the sacred. with the readership going after the tribe. as meeting tonight legs are working on an assignment getting it passed into law for quite some time. ... vote:

what am going to do is get in the history of the casino cartel that is trying to prevent the tribe from being recognized. they are the largest indian tribe east of the mississippi river. it's the eastern band of the cherokee in north carolina. these are my constituents. they are the same constituents who were made sure they were treated fairly, we negotiated a compact and it was transformational to them as the republican leader over the objections of a majority of my republican members. that's the only bill that i allowed to do in my four years as speaker to do the right thing for the cherokee. my reward was to have them use some of the treasure that was gained from my support in the statehouse to pay lobbyists huge

sums of money to discredit the application for recognition of the indians. now i i want to get into some specifics. for years eastern band of the cherokee indians at their advisor william wilson had led the efforts, punitive efforts, directly against the tribe. most recently at the 81st in c ai convention, a few weeks ago, ui and no, sorry for these abbreviations, spread inflammatory information about the lumbee tribe on november 1. the eastern band publicly thanked the ui in in a row fe distribution of these materials. they were false. since this, the in c ai president has publicly condemned the distribution of materials and issued an apology for the lumbee tribe.

now i've been made aware that the eastern band, ui is no heaven hosting events on capitol hill spending large sums of money to continue spreading those lies. in the coming weeks and months, i'm going to continue to highlight the individuals, , the lobbyists, the tribal leaders and the groups that are part of this web that are preventing the lumbee from getting the recognition that they have deserved for nearly 130 years. i want to reiterate to the sioux and the cheyenne river sioux, this is not about you. this is about your leaders and this is about their underhanded, unfair treatment of a tribal nation that deserves recognition and that this country needs to atone for over a century.

of racism and neglect. and for that reason, mr. chair, i do object to the modification. >> the objection is heard. >> mr. president? >> senator from south dakota. >> thank you, mr. president. look, i am very disappointed in my friend from north carolina's approach to this particular issue. as members of the senate we each have a vote as whether not we will support different pieces of legislation. i had chosen not to object to his legislation which he has been speaking about, only to do our best to try to allay the concerns that he may have about our future attempts to disrupt his approach. so it's very disappointing that he would hold as hostage this particular piece of legislation which is a solid intent to help repair relations between the

cheyenne river sioux tribes and the government of the united states in a way which does not impact his tribe or the challenges that he has with getting his tribe recognized whatsoever. in fact, we had felt that by not objecting at this point and we have not that he would understand how serious we were about trying to get our piece of legislation attached to this to fix the problem. as an example today and to the chairman of the committee who has worked so hard to bring these forward along with the ranking member i have no intentions of standing in the wake of them passing their solid legislation sealed ahi we have d and take the best that we can. i will continue to try to work with the member from north carolina to assure him that if he will allow this piece of

legislation to move forward, we would not object to his legislation in the future. but if we can have hours i guess there's always a possibility that he will not be able to get his as well. and with that i will not object to the original proposal. >> mr. president,. >> the center from north killen. >> senator rounds, i called mike, and i are good friends. we came into the senate together in 2014. we got to know each other before we even got here. he is a man of honor and he's a man of his word and i have no doubt that he would stand in a way should i allow this measure to go forward today. the problem is that tribes that he represents will. they will continue to work to spread the misinformation, to smear a tribe that deserves recognition, and they want the respect that they been entitled

to for over 130 years when they first got recognition short of federal recognition. so if i had a senate and a congress, if i had 535 mike rounds, i would not have objected to this today. if i had tribal leaders who were not mine to constituents and misinforming them on the background of the lumbee tribe and knowing that they will continue to, i have no the options and what it did today and he gives me no pleasure to do it to one of my favorite people in the u.s. senate. >> is there objection to the original request lacks without objection the senate will proceed to the measures en bloc. >> mr. president? >> the senator from ally. >> i asked the committee report a substitute amendment as 1320 to be considered and agreed to and with the bills as amended be

considered read a third time en bloc. >> without objection. >> and no further debate on the bills as amended were admitted en bloc. >> is a further debate? hearing none, all those in favor say i. all opposed? the eyes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bills as past our past as amended where amended. en bloc. >> passed a motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc. >> without objection. >> mr. president, i took the floor today to pass several indian affairs bills have been languishing for months and some for even years. i continue to intend to fight to pass several bipartisan bills so it is good that we passed three of them but there is a lot more work to do, senders. others all have bills that are

ready for consideration today and can end up as federal law by the end of this congress. they would improve the lives of tribes in the kennedys from water rights settlements to protecting children from abuse and neglect, and all of these bills have to be considered. i told additional time will be needed to clear these bills over the thanksgiving break and so i will stand down for now but i just want to make it clear to everybody. we are going to spend a lot of time on the floor together. there will be no cheap old, there will be no convenient holds. there will only be, we'll give people the chance to work out their problems that we're going to do this on the floor live like a real legislature and we're going to get this done. thank you very much. i yield the floor. >> mr. president, last night the senate stayed late to keep working on confirming more of president -- the president

nominates. we made excellent progress this week confirming judges at a police to say that we cleared the way to confirm many more judges when we return after thanksgiving. today we will pick up right where we left off last night. later this morning we will hold two more cloture votes to advance two more district court judges. noel wise to the northern district of california, and gail to the eastern district of pennsylvania. we will finish with the confirmation vote of a district judge for the district of arizona. this would put our total for the week at six new judges confirmed to lifetime appointments to the federal bench, one circuit court judge and five district court judges. and again we are in strong position to confirm many more judges when we come back. we hope to make progress on as many as we can.

now i think all my colleagues for their hard work last night and for being flexible. and i want to take the floor staff, the cloak rooms, the pages at all the staff in the senate for staying late several nights this week so we could keep working on the floor. i understand if you feel a little groggy this morning, that's okay. i'm proud that the judges with confirmed under president biden are exceptional highly qualified and have already begun to bring balance to our bench. our nominees are adding new perspectives and broad ranges of experience to their courts. we have confirmed individuals with strong experiences in consumer protection voting rights and civil rights come supreme court advocacy prosecution, and more. in other words, the nominees we have considered represent a balance and evenhanded group of jurists. and we will keep going when the senate returns voting on the president's nominees is a basic

responsibility of the senate. we will take that responsibility very seriously between now and the end of the year. now a look ahead. when the senate returns after thanksgiving senators can expect a very busy few weeks to finish our work before the end of the year. both sides must continue working together to keep the government opened beyond the december 20 deadline. letting the government shut down just before christmas would be asinine, plain and simple, and nobody wants that to happen. well, there may be a few in the other chamber who do, but they are a distinct minority. we must pass the annual defense authorization bills to provide for our troops and hold the line against america's adversaries abroad. we have passed the ndaa every year for over the last six decades. with so much going on around the world in the middle east, the indo-pacific and europe and beyond, passing the ndaa is critical as it's ever been. we intend to get it done.

we also hope to make progress on the farm bill to avoid going over the so-called dairy cliff at the end of september. chair stabenow released the text of the order this week and want to commit or for drafting a strong bill that provides for farmers and ranchers as well as working families and nutrition programs. another democrats are ready to work with republicans to get the farm bill done. another issue we hope to get done is disaster aid. both sides know we need a two act because bo psych represent states have been impacted by disaster. earlier this week by administration released a copper has a plan aid that does a lot of very good things. replenishes not just programs house within fema which is what most americans think about when you think of a disaster response, but of the programs across the federal government that are dangerously low on funding, if not totally depleted. a few weeks, a few days ago i

highlighted the important role that sba disaster the program plays in times of crisis. another one i want to mention is the department of transportation fund to repair and reconstruct our highways and roads. when disaster strikes and highways and roads are damaged and rendered impassable, it brings everything to a standstill. aid is slower to arrive getting people out of dangerous harm. entire communities can you left isolated. this is one example of why need to pass a robust disaster aid package and hope to work with republicans to get it done as soon and as robustly as possible. finally, as i said when we return after thanksgiving we will pick up right where we left off. confirming more of president biden's judicial and executive nominees. so it would be a very busy and consequential few weeks in the senate when we return and i thank my colleagues for their cooperation. yield the floor. note the absence of a quorum. ♪ ♪

♪ [applause] >> morning everyone thank you, liz for the leadership, your commitment to this work and to your vision. i'm grateful to you and the entire team at the office of juvenile justice and the linguistic prevention. and thank you, brent for your extraordinary leadership at the office of justice programs. because of liz and brent and their teams, the 21 for national national conference on use justice, our first in 13 years, has been anth incredible succes. i am so grateful. [applause] to the justice department partners dedicated to protect children and advancing juvenile justice, i know you've heard from a lot of people over the past few days. the most important thing i i t

you to hear from me is thank you. thank you for traveling from across the country to learn from one another and to allow us to learn from you. thank you especially to the young leaders who helped shape this event and who have shared their perspective over the last three days. in fact, if you are one of the many young people who helped to plan this conference or who participated in a presentation or panel, would you please waive or stand up and get some of the credit you deserve. [applause] >> you are leaders and role models in your community, and we are all so impressed by you. and to all of our partners here today, thank you for your extraordinary work come for the work you do in your communities to advance a better future for our young people.

