that's how they teach most most of they believe it when hitler they did so not only in our own peril the peril of millions of people what have i learned from history? when someone threatens to kill you because you are of a particular race or religion should take that seriously. how do we end this conflict? we end this with the complete decimation of hamas a plan for the day after that were placed hamas in gaza, reform the pa try to get a cease-fire in lebanon reduce the impact it has on the lebanese people. all of that shiite iranian backed militia has as their goal disruption, upheaval and tyranny. they want to control the region

and remake it in their own image. look with her doing in syria. look at the doing in yemen. an historic opportunity to give israel what they need to finish the where they cannot afford to lose. come out the day after plan to replace the better life get lebanon and a better space and build on the abraham accords this effort by my colleagues undercuts all about. you have every right to say anything you want to say this body. i've been there a lot and none of you have gone with me. making peace is hard. we haven't done this together. i've been to senate ben holland before in the region i think he was to help the palestinians final think is anti-semitic. i just think there's an opportunity here and it's not about beebe about strain of

islam that will kill every jew including beebe and come after us but we are defeated my goal is to not will reject this idea but to work with president biden and president trump and their teams before the next president takes office to have a day after plan that will allow israel to withdraw there will be no more october 7 alarm gaza and the west bank to be rebuilt with dignity and hope. that is my goal this resolution undercuts michael i would urge you to vote no. i'll be going back next week. incoming trump administration last hour of the last minute of the last day to find a solution

i would end with this. if we failed to find a day after plan that allows israel to withdrawal and be secure and fails to deliver political for the palestinians god help us all. this will repeat itself. i want will come back. they will reemerge. we have a moment in time to change the region, change the world i would ask all of us to seize the moment in this revolution resolution is counter to what i'm trying to achieve i would urge a no vote in a dignified life of the palestinians rest with a viable day after plan what is the proper response to people who want to kill you, your family, and destroy your way of life? i can tell you with the united states did.

we were to war dropped two atomic bombs to end the war cannot afford to lose. what is the right response to those who want to kill all the jews? make sure they don't have the capability to do it. thank you. >> metal president? senator from maryland. >> met at present i rise in support of the joint resolution of the disapproval defendant is considering today on the sales of certain offense of weapons to the government. and to be clear i do not support an arms embargo on israel. i do believe the night that should pause the delivery of offense of weapons until the netanyahu government meets the requirement of u.s. law and policies with respect to the delivery of humanitarian assistance to civilians in gaza on the use of americans weapons there.

this is not about abandoning support for israel. this is about making sure america support for israel complies with america laws and policies and values. we would not be on this floor considering these resolutions if that was happening today. these will be the one opportunity members of the senate have two send that message. i urge my colleagues to support them. following the hamas attacks of october 7, i have is probably every senator has support israel's right to defend itself argued that the duty to defend themselves and hamas control of gaza. i am steadfast in that support to this moment. there must be no more october 7. at the same time u.s. taxpayer-funded assistant should not come in the form of a blank

check. even to our closest allies we need to ensure u.s. interest values and priorities will be respected by foreign governments that receive u.s. assistance to break those by our security assistance to many countries includes various conditions to encourage progress on human rights. in some cases, in the case of ukraine we've limited the use of certain systems to align with the u.s. national security interests. in other cases including some nato allies we prevented the transfer of certain advanced weapon systems on our policy goals do not align. the one minimum standard we must apply to all recipients of american's compliance with american laws. its compliance with the minimum standard we are talking about

here today. nothing more, nothing less. the netanyahu government should not be exempt from that universal requirement of american law. the united states has provided billions and billions of dollars of american taxpayer financed bombs and other offensive weapon systems. but we have seen prime minister netanyahu repeatedly violate the terms of american security assistance disregard u.s. priorities and ignore our request. only to be rewarded at more bombs and more money. that pattern undermines the credibility of the united states around the world and creates an unacceptable double standard our adversaries are exploiting. two of the conditions every recipient of u.s. security assistance must meet are they

must facilitate and not arbitrarily restrict the delivery of humanitarian assistance into war zones were weapons are being used. war zones like ukraine and or zones like gaza. and two, they must use american supplied weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law. which was well developed after world war ii and what senator graham spoke too. the netanyahu government is violating both of these requirements in gaza. by refusing to take action the president and the united states are complicit in those violations of american laws and american values. let's look at the unacceptable restrictions in place by the tremont government on delivery of humanitarian aid to desperately needed civilians in gaza right now. it has been well documented there's some improvement and the delivery of humanitarian supplies last april.

around the time the by administration had to submit msn 20 report to congress. but since then levels a bit on the downhill slide in a precipitous drop. the cumulative impact of severe restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid has worsened and already catastrophic humanitarian situation in gaza. senator sanders spoke to the conditions there. in fact that is were president biden to increase aid to gaza on many occasions most recently in early october call extract expressly reminded israeli government officials in the letter that i have here nay 620 i of the foreign assistance act and national security memorandum

22 facilitate and not arbitrarily restrict the delivery of humanitarian assistance appeared here is what our two secretaries wrote in that letter quote. we are particularly concerned with recent actions including halting commercial and point denying or impeding nearly 90% of humanitarian movements of sheet northern and southern gaza in september. they go on the list a number of other things are quote contributing to accelerated deterioration of the condition in gaza. and that secretaries austin and blinken laid out a series of key measures against which they said the united states was going to measure the government's compliance. they mentioned enabling a minimum 350 trucks per day instituting adequate humanitarian causes across gaza to enable humanitarian activities. they mentioned restating 50 --

100 commercial trucks per day. they had a long list of items. so, what do eight very respected international ngos that conduct humanitarian relief in gaza and monitor it have to say whether those conditions were met? well, they compiled a scorecard. we've got it right here. what they say on the specific items i mentioned was that the netanyahu government failed. the overall report card concludes israel fails to comply with u.s. humanitarian access, and demands in gaza. in fact, they determined not only did the netanyahu government failed to meet u.s. criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the conditions on the

ground. particularly in northern gaza. they said the situation is even more dire today than a month ago. in other words, because of those actions that were taken the situation was worse than when secretary austin and blinken and send that letter indeed independent "washington post" analysis found israel has largely failed to comply with the three demands of the u.s. letter." in the november 12 article they also pointed out the following and i quote. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has refused to publicly disavow the plan which calls for the military to take control of the north and by starving the civilian population in treating everyone he remains as combatant." the story goes on to say and i quote the idf's is been given no such orders is focus on dismantling hamas.

