>> i'm not going to try find that. i will draw any on that the liberties and commercial law in accordance national assembly and

on this democracy and on this level. ...

and again i think i don't have assessments on individuals dates but all those together reflect in our point of view and is now a return to a serious facilitated political process. the constant refusal to engage in this process candidly has led some of the events that we are witnessing. some of these as events the past 72 hours demonstrate the other way to truly end of this conflict once and for all is through inclusive -- consistent with -- [inaudible] >> iran is in line willing to

consider more troops. the u.s. is critical of iran fob. what what your take on that? user since the need to be prevention of damascus oligarchs what your assessment of greater operating role? >> this goes back to what we have long said that we take the arena regime has been and continues to be one of the largest exporters of terrorism and instability since 1979. we want to see iran stop its activities inside syria and in the broader region writ large full stop. we think key to that in the context of syria is a you and facilitate process that's consistent. >> one more. on iran, -- [inaudible] does use have a sense have any

take about whether -- [inaudible] >> we are aware of the reports that she's been temporarily released from prison for medical treatment. it is deeply, continues to be deeply troubling and unfortunate because she should've never been incarcerated in the first place. her deteriorating health is a direct result of this. we call again just as we done before the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners who continue to be detained without just cause. this is another long example and a long line of examples of the reigning regimes campaign to silence its critics, silence journalists, silage human rights activists. this concludes her at this behavior needs to stop.

[inaudible question] a journalist's like me that makes me more concerned that the future, these people beating with iran because of me journalists, very complicated. this is make sense to? >> on the show the premise of your question and honestly this has nothing to do with the topic we're talking about. i'm going to move because it don't want to be disrespectful to your colleagues. >> my apologist walking in late. >> allgood. >> i wonder if you saw this, israel is, in fact, committing genocide in gaza. have you reviewed the report? >> i seen the reporting about the report and i will let amnesty international speaks the

details about that. we disagree with the conclusion of such a report. we saidgi previously and contine to do find delegations of genocide are unfounded. there continues to be a vital role civil society organizations like amnesty international and human rights groups and ngos play in providing information and analysis as a relates to gaza and what's going on. but again as i've said before that we do not and have not concurred with these past findings regarding genocide. that does not change or alter the continued concern we have as it relates to humanitarian situation in gaza. it does not change the continued concern we have as relates to the conflicts and attacks on civilians and sipping casually spirit we stress that in return there is a moral and strategic

priority for israel to comply with international humanitarian law and that is something we're going to continue to raise with partners in the region and reckless israel. ultimately, truly the best thing that can happen if we want to see improvement in the humanitarian commission in gaza if you want to see the remaining hostages return home and if we want to see an end to the conflict is for the parties to work towards an agreement to stop the war and that's what we'll continue the focus on. >> let me follow up on that because now we have amnesty international. we have human rights watch. with all the human organizations come all the human rights organizers throughout the world -- [inaudible] saying israel committed genocide. it bases its conclusions on statements that time and time

and time again that israeli commanders, by israeli officials, by certainly the president of israel, many, many other people that says they are committing genocide. when you see that they have killed 44, 45,000 people, 17,000 children, deprive food from going in, the prize anesthesia going on. cnn reported israel disallowed and besieged decision o gaza. what is it going to take for r the trend of america that really holds the moral high ground on these issues on human rights issues to say what is happening? you are still, what we see today what we witness is basically starvation by intent. >> that an opinion and you're certainly welcome and you are entitled to it. as are all the organizations that you listed. they are entitled to make the own analysis of the situation and come to the own conclusion.

what i can say as spokesperson of u.s. government and as a spokesperson of this of menstruation is the findings, the accusations of genocide we continue to believe those to be unfounded. that does that change and that does not change the prioritization and the stress and emphasis we are placing on ensuring that appropriate access for you manage and assistance, assuring every possible measure is taken to protect civilians. ensuring we're doing every thing possible to this war to an end. so people organizations groups are entitled to draw the conclusion. the u.s. conclusion is that these allegations of genocide are unfounded. there are at their continue to exist a number of avenues within the u.s. government in which we look at what's happening on the ground. those assessments continued the ongoing but i don't have any update to provide. >> i mean, look, we've seen

almost tulia people being forcibly moved from one place to another. this morning, this morning and oilfield was bombed, an area was a safe haven for people to go to. what does it take to have the whole population of gaza has to be annihilated so you determine genocide? what are we waiting for? >> i'm just not going to get into this rhetorical hypothetical. let me just say on the specific issue mentioned, we recognize that localized evacuation orders could be necessary to avoid civilian harm and they could be necessary as idf could be carrying out particular operations. you for to say before any kind of permanent displacement of palestinian civilians would be inconsistent with the principles that the secretary shall it up in about a year ago. we have and will continue to be

