and coverage begins at 8 p.m., followed by the debate, and abc news, presidential simulcast, tonight on c-span2, c-span, your unfiltered view of politics, powered by cable. c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we're funded by these television companies and more, including midco. >> where are you going? or maybe a better question is, how far do you want to go? and how fast do you want to get there? now we're getting somewhere. so let's go. let's go faster. let's go further. let's go beyond. >> midco supports c-span as a

public service, along with these other televisn providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. . >> we're live on this tuesday morning where the u.s. senate is about to gavel in. lawmakers will be voting on two judicial nominations. also, congress is facing another possible government shutdown and must pass additional federal spending legislation by september 30th. now live coverage of the u.s. senate here on c-span2.

the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer.

the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, you are supreme over all the nations. with loyalty and love, you continue to guide us. as our senators deal with today's challenges, unite them in the common task of doing what is best for our nation and world. may our lawmakers see that they can accomplish far more by finding common ground and working together. when these servants of freedom are tempted to doubt, steady

their faith. when they don't know what to do, give them the wisdom that can change and shape our times according to your plan. lord, empower them to trust you more fully, to live for you more completely, and to serve you more willingly. we pray in your powerful name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., september 10, 2024. 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, adam b. abelson, of maryland, to be united states district judge for the district of maryland.

led by some of the other

standing committees and we're here today because the chinese communist party presents the greatest threat to american values in american national security in our lifetime. we can stand up to the ccp by defending our values and reducing the party's leverage over the united states protecting american technology and we need to stem the flow of sensitive american technology for our foremost adversary and strengthening export controls.

i'll turn it over to chairman mccaul. >> inviting a gold star family for presentation and congressional gold medal on

behalf of children who are blasted by a suicide bomber and it department have to happen and thank you for honoring those and their families. we've been working, i'd say really three years but really two. the first year the democrats were were in power and we did absolutely nothing to investigate the events of afghanistan and what happen that had day. historic document and not a political document. it's very historic as a federal prosecutor, my lead lead

investigator and i wrote this and everything is built on facts and evidence and we made our case. we didn't that agreement had conditions placed in it. first of all, when secretary pompeo briefs trump on that, they're in violation and keeping

2500 troops and 6500 nato and day one biden comes in and withdraws and has nothing to do with policy or national security and everything to do with a political time line gimmick. the doha factored into the president's thinking, refer you to his spokesperson that said doha is immaterial to this evacuation. they're hell bent to get out. it was koda zero and they did.

it meant all military -- all contractors and that all air cover and intelligence pulling out opportunistic afghanistan leaving the afghan army defenseless. they changerred with the evacuation -- charged with the evacuation plan. but they didn't have a plan. they didn't have a plan until the day they didn't have a plan till taking over kabul. they leave the embassy including 100 afghans that he promised we would preble and we left them to the taliban. our house

republican colleagues are struggling with a bad case of groundhog day. the government faces a critical funding deadline in a few weeks. if that deadline isn't met, the government will shut down. only bipartisanship will help us meet that deadline, but instead of pursuing bipartisanship, speaker johnson is yet again -- yet again, wasting time caving to the hard right, despite his razor-thin majority. hasn't he learned? this is what got the republicans in trouble the last few times that we had to fund the government. an appeal to the right wing, the right wing in their sort of strict, narrow, partisan ideology thinks they can force everybody, even dissident republicans, let alone democrats and the president, to go along with them. but of course, it doesn't happen. then we come to a bipartisan agre

agreement. oh, yes, it is certainly groundhog day once again, as the republicans repeat the same mistake they've made over and over again. that is the house republicans, led unfortunately by speaker johnson. as i've said, we've seen this play out time and time again. is it any surprise that the speaker's purely partisan c.r. seems to be running into trouble? the answer's very simple -- the house should stop wasting time on a c.r. proposal that cannot become law. the house should stop wasting its time gathering together among themselves, not even all of them, putting together a bill without consulting hakeem jeffries, myself, or the president. but that's what they do. and it doesn't work. it just doesn't work. instead, republicans should work with democrats on a bipartisan package, one that has input from

both sides, one that avoids harmful cuts, one that is free of poison pills. we're ready to sit down and work them immediately. now, to be fair, the speaker's proposal was not entirely bad news. i was heartened to see speaker johnson's proposal held on to the bipartisan top-line spending agreement that i reached with the speaker earlier this year. it's a good sign that speaker johnson seems to accept reality that any c.r. we produce in the coming weeks will have to include that funding level. but sadly, mr. president, sadly, the good news ends there, because on the whole the house repub republicans' c.r. is an unseer you why -- unserious and up cooked product. it's not serious for republicans to say they want to kick the can down the road for six months on funding the government. funding the government is the most basic responsibility we have in congress. so to say let's hold off for half a year should be a

nonstarter. it's also not serious for republicans to reduce -- to release a proposal that endangers troop readiness, risks troop pay, hamstrings our efforts to outcompete the chinese government. you cannot run an army on a six-month c.r. you cannot put everything on hold for six months, have defense contracts put on ice for six months, and allow for russia and the chinese government to gain on us. it's that simple. and the head of the joint chiefs sent a letter that said just that. it's not serious for republicans to say they want to pass a c.r. that fails to properly extend e-verify, h2b visas and other border security programs that stop drugs like fentanyl. they talk a lot about the border, but the fundamental ways we toughen up enforcement on the border and interior of the

