decision here youth had migrated to disposable devices and fda is legitimatelyrnedhat youth are chasing the flavors they want and there ry reason to think if they needed to use open devices, they us that use liquids like this to get the flavors they want, that that number would go up. fda is legitimate concerned about that that is my third point. the is no mystery here, as justice kagan was explaining. that the fda thougre w an increased risk to youth, respdents were on notice of that and common sense tells us at flavor like mother's milk sproportionately attractive toc. and, respondents knew that they needed to make this ison and tried to show the flavors had anffseing benefit with adults and applications. fda reasonabclud they did not have sufficient evidence to establish that proposition. we urge the court to reverse the

judgment of the court of appeals. >> thank you counsel. the case i

the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain dr. barry black will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal, unchanging god, you are our rock, our fortress, and our stronghold. empower our lawmakers to change in ways that will render them more faithful to your will and more responsive to your call. may they develop such moral and ethical fitness. they will clearly comprehend your desires and be eager to do your will. lord, as they grow in grace and in knowledge of you, deliver them from the bonds of fear as you turn their spirits toward the light of your presence.

may the knowledge of your blessings to our nation and world bring us all to a deeper commitment to you. we pray in your merciful name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington d.c., december 3, 2024. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable mark kelly, a senator from the

state of arizona to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patty murray, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previoor the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, anthony j. bryn dis si of new york to be -- brindisi of new york to be united states district judge for the northern district of new york.

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>> mr. president, thank you very much. it's good to see you again. thank you brabham here today. i joke with you earlier when i said we might like poor relatives. we show up when we are not invited, stay longer we should, eat all your food and don't know when to go home. but you have been very, very generous and hospitable. thank you. i'm proud, very proud to be the first american president to visit angola. i'm deeply proud of everything went in together to transform our partnership thus far. so much we can do.

results so far speak for themselves. building an ocean access railway, ocean to ocean access railway that's going to connect the continent from west to east for the first time in history. investing in solar energy project and help angola generates 85% of its clean energy by next year, by next year. upgrading the internet and communications infrastructure to connect all angola high-speed internet. as are doing that at home ourselves i compared to when franklin roosevelt took electricity grid america, didn't exist in rural america. government provided it. well, it's hard to get by these days in business, ranch and anything else without access to the internet, knowing what's going on, when desire product. and increasing our agriculture

production so angolans can feed themselves and, quite frankly, the rest of the world in making a profit doing get, providing work, opportunity, providing for your economy. an increase agriculture production as i said so angolans can now going to feed themselves but it's hard for people in the country that has the borders of pacific ocean and atlantic ocean to understand it's hard to get their product from one country to another. get there to not only help those people but you help yourself, you grow your economy. and you've heard me say before, mr. president, the united states is all in on africa, all in on africa. and i think a testament to that assertion i've made to you when i saw you and i before, euphorbia say before but the

united states is all income all in on a global. my administration alone has invested over $3 billion in angola thus far. the future of the world is here in africa, and in angola. so during this visit i look forward to discussing how we keep ensuring democracy delivers for people because if they don't think it's a democracy they don't think it's a deal. they don't think you're a partner. you have been working very hard to establish your democracy. and secondly, how can we help build strong ties with her businesses and our people. there's a lot to say on all this. i know we're prepared to i think we're well on our way to answering a lot of questions but i think you should understand the extent to which we are prepared to be engaged. and as i said to the president,

hours is that come we don't think because we are bigger and where more powerful but we are smarter. we don't think we've all the answers but we're prepared to give answers to the need to have, particularly answers to international debt financing and all things were prepared to discuss. i want to thank you very much for your personal welcome. i want to thank all of our colleagues for treating us so well since we've been here. i mean it from the bottom of my heart, the future of the world is in africa. that's not hyperbole. it's going to be 1 billion people very shortly on this continent, very diverse continent. and by another 20 years you will be the largest country in the world, continent in the world. so we need you to succeed. this is not selfish. the more you succeed the more we succeed, the more the world succeeds.

