understand that technology landscape outside in the really good add in the legislation to have the principal cyber advisor doing that kind of work in the power of small business is where i intend to do more work on cybersecurity, as we think about the power of the small businesses play, not just as subs but even on their own and doing their own work, the threat environment as you described it as everybody knows that's pretty rough for small business alone to try to manage that looking at national capabilities that can be brought to bear to be useful i been bearing by the office of secretary of defense and small business program office among other national offices, not just to empower the small business community with news that they

can use, that is a critical enabler what are the solutions that can be available if you want to stick with doing your small business thing, also you don't want to turn into a tiger entered cybersecurity shop you what is stick with doing your small business what are solutions that you can do. >> we're going to leave this year a reminder you can watch all of our programs on our website c-span.org, we take you live to the u.s. senate where today members are working on judicial nominations. congress is facing a government funding deadline and must pass additional federal spending by september 30 to avert a shutdown, you are watching live senate coverage 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. eternal god, our shelter and shield. today we remember 9/11. as we recall the tragedy, infamy and heroism of that day, we better understand that freedom isn't free. we remember how the pain united us so that we knew we were not hyphenated americans but one people. infuse us in these challenging times with a similar spirit of oneness, inspiring us to work

for the well-being of all people. lord, we're grateful for the protection you have provided us for the 23 years since that calamitous day. may we continue to trust you to be our refuge for the future of this land we love. continue to use our lawmakers as instruments of your peace. we pray in your majestic name. amen. the presiding officer: on this solemn day, please join me.

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, sflal with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., september 11, 2024. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable john w. hickenlooper, a senator from the state of colorado, 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 -- to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, kevin gafford ritz,

of tennessee, to be united states circuit judge for the sixth circuit.

>> host: who's also the co-editor of generational politics in the united states: from the silent gen-z and beyond. welcome to the show. >> guest: thank you very much for having me today. >> host: first of all, let's talk about generations themselves. i wanted to show folks a graphic of the five generations who are going to be voting in this election and the ages of each. so we're talking about the

silent generation, folks who are 76 and above, baby boomers, 55-75 years old, generation, and, 41 to 555, millennials, 26 to 40, gen-z, 5-25 years old. your book examines both the demographic and political differences of these generations. let's start with the demographic differences. what are some of the differences between these generations? if -- >> guest: if we were to the start with the silent generation through the baby boomers and kind of move to the youngest ones, what we find is something really interesting. the older generations are significantly more white and caucasian, let's say more native born to the united states. and by the time we get to the millennials and we get to the

gzs, they're increasingly more racially-diverse, non-white, non-caucasian, and we're looking at an incredibly high percentage. some evidence suggests the highest percentage ever of those who are immigrants. that's one. if a second thing in terms of the demographics of what this means is, again, if we go back to the silent and the baby boomers, approximately let's say 9 90-95% of them would still identify as being religious, christian, god is somewhere important in their life. by the time you get down to the millennials, again, to the gen-zs, we'ring -- we're looking at about 40% of them saying they identify as christian or religious or god is important in their life. so if i'm just doing a real simple description here as we're moving from the if older generations to the newer generations, we're going to a society, an america with a newer

generation that is among the most racially diverse and the most secular that we probably have ever seen in american history. and one of the things that that we're going to see just from a demographic perspective in the next 10-15 years is that the profile of america dramatically changes from what it's been throughout american history. what we're going to the now have a a majority of americans at some point who are going to be nonwhite caucasian, the phrase that we use is going to be a majority of nonwhite or majority-minority society, and we're going to get to the point where a majority of the u.s. population considers themselves to be nonreligious or secular. so just on demographics, this is enormous. now, one of the things i want to specify is that demographics are not destiny. this used to be a belief for many democrats and many writers a few years ago. but certainly, the demographics open up possibilities.

and one of the things that we're also finding is that across the generations that by the time we get to to the millennials and gen-z, the youngest ones, they, first off, don't necessarily identify with either of the two major parties. they're a little bit more, let's say, agnostic towards both of them. but when they do vote, if they do, they're a little bit closer to the democrats. more importantly on so many dimensions, they are the most liberal, most progressive of all the generations. and i'll just pull out one statistic that i think should be kind of interesting here. by the time you get down to the millennials and gen-z, about a 45% of 'em have faith in capitalism, but about a 45% of 'em, roughly 46%, have a faith in socialism. and so they are very, very different politically on a lot of issues and on a lot of dimensions compared to the older generations. >> host: so let's look at some of those political differences.

here's some research from pew finding that that about two-thirds of voters ages 18-24, 66%, associate with the democratic party compared to the 34% who align with the gop. there's a similar gap in partisan affiliation of voters 25-9 29. 25-29. 64% of them leaning democrat. voters in their 30s also leaning democratic. that younger generations coseem to the lean more democratic than republican as you can see in this chart here. the older you get, the more this chart kind of shifts to the right. what are system of the political and policy differences that show up as these generations kind of have divide? >> guest: two observations i want to make. first, some people might be listening saying this is just a consequence of people getting older. and the reality is that for

generations, the views that you form in your adolescence largely stay with you for the rest of your life. so it's not a consequence that when you're really liberal when you're young, conservative when you get older. there really is a generational aspect to this. it's important because as these millennials, as these gen-zs, as they continue to age, they're going to hold these views for the rest of their life, and they're going to look at the world through the perspective that they form. the phrase that i use is to say that how they're going to view the world politically, their perspective is kind of what i call the kaleidoscope or microscope or telescope but on a whole range offish sure, they clearly differ. for example, the younger generation's far more supportive of changing immigration laws to make it easier for immigration. school violence and guns, gun regulation is very high up the list. clearly at the top of the list

especially for the millennials and the gen-zs is climate change and addressing, you know, climate problems. and then there are issues such as greater support for what i call social welfare programs, helping the poor, providing assistance for people to go to school on a whole range of issues. including i think, the other one that's a big issue in politics is on reproductive rights. there's an enormous if gap. when you start to get to to, again, the millennials and gen-z, the percentages that support abortion rights, reproductive rights, that sport lgbtq -- support lgbtq issues is vastly different. and, remember, this ties into a point i made a couple minutes ago where i mentioned the fact that the new generations coming up are significantly more secular. and, in fact, research indicates that the united states is one of the most rapidly secularizing countries in the world. if that's true, think about how

many of our issues right now -- the fights in american politics -- have sort of religious undertones. reproductive rights, lgbtq issues and is forth. as we become more secular as these new generations take over, this is going to potentially transform the debate on american politics. so the gap, the gap between the silent and baby boomers, millennials and gen-z is pretty significant in terms of a whole range of political issue ises. >> >> host: you write in the conversation, you co-authored a piece that polarization may phase out of american politics as these younger generations shift into power. why would that be the case? >> guest: okay. so a lot of what we're finding right now is a lot of the polarization further proceeding the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: we're not in a quorum call. the senator is recognized.

mr. mcconnell: 23 years ago to today, forces of evil brought their war on the united states to american soil. they filled a clear blue sky with smoke, fire, and the shattered lives of 2977 innocent people. before the dust had settled, the world witnessed the extraordinary heroism of first responders. the compassion of neighbors and volunteers, and the will of a proud nation not to let this savagery go unanswered. the terrorists that started this

war, but america resolved to finish it. at times, that resolve has wav wavered. over the years since september 11, 2001, i've counseled administrations of both parties not to shortchange, hamstring, or abandon our fight against the terrorists or let us on the adversaries who support them. i've urged colleagues in congress not to make the job of the war fighter harder. by taking essential counterterrorism authorities off the table. and i'll continue to do so as our colleagues continue our

recent vote on section 702 and the one we'll take in less than two years to further extend this vital intelligence collection authority. the biden-harris administration pretends the war on terrorism is over. the vice president herself claimed last night that, quote, there's not one member of the united states military who's in active duty in a combat zone for the first time this century. well, mr. president, this would, of course, be news to u.s. servicemembers who conducted operations against isis in iraq last week and to the sailors intercepting houthi rockets in the red sea and to the families of servicemembers killed and injured in the attack on tower 22 near jordan's border with

syria earlier this year. our current commander in chief and the biden-harris administration arenas the first to chase the tail of shutting down terrorist detention at guantanamo bay. they're not the first to indulge in the idea of a pivot away from a regional -- region full of sporn u.s. -- full of important u.s. interests. and they're not the first to suggest that america gets to decide unilaterally when threats from afghanistan end. but they were the ones who followed through with the daftous retreat -- with the disastrous retreat that torched american credibility and left 13 servicemembers dead. the administration pinned its hopes on a mistaken idea, but

because the u.s.-led coalition had made tremendous progress in keeping terrorist threats under control, we can continue to do so from over the horizon. so how is that going? despite assurances from the secretary of defense that over the horizon operations would not suffer from a lack of human intelligence after the u.s. withdrawal, the administration hasn't conducted a single strike, not one, against isis-k, the terrorists responsible for the abbey gate bombing, among other astros it's -- oy tros it's since -- atrocities. by one analysis this year, isis-k planned 21 external plots

or attacks in nine countries in the previous 12 months alone. compared to just three between 2018 and the spring of 2022. the odni annual threat assessment was forced to acknowledge that, quote, terrorists will maintain an interest in conducting attacks against u.s. persons, allies, and interests worldwide. and indeed, america's retreat from afghanistan has invited violence elsewhere, from the resurgence of the islamic state in iraq and syria to the aqap in

yemen to al qaeda affiliates across the area. then there is hamas and palestinian islamic jihad, and hezbollah, and the houthis, and iraq terrorist groups, all of whom have been trained and equ equipped, aided and abetted by the world's most active state sponsor of terror, iran. the hamas attack on october 7 is described as israel's september 11. relative to population, it was actually september 11, 15 times over. it was the deadliest day for the jewish people since the holocaust, and it wouldn't have been possible without the involvement of tehran. the kie os stemming -- the chaos

stemming from this genocidal assault, and the violent choreographery by the irgc of attacks on israel and u.s. interests across the region, is evidence of the failure of this administration's passive, accommodating approach to iran and the terrorist proxies. america's weakness and hesitation will not deter our adversaries withholding critical assistance from partners on the front lines will not defeat them. this is true in israel just as it's true in ukraine. around and there is doubt that allies, partners, and adversaries, in asia and elsewhere, are watching a tentative america pull its punches. they're questioning our resolve and our commitment to our friends. if we're unwilling to change iran's calculus and compel an

end to attacks on american forces in iraq and syria or international vessels on the high seas, and if we're unwilling to stand with partners like israel or ukraine, can we be trusted to stand up to the prc? 23 years ago, a dangerous world struck america here at home. we must not wait for today's threats to do the same. on another matter, since president biden took office consumer prices have increased more than 20%. that's the hard truth of the monthly inflation report, and it's worth remembering where it came from. vice president harris has said, quote, we're very proud of bidenomics. well, she should be.

