to behavioral health services and treatment via telehealth. also in 2022 i voted to help pass the bipartisan safer communities act which included a provision to allocate funding to support school-based mental health service providers. i am proud to have supported the equity and health accountability act since its destruction to the senate. it aims to address health disparities including eeliminate

structural barriers that contribute to mental health and substance use inequities. older adult mental health needs are often forgotten or thought not necessary. in 2020 the kaiser family foundation found that one in four adults age 65 and older report anxiety or depression. among health care beneficiaries, older hispanic adults reported the highest rates of being diagnosed with mental health conditions. the number of psychiatrists accepting medicare has declined over time. greater need, less providers, particularly in minority communities. we must find ways to expand mental health resources to older americans in our medicare system. i was happy to reintroduce the bipartisan telemental health care access act. this legislation would eliminate certain restrictions or remove barriers to telemental health services for medicare

beneficiaries. while this legislation increases access to mental health care, congress can always do more. underserved communities and older americans, adults may experience barriers to telehealth access. we have to make sure that's available. it's one thing to provide the services. it's another thing to make sure there's access to the services. people need to know about it, need to know it's available, need to have providers that participate in it, need to have reimbursement systems that recognize this. all that has to come together, and unfortunately when we look at the underserved communities, the minority communities, it's much more of a challenge. behavioral health equity is the right of all individuals regardless of race, age, ethnicity, gender, disability, social economic status, sexual orientation or zip code, to access high-quality and affordable health care support. mental health affects the lives of so many americans. as a nation, we have made great progress in better supporting individuals and communities.

so let us at this time honor the national minority health awareness month which was held in the month of july. let us commit to working together to improve mental health care for all of our country. the united states has an ever-changing cultural landscape. we all know that, and we must continue to find ways to ensure that no one group gets forgotten. we must prioritize health equity every month. i urnl my colleagues to join me as we continue to improve behavioral health for everyone in the united states and work together to ensure the elimination of health disparities. with that, mr. president, i would yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: mr. president, i want to start by thanking my colleague from maryland, senator cardin, for pointing out the need for mental health services

in our country and the disparities that exist in our country in providing such services. thank you, senator cardin. mr. president, next week marks one year since fires tore through lahaina and upcountry on the island of maui. as we mark one year, we can never forget the tragedy that unfolded on that day. august 8 is a day that people of maui and hawaii will never forget. in a matter of hours an entire town was the seat of the kingdom of hawaii burned to the ground. the loss of the town loved by so many was devastating. but even more tragic is the human toll. the fires claimed 102 lives. kapuna who had lived in lahaina for decades, kiki, born and

raised in lahaina, and many more beloved members of this community. today and every day we mourn their loss as we keep their ohanas and all who love them in our thoughts. the past year has been harrowing for those families and for all those impacted by this tragedy. many of whom lost their homes and nearly all their possessions in an instant. and in some cases saw their places of work burn to the ground, losing their jobs on top of everything else. in the year since they have had to navigate the challenges of rebuilding their lives, finding housing, getting their children back to school and trying to regain a sense of normalcy amidst confusion and trauma. mr. president, the continuing

trauma these survivors face is real. they've experienced financial, mental and physical hardship. many have had to move multiple times and now face more unemployment. the uncertainty and instability have left many feeling like they are fighting just to survive. but in these dark times, what has also come to the foreis the unity of this community, unity that has provided a glimmer of light, illuminating the path forward. neighbors coming together to provide essential resources in the early days after the fire. strangers who opened their doors to survivors in need of a place to live. and relief workers who have come from across the country to lend their expertise to maui's

recovery. the federal family of agencies who have been on maui since just hours after the fires occurred have been and continue to be a key part of maui's recovery. from fema's work helping with cleanup and housing to the army corps's rebuilding of king kamehameha iii elementary school in a matter of weeks and so much more by so many, the federal government and the biden-harris administration have been there for the people of maui. and of course we can never forget the president, president biden coming to maui and saying that this recovery was not going to be top-down, that we would listen to the people of lahaina and maui. over the past year the federal government has delivered more than $1 billion for maui's

recovery, including more than nearly $450 million in direct payments to survivors. this support has been critical in providing some sense of stability to our communities, but the reality is lahaina's recovery will take time, resources, and continuity of effort. as is often the case with disasters of this magnitude, much more federal support will be needed in the months and years ahead to ensure maui's long-term recovery. for example, there is work to be done to get people into long long-term, sustainable housing, suitable housing especially given the affordable housing crisis that existed on maui before this tragedy. we need cdbg-dr funding to help rebuild lahaina's critical infrastructure for things like water and electricity, to lay

the groundwork for lahaina's eventual rebuilding. and wooefrnt resupply the sdas -- we need to resupply the disaster relief fund to make sure other communities facing disasters can get the rapid support they need. this means that before this year comes to an end, we must commit to supplemental funding bill that will provide the resources that maui needs and that other communities throughout our country impacted by disasters will need. so i come to the floor to remind my senate colleagues of the importance of getting this funding done. to the people of maui, we are maui strong, guided by the voices and values of the people of lahaina, we will rebuild by coming together in solidarity.