thank you for being -- have me and a look for to a long relationship. thank you very much. [inaudible question] the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: mr. president, this morning the democratic caucus, the senate democratic caucus, held leadership elections for the 119th congress. i am grateful, i am honored, i am hum bloods that my colleagues -- humbled that my colleagues again unanimously elected me to serve as their democratic leader. to my democratic colleagues, thank you for this opportunity. thank you for extending to me your trust. se serving as democratic leader has been one of the greatest honors

of my time in public office, as has been representing the people of new york. it's allowed me to learn more from my colleagues than i could have possibly dreamed of when i first took this job. and, after four years of the most productive and consequential years the senate has had in decades, it's galvanized my faith in this chamber's ability to get big things done for the country. wow, we got a lot done. even in times of division. especially when bipartisanship prevails. and it did as it did with so many of our bills. most of the major bills we passed were done in a bipartisan way. anyone who thinks, in this chamber, we should abandon bipartisanship is making a huge mistake, whether it's chips and science or infrastructure, gun safety or helping veterans, gay marriage -- you name it. we did it in a bipartisan way. i pledge to dedicate every ounce

of my strength and my focus and wit -- houfrn however -- however much i have of that, to keeping serving in the years ahead, to help our caucus better serve the american people. and i want to say, mr. president, that i love my caucus. they're just such a beautiful group of people. we don't all agree. we're from different parts of the country, different ages and philosophies and backgrounds, but every one of my caucus members loves his or her country. every one of them has major huge sacrifices to be here. and every one of them strives for unity, and it's one of the reasons we've been so successful in my last four years as majority leader, because our caucus has been great. i am -- i sent a little message to every member of my caucus on thanksgiving day that i'm thankful for them, thankful for them. it's a great group.

it's a great group. congratulations, of course, to my fellow democrats to serve on our caucus' leadership as well. can't do it all alone, and i'm glad to count the members of our leadership team, and every member of my caucus, as a friend, in addition to being your faithful colleague. i'd also like to thank our dear friend senator patty murray, who for the last two years served this chamber and served the american people faithfully as president pro tem of the senate. now everyone here knows no senator can get through the day or hour without incredible staff. i am an amazing staff. led by mike lynch, who's been with me since just about i started, leading our team in washington and martin brennan, who's also been with me since just about i started in new york. what an amazing group of dedicated people. i am blessed, truly blessed, to have such a great staff, and i

thank them, each and every one for their dedication, their brillians, their un -- brilliance, their unflinching faith in our democracy. i wish to thank all of the staff across the senate who do our caucus' work. you're the unsung heroes of our democracy, every one of our staffers labors hard, just about every one could go out and make more money, but they're dedicated to making this country a better place, to helping the working people of america. we're lucky and blessed to have such a great staff. i want to send a particular thanks to the senate floor staff. we weren't able to get this much done without them. and particularly to gary mirrick and the miracle workers in the cloakroom who make this chamber come to life, as well as the members at the front desk. thank you all. now, we have more work to do in this chamber before the work is out, and we'll have to hit the ground running when 2025 arrives.

the challenges of our country remain great, our divisions still run very deep, but our task in this chamber cannot and will not change. we are sent here to make life better for the american people. so thank you to all of my colleagues. let the work continue. now, we are bidding farewell today to two of our members on the democratic side will give speeches of farewell. later this afternoon, our colleague from california, senator laphonza butler, will deliver her farewell address here on the senate floor. before she speaks, i want to share a few words about her time in the senate. when our late colleague, senator feinstein, passed away over a year ago, a little over a year ago, i remember wondering to myself how anyone could ever follow in dianne's footsteps. i knew it would take someone really special, someone really smart, really honorable, someone who calls stepped up to the

plate. it would take someone like laphonza butler. senator butler wasn't out looking for this job. she didn't campaign for it. but it came to her doorstep, and when asked to serve she answered with great humility and a great sense of service and belief in america. she followed her innate calling for service, which she learned while watching her mop work mult -- her mom work mult pep jobs to keep her family above water. for the last year she represented california, a huge, complicated, and beautiful state, admirably. there's a general assumption around here, if you want to make a real difference in aware you have to spend years, some say decades, learning the roams, rising -- learning the ropes, rising through the ranks. senator butler turned that on its head. she proved it isn't about how long you're here but what you do with the time you're here, and senator butler did a lot. as a member of the judiciary

committee, somebody helped advance and confirm one of the most well qualified classes in recent history. she's been a champion for women and women's rights, she co-led legislation to restore the rights enshrined under roe v. wade. she's done great work to bring our workforce up to speed in the age of artificial intelligence. she's introduced legislation to provide more opportunity to farmers and small business owners, to help parents and families and caregivers address the mental health and substance abuse crisis, to increase civic participation among young voters, and so much more. bottom line, mr. president, somebody practically -- senator butler practically did everything in the senate, and in almost one year. she was always ready to serve. when i had a tough job, or one not glamorous and would take time and effort, se always said -- senator butler said yes. she was looking out for the