after all, it was the vice president herself whose votes here in the senate helped send our economy into a historic inflationary spiral. back in march 2021, she cast the tiebreaking vote on the motion to proceed to the so-called american rescue plan, and in august 2022, she did the same for passage of the so-called inflation reduction act. sure enough, the vice president is rather proud of this record. the way she tells it, through all of our work, probe and i are building -- president biden and i are building an economy that works for working people. but does it really? did it really work for working people? if you ask some of the folks i talked to last month, you'd likely hear a different story. two years on, high prices in the

wake of the inflation reduction act are still forcing working americans to make tough choices. a mother in north carolina told a reporter recently, sometimes i have to choose whether i'm going to pay the light bill or pay all the rent or buy food or not let my son do a sport. surging prices are especially challenging for seniors on a fixed income. one pennsylvania retiree observed recently that she was, quote, down to eating raman for lunch, which i never ate in high my life until recently. if it's not marked down, i just don't eat it. i haven't eaten beef since i don't know when. i can't afford it. this, mr. president, is the economy that vice president harris has said is working for

working people. this is bidenomics in action. or perhaps it's time to give the economy the vice president is so proud of a new name. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

>> i'm not well educated, so i'm out of the league here, but i think some of the problems are us older people, we've worked for everything we got. we paid our bills, we didn't have credit cards, we didn't want credit cards, and the schools having a big impression, influence on these young students. they come to the schools at an early age, just like in the service they came in about 17, 18 and 19. now, at these schools are being indoctrinated, and they're being told how to vote. but that's up to them. and one thing before i'm cut i

off,s this is the the devil's playground. now, i go to church monday, wednesday and wednesday night. this is the devil's play ground. he was an angel. he was kicked out of heaven. these young students don't know that, and they don't want to learn about it. >> host: so, david, i think joel is getting to the a couple of the points that you've mentioned about the declining religiousity amongst younger generations, but what about this sort of different financial and economic outlook across generations? >> guest: well, there's no question there's a difference here. and if we think about the spanishs under -- circumstances under which, say, some of the baby boomers came up and maybe the silent, they came up at an era back in the '50s, '600s and early '700s when the job production in the united states was dramatically greater overall than it was for later decades. america was clearly at its peak

in terms of at one point america's gross domestic product was half of the world. and in some ways our economy was revolving around manufacturing. you could go off to what, you know, a car company, a steel company but just a high school degree or without a high school degree and do really well. and we had in place at that point the new deal, we had the great society programs. people were able to afford a house. bring us to the current right now and that the economic situation is so very is different for our students that, again, one other thing i was going to point out for many baby boomers, the amount of money that was available for financial aid to go to school was quite, was quite sufficient. now we're looking at in the last few years the debt for students going to college is greater than the debt that people have on credit cards. we have good evidence that suggests at this point across

the country that students have i think it's t about $. 1.8 trillion -- 1.8 trillion in student loan can dead. the average family income in terms of what they make is insufficient in most place of the country to be able to afford a house. many of the people who are millennials and gen-z saw their parents in the crash of 2008 lose their homes. and the -- lose their job. and the reason why i points to this is that the economic circumstances that this these younger people, these younger voters are seeing now is so vastly different that in general the economic circumstances of those who were older. again, i go back to the a point i made earlier. for many of my younger people here, american capitalism has not done them well, has not done their parents well and, thus, when they're asked a question what are your thoughts on socialism, what are your

thoughts on capitalism, for those of us who are older, we grew up during the cold war. phrases like socialism, communism, those were dir dewords. those were -- dirty words, those were bad words. but for people who are now seeing a situation where, as i mentioned, credit card debt for paying for school, housing costs are so high, medical bills are even higher than we saw when we were younger, these are people who are saying,, you know what? my circumstances are different and maybe i view the world very, very differently than the older generations who had in some ways a different set of experiences and a different economic context in which they formed their views. >> host: katherine is in ohio and our line for folks over 600. good morning, cath lin -- over 60 -- katherine. >> caller: good morning. you finally hit the nail on the head when you said that what reagan told us, that if we would

be patient, it would finally trickle down to us. i'm 75, i'm still waiting for that, trickle. it's never happened. and now the republican party is trying to tell our young generations again, and i would tell them don't listen. they want to keep people in power that are male, white and rich. they don't want to see a woman that is of multi-heritages in the white house. that just makes them deathly ill. we have to stop telling each other that if you come back from war, that you don't count. that if you are a child at a school and your school gets shot up, just get over it. it's not evenly done. we need politicians who stand up for the needs of our people

today. we need to take automatic weapons out of the hands of people. just like in the wild, wild west when you came into town, you took the guns and gave 'em to the sheriff. when you left town, you got your guns back. there's no reason in the united states of america that we should have a gun problem. we have rules -- >> host: katherine, i want to give david a chance to pond to some of these points -- to the respond to some of these points that you've raised. >> guest: okay, a couple different corrections in terms of response here. one of them i think she's hinting at here, again, is that demographic shift that's going on. i mean, think about where we are at this point. again, for the last 200, 250 years since our independence, we have been mostly a white anglo-saxon, caucasian

description, you know, christian society in terms of a majority where the voters are. we are on the cusp right now of becoming a country that'll be a majority nonwhite caucasian and a majority that describe themself as secular as nonchristian. what we are on the verge of right now is one of the most profound changes ever, ever in american history. and with that shift, even though as i said before, demographics are not destiny, the world that the younger people are coming into now is so vastly different than the world that we've seen 20, 30, 40 years ago or throughout american history that with that if we think in terms of what the first three words of the constitution, we, the people, if what democracy is about is letting people have their say, there's a shift occurring, a shift that's going to occur that's going to bring with it pretty dramatic shifts in public policy.

now, i'm not going to get into a discussion here in terms of what's right policy, what's wrong policy, etc., etc. that's not my role here. but clearly our data, the our evidence from the survey and the research in the book is telling us that we are going to see pretty profound schefts in policy. and part of the conflict that's -- shifts in policy. part of that poe czar lahrization is also a polarization in the sense of there are some generations fearful, fearful of the demographic changes coming, fearful of the policy changes that are occurring. and we're almost getting this, what, reaction and counterreaction fight out in american politics right now. and to to some extent, i would argue that the trump versus the harris campaign really is, what, the personification of so many of these generational conflicts and fights going on right now.

>> host: we have another question from x from annette stephenson who asks, how will the age differences affect the vote in the heavily-weighted electoral college statements this election? do some states have more young voters than other states? >> guest: this is an absolutely great question here, and i'm going to even twist it a little bit better here. remember first off, you know, we don't elect a president, you know, by straight the popular vote. i always tell my students ignore national polls, it's about the race to 270 toelectoral votes. what we know is there's about a half a dozen or is so swing states that are really going to to the be critical in this election. we've heard about them already, wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania, arizona, georgia, perhaps north carolina. and what this election is about, i think, is how particular candidates -- biden -- sorry, harris versus trump understand

the swing state strategy and how well do they play the generational politics. if in terms of attracting as many voters as possible across generations, but at the same time speaking to particular ones. and i think the challenge is really interesting for harris because when it was still the biden as the candidate, biden was not bringing in those younger voters. and the democrats needed those younger voters in those critical swing states. harris is doing what appears to be for now a better job. and so to me, i think the call canner's exactly on score with this one here. it's that the democrats, especially harris, if they can turn out a lot of younger voters especially in those states, again, pennsylvania, let's say wisconsin, michigan which i think are the three big ones, then they're going to do very well. but in those three straits --

states, generally the voters are a little bit offedder -- older than they are for the average national population. so that's something she has to think about. but also slightly off of my discussion of generational politics here, i've written on swing states and i've argued that this election this year is going to come down to, what, 150,000-200,000 voters in about five or six swing states will do. within those 150,000-200,000 voters are going if to be what those young voters do. i mean, think about this election year. i mean, we're down to such few numbers of voters and potentially just how a few number of young voters are going to vote is. that just speaks to what the polarization and closeness of this election. >> host: dennis is in hampton, virginia, on our line for folks in the 30-600 range. good morning, dennis if -- 30-600.