country with e-verify, they ignore. shows how political this document is. it's particularly egregious that the speaker's own proposal disbands a critical law enforcement effort to stop drug smuggling, drug cartels, money laun laundering. but the parade of hobbles keeps -- horribles keeps going. it's not serious for republicans to say they want to pass a c.r. that forgets to fund critical health programs. under the republican proposal, telehealth would be harmed. we know how important telehealth is, particularly for rural americans. it's made health care much better, cheaper, and more effective in rural areas. but they don't fund it. wait for six months to tell someone in a rural area, who needs medical help? people with diabetes would struggle to get the aid they

need, and community health centers, often the only resource for millions of working-class americans to get their health care if they don't have insurance but fall above the medicare and medicaid lines, or the medicaid lines, to get their health care. that's where they get it. that funding, again, would be endangered. if all that weren't enough, republicans have no plan for extending farm bill funding. one of the consequences of failing to pass the farm bill is going over the so-called dairy cliff, which is what happens when the dairy margin coverage program cries up -- dries up. for this to happen would decimate farmers across the country, and in my own state farmers have told me some of them would go out of business if we went over that dairy cliff. monthly payments that help farmers cover the gap between the price of milk and feed would

halt. it would not only affect our farmers, it would affect our consumers. the costs of milk, needed for our babies and healthy kids, all of us -- i like milk, i look forward to drinking it a lot -- the cost of milk could potentially double if we went over that dairy cliff. it would create seismic disruptions in our supply chains and cause market panic. so, these are some of the terrible consequences of proceeding with speaker johnson's six-month, unserious c.r. proposal. it's a little surprise that the white house has already issued a veto threat. now, as far as their timeline, let's be very clear about what republicans are trying to do with the six-month c.r. they're trying to lay the groundwork for project 2025 in hopes they get favorable result in the election. that's why the right wing is pushing this. it's not just, you know, they

don't like government funding. they have this horrible document, project 2025, which would turn america inside out. i believe it would create huge economic, social, all kinds of problems, problems of protecting freedom. but that's what they want to do. that's their goal. why speaker johnson goes along with it is beyond me. but by trying to set up a funding fight in march, republicans, right wing republicans, hope for the chance to hold government funding hostage in exchange for some of the nastiest, most harmful policies that donald trump promises in his project 2025. let there be no mistake -- project 2025 is the trump a agenda. some of his top advisors helped put it together. some of the lead people on this are talked about for high-up positions in a trump administration, should, god forbid, it occur. over 140 people who work in the

trump administration contributed to it -- who have worked in the trump administration contribute to it. to call the ideas engineer trump's -- the ideas in trump's 2025 radical would be an understatement. project 2025 would pave the way for the hard right's national abortion ban by restricting access to fda approved medication. project 2025 would abolish.department of education, dec decimate our public education system by wiping out school meal programs. hungry kids? want to send kids to school with an empty belly? they can't learn. oh, we have to spend spend a little to provide a nutritious breakfast, which helps our farmers? isn't that horrible, say the right wick. they'd -- says the right wing. they'd rather their billionaires who fund this stuff pay re restless -- pay less to the government. all the young people who have

the burden of student loans on their back, you, i, others, mr. president, is are trying to reduce or eliminate that burden -- forget it, if this right wing budget goes into effect. project 2025 would make health care less affordable for tens of millions of americans. it would rip away benefits from our veterans. it would attack small farmers and small businesses and so much more. the list goes on and on and on, unfortunately. these ideas aren't theoretical. oh, no. they're not abstract ideas up in the clouds. they're real proposals that the hard right intends to push if they come into power. they are so narrow and focused on their own agenda. as i said, in large part over the years, funded by billionaires, greedy -- not all wealthy people are greedy. many of them understand their obligation to help the country that's been so good to them. but they're a narrow group, very

greedy. they don't want to pay any taxes, some of them. let's have a national sales tax, some of them say, which would -- that would create huge inflation on the average middle class. they don't have to pay income tax? lord help us. republicans right now are hoping that a funding fight early next year would turn into a hostage negotiation between keeping the government open and passing project 2025's terrible policies. but let me assure the american people -- we democrats are not fooled. let me assure our mainstream republicans who quietly grip their teeth when they hear about this that the american people are not fooled. a surprisingly large number of american people have already heard of project 2025 and don't like it. the more people learn about project 2025, the more they realize how devastating it is. and how horrible it would be for our economy, how disastrous it would be for public safety, and

how catastrophic, catastrophic it would be for our country. now, finally, on the congressional gold medal ceremony later this morning, later this morning i'll join with congressional leaders and with families of military servicemembers for a most solemn observance, the awarding of the congressional gold medal to the 13 servicemembers killed during the suicide bombing at abbey gate in kabul. it is the highest honor congress can bestow, but a small gesture to these brave americans. to us, these were sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, spouses, friends, loved ones. some were even younger than the war in afghanistan itself. to the citizens desperately trying to escape the taliban's rule through the abbey gate on that fateful day, these 13

americans were something more, heroes, guardians, saviors. they were fighting for a cause far bigger than themselves, to deliver freedom to those who otherwise might never have known it. tomorrow, we honor the anniversary of september 11 as we -- and as we do, so we rededicate ourselves to the promise of never forget. well, that's what this morning's w be all about. we will never, never forget the sacrifice of the fallen 13 servicemembers. we will never forget the obligation we all have to our troops in uniform and to care for them. we will never forget our duty to keep going, to defend the values of freedom and democracy they so nobly fought for. i yield the floor, and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the clerk: ms. baldwin.