clear by the fact we do once in a reduction in the territory of gaza and will continue to press israel needs to maximize and streamline crossings and other effort to read humanitarian assistance. >> you yourself you say israel is not line anywhere near what it needs in terms of human care and eight. they are not allowing it to. would you call on them to -- children need, the kids that are being torn apart day after day. >> at every interval we have worked tirelessly to address that you mentioned situation in gaza. we have even in the immediate days and hours following this conflict breaking out we have stressed the importance of humanitarian aid getting in. we spend a lot of time in these briefings talk about the progress on he mentioned issues. i spent a good chunk of the daily press a number of weeks or talk to how we've seen some

areas as relates to a consistent improvement other areas were to continue to see improvement. that will continue to be the case and it's something we'll continue to stress. >> let me follow up. you said the u.s. -- the allegations are found, you said your conclusion -- [inaudible question] >> i'm not going to speak to that. there's no formal conclusion a process that i'm speaking of from up here. there are delivered to proxies as it relates to the situation on the ground, we spent a lot of speaking that appear, things like conventional armed transfer policy, things like the leahy process. i wouldn't speak to those processes in detail but these allegations of genocide continue to be unfounded. >> people might see a contradiction because when you then asked prepa's ecpa violations, international law, you said, you said regional

success there may been violations but you can't make at on conclusion because of lack of information. you say there's a lack of information and yet you can say you can conclude and you found that the allegations of genocide are unfounded. how can you conclude -- >> so, i perhaps, perhaps used an adjective in conclusion. i said that not to imply that has been some sort of formal process that has concluded through the department. what i i am simply saying is e allegations of genocide continue to be unfounded. there's not a reference on any process and again i'm not a lawyer so can't speak to the definition and have it feeds into this but but i will let that. >> can i just pushed a bit on the information from the ground that you have?

because you sound very defended you believe those allegations are unfounded, extremely serious allegations. but yet you said there were other cases when you said regional -- violations of international humanitarian law but you can't make that finding conclusively because is not enough information. i'm confuse it was an accurate information. you found definitively delegations of genocide are unfounded but in every other case you don't have enough information for violations of international law are conclusively found. >> again, at the crooks when her tight butt genocide is this role of intent. and again i'm not over so i don't want want to get into back and forth or spend copious amounts of time on the legal definition. there are processes we have in place as relates to the

humanitarian commission situation on the ground. weise broke about a great deal about those. again conventional arms transfer policy things of that nature but on these allegations of genocide we continue to believe they are unfounded. i don't have any other -- >> the secretary said yesterday that quote we don't have people on the ground and there's also not a lot of media on the ground and is difficult to gather the facts to make sure we actually get it right. that sounds like, again, he has said this before about having to struggle with the real-time analysis the department has. my question is really a lot of you don't agree with conclusions of amnesty report a lot of the findings within that report would you be factly that into the department ongoing assessment? >> i can't speak to this specific report itself but when you talk about these various

processes whether it be conventional arms transfer,, policy, whether the other deliberative processes we have in place. certainly the perspective of ngos and the perspective of civil society actors and humanitarian organizations absently are part of that process and they are part of the factor that feed into that. >> not just the factors come from actual evidence their gathering on the ground. >> that is what anime. the. perspective and analyses that are done by some of these groups certainly are things we factor and discuss and they are a tool utilize as it relates to whatever making we may or may not take. >> this is a specific question to part of the report that 16 israeli airstrikes in northern, central and southern gaza --

[inaudible] that's notably head of the report being released. they took this as a snapshot of what they say is an attack throughout gaza. [inaudible] there were no fighters are soldiers in those locations. killed 150 children. again that's what they said, like apparently a snapshot. so what is your response to that given the report came out shortly after that? are you guys don't to get the same evidence i am looking at? >> i believe it to the idea to speak specifically to its operations. what i can say is that we are talking about a belligerent hamas that has a long track record of co-located itself with

infrastructure using civilian facilities as bases and operating centers. that's not hyperbole. the split open source public reporting of that. as relates to specific incidents, i'm not in a place again tactical tit-for-tat for what this particular incidents were or were not, and i will defer to the idf for the specific military -- >> the u.s. findings and the report are just a somewhat the idf isn't? >> that is not at all what i'm saying. there's a lot of factors that feed into that into the report. these particular data points and as relates to that i don't have that come that subtle level i'm able to get into. >> just to follow up on one of the things, raised. you talked about different avenues for assessments going on this department is building often an assessment of whether

genocide is happened, whether crimes can see military, so there's a specific layout process for that. has one of those processes been even initiated? >> these are the exact things we wouldn't speak to come whether they start are not because his ongoing delivery processes. if you look back to the number of daily press briefings in which this is, we have not spoken to the status, or whether processes of start stop. doesn't relate to any of these issues. >> but i'm just trying to understand the kunkel severity i guess of this determination that you've made come sort of your dismissing these allegations out of hand and saying they are unfounded. does that suggest you look into them? >> i'm not going to speak to the deliberative processes that this department may or may not have