mr. president, i yield. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. last week mr. biden gave what many consider his farewell address. americans are eager to say farewell and in many ways good riddance with regard to the policies he brought with the democrats upon occupier country. ita it's been a record of ruin. when americans look at the state of the nation today, they don't like what they see. three out of four americans will tell you the country is heading in the wrong direction. prices are 20% higher than they were when joe biden and kamala harris came into office. people are forced to cut back, forced to decide whether they can fill their gas tanks or their grocery carts.

according to cnn, nearly 40% of all americans say they worry they can't pay their bills. so how did we get here? democrats passed trillions of dollars in reckless and radical and runaway spending. it was so unpopular as a proposal, and congress heard from the american people how unpopular it was, it was so unpopular that at a point it was tied, the vote, and then they had to bring in someone to break the tie. who was that person who cast that tie-breaking vote that brought us 40-year high inflation, the highest prices in 40 years for which so many people suffer today? that person was vice president kamala harris. that's right. vice president harris, who is now the nominee of the democrat party running for president. she is the one that came into this chamber to cast the vote to

break the tie that fueled the highest prices that we continue to experience today. we also have a very long national nightmare occurring at our southern border. that is yet another result of the dangerously liberal agenda of vice president harris. we had a secure border four years ago. then joe biden and kamala harris came into the white house. biden and harris canceled the border wall, canceled remain in mexico, they replaced detain and deport with catch and release. president joe biden and vice president kamala harris provided over an invasion of our southern border by ten million illegal

immigrants. since the time vice president harris was appointed as border czar, millions and millions of illegal immigrants have come into the country, millions and millions of more known got-aways hiding from authorities have gotten into this country. a total we're lacking at at ten million illegal immigrants now in our communities. many communities across this country are overrun and overwhelmed. yet joe biden and kamala harris don't seem to care. they don't seem to care about the drugs and the death and the destruction that are harming american families from coast to coast. vice president harris has a view of border security that to me is particularly twisted and tortured. here is her view, as she stated it, basically, if you're an illegal immigrant, you're not a

criminal, according to kamala harris. but if you are an agent of immigration and customs enforcement, ice, in her words, you're comparable to the cue com -- to the queue -- to the ku ku klux klan. if you're illegal immigrant, you're entitled to free health care. if an american citizen, you lose your health care and private health care would be eliminated. no private health care for american citizens who would then be forced to pay for health care for illegal immigrants. that is the view of the vice president of the united states, now the candidate for president by the democrat party. it is ignorant. it is insulting. and it is out of touch. if her views are america's policy, millions and millions more illegal immigrants will

continue to flood across our southern border. it's a magnet drawing people in. it wasn't that way four years ago under the trump administration. back then, paychecks rose, prices were in check, and poverty fell at record rates. america was energy independent. gas prices were affordable. our border was safe and was secure. none of that is true today. not under this administration or these policies of the biden-harris administration. democrats and this administration, at this time in our country, will always be known as the party of high prices and open borders. most americans believe that our country is on the wrong track, and i believe most americans are right. we are on the wrong track. there's good news, and that's

that america can get back on track. we can get back on track with commonsense policies, policies that work, policies the american people are asking for. senate republicans have solutions to the most pressing problems facing the american public today. first, we're going to address the number one issue facing americans. americans will tell you the number one issue they're concerned about, that's the economy, the cost of things. we're going to make life more affordable for all families. that starts with making us energy dominant again and lowering the cost of energy. republicans will put a stop to democrats' punishing political regulations that are just coming at us like a tidal wave since the day this administration began. we will end america's dependence on communist china. we will strengthen american manufa manufacturing. and we will put american workers and businesses first.

republicans also have solutions that will make our communities safer. republicans will secure the bo border. we will finish the wall. republicans will restore a p program that worked called repain -- remain in mexico. this will stop the flood of illegal immigrants and the flow of deadly drugs. mr. president, republicans support our police officers, and we stand against the deadly defund the police movement. the very movement that kamala harris and democrats proudly support. kamala harris actually came into this chamber to break the tie for radical nominees by this administration, a number of whom support defunding the police. that's the stand and that's the policy of the biden-harris administration. abroad, republicans will restore america's commitment to peace

through strength. here in the senate, republicans will protect our institutions and protect the rule of law. we firmly reject democrats' plans to pack the court and rig the elections. these are solutions that unite americans. joe biden is leaving behind a catastrophic record of ruin. we cannot afford four more years of these policies. yet what we see is vice president harris and democrats want to nationalize and -- the dangerously liberal policies of san francisco democrats, and that's what she is, a very liberal, dangerous san francisco democrat. that's her history. now, her voting record in the united states senate, voted the most liberal member of the united states senate, more

liberal, mr. president, than bernie sanders, the most liberal of 100 united states senators. what we see is that, as vice president and now presidential nominee, she wants to bring the california nightmare of high taxes, high crime, and no accountability to every household in america. these policies would crush the middle class. what do americans want? lower prices and secure borders. the democrats? the party of high prices and open borders. senate republicans will lower democrats' wallet-wrecking high prices. senate republicans will work to secure our wide-open border, and we'll work to keep americans safe at home as well as abroad. there is no question, mr. president, that republicans are commitmented to get america -- committed to get america back on track. thank you, mr. president.

i yield the floor. mr. sullivan: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: thank you, mr. president. and mr. president, you know what time of the week it is, and i think our pages are learning, but it's a special time of the week here in the senate, because it's thursday, and thursday is when i usually come out and talk about the alaskan of the week. now, look, the press -- where are they? i'm not sure they're around right now. but they love this speech.