>> ? debate is really important because it's the first time that the voters in this state and elsewhere will have a chance to see the candidates side by side

and reacting to one another. and are essentially tied in pennsylvania. what has bpmc the trend since president biden dropped out of the race? >> it was interesting, president biden was losing significantly in pennsylvania and polls widened and he was trailing former president trump by a few points and the election was running away from him it seemed and towards republicans.

>> many polls show a small number of people that say adon't know and look at meme who don't know and if they're still making up their minds, even though they have a per fertilizerred candidate and it'll get a little big and 10 or 12 or 14% and what we know about the voters is i think two things and most of them are moderates and they make

up 10% of the state's voters and 40% are making up their minds and so i think along the lines and partisan lines that's where the divisions are and really what's important for this debate is important for candidates to reach out and talk to those moderate and independent voters. >> are there certain geographic areas in pennsylvania that are especially critical? he needs to get advantage in the counties from 2016 and kamala harris we're looking at areas

around philadelphia and montgomery, buck sterling heights and chester counties and important for large margins to win a large share of the vote. of course the large urban centers in pennsylvania. allegheny county or pittsburgh located and philadelphia, she really needs to do well in those two places. and if fact, she's those will be the areas that determine who wins pennsylvania. whoever wins the three counties is likely to win the state. >> as far as top issues that are

animating pennsylvania voters, are they the same as voters in the rest of the country? >> i think so cpi the problem in the state and people say the economy. what's most important for president. you see sort of a different lineup and so the economy is still at the top of the list for people that are supporting president trump, but immigration comes in second in this state.

across the country are hoping this academic year begins more calmly than the last one ended. back in may, the tantrums of ca radicals made some elite schools so inhospitable that

learning, particularly for jewish students, the administrators were driven to cancel commencement ceremonies. since then columbia university's president has resigned along with three deans who were put on notice for anti-semitic comments made about a panel on jewish life on campus back in may. these are, of course, steps in the right direction for an ivy league institution that professes, professes a commitment to thoughtful, rigorous debate and a campus culture -- bigotry, intimidation and harassment. but columbia and other universities have a great deal

of work for do to earn back the trust of students, parents, and alumni alike. and other recent personnel decisions actually inspire less confidence. remember, for example, the columbia doctoral student who served as the unofficial spokesperson of the violent hamasnic mob that unfortunately occupied the campus building. in between her studies of marxist poetry, she demanded that campus officials provide the trespassers with food and water. months later she's now scheduled to teach a required course for undergraduates on nothing less than contemporary western

civilization. so, mr. president, the decline in the ivy league's academic rigor is well documented. but it would seem that at a bare minimum, its instructors ought to be able to distinguish between civilization and. mr. barrasso: itch and to act accordingly. a survey conducted over the summer by the foundation for individual rights and expression found that 72% of college stu students agreed that in at least rare circumstances, it could be acceptable for students to have an encampment as part of campus protest and more than one-third agreed it would be acceptable to deface school property. i have to wonder whether a

survey of the parents of college students or for that matter the campus staff who clean up their misbehavior wouldn't paint a different picture. unfortunately, what used to be a reliable path to the middle class appears to have turned into a breeding ground for childish radicalism. fortunately this radicalism may begin to face limits to its own upward mobility. earlier this year over a dozen federal judges described columbia as an ink baiter -- incubator of bigotry, declared they had lost confidence in columbia as an institution of higher education, and announced that they will not higher law clerks from columbia law school until it undertakes serious reforms.

a state prisoner even filed an ethics scomplant a number -- complaint against a number of judges. apparently the left would have the signs outside americans' -- america's courthouses read hate must have a home here. fortunately the fifth judge of the circuit wasn't having it, she observed dismissing a complaint that, quote, judges have discretion to refuse to hire law clerks who graduate from a university that doesn't foster what appear to be the aspects of a higher education, such as tolerant viewpoints. columbia would do well to heed this judge's warning and their colleagues on the bench would do well to heed their example.

meanwhile, the biden-harris administration hasn't skipped a beat to ensure that the taxpayer dollar goes to the post modern doctrine on display. over the summer the supreme court upheld a stay on the administration's save plan. but the administration still won't take no for an answer pushing forward with yet another answer of student socialism. last week the scheme hit another roadblock in federal court. remember the penn wharton model said that this would have cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, even left-leaning think tanks have criticized student socialisms.