>> caller: yes, ma'am, thank you. my problem is lying. twenty years ago when the candidates were on the stand, they talk. they'd be telling the truth, or we were led to believe they're telling the truth. today i'm so confused i don't know who to believe quorum call? the presiding officer: yes, sir thune i would ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: before i begin i want to take a moment to acknowledge what today is. 23 years ago, terrorists flew planes into the world trade center and the pentagon. in 23 years since, a heroic group of americans prevented even greater tragedy by bringing down a fourth hijacked plane before it could crash into another target. as on every september 11 since that black day, we remember the heroes who rose up at the world

trade center, at the pentagon, and in that bare field near shanksville, pennsylvania. and we mourn all those who were lost. my prayers as always are with the families of all those who still grieve their fallen loved ones. and with all those whose calling is to respond to danger and stand between us and terror. mr. president, there's been a dizzying amount of change in the democrat party over the past couple of months. first, and obviously, there was the replacement of president biden with kamala harris on the ticket. democrat voters who had gone to the polls in the primaries and cast a vote for president biden were informed that in fact the delegates that they had chosen would be supporting vice president harris instead. that was a big change, mr. president. but not the only one.

there's also the new democrat nominee's attempt to reinvent herself. it began five short years ago since kamala harris was running for president in the democrat primary as a leftist. she endorsed among other things a ban on fracking, taxpayer-funded gender resignment surgeries for detained immigrants, decriminalizing drug possession, decriminalizing illegal border crossings, mandatory buybacks of certain guns and i could go on. of course none of that was a big surprise, mr. president. then after all then-senator harris in the budget busting green new deal regularly made lists of liberal senators. what is surprising is the apparent 180 47b degree flip she's made in the past, let's say seven weeks or so, in this campaign. she opposed a border wall. now she apparently supports one.

she supported a ban on fracking. well, now she opposes one. she supported medicare for all, the federal takeover of health care and now says she won't push for it if she's president. she supported mandatory gun buybacks. now she won't push for them. she supported an electric vehicle mandate but now apparently she does. mr. president, i could go on on that list. it's' mazing what a brief seven weeksor so can do -- weeks or so can do or perhaps i should say it's amazing what getting nominated for president can do. it seems despite her apparent move to the center, progressive voters should not be alarmed. the far-left compatriot of the vice president, the senior senator from vermont whose medicare for all government health care takeover she cosponsored was asked on meet the press last weekend whether he thought vice president harris was abandoning her progress i've

deals. no he answered. i don't think she's abandoning her ideals. i think she's trying to be pragmatic -- pragmatic in doing what she thinks is right in order to win the election. i think she's trying to be pragmatic and doing what she thinks is right in order to win the election. well fwhog like saying the quiet part out loud, mr. president. i suspect he's right, and i suspect that one of the senate's most liberal senators would quickly become one of the nation's most liberal presidents. i i think it's -- i think it's fair to say what a government with harris would look like. so far it looks like a historic inflation crisis, a raging border crisis, and uncertainty on the global stage. when i say the past four years

have looked like a historic inflation crisis and raging border crisis, i do mean the past four years. inflation started spiking within two months of president biden and vice president harris taking office thanks in large part to the democrats' spending spree, i might add for which kamala harris cast the deciding vote. almost four years later, inflation is still above the federal reserve's target inflation rate. americans are now paying a staggering $13,000 more a year just to maintain the same standard of living they enjoyed when president biden and vice president harris took office. $13,000. vice president harris said in her speech at the democrat national convention that her administration would work on lowering the costs of every day

needs like groceries. mr. president, why hasn't she tried that already? she's not an outsider coming into office. she's been in office for the past four years. yet, there are some things she thought she could bring down prices, why hasn't she done it already? mr. president, democrats nearly four-year inflation crisis has been matched by the biden-harris border crisis. border numbers started spiking almost immediately after president biden and vice president harris took office after they sent the message on day one that border security was at the bottom of their priority list. and the ensuing crisis has raged for almost the entirety of the biden-harris administration until fears of losing reelection prompted president biden to at least take some, too little, too late action this summer. mr. president, i could go on and

talk about the biden-harris administration withdrawal from afghanistan or the deep uncertainty on the world stage that has characterized their tenure. i could also talk about the ways that they are putting us on track for an energy crisis. but i'll stop here. suffice it to say that after the past four years, no one has to wonder what democrat governance would look like. and i hope our country and american families will be spared another four years of it. mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, i watched the debate last night. it was memorable. it was not a good evening for the former president of the united states. i've had more than one person tell me that the people they were watching with laughed out loud when he started his rant

about imimmigrants -- imimmigrants eating dogs and catastrophes, donald trump's view on immigration is unhinged. you never know what he's going to say next. but i think that vice president kamala harris made it clear in her explanation that it was within the grasp and power of former president donald trump to do something about the border crisis and the immigration crisis, and he not only failed, he designed a strategic to -- strategy to sabotage efforts to do something. specifically, i can recall and you can as well, that there was a bipartisan effort under way to run a -- write a border bill. senator lankford, a conservative senator from the state of oklahoma and joined with chris

murphy, a democrat, and put together a bill. we were told hands off, step away, let them do this. let them put something on the floor that is meaningful and is partisan and has a chance to pass both the senate and the house. we were under way and such a piece of legislation was constructed. what happened at the last minute? at the last minute, donald trump very publicly stepped forward and said, i want to stop this bill from passing. i want the bipartisan bill not to pass. and you can blame it on me, he said. you can blame it on me. he stopped the bipartisan effort to pass pa bill -- pass a bill that will would have been helpful on the border and reducing the number of people from coming across the border. the border patrol agencies, men and women who risk their lives every day at the border,

endorsed this bill, finally after 30 years of trying, we thought we might be on the right track with immigration, at least when it comes to the border crisis. who stopped it? donald trump stopped the bipartisan effort and publicly admitted and took credit for it. you didn't hear that last not, a lot of complaint about immigration and the border, but the reality is this, that president trump single-handedly personally threatened those who were going to vote for such a bill. if i can remember only seven republicans did. it wasn't a bill i would have written but i would accept it as a bipartisan compromise. i would say those who watched the debate and raise the issue of immigration, why did donald trump stop it.

today marks one of the darkest days in our country's history, 9/11. i can vividly recall that day. i was in this building a few feet away, in a room for ar morning meeting. we happened to notice on the television set that was being played in the room there, there was some news about a tower -- a tall building in new york being struck by an airplane. we didn't know much more about it. then a second plane went into an adjoining power and we knew something was dreadfully wrong. then we looked down the mall from the capitol building and saw a black billowing smoke coming from the pentagon. that day will forever be inprinted -- imprinted on our nation's collective memory.

we still mourn the innocent lives lost in new york, the pentagon, and in a field in pennsylvania, that includes 340 members of the firefighters, 55 military personnel who died in the pentagon. last weekend, "60 minutes ""television show rebroadcast the show on the fire department heroes from the city of new york. they were -- there were personal interviews of men at the scene and watched their comrades, dedicated firefighters, not only risk their lives but give their lives to rescue the victims of 9/11. it is heartbreaking episode. it was an extraordinary effort by all involved and many others who weren't part of that. we continue to reflect on how

these acts of evil forever altered our sense of security and safety and how we must remain faithful to the constitution while protecting the american people. mr. president, on a separate topic. we are three weeks away from our annual deadline to fund the government. one of the most essential tasks in congress. it is hard to imagine just weeks before the presidential election that the republican speaker of the house would risk a government shutdown and guarantee an image of chaos in his service to this country. here in the senate under the leadership of the appropriations chair, patty murray of washington and ranking member susan collins, from maine, we passed 11 appropriation bills on a bipartisan basis. recent history is repeating itself in the house under

speaker johnson. instead of coming to the negotiating table with their democratic colleagues, the only way to pass legislation in a divided congress, they've been crafting partisan bills for cuts and poison pills, and now rather than take the senate's lead in prioritizing responsible funding, a bill that actually can become law, house republicans are once again trying to delay long-term funding agreements at the expense of the american people. house republicans introduced a continuing resolution to push our job to fund the government until march of next year. six-month delay from our annual deadline on september 30. as if this wasn't already a blow on our nation which relies on critical programs. they are looking at an outrageous provision, this time

it's called the save act. the so-called safeguard american eligibility act would make it more difficult for american citizens to register to vote and would lead to eligible voters to be personalinged from the voter rolls. first, it is already against the law in the nation for noncitizens to vote. second, noncitizens rarely, if ever vote. in the extreme rare scenario when a noncitizen votes, listen to this, that individual can be federally prosecuted and sentenced for up to five years in prison for a noncitizen voting. put simply, there is no need for additional criminal penalties to de deter noncivilian voting. instead we should be working together on bipartisan legislation to address real threats to our election, such as

a.i. technologies that can be used to spread disinformation to voters. the american people are tired of partisan bickering, they want us to do our job on a bipartisan basis. i encourage speaker johnson and house republicans, put politics aside. take your duty seriously to fund the government and avoid an unnecessary and damaging shutdown. to the speaker, this requires working with the other side of the aisle to find common ground. the american people expect it of us. let's get it done. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> understand the significance of the congressional black caucus and the policies that we fight so desperately to make a reality in america. it is now my extreme pleasure to bring to the stage the vice president of operations, tech solutions at amazon to the stage. give a round are of applause to to an if outstanding individual. [applause] >> well,s friends, i feel so fortunate to be in this room today. s this is such an incredible

convening of talent and excellence, and i just want the start by thanking our distinguished leaders, congressman ford, congresswoman shewall, congresswoman mcbass and, obviously, the president and ceo, nicole. i really, really appreciate all of the things that all of you guys have c done and that you continue to do on behalf of black voices and black perspectives. it's a gift to be in a room with leaders who care about those that they represent. and so let me start by thanking you for that, if you could give them a rousing hand. [applause] thank you. so you might be wondering why a techie geek is on stage at the cbc-alc, but i am because at the end of the day what we all know is that we're in an incredible time of progress and geet and development. and so -- growth and development. and so from an amazon

perspective, we feel very, very honored to be a part of the conversation that the that the you have this week. that runs the backbone of infrastructure networking commute that brings packages to touching it with builders and technologists were committed to excellence everything obey you might be wondering how i became a part of the mission, what of the things i think is so important that we should talk about is technology is a space where we want to see inclusion we want to see representation, we want to see diversity read for me my journey started in rural alabama and