they call it probably the most important speech of the week in the senate, regardless what's going on. the presiding officer is a big fan. the pages are. because i like to tell stories about what my constituents are doing back home to earn them this very prestigious title. very prestigious, by the way, alaskan of the week. and mr. president, i like to begin this speech, as you know, talking a little about what's going on at home, back home in alaska. here in the senate we're all getting ready to go on a recess work period, we call it. we're all going to be going home, seeing our constituents. i just happen, speaking of things in alaska, i just happened to host our senate lunch on the republican side of the senate on thursdays, one of the senators hosts lunch every thursday, and today was my day to host, which is kind of

exciting. i'm not going to brag, but i think a lot of the senators like it when senator murkowski or i host, because we bring in great salmon, halibut. we had a feast for lunch today. my wife julie was here, which is really special. we brought in peonies. a lot of people don't know alaska is a huge peonies flower producer. i didn't even know what a peonies was a few years ago, but another we're big into that. if you saw the peonies all over today, they were from alaska. mr. president, at the lunch i like to talk about alaska, these fact sheets, great facts about alaska, and during the lunch we have a video cam going, literally live feed video of what's happening in alaska, in the catmine national work, brooks falls.

that's the real famous place in alaska where all the big brown bears gather by the falls because the salmon are trying to jump up through the falls and the brown bears are literally catching them in their mouths, eating them right there. that's live feed, in the lunch we just had. true. if you're interested, go on brooks falls, live feed, awesome to watch. a lot going on in our state. it's kind of dangerous right now. one of the things that i showed to my colleagues, it's going to be hard to see, but this is a slide of russian and chinese strategic bombers. not good. that's a bear bomber, russian. that's a chinese bomber. first time in history they were working together to push into our air space, alaska air space, russian, chinese strategic bombers, coming into alaska air space. our brave military men and women

in alaska jumped in, over ten fighters fully armed to the teeth, said hey, china, russia, get out of our air space. go back to your countries. so up in alaska, we're on the front lines of a lot of this great power competition, these ar thor terrence on the march -- authoritarians on the march, pushing. we're not going to let them push in in in our state. my wife julie and i were recently up in barrow, the highest point of north america. these are too hard to tell, but we saw some polar bears in the wild, took some photos. magnificent, beautiful animals. so there's a lot going on. i always make the pitch, people watching, here in the senate or on tv, come up to senate. you will have the greatest trip in the world. it's an incredible place, a lot of fun, especially now.

it's beautiful. you would just love it. so a lot happening there as i was talking to my colleagues at lunch today, mr. president. i want to talk about the people, and today we have a really great alaskan of the week who i know super well. i just want to talk about what a great job she has done. her name is julie kitka. she has been, for over three dec decades, the president of a really important organization in alaska called the alaska federation of natives. the alaska federation of natives, afn as we call it in alaska. now, i also want to give a shout-out to ben millot, he's related to my wife. he's going to be the next president of afn. great job, ben. he's already been working at afn for a long time. what we really want to talk

about is julie kitka's legacy and what she's done to help literally tens of thousands of people in our state. now, mr. president, i've talked about this a lot in my speeches here, but the history of alaska is very epic, but one of the big elements of our history is who owns our lands, who manages our lands, and sometimes it's a fight, sometimes it's coope cooperation, but it's a really important issue. and one of the largest, most important parts of that history, after america purchased alaska from russia in 1867 was what rights to the lands would the native people have. by the way, it was their lands to begin with, right?

so what kind of rights do the native people of alaska have to lands? this question has been going on since the purchase in 1867 of alaska from russia, and believe it or not, mr. president, madam president, this issue is still in limbo into the late 1960's, when the alaska native people from across the state organized and formed the alaska federation of natives. afn, as we call it, to push for the rights to their lands. this fight got turbo charged in the late 1960's when oil was discovered on alaska's north slope during a crisis in terms of a worldwide shortage of oil, and the congress was like, we need to produce energy in alaska, and we need to produce

energy fast. but wait a minute. the native people are saying, hey, these are our lands. what about the settlement? so congress came together and passed a lot of really important legislation relating to these issues in alaska. one was called the transatlantic pipeline act, or taps act, but the most important, madam president, was in 1971, and it was called the alaska native claims settlement act, ancs as we call it back home, it is the most innovative land settlement in history, probably in the history of the world, to be honest. 44 million acres of land going from the feds and the state to the native people to own it, and fee simple, by the way, very

different from what happened in the lower 48 with indian reservations, a very different system. congress did that. and it created afn, the alaska federation of natives. it has a three-ring symbol of everybody working together. trust me, in alaska, the history of different groups wasn't always so cooperative. there was a lot of conflict between different native groups and afn came together. at lunch today, i was telling the story about alaska, and i told the story about my mother-in-law, my wife's mom, mary jane fate, she was one of the leaders when afn was being formed that came to congress and lobbied senators on ansc, and

she got a very influential senator to support ansca. it created alaska native corporations, all done right here in the united states senate and the afn, alaska federation of natives pushed that, made it happen. great leadership. so now afn represents about 140,000 alaska natives, hundreds of alaska native corporations, and for 34 years, julie kitka has been leading afn, such an important organization to our state and julie has done a great job. now she's stepping down. we're going to miss her. i'm going to talk about that. let's talk about julie's life.