with you -- but the biden-harris administration keep coming back for more. as we reconvene this week, the democratic leader announced that the senate would, in his words, continue confirming the biden-harris administration's well-qualified judges and nominees. nearly all the way through the administration's term, our colleagues would be right to wonder what does he mean by well qualified? the biden-harris administration described su to be qualified after being accused of fraud in her home state of california. the white house sold rachel waltons to serve in her home state of massachusetts, a position she resigned after

attempting to influence an election and lying about it to investigators. it may worth taking the term well qualified with a grain of salt, even more so when you look at the pipeline of upcoming nominees. there are, of course, the ones of which the senate has learned alarming and disqualifying details cfpbs we -- details since we began our consideration, like adel manningy -- mangi -- seemed to have grown after the judiciary committee questioned him under oath or another who couldn't give those on the committee a straight answer for advocacy for hedge fund rights to collect on debt. or embory kidd about his record

of letting sex offenders off. the judiciary committee rejected her nomination itself. sarah netbush, whose political activism from the bench and failure to render timely claims for grieving 9/11 families cast doubts on her ethics and professional competence. there are those without a heavy dose of nepotism who wouldn't see the inside of a senate hearing room from kevin rich to carla campbell. the democratic leader will have to forgive some of us for not suspending our disbelief. i can assure our colleagues that our senate colleagues that we

are no more declined today. mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: have you ever seen an ad for pharmaceutical prescription drugs on television? if the answer is no, i would suggest you don't own a television. literally every single day we are bombarded with ads for pharma suit kales and they are -- pharmaceuticals and they are very profitable because the drugs themselves are expensive and people are encouraged to say to their doctors i think i need xerelto. they tell the doctor i have seen it on tv so many times, they're

dancing once they take the drug. the doctors have to warn them they are lured into believing it is something they need. there are people who definitely do need prescription drugs, and many people despite their best efforts to comply with what the doctor wants, they can't afford it. drugs cost a lot of money, they cost more in the united states compared to those for sale in canada sfl why? -- can'ta -- canada. why? because the canadian government cares. many times -- we don't have that. when he was campaigning for president in 2016, donald trump made it clear where he stood on this and i quote him. when it comes time to negotiate the cost of drugs, we're going to negotiate like crazy, he said in 2016.

then he got elected. he said fixing the injustice of high drug prices is one of the top trump priorities. prices will come down, he said, but it never did. despite years of talk, trump failed. no greatness there. thankfully president biden and vice president harris did more than talk, they delivered. you see, for decades, the medicare program was blocked from bargaining with big pharma. many of us argued we let the veterans administration bargain to get lower prices for veterans, why wouldn't we do the same for elderly americans? we changed that with the inflation reduction act. last month president biden and vice president harris succeeded in negotiating with pharmaceutical companies to lower prices with the ten most expensive drugs under medicare,

some up to 79%. as a result, nine million seniors will save a total of $1.5 billion each year in copays each year, that's real money, real savings for real people. 142,000 seniors in illinois take xarelto and a blood thinner costing $25 billion last year. thanks to the new law, compare was able to negotiate a price reduction of 60%, up to $3,840 off the price tag for seniors taking these blood thinners. last week i met with pharmacists in chicago. they shared with me how much patients are forced to ration doses between paychecks. that should not be a reality in our nation. next year medicare will negotiate lower prices for another 15 drugs and another 20

the year after that. we capped the price of insulin to $35, thanks to the presiding officer, saving 60,000 seniors in illinois approximately $5,000 next year. we made vaccines under medicare free. it can be expensive. the shingles vaccine is up to $8,500. we will have a cap on out-of-pocket costs for seniors no matter how expensive the medications are. let me remind you, this is a matter of record, every single republican senator voted against these prescription drugs savings. every single republican senator voted against lowering prescription drug prices. while big pharma has raked in many billions and billions of

dollars, they also worked to block this law. they have republican allies in congress plotting how to repeal these historic price savings. how can the republicans explain that? you have seniors, many on fixed incomes with expensive drugs that they need to stay alive and they can't afford them. we believe those prices ought to come down for those seniors like insulin. that is a life or death drug for m many. the fact that they need a lower price makes common sense. how do the republicans explain it? anyone who wants to step in who wants to negotiate lower prices is a marksist, a -- marxist, a communist. this is nothing new. that's what they said about social security and that's what they said about medicare and medicaid. they believe it is too much for the government to step in and lower prescription drug prices. i don't.