rural georgia i was a girl that grew up in a farming community, it was very underrepresented but i fell in love with things that i saw on television with gadgets and technology, i would hang out the radioshack and hope that they would give me a touch give me a chance to play with some things and i would work with my computer and dream and those dreams took me to the library and places where i saw technology being created but it did not feel like i would have space to live my dreams, it's it felt so far away and how that became closer as i went to the university and i studied engineering and because a lot of the great programming that are legislatures and congresswomen and congressmen that representatives do, i was a beneficiary of my dream not being deferred. what is so excited about the space that we are creating here

is that we are creating a space where were not leaving anyone behind, we want a lot of little girls and little boys who think that the dreams are very, very far away to feel that there much, much closer that is the work that were doing. i think as we explore the week and you guys attend sessions i hope you take a moment and think about the children that are not in the room but the room is expanding to create space for them so they can fulfill their dreams. i'm very passionate about this and what are the things that we've done with a partnership with mit and we did some very interesting research about the role the automation and technology will have in job creation in the future of jobs, that report is tantalizing and exciting and interesting is not yet released and within days we will release it but i'll give you a little bit of a hint's

speaks to the solution that we can create with cdc and cdc alc and other organizations that represent black voices and black perspectives to close the gap and to ensure the representation that we all want to see is in fact what were able to solve for. we invite you cdc and all of her friends in the room to join us on the journey to build a future that really does represent the best and brightest across the land and represents the university about what makes america so wonderful and so great. what i would also like to remind us all of, these opportunities to be together are a great time to network and build partnerships and relationships, we are very much looking forward from amazon perspective of deepening our relationship with our partnerships and building the future together, with no further ado i'm going to take

the opportunity to invite one of my most amazon colleagues sherita rogers to the stage we want to present you with a very special example partnership and relationship, if you could join us. >> good morning. >> it's truly an honor to be here today to make a special presentation on behalf of amazon. i believe in amazon community work working alongside our other leaders to bring about significance impact and social impact, while georgia is always on my mind i must tell you that it's so refreshing to be back home. i'm a fifth generation washingtonian i was born and raised right down the street in

columbia heights and graduated from wilson high school which is now jackson read but it's always a pleasure to come back home to washington, d.c. and to the cdc alc, growing up right here in d.c. i had the privilege of attending the cdc programs and it was in those spaces that i saw firsthand how policymakers, community activists and corporations all came together to address critical community challenges. much like the cdc foundation, amazon believes that solving complex issues requires collaboration, innovation and a deep commitment to communities. whether it's advancing social equity, supporting education, helping small businesses thrive or fostering social justice we are proud to partner with organizations like the cdc to drive impactful solutions, today

is my distinct pleasure to return in this capacity representing a company that shares in the mission in a meaningful change we are so proud to be presenting sponsor of the alc, is my pleasure to make an additional contribution to support the work of the cdc, on behalf of amazon and amazon community engagement we would like to present a check to the cdc to help continue the work. [applause]

>> i'm going to ask the members to re-join me on stage where we get to cut the honorary ribbon to open up alc 53, thank you so much to our partners at amazon for the wonderful gift.

[applause]

♪ ♪ ♪ >> thank you

the times the result have wavered over the years the administrations of both parties not to shortchange or abandon against the terrorist were let up on the adversaries is important. my colleagues in congress that's what makes the job in the war fighter harder by taking the central counter terrorism authorities off the table and i will continue to do so as her colleagues consider the recent vote on section 702 and the one that will take less than two

years to further extend this intelligence election. authority. the biden here's a administration pretends to carry it over, the vice president herself claim last night that not one member of the united states military that's an active duty in the combat zone for the first time in a century. the southern district of course the news of the u.s. service members of conductive operation against isis and iraq last weekr and to the sailors intercepting the who the rockets in the red sea. >> thank you, mr. president vit. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: mr. president, i come to the floor today to discuss the need to get our nation and our economy back on track. we learned this morning the new numbers have come out on inflation. prices are higher today than they were the day that the

bide-harris administration took over -- biden-harris administration took over, by over 20%. i hear about it in wyoming every weekend, heard about it this past weekend, how high prices have become and the crushing effect that's had on families in my state, in wyoming, and all around the country. this has been going on now for over three years. prices have continued to go up. and this crisis of high prices has been cumulative. the impact on families, cumulative. and it is regrettably causing very hard choices for families to make. it shouldn't be this way. here's a recent headline from cbs news. it said more americans are having to choose between food and energy bills. clearly this is a reflection on the biden-harris administration. now, one of those folks that

talked about that and the quote is stacy friedman. ms. friedman said her energy bills each month cost her hundreds of dollars. as she told cbs news, sometimes i have to choose, she says, whether i'm going to pay the light bill or pay all the rent or buy food or not let my son participate in a sport. that's what's happened under the biden-harris administration. the impact of the high prices caused by the massive amounts of government spending, passed without a single republican vote that stimulated an amount of -- increase in prices, the highest in 40 years. ms. friedman's story is sadly all-too common. men americans are feeling the high cost and the high anxiety related to the high cost of goods and services in their

lives. nearly four out of ten, two out of five, americans say they worry about their ability to pay their own bills. since 2019, utilities cost the average american almost $300 more each month. not $300 a month. $300 more each month than what they were paying before. these are the costly and cumulative consequences of joe biden and kamala harris' war on affordable and reliable american energy. mr. president, you ask people anywhere around the country, they know that this is an administration who has strongly come out against american energy. they froze federal oil and gas leases. they discouraged new energy production. they issued regulations to ban gas-powered vehicles, the kind

of vehicles most americans drive. so it's not a surprise that high energy prices continue to bother and cause pain for american families. month after month, year after year americans watched their costs go up and regrettably see their savings, if they have savings, go down. the biden-harris administration has offered no solutions to our nation's cost of living crisis. democrats instead tell the american people don't believe the price tags at the grocery stores or the price at the gas pump. they want you to believe everything is okay. americans know that isn't so. you know, we learned last month that the bureau of labor statistics, which is supposed to keep accurate unemployment data, well, they reported faulty numbers. a million jobs touted by the

biden-harris administration do not actually exist. they never existed. they never were created. yet the biden-harris administration claimed credit for jobs that do not exist. meanwhile, we've had two straight months where job growth was lower than expected. america today has fewer manufacturing jobs than we did last year. in michigan autoworkers are getting laid off. last month the carmaker stellantis announced plans to lay off more than 2,000 american workers from its plants in detroit. this is the same carmaker that received hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies, a title wave of electric vehicle grants from the biden-harris administration. and they're laying off people. take the money from the

government, from the biden administration, from the harris administration, and lay off workers. it's no surprise that last night in the debate, kamala harris couldn't even answer the first question when they asked are you better off now than you were four years ago? are the american people better off now than they were four years ago? she could not defend herself. could not say yes. because people are not better off now than they were four years ago. these recent layoffs, they come as they switch their assembly lines from gas-powered vehicles to electric vehicles. thousands of american workers soon be put in the unemployment line as a result of what harris and biden and the democrats are continuing to promote. democrat regulations, democrat rhetoric, or receiptic of impending climate doom --

rhetoric of impending climate doom are crushing american jobs. it's no wonder bide and an harris are running from their record. the flip-flops, walkbacks, cover-ups, all too apparent. the american people know that the policies of vice president harris has had a chilling impact on our american economy. when then-senator harris was rated the most liberal member of the united states senate, americans listened. when vice president harris was recently -- said recently that her values had not changed, people listened again. americans are struggling, and biden-harris policies and the democrat policies are to blame. remember how we got here. the democrats passed trillions of dollars in reckless, radical runaway spending. it was so unpopular, not a

single republican voted for it. it had to pass with a tie breaking vote. who broke the vote? well, the vice president of the united states comes to the senate to cast the tie breaking vote and that would be kamala harris, now the candidate of the democrats for president of the united states. vice president harris came to this chamber, sat in that chair, and cast the vote that broke the tie that brought us record high inflation, 40-year high inflation. americans cannot afford four more years of failure. americans need a break from the damaging policies of vice president harris. what harris is proposing is more wasteful washington spending. supposed to raise taxes on the middle class, impose socialist style price controls. she supports banning fracking.

she supports gas-power ed vehicles. that's how she's voted, how her rhetoric has been, and as she said, her values haven't changed. vice president harris would continue the nightmare of high prices and high taxes. let's remember it was different three and a half years ago under the trump administration. back then paychecks were going up. inflation was nonexistent. americans were breaking free of poverty. americans were energy dominant. our southern border was safe and secure. not anymore. people want to go back to those days of american prosperity again. so it is time to turn the page from the disastrous policies of joe biden and kamala harris. republicans will work to lower prices, to unleash american energy, and to get this nation

back on track. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum owe -- of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

today members are working on judicial nomination congress is facing a government funding deadline by september 30, to avoid a shutdown. your watching live coverage here on c-span2.