at its disposal. on the accusations of genocide,, both in this instance and previously when his come up in the of the icc, we need to find those findings to be unfounded. i'm not in a place to talk about any processes we have our disposal. >> the israeli foreign ministry has called amnesty international deplorable. a fabricated report. do you agree with speedy certainly would not agree with the characterization of that. as you may say, we think there is an important and vital at ngos and humanitarian groups like amnesty international play in the analysis work being done as relates to the commission of gaza and would not categorize them as deplorable. >> slightly different gaza related question. the incoming special envoy has

been meeting with israelis, with qataris. what if you could speak to the efforts of of the stalks and whether we could, whether that's positive or reaching a potential ceasefire in gaza. >> i am most certainly not a spokesperson for the tough administration. you will have to wait until 12:05 on january 20 to do that. for whomever is here. what i can say is we continue to work, this administration, president biden, secretary blinken continue work day and night to security of that would free the hostages and bring about a ceasefire in gaza. i will let the transition speak to any of engagements they had come any of their travel, but this is a priority for us. we are working tirelessly to get it across the finish line and we will utilize every hour that we have to do so and i will let the

incoming administration speak to his own foreign policy. >> one specific element of that. [inaudible] suggestion the qataris are back to the mediator in the stalks in the way they have been and that may involve hamas official returning there is anything you can say on -- >> i don't have any assessment to offer other beyond just saying throughout this process kotter has been indispensable partner -- qatar -- and into this conflict but the leadership role they continue to play in the region and the arab world. >> was hamas present there? >> i don't have any information to speak to that. go ahead. [inaudible] >> it has not. >> if the our meetings happening for ceasefire deal, the trump

transition team with the qataris -- that are duplicative messages or contradictory messages. >> look, you for me, the secretary, matt say unequivocally it's our viewpoint there is of course only one president at a time and such come once suggested at a time and so on and so forth. all i can say is if you stand appear and say m.o.u. and state department have not been signed. the broad m.o.u. with the general services administration has not been signed. i will leave it to the trump incoming team to speak to the process as relates to m.o.u.s. but the department has that come your question about the role that we have played in some of these four engagements are not, to my knowledge we have not played a role. >> but just on that, you don't have any knowledge basically of any conversations that are taken place by members, key regional

player? >> appropriate officials across the interagency are in touch with incoming administration consistent with the m.o.u.s that have been signed. your specific question was about the jews and the state department which has not been -- >> follow-up. >> all come to you on topic. >> the trump transition has sent an m.o.u. to the jj that does allow for fbi background checks. couldn't the state department be in touch with the transition and arthur -- secretary blinken to meet with senator rubio? >> the trump transition team -- [inaudible] to prepare for leadership. >> just going to jump in because the short on time. i will leave it to the top

administration team to speak to the m.o.u. they intend to design or not. what i can say can is the state department has not been signed. the one as relates to the white house is my edison has been cited and as we know it's been announced the one with the department of justice has. i believe it to the general services administration of the trump transition team to speak to what that means. to our knowledge does not yet been an agency for the state department has been appointed. should there be one we of course stand ready to incorporate, engage and do everything we can to make sure we have a seamless transition. number two, as matt has had previously that the secretary in senator rubio had the opportunity to speak on the phone briefly a couple of weeks ago. i'm sure at some point before june 22 have an opportunity sitka and talk about these

issues in greater details. >> go ahead. >> we've seen the targeting of journalists, the total defamation of agriculture religious sites,uc homes, potential blocks, memories, bloodlines -- doctors including from america. how many acts of genocide does it take to make a genocide? >> soma, i just, i appreciate what you are trying to do with the way you phrase the question but let me just say again unequivocally that the allegations of genocide we find to be unfounded. that being said, a number of areas continues contip concern to the united states. most notably so we continue to be concerned about the impact on civilians and the ways in which some of these military operations are being conducted.

concerned that humanitarian situation in gaza and will continue to very serious competition what other levers can utilize to address this imagined situation and vessel will continue to do. >> the question that is about the founding. for instance, today several patients and medical workers at the hospital in northern gaza -- were attacked by israeli drones. harrowing image of a teenage boy in a wheelchair was killed. a week of israeli forces -- [inaudible] that's a matter of days. how do attacks like these, they're not an aberration. we seem these over and over again. have anything to do with hamas? >> they certainly are an aberration. when we've seen siblings impacted when we seem places that would be consistent with civilian infrastructure like hospitals and schools when they become sites for kinetic

activity. those are things that become ofa great concern to us and things we raise directly with our partners in israel. i will use the hospital you mention as an example. we had been clear that fighting in around hospitals should not happened, and that parties are called on to respect the protected status of these kinds of civilities and do something we will continue to stress additionally. the point is these things are not mutually exclusive. these things will continue to these areas of deep concern and continue to stress the importance and stress have needs to be better decision-making, the need for the additional steps taken, whether it be unsettling to humanitarian situation. that does not equate to allegations of genocide being accurate unfounded. >> amnesty made the same point in the report, it said that one