the ongoing military operation in the north appears to have much in common with the strategy unquote. it's called the general's strategy. the leading israeli newspaper editorialized with the following headline. netanyahu ethnic cleansing in gaza is on display for all to see unquote. that is a view also been echoed by many israeli human rights organizations i commend them on all of the work that they do. pr. the motion is not agreed to. mr. sanders: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: thank you. madam president, pursuant to section 36-c of the arms export control act, i move to discharge the committee on foreign relations from further consideration of s.j. res. 115

relating to the disapproval of the proposed license amendment for the export of certain defense articles, defense services, and technical data to israel. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from vermont, mr. sanders, moves to discharge senate joint resolution 115 providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed -- mr. sanders: i ask unanimous consent to dispense with further reading of the resolution. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order, there will now be two minutes for debate equally divided. mr. sanders: thank you. two basic points. the first one is the same point that has to be made over and over again. what we are doing is in violation of the law. u.s. weapons cannot be provided to countries who violate internationally recognized human rights or block u.s. humanitarian aid. according to all of the

international humanitarian organizations on the dpround in gaza -- on the ground in gaza right now, that is exactly what israel is doing. so a no vote is to allow us to continue breaking the law. the second point, this one deals with jdam's, which are systems that make bombs more precise. and on the surface it sounds, well, that's a good thing. the presiding officer: order, please. mr. sanders: you'd rather use smart bombs than dumb bombs. when you do that, you save civilian lives. problem is that what israel has been doing is using jdam's to target u.n. schools packed with displaced people, target refugee centers, and kill large numbers. innocent people. so a smart bomb does not save civilian lives when it is directly targeting civilians. i would ask for a yes vote on

this resolution. the presiding officer: does anyone seek time in opposition? mr. cardin: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: in opposition to the resolution, quite frankly i'm perplexed with this one. because, as the sponsor indicated, we're talking about the guidance systems on munitions, which makes it precise, and despite what the sponsor of the resolution says, israel targets military targets of terrorists. yes, hamas makes it more challenging by where they locate the targets, in hospitals and schools, etc. but without the guidance system, there's going to be greater civilian losses. so if you're concerned about humanitarian issues, i don't know how you can possibly vote for this resolution. in addition, of course, as the administration pointed out, they oppose this resolution because

it would prolong the war, not shorten it, put israel at risk, and inject wind into the sails of iran and its proxies, just as they're facing an historic low point and looking for a deal. i urge my colleagues to reject the resolution. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion to discharge. mr. sanders: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler.

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

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

mr. mcconnell. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina.

mrs. shaheen. the senate work in nontraditional nominations today votes have also begun on a. series of foreign policy measures introduced by independent senator bernie sanders been these include resolutions to block arms shipments to israel and other disapproving of loan relief for ukraine. earlier today at vice president-elect jd vance was on capitol hill talking with lawmakers about the incoming president's choice for attorneyy general. former congressman matt gaetz, resigned shortly before the release of an ethics committee report. you are watching live coverage of the senate here on cspan2.

mr. young. senators voting in the affirmativive -- heinrich, kain i appreciated emily going to take a couple of minutes. yesterday in the press report apparently i had a report what i said at lunch for the news the talking but a simple concept. i don't know i think the american people are onor board with me. we have toma show for work, rig? i think we have to bring the resubmit 18 votes on monday night is because some of my colleagues on my side of the folks, this is it is a partisan and focusing in on some of my colleagues. got to show up for work. we have got work to do here and

i understand there's all kinds of good reasons trade there's no excuse to let chuck schumer forced these judicial nominations down our throat but we've got to show up for work. what happened on monday night only occurred because republicans were not here. theyo. are my colleagues, they e my friends but they are business associates first to have a job of making sure we prevent chuck schumer from driving a lot of these judicial nominations, that if we are here won't be successful. the only reason we were here until midnight on monday night is because some of my colleagues did not show up. i am just saying folks this is pretty simple process but most of my career in business. if my senior staff did not show up in my former partners at price waterhouse did not show up we would find them another job. we get this job whether we want it or not whether we resign thed the campfires and midterms are in the middle of our terms. but, i can express my concern

with giving chuck schumer an easy way to beat republicans who want to vote against potentially defeat some of these very liberal judges. so, all i am saying is the press gets it right, people put words in my mouth at a private lunch that's all right people do that around here, i don't too. here's what i said at lunch. 90% of success is showing up. if we were here on monday night we would not have been here until midnight because we would have defeated chuck schumer's opportunity to do it then. ifo. we are not here every singe day, hate somebody asked me when do i need to be there for the fourth circuit nominee? what is that about going to occur? i said when you are not here. we've got to show up folks. the american people expect us to show up for a job for these are my friends come these are my colleagues, these are people i work together with it. but they let me down on monday. they better not let me down for

the rest of the session. every time we failed to show up, i'll be back in here to remind myms colleagues the american people and the people who elected us in our great states want us to do our jobs. you cannot do your job if you arebl not here. thank you madam president. mr. boozman, no.

mr. sullivan, no. mr. lankford, no. mr. tillis, no. mr. durbin, aye. mr. marshall, no. mr. grassley, no. mr. romney, no.

mr. murphy, aye. mr. king, aye. mr. welch, aye. ms. smith, aye.

ms. stabenow, no. ms. klobuchar, no. mr. schmitt, no.

mr. fetterman, no. mr. casey, no. ms. collins, no. mr. cornyn, no.

ms. duckworth, no. mr. schumer, no. mr. wyden, no. vote:

weeks have passed since then the urgency remains georgians at the center of this devastation are living this every single day. while i am here to her my my colleagues of the more urgency to act, i note families and farmers back home still recovering they are the ones who understand the dire circumstances clearly. there's one family in augusta, georgia a married couple with two young elementary age kids who following helene are still

residing in a house deemed 95% damage. it's a practically unlivable, their home. they are still waiting on federal supports to move to either a temporary or a long term housing solution. imagine that, waking up every day in a home that's 95% damage. and as they navigate the stress and the trauma of this turmoil the father continues showing up for work. he goes to work every day in order to provide for his family and then returned to their damaged home waiting on us to show up to work. and get the job done. if we expect a hard-working georgians to do their job in the

midst of a disaster they should expect us to do hours. it is the least we can do. the disaster assistance proposal before us would deliver a lifesaver for so many families providing over $20 billion to help farmers address crop and orchard losses. more than $600 million help them rehabilitate damage lands, $375 million to support rural communities with housing, power, water, health care and more. $40 billion for fema disaster relief fund the primary source of federal assistance for georgians impacted by hurricane helene. there is also critical funding to fix our damaged roads, i wasin support of small busines harmed by the storms and invest in public water and sewer system

upgrades. the only question is, what are we waiting for? there's no time for again, no time for delay, no time for partisanship or politics. we must center the human beings, members of our families who are impacted by our policy. in the time to act is now. we must approve this additional funding with bipartisan bicameral support i will continue to do all i can until we get this done. every dollar we allocate gets to the taxpayers. after all this is the taxpayers money. hard-working families try to pick up the pieces of their lives. this is the work we must do and it cannot happen soon enough.