every day you want to keep children and teens free from crime and violence. you estimate tenet of violence in our strategy aimed at working of people who are most likely to be involved in violent activities in the immediate future, and you work to build trust between young people, their communities and law enforcement. you recognize the link between a young persons exposure to violence and all likelihood that they will become involved in the juvenile justice system. and you provide support services for children exposed to violence in their homes, their schools and their communities. you work to prevent gang violence, reduce gang involvement and stop gang-related crimes. you provide comprehensive victim assistance services to young people who experienced gang violence and their families.

juvenile justice, juvenile justice drug treatment courts and family treatment courts, you work to protect children, to hear families, and to strengthen communities. you provide direct support for child victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation and you work to improve community responses to these heinous crimes. he worked to ensure that all of you who come in contact with the justice system have equal access to specialized well resourced counsel. you improve the conditions and treatment of young people in correctional facilities and work to ensure that they can successfully reenter their communities. you provide specialized services to justice involved youth and their families from educational and vocational opportunities to housing assistance and healthcare, the family programming and substance abuse

treatment. you do this to ensure young people are able to rejoin their communities and build fulfilling, purposeful, and safe lives. and you do this work with the understanding that we must confront persistent, unjustified disparities in juvenile justice outcomes along racial and socioeconomic lines. i know this represents just a fraction of your work and of your effort. thank you from the bottom of my heart. as we mark 50 years since the us toward enactment of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention act, there is so much to be proud of. in the past couple of years we have made significant progress and turned the tide against the violent crime that spiked during the pandemic. last year as listed we saw a

historic drop in homicides nationwide, and one of the lowest levels of violent crime in 50 years. [applause] >> statistics released by the fbi show violent crime has continued to decline this year, considerably in the first half compared to the same time last year, including a further 10% drop drop in violent crime and a 22% decline in murder. [applause] but despite the historic gains we've made in driving down violent crime, we know there is so much more to do. douglas is still to an even, including when it comes to reversing increases we have seen in certain types of youth crime. we are all here today because we

know there is no singular solution to this heartbreaking and complex problem. but we also know that youth crime and youth violence is preventable, and we know what works. evidence-based, comprehensive approaches that address the multiple factors that impact youth violence. the success of this effort relies on committed advocates, policymakers, law enforcement, community leaders, researchers, practitioners and critically young people and their families. it relies on the kinds of people who were in this room right now. [applause] >> and that his wife last year or jj dp developed a continuum

of care framework to guide our collective approach to use justice programs. this framework prioritizes unity safety and reflects the need for a holistic strategy to prevent young people from becoming involved in the justice system. the united states department of justice is committed to this work. over the past four years o.j. ddp has invested over $1.6 billion to advance safety and justice for our nation's young people, including over $430 million this year alone. [applause] we do this because we believe that every child deserves to grow up free from violence. we believe that every person deserves to feel safe and to be safe in their community. and that we believe that we have

a shared moral obligation to ensure that our young people have tools and support they need to navigate the challenges that they face. i am proud of the extraordinary public service across the justice department who will continue this work in the years to come. and i am proud of everyone in this room for your enduring commitment to this work. i know it is not easy, but it could not be more important. thank you from the bottom of my heart. [applause]

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] good morning, everybody. trust everybody is set. all right. well good morning again. thank you for joining us and a special thanks to administrator whitaker of the faa and administrator pekoske of the tsa both joining us today and for the excellent leadership in partnership of their teams. we are in a week after thankg and tsa is expecting a potentially record-breaking holiday travel season. if recent experience is any guide is a likely be some of the busiest travel days in u.s.

history. while there are of course some factors that affect travel especially the weather that are truly out of anybody's control, we can take and have taken a number of steps to make travel better. the efficiency of flights, the facilities at the airports that you use before and after he were on board, and, of course, the new expansive passenger protections that we have secured in the event that your travel is disrupted. the biden-harris administration is soon coming to a close. president to transition is underway, and this may be one of the last times i am with you here at dca. i want to take a moment to remark on what we've been able to do since we got here. starting with something that i think is all too easy to forget, which is the condition of the u.s. aviation sector four years ago when president biden took office. it was still in the midst of the pandemic. the airline industry had -- all,

now it -- thereon and have been brought to us. standstill by the onset of the pandemic. there was no consensus about how long it would take for our nation's airlines to recover or whether our airlines would survive at all. through relief packages under packages and congress american taxpayers ensured that airlines in the u.s. state afloat in that time of need because our nation needs a functioning system both for passengers and for cargo. those measures worked. as it all know they worked so well we sometimes forget how close we came to the airline sector completely collapsing in this country had it not been for those interventions. but it did work and airline industry came roaring back, so much so they almost immediately faced the opposite problem, struggling to keep up with the extraordinary demand. and too often it was passengers who felt the brunt of that. our department stepped up and

stepped in to use every power within our authority to improve service and to improve the flying experience for airline passengers. in concrete terms, some of what that included include automatic refunds for canceled and change flights, refunds or late baggage, refunds for services not provided by the wi-fi or seat selection or in-flight entertainment. during disruptions free rebooking, meals, hotels related transportation. no more family seeding junk these for seven outlines. passengers who experienced delays on southwest flights that are considered controllable will receive order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and the president will immediately be notified of the senate's action.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. a senator: madam president, is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: no, senator. mrs. shaheen: i'm pleased to come to the floor with my colleague, senator cleans, to talk about the fact that this week is american diabetes month. every november we work together, my friend and colleague, my fellow cochair of the senate debates caucus, snosh collins, to pass this resolution so that

we can raise awareness about what is a pervasive chronic disease that 38 million americans live with today. the resolution also draws attention to the many barriers that patients face when it comes to receiving adequate care to manage their diabetes. by passing this resolution out of the senate, we're reaffirming congress' commitment to increase diabetes treatment options, more research and to prevent new cases. and while i'm grateful that the senate has passed this resolution again this year, i wish i could say that truly honoring the commitment outlined in the resolution. sadly, i'm angry and i'm frustrated over the lack of progress that spans not just years but decades to make commonsense changes and find real solutions to the problems that face diabetes patients.

for 38 million americans, this isn't a matter of politics, of what political party you joined or if you don't belong to one. for those 38 million, it's actually a matter of life or death, literally. and this is an issue, as i've said to this body many times, that's personal for me and my family, and -- in the gallery today is my granddaughter elle, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes shortly before her 8th birthday, i've seen the challenges that elle and their family faces trying to manage diabetes. managing type 1, especially when you get diagnosed at such a young age is a complicate, delicate balance of daily insulin injections, blood glucose monitoring. elle and her mom and dad have

spent countless hours finding a treatment rej minute that keeps -- regimen that keeps his blood levels stable. she is now 24, lives in l.a., and spent years advocating herself to improve diabetes process as part of the break through known as jdrf. every year, elle, like all diabetes patient on some insurance have to prove to her insurer she still has type i. i find that strange because anybody who knows anything about type 1 knows it's an illness that doesn't go away, and i'm angry because it's real for our family and millions of families across the country and it's scary. and just this week elle was

denied coverage for a prescription that she relies to manage her diabetes. she was denied her medication to live her very businessy and full life. -- busy and full life. the drug does the same work of three other drugs combined. but now she is back to square one because of a decision made not by her doctor and she's been a patient at the joslin diabetes center, which is one of the premier diabetes centers not just in the country but in the world. it wasn't her doctor at the joslin center that made that decision, it wasn't her local primary care doctor, it's -- it was the insurance company. i wish i could say this was the first time. but denials like these have become a common occurrence and i think, most folks know this, but

in case you don't, but as i said, chronic diabetes is a chronic disease, it doesn't go away because you turn another year older, it doesn't go away because you moved to a different location. elle is going to live with this disease unless we have a breakthrough for the rest of her life. and she will spend every day, some portion of her day, thinking about it. she will spend every day making choices about what to eat or drink, about the right exercise routine and how she can best manage her levels. and it is unconscionable that a decision by an insurer would make these choices even harder. and we're lucky in our family because we have resources, we have time to dedicate to researching and solving some of these issues, to try to navigate the health care system. but sadly that's not the case

for so many families across this country. people like the single mom who works multiple jobs to keep food on the table for her kids. i understand why americans are angry with the status quo. they should be, we should all be, because it's past time to get help to those people who need to address their type 1 diabetes. so i know that senator collins and i have legislation, it's called the insulin act. it's an effort to help people who can not afford the cost of their insulin, and we know that's an issue because spending on insulin has tripled in the last decade. nearly one in five patients are still forced to ration their insulin, capping out-of-pocket costs for insulin and finding ways to increasence lynne -- increase insulin competition is

a no-brainer for most. it hasn't been for the senate. addressing insulin costs has sadly become a political football. that comes at the expense of patients who rely on daily insulin to survive. senator collins and i started working on this issue of our legislation in 2019. part of the effort includes funding more research into curing diabetes. diabetes community has seen advances in treatment, but insulin, which was invented over 100 years ago, is still the only real way to manage the disease. the special diabetes program or sdb, looks into -- funds diabetes research and it's has treatment programs for american indian and alaska native people.