she is the second of five children, born to an alaskan native father and she grew up in washington state where she started college at western washington university in 1971. by 1973, julie returned to cordova to work in a can ri there and -- cannery there and later hired by the indian bureau affairs, she processed 12,000 adoption applications during that time and it was then she first became -- acquainted with the afn. julie began taking grad school classes, she's very smart. like i said, i've known her for many, many years, and later dropped it to take care of a

sick daughter and afn said, this woman is really smart, we're going to hire her as an accounting, book keeper position. they saw her smart brilliance when it came to her business acumen and her business degree, and then, madam president, just six years later in 1984, they began -- she was offered the position. six years she would -- i'm sorry. that was in 1984. just six years before she would begin her tenure as afn's longest-serving president. she moved up the chain quickly, she sat in meetings with intelligence, curiosity, she was hired as a special assistant to the president. and julie remembers the next few

years at afn as one of huge possibilities. as i said, madam president, this was an amazing settlement. congress did great work. house, senate, very innovative, hundreds and hundreds of pages, and julie said, quote, there was enormous opportunities left and right during those first meetings after ansca was passed, people would show up with briefcases like real business people and they would be filled with smoked salmon and sale oil. that was during the early days. while unprecedented, the structure of the alaska native corporations, again, created by this body, congress of the united states through ansca opened up incredible possibilities for the state. julie said it is beyond our

imagination how successful things turned out with that legislation. now, look, it wasn't perfect. we're always trying to amend it and fix it. she goes on to say, what congress did by doing this settlement -- land settlement experiment with anc's gave us a pathway to engage with the economy, to strengthen self-determination. the corporate model was an innovative tool which could be modified easily. now, pivotal changes began to happen at afn. work shops, conventions began to roll out across the state to help people prepare and implement this really far-reaching legislation. and part of the legislation

said, all right, this is going -- it was passed in 1971, 20 years later, the alaska native corporations would essentially be open to the public, enabling outsiders to buy into anc's. and this, to be honest, madam president, was a challenging time. it was a scary time. julie remembers it as challenging and scary. a lot of corporations back in those days, anc's were losing money. this legislation, after 20-year period in 1991, really loomed large. so she and the other alaska natives, working with the congress and the senate worked hard to ensure continued native ownership of anc's. this was really important work.

and they did this work. julie came to congress and washington, d.c., with afn many, many times to serve as a lobbyist, advocating for anc's in this legislation this period in the early -- late 1980's and early 1990's, and with the help of her great persuasive talents, afn was able to include key p provisions in the legislation in congress, including land bank protections, special benefit for our alaska native elders, a designation of anc's as small or disadvantages -- disadvantaged businesses. madam president, as you know, these relatively small changes grew later into really, really important changes for our anc's

and have created important legacies for the success that we've seen in so many of these alaska native corporations. by january 1990, julie had done such great work that afn said, hey, you're going to be our president. you're going to be our leader, and she has done that, madam president, for 34 years. she presided over afn. by the way, the alaska federation of natives conference, the afn convention, as we call it, every year in october in alaska is the biggest, largest meeting of indigenous americans each year in the country. and, by the way, it's a great event. it's a great event. i love going every year. it's a lot of fun. so many alaskans, native and

nonnative, are there. it's fantastic. so julie's built all of that, madam president. afn is one of the most important organizations in our state. 34 years later, julie talks about some of the seminole programs and initiatives created during her time. afn helped establish the job corps center, which is still -- it is still thriving in palmer, alaska, a beautiful campus there, training alaskans in their jobs. it's fantastic work they did. afn established alaska native education equity, the growing recognition and importance of tribes, julie kitka did a great job of working with our military and alaska natives and afn, native alaskans serve at higher

rates than any other group in the country. julie kitka did a great job focusing on those issues, informing dozens of joint federal-state partnerships that have lasted for decades. julie said none of this would have been accomplished without bridge building. quote, it was always about partnerships, nothing was ever done alone. we had con -- conferences all the time to break down the barriers and self-limiting silos and partnerships, what a great way to focus on leadership, madam president. that's what she did. so after 34 years of -- as the president of afn and 40 years as an employee of afn, julie has now decided to step down. what a career. what an impact on alaskans.

and by the way, madam president, she's -- she shows no sign of slowing down yet. this april, the full alaska congressional delegation, myself included, selected julie to lead the denali commission, an independent federal agency, to work on economic development and infrastructure issues in rural alaska. so we certainly have not seen the last of her incredible work or work ethic on behalf of alaska and all of our fellow alaskans. julie, to you, congratulations. it has been an honor working with you on some of these critically important issues. i know that everybody at afn, all alaskans, native, nonnative send their congratulations. you have built an incredible

legacy. you have built -- you have worked so hard for our state and our communities and now you have received one of the most prestigious awards in alaska, being our alaskan of the week. congratulations on a job well down. i yield the floor. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. booker: before i start, it's an unfortunate position speaking after the senator from alaska. i want to thank him for his alaskan of the week. i'm very far away in new jersey, but i do enjoy that i often get to preside when he speaks about the extraordinary americans. i know they're alaskans, but they're extraordinary americans. i've appreciated that on a regular basis. i do not understand why the gallery is not full of journalists, but your colleagues do recognize the wonders of the people of your great state and i want to thank you for that in

all seriousness. madam president, i want to ask unanimous consent for the privileges of the floor to be granted to my summer law clerks. a alica cantrell and quan wang until the end of the day. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. booker: thank you very much. i rise today with a lot of hurt and anguish. i start with these words. please don't hurt me. please don't hurt me. those were the first words that sonja massey said to the officers who knocked on her door on july 6. she had called 9-1-1 for help.