cynical of attacking -- the possibility of committee war crimes or genocide. they goes both ways but you said his tax are an aberration you been making it clear to israel that fighting in and around hospitals was not acceptable. why is this hospital one of the last minute hospitals in northern gaza? >> i will get the idea speak to their particular military operations. it suffer me to speak to but we have stressed that only the fact these kinds of facilities and the protected status need to be respected but also every possible measure needs to be taken to allow more humid to access. i've got to rapid there. thanks, guys. >> mr. president? >> the senator from california. >> mr. president, i rise to join in on a tradition of the senate

to offer my final for march before departing. and interestingly i rise to let the pages know that breaking traditional senate practice there are no written remarks for you to come pick up. i decided just this morning that i was going to write a different speech, that i was going to offer words of my own as i'm work what is the end of a journey for me. as a in this journey as a junior senator representing 40 million californians, it is a day that i want to thank them and thank governor newsom for giving me the honor and privilege of serving our great state. mr. president, it's been a remarkable honor, completely

unimagined adventure. so follow in the footsteps of dianne feinstein who so ably served in this chamber for more than 30 years. and to be blessed to walk the same hallways as senders and share the same office space as vice president, harris spiritually has been an unbelievable privilege. indeed, the footsteps that i've had the opportunity to follow in this walk of service have been filled with decency, honor, integrity, and courage. and i can only hope that for the people of california that i was able to do half as well as those who came before me. and as is true for all of us, and for those who came before this journey of public service is not one that we travel alone.

alone with us on the rough side of the mountain is our staff, the staff who helped works hard to keep the pace, to help plot the path and bring all of the supplies and make sure no one gets lost or left behind. i want to thank my capable, incredibly talented staff for making sure we never lost sight of our north star, the people of california. they had given not only their hard work and long hours but their brilliant minds and all of their hard to make sure the last 14 months have truly been impactful and for all of that i will forever be grateful. i know that it is most often true that in the traversing of the rose of service it is often our family and friends that

serve as the fuel they keep us going by day. and that has been certainly true for me. my wife and daughter have refilled my tank and refilled my cup at the moment that i thought that i was running low. so to them i am grateful for never letting me run out. to my mother who has watched more c-span in the last 14 months that in all her 71 years, my brothers, my sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins and dear friends, just when the clouds get low and start to look a little heavy, it's been your calls, your cards, your taxco your letters, your visits to d.c. that truly have brought out the sunshine.

so to all of you i am deeply grateful and cannot thank you enough. to my colleagues and fellow travelers. you have truly made this journey special. i journey is best measured in france, not miles. it's true for me. you have all given me so much to make this journey one to enjoy. he could not have been more true in my short time. i don't have the years i've been able to clock the miles of any of my colleagues who have spoken up to this point as they prepare to leave, , but i have had the opportunity to build what i believe will be lifelong friendships along this entire journey. and for that on both sides of the aisle, i actually know that i am grateful.

what to give a special shout out to my senior senator alex padilla and his kind and generous comments from yesterday. he has been like a tour guide on this incredible ride, always carrying the compass to making sure i don't stray too far off the path, but knowing full well that i am a traveler who is intent on walking her own way. senator padilla has supported me along the journey and ungrateful. i know senator-elect shift is you and want to appreciate him and his support throughout this transition. also a special call to leader chuck and the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination.

the presiding officer: the nomination is pending. the senator from mississippi. mr. wicker: madam president, it is fitting that a daughter of mississippi is presiding at this poignant moment for me and for my entire staff. i come to the floor today with a forced smile and a bittersweet message, a bit of official news i have not been eager to. and that news is that michelle barlow richardson who sits by my side at this moment and for a quarter century, my chief of staff, will soon depart capitol hill.

this closes a 25-year chapter of service to my office, to the united states senate and house of representatives, to the state of mississippi, and to the citizens of the united states. anyone who knows michelle has found out very quickly that michelle is a mississippi state bulldog. she graduated from mississippi state university in 1997 and then moved up east to washington, d.c. to begin work at my office. and she got right to work, beginning where many staffers do, as a legislative correspondent, and then as an executive assistant. she set my schedule. she began to guide proposals into law, which is what we do here. michelle would go on to higher rungs up the ladder, but she never lost her appreciation for every role on the team, and many

members of the team join us in this chamber at this moment. to this day no task is too small for michelle. she's not hesitated to climb into the trenches again and again. michelle is fiercely loyal. her relationship to mississippi state university is a prime example of this trait. when the msu community sings their school's anthem at an event, they all sing "loyal friends we'll always be," quite fitting. we even lost michelle to starkville briefly in 1999. at that point only a couple of years out of college, she was given the very important job of fundraising for a project that ended up generating over $4 million to endow a scholarship. that fund is helping students in mississippi to this very day.