i think it's a reasonable role by government. these same prescription drugs began with federally paid research by the hin hin and the -- national institutes of health and the companies developed the drugs, but to say we have nothing to say about the cost of those drugs and the burden they place on seniors is not necessary. no one should have to choose between their wall et or life. for more than a year, story after story has broken about the ethical misconduct by sitting supreme court justices. we're talking about the hig highest -- court in the line, who were not governed by the same rules as every other judge in america. they want special treatment. justice clarence thomas has been

at the center of this. for decades he has accepted lavish gifts from a gaggle of billionaires. the total dollar value accepted by clarence thomas is $4 million. get that. supreme court, highest court in the land, life and death decisions every day, and he's receiving $4 million in gifts that he doesn't disclose. justice thomas has failed to disclose the vast majority of these gifts which is required under federal law. late last week another story broke. i'm hesitant to break it because it involves justice thomas's staff. she is a political actist and it raises serious questions. according to public reporting,

justice thomas's wife sent a letter to someone who runs the liberty institute. this is on the advisory board of 2025, frequently litigates before the supreme court and strongly opposes supreme court ethics reform. in her e-mail, clarence thomas's wife jenny, thanked organization for its opposition to court reform, ethical reform. writing you guys have filled the sails of many judges, can you tell you, thank you so, so much. when asked about the efforts to overturn the 2020 election, jenny told congress that she and justice thomas don't discuss this work. that is hard to believe when you see the missive she sent to this organization. there is a clear appearance of

impropriety of justice thomas. i called for justice thomas to recuse himself from any case involving first liberty institute. this is not the first time that jenny thomas' actions have raised serious questions about her husband's ability to fairly hear days -- cases about the supreme court. -- this is not a volunteer work. she is a political operative who works with these groups that litigate issues before the supreme court before her husband, clarence thomas. federal law requires the d disqualification of a supreme court justice in any proceeding in which the justice's impartiality might reasonably be questioned. the supreme court's own code of conduct reiterates that supreme court justices should disqualify themselves in cases when there's reasonable doubt about impartiality. despite serious questions about justice thomas' impartiality in

numerous cases, he refuses to recuse himself. during the court's most recent term he continued to hear cases related to the january 6 insurrection, despite ginni thomas, his wife's personal involvement, with efforts to overturn the 2020 election. justice thomas' failure to recuse is not his only ethical failure related to his wife's activities. for year's, justice thomas omitted his wife's income from the right wing heritage foundation from his annual financial disclosure, despite having disclosed her income in some previous years. in other words, he wasn't even consistent. as i mentioned earlier, justice thomas' ethical issues extend far beyond his wife's employment and advocacy. he has repeatedly violated the federal law by failing to report gifts and income for a wide range of sources on his financial disclosure. how do we know this about justice clarence dement? because the -- about justice

clarence thomas? we sent out spineless that resulted in -- we spent out subpoenas and some of the people gave us details what he provided in the past, and he failed to discloser over and over again. he compounded that by repeatedly failing to recuse himself in cases involving the same individuals and groups lavishing these gifts upon him. i get it. they're sending these gifts to clarence thomas who is sitting as a judge in cases that mean a lot to them monetarily. more than 12 years ago, 12 years ago, i called on chief justice roberts to address a binding code of conduct for all supreme court justices. 12 years ago. since then, repeated ethical misconduct by supreme court justices have proven that an unenforceable code of conduct is absolutely worthless and an enforceable one is essential to restoring public confidence. however, chief justice roberts refuses to use his power to do so. of what is he waiting for?

i call on each and every supreme court justice, if you clarence thomas declare it. if you have no responsibility to disclosure -- to disclose gives or recuse yourself in a case with conflicts. if you think you're fed up with the reputation of the court that lacks integrity and you want to do something about it, speak up publicly on behalf of the court and the nation. we'll continue in congress to do our part, but some leadership from chief justice roberts and members of the court could sure make a difference. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

is what got the republicans the

to fund the government and appeal to the right wing on the right wing and there strict narrow ideology things they can force everybody even dissident republicans let alone democrats and the president to go along with them but of course it doesn't happen and then a bipartisan agreement certainly groundhog day once again as the republicans were is house republicans led unfortunately by speaker johnson play out time and time again supplies this report is? simple -- house stop, the proposal that cannot become law the house should stop wasting time gathering together among

themselves together a bill without self with the president. that's what they do. and it doesn't work. it just doesn't work. instead, republicans should work with democrats on a bipartisan package not one that has input from both sides. harmful cuts of poison pills ready to sit down and work with them. speakers proposal is not entirely bad news i was heartened proposal held onto the bipartisan helpline spending agreement that i reached with the speaker earlier this year. a good sign speaker johnson seems to expect reality reproduced in the coming weeks will have to include that funding level but sadly, the good news ends there. house republicans unserious.

it's not serious for republicans to say they want to kick the can down the road for six months on funding the government. funding the government is the most basic responsibility we have in congress to to say let's hold off should be a nonstarter. not serious for republicans to reduce to a proposal that endangers readiness, risk their pay and dreams efforts to outcompete the chinese government. you cannot run if you cannot put everything on hold for six months alone russia and the chinese government. it's that simple. the head of the joint letter that said that it's not serious

for republicans to say they want to pass cr that fails to extend the verified and border security programs that drove until. they talk about the border the fundamental race week of working on the border. a shows how political this document is particularly egregious because on proposal bands a critical law enforcement effort to grow cartel, money laundering keeps going, it doesn't end there. it's not republicans to say they want to cast the cr that forgets program. telehealth hard, we know how