she dialed those digits out of distress. she thought there might have been a possible intruder at her home. two officers responded. they were supposed to help. less than five minutes later, she was dead. -- with a bullet to the head. the officer who killed her stopped the other officer at the scene from rushing forward to render aid by saying these words -- nah, that's a headshot, dude. chuckled. she's dead. sonya massey's words, please don't hurt me.

four words, please don't hurt me. sonya massey was young, she is just 36 years old. this african american woman was in her home and needed help. she should be alive today. we all grow up being taught in school that when we need help, police will be there. we know and are taught that they are to protect and serve. all across america there are extraordinary stories of officers who do just that. i know it intimately, some of the bravest people i've ever encountered are men and women

who serve sasse law enforcement officers. they do keep our communities safe. i believe overwhelmingly, the overwhelming majority of american officers are not just good people, but they are good people who don't great things in times of extraordinary distress. i have such incredible experience and forged incredibly close bonds with many police officers. as mayor of new jersey's largest city, i actually oversaw a police department. i sat with officers for countless hours, hundreds of them in patrol cars. i went out with them in patrols in some of our more challenged neighborhoods in late hours of the nights. i watched them put themselves in harm's way. i watched them intervene in life-and-death situations.

i know countless police officers who report to work day in and day out and carry out their oath to protect and serve faithfully and professionally, often going above and beyond the call of their duty. and yet i also know a small fraction of those officers from some of the worst tragedies that this country has had to witness too often, i know that there are people that should not be officers, that have not merited those badges, should be kept away from the profession. i've seen some of it in attitude, in conduct, in behavior, a people that view it as an us versus them. they don't see themselves as guardians of the community. they obvious see themselves as warriors. they don't know the

neighborhoods that they're serving or respect them. there are some, a very narrow, small fraction of a percent of our officers, who don't do their job, who are quick to jump to conclusions, who see often people of color or poor people or homeless people or those suffering from addiction as threats. we are a nation that must do better. there are people that somehow get onto our police departments in america that are unfit to serve. the officer that killed s0onya massey should never have had a badge and a gun. while we still do not know all the details, here's what we do know. we know that he had worked for

six different police departments in less than four years. he was discharged from the army for, quote, serious misconduct, unquote. he had pleaded guilty to two charges of driving under the influence. he also failed to obey a command while working for another sheriff's office in illinois and was told that he needed high-stress decision-making classes. unfortunately, this officer is not the only one who's managed to go from department to department escaping scrutiny and accountability. this is because in the united states of america, we have no real system to keep bad officers from simply jumping over to the next town if they're fired. think about this. so many of our local communities have police departments, they have people that apply for those

jobs, and there's no national system or database that they can check to see if that officer came from a different state or a different city and was bounced out of the their job for misconduct. in one of the most important roles in american society, that is often the difference between life and death, where you have the power and the capacity to fire weapons, where you have to operate and act under high-stress situations, we have no national way, no database that departments can check to see if the officer they're hiring has shown in other jurisdictions behavior and conduct unbecoming of an officer.

sonya massey should not be dead. this could have been prevented. we have known this is ■a proble in our country because of past tragedies. this november will be a 10-year anniversary of a little boy's death. his name was tamir rice. tamir was 12 years old doing something that i did in my childhood, that i imagine lots of kids have done in their childhoods -- play with toy guns. a 12-year-old was playing when an officer drove up to him, jumped out of the car and shot him within three seconds of leaving his vehicle. i talked to other police officers ten years ago when this hangared and they bemoaned the fact that that child died.

they talked about how no well-trained officer should ever let that happen, that good police officers would have never made that fatal mistake. but this was not a good police officer. this officer had been fired from his previous police job. he'd been deemed unfit for his duty in another jurisdiction and then left that jurisdiction and applied for a job. was there a database in our nation that that department could have checked to see if this officer was fired for just cause in another jurisdiction? no. this was a decade ago. this was a little boy. but here i am talking about this

problem, and the death of another american, an unnecessary murder of another american, a preventable murder of another american. -- by someone who should have never been hired by a police department. i appreciate that president biden has taken steps to correct this issue. i appreciate that under his administration in america we establish a police officer accountability database to try to track bad officers and make sure they're never hired again so that they never put people in danger again. but right now departments aren't required to report these officers into that database. they're not required to check that database before hiring an officer.