23 years ago terrorist who planes into the world trade center in 23 years ago they prevented greater tragedy by bringing down a fourth hijacked plane before it could crash into another target. as on every september 11 since that black debris remember the heroes who rose up at the world trade center at the pentagon into the bear field near shanksville, pennsylvania. and we mourn all of those who were lost my prayers as always there with the families of all of those who still grieve their fall in love once and with all of those whose calling is to respond to danger and stand

between us and terror. >> mr. president there has been a dizzy amount of change of the democrat party over the past couple months, first and obviously there was the replacement of president biden with kamala harris on the ticket, democrat voters who have gone to the polls in the primaries and cast a vote for president biden were informed that the delegates they had chosen would be supporting vice president harris instead, that was a big change mr. president, but not the only one, also the new democrat nominees attempt to reinvent herself. he began five short years ago and kamala harris was running for president in the democrat primary as a leftist she endorsed among other things a ban on fracking taxpayer-funded reassignment surgeries for detained immigrants, decriminalizing drug possession,

decriminalizing illegal border crossing, mandatory buyback of certain guns, i could go on. of course none of that was a big surprise, after all then senator harris supporter of the government takeover of healthcare in the budget busting renewed in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. deal jection. mr. carper: thanks so much. mr. president, i rise today to speak in favor of the nomination of heather calhoun to be a member of the board of trustees. congregated the udall foundation in 1992 as an independent executive branch agency to honor morris k. udall, affectionately money as -- known as mo who had a terrific impact on our nation's -- enduring impact on our nation's environment and his commitment to supporting the rights of american indians and

alaskan natives. in april of this year, president biden nominated heather to serve as a member of the board of trustees of the udall foundation. ms. cahoon is a highly qualified nome, has devoted her career to the study of federal tribal law and policy, an associate professor as the university of montana. at the university of montana, she cofounded the american indian governance and policy institute. native-led independent think taefshg that provides tribal nations in montana with in-depth research and analysis of tribal level policies. she would be a valuable, valuable addition to the udall foundation board. over a decade ago, the congress

created the privilege nomination process to speed the confirmation of noms to fill approximately 280 positions on boards, on commissions, including noms to the udall -- nominees to the udall foundation board of trustees. ms. cahoon's nomination moved to the executive calendar on may 16 and we should have considered her nomination on the floor soon thereafter. it's disappointed to me and i know to others that her nomination has languished for over 16 weeks with no word of any objections from either side of the aisle. inexplicable delays undermine the improvements we've made to senate procedures, to improve non -- to approve noncontroversial nominees and to do so quickly. today i've come to the floor myself to see if we have agreement to confirm ms. came hoonl. i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the

consideration of the following nomination en bloc. calendar 666 and 667 for heather m. cahoon of montana to be a member of the board of trustees, udall foundation, for a term expiring on october 6 of 2024 and for a subsequent full six-year term. also that the nominations be confirmed en bloc, the nominations to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate and no further motions be in order to any of the nominations and that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the pr the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the question occurs on the nomination, en bloc. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it.

the ayes do have it. the nominations are confirmed, en bloc. mr. carper: could i have another minute or two to make some personal comments, if i could. i had the privilege of serving as governor before i came here to serve as senator. before i was a gopher, i was a -- before i was a governor, i was a congressman. one of the people i served with in the house of representatives was mo udall, who was a giant in the house and giant in the country and a great environmentalist, a great conservationist. what a wonderful human being and wonderful servant. some people are probably saying, what is this udall foundation. the udall family has spawned not only mo udall but also our colleagues that served here in the senate, and one of them, if i am not mistaken, still serves as our u.s. ambassador to new

zealand. and i think of them and think of the udall family and what they have meant to this country, to this body over many, many years. and so i'm pleased to be here to put in a good word for ms. cahoon and i think she is a well-qualified nominee and i'm pleased that we were able to act on that nomination today. with that, i yield the floor, mr. president.

congress is facing a deadline and must have spending legislation by

september 30 to avoid a shutdown, you are watching live coverage on c-span2.

i've had more than one person tell me that they laughed out loud when he started his rent about dogs and cats, it was an indication i'm afraid that the

former president donald trump when it comes to the issue of immigration, he's unhinged you never know what is going to say next. i think the vice president will kamala harris made clear what and it was in former president donald trump to do something about the border crisis in the immigration crisis and he not only failed he designed a strategy to sabotage effort to do something. specifically i recall in you can as well that we were told there is a bipartisan effort underway for a border bill, senator langford a conservative republican from the state of oklahoma joined senator chris murphy of connecticut, democrat and put together month of effort to put together such a bill, we were told hands-off, step away

let them do this as they put something on the floor that was meaningful and bipartisan has a chance to pass the senate and the house and we were underway as the legislation was constructed will happen at the last minute at the last minute donald trump very publicly step forward and said i want to stop this bill from passing. i want a bipartisan bill not to pass and you can blame it on me he said you can blame it on me, he stopped the bipartisan effort to pass a bill that is helpful in the border and reducing the number of people who have been coming across the border to border patrol agency men and women who risk their lives every day and service of this country and the border endorsed the bipartisan bill and it was an indication that we finally after 30 years of trying on the right track when it comes to

immigration at least when it comes to the border crisis, who stopped it, donald trump stop the immigration reform bill bipartisan effort and publicly admitted it and took blame for, you did not hear that last night, a lot of complaint about the immigration issue in the border but the simple idea president trump single-handedly personally threatened those who were working for such a bill if i remember only seven republicans finally did it was not a bill i would've written but i was prepared to accept it as a silent effort or bipartisan compromise. i would say this you watch the debate and want to raise the issue of immigration still have to answer what donald trump stop the bipartisan effort in recent memory in the united states senate mr. president today march the 23rd here since the darkest days in our country's history, the attacks of september 11, 2001, i recall

that day i was in this building a few feet away in a room for a morning meeting we had the television playing in the room and there was news about a tower in new york being struck by an airplane we did not know much more about it. then the second plane went to the joining tower and we knew something was wrong dreadfully wrong then we looked out down the hall from the capital building and we saw smoke coming from the pentagon, that image is seared into my mind and that they will forever be imprinted in our nation's collective memory, 23 years after the devastating day we still mourn the 2977 innocent lives lost at the world trade center in new york, the pentagon in virginia in the field and shanksville,

pennsylvania, those 343 members of the new york city fire department, 71 law enforcement officers who died on the world trade center with 55 military personnel who died in the pentagon, last weekend on the television show they broadcast the show on the fire department heroes from the city of new york there were personal interviews run throughout the scene and watch their comrades dedicated firefighters that only risk their lives that will willingly give their lives to try to rescue the victims of that september 11. it is a heartbreaking epicenter when every american should see if you want to know what heroism looks like it's an extra ordinary effort by all involved in many others who were part of the program they continue to reflect on how to accept. evil for other with a sense of security and safety not only to

become a constitution while protecting the american people. mr. president on a separate socket under topic we are three weeks away from the annual deadline to fund the government one of the most essential tasks of congress it's hard to imagine weeks before the presidential election that the republican speaker of the house would risk a government shutdown and really guarantee chaos in his service to this country. here on the senate one of the leadership of the appropriation committee chair in washington and ranking member susan collins republican of maine past 11 spending bills out of the committee on a bipartisan basis we are doing our jobs in the senate and unfortunately recent history is repeating itself in the house under the leadership of speaker johnson instead of coming to the negotiating table with her democratic colleagues only through meaningful legislation and divided congress

in a budget deal signed into law last year it by crafted bipartisan bills and now to take the senate prioritizing responsible funding a bill that can become law house republicans are once again trying to delay long-term funding agreements at the expense of the american people, house republicans continuing resolution to push a job to fund the government until march of next year, a six month delay from the annual deadline on september 30 as if this was already a butcher nation which reminds a local program that depend on the funding the speakers once again already loose guided government funding to an outrages of partisan provisions this time is the so-called save act, the so-called safeguard american voter eligibility act or save act would make it more difficult

for american citizens to register to vote and to eligible registered voters or under voters from voter rolls, two things first it was already against the law in every state of the nation from the civilians and second-most citizens has ever voted in the extreme area when announced, listen to this and can be federally prosecuted for up to five years in prison, five years for a noncitizen voting, simply there is no need for additional penalties to deter noncitizen voting. the reality the save act would create problems for american citizens who were illegally eligible to vote. instead we should be working together on bipartisan legislation to address real threats to our election such as the a.i. technology that can be used to spread disinformation to voters. the american people are tired of

partisan bickering and they want us to do her job on a bipartisan basis. i encourage speaker johnson and house republicans and put politics aside and take your duty seriously, defend the government and avoid unnecessary damaging shutdown into the speaker like it or not this requires working with the other side of the aisle to find common ground, the american people expect this of us, let's get it done, i yield the floor and suggests the essence of the quorum. >> they brought the united states americans were they filled the clear blue sky with smoke, fire and shattered by accident 2977 and is in people. before the dust had settled the

world witnessed the extraordinary a senator: mr. president, i ask the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: we're not in a quorum call. mr. merkley: thank you. i ask unanimous consent to grant p floor privileges to my interns on their shadow days on the following dates. for maybel napick, september 18, 2024. amelia nason, november 25, 2024. sophie davenport, november 19, donovan young, on the 21st of november. max townsend, november 4. caris roar, december 10. gisel santiago on december 12. jordan montavino, december 17, 2024. the presiding officer: without

objection. mr. merkley: thank you.

forces of evil brought their war on the united states to american soil they filled the clear blue sky with smoke, fire in the shattered lives of 2977 innocent people. before the dust has settled the

world witnessed the extraordinary heroism of first responders with compassion of neighbors and volunteers in the will of a proud nation not to look the savagery go on and did the tears that started this war that america resolve to finish it. at times that resolved bravery and over the years that september the 11th of 2001 i have been a ministry to both parties and not to shortchange or abandon our fight against the terrorists were let up on

adversaries to support them. my various colleagues in congress that makes the job of the war fighter harder by taking the central counterterrorism authorities off the table and i will continue to do so as our colleagues consider section 702 and the one taken less than two years to further extend this intelligence election. divided here's administration attends the war on terrorism is over the vice president herself claim last night that not one member of the united states military who is an active duty in a combat zone for the first time in a century.

the southern district of course this is news to the u.s. service members are conducted against isis in iraq last week, into the sailors intercepting who the rockets in the red sea into the families of service members killed and injured on 22 near syria earlier this year, our current commander in chief and divided here's administration are not the first to chase the tail of shutting down terrorist detention at guantanamo bay, they are not the first to indulge in the idea of a pivot away from a region to the u.s.

interest. and they're not the first to suggest that america gets to decide unilaterally when threats from afghanistan and, but they were the ones who followed through the disastrous retreat that torched american credibility and left routine service members dead. the administration under the mistaken idea or because the us-led coalition made tremendous progress in keeping terrorist threats under control and we continue to do so. how is that going? despite assurances from the secretary of defense over the horizon operation would not suffer from the lack of human intelligence after the u.s. withdrawal, the administration

has not conducted a single stripe, not one against isis k, the terrorists responsible for the advocate bombing. among other atrocities since 2001, of course that's not because the tears have been quiet, and fact on one analysis this year isis k found 21 attacks in nine countries in the previous 12 months alone compared to just three between 2018 and the spring of 20 running two. the annual threat assessment was forced to acknowledge the quote terrorists will maintain interest in conducting attacks against u.s. persons, allies and interest worldwide.