important telehealth is rural americans, it's made healthcare much better, cheaper and more effective in rural areas but they don't find it. wait for six months in a rural area who needs medical help. people with diabetes will struggle to get the eight media and community health centers, often the only resources to get the healthcare they don't have insurance. to get their healthcare, that's where they get that funding would be in danger. republicans have no plan for extending the firm bill. one of the expenses of failing to pass the bar bill is going over the so-called. this will help the program dries

up. just to make farmers across the country and then ultimately always told me to go out of business they went over the cliff. we hope politico it would not only affect. the cost of milk i like milk. the cost could potentially double. seismic disruption supply chain

to what they are trying to do the ground don't like looking at this was vigilantly i tried to set up a family and loved let

there be no mistake hundred 2025 is top advisers help to get it out the station fitted at the way people who work in the trump administration project 2025 would pave the way to the national abortion and restricting access to medication. 2025-foot abolish and decimate our public education system wiping out gluteal she programs. the constancy. this will split on the valleys. they can learn. after spent a little money to

buy them nutritious this? how horrible. they would rather pay less to the government public get it the way benefits them are veterans small businesses so much more. the list goes on. his ideas are the radical not abstract ideas. real proposals hard right intent to push narrow and focused.

many of them so good to them. they don't want to pay any taxes that would create republicans right now hoping funding by early next year but turned into hostage negotiation government and passing the terrible policy let me assure the american we are not will. our mainstream 13 care about this the american bar not will

surprisingly large number of people ready for the project 2025 the more they realize how devastating it is and how horrible it would be for our economy disastrous for public safety is traffic for our country finally on the gold-medal ceremony later this morning, i will join with congressional leaders and military service members congressional gold-medal and 13 service members killed during the suicide bombing of will. a mall gesture compared to the sacrifice of the brave americans.

these 13 americans were sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, loved ones and some even younger than the poor. people take, the more euros. guardians. fighting for a cause bigger than themselves to deliver freedom for those who might otherwise not have known it. dedicate ourselves to the promise of never forget. that's what will be all about and never forget the sacrifice of the fallen service members and never forget the application all have two troops in uniform and care for them and never

forget our duty to keep going and defend the values of freedom and democracy thought four.

in a lot of ways the objectives post donald trump and kamala harris similar to each other and both define the vice president

divide and earn into the campaign, she's only in the democratic nominee for about six or seven weeks so a lot of other still don't know a lot about her that's what we have seen both public and private only and they are going to try to do it in different ways kamala harris' campaign and find what her work in leo agenda and how she will tackle inflation and cost of living trying to prevent herself as cool, calm and collected projecting this presidential trump is to try to get under your skin and she's going to try to do the same to him because sounds like you define her as somebody attached to the biden administration and frustrations around the that is quote. he wants to maintain advantages is being seen as a changed candidate so that's what he's going to try to do in this

debate so high-stakes for both of them because it's very possible is the only presidential debate, the only time they make on stage so it's important for both of them for any undecided voters for this debate back talk about the candidates have done as far as preparation for tonight. >> kamala harris for the last several days has been pulled up in the hotel in pittsburgh taking a couple of trips to do campaigning but state with her staff run through full 90 minute efforts in which a staff member is playing the part of donald trump complete with the accent and exaggerated hyperlinks and leaned into the acting trying to

prepare for going on stage against donald trump. these two have not spent much time together one on one in her simply unfamiliar with one another so spent time trying to prepare through all this practice b on stage with a staffer. trump is so has done something little different, staffers call it policy sessions in which a number of staffers and a set and talk about policy issues and what they want to go after kamala harris on but it's less of a formal mock setting but important to know donald trump is preparing, we know more than he did in 2016 and 2017 have those debate so he's taking it seriously and trying -- minutesd senator hoeven be permitted to

speak. the presiding officer: we're currently in a quorum call, senator. mr. boozman: i ask that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. boozman: and unanimous consent that i be permitted to speak for up to five minutes. the presiding officer: also without objection. mr. boozman: and senator hoeven be permitted to speak for five machines. the presiding officer: also without objection. mr. boozman: i ask unanimous consent to use a prop during my remarks. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. boozman: thank you, mr. president, very much. mr. president, i rise today to applaud the american women competing for the cup at the robert trent jones golf club in gainesville, virginia, this week. it's the world's leading match play competition for women professional golfers. it pits team u.s.a. against team europe. today here in the senate we're excited to display the coveted prize. these teams are playing for as we gear up to cheer on america's

premier gee male golfers -- female golfers. this tradition is held every two years and features some of the best athletes among the ladies professional golf association and the ladies european tour. it serves as a platform to highlight women's golf and helps inspire future generations to take up the sport. as a golf fan i appreciate the immense talent and skill that it showcases. i'm looking forward to supporting team u.s.a. in its purr suit of -- pursuit of another cup victory. as an arkansan, i'm proud to recognize team u.s.a. captain stacy lewis, a former four-time all american at the university of arkansas and four-time solheim cup player. she's serving at the captain for the second time and will bring the knowledge and experience she gai gained honing that team to help the americans come out on top