but luckily in 2001, we got her back. as i reflect on the 23 years that have passed since then, i'm filled with gratitude for michelle. i'm beaming with pride over all the good work she has accomplished. in washington, d.c., as you so poignantly know, madam president, changes -- change is constant. senators come and go, change in committee assignments. during these transitions, michelle has been a steadfast presence, guiding my staff and me through numerous changes over the years. a big change came in 2007, not long after michelle had been promoted to be my chief of staff. our office picked up and moved to this end of the capitol when

i was selected to fill the seat vacated by u.s. senator trent lott. the success of that transition is due in no small part to michelle's deep institutional knowledge, broad networks, and natural leadership skills. next year, to the extent permitted by the law and the rules, she helped lead my first statewide election campaign. she expanded a campaign and fundraising organization that she had developed in the first congressional district, and she applied it to all of our great state of mississippi. of course when you get elected, you have to govern, and over here on the senate side, michelle once again rose to the challenge of a larger role in governing. she scaled up the size of team wicker from 18 people to 45 teammates across five offices.

over the years she also established a network of senate chiefs of staff. in fact, it is known throughout capitol hill that michelle ba barlow richardson has become the dean of the chief of staff. that's what we're losing tomorrow when she moves to another capacity. michelle built a community where collaboration and mutual support can flow. then in 2016, we had another transition. i was elected to chair the national republican senatorial committee. and as usual, michelle was right there to help. under her leadership, the office adjusted to new responsibilities and certainly new schedules. a few years after that, i took up the gavel of the senate commerce committee. michelle helped build a team of

policy experts who would craft smart legislation on the vast portfolio of the commerce committee. everything from the seabed to the stars. president ronald reagan once saz that personnel is policy. well, michelle and the personnel she's cultivated have gone on to produce substantive and savvy policy. she's been pivotal to work that has brought billions of dollars and new jobs and new investments to mississippi. through years of legislative efforts, michelle has been making connections educating stakeholders and holding our strong legislative principles, and holding our feet to the fire. and through every negotiation and late night, she's been motivating our staff. in scaling up the staff from the house team to the much larger senate team over the years,

michelle has led literally hundreds of able staff members. her leadership left an incredible legacy. michelle was good at identifying talent. she's challenged staffers to accomplish goals that did not know they were capable of reaching. she's embraced the burden of making tough decisions. she has delivered tough but constructive feedback directly and concisely without ever making it personal. and a massive cloud of witnesses can testify to her influence. many former wicker staffers are now serving in leadership roles around the country. i'm the one privileged to give this floor speech, but i know many could give speeches and perhaps will give speeches of their own telling the stories of michelle's influence in their lives. those who know michelle barlow

richardson know her for her strong devotion and friendship. that's especially true for my wife, gail, and me. michelle's title has been chief of staff, but she's been so much more. she's been by our side in public service and in private moments, in moments of joy and moments of pain. madam president, words are inadequate, and these remarks in particular are inadequate. we will miss michelle's enthusiasm for all things mississippi. we will miss the presence she and occasionally her children have brought to the office. we will even miss the mississippi state university maroon and cow bell. but loyal friends we will certainly always be.

we will remain grateful for her friendship, and we wish her, this public servant and american patriot, the very best. and i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: thank you, madam president. if there's one thing we learned from last month's election is that president trump has a clear mandate from the american people to get this country back on track. and one of the things that tennesseans talk to me most about is the need to restore law and order all across this country. and i am so encouraged by president trump's nominees who are going to take the lead in reforming our federal law enforcement agencies. and today i want to touch on two of those that are reforming law enforcement agencies. and, madam president, i will tell you, next week i'm going to come and talk about the nominees for our military and national

security. i want to talk about the qualifications of pete hegseth who will be a great secretary of defense. but today we will talk about kash patel at the fbi and pam bondy at the justice department. these two agencies, i think everybody greece -- agrees are in desperate need of a course correction. under the biden-harris administration, they have repeatedly undermined the rule of law with a two-tiered justice system. the rules are simple, if you break the law and you're a democrat, you are off the hook. that's the way they operated. but if you're a conservative or you dissent from the left's radical agenda, the government will target you for your beliefs.