madam president i yield the floor. glicksman president kuester quick center from north carolina >> men in prison i rights of a talk but the road ahead for western north carolina after the devastation of hurricane helene. i acknowledge and appreciate my colleague from one of the mountain states, georgia particularly northern georgia and am reminded we are rebuilding together. for us here in north carolina hurricane helene represented one of the worst natural disasters to ever strike my home state and i've seen a lot of natural disasters in north carolina. last count more than 100 people just in our state have been killed. hundreds more were injured. some are still missing. thousands of north carolinians

lost their homes, the loss of businesses and for small mountain communities in western north carolina this horrific deal began friday morning of september 27. when the storm hit and already rainsoaked area situation escalated into life and death within moments. in the small town of what's now famous in batcave north carolina population 180 the towns of fire chief steve freedman was home with his wife. in advance of the storm steve parked his first car in 1967 mustang, put it up on higher ground on the ridge above the family shed around 8:45 a.m. he and his wife heard their house shake. he ran to the back of the house he looked out the window and found that the car had already been swept downhill into the shed. seconds later he watched a ford pickup get flipped upside down by the torrential flooding. then he heard more rumbling

noises followed by it shaking and outside he saw a mud slide and barreling down. he ran for cover but the collapsing shed took his feet out from under him and washed him several yards where his head was pinned between the loader and what was left of the shed. his wife, who was watching in horror thought that he was dead. but it's come in a moment he credits to the grace of almighty god, steve had just enough room to get his head out. he went back inside to his wife they escape the area steve later said i had my near death experience and that is when i knew that god was here for me. what is even more extraordinary is after this harrowing experience the chief began working for the safety of his community. others might've called it quits but he went to work. heat heat and fire first mapped

out the area started digging people out. chief freedman is one of the hundreds of heroic north carolinians who leapt into harms way to help others. that is a thing about the people of western north carolina. they are not just tough, they are mountain tough. madam president had the pleasure of going to undergrad appalachian state years ago. i've got lifelong friends who still called the region home. if you spent any amount of time you learned just how strong these people are in the mountains. he's a proud and self-sufficient people. they are generous people. for instance take the story of ethan at slick rock. he lives in henderson county. he volunteered to help rescue folks who were trapped. when he saw the storm debris that needed clearing in his neighborhood he jumped on his own heavy machinery and did the job. locals went up to him and offered to pay compensation for his work and ethan replied, it

is just fuel. he would want to personally help direct the national guard and federal officials as they arrived to clean up chimney rock. this story countless others like it are perfect testament to the people of north carolina. they are some of the most resilient people around. they do not look for handouts. they do not complain. but the truth is they need us right now. our government must be there to help them. that's why it's incredibly disturbing to report on the ground that they are still struggling to get in touch with representatives from fema. now of course it don't denigrate the hard work of many of these hard-working officials that are trying to do the right thing. when you heard the same story of a scattershot response are the same story over and over again something is dreadfully wrong. you also know something is wrong will be hear from a whistleblower at fema who claims

federal officials directed a colossal event of avoidance against household flags and yard signs supporting president trump. this sort of weaponization of the government against people in the time of need is disgusting and it is wrong. there's going to be accountability for it. as we hold these agencies accountable we in congress have work to do and no time to waste. i'm calling on this body to quickly approve a supplemental bill to help fund long-term recovery for the citizens of western north carolina. congress should take up this bill without further delay. those of us from the region that regionregardless of party e support this. i realize coming from someone like me asking for this it might sound to some out of place. but madam president disaster relief is one of the essential functions of this government. times like these are precisely why we should not overspend or

waste taxpayer dollars more prosperous times. like any family or small business we ought to be saving for a rainy day. ladies and gentlemen that rainy day is today. western north carolina the temperatures are falling fast. many people in my state are in real danger if we have people living in shelters with all the clothes on their back because of the hurricane wiped out their home. we have small shops, hotels and restaurants who rely on tourism to operate. some of those folks will be forced to shudder their businesses forever. we have a large art damaged but on compare. we have communities the boring the unimaginable loss of first responders and law enforcement.

we have some towns visited in last month like hot springs, marshall, burnsville, that are buried by flooding and mudslides. in towns like chimney rock that are mostly gone. every day i was present in the region i was stunned by the enormity of the damage it was unlike anything i had ever seen. this is not a situation where our government has hand wringing or deferring action for another few weeks or after another long recess. the citizens in my state they need help and they need it now. this is why these men and women pay their taxes. this is the right as an american we cannot leave them behind. i believe after having many conversations around the state that is their greatest fear of being forgotten. i will make my promise to not ever forget them. i promise the people of western north carolina is this, i will do everything in my power to see

that you have the federal resources you need to recover and to rebuild. i stand ready to work in my senate colleagues president-elect trump to cut through the delays to provide the people of western north carolina with the resources they need as quickly as possible we owe it to these fellow americans to help them and help them now. i yield the floor. >> dependent president-elect center from hawaii. >> on monday present invited submitted to congress emergency supplemental funding request for nearly $100 billion to help him use across the country cover from disaster. or asheville or every community that is had the misfortune of being struck by a disaster

deserves help no one is fully prepared for tornado everyone has to go through the long process of rebuilding rebuilding their life, rebuilding their home rebuilding their store rebuilding their community. every time a disastrous devastator fellow americans, congress has recognized the need for help and stepped up to fulfill our responsibility to provide that help we don't first check to see if it is a blue, or red or purple state or county. today it disaster survivors dist 40 states including my own are counting on us to do exactly that. they have their lives turned upside down in the wake of awful death and destruction they are trying to find some semblance of

stability and peace in their lives. to recover quickly and fully they need our help. it's been more than 15 months since lahaina burned down to the ground. in a matter of hours by ferocious fires. more than 4000 homes were destroyed. and yet as of today just one home has been rebuilt. one home. 4000 homes gone. 12000 people without a house. 2200 structures incinerated. one home rebuilt even before the fires was a working class town people were mostly renters won't disaster this scale is catastrophic for any community the financial burden inflicted on these survivors is especially

acute. everyone is on the best they can to recover their working so hard courage and compassion and persistence have plowed through the every barrier they have saved each other's lives trying to rebuild this beautiful historic joyful multicultural town but they need our help. this is a core responsibility denies its federal government. there are certain things we should be arguing about. there are lots of things we should be arguing about and among those things what is the federal government meant do exactly what the federal government's role exactly in education, and healthcare, and transportation? one thing we cannot argue with

each other about is this, when your fellow americans are in a situation where their county, their church, their community, their estate is just simply overwhelmed and cannot recover without the resources of the federal government or the federal government steps up and does their job. so we are about to wrap this week up before thanksgiving break with a tight little work. to get a lot done. the one thing he cannot leave on done in september and the one thing we cannot leave undone in december is disaster not just for the people of maui but all across the country by the federal government

the clerk: mr. cramer, no. mr. scott of south carolina, no.

the clerk: mr. wicker, no.