this is the change that's needed. it reflects best practices. it reflects what police leadership, police professionals, and others have said we should have in america. this is not some effort to federalize police departments. it's simply about keeping the public safe and officers safe. it's about doing things that deepens the trust and the faith in those who are sworn to protect us. we have rules and laws for doctors, rules and laws for lawyers, rules and laws for manufacturers, rules and laws for the energy sector, rules and laws even for the media sector. how is it that we can't demand that every police department

have to check a database to make sure that the person they're hiring or thinking of hiring doesn't have something in their background that puts the community they serve in danger? this is not too much to ask. this is common sense. every police chief that i've ever talked to does not want to hire an officer that has been fired for misconduct or conduct unbecoming an officer from another jurisdiction. it's just common sense. we should not resist the kind of changes in this body that can make sure that the deaths of tamir rice or sonya massey do not happen. it's change that's overdue. when george floyd was murdered four years ago, our country had

a reckoning. so many people from every end of the political and ideological spectrum acknowledged twe could make improve police accountability. we heard this from every sector. people came out in every state demanding that we take commonsense measures to improve one of the most important jobs we have. i sat with police leaders who talked about steps we can take, common sense, to create higher standards that our officers could meet because they want to. but here we stand again on the senate floor talking about another death that could have been prevented by a commonsense measure. i worry about this reality that

we still live in a nation where parents teach their children, their often young african american children, survival techniques about police encounters. have a conversation with them that shouldn't necessarily have to be had, but when you have example after example like sonya massey, who herself evidenced fear when the police came to her house. a 12-year-old boy shot with a toy gun, a woman afraid when she calls the police. i've been fighting for greater police accountability my entire time in the senate. and i stand with others who have done the same. one of those people is

representative sheila jackson lee. today we mourn her loss. she passed on july 19. with her passing came an extraordinary fierce leader in congress. in the nearly three decades she spent in congress representing the people of district 18 of texas, she fought minority only for her constituents but -- she fought not only for her constituents but for people across the country. she was the daughter of jamaican immigrants. she was born in brooklyn in 1950. she went on to graduate with a degree in political science from yale and a law school from the university of virginia. this was not a thing that many black women at the time did. but she broke down barriers of race and gender that kept so many like her from these elite institutions. she went on to become a municipal judge before she was elected to the united states

house of representatives in 1994. one of the very last bills ms. jackson-lee introduced was the george floyd justice in policing act. she had not stopped fighting for what she believed was right to raise standards of accountability to increase transparency to create higher standards of professional conduct. i received a voice message from sh sheila jackson lee just days before her death. i could hear in her voice the illness that was taking over her body. i could hear her voice shaking but still just as strong, defiant. and one of the last things she said to me in that voice message days before she died was calling on me to not give up, to press forward with the george floyd justice in policing act.

i think about that. i played this message over and over on my phone, that the last thing she said to me was about the george floyd justice in policing act. that one of her last communications with her colleagues, one of her last calls to a united states senator days before her death was about police accountability, about police transparency, about raising professional standards. i know she would have condemned the death of sonya massey. i know she would have stood on the floor of the house of representatives and demanded change. she would have said that her death would not be in vain, and she would have said that we need to create a mandatory data base that has to be checked before you hire officers in the united states of america. she would have demanded that the principles and pillars of the george floyd justice in policing act be put into place. so i will heed her call.

in the coming days i'll reintroduce the george floyd justice in policing act here in the senate with my colleagues to bring about that accountability, to bring about that transparency, to raise those standards of professionalism. i will work to make sure there is not a day again in america where people unnecessarily die, where when people call the police they can be confident that they'll be protected, not shot dead, where the most important profession perhaps in our nation, those who every day get up and go to bed with this firm commitment to protect us, where thousands of officers every single day do not have their profession besmirched by that narrow few who violate our va values, who abuse their position

and commit crimes like the one that killed ms. massey. there's an old proverb from the old testament that says do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to act. it is within our power to act. it is our duty to act, to do the commonsense things that can prevent the deaths of people like tamir rice and sonya massey. it's an oath we take in this body. it is the call of our country first and foremost to defend our citizens. these tragedies must stop. these unnecessary deaths must stop. we must rise in this moment to be instruments of justice, to make sure that the oath we swear

is more true and more real, that we are a nation of liberty and justice for all. thank you, mr. president -- madam president. thank you. the presiding officer: the

senator from new jersey. mr. booker: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative i ask unanimous consent be that the senate consider the nomination of dafna rand, that the senate vote on the action without intervening action or debate, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of state, dafna hochman rand of maryland to be assistant secretary. the presiding officer: all those in favor say aye. all those opposed no. the nomination is confirmed. mr. booker: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate consider the following nominations en bloc -- calendar number 764 and 765, and all

nominations on the secretary's desk in the coast guard, 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 be in order to any of the nominations, that the president be immediately notified wherever he is of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. booker: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate consider the following nomination, calendar number 574, david o. barnett jr. to be united states district court for the district of new mexico, that the senate vote on the nomination, without intervening action or debate, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and that the president, wherever he may be, be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection, the clerk will report.

the clerk: department of justice, david o. barnett jr., of new mexico, to be united states marshal for the district of new mexico. the presiding officer: all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes do have it. the nomination is confirmed. mr. booker: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. booker: madam president, i ask consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 81, s. 211. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 81, s. 211, to authorize the administrator of general services to establish an enhanced use lease pilot program, and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection.