under mr. batelle and most bondi, this abuse of power will come to an end and fewer people are better qualified to get this job done and enforce the rule of law than ms. bondi and mr. patel. mr. papa -- like al qaeda and isis. he worked with congressman devon nunez who expose the justice department's abuses during russiagate. and in the first trump administration, he served as the deputy director of national intelligence. he served at the security

counsel and at the defense department as chief of staff. this is a varied background. it is a credible background for the job in front of him of restoring law and order in our cities, across this country, countering terror threats and ending human trafficking, and that is the job of the fbi. i will say this on the human trafficking. i am especially encouraged by his support for releasing the jeffrey epstein flight logs and blackbook. we know the abuse spanned decades for mr. epstein and it harmed many vulnerable young girls and we know a number of high-dollar predators participated in this abuse on a

global level many we can take apart the sex trafficking rings and assure the predators are put in jail where they belong. this will go a long way in restoring public confidence in the fbi and ending the left's two-tier justice system. on this front, he will work closely with pam bondy, who is president trump's excellent choice for attorney general. earlier this week, i had my official meeting with ms. bondy who i've known and worked with over the past decade. our meeting only reaffirmed to my kweks she will be fearless in rooting out corruption, taking on the deep state and turning the justice department to its core mission. to be certain, her accomplishments speak for themselves.

with more than 18 years of experience as a prosecutor, she became the first woman to serve as attorney general of florida in 2011. while there, she worked to protect the most vulnerable among us by taking on drug dealers and human traffickers. during the first trump administration, she also worked to end our nation's drug epidemic as a member of the opioid epidemic and drug abuse commission. this experience will be invaluable to her as she leads this top law enforcement agency. kash patel and pam bondi are just of two of trump's incredible pickings, but they are representative of the talent shown of the cabinet selections and nominees. as we head into the new year, i look forward to supporting them and ensuring they can get to work as soon as possible for the

american people. madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the next portion-my remarks be placed separately in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. blackburn: thank you, madam president. although we have a busy end of year ahead of us, there's at least one thing congress must do before the end of the year, and that is to pass the very bipartisan kids online safety act. back in july, this chamber passed kosa by an overwhelming bipartisan majority. the vote was 91-3. the reason is very simple. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle recognize that big tech must be held accountable for putting our children's safety at risk. they have put profit ahead of our children's safety, and they want to continue to do that.

kosa puts the priority on safety by providing parents and kids with tools, safeguards, and transparency that they need to protect from online harms. among its provisions, the legislation would create a duty of care for online platforms to prevent and mitigate specific dangers to minors, including the promotion of suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse and sexual exploitation. sings kosa's passage in the senate, more and more evidence has emerged showing that this legislation is desperately needed. in october, for example, reports emerged showing that chinese-owned tiktok developed algorithms to keep children scrolling as long as they could. the more time children spend on the platform the more data

tiktok can collect and the more valuable that platform becomes. tiktok's executives show that it does lead to mental health issues. but you know what? they don't care. when your child is online, they are the profit. they are a profit center for these platforms. now, other platforms from facebook to instagram have invested -- developed adrifkt allege ritsdzs that have led to addictionings. these mrat -- addictions. these platforms do not care. they do not give a rip about your child. for months kosa has been held up in the house because of blatant falsehoods that are being pushed

by big tech lobbyists, and, madam president, we know who they are. and we know what they are saying. let me just read some of these falsehoods for you. they say that kosa would censor free speech. and it will not. kosa is a product-designed bill. it is not a contact bill. now, there's some out there that say, well, it's going to give all this authority to the ftc. it does not. it does not increase the authority of the ftc. it's important to note that there is no new rule making power for the ftc in kosa nor any ability to create rules

about content. so they are lying. the lobbyists and some of the house staffers that are listening to these lobbyists, madam president, they re spreading falsehoods. it should come to a stop. our children deserve better. now, we know that what kosa will do is put in place tools for parents. and, of course, big tech is out here spreading lies and having their lobbyists spread lies because they want to evade accountability on this. i have even heard this. i have heard of staffers in the house and lobbyists bragging that they've been able to kill kosa, that they're going to keep this profit center going, that they've been able to kill this bill. it is absolutely disgusting that

they would agree with big tech and put that number -- that dollar figure on our kids' heads. you know, when we were doing the hearings on this, what did we hear from kid after kid that came? they came in wearing a t-shirt 270, saying i am worth more than $270. that is the value some of these platforms have assigned to the amount of time a child spends on their platform, that's the profit they make. you know, if you listened to some of these staffers and some of these lobbyists, you would think my goodness, if we don't need to have some kind of protections in the virtual space, why do we have laws in the physical space to protect

kids? minors can't enter into a contract. minors can't go buy alcohol and tobacco. if you've got a store that sells legislator and you -- liquor and you sell to a kid, they will put the chains on your store and close you down. same thing with alcohol, same thing with pornography pornography. -- same thing with pornography. madam president, you and i are grandparents. we see what is happening to these precious children, and they are being subjected to drugs, to alcohol. they are being subjected to pornography. they're being subjected to sexual exploitation and it is done 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year, and yet, big tech, they don't care. they do not care about

protecting your children. so the only thing we're left to surmise, if they won't protect them in the virtual space, they are for sure not going to support protecting them in the physical space. i would surmise that people that are against kosa, madam president, they would do away with all of these laws that protect children. society has decided our precious children are worth the fight. they are worth the protection, and it is disgusting -- disgusting when you hear these big tech platforms say there's a value to keeping that child scrolling. there is a value to holding their eyes online. and when you hear it repeated by people in our chambers, staffers, it is sickening. this is not a political game.