the clerk: mrs. fischer, no. i am delighted to be accompanied by senators merkley, welch, and van holland. we are here this morning to discuss three joint resolutions

of this approval j art d the senate will be voting on tomorrow. they are sj rez 111. to block 100-millimeter tank rounds, sj rez 113 to block what her 20-millimeter high explosive mortar rounds, sj rez 115 to block guidance and cap kits capd to it many of the bombs dropped in gaza. the truth of the matter is that from a legal perspective, these resolutions are not complicated. they are cut and dried. the united states government is currently in violation of the law. every member of the u.s. senate who believes in the rule of law should vote for these resolutions. the foreign assistance act and the arms export act are very clear.

the united states cannot provide a weaponry that by the internationally recognized human rights or block u.s. humanitarian aid. according to the united nations, much of the international community and every humanitarian organization on the ground in gaza, israel is clearly in violation of these laws. under these circumstances it is illegal for the u.s. government to provide them with more offensive weaponry, joint resolutions or congresses tool to enforce those laws. as i have said many times israel clearly had a right to respond to the horrific hamas terrorist attacks on october 7 which killed some 1200 innocent people and took 250 hostages. i don't think anybody in the u.s. senate disagrees with that.

but, prime minister netanyahu extremist government has not simply waged war against hamas. it hasn't waged all out war against the palestinian people. within causes a population of just two-point to million inhabitants, more than 43000 have been killed and and more than 30,000 injured. 60% of home or women, children, and elderly people. two thirds of all structures in gaza have been damaged or destroyed. that includes 87% of the housing. 87% of the housing part 84% of health facilities 70% of water and sanitation plants. every one of gaza's 12 gus's 12 universities has been embalmed

as have hundreds of schools. for 13 months there has been no electricity in gaza. and that's what is going on over the last year. it is horrific in that situation is taking place today, now, as we speak is even worse. as a result of israel blocking desperately needed humanitarian aid in recent weeks the volume of aid is lower than at any point since the war began. more aid is needed. less aid is getting through. the result, it must be very clear about this, the result is many, many thousands of children are facing malnutrition. esponde. the motion is not agreed to.

the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: i move to proceed to calendar number 566 senate joint resolution 117. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s.j. res. 117 relating to the disapproval of the presidential report with respect to the indebtedness of the government of ukraine. the presiding officer: under the previous order, there will now be one hour for debate equally divided. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: madam president, yesterday marked a somber milestone. one thousand days since russia invaded ukraine. over a million lives have been lost or wounded, a staggering human toll. yet instead of seeking a path to peace, the biden administration is choosing escalation. billions of taxpayer dollars have been funneled into this

conflict with little or no oversight and no end in sight. it's as if writing blank checks has become our primary foreign policy strategy. this has extracted a huge human cost. just days ago president biden authorized ukraine to use american-provided long-range weapons to strike inside russia. let me repeat that. we are now enabling attacks using u.s. weaponry inside russian territory. when i first saw the headline, i didn't believe it. i hoped it was maybe a joke or fake news. it was neither. it was real. now this is not a step toward de-escalation. nothing could be further from that. in fact, this is a dangerous provocation, one that brings the united states peril owsley -- pe p

peril owsley close to a direct conflict with a nuclear armed adversary. lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons. this, madam president, is not a game. the rounds are live and flying, and i would add deadly. the specter of nuclear war is now looming larger than it has in decades. yet the administration seems undeterred, even willing, as if eager to risk u.s. security for the sake of scoring one last cheap political point against the incoming trump administration and the american people. in the twilight of its tenure the biden administration is silently attempting to forgive half of the aids package, a whopping $1.47 billion given away for free if president biden has his way. the american people are being

deceived by the biden administration. americans were told ukraine would repay that sum when this bill passed. in fact, that's part of how they got it passed. it was, you might say, was not of that bill's passage. they are being stuck with the tab. let's be clear, forcing the american people to pick up this tab removes an essential point of leverage for the u.s. to bring ukraine to the negotiating table. it prolongest -- prolongs a bloody war, and gives ukraine a freebie we don't extend, even to our closest allies, all without accountability or a strategy that prioritizes america's interests first. but it's worse than that. it does so in a way that puts us in the firing line, the firing line of a nuclear-armed adversary. moreover, a significant portion of this sum was allocated to

fund the salaries of president zelenskyy and ukrainian burea bureaucrats. what kind of message does that send? when american families are pinching pennies, because we've spent money we don't have, causing us to print more money, causing every dollar the american people earn to buy less. it's unconscionable their hard-earned tax dollars are used to underwrite the administrative cost of a foreign government and the salaries of foreign bureaucrats. all in a way that makes us less safe. all in a way that puts us in a precarious position. we haven't faced, since most of us were children. our constituents are tightening their belts and making tough decisions about health care, education, and basic nece necessities. yet, we're being asked to finance the operational expenses of another nation's government? madam president, we have a duty,

a solemn duty, a sacred duty to our constituents to ensure that their hard-earned money is spent wisely and ethically, and at a minimum, not an in a way that makes them less safe or paints a target on their back for an adversary with nuclear weapons. we certainly have a constitutional duty to prevent unnecessary escalation that could lead to catastrophic consequences. and we have a duty to uphold the will of the american people who very recently, just over two weeks ago, voted for a different president with a different foreign policy, one that works for the american people and not against them. instead, as a final parting gift, yes, i use that word very, very euphemistically, the biden administration wants to saddle the american people with a tab that they don't want, that they never agreed to, that they expressly rejected at the ballot

box and that they cannot afford. that's why i stand in full, wholehearted support of senator rand paul's joint resolution of disapproval to block this misguided, dangerous, reckless, wealth transfer to a corrupt foreign government. i call on all of my colleagues to do the same. we need to halt this dangerous path and gift give -- give the incoming administration every tool to pursue a strategy that prioritizes peace and america's interest. the american people have spoken, and resoundingly and with good reason rejected the policies of this administration that escalate conflicts and prolong wars. the american people deserve better. they should expect more. they strive and yearn for peace. rand paul's measure would help advance that, doing nothing

would impair it. thank you, madam president. mr. ossoff: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. ossoff: madam president, i rise not in response to the senator from utah or to address the matter being raised by senator paul, but to address the resolutions that were debated previously with respect to u.s. policy in the middle east. mr. president, in 1982, as israeli forces pursued the plo deep into lebanon, president reagan was angered by what he viewed as excessive civilian

casualties resulting from the israeli bombardment of beirut. concerned by the suffering of innocent civilians and its impact on american diplomacy, not only did president reagan personally call israeli prime minister begin and demand a halt to the bombing and the bombing reportedly stopped within hours, but the american president then blocked the provision of cluster munitions to israel out of concern that their use by the idf was killing too many innocent people. president reagan imposed conditions on the provision of u.s. arms, using leverage to influence the conduct of an ally. he took those steps to protect innocent life and to defend what he perceived to be america's inte interests, and israel, faced by president reagan's ultimatum, adjusted its policy to accommodate america's demands.