these programs have a proven track record but until last year, the special diabetes program was flat funded for two decades. senator collins has done remarkable work and i think it's not a convince den that when she became vice chair of the appropriations committee, we finally got an increase in the reauthorization program. we have to pass that reauthorization again by the end of this year. now, i hope congress will finally realize the importance of this program and provide it the funding that it deserves. i hope that we can also get this body to pass our insulin act because for elle, for families across this country in every koern of -- corner of every state we've got to do better. for all of them, for the people who love them because behind

every statistic is a person who is just trying to make ends meet. we have the power here to make their lives easier, to make health care more affordable for the millions of people who are living with diabetes. we can create a future where no one has to choose between their health and their livelihood. why wouldn't we take this opportunity to help our neighbors? i know senator collins and i will continue to work toward that end. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. ms. collins: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: thank you, madam president. first, let me thank the senator from new hampshire, senator shaheen, for her extraordinary leadership on diabetes. she has worked night and day on this issue. the entire she has served in the senate.

and together we formed a bipartisan partnership that recognizes that diabetes affects men and women, children of all races, political affiliations, parts of the country, ages, it simply does not care. during american diabetes month, it's -- it is critical that we continue to raise awareness about the burden of diabetes on the 38 million americans living with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. this is an astonishing 12% of the u.s. population, and it includes more than 116,000 adults in my state of maine.

for those with type 1 diabetes, in particular, there is no day off from this disease. i know so many children who were diagnosed as children with type 1, and this is a disease that they will have for the rest of their lives absent a cure. they include a 10-year-old boy who i met my very first year in the senate in 1997, and i'll never forget his looking up at me and saying, senator collins, i wish i could just one day off each year from my diabetes, my

birthday or christmas, just one day. it was then that i knew that i had to dedicate my efforts toward better treatments, earlier diagnosis and one day a cure of this devastating disease. since then, my life has been enriched by getting to know so many people who have type 1 diabetes. i think of aiden sweeney who i first met at a children's congress where children from all over the united states came to washington to tack about what it was like to have type 1 diabetes. aiden was just a toddler when he came with his mother, carolyn sweeney, to testify before congress. she testified for him.

today he's a thriving college student in boston. i think of people like ruby witmore, one of my neighbors in maine whose had diabetes since a very young age. i think of my if these nicole weisendinger who has kept a journal of her journey with type 1 diabetes and i thank of matt hawkins, who i just met this year, who because of the price of insulin could not the full amount she was advised to take by her doctor and ended up in the emergency room of a hospital

very ill. i'm appalled to learn of the experience of senator shaheen's grand dear who has lived -- granddaughter, who has lived with type 1 since she was just 8 years old and was recently denied care that she requires. i agree with senator shaheen that we must hold insurance carriers accountable when they apply unreasonable utilization management techniques that benefits the companies at the expense of every day americans. and that contradict the best treatment for the person with type 1. doctors and patients in maine are frustrated with the unfair burden that these practices add

to the burdens that these individuals are already coping with. we must, and we can, do better. diabetes is also one of our country's most costly diseases in both human and economic terms. it is the leading cause of kidney disease, blindness in working-aged adults, lower-limb amputations, heart disease, and stroke. approximately one in four health care dollars and one in three medicare dollars are spent treating people with diabetes. diabetes costs our nation $413 billion in 2022 and medical sxent turs for individuals -- expenditures coping with diabetes are roughly 2.6 times

higher than expenditures for those without the disease. as the founder and cochair of the senate diabetes caucus, i have been proud to lead this bipartisan resolution designating the month of november as american diabetes month. my hope that it will increase public awareness and support for federal policies and investments that will help us to better treat, prevent, and ultimately cure this disease. and i join senator shaheen in thanking our many senate colleagues for supporting this resolution and passing it by unanimous consent on tuesday. while american diabetes month is

an important opportunity to raise awareness about the burden of diabetes, it should also be a time to celebrate the progress that we have made in improving the lives of millions of americans living with this dis disease. one example of progress is the sustained federal investments in programs that help prevent and treat the disease and its complications, including the special diabetes program, which as senator shaheen pointed out is set to expire at the end of this year. we cannot allow that to occur. earlier this month, i was proud to lead a bipartisan letter to our senate leadership, signed by

55 senators emphasizing the importance of a special diabetes program. from new technologies, like the artificial pancreas systems, to new therapies to delay the clinical onset of type 1 diabetes, this program is improving the lives of people with diabetes today and accelerating the progress to cures. i remember when i first became involved in this issue, the number of daily finger politics that were necessary, the alarms that had to be set during the night so that parents could check on their children with type 1, the burdensome, large pump systems that were used. we have scome so far, with the

closed-loop artificial pancreas, the continuous glucose monitors that can send a phone message and an alarm to a parent if a ch child's blood sugar has become too high or too low. we've come a long ways, but it's taken investment, and that's what we must continue. through continued federal investment in biomedical research and prevention programs, and by passing bipartisan legislation to address the high costs of insulin, like our insulin act, as well as broader pharmacy benefit manager reform, congress has the opportunity to continue to build on this progress pour for the ben -- for the benefit

of those living with diabetes. so madam president, i look forward to continuing to partner with senator shaheen and the members of the senate diabetes caucus that we cochair, to advance policies, to remove barriers to care, to lower the cost of insulin, and to support the critical research and prevent programs that are so important to the quality of life to those millions of americans living with diabetes. thank you, madam president. i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

>> good morning, everybody. trust everybody is set. all right. well good morning again. thank you for joining us and a special thanks to it administrator whitaker of the faa and administrator pekoske of the tsa both joining us today and for the excellent leadership and partnership of their teams. we are a week out from thanksgiving and tsa is expecting a potentially record-breaking holiday travel season. its recent experience is any guide is a likely be some of the busiest travel days in u.s. history. while there of course some factors that affect travel especially the weather that are truly out of anybody's control, we can take and have taken a

number of steps to make travel better. the efficiency of flights themselves, the facilities at the airport that you use before and after your onboard, and, of course, the new expansive passenger protection that we've secured an event your travel is disrupted. the biden-harris administration is soon coming to a close. the presidential transition is underway and this may be one of the last times i am with you here at dca, so want to take a moment to remark on what we've been able to do since we got here. starting with something that i think is all too easy to forget, which is the condition of the u.s. aviation sector four years ago when president biden took office. it was still the midst of the pandemic. the airline industry had -- now you can all often be. the early industry have been brought to a standstill on the onset of of the pandemic.

there was no consensus about how long it would take for our nation's airlines to recover or whether our airlines would survive at all. through relief packages passed in congress, american taxpayers are ensured that airlines in the u.s. state afloat in that time of need. because our nation needs a functioning system both for passengers and for cargo. those measures worked because you all know they worked so well we sometimes forget how close we came to the airline sector completely collapsing in this country had it not been for those interventions. but it did work in the airline industry came roaring back, , so much so they almost immediately faced the opposite problem, struggling to keep up with the extraordinary demand. and too often it was passengers who felt the brunt of that. our department stepped up and stepped in to use every power within our authority to improve service and to improve the flying experience for airline

passengers. in concrete terms, some of what that included include automatic refunds for canceled and change flights, refunds for late baggage, refunds for services not provided like by wi-fit selection or in-flight entertainment. during disruptions, free rebooking, meals, hotels, related transportation. no more family seeding junk fees for several airlines. passengers who experienced delays on southwest flights that are considered controllable will receive $75 compensation vouchers as required our consent order, and the first ever protections against frequent flyer points evaluation that were secured in the alaska hawaiian agreement. enhanced protections for millions of passengers with disabilities who deserve to travel safely and with dignity. $4 billion in refunds that had been owned by airlines to

passengers secured with our help. help. and the new partnership with over 20 states attorney generals that make it possible for them to investigate airline complaints. and there is even now a lot more good work underway to make sure passengers get a fair deal, which is why we are working on rules to ban family seeding junk fees outright on all flights, to require airlines to pay cash compensation to travelers that the strand. setting standards for when and what level of service like meals, hotels, related transportation and free rebooking airlines will provide during disruptions, and protections for passengers who use wheelchairs. we are fighting in court for a rule requiring airlines to tell you upfront what fees they charge, a commonsense measures that the airlines are still suing to overturn. investigating delta airlines and others for meltdowns that took place this summer. scrutinizing airline privacy policies to make sure that they

are not unfairly using passengers personal data. probing the four largest airlines reward programs and that concerns they could be devaluing points, hiding prices, charging extra fees, or making it harder for small airlines to compete. examining the state of competition in air travel and what practices or problems might be limiting flight options, making flights more expensive or otherwise making it painful to fly. in sum, our administration has overseen the largest expansion of airline passenger rights and enforcement in history of our department. during the busiest air travel years in the history of our country. it was some of the lowest rates of flight cancellations in over a decade this year. at the same time we've also made historic investment in our aviation infrastructure to make sure the u.s. airspace maintains its status as the safest, most efficient, most complex airspace