protecting our children is something that we, the senate, have agreed to do on a bipartisan basis. this bill has been stuck in the house since july. away know why -- we know why it has been stuck, and we know that falsehoods are being spread. this is a bill that deserves a vote on the house floor because, madam president, what we do know is this -- by an overwhelming bipartisan majority, members of the u.s. house of representatives support this bill. it is time for those that are standing in the way of passing this bill to put aside -- to put aside their objections and to allow protections for our children to take place in the

virtual space. since 1998, there has not been any additional protection placed in the virtual space. why is that? it is because big tech sees our kids as a product. they make a lot of money. a whole lot of money when those kids are scrolling. it is killing our kids. just as in the physical world, we put in place laws to protect them, they deserve the same protections in that virtual space. thank you, madam president. i yield. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the clerk: ms. baldwin.

quorum call:

mr. lankford: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. lankford: is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. mr. lankford: i ask unanimous consent to set it aside. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lankford: mr. president, for over a year i have worked to get

rid of a rule that is driving every one of my small businesses in oklahoma absolutely crazy. for a lot of americans that have no idea what the beneficial ownership rule is, if you own a small business in america, you definitely know. to say the -- to set the context for this, next we're we're supposed to take up the national defense authorization act. in 2021, a small little section was stuck in at the end, in the large national defense authorization, that was called the corporate transparency beneficial ownership act. that little bill was supposed to root out money laundering and fraud. what it has become has been a night player for -- a nightmare for every business owner in my state. if you're a business owner that has a business, that's a small business, let's say less than 20 employees, less than $5 million in a year. you have to fill out this

enormous set of forms and turn them in to the federal government to show your ownership structure to the federal government. so they can track it. i will tell you, there are quite a few business owners, they don't own one business, they may own two, three businesses or several llc's, if they're a builder or property developer or do company construction for small businesses and building for others. they'll own several llc's, and now they have a stack of forms to fill out. they've got to fill out forms that talk about their name, birthday, address, i.d. number, all the reporting for the legal address, their address, jurisdiction of their information, they want to know all the senior officers of the reporting company, they want to know someone with authority over the appointment or removal of those senior officers. this is my favorite, they want to know substantial influencers over the decisions in the company. no one knows what that means. who is your substantial

influence in your small business? all those have to be compiled to business owners that do their own books, their own purchasing, that do their own payroll. they've got plenty of other things to do, other than fill out forms. it wouldn't be such a big deal if it was just a form that dropped in their box, but a form that had this little note attached, if you don't fill this out, or you fill it out wrong, it's a $10,000 fine and up to two years in prison for not filling this form out. two years in prison for not filling out this form, outlining who influences you in your decisions in your small business. when this was stuck into the national defense authorization in 2021, it was supposed to root out fraud and waste, but it has grown through regulations and is now with a deadline literally a

couple weeks away. i fought for a year. senator tuberville has a bill to be able to end this entirely. we got no tricks on that. we -- no traction on that. we couldn't get a vote to stop this nightmare. i brought a second bill to delay it so it's not happening this year. we've worked months to get that delay in, and we've not been able to get a vote on that in this senate. while small businesses all over my state are furious about this, we try to just say somebody needs to show common sense and to stop asking these questions. thankful why, in the last 72 hours, a -- thankfully, in the last 72 hours, federal judge stepped in and halted this nationwide, prevented the biden administration from implementing this rule they created. in fact, this judge called this regulation quasi-orwellian. also, determined that the government is unable to pro

1r50id the court with any tenable -- to provide the court with any tenable theory that this falls within congress' power. of it -- it appears likely unconstitutional. i absolutely agree. i'm grateful this judge has stemmed in to be able to stop its implementation, but i'm going to still ask this senate the same thing we've asked all year, that is to stop it entirely. we should not be asking these questions of every small business in america. that is not our job, to ask every small business owner in america turn in who are the influencers on your decision-making, or we will put you in prison for two years. of what in the world? i'm grateful for the stop, but we also will not stop until we actually pull this entire thing out. to say this is not our job. we have plenty of things that are our job, that we're not doing. for instance, next week, the

national defense authorization, passed in a bipartisan basis through committee months ago, has yet to come to the senate floor. it's time for it to come. long past overdue. this sets our military strategy and what we're going to do for our vets and members of active duty reserves and national guard. this should have been done a long time ago. those are the things we should already be doing, going to business owners and telling them, tell us who your influencers are are things we should not be doing. i also just left a meeting, just now, dealing with the newly named department of government efficiency. members of the house and senate gathered with elon musk and vivek ramashwami to ask what we can do to make government more efficient. this shouldn't be partisan. there are democrats that joined us in this conversation.