the united states remained israel's closest ally, and the world kept turning. this story is not a perfect mirror image for the agonizing situation we face today and have faced since the despicable hamas attacks of october 7. israel faces a multifront attack by iran and its proxies, while the war devastated the civilian population. but i tell this story, mr. president, to remind my colleagues that in the pursuit of america's national interests, to use the leverage that comes with the provision of arms, as president reagan did in 1982, is not just sometimes necessary, it's expected and appropriate. the united states is and will remain israel's closest ally. our commitment to israel's security is ironclad. but no foreign government is simply entitled as a matter of

right to american weapons with no strings attached. no foreign government, no matter how close an ally, gets everything it wants, whenever it wants, to use however it wants. it is entirely appropriate for the united states to insist that foreign powers use american weapons consistent with our interests, our values, and our laws, and to insist otherwise weakens american foreign policy and undermines our ability to protect the interests of the american people. and to impose conditions on the provision of certain weapons to an ally, when necessary, is not a betrayal of of that alliance. it is the pursuit of our national interests. again, president reagan understood that in 1982. so let's apply the principle to the present moment. in november last year, i addressed the senate on the war in gaza. in the aftermath of the october

7 attack, affirming israel's right to defend itself, to wage war against and defeat its enemies, and i affirmed, as i do again today, america's enduring support for our ally. i also urged that israel respect american requests to reduce unnecessary civilian casualties in gaza, to provide safe passage for food and medical supplies, to clearly define israeli objectives, to present a credible plan for gaza's future governance, and to prevent atrocities by israeli extremists in the west bank. these requests of the israeli political leadership had been made not just by me and many others in the senate, but repeatedly about the the secretary of state, secretary of defense, and the president over the past year. that israel takes these reasonable and necessary steps has been and remains in america's national interests. no one in this body or the

american government has suggested that israel lay down its arms and be overrun or that israel does not have a right and indeed obligation to defeat its enemies and defend its people. rather, the united states has insisted that israel's conduct of the war respect our interests and our values. the interests and values of israel's closest ally. yet, for the most part, this insistence has been ignored. the united states has been ignored in part because the israeli prime minister is beholden to cabinet ministers in mr. smotrich and ben-gvir with policies that are brutal, even over american objections. we should be disgusted by the spectacle of extremists running amok in the west bank, with security forces shooting and hearding goat farmers and

burning their land. the american people are rightly horrified by the lack of sufficient concern for innocent palestinian life that has left so many children unnecessarily dead in gaza, without limbs, or riddles with -- riddled with shrapnel. as i said last year, no one should be naive to the inherent risk to civilians that comes with warfare in a place like gaza against an enemy like hamas. tragically, horribly, fighting terrorists in a dense urban environment makes civilian casualties inevitable. and yet the evidence that force has repeatedly been applied with reckless disregard for the innocent is too credible for us to ignore. we're talking about precious innocent children and other innocent civilians who might otherwise be alive or without grievous wounds today. and mr. president, these things aren't just horrific, they're

inconsistent with america's national security interests. yet we seem to have forgotten that we have the power to influence our allies' conduct, and that we can do so without betraying our ally. it's often said our efforts to influence close allies are best done in private and where possible done gently, and i agree. but in this case, that has not been sufficient. nor have heartfelt public statements and harshly worded letters been effective. what would president reagan do? judging by his actions 40 years ago, i think he would judiciously use the power that comes with our provision of weapons in order to shape israel's conduct. some have taken to the floor tonight to argue that holding up two or three arm sales today would have 4re69 israel naked aun -- left israel naked and

undefended. that's nonsense. the question on the floor today was not whether to shut off military support for israel. the resolutions we debated accounted for less than 5% of american arms that will likely flow to israel over the next three years, and most shipments will not arrive until 2026 or 2027. bipartisan american support for israel's nonnegotiable right to exist and defend itself is rock solid. had these resolutions passed, however, perhaps israeli politicians would have received the necessary message that has so far been disregarded, which is yes, defend yourself, yes, defeat your enemies, but have mercy for the innocent, restrain your own extremists, and respect the interests of the united states. the realization that every shipment is not simply available on an unlimited basis, with no strings attached might have

resulted in changes to israeli policy that would reduce civilian suffering and support america's regional and global interests, as he believed it would when president reagan used american power in 1982. i remain steadfastly committed to the u.s.-israeli alliance, and i also believe we must be willing to say no, even to our closest friends, when we believe it is in america's national interests. and i yield the floor. mr. cardin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: thank you, mr. president. i rise in opposition to senate joint resolution 117, the motion to proceed, and i rise as the chair of the senate foreign relations committee to relate to our colleagues why i'm against

this resolution. and how we got to this vote. this body passed aid to ukraine by a 79-18 bipartisan vote. it approved the necessary funding for ukraine to be able to defend itself against mr. putin's aggression, russia's aggression, and it allowed us, with our coalition partners, to be able to have a unified front against russia's attempt to change borders by force. now, that legislation included the authority to the president to forgive and cancel debt. that's what president biden did under the authority given to him by a 79-18 vote in this body. the president executed that authority, and yes, the senate

has the opportunity by a resolution to override that. but i would urge my colleagues to remember why we voted by a 79-18 vote on this floor to help ukraine. ukraine is the front line in our defense for democracy. no one believes that russia would stop if ukraine were to fall with just ukraine. we know that russia has its eyes on moldova. we know poland is concerned and europe is concerned. it's in our national security interest to make sure that russia's aggression in ukraine is stopped and ukraine's sovereignty is protected. now, russia is not alone in

this. there is an alliance developing of autocratic states against our democratic systems of government. russia is getting help from the people's republic of china. they are getting direct help from north korea. they're getting weapons from iran. they are getting help from these autocratic partners. we are literally fighting for our democratic way of life. i.t. not just europe -- it's not just europe that is of concern. if ukraine were to fall, it makes it much more likely that the people's republic of china would think that they could take over taiwan and the west would just let them do that and china could very well try to take that over by force. so there's a lot after stake here -- a lot at stake here. now, ukraine is footing the burden. it's their soldiers that are on

the battlefield. they're devoting 100% of their ability to the war effort, and they're asking us to help make sure that their economy can perform. so this debt relief goes to maintain their economy, to m maintain their energy and agriculture sectors, and it would unlike imf, international monetary funds, to ukraine without cost to the american taxpayer. this debt relief makes sense from so many different points -- to protect ukraine's ability to keep its economy moving so they can pursue their defense of their nation, that we have an ally and friend that stops the aggression of russia and says no to the alliance that's being formed against democratic states. it's a very small price for us to pay to maintain our democracy and to prevent the need for