in the world. the fact that the safest way to travel in the world is to enter a a metal tube with dozens or hundreds of other people and be prepared to be aired by highly flammable liquid at nearly the speed of sound, sometimes miles above the surface of the ground, that that is the safest form of travel we have i think represents a civilizational achievement that we all too often take for granted. that achievement is hard earned and renewed every day by the efforts of everyone involved in our aviation system, air traffic controllers, pilots, flight attendants, tsa personnel, ground crews, so many people at the faa, and other workers who power our commercial aviation sector. and if you have been through airport lately you've also know some construction underway. thanks to president biden's infrastructure package we're modernizing airports with the first-ever the first ever federal funding program for front of house projects alongside the more traditional investments in things like radars and control

towers and taxiways. billions have been awarded to help airports and more check-in counters, build faster sigar checkpoints, improve baggage claim, make it easy to find your gate and a a some cases help d entire new terminals and the roads to access them. to date we've invested nearly 1500 airports across this country, someone projects where they have already cut the ribbon on the finished project while others are just getting underway. we also continue to call on congress to give as a long-term stable funding that it needs to modernize equipment and ensure smooth operations far into the future to mandatory funding for the capital accounts. there's a lot of mention just in the last few minutes and there's one final message of what to leave the traveling public with, which is if you're traveling this week, next week, remember how much we all count on the aviation workers who safely get us where we need to go.

.. we are doing as safely and efficiently as possible. >> good morning, everyone. thank you for joining us. we think this will be our busiest thanksgiving day trouble ever since gas is the busiest

day with everyone to the final destination as quickly as possible, our priority is to get you there safely so air travel is safer than ever. faa's was from fox to talk to touchdown. leasing dropped in close calls for 2024 decreased by 72% a. foster. the result of a lot of taken to address. technology around the country. we sent surveillance systems, indianapolis. this technology is the risk of runway incursion right proving situational awareness.

we want to point out at 14 more enforced by the end of this calendar year and sold runway verification systems and 74 airport towers. this provides audio and visual alerts arriving aircraft is fond of the wrong airport. one runway person forces. this provides audio or visual identification when runway is not available. the faa will flight is at 74 airport process country. thousands of ready for the increased buying this week the holiday. we are watching the weather

delays and real-time engagement and we have looked at what is needed to keep air traffic to the efficiently proud. earlier this week out of out of new york. we are just your can improve staffing levels by training in philadelphia to get the on staffing level in addition new york we have a strong pipeline 28 certified control trainings will want to work in this airspace. traffic flow management initiatives, the day is how

close diligently safe people should know safety, we will slow traffic is needed. we are thinking long-term when it comes to the national airspace a. we plan to hire 2000 this year. for billing and 400 airports around the country expanding university partnerships for training potential hires. yesterday we announced real training program get more out of the university system in

addition to our academy. we need the public to do their part as well. get to your destination safely like cruises highly encouraged and let's remember each other with respect during that whole season and the zero tolerance policy and legal enforcement actions are interferes with feeling crews. check polls and keep in batteries in their bags and arrived in time to get light.

it seems like a good segue turnover. >> thank you and good morning, everyone. it's great. this is an airport that has historical in the first place george w. bush signed legislation. a privilege to be part of this press conference. we have maintained strong ties and works you transportation. charter operations and passenger

safety and security. this will be the busiest misgiving ever in terms of air travel and also ties given the air travel united states. this year is already in the. all ten of our top busiest of the 24th of may 3 million passengers for the first time ever and break that ritual over this holiday. good project busiest days terms of passenger volumes to say 2.8 million across the system and next wednesday at .9 million passengers in following thanksgiving which is always our busiest day a day will have really passengers.

something is also the highest and contribute blocking technology chose ruth and efficiency service. we are to ensure passengers in the process within our wait times of 30 minutes or less i would offer from a servant of debate if you might have used it for another purpose, which was empty before you start packing we often find things as they forgot about because put it in

next several fronts ago the other is to arrive a little earlier and have a little patience. the firearm, with a firearm in your checked bag. we're it with the airline. this year we have over 6000 firearms already and that's a costly mistake for people who introduce firearms in terms of money because it results in civil penalty. in terms of their time in the safety of everybody in the checkpoint operation so i encourage people to do it, it

just needs to be in your checked bag. if you have a question people have the most general questions, what can i bring? onto the tsa website, there is a special tag for work can i bring? but what you brought want to bring in the search feature. i encourage everyone and we have a text feature asked tsa, no space is and you will get the answer quickly. can i bring a turkey, for example? a benefit this misgiving, your convenience as early as december holidays global country or

check. either site will take you to steps and you will have a more convenient experience and within the sub five-minute wait time. five years of membership for about $15 a year covering the cost we've incurred to operate the program and it's a good investment for people who might want in their travel. especially at thanksgiving i am thankful for the work the team does to ensure your team is safe and secure. we all work hard every day to ensure safe and secure travel experience. please consider offering thanks

to front-line workers whether it's high-level transportation security officer. thank you and we will turn it over to questions. >> thank you, mr. president. i come to the floor to order -- >> a quorum call, sir. >> without objection. >> thankr: you. i come to the floor to honor legacy who filled 15 years ago this weekend. one in 1972. ukraine. one of the physics and critics when he was just 15 years old.

willing to end up for what he believed in working as a tax attorney and moscow $230 million in taxes by russian officials. the only filed criminal complaints against russian police officers involved, he testified against them. he named names and did what any lawyer and responsible citizen should do a believed individuals and that. and response and refused his ch.

they denied him medical care. they tortured him, trying to get him to recant his testimony. most people would have given in but sergei refused. so they had him changed to a bed as eight guards with rubber batons beat him to death. i want to read from his colleagues wrote about him in memorial. they said sergei wasn't involved in politics. he wasn't an oligarch. wasn't a human rights activist. he was just a highly competent professional, the kind of person you would call up on the work day, was finishing at 7:00 pnl with a legal -- 7:00 p.m. with a legal question and he would stay til midnight, cancel his plans to figure out the answer. he was what many would describe the good face of modern russia, a smart and honest man working hard to better himself and to

make a good life for his families. and he was murdered because he sought the truth in russia. when i talk about values and foreign policy, i think about the values of sergei magnitsky. mr. president, the two of us have the honor of serving on the senate foreign relations committee. i must tell you, our presiding officer is one of the great champions to advance human rights, a bedrock of our value-based foreign policy. america's strength is in its foreign policy. it's based upon values. supporting human rights, anticorruption, democratic institution building. as compared to autocratic regimes that have foreign policy based upon transactional goals, immediate goals, that they enforce many times by corruption and force. we see that today with mr. putin

in russia, as he tries to take over ukraine. we have value-based foreign policy -- our strength. sergei magnitsky was about values. his bravery, his honesty, and about his willingness to stand up to a corrupt state. looking around the world today, we see war in europe and the middle east and africa. we see a growing autocracy and chemical weapon toocracy in places like russia and china, a rise of antidemocratic sentiment and traditional bastions of liberty. i believe one of the keys to fighting back against these forces starts withholding the perpetrators of human rights violations accountable. if we hold the perpetrators accountable, others will not follow in that path. there's no -- if there's impunity and no accountability,

it breeds more perpetrators that violate individuals' rights. the idea was informed how i think about policy. and it also formed two pieces of legislation. i am proud of writing in my time in the united states congress -- the 2012 sergei magnitsky rule of law accountability act and the 2016 global magnitsky human rights accountability act. at the time of sergei magnitsky's killing, our main tool for punishing was country-based sanctions. this is a blunt tool, useful to respond to major events like russia's invasion of ukraine. you go against the country. there's a penalty for paid. but it's less effective to provide accountability for human rights violators, which are

individuals that are perpetrating those violations. we needed something more responsive, more targeted, inspired by the tragedy of sergei magnitsky's murder, i set tout write legislation to hold his murderers accountable. i didn't know at the time the profound impact the bill would have for human rights and accountability. the original bill targeted the individuals who were complicit in the jailing and murdering of sergei magnitsky. it brought these individuals from enjoying the benefits of america, stopped them from travelling to the united states, and it stopped them from using our banking system. it gave the united states government the authority to seize their properties. it stopped them from violating human rights with impunity. the magnitsky-style sanctions seem like a foregone conclusion today. but not when we got it enacted. although it passed the senate

with overwhelming bipartisan support, it was not an easy fight. different parts of our foreign policy community were vehemently opposed. it was something new. it was a change, and change is hard. the executive branch doesn't like the legislative branch interfering in how they conduct their business. but that's our responsibility, the legislative branch's responsibility to set the policies. we pushed ahead and in 2016 we expanded the bill beyond the reach of human rights violators and corrupt actors around the world. we've expanded it. the global magnitsky human rights act, and we made that permanent. i want to acknowledge that one of the ways we got this done is because it was bipartisan. senator lugar helped me as i was a freshman member of this body in the foreign relations committee in getting the attention on the need for this legislation.