greater good in a beautiful way. of course, as well, senator butler, much like her predecessor was a history maker too. when she was sworn in a year ago, she became only the third black woman in american history to serve in the senate, the first openly lesbian senator from california, and first openly lgbtq senator of color. and finally, while i say relukt andly as a -- relukt antley as a new yorker, senator butler's year concludes with one of the greatest accomplishments a senator can achieve, one of her home state teams winning the world series. so, senator butler, thanks for all you've done. thank you just for being you, a decent, honorable, wonderful person. and the people of california and all of america are certainly proud of you and grateful for your service too. mr. president, this afternoon another dear colleague will give

his farewell address, senator joe manchin of west virginia. it fills me with great pleasure and a little sadness to say a few words in his honor. even every now and then you get to work with someone who reminds us that politics, just like practically all other pursuits in life, is deceivingly simple. it's about relationships, about strong partnerships, about strong beliefs, and it takes having good friends in this praise to get -- in this place to get difficult things done. i wish to pay tribute to a very dear friend, one of my closest friends in the senate, even when we disagreed we stayed friendly and stayed good friends, and of course a longtime colleague, senator joe manchin of west virginia. now, on the surface, joe manchin and chuck schumer appear to have little in common. joe was born in farmington, west virginia, a coal mining town of around 400 people. i was born in brooklyn, where

you can walk past 400 people before breakfast. joe's family on his father's side traces the lineage to italy. much of my family comes from galicia in modern day ukraine. while joe got a scholarship to play football at west virginia university, he was going to be a great star until he was injured, i was cut from the college basketball team on day one. coach asked could i dribble. i said it's not my strong suit, sir. he said go home. beneath the surface, however, joe and i have unexpected common links. we both have grandparents whose lives were shaped in dramatic ways by union life. my grandfather helped his employees form a union in utica. while his grandfather sadly was fired for trying to organize a union in farmington.

both were small business owners. joe's dad took over a family grocery store where joe worked much of his early years. while my dad ran an exterminating business. both families found home in communities where everyone knew your name and hard times forced everyone to come together. for joe's family it was the awful day that the manchin grocery store burned down. when joe recalls the incident, he has said that that moment tallowed taught him the value of persistence. something my late father always talked about. and the importance of leaning on your community to rebuild from tragedy. that's something any new yorker will relate to. yes, mr. president, it's with common threads that fill me today with gratitude. these are links that shape who joe manchin, the public servant, is at his core. someone who wants to keep alive the very same american dream his family got to enjoy, a place where hard work, community, and equal opportunity are the keys

to a better life. some of the biggest accomplishments of the past few years would not have been done without joe's help. he was always able to reach across the aisle to help us achieve the kind of bipartisan legislation we're so proud of in these past two senate's. without him, we couldn't have gotten the inflation reduction act done. he was a persistent, a tiger on that one. he and i got alone together, in one week, we sat in a room, little room, no one knew we were negotiating the ira, joe didn't want anyone to know, because he would be besigned by people. we -- besieged in that room. all of a sudden, the legislation, after no one knew we were doing it, popped out. as a result, so much was accomplished. we made historic strides towards climate change in a very positive way, tax breaks to help

clean energy evolve, and it's grown beyond what either of us thought. this was the first major legislation in decades that lowered the cost of prescription drugs. there was joe manchin and chuck schumer, close friends, colleagues, with a mission -- get this done. and we did it fwla that little room -- in that little room all alone. at the same time, senator manchin was always reminings us that deficit reduction was important. in the ira, which he appropriately named the inflation reduction act, for every dollar invested we saved towards cutting down the deficit through this bill. very few pieces of legislation, major legislation, have done that. to joe's great credit, this, the ira did. joe was also an important player in the gun safety and infrastructure legislation. under our majority, and we had

had a few fights -- not physical; he would have clobbered me in those -- joe has been a dedicated public servant and a dear friend until the end. joe and i didn't agree -- of course joe and i didn't agree on everything. but despite these disagreements, what mattered was this the -- was this: no matter the issue, i always knew that joe would be true to who he was. to put the people of west virginia first and to seek consensus even if there was just a shred of an opportunity -- and he was so persistent at it and that's why he was so successful as he was. these things i will always cherish about serving with the senator from west virginia. but i also -- we were just close

friends, aside from politics. we talked to each other all the time. we each knew each other's phone numbers by heart. that 304 number popped up on my phone more than just about any other. some of the happiest times i had in the senate were on joe manchin's boat. he would bring in great italian food and then he'd turn on his sound system and we all would be singing, democrats and republicans, hits from the 50's, 60's, 70's. joe would just play the first two or three notes and then we'd have to guess what the song was. we were both pretty good at it. what great times they were. joe is the kind of friend who breaks the tension with a sudden joke. the kind of colleague who breaks gridlock with a helping hand and the kind of public servant to breaks cynicism by reminding people what we do here we do for the people back home. so, joe, thank you for the many