american soldiers fighting on foreign soil. i urge my colleagues to reject the resolution. i yield the floor. mrs. murray: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: earlier this year we passed a bipartisan national security supplemental that included crucial economic aid to ukraine, which was structured as a forgivable loan. the senate vote was overwhelmingly and bipartisan 79-18. that's because there's wide understanding on both sides of this aisle that support for ukraine is an investment in our own national security interest, and that includes the economic support in that package because while weapons are important, the costs of war are not just measured in arms and the burdens are not only borne by the military. there are day-to-day government functions that nay must continue to -- that must continue to

support the war effort and for the very families ukraine is fighting for and that includes washing to defend and repair critical infrastructure, roads, bridges, energy, water, work to fight off cyberattacks and corruption that threaten to weaken critical functions of government, work to support the energy and agricultural sectors that are crucial to ukraine's economic stability, not to mention the global food supply. and there's work to make sure first responders can keep doing their jobs, mental health and support services that can reach veterans, internally displaced families and others in needs, and teachers in schools can keep supporting kids, which is the future of every country. these investments are crucial to ukraine's future and its resistance of putin's obstruction. it is worth noting that these dollars came with three layers of oversight and audits to make sure they are being used as intended.

the vote today is a test of whether we truly understand what is at stake here, not just for ukraine but for america's strength as a global leader. it is a test of how closely we stand by our allies in their times of need. our add remember series are watching for -- our adversaries are watching to us to fail. they're telling everything, watch out before you accept any help from the u.s. they're hoping other countries start second-guessing whether to build stronger ties with america. they are hoping we weaken our position in the world and weaken ukraine in the process. we cannot will that happen -- we cannot let that happen. american leadership is strong and our support for our allies is unwavering and it is in our national security interests. i join all to oppose me in opposing in joint resolution of disapproval. thank you. mr. president. i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: here we go again with the ukraine first, america last policy. earlier this week president biden delivered a report to congress informing us that he now intends to forgive or cancel $4.65 billion worth of u.s. loans to ukraine. you might ask yourself, when were these loans issued? oh, about a month or two ago. well, when does ukraine have to pay back these loans that we're forgiving? well, they made an agreement to start paying them back in 40 years. president biden is forgiving loans that aren't due for 40 years. this makes a mockery of the entire charade that this is a loan. they should have just said it was a gift. a forgivable loan? it's not even a loan. it's not due for 40 years, and we're forgiving it now. these funds were provided by the

american taxpayer in the form of loans, with the expectations that they would be repaid. we're not going to wait any period of time. they weren't even going to be repaid for 40 years, and we're forgiving them. that is a sick joke and a sick joke on every american who's got a loan at the bank for their house that has to pay their mortgage every month, and yet ukraine is never going to have to pay their loans. seems like this is ukraine first, america last. we've got a $36 trillion debt in our country. the we're paying a trillion dollars in interest. we can barely keep up. we're not keeping up. with all the things we've promised americans -- medicare, medicaid, social security, food stamps, all the things that have been promised -- we're $2 trillion short. so what do we do? we're just shipping billions to

ukraine. about $200 billion has been sent so far. such blatant disregard of american citizens is unacceptable. the jointi resolution of disapproval that i've put forward provides the senate to prevent the cancelling of this debt. we will not stand idly by as the president elevates the interests of a foreign country above our own. let me remind president biden that due to his failed policies over the last four years, americans across this country are struggling with their loans. today some 37 million americans live under the poverty line, including nine million children. 50% of americans say they are living paycheck to paycheck. and yet the concern is for the loans of a foreign country that

will never be repaid, that we're not even going to begin to be -- that were not even going to begin to be repaid for 40 years. this is an insult to every american who has a mortgage that they have to pay. eight out of ten americans who earn less than $50,000 a year are unable to cover their future bills until their next paycheck arrives. americans living paycheck to paycheck and we're shipping this money to a foreign country. they'll never be asked to repay it. in 40 years if they were somehow gloriously successful again, 40 years from now, they're still not going to be asked to pay this. americans are working two, sometimes three jobs just to make ends meet, and while millions of americans work day in and day out to pay off their own personal loans, president biden wants to forgive ukraine's economic loans without any debate. this was rushed forward.

i was fortunate enough to get 16 deletion allow this vote to happen. they gave us a short window and boom it is gimmick to be gone. -- and boom it is going to be gone. ment want a discussion about how obviously insulting this is to every american to do this. the american people more than generous when it comes to supporting ukraine. in the nearly three years of this war, congress has appropriated nearly $200 billion in aid. for three years the american people have been sold the lie that if we only send tens of billions more of their dollars to ukraine, that ukraine will be able to push russians out, secure the 2014 borders and secure victory in the battlefield. it woo won't happen. the -- it won't happen. the presidented of ukraine, the generals of ukraine, the people who have followed this situation all agree -- the war is sat a stalemate. trillions of dollars more will only lead to more carnage in the battlefield, and it won't

achieve victory. these assertions were always farcical, as they failed to contend with basic battlefield realities. despite massive assistance ukraine is no better off now than they were three years ago. it is arguable that their ability to negotiate as they've lost more land to russia is actually that their ledge for negotiation with russia is less than it was when the war began a in fact, ukraine is now in worse negotiating position because they've likely incurred hundreds of thousands of casualties and now face a critical manpower shortage. that shortage is becoming impossible to ignore as russia consolidates its gains and continues to make progress across eastern ukraine. americans may be surprised to discover that their aid has not in fact shifted the war in ukraine's favor. they may also be surprised to learn that much of the money congress sends to ukraine isn't

actually being use fundamental to support -- used to support ukraine's military. while american families struggle to put food on the table and keep the lights on, u.s. taxpayers are paying for the salaries of thousands of ukrainian bureaucrats, their pensions,er were paying for their -- we are paying for their teachers. do our teachers make enough money? probably not. i guess if you ask an american teacher, should we be paying the salaries of ukrainian teachers, you might get a debate. we're paying their first responders, buying seeds for their farmers and bankrolling ukrainian small businesses. a report conducted earlier this year found that 43% of small businesses in america were unable to pay their rent in full and on time in the month of april. yet we're sending billions of there are as to ukraine -- sending billions of dollars to ukraine to subsidize their small businesses. a report by cbs news discovered

that u.s. it weres are helping a ukrainian knitware company. we're helping ukrainian businesses expand overseas. but we don't even need independent journalists to highlight such absurdities. funding was provided for six ukrainian fashion brands to participate in paris fashion week. i'm sure they will be glad that they won't be paying back any loans. this is what we're asking the american people to pay for, to send ukrainian fashion brands to paris fashion show? i've never had one constituent in kentucky come up to me and say, please send more money. we're fine in appalachia, we're fine in rural kentucky. i don't think there's anybody in ashville, north carolina, today that's pleading for more of your money to be sent to ukraine.