the late-senator john mccain was my principal cosponsor and helped to get the original sergei magnitsky accountability act included in a bill that could pass the united states senate. and my good friend and the leader with me on the helsinki commission, senator roger wicker, was principally responsible working with me to get the global magnitsky bill made permanent in the national defense authorization act. so the sequence was 2017 executive order 138189, it was issued to structure the implementation of the law and broaden the scope of the law. in to 22 we made the law permanent by repealing the sunset clause. in 2023, the united states sanctioned 78 foreign persons under the magnitsky sanctions program. and as of november 7 this year,

the program has sanctioned over 712 foreign persons and entities since its inception. now, mr. president, i could tell you specific examples. i could tell you about being in bulgaria and being treated as a hero because it was the magnitsky sanctions against their corrupt leaders that allowed their country to move forward with the reforms that the people of bulgaria wanted. it meant real change. i can tell you about recently being in guatemala, where we see hope for a democratic regime. it was magnitsky sanctions that helped get to that point. these sanctions have real consequences, because you see corrupt leaders want the protection of a country's rule of law for their wealth, even though they live in countries that don't believe in the rule of law. we take that away from them by the magnitsky sanctions. so it had pro-fund impact on human rights where now individual actors have to consider their own conduct even

when acting on behalf of a statement their reputation, ability to travel, and ensure access to assets is are at rift i've seen a lot in 58 years of public service. much much which i have devoted to human rights advocacy. i remain inspired by the heroism of sergei magnitsky and can confidently say that he did not die in vain. his death jarred the global conscience forever. today the magnitsky name is synonymous with an approach by dozens of leading democracies to respond to human rights abuses and official corruption. the united states led on this issue. we were the ones that were able to get it started. when we lead and we lead with values and we lead on behalf of democracies, other countries will follow our leadership. shortly after this passed a the

magnitsky sanctions, there was action in the united kingdom, there was action in canada, the he have -- the e.u. adopted it and now two dozen countries have magnitsky hispanic type sanctions. -- magnitsky-type sanctions. we need to figure out a way to do more. there's more we need to do to fight corruption, so we have a lot more work to do. but i will tell you, magnitsky is a name that strikes fear in the hearts of vladimir putin and corrupt oligarchs around him. as government officials and responsible citizens, we have an obligation to advance policies that respect human freedom and the dignity of the individual. that is especially true of those of us who live in democracies. i know that at times our task may seem difficult or impossible. but we must never give up hope.

we must continue to have faith that our work is worthwhile. there were days where i thought the magnitsky quest would not have any main consequences. i look today with pride that i'm glad we did not give up hope and we were able to get that law passed. vaclav havel once wrote,ness he'll only one thing i will not concede that it might be meaningless to concede in a good cause. i will never concede either. the struggle for human rights can sometimes seem insurmountable. met me share with you -- let me share with you one of my experiences in life. i have been fortunate to have had an incredible career. in 1987, as part of the u.s. helsinki commission, i traveled to germany and went to west

berlin, went through checkpoint charlie to east berlin, walked up to the brandenburg gate and saw east german machine guns focused at me so i would not cross back into west berlin by trying to sneak across. i met with east berliners who were desperate for someone to listen to their cause. they never gave up hope. they were living in a very oppressed country. they fought for their freedom. and we helped them. we didn't give up hope. they didn't give up hope. two years later i returned to berlin with a hammer in hand to help knock down the berlin wall. i've returned to berlin many times since and see a unified city. we can never give up hope. what we do in this chamber, the

leadership we take to go after those abusers affects real people and the future of real countries. we must not give up hope in striving for a good cause. because if we do not give up hope, we will overcome oppression and violence and build a world that is safe and peaceful and prosperous. it's not only the right thing to do, it's the right thing for our national security. i'm proud of the work that we've been able to do in this chamber. i thank my colleagues who've helped in this effort, including t the distinguished presiding officer officer. we have a lot more work to be done o i appreciate you listening to my comments. with that, mr. president, i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the clerk: ms. baldwin.

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: is the senate still in a quorum call? the presiding officer: it is. mr. whitehouse: in which case, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: thank you, mr. president. this is, i think, my 295th time to wake up speech, with my increasingly battered graphic, which the smithsonian has asked for as the most used graphic in

senate history. but i wouldn't let them have it until we solve the problem. so it just gets increasingly dented. but what i want to talk about now is the trip that i just took with senator markey to the cop, the conference of the parties, cop 29, in azerbaijan, where senator markey and i heard a similar message from almost everyone there. the transition to clean energy is happening and will continue to happen, no matter who occupies the white house. china's auto market will achieve a milestone this year with electric and hybrid vehicles half of all vehicles sold. china is also installing record amounts of wind, solar, and nuclear. europe is rapidly and

irreversibly weaning itself off fossil fuels with greenhouse gas emissions projected to fall by 8% this year. enormous progress. in australia, one-third of homes have rooftop solar, and they're growing dramatically. more than 40% of australia's electricity comes from renewables, headed for 80% by 2030. so while america's energy policy has been sold out to trump's fossil fuel donors, the world will go on, leaving america more and more behind. nor does trump being for sale mean that there won't be leadership on climate change coming from the united states. california, the fifth-largest

economy in the world, and new york, the tenth-largest economy in the world, joined by other states like new jersey and rhode island, can pursue together ambitious decarbonizeation policies. these states can move markets, and they will win economically against states that are left stuck with expensive polluting fossil fuel. the european union is driving forward on climate change, particular l i with its carbon border adjustment mechanism or cbam. europe's power and industrial sectors already work under a domestic carbon price. the c bam extends that carbon price beyond e.u. borders to imports entering the european union. american exporters are going to start paying a tariff if their

standards aren't up to e.u. carbon emission standards. given the size of markets, the cbam amounts to a global market price for energy intensive industrial goods. the u.k. announced it is joining the cbam also. and we spoke with australia, which is in detailed negotiations to join as well. because of the cbam, even economies that aren't joining like india and china are looking at domestic carbon pricing to reduce the tariff burden. after all, why pay tariffs to get into e.u., u.k., and australian markets when you can keep the same revenue at home via a domestic carbon price. washington state voters just approved a carbon price by an overwhelming margin. new england's regional

greenhouse gas initiative is a small but successful multistate carbon price. carbon pricing is coming, and that is good news because there is no longer a pathway to climate safety without a price on carbon. we heard from business leaders about the economic havoc that climate change is causing, particularly now in insurance markets. it's a subject that my budget committee has examined closely and our committee is going to release several more reports on the climate economic threat before i relinquish that gavel. as i said frequently at cop, we've gone through three stages on climate change. the first stage was the science ph phase. scientists did their job and gave us accurate warnings about the dangers of fossil fuel emissions to the planet and to humanity. then we came to the political

phase. we did not do our jobs. despite the warnings of science, politicians yielded to an unprecedented campaign of obstruction and disinformation orchestrated and funded by the fossil fuel industry through a flotilla of dark money front groups and captured trade associations. one rare, bright moment in this political failure came when democrats passed the inflation reduction act. but despite its now proven benefit to republican districts, not one republican would vote for it. now we enter the third phase of climate change, the economic ph phase, the time of consequences. in this phase, climate change warnings start coming home to

roost in household economies. we see it immediately in the insurance crisis in climate risk areas, with florida ground zero for exploding home and car insurance rates in a collapsing insurance market. we also see it in grocery aisles, as droughts and floods hammer agricultural commodities. shipping is constricted in dried-up waterways like the panama canal or the mississippi river. supply chains unravel. and for good measure, big oil adds to the problems by jacking up gas prices. let's review that for a moment. when russia invaded ukraine in early 2022, gas prices spiked, assisted by the opec cartel, big oil had a two-part strategy ready to go. one, raise their prices to meet

the new cartel price, pushing high prices at the pump for americans. and, two, blame the high prices that they put at the pump for americans on joe biden. that campaign of blame was pure theater. obviously oil companies set their own gas prices. government doesn't. and the surge in oil profits coming from their price gouging shows their multibillion-dollar motivation. and falsely blaming joe biden, well, that helped their politics. the red line on this graph shows inflation adjusted oil prices. two things are clear. one, oil prices are dangerously

volatile. and, two, they keep getting higher. even adjusted for inflation, this blue line here shows average postwar oil prices. this green line here shows the average price per barrel since 1980, up $13 from the post-war average. so behind all this volatility noise is an actual persistent increase in costs, even inflation adjusted. and this brown line up here shortens the time frame further, shows the average price since 2000, and it's up another $12. total $25 per barrel increase. the lesson? stay addicted to oil, and our future will be volatile, increasingly expensive, and

dangerous. where fossil fuel denies us energy security and drives inflation, renewable energy offers us stable, affordable energy powered by fuels that are free. sunlight and wind and flowing water and geothermal heat, none depend on tyrants' whims or foreign cartels' dpreed. and then add the economic costs of climate change. not just the cost of the product, but the cost to light of burning that product. fossil fuel emissions are driving up the costs of insurance and groceries to name the most prominent examples. homeowners premiums in p florida have tripled or quadrupled. it's not just florida. go to coastal louisiana or texas, even california and other states are seeing surging

insurance premiums, including auto premiums, as floods, hailstones and fires become more common and intense. electricity bills soared when utilities had to spend billions of dollars upgrading their distribution networks to prevent them from sparking wildfires in this new hotter, drier condition that climate change has caused. and hotter temperatures increased electric utility bills as families had to use more energy in order to cool their homes. phoenix' record 113 consecutive days of 100-plus degree heat this year, that required lots of excess electricity. in america's dproesry aisles -- grocery aisles you'll find examples of staples whose price increased due to climate change. climate fueled droughts, floods, heat waves.