>> in a deed americans retreat from afghanistan has invited balance elsewhere from the resurgence of the islamic state in iraq and syria and into al-qaeda affiliates across the aisle, then there's thomas, the palestinian islamic jihad in hezbollah and the houthis in iraq terrorist groups, all of them have been trained and equipped, aided and abated by the world most sponsor of terror

iran. in october 7 is described as israel september the 11th, with population was ashley september the 11th 15 times over, it was the deadliest day for the jewish people since the holocaust and it would've been possible without the involvement of time around, the chaos stemming from the genocidal assault in the choreography of the irgc of attacks on israel and u.s. entries across the region is evidence of the failure of this administration accommodated approach to iran in the tears proxies. america's weakness and presentation will not to tear our adversaries withholding critical assistance from partners on the front lines and

we will not defeat them this is true as in israel and ukraine and allies and partners in adversaries in asia and elsewhere are watching in america pull its punches, their question and are resolved in our commitment to our friends and for unwilling to change iran's calculus and in into attacks on american forces in iraq then syria with international vessels in the high seas and willing to stand with partners like israel and ukraine can we be trusted to stand up for prc, 23 years ago and dangerous world american your home, we must not wait for today's threats to do the same.

>> since president biden took office, consumer prices have increased more than 20%. that is the hard truth of the monthly inflation report and it's worth remembering where it came from. vice president harris has said we are very proud of bidenomics, she should be after all it was a vice president herself in military descendent as our economy into a historic inflationary spiral, back in march of 2021 she passed the tie-breaking vote on the motion to proceed to the so-called american rescue plan it in august 2022 she did the same for passage of the so-called inflation reduction act. sure enough the vice president

is rather proud of this record, the way she tells it through all of the work president biden and i are building an economy that works for working people. but does it really? does it really work for working people, if you have some of the folks that i talked to last month, you'd likely hear a different story. >> years on our prices in the wake of the inflation reduction act are still forcing working americans to make tough choices. a mother in north carolina told a reporter . . .

>> the vice president is so pro

>> they want you to believe thee employment data and going about.

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the presiding officer: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mrs. capito: thank you, madam president. as you know, madam president, today marks 23 years since the

9/11 terrorist attacks on our nation. although we are now over two decades removed from one of the greatest tragedies in our nation's history, the memories remain in our mind as if it just happened yesterday. those horrific events in new york city, washington, d.c., and shanksville, pennsylvania forever changed national security in the united states of america, it also changed many of our families, our fellow american families. our nation banded together and supported one another and we rebuilt and recovered, but we will never forget. many of us were here on that day. i was here in washington, d.c., in my office building on the house side. i certainly will never forget that awful and tragic day. madam president, i rise today to talk about another topic, or a few topics for that matter, and that is the many issues i heard

from my constituents back home during my visits across west virginia from morgantown to manson to huntington and many other places across west virginia. i spent the last five weeks touring businesses, celebrating wins for our states and meeting with business owners and constituents. it was important for me to hear about the issues directly impacting them, the solutions working for them and the challenges that they face. i heard a lot, but the common themes i heard over and over again, number one, inflation, the border crisis, crime across our country, the chaos we are witnessing abroad and our country's weakness on the world stage, workforce shortages, i heard that everywhere i went and

the access of permitting or an energy state and the many concerns in our agriculture communities. many west virginians i spoke with feel that the current administration's agenda is just not working for them, and i can see why. so let's take a look at this. well, we can start with what's top of mind for folks all across the country, and that is the rising cost of goods and services. every day men and women go to work, take their kids to school, expect the predictability that filling up their car will cost a certain amount. that their trip to the grocery store will be in the same range. what do they find? well, thanks to inflation, fueled in part by excessive government spending to the tune of unless of -- trillions of dollars because of this administration, americans are paying higher prices for many

things they cannot do without. west virginians are spending an average of $880 more a month on food, shelter, and energy prices than they were before the biden-harris administration began. over the past year, consumer prices have risen 3%. that's not so much, but over the last, since 2021, they have increased over 20% between the time president biden and vice president harris came into office. so if you're saving up now to buy a new or used car and you keep saving, you've got to keep saving because it just costs more. headed out to the grocery store? prepare to see a larger number at the bottom of your repeat thanks to -- receipt thanks to this administration. west virginians are spending an average of $300 a month on food.

making your monthly rent payment or mortgage payment, if it seems to be higher than it was last year, that's because it is. the national media rent -- median rent is up 22% since president biden and vice president harris took office. to add to that, mortgage rates have skyrocketed. overall a 30-year fixed rate mortgage is at an average of almost 6.5%. in my state, the average is we early three's just a year ago. small businesses are suffering. for example the construction industry is very busy in west virginia. more companies and people want to come to our state. the high cost of operating businesses with already slim margins is much, much higher. contractors working under constraints of already very slim

margins are acutely feeling these failed economic policies. they're paying for more goods and services, they're pting more gas into their tank, they're having to wait longer and longer because the supply chain is disrupted. the numbers just don't lie and i heard it frequently all around the state. the savings many people have worked so hard for, whether they want to save up for a vacation, save up for a bigger and better place to live or to afford to send their children to college, the savings they worked hard for, that they sacrificed to accumulate are dwindling right in front of their eyes. another issue i heard about is the workforce shortage. when i attended the west virginia chamber of commerce business summit, this topic came up again and again and again, but also particularly from one of my manufacturers in the southern part of my state.

specifically, this manufacturer was trying to set up an apprenticeship program so they could have a plug-in of -- pipeline of a workforce, starting with high school snoifrs, put -- seniors, put them in the apprenticeship program and then work for the manufacturer. specifically they have been trying to set this up, but the u.s. department of labor under this biden-harris administration threw a wrench in their plans and slowed the process down. the bureaucracy the company has faced during the process hindered their ability to follow through with this apprenticeship program. the 21st century economy needs innovative approaches, and education and apprenticeships are one way to do it, you have to do it the way the administration wants, you can't tailor it not only for your business but where you live

would have different kind of apresent isship -- apprenticeship opportunities. businesses can advance training and employment opportunities i would be supportive of to try to keep that workforce busy, not just busy but also increasing their capabilities. there are regulations to cut that would improve our economic standing, but instead the economic policies of the biden-harris administration has severely jeopardized the american dream for millions of americans. the border crisis came up repeatedly during my visits back home. you might ask yourself, west virginia isn't a border state, so why do west virginians care about the crisis at the southern border? west virginians care about this because it impacts directly into our state and into and beyond other bothered states.

under the biden-harris administration, every state is a border state. let's take the opioid epidemic crisis as an example. deadly drugs continue to flow across our southern border, making their way into our communities. the overdose crisis has taken thousands of lives of sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, and as someone who represents a state that is one of the hardest-hit states, i have begged -- begged the biden-harris administration to do something different, or better yet, just do something to stop this. but they have proven from day one that they have no genuine interest in closing our southern border or closing down the trafficking of all of the drugs. when you have all these people -- you have to devote your manpower to the people that are coming across and the drugs slip in. crime up up -- came up.

they are alarmed. democrats have championed a soft on crime agenda that has contributed to soaring crime rates. according to the major city chiefs association when compared to mid-year pre-pandemic levels, homicides are up nearly 26% and aggravated assaults are up nearly 23% in the united states. this is not just acceptable, it's terrifying. we see it here on the city streets of washington. repeated calls from democrats to defund the police, from open boards, defund ice has led to a crime increase so overwhelming that americans fear regarding crime in their communities is at an all time 50-year high. they're afraid. we're afraid. though president biden and vice

president harris have responsibility here, in many ways they're following the direction of their pared party. we've -- their party. we've seen a lack of leadership from the white house and overpoliticized department of justice and district attorneys who refuse to prosecute crimes. the biden administration have soft on crime judges. and this is concerning and another trend for this administration. then there's the chaos unfolding around the world. a constituent recently told me and i quote, it's now obvious on the world stage, especially to our enemies that we have an extremely weak commander in chief for the first time in my life and i'm 74 years old. i don't go to bed feeling that i will be sure when i wake up in the morning that i will be safe when i wake up in the morning. the indecision and ill-advised

policies of the -- biden-harris administration, we are facing the most dangerous global threats in decades. there's been wavering support during the tumultuous times from this administration. whether it's the display of weakness on our withdrawal from afghanistan or how the biden-harris administration slow walked the ability for ukraine to maximize the help that we've given them and other nations have given them to be able to stop the russians. or whether it's iran giving its militias weapons to attack our troops, resulting in the deaths of three army soldiers in jordan and injuries to dozens more. the administration is so afraid of escalation, they only authorize minimal responses, and

in the middle east that doesn't work. so, now we see that what's going on in israel, and the administration is acting as if israel is the problem. they forget about october 7. we've been absolutely clear-eyed there's no moral equivalency between hamas and israel in this world, and it shouldn't be hard to say. another issue i heard about, i mentioned it in the beginning, is agriculture. we're very concerned, our agriculture communities are very concerned about our inability to pass the farm bill. why is the leadership in this majority here in the senate not helping our farmers get the relief they need? west virginia farmers depend on the farm bill, as they do on farms all over the country, and the stability of a five-year reauthorization. we did one one-year extension, it looks like we're going to do another one. this sends the wrong signals to