it's bad enough, but it's also impossible to ensure that this amount of money actually gets to the misguided priorities that have been set. the government accountability office admits that there are a number of ways in which federal agencies can improve oversight and aid to ukraine. it's been three years. why hasn't the government improved the oversight? well, because it's impossible to send so much aid to a country as quickly as we have and expect that there won't be waste, fraud, and abuse. i forced the senate to vote on a special inspector general for ukraine, and the ukraine first uniparty, both sides of the aisle, voted it down. even with a special inspector general, it's nearly impossible to ensure oversight on this vast amount of money in such a short period of time. adding insult to injury, ukraine

is consistently ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. transparency international ranged them 104th out off 180 countries in 2023 with respect to honesty and integrity. 23% of the public service users paid a bribe. and yet we give billions of dollars and we have no special inspector general. and now despite all of this, president biden wants to forgive over $4.6 billion in loans that the u.s. taxpayer provided under the auspices that they would be repaid. this lunacy is just another example of how the washington establishment is completely out of touch with americans. you ask americans about this, they've got to pay their loans, they don't understand forgiving ukranian loans. the election earlier this month made it eminently clear that the american people are sick and tired of the status quo.

they are sick and tired of business as usual in washington, and they want their elected officials to deliver change. it's fitting that in the final months of this disastrous presidency, joe biden caps off his foreign policy for the middle class by asking to cancel over $4.6 billion in aid, in loans to ukraine. once again prioritizing the interest of a foreign country at the expense of our own. i urge my colleagues to vote in support of this resolution to disapprove of the president for giving this billions of dollars worth of loans to ukraine and put the american people first. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. tillis: thank you, mr. president. i'm not going to get into the debate but i heard the city of asheville referenced in the last debate from the gentleman from

kentucky and i have to tell you i'm not happy with that. i sat here last week and tried to do a unanimous consent request to fund the small business administration loan and my colleague from kentucky objected. but don't pretend like this debate tonight has anything to do with asheville, north carolina, a town that just got drinking water two days ago. you want to argue this, don't argue it on the merits of something that you objected to me trying to accomplish last week for the city of asheville. i yield. mr. paul: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: sometimes in washington, memories get clouded and foggy, even after a week. the senator from north carolina will remember that he objected to aid in north carolina. he objected to small business loans. he objected to them simply because they were paid for. i offered unanimous consent, and it was blocked by the senator from north carolina. i offered unanimous consent to immediately infuse more loans

through the small business administration for north carolina that was hit hard by the flooding. the senator from north carolina blocked his own bill because i proposed that it be paid for by taking green energy boondoggle loans. so don't be tricked by any flimflamry or any sort of making up of history. the senator from north carolina last week blocked his own aid package that i agreed to let go unanimously as long as it was paid for by taking extra money from another part of the budget. don't be fooled. mr. tillis: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. tillis: i understand we have about seven or eight minutes left. i may need to use all of them. let's talk about tomfoolery and being disingenuous. the senator from kentucky kentucky knows well he proposed

an amendment that would probably fail. the gentleman from kentucky knows the house has a posture that the house recover bill has to be funded. the gentleman from kentucky knows that this aid that i'm trying to get to the house would have been fully funded. the gentleman from kentucky also knows that i also support the amendment he offered, but he played the game that we play around here, trying to think that i wouldn't have the curnel to stand up against that -- courage to stand up against that garbage amendment because it was the right amendment at the wrong time. i yield, mr. president, unless there's additional time and someone else wants to speak. mr. paul: it's very important that the truth be told about what went on with aid to north carolina. i agreed to pass it unanimously as long as it was paid for.

mr. tillis: mr. president -- mr. paul: i won't be interrupted, mr. president, i have the floor. mr. tillis: mr. president -- mr. paul: mr. president, i have the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. the senator from kentucky has the floor. mr. paul: i will not yield the floor. mr. tillis: mr. president, the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. the senator from kentucky has the floor. mr. paul: mr. president, mr. president. mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky kentucky has not yielded for an inquiry. the senator from kentucky still holds the floor. mr. paul: it's important the truth be told and people aren't allowed to stand and lie without challenge. the bill last week to given immediate aid to north carolina was objected to by the senator from north carolina. i agreed to let it go immediately by unanimous consent as long as it was paid for. the senator from north carolina objected. these are the facts.

this is the senate record. the people of north carolina can read this in the senate record. he objected to his own bill because he was annoyed that i had the audacity to say we have a $2 trillion debt and we should pay for things. we had $4 trillion worth of green energy, new deal boondoggle spending, subsidies to big energy companies, big corporations. he objected to taking money from green energy boondoggle projects and spending it in his own state. he objected to his own bill. so what i would say is the truth is important. the facts are important. we've had a very important debate here, and there is a general philosophical debate about whether or not we should spend money in ukraine or in our country. we have had flooding problems in

kentucky. i haven't met one person who suffered from this who didn't say it was more important to spend the money in kentucky than ukraine. it is a debate that's worth having. the decisions we make over here should be about prioritizing spending. where do we spend it? do we borrow it? where do we spend the money? this is what it's about. and the fact that the senator from north carolina wants to rewrite history and say he didn't object to his own bill when he did is a lie. simply untrue, simply untrue. the presiding officer: the senator will suspend. the senator is reminded there are rules of decorum in the senate. rule 19, no senator in debate by any forms of words imputed to another senator any conduct unworthy or unbecoming of a senator. mr. paul: i would regain the rest of my time. how much time do i have left?

the presiding officer: six and a half minutes remaining. mr. paul: six and a half minutes. the presiding officer: total remaining. the senator from kentucky is recognized. mr. paul: we'll relinquish the remaining time on our side. mr. tillis: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. tillis: i first rise for a parliamentary inquiry. the presiding officer: the senator will state his inquiry. mr. tillis: mr. president, i want to understand the effect of the gentleman from kentucky relinquishing time. does that mean that i would need to continue debate until the time is over, or at the time i finish speaking or we go to a vote? there's about 4 minutes left? the presiding officer: there is 5 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. tillis: mr. chair, do i have the floor. the presiding officer: the senate, the senate will come to

order. state the nature of your inquiry. mr. tillis: does the senator from north carolina have the floor? the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina has the floor. mr. tillis: thank you, mr. chair. mr. chair, i've been accused of lying. i don't mind that. i'm a politician. people do that every single day. but i believe that someone may be guilty of misleading this body about my position. so, mr. chair, i'm going to take a few minutes to explain my position. it may or may not coincide with the end of time set aside for debate. but, mr. chair, our state motto is esai quam -- mr. president, may i have order. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. senators will take conversations

outside of the chamber. mr. tillis: thank you, mr. president. my state motto is latin, it means to be rather than to seem. well, ladies and gentlemen, the gentleman from kentucky suggests that i'm against clawing back the green new deal and certain things that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle passed through reconciliation. why would anybody with any experience in this body think that it wouldn't be one of the first things i would vote for when we have reconciliation, right? how can anybody possibly suggest that i am against clawing back policies that were passed through reconciliation because i'm going to need it to pay for tax reform when we pass reconciliation in the next