orange juice, chocolate, olive oil, sugar, the list goes on. it is climate-flation and we should call it that. the fossil fuel industry's fake concern for american consumers is illustrated by liquefied natural gas, lng exports. guess how economies work. domestic prices rise when we export more lng because there's less left for the american consumer. supply down, demand the same, price up. yet, big oil happily raises prices on americans by fighting for more, more, more lng exports and more, more profits driving higher prices for american families. who is actually responsible for these price increases? the oil and gas executives, who

obstructed climate action for dec decades,ing putting our economy and our planet at greater peril. they knew continued combustion of oil and gas would result in sea level rise and make extreme storms, droughts, heat waves, wildfires and floods far more likely. they knew. and rather than fix it, they bout off the republican party with campaign cash and dark money front groups. those oil and gas chieftains were among the biggest donors to president trump's campaign. just this year trump asked them for $1 billion in campaign money in exchange for doing their bidding. quid pro quo. the burden on american families of higher insurance premiums, higher electricity bills, higher grocery bills and storm-ravaged homes and cars is about to turn

worse. there is an old saying, i think it was earnest hemingway, about going bankrupt. he said it happens very slowly and then all at once. we're headed for an all-at-once moment. witnesses in our budget committee hearings warned that when insurance markets melt down because of unpredictable climate risk, the problem then cascades on into mortgage markets, because you need insurance to get a mortgage. that cascades into property values, because your property's value drops if buyers can't get a mortgage to buy it from you. i mean, it's fine if you're a billionaire in palm beach, who's going to sell mar-a-lago to the next billionaire, it's all a big cash transaction. if you're a plumber in a development outside of orlando, you need somebody who can get a mortgage to buy your property. if you can't insure your

property so that it can't support a mortgage, you have a real problem with its real property value. the former chief economist of mortgage giant freddie mac testified this cascade ends in a shock to the economy like the 2008 mortgage meltdown. he's not alone. just to give one other example of many, "the economist magazine" not exactly a green outfit, warned in a cover article that, and i'm quoting here, climate change could wipe out $25 trillion of value in the global housing market. quoting again, experts warn of a climate insurance bubble affecting a third of american homes. that prediction from the chief economist of freddie mac, about a coastal property values crash that would cascade into a 2008

style economic meltdown for the country was based on, as i said, coastal property values. but now the carolinas can tell you about upland flooding destroying the reliability of insurance, and california and western states can tell you about wildfire risk crashing insurance markets. so, the original risk to coastal properties now has these evil siblings of climate risk to upland flooding and to wil wildfire-adjacent properties. it's likely to be worse. and as "the economist" points pout, it's affecting a third of american homes. rather than face up to any of this, the incoming administration will deny it all as payback to their oil and gas industry donors. corruption of the lowest sort. but no amount of lies, propaganda and corruption can

change the laws of physics, chemistry, and biology. you can deny gravity all you want, but when you step out a window the result is the same. so, i will be laser focused on the corruption that trump will unleash on america, and the economic consequences of climate change that americans will face. as the climate danger long warned about comes home to roost in surging insurance premiums, flooded communities, higher prices, and crashing property values in flood and wildfire exposed communities, again, potentially causing a 2008 style economiwide economic shock, we will explain to americans how it did not have to be this way, how these costs are the poison froth of the -- fruit of the fossil fuel industry's fraud and

corruption bargains with trump. with that, i yield the floor.

mr. helmy: mr. president. mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. helmy: thank you, mr. president. i rise today to pay tribute and recognize several organizations and individuals from our home state and the great state of new jersey, who have been and had a tremendous impact on our constituents across our home state and have defined what it means to serve their communities and recognize them in the "congressional record" for their tireless service to new jerseyans and put a spotlight on them here, on the senate floor.

first, i want to take this moment to honor new jersey community development corporation for its important work that it's been doing in our home state as it approaches its 30th anniversary. njcdc is directly involved in urban revitalization efforts, financial empowerment programs, educational initiatives and other critically important youth development activities to help uplift young people and empower the knute of new jersey. the -- the youth of new jersey. the work has directly transformed the lives of many in the city of patterson. i also want to recognize njcdc founder and chief executive officer and recent inductee to the new jersey hall of fame robbo garachi for his tremendous work to make this organization what it has become today. of course, we cannot recognize njcdc without recognizing the enormous dedication of a great champion of this senate floor, the late, great senator frank

lautenberg and the njcdc which he loved and championed his whole career. second, i want to honor the bloomfield, new jersey, fire department. chief louis venezian's crew is one of 300 departments that received the accredited status from the fire international, no small feet. the top class training staff, communication, decision-making, community outreach and public relations made this certification possible. they're well deserving. i'm proud to have such a fire department in new jersey. i want to thank the department the for the tireless efforts to keep the community safe. because of them, the people can sleep soundly knowing they're protected in the case of emergencies. it's my honor to stand here in front of my mentor and senior senator, senator booker, to give these organizations and individuals the recognition they deserve for their efforts to improve the lives of

new jerseyans. i wish to thank them for their tireless efforts and wish them much success in the years ahead. i would be remiss if i did not recognize two other individuals in the gallery whose selfless service uplifted so many lives across our state. governor phil murphy and first lady tammy murphy. over the last seven years, i've worked along side them, to build a stronger and fairer state tore every new jerseyan. under their leadership, the garden state set the gold standard for progressive and responsible leadership in america. from nearly doubling our state's minimum wage to enacting the most ambitious property tax relief program. the stadministration made life r affordable for every new jersey family. they've taken strides in global leadership in noifks, by -- innovation, by seizing upon clean energy to life science, to generative artificial intelligence. they've upheld our shared responsibility to protect all of our state's children by enacting

some of the most transformative policies, implementing nation-leading gun safety laws that brought gun deaths to record lows. they managed to bring the 2026fifa world cup final to the new jersey-new york, said in the right order, region. sure to provide a massive boost to the local economies. it's because of the impeccable record that i was so honored the governor trusted me with the responsibility i hold here. this has been a privilege to work alongside them, both with the governor and first lady. on so many issues that matter to so many families, from funding infrastructure improvements, to working with the first lady to cosponsor legislation in this chamber to access maternal health care. governor and first lady murphy, thank you for being here today. without your support, i would not be standing here today. having been born and raced in new jersey -- and raised in new jersey, i mold a deep love for the people of my state. i've had the privilege of

meeting many of our over nine million residents who make new jersey so unique. serving them has been an incredible honor. i hope the work my staff and i plashed in this short term leaves a lasting impact for years to come. thank you, mr. president. i like that title for you. i yield the floor. mr. helmy: mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

quorum call:

we have secured the largest investment in native communities in american history and enacted more than two dozen bills into law. the progress we have made is real, tangible and meaningful. there is still a lot of work to do to live up to our responsibilities to these communities including in the final weeks. a unanimous bipartisan basis that is yet to receive full

senate consideration and there is no good reason for them to language months or even years without action. my bill has made technical exceptions to the tourism and improving visitors experience act which authorizes grants to indian tribes, tribe organizations and native hawaiian organizations and tourism activities. this bill was reported out of committee more than one year and a half ago. more than a year and a half concerns to rectify any issues it is time to get this done now. s 1322, the unlocking native lands and opportunities for key economic developments who are unlocked enabling indian tribes to release their own land for up to 99 years for business and other purposes and to approve certain rights-of-way on their lands under existing law. senator murkowski and i introduces legislation that will incentivize more businesses to

invest in indian country. this will support tribes and their economic development needs finally introduced by senator smith to revoke the tribes action 716 charter of incorporation. the tribe testified in committee that the charter is actively hindering its economic development activities because it cannot, because it cannot do things without the secretary's approval. the tribes charter has been in place since 1937 and only congress has the power to revoke such charges and has acted to revoke previously for a number of tribes. and, so, as if the legislation session i asked for consent that they concede for the following bills on block calendar number 34 s 385, calendar 342 s 1322 and calendar number 490 s 2868.