this year. while the united states leads europe in the overall cup matchups, lewis is hopeful this team will, quote, settle the score, end quote. after the last competition ended in a tie that allowed the europeans to retain the title and the trophy. i know i join so many of my colleagues in congratulating team sae's member -- team u.s.a. 's members for representing our country and wish them the best of luck as they seek a dominant presence. with that i yield to my colleague senator hoeven. mr. hoeven: thank you, mr. president. i rise to support my colleague, the senior senator from arkansas, and golf enthusiast everywhere on -- cheering on team u.s.a. in the solheim cup. north dakotas love their sports and when it comes to golf, it's

no exception. you may be surprised that in north dakota, we have many golf courses that rank very high in number of golf courses per capita. for competitive golfers in the state, we have many different championship tournament opportunities for both men and women alike and of course people, young and old. that's one of the great things about golf. it's a game you can play all your life. senator boozman, when you're old like you and me, you can still get out there on the links and hit it and have a great time. yeah, most of the time, right. but even if you're not playing well, it's a great place to take a walk. there's nothing better. north dakota has produced topnotch golfers including right now pga team winner tom hoagy from fargo and amy anderson and many others as well. even growing up, a fella by the name of mike morley is a fellow

i knew -- always looked up to him when i was caddying on the golf course and he went on to become a touring pro as well. we have great golfers and obviously they were world class athletes. in the case of amy anderson, she retired from professional golf this year but when she was at north dakota state university, she won 20 collegiate events. and so again for those traveling to the great state of north dakota, i certainly encourage you to bring your clubs. senator boozman, particularly in the summertime. the cup was actually created by ping founder carlson. in 1990. like the ryder cup for men, it meets every two years to put the top women golfers in the united states against the top golfers in europe. i've got to tell you that carson solheim -- he had his sons in the business with him, too, which was primarily based out of

phoenix but we have this incredible norwegian festival in north dakota every year. it's the largest norwegian festival outside the country of norway and the family used to up to that great celebration celebrating their norwegian heritage. so he's the founder of this great sournment and -- tournament and of course it's the united states' top women golfers in the united states against the tom women golfers in all of europe. we're taking on all of europe so it's pretty cool. the competition reflects the best in sports with players not playing for money but playing for their country, their teammates and for so many young women who watched and of course are hoping one day to be in their shoes. i actually played in an lpga event. now, you might think that sounds

funny. but of course owe fish in a dose -- owe fishian in a dose -- officianodos know that it's a great event. it is incredible toll see these women golfers and just how great they are at the game. and, senator boozman, yes,they hit it a lot further than you do. and me, too, of course. this year's competition in nearby gainesville, virginia, will be a great match with the previous competition, as senator boozman said, in 2023 resulting in a 14-14 tie, which means that europe got the cup back. we need to get it back. we need to keep it here in america. i know our women athletes will rise to the challenge. to captain stacey louis and the

12 provlayers on team usa, we l forward to an exciting weekend of skill and sportsmanship. i think already have talked to somebody on this very floor who knows some of the golfers and is going to watch the tournament. the rest of us will get the opportunity to watch it on television. with that, i yield back to my very good friend and colleague, the senior senator from arkansas. who, by the way, was an incredible athlete himself. it might have been on the gridiron. although you do have the if i seek of a -- physique of a golfer, i might this might have been -- with that, i yield back. the presiding officer: the question now on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. the clerk: mr. cruz.

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

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. 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.

vote:

the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- cantwell well, duckworth, durbin, graham heinrich, ossoff, padilla, senators voting in the negative -- boozman, braun, britt, crapo, grass little, hoeven, marshall, sullivan, tuberville.

the clerk: mr. merkley, aye.

the clerk: mr. lujan, aye.

the clerk: ms. butler, aye.

the clerk: mr. fetterman, aye.

the clerk: mr. king, aye.

the clerk: mr. lankford, no.

the clerk: mrs. capito, no. the clerk: mr. helmy, aye. mr. coons, aye. mr. romney, aye.

mr. scott of south carolina, no. mr. hickenlooper, aye.

vote: the clerk: mr. peters, aye.

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

the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye.

the clerk: mr. schatz, aye.

the clerk: mr. wyden, aye.

the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye. mr. warner, aye. the clerk: mr. kaine, aye. ms. murkowski, aye.

the clerk: mr. tester, aye. mr. casey, aye. mr. johnson, no. mrs. murray, aye. ms. baldwin, aye. mrs. fischer, no. mr. risch, no.

the clerk: mr. kelly, aye. mr. cardin, aye. the clerk: mrs. blackburn, no. mr. young, no. mr. tillis, no. mr. hagerty, no. ms. warren, aye. mr. booker, aye.

the clerk: mrs. shaheen, aye. ms. smith, aye. ms. cortez masto, aye. ms. collins, aye. mr. ricketts, no.

the clerk: mr. scott of florida, no. the clerk: mr. wicker, no. the clerk: mr. reed, aye.

the clerk: mr. cotton, no.

the clerk: mr. brown, aye. mr. bennet, aye.

the clerk: mr. carper, aye. the clerk: mr. thune, no. ms. rosen, aye.

mr. manchin, aye. the clerk: mr. daines, no.

the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye. vote:

the clerk: mr. hawley, no. ms. ernst, no.

the clerk: ms. hassan, aye. the clerk: mr. schmitt, no.