a huge sector, but also a food security sector for our country. senator boozman, from arkansas, has been traveling the country listening to farmers all over, the ag community all over the country. i'm glad he came to west virginia to hear, but our farmers are worried about dumping of products from other countries and their ability as smaller farms to be able to exist. so, we did have some positives that went on over the last several years -- or last several months. in august i traveled to, met with the mayors in charlestown and harpers ferry about their funding needs and wastewater, dedicated the new heritage center in wheeling and received updates on a major water system in warton. these are examples where i helped them through spending to solve some of their problems. there are certainly concerns on

folks' minds, but exciting things are happening in our state, and the spirit was powerfully felt at the business summit. i was very pleased to bring the canadian ambassador as my guest to talk about the over $2 billion of west virginia products that canada buys and how trade is so very important. i went to see where we're going to complete corridor h hopefully and fix that market street bridge in the northern panhandle. i was really pleased to go to marshall university and see their cybersecurity program. they're bringing up an institute of cybersecurity for critical infrastructure. i was honored to bring assistant director jen easterly to huntington to see the potential for not just our security, but also for the workforce that is going to provide the cybersecurity. so, i had productive visits in our states. always great to be out, to be around, talk with folks. i talked at length with people

individually or as a group. regardless, americans want us to do our jobs. they don't want us to do show votes. they don't want us to sit around and nominate people. they want us to get our government spending done, our national defense authorization act, our farm bill, all these things on our plate. yet, we're sitting around, wasting time doing votes that don't have as big an impact on individuals as many of the things we should be doing. it doesn't have to be this way. americans shouldn't be forced to choose between paying rent, paying for food or filling up their gas tank. they shouldn't turn on the tv and see our southern border in chaos and our cities flooded with crime. and they shouldn't have to harbor such doubt about our international standing. we can do this better. we can do this better, and we should. with that, i yield back.

mr. hoeven: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. hoeven: thank you, madam president. i rise to join my colleague from west virginia talking about some of the important issues we worked on over the past month. i'm really pleased she talked about the importance of getting a farm bill. it's just incredibly important in my state of north dakota. we're number one in ag powerhouse and also energy powerhouse. in the energy realm, we produce more than 1.2 million barrels of oil a day. that's as much as some of the opec countries produce. then we supply electricity to coal-fired and other sources of electricity to probably an eight-state region. we're really an energy powerhouse. that's a big part of our economy. but still, ag is number one for us. we produce probably more than 40 different crops, as diverse as -- we're the number one state

for producing honey, we produce a lot of sugar, then we've got all the row crops, corn, soybeans, all those kind of things, we've got wheat, the pulse crops. we have more cattle than people, millions of head of cattle. so we're very diversified in the ag world. needless to say, a farm bill is incredibly important to us. incredibly important to our country. when i talk about farmers and ranchers, and the farm bill, i like to start by saying every single american benefits every single day from our farmers and ranchers who produce the highest-quality, lowest-cost food supply in the world. so, when we talk about good farm policy, we're talking about something that benefits every american, every day. americans spend less of their budget on food. they have the best food, the

best choice, best quality, and we spend less of our budget on food than virtually any other developed country. all that's brought to us every single day by our farmers and ranchers. i want to take a few minutes to talk about how important it is to get the farm bill done. not just for our farmers and ranchers, but for every single american. during the recent work porp i was out -- work period, i was out, and i visited with farmers and ranchers across our state, you know, continued to get their input, but also they really are seeing challenges out there in farm country. both -- i mean, they don't control the weather, obviously, they don't control trade, and they don't control the price, but they have to deal with all three every year. and so, what we're seeing right now is decline in commodity

prices, which is putting real pressure on farmers and ranchers across this country. as part of my efforts, i also convened a field hearing of the senate ag appropriations committee near, actually, fargo, north dakota, to discuss the future of ag research and also ag development. we're one of the leaders in provision agricultural. the technology in farming and ranching now is unbelievable. at north dakota state university, combined with our world-class farmers and ranchers, we're really leading that effort forward with a new concept called grand farm, where we are displaying on a national basis the incredible advancements in technology that are important part of provision agricultural there. i was pleased to be joined by colleagues on a bipartisan basis. senator boozman was there, as well as senator klobuchar and senator smith.

so bipartisan. all members of the ag committee with me. we had very robust and substantive discussion about precision agriculture. while we focused on the future of agriculture, research, we also heard from witnesses on the need to pass a farm bill, and what needs to be in that farm bill in order to make sure that it works. that means a strong commodity title, and that cal for updating crop insurance and making sure we update the reference prices, meaning the countercyclical safety net, those two tools, crop insurance and countercyclical safety net, that's how our farmers manage risk, in a world where they don't control prices, they don't control weather, and they don't control trade. right? we produce fuel and fiber not just for this country, but for the world. and the farmers don't have any control over those things, which

is why it is so important we have the right kind of farm policy. that is being reinforced this week by more than 300 commodity groups, farmers and ranchers from across the country, that are here this week in support of getting this farm bill done. we're already operating under a one-year extension. so, we're already one year past due getting a new five-year farm bill in place. and as i say, farmers and ranchers from across the country are here talking to policymakers about the need to get this done rather than facing yet another year long extension -- yearlong extension. the message is very, very clear -- we need to update the countercyclical safety net and crop insurance. those, that's the heart and soul. that's how our farmers manage risk. that's the key to getting a farm bill done. as i mentioned, economic

conditions in farm country continue to worsen, and last week the farm income forecast from usda came out, indicated that lower commodity prices, high input costs and elevated interest rates continue to create a real challenge for our producers. for 2024, usda is projecting net farm income, which is a broad measure of farm income, at $140 billion, which is a decrease of $6.5 billion from 2023. adjusted for inflation, the 2024 net cash farm income projections for crops like corn, so beans and wheat -- soybeans, important not only to my state but the midwest and beyond, represent the worst numbers since usda began collecting this data for the past 15 years. now, we have the opportunity to address that through the farm

bill, and we need to do it. we need to get it done. senator boozman, who as i mentioned joined me in north dakota several weeks ago, put forward a framework for that farm bill, and i think it does exactly what it needs to do -- it provides that support that farmers and ranchers need. also in the house, the house ag committee chairman, g.t. thompson, he also moved through their full ag committee a bill that i think works as well. so, the framework in the senate is there, the bill that's come out of committee in the house is there are, the bill in the house needs some tweaks but it's going the right direction. so the reality is we're in position to get it done. we need to come together on a bipartisan basis and address

updates to the reference prices in the countercyclical safety net, as well as the updates for the crop insurance we need, which i put in a marker bill that lays out very clearly what needs to happen. we need to come to agreement on that. and we need to get this farm bill done. thank you, madam president. mrs. fischer: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mrs. fischer: thank you, madam president. my home of nebraska is home to an array of people, places, and pursuits. it's home to husker football and the college world series, our beautiful state capitol building in lincoln, and our world-famous zoo in omaha. nebraska is home to plains and prairies and cities and small

towns, and to the breathtaking natural beauty of the nebraska sandhills. that unique beauty of the nebraska sandhills where we raised our three sons is where i began my travels last month, during the august state work period. in total, i visited over 35 communities with over 100 stops, from kimble to blair, from red cloud to norfolk. one visit especially near and dear to me was the valentine community schools. years ago, i served on the valentine school board, where i saw these schools up close and advocated for their improvements. the valentine community schools are still doing great, educating bright kids who will go on to lead our state. further west, i toured the

scottsbluff and bridgeport schools. the scottsbluff school system follows a career academy focused curriculum, and i was impressed to see the creativity and innovation of educators that are applying that work. it's a testament to nebraskans' dedication to progress in our local communities, along with the schools and educators across the state i visited health care facilities and the doctors and nurses and medical professionals who keep them going. when when i toured chi health, i heard about their incredible flight life capabilities. rural communities, while they live hours away from a hospital, in an emergency that can be

deadly. good samaritan is responding to those risks by life flighting patients all across nebraska and even into south dakota at times. while in central nebraska i visited carney police department and the buffalo county sheriffs department, these two departments, they share a really unique setup in the same building where they can collaborate and use a larger range of resources. by linking together carney and the buffalo county law enforcement, they're more efficient and do an excellent job in protecting their communities. the august work period every year brings me fresh motivation and gratitude. i saw the ways that federal legislation is creating real change in my home state. i saw progress all across

nebraska, in education, in health care, in law enforcement, in manufacturing and agriculture, in economic development, in countless other sectors. and most of all, i saw nebraskans and their local communities dedicating their lives and dedicating their careers to investing in the people around them. those are the people that i represent here in the united states senate. and just as they are dedicated to investing in nebraska, i am dedicated to advocating for nebraskans. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senator from missouri, senator schmitt and i each be permitted to speak up to five minutes

prior to the scheduled roll call vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: madam president, today is the 23rd anniversary of the tragic death of about 3,000 americans at the world trade center and at the pentagon as well as in shanksville, pennsylvania. it's a sobering and solemn day. it's one of the occasions -- 9/11 is one of those occasions that you remember during your life because you remember where you were and what you were doing when this terrible tragedy came on the news. i remember i was on the telephone talking to my governor and my wife said, you need to see this. and i turned to watch the tv as the second plane hit the world trade center. we had no idea what was going

on. but as i've often said, this day is a dividing line in our history. there's before 9/11 and then there's after 9/11. it's a reminder of our commitment as a country to carry out the promise that we made in the wake to never forget. so today we remember the first responders who ran toward the danger, the families who lost loved ones, and the commitment of the united states armed forces to combat terrorism around the globe each and every day. madam president, on another matter, since the senate gavelled out nearly six weeks ago, i like the rest of my colleagues have traveled all around our states. my state is a little bit bigger than the average state.