good years of partnership in this chamber. as you know, i tried to recruit you successfully when you first ran, and you've had great service to our country since then. and i hope you don't regret that i recruited you and you came here. i am a sure you don't, because you've done so much and made so many good friends. joe, thank you for all you've done serving our country, serving the people of west virginia. we wish the best to you, to gail, to your beautiful family which you always talk about, and to all the people of vest which are, who you so -- and to all people of west virginia, who you so admirableably serve. i yield the floor.

mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that i be be allowed to complete my remarks before the recess. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: thank you, mr. president. i want to echo the commend -- comments just made by the majority leader, senator schumer, and thank my colleagues for continuing to give me the opportunity to serve as the whip. what is this job? i said the skills that are necessary for this job i developed in the first grade -- to be able to count up to 60, if needed, and to be able to count up to 41, if in a position of resistance. that's an overstatement, of course, but not much. i thank my colleagues for giving me this opportunity over the last two years, and i'm looking forward to the next twothis has been one of the busiest

legislative times in my time on capitol hill. we've been working for four years in the senate judiciary committee to fill vacancies in the federal courts around america. people retire, they pass away. some of them decide to do something else with their lives, creating a vacancy for what was supposed to be a lifetime position. over the last four years, working with president biden's white house, we have filled more than 200 slots in the federal judiciary, over one-fourth of the existing article 3 judges have been replaced or given a successor because the work on the senate judiciary committee, which i chair, and with it the work on the floor to pass these same nominees, which requires the work of the staff, majority leader, of course, and the whip on the floor. so i was called into action

both -- at both levels for success and we have quite a record to show for it. i'd like to say a few words about two of my colleagues who will be making farewell remarks today in the senate. first, laphonza butler. she succeeded senator dianne feinstein as the senator from our largest state, the state of california. dianne feinstein was a close friend and a seatmate of mine for many years. i can't tell you how many times we set together and considered nominees and legislation and listened to one another's speeches. i really respected her so much, and she did such an extraordinary job in the senate. so when she passed away and senator butler took her place, many people wonder who had could step into those shoes for this period of time. laphonza butler was that person. she was given an extraordinary assignment. she took a slot on the senate judiciary committee, which i chair, and in that position had

to get into the daily combat, political combat that took place in that committee. i would say, with some immodesty, that it is one of the most challenging committees on capitol hill because it has an extraordinarily important agenda when it comes to the political issues before it and because of some of the personalities that pop ulate the chairs of -- that populate the chairs of that committee. senator butler brought her own style and did so so well. she was able to see the old admonition is true that politics ain't bean bag in the senate judiciary committee. she stood up for her state effectively and she articulated her positions convincingly, and she was always there when needed. i want to thank her for being part of the process of filling

these vacancies in the federal why shall with the most diverse group of judges in our history. it's something that will live on long beyond senator butler and myself. so i thank her for her friendship, her smile, her determination, and her success in the senate judiciary committee and the senate as a whole. joe manchin is going to give his farewell address on the floor, the senator from west virginia and i have served together. and i've come to appreciate joe's politics and the way he handles decision-making. sometimes i disagree with him vehemently and am frustrated by his position, but i understand he represents his own conscience, his people of west virginia and the relate -- and the reality of politics in the state. time and again he has made a difference when needed. i thank him for standing up for some of the judges that who come before us. we couldn't have done it without him in some circumstances. i think he'll be proud in the

years aheaded to reflect on what these women and men will mean to our country. i also want to join senator schumer's happy memories of time off the senate floor with joe and his wife gayle on his boat, which is also his residence on the potomac river. there were some wonderful parties there, always, always, always bipartisan. that has been the hallmark of joe manchin's career, and it really makes a positive difference in the work of the senate. mr. president, i rise today to discuss another topic that has become one of my major concerns throughout my senate career -- fixing our broken immigration system. as the son of of an immigrant from lithuania, my personal story exemplifies the story of immigrants in this country and just how far the american dream can make you when you're aafforded the opportunity.