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

mr. murphy, aye.

the clerk: mr. barrasso, no. mr. paul, no.

the clerk: ms. hirono, aye. the clerk: mr. moran, no. ms. lummis, no.

the clerk: ms. sinema, aye. mr. cornyn, no. mr. sanders, aye.

the clerk: mrs. hyde-smith, no.

the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye.

the clerk: mr. cruz, no. #

the clerk: mr. mullin, no.

the clerk: mr. lee, no. mr. budd, no.

sdlour. vote:

the clerk: ms. stabenow, aye.

the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no. mr. schumer, aye. the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 53, the nays are 43, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. mr. schumer: mr. president.

i come to the floor to note that the senate today will vote on the confirmation of a terrific nominees, jeanette vargas. she will make an excellent addition to the bench. she was a clerk to then-judge now supreme court justice sonia sotomayor and served as a top lawyer in the southern district. she truly a -- she is truly a new yorker, both puerto ricoian and risch an s. ri, she is part of the qualified and diverse nominees voted to the bench. i thank my colleagues for voting to confirm. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture.

the clerk: cloture 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 652, jeanette a. vargas, of new york, to be united states district judge for the district of new york, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of jeanette a. vargas of new york to be a united states district judge for the southern district new york shall be brought to a close? 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. 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. helmy.

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. 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 -- blumenthal, durbin, hickenlooper, padilla, sanders, schumer and sinema. senators voting in the negative -- barasso, budd, cornyn, cruz, daines, grassley, hyde-smith, lankford, lee, mcconnell, mullin, hawley, tillis, and tuberville -- paul, tillis, and tuberville. mr. kennedy, no.

the clerk: mr. cramer, no. ms. lummis, no. the clerk: mr. heinrich, aye. ms. rosen, aye. ms. stabenow, aye.

vote: vote: the clerk: mr. moran, no. mr. brown, aye.

the clerk: mr. young, no.

the clerk: ms. hassan, aye. ms. duckworth, aye.

the clerk: mr. wicker, no. ms. blackburn, no.

the clerk: ms. collins, aye. mr. kaine, aye.

the clerk: mr. sullivan, no. the clerk: mr. cotton, no.

ms. hirono, aye. the clerk: mr. schatz, aye.

mr. fetterman, aye. mrs. gillibrand, aye. mr. scott of south carolina, no. mr. scott of florida, no. mr. thune, no.

the clerk: mr. king, aye. ms. ernst, no. ms. smith, aye. mr. warnock, aye. mr. booker, aye. mrs. murray, aye.

mr. cassidy, no. mr. cardin, aye. mrs. shaheen, aye.

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

ms. klobuchar, aye. mr. peters, aye.

the clerk: mrs. capito, no. the clerk: mr. boozman, no.

the clerk: mrs. britt, no. ms. baldwin, aye. mr. lujan, aye. mrs. fischer, no. mr. romney, no. vote:

the clerk: mr. carper, aye. mr. risch, no. mr. ricketts, no.

the clerk: mr. hagerty, no.

mr. johnson, no. mr. murphy, aye.

the clerk: mr. merkley, aye.

the clerk: mr. welch, aye. mr. helmy, aye. mr. graham, no. mr. kelly, aye.

the clerk: mr. reed, aye. the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye.

ms. cortez masto, aye. the clerk: mr. warner, aye. mr. wyden, aye.

the clerk: mr. tester, aye.

the clerk: mr. coons, aye.

the clerk: mr. markey, aye. the clerk: mr. bennet, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. marshall, no.

vote: the clerk: mr. braun, no.

the clerk: mr. ossoff, aye.

the clerk: mr. hawley, no.

the clerk: mr. hoeven, no.

the clerk: ms. murkowski, aye.

the clerk: mr. manchin, aye. the presiding officer: it the yeas are 52, the nays are 43. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination.

the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. jeannette a. vargas of new york to be united states district judge for the southern district of new york. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate

vice president kamala harris and former president donald trump . while the candidates will take the stage at the national constitution center across defendants , media will gather mania and center about five blocks away. media filing center was 1 million in the center and the radio network and they will file their stories and where photographers capture events. campaign surrogates will make their pitches to the media.

>> my job is to make report as smooth as possible that we will have as part of the debate. our space handling elements along with it.

them together to think about at the same time were there multiple times we are living wi-fi to signal the signal and it offers it at the same time. >> how does this compare to the previous? >> all that i've done for the debate, one vice presidential one month is debate is a lot different because for all we know, this could be the only time former president trump and vice president harris are together on the stage together. you can definitely see their out

there and it is a lot going on in. >> this has been your favorite so far. anyone their right mind. they happened that, university and across the board till it's really cool to be there. >> watch abc news presidential

debate simulcast on c-span2 in their first debate securing their party's nomination. and abc news, live on schedule. c-span, your unfiltered view by cable. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government funded by these television company and more including her communications. >> twitter is proud to be recognized as one of the best internet providers and we are just getting started. 100,000 miles of new infrastructure to reach those needed most. >> charter communications support c-span as a public service along with the select television providers giving you