we have 30 million people, 254 counties. i don't claim to have gone to all of them, but i tried my best to cover as much ground as i can. -- as i could. of course, it's a great opportunity to get outside the bubble of washington, d.c. and this is indeed a bubble. this is not the real world. i tell my constituents who come to washington, d.c., i say this is like disneyland. it's not real. it's fascinating. it's intriguing and important things happen here, but it's not real. what happens outside of this bubble, that's real. for example, at memorial high school in houston, texas, i joined online safety experts, education leaders, advocates, parents to discuss more ways that we can help protect our children from online threats.

this includes the kids online safety act and the children and teens online privacy protection act, both of which passed the senate with huge margins before we broke in august. and i hope the house will take these nonpartisan, noncontroversial bills up soon. i remember thinking as i met with the principals and talked to some of the parents about what our young people are exposed to on their cell phones and online on a daily basis and thinking i'm glad my daughters are grown. because growing up is hard enough without being under constant attack by people who want to entice you to do things that you should not do or share with you information you just as soon not see. then i went to austin where i met with my former colleague on the texas supreme court nathan

heck and travis county district judge judy came seweric. she was actually a survivor of an assassination attempt in austin texas, travis county. somebody who was a defendant, a criminal defendant on her docket decided he wanted to assassinate her. but we met with her as well as other local leaders at a round table to try to figure out what we can do to try to keep our judges, our court personnel, and the public that needs to have access to our courts, how we could keep them safe. and this include my countering threats on the judges act which passed the senate in june and would establish a state judicial threat, intelligence and resource center to provide technical assistance, training, and threat monitoring for state and local judges and court personnel. we all know the federal

government only handles a small fraction of what the judicial branch handles and most of that is handled by the judiciary at the state level. so it's really important to provide best practices and resources to our judges and court personnel and the public that needs to have access to courts and access to justice around our country. i was then glad to join our good friend senator john boozman from arkansas who is the ranking member of the senate agricultural committee in the rio grande valley. that's the southernmost tip in the middle of texas. and it's one of the most prolific regions for agriculture in our state. but we heard from farmers and ranchers about the importance of passing a timely and strong farm bill and particularly we heard about the challenges they face because mexico continues to

withhold water that it owes the united states under a 1944 water treaty. then just outside of austin, i visited with business leaders and community members on economic issues important to central texas, including the looming deadline to fund the federal government. then i had a chance to travel to parkland hospital in dallas, texas. parkland hospital is famous because that's where john f. kennedy was treated after he was shot tragically in dallas, but it's a huge, huge health care enterprise. and i joined health care leaders, law enforcement, as well as two mothers who tragically lost their daughters to fentanyl poisoning to discuss the impact of my fight illicit pill presses act which would have a positive impact on our efforts to eradicate this silent killer from our communities.

i introduced this bipartisan legislation last month to make it easier for law enforcement to take action against criminal cartels use of illicit pill presses by requiring that those presses be engraved with serial numbers. while i'm glad the online safety bills have advanced out of this chamber, there's still a lot of work that senator schumer who sets the schedule in the senate has left until the last minute. as i heard from my constituents about some of these events in the state of tngs are rightly concerned about the senate's inaction on critical priorities like the farm bill, like additional legislation to combat the scourge of fentanyl poisoning. fentanyl actually now is responsible -- the leading cause of death for americans between the age of 18 and 45 years old.

and then they're also worried about whether the government is going to remain open and be appropriately funded. and they understand the impact of short-term funding bills and its negative impact on our military and on our national security. so that's why i don't understand why senator schumer continues to waste our time on show votes and ignoring predictable deadlines to lead to inevitable drama about a potential shutdown when none of that is necessary. so i hope senator schumer will take advantage of the next ten days that remain this month to do something about rather than just kick the can down the road once again. and i'd yield to my colleague from missouri.

the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. mr. schmitt: thank you, madam president. before i get into my remarks, i would just like to say a few words on this 23rd anniversary of the september 11 attacks. 23 years ago america and the world changed forever. we will never forget those who lost their lives, including the first responders who rushed into danger that day to save plane lives -- many lives at a time when first responders are running into buildings and people are running out.

we appreciate their sacrifice and their service and may god bless and continue to bless this beautiful nation and all that she stands for now and forever. this august i made a point to meet with and hear from missourians across the state. these conversations are always valuable in my work here in washington and certainly influence the decisions and the votes cast right here on the senate floor. i was proud to host a round table with industry in spacial technologies and put more of my talent in st. louis and transform the gateway city into the defense capital of the united states. a round table included representatives from a wide array of companies, universities, geospatial agencies among them, nga, tgi, and many others. geospatial technologies are critical to so many different industries. both civilian and military.

their application to defense technologies and gps mapping cannot be overstated. st. louis is already home to the national geospatial intelligence agency which is building a new campus and working to revitalize north st. louis, private investment through the geospatial institute and other private and public geospatial and artificial intelligence assets. there's no reason st. louis can't become the defense tech hub of our country, and that's why i'm working to continue accomplishing that exact goal. i was in jefferson city to hear directly from advocates of those living with disabilities. stakeholders including the missouri developmental disabilities council, special olympics missouri and many other groups and individuals on how we as lawmakers can better advocate for those with disabilities here in washington. communities play an important role in my life over the years. i ran for office to help people

like my son steven who has special needs. i earned political office to improve the lives of missourians in our state and that especially includes our most vulnerable citizens whom i'll never stop fighting for here in the united states senate. i also visited and toured jordan pediatric bridge hospital and their state of the art facility to study all the advancements they're making in care services for children in the broader st. louis community. this incredible facility is accomplishing great things for children and their families as they make the transition from the hospital to their homes. i also spoke with the sustainable ozark's partnership in waynesville, missouri, on the incredible work they do in the surrounding community and not just for missouri in that regard but for our country. home to over 5,000 active military members, many of whom collectively train nearly 80,000 servicemembers and civilians

each year, fort leonardwood is a proud military community that is absolutely vital to our nation's military training, architecture and national security. it's because of these brave warriors that we remain a bright, shining beacon to the world of freedom, and we can live and thrive in the greatest country there ever was. in places like fort leonardwood, that have served as a critical role in training the next generation of american soldiers as they confront newer threats and never-ending threats abroad, among those the chinese communist party, north korea, and iran. because without strong leadership here at home, these hostile regimes will continue to undermine and test america's limits, making all of us less safe. it's incumbent upon those here today that we continue the important work of ensuring that our soldiers have the support and resources necessary to continue keeping america safe.

summer wouldn't be the same without the missouri state fair, a great opportunity to meet with and listen to missourians from across our state. there was truly a lot of fun and food -- i asget asked that question about the state fair. it's got to be the food. from the cattlemen's beef house to the pork palace and everywhere in between that has things like fried oreos and offing else that you can -- everything else that you can imagine is fried. -- a lot of food was eaten but more importantly we had a lot of great conversations hearing directly from farmers and ranchers across missouri on how i can continue to advocate for them here in the senate. of course, there was also some fun moments from august, including as a visiting with thd football coach at the university

and toured their new facilities. lastly, i was proud to join a group of bipartisan senators on the congressional delegation to asia, specifically japan and south korea, to better understand how the united states can continue to work with our partners in the indo-pacific, particularly as china continues to become an increasing threat to those countries and our country. meeting with leaders in japan and south korea gave us all a frontline view of what's needed in the region and how the united states and especially missouri can continue to be a strong ally in the indo-pacific. when i asked missourians for their vote not even two years ago, i promised that i would fight for them. the most important part of my job will always be sesqui the people of my state -- serving the people of my state. it was great to be back home in august and i look forward to taking those conversations that i had with missourians and

addressing their concerns right here in washington. thank you, madam president. i yield back. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to it voke cloture. the clerk: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 780, mary kay lanthier of vermont to be united states district judge for the district of vermont, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of mary kay lanthier of vermont to be united states district judge for the district of vermont 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. the clerk: mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell.

mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham.

mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell.

mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt.

mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden.

mr. young. the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- brown, cantwell, collins, cortez masto, duckworth, durbin, king, reed, rosen, and welch. senators voting in the negative -- blackburn, capito, cornyn, cotton, cramer, crapo, cruz, hoeven, hyde-smith, johnson, lankford, lee, marshall, mullin, paul, risch, schmitt, scott of florida, scott of south carolina, sullivan, tuberville, and wicker.

mr. schatz, aye. the clerk: mr. romney, no. the clerk: mr. kaine, aye.

the clerk: mr. barrasso, no.

the clerk: ms. lummis, no.

the clerk: mr. hickenlooper, aye. ms. stabenow, aye. mr. young, no. mr. ricketts, no. ms. smith, aye.

mr. heinrich, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. cardin, aye. mr. blumenthal, aye. mrs. murray, aye.

mr. rubio, no. mr. bennet, aye. the clerk: mr. lujan, aye. mr. casey, aye.

the clerk: mr. sanders, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. warner, aye. the clerk: mrs. fischer, no.

the clerk: mr. peters, aye. mr. grassley, no. ms. butler, aye.

the clerk: mr. padilla, aye. mr. fetterman, aye.

the clerk: mr. moran, no.

the clerk: ms. sinema, aye.

the clerk: ms. hirono, aye.

the clerk: mr. coons, aye.

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

the clerk: ms. ernst, no.lanthi

vote:

the clerk: ms. hassan, aye. the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye. mr. manchin, aye.

mr. helmy, aye. the clerk: mrs. shaheen, aye.

the clerk: mr. kelly, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. merkley, aye.

the clerk: mr. braun, no.

the clerk: ms. baldwin, aye. the clerk: mr. warnock, aye.

the clerk: mr. murphy, aye.