the senate will proceed. mr. booker: madam president, i further ask that the committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. booker: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate without delay, consideration of calendar number 417, s. 4235. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar 417, s. 4235, a bill to amend the omnibus crime control and safe streets act of 1968 and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection. the senate will proceed. mr. booker: i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. booker: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate committee on veterans affairs be discharged and the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. 3938. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 3938, a bill to designate the community-based outpatient clinic of the department of veterans affairs in lynchburg, virginia, as the private first class desmond t. doss v.a. clinic. the presiding officer: the committee is discharged. the senate will proceed. mr. booker: madam president, with your indulgence, i further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. booker: i ask, madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on the judiciary be discharged of s. res. 752, the

committee on foreign relations be discharged of s. res. 753, and senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following senate resolutions -- s. res. 752, s. res. 753, s. res. 797, s. res. 798, s. res. 799, s. res. 800, s. res. 801, s. res. 802. the presiding officer: without objection. the senate will proceed to the resolutions en bloc. mr. booker: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. booker: madam president, with your indulgence, i have two requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate.

they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. they are in agreement. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. booker: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the upcoming adjournment of the senate, the president of the senate, i think that's you, the president pro tempore and the majority and minority leaders be authorized to make appointments to commissions, committees, boards, conferences, or interparliamentary conference authorized by law, by concurrent action of the two houses, or by order of the senate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. booker: now, madam president, i ask for my colleagues unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn to then convene for pro forma sessions only, with no business

being conducted on the following dates and times -- which i now shall read -- friday, august 2, at 12:00 noon, tuesday, august 6, at 9:30 a.m., friday, august 9, at 10:00 a.m., tuesday, august 13, at 9:15 a.m., friday, august 16 at 10:00 a.m., tuesday, august 20, at 8:00 a.m., friday, august 23, at 11:45 a.m., tuesday, august 27, at 9:00 a.m., friday, august 30, at 11:00 a.m., tuesday, september 3, at 2:00 p.m., thursday, september 5 at 12:45 p.m. further, that when the senate adjourns on thursday, september 5, it stand adjourned until 3:00 p.m. on monday, september 9, that on that monday, following a

very reverential and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two august leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. following the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the abelson nomination, and that the cloture motions filed during today's session ripen at 5:30 p.m. on monday, september 9. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. booker: it gives me great pleasure to say that following the remarks of the extraordinary senator from texas, the senior senator, that if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that after the remarks of senator cornyn that

it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. booker: thank you, madam president. i yield. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: madam president, while he's still on the floor, left me thank my friend from new jersey and particularly appreciate the comments about our mutual friend, now deceased, sheila jackson lee. i know her family was there today for a memorial service, a celebration of her life. she was, well, what we call in texas a piece of work. she was not an easy person to say no to. one of the most significant things that we did together, along with the senator from new jersey in recent months, was to do for the nation what texas has done for the last 40 years, that is celebrate juneteenth.

this is the two years after it was signed. the slaves who learned for the first time they were free, we celebrate that on juneteenth. it was an honor to work with that congresswoman jackson and it was an honor to work with that on her. this week can only be described as a tale of two senates. things started off strong. we began the week by passing bipartisan legislation to help keep our kids safe online. america's children, as we all know, are spending more and more time on social media and internet platforms and unfortunately the dark side of

that experience -- there is plenty of up side -- but the dark side is there are those that exploit the vulnerability of our children online and to exploit not only their safety but also their privacy. that bill passed the senate this week and would give parents more control over their children's online activities and provide greater privacy protections for young people. this bipartisan push was years in the making, and i want to thank senators blackburn and cassidy, senator markey and senator blumenthal for helping get that legislation over the line. as the presiding officer knows, there are other bills that have passed unanimously or virtually unanimously out of the judiciary committee, and i hope that the majority leader will bring those bills to the floor as soon as they can be scheduled. unfortunately this, given the senate's lack of productivity,

the return to legislating was a welcome change of pace this week, but unfortunately it was short lived. after passing this online safety bill on tuesday, the majority leader reverted to his tried and true senate schedule of late. that is taking up nominations and scheduling partisan show votes. in other words, we started off strong, and i'm afraid have ended with a whimper. this has become the standard operating procedure of late. we spend weeks voting on some of president biden's most controversial nominees, many of whom are clearly not qualified for the jobs they have been nominated to fill. then we cap off the week with a l controversial bill that stands zero chance of becoming law just to give our democratic colleagues a new talking point on the campaign trail. it is a cynical and sad

practice. we saw that with regard to legislation concerning the border, contraception, abortion, in vitro fertilization and now today with tax policy. this afternoon the senate voted overwhelmingly to deny cloture on a tax bill because it hasn't gone through the committees of jurisdiction here in the senate, the senate finance committee. there's no hearing, no markup, no opportunity to offer amendments, no ability to improve that legislation here in the senate, which would impact, will impact families and communities all across the cou country. our house colleagues did their job. they went through the committee process, got a strong bipartisan vote. it passed the house on a strong bipartisan vote. but i've been here long enough to know that the senate does not readily rubber stamp things that

the house of representatives does. and in fact that's the reason the senate exists, to be a place where we can have debate and amendments and hopefully pass legislation on to the president for his signature that will improve the lives of the people we represent. this bill actually had some promising aspects, but it was in need, still is in need of some serious work, a sentiment that senators on both sides of the aisle have expressed. i'm especially concerned about the watered-down work requirement for able-bodied adults in order to qualify for things like the child tax credit and the impact it would have both on the workforce and on federal spending and the national debt. if we are to remain the prosperous and strong nation that we were bequeathed by our forebearers, by our parents, we