>> the clerk will report a bill to amend the act of august 9, 1955 and so forth and for other purposes. calendar 492868 a bill to accept the request to revoke the charter of incorporation of the lower sioux indian community and so forth and for other purposes. >> is our objection to proceeding to the measures on block? >> senator. >> reserving the right to object , i would like to offer an additional piece of legislation that i think would be very appropriate to include in the proposal. i asked today for consideration

of the wounded knee massacre memorial and sacred site act that is hr 3371-s 2088. this would place 40 acres of tribally purchased land at the massacre site isaac. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sullivan: this is usual the time i come down to talk about our alaskan of the week. hopefully everyone can see that. it's contained of a special poster board today because it has the capitol christmas tree on it. so the alaskan of the week is, you know, for the reporters who are still around here on thursday afternoon, the american people, they all view this, this is their favorite speech of the week, i'm not bragging, it's true. because we talk about somebody real special in alaska. it could be somebody national, a real hero, could be somebody who did something great for their

local community and we talk about things going on in alaska. i give a little snapshot of what's happening. let me do that right now. winter is not coming. winter's here. it came before halloween and now we are getting a ton of snow, it's cold. so the holiday spirit is upon us. we love that. the northern lights are out. it is winter wonderland. if you want to come up to alaska, people in the gallery come on up, you will have the best visit of your life, summer, winter, fall, gutiatic, referred to previously as barrio, alaska, the sun went down on november 19 and it is not coming up until january 23, 2025. so it's kind of dark there.

they're not going to have a sunrise until late january many we love them up there. tough, great, americans, patriotic americans. so everyone in my state is already enjoying winter. so if you can't come up to alaska to enjoy winter this winter, we're going to bring a little bit of alaska here to d.c. that's right, the capitol christmas tree which will be lit up in front of the capitol building for the month of december is coming from all the way from the tongass national forest. the presiding officer shows all about the tongass forest. that is a journey of almost 5,000 miles. and this is no living room sized christmas tree, folks, it is an

85 foot sitka spruce. it's a big tree. you're going to see it out in front of the capitol here very soon. i'm sure everybody listening, and we know there's millions of people listening to this alaska of the week speech, millions, they have a lot of questions. wait, how do you transport a tree that size almost 5,000 miles across america? there's a lot of moving parts, including seven different vehicles, multiple forest servicemembers on tree watering duty. you don't want your tree to dry out when you drive it across country, and, of course, the intrepid truck drivers who have taken up this charge to successfully and safely deliver alaska's christmas tree to america's mall, to the capitol. these alaskans, fred austin and

john shank, long-time alaska truck drivers, both teamsters, are the men responsible for driving for three weeks to deliver this tree to washington, d.c., and they, madam president, fred and john, are our alaskans of the week. by the way, i love the teamsters, big fan of the teamsters. during the pandemic, i went out in your backyard in anchorage and gave a speech making all the teamsters alaskans of the week because they were keeping our economy open when essentially the rest of our country, the rest of alaska was shut down. so here's to the teamsters. here's to fred and john. so let me give you a lit background on this tree that fred and john shared with me and my team recently. this giant tree was country down outside of wrangle, alaska, in

late october, and was shipped from southeast alaska, that's where wrangle is, to seattle, escorted by forest servicemembers, who were caring for the tree, keeping it fresh the whole trip. when we checked in on fred, and they're here now, they're going to be here tomorrow morning, we checked in on them, they were just about to stop in omaha, nebraska. by the time they conclude their journey, which should be tomorrow, they will have stopped in 12 states, 17 towns across america. and if you were lucky enough to be one of those americans to live within driving distance of any of their stops, these guys would have been hard to miss. now, thousands of americans have come out to see this tree going across the country. the upper half of this tree is

already covered in christmas lights and is visible through plexiglass and the 85-foot custom trailer signs as a gigantic autograph book that has collected thousands of signatures from across the country from americans and christmas enthusiasts all across our great nation. so let's talk about these two great alaskans, our alaskans of the week. fred, thirst, transporting -- first, transporting a tree this many miles requires a crack team, which is why fred and john were chosen two teamsters with a combined trucking experience of over 130 years. do the math. these guys know how to drive trucks. fred has been trucking for 71 years, madam president. he's only 89 years old right

now. born in 1935, a good year for wine, he says. fred started trucking at the age of 18. he's literally the most experienced truck driver in america driving that tree. like so many alaskans, fred is a veteran. by the way, alaska has more veterans per capita than any state in the country. we're very proud of that, our patriotic heritage in alaska. and -- i would venture to guess that there are few navy veterans still around today who are part of the u.s. navy blockade during the cuban missile crisis. big point in america. fred was, he was in the navy for six years, he was defending democracy then and spreading christmas cheer now. fred literally has done it all. fred came to alaska with his family in the mid-1960's and, no

kidding, settled in north pole, alaska, a very fitting hometown for what would be his task today, delivering america's christmas tree. some of you alaskan of the week fans might remember the alaskan of the week about a year ago, last december, when i spoke about the north pole, alaska's miller family and their santa claus house. so, again, americans want to come up and see a part of our great state, come to north pole, alaska, the interior, the santa claus house is still going strong, if you write a letter to santa, your letter will end up in santa claus house in fred's hometown. when you get a reply it's postmarked north pole, alaska.

why did fred when decide to head north. he said, quote, it's to find the frontier. that's been the history of the word. it was time for me to go north. now he's making this almost 5,000-mile trip to bring the last frontier to washington, d.c. driving down south is an experience for fred, much different than driving in the last frontier, fred, says, quote, there's lots of highways and traffic. at home in alaska, if you want to beat rush hour, you just have one more cup of coffee. not a lot of traffic jams in our state. down here it's a lot more coffee, pots of coffee. this is his first year transporting the christmas tree. and he said the best part has been watching the reactions of people seeing the tree on the road or at one of the town stops. like i said, madam president, there has been thousands of people watching this incredible

alaskan tree going across the country. fred said, people come out to watch the truck and tree go by. they wave to us. they ask us to honk our horn. we are loving it. and the tree, of course, at 85 feet is hard to miss. we're prepping the country for the holiday spirit. so accompanying fred is john schank, also an alaskan and a capitol christmas tree delivery veteran. by the way, he's probably the only veteran -- i'm not talking about military veteran, i'm talking about he's delivered the christmas tree before, driving a truck. this is john's second time delivering alaska's christmas tree for the country. so go figure on that one. he's probably the only guy in the history of the country who has done this twice. deit in 2015 -- did it in 2015 which by the way was the only time an alaskan christmas tree has made it for the capitol

christmas tree, since the tree lighting ceremony officially began in 1964. but this drive is nothing compared to the six million miles john has banked during his nearly 50-year trucking career. again, these guys, these teamsters, these great teamsters are some of the best truck drivers in the country. i said, madam president, six million miles. for reference, there are only 17,000 -- 17,600 miles of public roads in alaska. during his career, john has effectively driven one of alaska's public roads more than 340 times. go figure that one out. originally from michigan but raised by his family in fairbanks, john's regular route as a trucker for linden which --

lynden which is a great alaskan trucking company, from the fairbanks to the oil fields up the prudhoe bay. by the way, those who watch the different alaska reality shows, these be the ice road truckers, great show. tough duty, by the way, driving a truck from fairbanks up to the north slope, hundreds of miles in the winter on ice. john has done this so well that he was nominated for the american trucking association driver of the year, not alaskan driver of the year, american driver of the year both in 2014 and in 2017. john came to alaska in 1975 to transport food for dog mush veterans but also likes to say

he came up to alaska, quote, for the adventure. and i've been here ever since. it's such a great state. he said the highlight of his trip so far across the country was their stop in indiana where he reunited with almost 30 members of his extended family in the hoosier state who have been track be the tree -- tracking the tree and of course their fellow family member john on his trip all the way to washington, d.c. the tree is a family event all around. during their scheduled stops along the drive, families throughout america, thousands of them, have come to admire the tree and get excited about christmas. seeing family, seeing kids looking at the trees -- at the tree with rosy cheeks, john said, reminds us it's christmas time. so there you have it.

two jolly alaskan men, one literally from north pole, alaska, spreading special alaskan christmas cheer with this beautiful tree right here across america as they transport america's christmas tree, alaska's christmas tree, to washington, d.c. all they're missing is some reindeer. you see them right here. and you know in alaska we got a lot of reindeer. i'm sure my state would happily lone a few reindeer down here to d.c. you can come and see them yourselves up in our state. one of them star, a reindeer lives in downtown anchorage and is always welcoming visitors. madam president, in all seriousness the tree, as i mentioned will be arriving here in washington, d.c. tomorrow. alaskans from across the state have been working for months on the over 5,000 decorations that

will go on this tree. it is going to be beautiful. it's going to reach for the heavens, light up the night sky here in d.c., an alaskan tree on our nation's capitol will truly mark the beginning of a joyful holiday season for all of us. thank you, fred and john, for taking this enormous trek to bring the capitol christmas tree and a whole truckload of christmas spirit across america to d.c. thanks to all the alaskans that helped make this happen. thanks to the teamsters who keep our state and country's economy rolling strong and fred and john, merry christmas and congratulations on one of the highest honors anyone in america can achieve, our alaskan of the

week. great job, gentlemen. we will see you tomorrow out there with your christmas tree. i yield the floor.