23 years ago i introduced the dream act together with republican senator orrin hatch who was then the chairman of the senate judiciary committee. this bipartisan legislation was very simple. it provided a pathway to citizenship for young immigrants who were brought to the united states as infants, toddlers or children. allowing them to remain legally in the country, the only home they ever knew and to have a path to ultimate legality and citizenship. 11 years ago i form the bipartisan gang of eight, another effort toward imtax breaks reform. we worked hard -- four democrats, four republicans, and drafted a comprehensive immigration bill that included the dream act. that bill passed the senate with 68 bipartisan votes. yet house republicans refused to even consider to debate it. unfortunately, we haven't made much progress since. today as we hear dangerous

rhetoric from the president-elect about immigration, i worry for the immigrants and for the future of our country. we can all agree that any undocumented immigrant found guilty of a serious crime should never be allowed to stay in the united states. but the last time the president-elect was in office, it wasn't just criminals who were deported. we saw parents separated from their young children, some of them still separated to this day. and we saw dreamers, veterans, and spouses of u.s. citizens deported. they weren't criminals. many of them were pillars in their home communities. next week i'll hold a hearing in the senate judiciary committee focused on the chaos and cruelty that president-elect trump's mass deportations could bring to our communities and our country. i rise today to highlight one of the dreamers whose loss would deeply impact her community and her family.

this talented dreamer has spent her career educating america's future leaders. this is the 147th stouffer a dreamer i've -- story of a dreamer i've told on the floor. her name is the dolce martinez. she was brought to the united states from pueblo, mexico. she dreamed of becoming a computer teacher. when a college counselor told her she wasn't eligible for college, even with good grades, she was crushed. she felt hopeless and dropped out of school. it wasn't until she started working that she realized her education meant too much to throw away. the skills she was learning on the job helped her realize how valuable education was to her and to everyone else. she enrolled at the borough of

maintenance community college. she was able to obtain daca, which allowed her to continue her studies, where she received an associate's degree in early childhood education. she graduated with honors. ms. martinez went on to serve as a mentor and employee focusing on advocacy for immigrants and undocumented students. she also worked on the city university of new york women's council. today she has her dream as a lead teacher at head start preschool in brooklyn. she is pursuing a master's degree in early childhood education and conducted field work in early education. the proud mother of four, she uses her own life experience to educate and inspire young people. she is the embodiment of the american dream. would america be better off if she is deported? no, of course not. she's teaching young children to have a future and to believe in themselves, and the basic

education that made her life so successful. daca was a program put together by president obama to pave the way for ms. martinez to pursue her dreams. but daca was always intended to be a temporary stopgap until congress did its job and fixed the broken immigration system by law. in ms. martinez''s case, daca was the opportunity to kick-start her dreams. since president obama established the program, republicans have waged a relentless campaign to overturn daca and deport these dreamers back to countries they do not even remember. now this program is hanging by a thread in the courts due to legal challenges from republican state attorneys general and daca recipients are forced to live with uncertainty day to day. last year a federal judge in texas declared the daca program illegal, though the decision left in place protections for

current daca recipients while the case is on appeal. dreamers live in constant fear that the next decision will spin their lives. you and i have heard over and over again when president-elect donald trump came before israelis and described the immigrants he wants to deport -- murderers, rapist, people with mental problems and such. he goes on and on timed and again. but, of course, ms. martinez does not belong to any one of those categories. this litigation that i'm concerned about prevented at least 500,000 additional dreamers from registering for the program. then president trump tried to shut down the program in his first term but the supreme court blocked him. now he's pledged a mass deportation campaign. i'm going to do everything in my power to defend dreamers from being deported from the only country they call home. and i'm willing to work with anyone, including

president-elect trump to pass legislation toll give dreamers like ms. martinez a chance. i urge my colleagues to meet with these dreamers. come to know them. and in their states they're going to find that they're making invaluable contributions. these young people are ready and willing to help make america better. dreamers like dulce martinez have earned the right to put down roots, raise families, further their education, and continue contributing to our society without the threat of deportation hanging over their heads. it's time for congress to get to work on a bipartisan basis, to defy the so-called experts, and to pass the dream act and immigration reform. it's the right thing to do, and it's long overdue. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until 2:15 p.m.

>> senate democrats held their leadership election for the next congress this morning unanimously reelecting chuck schumer as democratic leader. senator dick durbin, klobuchar d both were also elected. back at 2:15 p.m. eastern for mor work on president biden's judicial nominations. when they return they wille confirmation votes on jew district court judges one serving inhe district of columbia and the other in eastern pennsylvania. as always live coverage of the senate is here on c-span2. >> are you a nonfiction book lover looking for a new podcast? this holiday season by listening to one of the many podcasts c-span has to offer. on q&a eulas and interesting interviews with people and authors writing books in history and subjects that matter. learn something new on

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