congress? so how can -- and i have said that we're going to clawback things, and we're going to pay for it. if you listen to the gentleman from kentucky, he said i'm against repealing that. well, both can't be true, ladies and gentlemen. they just simply can't be true. i am for the very things, and i hope that the senator from kentucky knows i'd be happy to cosponsor that bill. if i haven't, i will tomorrow. but i don't play games in this chamber. i actually fight in this case for the people of western north carolina who are suffering. i will defeat any amendment to aid to north carolina if it stands in the way. but i know a little bit about

legislative procedure, ladies and gentlemen. and anybody in here who pays attention to how a bill becomes law should watch this. we could pass the sba funding bill out of here because 99 out of 100 senators said it was being 0. one didn't -- said it was okay. one didn't. we'd like to think the house would receive it and pass it out because we have a tradition of not funding disaster recovery bills, but we know the current majority won't do it. so anybody with a modicum of experience in legislative procedure and actually passing bills that get to the president's desk would know that it will have to be funded, and my colleague from the western north carolina 11th district is working on a pay for now. so if you really care about the people in north carolina, if you really understand the legislative process and you really understand the posture of the house, then you know, you

absolutely know that this bill would be paid for before it goes to the president's desk. now i had some people ask me why i'm talking. because i'm going to get the final say here and i'm not going to let anyone else talk before we have to go for a vote. if you're wondering why i'm going on, i'm not going to play the game of somebody coming up, only equating what they said about me, that i lied. so, ladies and gentlemen, instead of relinquishing the time, unless i can be assured the minute i put this mic down we're going to go to a vote, then i'm going to start quoting poetry or something because i'm not yielding until time is out. so, mr. president, may i make a parliamentary inquiry? the presiding officer: state the nature of the infirry. mr. tillis: how much time is left? the presiding officer: there are 7 minutes and 35 seconds remaining. mr. tillis: 7 minutes and 35 seconds? the presiding officer: 7 minutes and 35 seconds.

mr. tillis: okay. mr. president, i do want -- mr. president, may i make an inquiry of the lady from the state of washington? mrs. murray: mr. president, i yield back all the democratic time. mr. tillis: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mr. tillis: i yield. the presiding officer: the senator from washington yields back all time. the question is now on the motion to proceed. is there a sufficient second? there is. the clerk will call the roll. vote. the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler.

ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. vote:

>> good afternoon matt, go ahead and give yourself. >> let's start with ukraine, put out by the sea to be more specific. >> see right and you saw is that without this morning. missy sent an alert out, possible threat. and something that we take for change in posture in khiv we expect the embassy to be well cannot get in to the breadth of it that is something bentley we

take a safety of is very important to us the change in posture today. >> didn't materialize. >> after dark. >> i'm not aware of any strikes happening and so do know the subject of incredibly tragically significant strike and that threats to more strikes. the security posture based on all of the information available to us. trying to be cautious. >> in the reduction of the staff seemed so just people that are going to the office today.

we expected tomorrow. >> then on decision. >> so, i can confirm from earlier today that the ukrainian covenant antipersonnel landmark and then with airtight — the first time we have provided anti- personnel alignment and it about this new provision but as you've heard the secretary say the adapted adjuster policies and the room rule event to be our russian specifically russian and advances in eastern ukraine. they're designed to blunt

infantry advances. from the mindset that russians have deployed military employee. landmines that the russians in the summer around 2 million that the russians and have made it for decade. not just soldiers but civilians. these landmines provided and what that means is that battery and will expire, four hours in two weeks when they are deployed. some landmines will deployed and within two weeks, if not

detonated they will not pose a problem with either the conflict and that sandy, middle content so they're easy to remove. ukraine the operation of the end of that conflict so the wording is already. another unexploded ordinance they've already had the type of operation and some of the united states is committed to hundred million dollars to support the effort. >> stipulated on my messages temporary change in posture and result of the messes and messages aligned. >> about going. that we rely on maker

security assessments but we always say this on a broad the factors malignant a number of information that we get from our partners to make a decision possible in real time and we will continue to do that. >> in themr russia today given e u.s. and sub. >> i can't speak to that. [inaudible]. >> what new do you know so that what you mean what do i know? >> but they see. >> as you heard me say in

response to daphne's question, look at secure information from a number of sources and obviously we don't disclose those publicly so we have specific information that led to that decision been about going to get there here for obvious security reasons but i don't think this should be a controversial thing. there's no better priority than the protection of the american people and they need to put their safety first. >> also from today. >> i will let those embassy speak. [inaudible]. >> even call them. >> we have khiv do not travel area for america.

and that is not changed. >> is ukraine discussing with u.s. uk of the u.s. >> so we consulted with the ukrainian military about the tactics they can use by did going to speak publicly about that. and weapons not u.s. provided to the government of ukraine cemented just say provided navigation information. >> i'm not going to speak that it all. >> meeting with ukrainian prime minister. >> ukrainian foreign minister

secretary saw him last week when he was in brussels and conversation with him and what we are prepared to do for success in the battlefield. 2025 how we continue on some very concrete steps. i think i will leave it at that. secretary was not here. john beth took that continue those discussions for ukraine military. >> do you know where this. >> no, we can't. >> sorry, this will be really quick. notification, that hath

ukraine's about 4.65 billion. >> if you recall, this past supplemental backend april. it contained a provision of to provide economic assistance to ukraine is provided in the form and we had the option to cancel those loans in congress has the option to resolution of disapproval and taking the step two cancel the loans to provide to ukraine you know congress as well. >> give disapproval that will happen.

>> i'm going to get a little bit over my head to minutes exactly called for here. the overwhelming bipartisan support. we will follow the law. >> i know when that was. i'm not sure exactly when we made it. okay. that's rare i'm sure. she's going to reclaim her time. [laughter] >> 100,000, and also. >> i'm sorry ukraine.

>> yes 100,000, impacted and also north korea and how many with a cup so far. >> i do not have to number. they've announced that. [inaudible]. >> and is also come that that is prepared and when you say about that. >> i don't have an offer today what we said north korean soldiers. we've seen some of them who take

part in combat n operations. anything else in ukraine. >> i'm going to start with say who is next. sue had lebanon, may have arrivd in israel. domestic and potentially. >> we continue to make progress the resolution and no, almost had additional meeting. the lebanese before leaving now going israel to discuss the potential deal. we continue to have deals possible. in the interest while parties and we will continue this. >> and in terms of relocating to

secure place. >> so we have had lebanese counterpart, with him during this trip. we were discussing separate partners in the region and in europe. provide financial contributions to build out. the types of operational support and perform. and the important role it would have to play in 17 oh one fully implemented. >> i really don't think that i should characterize negotiations. ...