you are watching lives senate coverage here on c-span2.

confirming judges and i'm pleased to say we have cleared the way to confirm many more judges will be returned after thanksgiving. today we will pick up right where we left off last night. later this morning, we will hold to more culture votes. two more district court judges. northern wise to the northern district of california and gail to the eastern district of pennsylvania. we will finish today with a confirmation vote to be district judge for the district of arizona. this would put our total for the week at six new judges confirmed to lifetime appointments of the federal bench, one circuit court judge and five district court judges.

again, we are in strong position to confirm many more judges when we come back. we hope to make progress as many as we can. i think my colleagues for the hard work last night and for being flexible in the roll call votes. i want to thank the floor staff, the pages and all of the staff in the senate for staying late several nights this week. so that we could keep working on the floor. i understand if you feel little groggy this morning, that is okay. i am proud that the judges we have confirmed under president biden are exceptional, highly qualified enough already begun to bring balance to our bench. our nominees are adding new perspectives and broad ranges of experience to their courts. we have confirmed individuals with strong experiences in consumer protection and voting rights and civil rights. supreme court advocacy prosecution and more. in other words the nominees we

have considered represent a balanced and evenhanded group. we will keep going when the senate returns voting on the president's nominees as a basic responsibility of the senate. we will take that responsibility very seriously between now and the end of the year. now a look ahead. when the senate returns after thanksgiving, senators can expect a very busy few weeks to finish our work before the end of the year. both sides must continue working together to keep the government open beyond the december 20 deadline. blame the government shut down just before christmas would be asinine. plain and simple and nobody wants that to happen. well, there may be a few and the other chamber who deal, but they are distinct minority. we must pass the annual defense authorization bill to provide for our troops and hold the line against america's adversaries abroad. we have passed the nda every year over the last six decades.

with so much going on around the world in the middle east, the indo pacific in europe and beyond, passing the nda is critical as it has ever been. we intend to get it done. we also hope to make progress on the farm bill. to avoid going over the so-called theory at the end of september. chair releasing earlier this week. i want to commend her for drafting such a strong bill that provides for farmers and ranchers as well as working families through nutrition programs. democrats are ready to work with republicans to get the farm bill done. another issue we hope to get done is disaster aid. they release the conference of plan for disaster aid. a lot of very good things. it replenishes programs within fema which is what most americans think about when they

think of the disaster response. other programs across the federal government that are dangerously low on funding if not totally depleted. a few weeks, a few days ago i highlighted the important role that this sba disaster loan program plays in times of crisis another one i want to mention is the department of transportation funding. to read -- repair and reconstruct. highways and roads damaged and rendered impassable it renders everything to a standstill. slower to arrive getting people out of danger entire communities can be left isolated. this is just one example of why we need to pass a robust disaster aid package. i hope to work with republicans to get it done as soon and as robustly as possible. finally, as i have said, when we returned after thanksgiving, we will pick up right where we left off confirming more of president biden's judicial and executive nominees. a very busy consequential weeks.

i think my colleagues for their cooperation. some news from washington. former florida congressman matt gates has withdrawn his name after the next attorney general. he released a statement that reads in part i had excellent meetings with senators yesterday i appreciate the thoughtful feedback and the incredible support of so many. while the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the trumpet vance transition. there is no time to waste on a protracted washington scuffle.

thus, i will be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as attorney general.

the last four years have been the most productive ever for the senate committee on indian affairs working on a bipartisan basis we have secured the largest investment and native communities in american history and enacted more than two dozen bills into law. the project is real and tangible and meaningful. there is still a lot of work to do to live up to the responsibilities of these communities including the final weeks of this congress. there are currently more than a dozen advanced out of our committee out of a unanimous bipartisan basis but have yet to

receive full senate consideration and there is no good reason for them to languish for months or even years without action. mike bill makes technical corrections to the native american tourism in approving visitors experience act which authorizes advanced to indian tribes. tourism activities. this bill was reported out of committee more than a year and a half ago. there is been more than enough time to raise concerns and rectify any issues. it is time to get this done now. s 1322, the unlocking native lands and opportunities for commerce and key economic developments unlocked act would enable indian tribes to release their own land for up to 99 years for business and other purposes. senator murkowski and i introduced incentivizing more businesses to investigate in indian country.

finally 2868 introduced by senator smith on behalf of the lower sioux indian community to revoke the tribes indian reorganization. the tribe testified that the charter is actively hindering its economic development activities because it cannot do things without the secretary's approval. it has been in place since 1937. only congress has the power to revoke such charges and has the out power previously for a number of tribes. as if in legislative session i asked unanimous consent that the senate concede for the following bills on lock, calendar number 34 as 385 calendar number 342 as 1342 and calendar number 490 s

2868. >> the clerk will report. a bill to amend the tourism and improving visitor appearance act calendar number 342 as 314 to a bill to t amend the act of augut 9, 1955 and so forth for other purposes. calendar 496828 a bill to revoke the charter of incorporation of the lower sioux indian community and so forth and other purposes. >> is our objection to proceeding to the measures on block? >> mr. president space force, t nominations be confirmed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations, that the

the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. helmy: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up it ten minutes each. officer if he without objection. mr. helmy: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to immediate consideration of h.r. 7213, received from the house and at theesque dex. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the the clerk: h.r. 7123, an act to amend the public service act and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. helmy: i ask that the lujan substitute amendment to the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered, read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. helmy: i know of no further debate on the bill. the presiding officer: is there further debate? if not, all those in favor say aye.

all those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill, as amended, is passed. mr. helmy: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the motions to reconsider be considered made laid and upon the table and no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. helmy: i ask that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar 529, h.r. 2950. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 2950, an act to authorize the secretary of the interior and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. helmy: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. helmy: i know of no further debate on the bill. the presiding officer: is there further debate? if not, all knows in favor say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill is passed.

mr. helmy: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be be considered made planed ton the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. helmy: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to immediate consideration of calendar 55, h.r. 5799. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 5, h.r. 5799, act to designate the checkpoint of the united states border patrol located on united states highway 90 west. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. helmy: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. helmy: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the committee on commerce, science, and transportation be discharged from further consideration, the senate now proceed to immediate consideration of s. res. 865. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 865, expressing the support of the senate for the designation

of october 23, 2024, as public radio music day and so forth. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged, and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. helmy: madam president, i know of no further debate on the resolution. the presiding officer: is there further debate? all those in favor, say aye. opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the resolution is passed. mr. helmy: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the preamble be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. helmy: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to en bloc consideration of the following senate resolutions -- s. res. 911, s. res. 912, s. res. 913, s. res. 914, s. res. 915, s. res. 916. the presiding officer: is there

objection to proceeding to the measures en bloc? without objection, the senate will proceed to the measures. en bloc. mr. helmy: i ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. helmy: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on homeland security and governmental affairs be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 5302 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 5302, an act to designate the air and marine operations marine unit and so forth. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged of the resolution. and the will proceed. mr. hellmy: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without

objection. mr. hellmy: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on judiciary be discharged from further consideration of s. 4708 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 4708, a bill to amend title 18, united states code and so forth. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged. and the senate will proceed. mr. hellmy: i ask unanimous consent that the cornyn amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. hellmy: madam president, i have one request for the committee to meet during today's session of the senate. it has the approval of the majority and minority leaders. madam president, i yield the floor --

the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. hellmy: madam president, i yield the floor. mr. hellmy: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. hellmy: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee of agriculture, nutrition be forestry be discharged from further of s. 759 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 759, a bill to authorize the national detector

dog training center and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is it there -- is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. mr. hellmy: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. hellmy: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn and convene for pro forma sessions only with no business conducted on friday november 22 at 12 noon, tuesday november 26, at 10:00 a.m., friday november 29 an at 9:00 a.m. and it stand adjourned until 3:00 p.m., december, on monday, following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. following the conclusion of

morning business, the senate proceed to executive session and resum consideration of the wang nomination be at 5:30 p.m. on monday, and the president be need hi notified of the senate's action. if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under that it stand adjourned under

gobbled out for the day and month as lawmakers head out for their thanksgiving break. they will be back for both on december 2. working on several. still working on government funding with the shutdown deadline coming up on december 20. live coverage when lawmakers return here on c-span2. >> sunday night on c-span's q&a. holter prize-winning columnist and former speechwriter for president reagan. the collection of her columns from over the past quarter century. they show the career and radio after graduating from college. >> the anchor in the cbs news. he had a radio show every day.

he did a radio commentary. it was written by wonderful writer named dale miner. one of the people who filled in for him, once when i was filling in, he himself took vacation and this young man came in. then dan became the anchor at cbsn i became his daily radio writer of his commentaries which was a fabulous job and was like doing a column every day. >> peggy newman with her book a certain idea of america. sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span q&a. you can listen to q&a and all of our podcast on the free c-span now out. >> now, government officials testify of president biden's