can't be incentivize able-bodied adult to remain on the sidelines in the job market, and we certainly can't subsidize that when they in fact are capable of finding and holding a job and contributing not only to their families, but also to our country. my colleagues have raised several concerns about other portions of the bill, but the majority leader and the chairman of the finance committee have shown no interest in moving the bill through what we all know is the normal process. that's evidenced especially by the fact that this bill passed the house six months ago. and only today has the majority leader scheduled a vote on the final day before a five-week recess. as the presiding officer just said in wrap-up, we won't be meeting again until september 9, so why put a bill like that on

the floor today without going through the normal process if you're serious about actually legislating. so this is no more than gamesmanship and frankly a waste of the senate's time and a disservice to our constituents, especially when you look at the mountain of work that we have left undone. when we return on september 9, we will have only three weeks to work before gaveling out for another six-week recess leading up to the november 5 election. it's pretty obvious that the majority leader has given us very little time in which to do our jobs, and he's wasted a lot of that time on unnecessary partisan votes. as a result, some of our most important work remains undone. first is the national defense authorization act. i believe it's 63 years in a row

that the senate has passed a national defense authorization act, but that's in jeopardy this year because of the little time left in which to consider it when we come back in september. that bill was completed on a bipartisan basis by the senate armed services committee more than three weeks ago, plenty of time for the majority leader to bring that bill to the floor and for us to work through our normal process. thankfully that product was the work of extensive bipartisan participation, including open hearings, markups, and hundreds of amendments at the committee level. i want to commend both ranking member wicker from mississippi and the chairman jack reed and our colleagues on the committee for the work that went into this important bill which will go a long way to support our military families and modernize america's

defense. it's pretty obvious that the majority leader could have filed cloture on this bill three weeks ago, allowing plenty of time for us to take up and pass the national defense authorization act before the august recess. given the great power competition and the fact that conflicts are unfolding not only in europe but in the middle east, in the indo-pacific, the defense authorization act should be our top priority. this is the most dangerous geopolitical environment that we've seen since world war ii. it's regrettable that the majority leader didn't see this as a priority, and so we won't have an opportunity to vote on it until september at the earliest, if then. as i indicated, during the month

of september we're only scheduled to be in session for 12 days, and there's other critical needs for us to address, the most basic of which is just simply funding the government before the end of the fiscal year, at the end of september. despite the senate's truncated schedule, the chairman of the appropriations committee, senator murray, and the ranking member, senator collins, have made serious progress on the appropriations bills. as of this morning, the appropriations committee on a bipartisan basis has approved 11 of the 12 annual spending bills. they put us in a strong position to start voting on individual appropriations bill in september, and i hope the majority leader will allow us to do that. but with only 12 days left between now and november 5, even that is in some jeopardy. unfortunately the senate's to do list doesn't stop there.

in addition to the defense authorization bill and 12 appropriations bills, we need to pass a farm bill by september 30. this legislation is critical to our, to america's supply of food and fiber as well as to the hard working men and women who grow and produce it. ranking member boozman from arkansas has been a tireless champion for america's agricultural sector and he's been traveling across the country to hear from farmers, ranchers and producers. he is committed to passing a strong farm bill as soon as possible but the majority leader hasn't given us any time to consider that legislation before the general election on november 5. certainly after the current bill expires at the end of september.

my point is, mr. president, and i say this with all respect, the leader has not given us a lot of time to get our work done. and when he has scheduled things like the vote on the tax bill, he does it a day before we break for a five-week recess with no real likelihood that we'll ever be able to move this legislation through the normal process with debate and amendments in a careful way that our constituents deserve. the defense authorization bill, the 12 funding bills and the farm bill should all be signed into law by the end of september. but it's unfortunately the case that senator schumer has only given us 12 days additional in which to act. strengthening america's defense in an increasingly dangerous world, funding the federal government and safeguarding our food supply, these are the basics of governing, and we're

not doing it. there's no way to treat the government's most basic responsibilities -- that is no way to treat the government's most basic responsibilities, and i hope that come november voters will choose a new direction for the senate. mr. president, finally, i want to say a word about one of my staff members, emily castanzo, who served in my office for the last five and a half years. emily is what we call a speechwriter. speechwriters are unique in my experience, certainly here in the senate because most senators are accustomed to giving a lot of speeches, some of them not very good, some of them occasionally decent. but the fact is when you give a sp speech, as i have just done, usually it involves a number of considerations. it involves policy, it involves

senate procedures, it involves a lot of different considerations, and emily has been an invaluable member of my staff for the last five and a half years to help me be as good as i'm capable of being and providing me with the support i need in order to represent the 30 million people of texas here in the united states senate. so emily fortunately is here in the back of the room. emily, let me just say you will be missed, especially your positive, cheerful countenance, and certainly the great work that you've been able to do all these years. i wish you and jake the very best in this next chapter of your lives. 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:

senate proceed to executive session to consider the fomg nomination, calendar number 716, michael louis sulmeyer, to be secretary -- the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action and that the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection, the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of defense, michael louis sulmeyer, of california, to be assistant secretary. the presiding officer: the question occurs on the nomination. all those in favor say aye. all opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it.

the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order the senate