i find no one moo my state that says, you know what i want from my government? i want them to waste my money. i want my government to spend money on things that really don't matter for the country. every person that i meet in my state, republican, democrat, or independent, all say the same thing much the government should do its job ants not somebody else's job. when you spend my money, spend it wisely. we all know we need roads, national defense, border security. there are key things we all need to do. but there are some things that continue to be able to pop up where money is being spent that there's great frustration in my state. and a great number of people that say, why are we spending money on that? we spent money two years ago as a federal tax dollar and the people in my state of oklahoma having to spend their tax money on paying for drag shows in

ecuador. we had money spent on chimpanzees. the folks in oklahoma ask a very simple question -- we want the potholes fixed. we want an efficient government. we want education taken care of. we want good schools. why radio we spending our -- why are we spending our dollars, limited dollars, on doing a helmet study in gaza. why aren't we doing that in the united states? why aren't we take care of us? it's not that we're selfish. it's just that we know we're $36 trillion in debt. every single year i put out a book called "federal fumbles." every year i bring it to this body. every year we talk about waste and inefficiency in government. i am grateful there are a bipartisan conversation finally

starting that is spreading in this body and the house body and new incoming executive branch saying let's find areas of efficiency where we can be better than this. basic goal is this -- let's have a prosperous nation that has economic growth and an efficient government that matches the efficiency of our nation. that shouldn't be an irrational goal. that should be something we could all agree on. quite frankly, it's just oklahomans saying, don't waste my money. spend it in the ways we're supposed to spend it and let me keep the dollars that i've earned. and when my tax dollars go in, don't make me be embarrassed of how they're used. that shouldn't be irrational. i'm going to continue to press on this. five years ago bealsed a bill called the -- five years ago we passed a bill called the taxpayers' right to know. i've worked with the biden administration. it has created something called

the federal income -- many people don't know, we literally have so many programs that we don't know how many programs we have in the federal government. just try to do an internet search and ask the simple question of a.i. how many programs do we have in the federal government? it will give you a master list. i passed a law called the taxpayers' right to know requiring agencies to do something crazy -- make a list of all the programs that you do. where is our money being spent? and that shrews in the process of being -- and that list is in the process of being built right now. that will give us the at to 00 where -- to see where we have dual eligible indication in government. one agency can look at another agency and say, i didn't realize we do the same thing. that's happening all over our government right now. that's strait fufrmentd but it gives us an opportunity too say,

make a list, prioritize the list, and then draw a line and say, these things are not our priorities, these things are. and when you're $36 trillion in debt, we should be talking about doing our priorities and not doing the things that are not a priority. this is what we should do in this body. and to be able to have this kind of conversation. so for me it's simple -- let's do the things that we should do. let's don't do the things we shouldn't do because there's plenty of things that still need to get done.

we are going to earn those votes his vision for this department deterring our enemies if necessary that means putting more. social justice office about legality thank were fighting and

accountability. process been very good. i had a great interview yesterday. we welcome to this opportunity it is a great week. >> a whistleblower report and employees. >> we have great conversations. by incredible wife or your.

they resonate with that as well. by the grace of god, to do great things will and for more fighters. i am proud of where were at. i don't answer to anyone in this room, not one of you. 76 million votes. one hundred senators were part of this and i only answer to my

lord and savior. i'm proud to be here. i will be standing right here good afternoon. a few things here. first, you may have seen secretary austin at the military academy yesterday. public service career and experience on the battlefield. he shared thoughts and advice from his 34 years service. the deal that defense got the.

a bilateral meeting. objective of these and ongoing cooperation efforts such as military operation and military professionalism. looking ahead. also in california to attend the 2024 national defense formed in march the secretary's fourth-year pending. saturday he will deliver the keynote address which will be live streamed. mitch mcconnell and secretary austin will be the recipient of the ronald reagan piece through strength award you will trouble

to the indo pacific. advance a shared vision of peace, security and prosperity in the region. i have much more to share on this. on tuesday i highlighted strikes in the vicinity syria and face imminent danger the direction of u.s. forces in the area. three service members are being evaluated for possible tbi endeavors can fluctuate.

secretary austin has prioritized capabilities on the threat posed by unmanned systems. in the timeframe. they are changing on this. the unmanned systems in conjunction with other major initiatives and a comprehensive

approach. >> is the been an update for any transitions? awards on the coordinator and the trump transition team regarding next apps. we are prepared support in the landing team has all necessary information consistent with agreement to perform their duties.

>> you talk about this new classified strategy. is there anything that allows to do anything? is a broad policy? >> a lot of information is classified so i can't talk about it. recognizing astrology we will have a fact sheet provided to. looking at how to approach this, one is ensuring prepared to conduct operations in looking at how we respond.

tracking equipment and crust so the comprehensive cohesive way. it enables the department to push in a way that is comprehensive and cohesive and holistic. >> you mentioned the three. who is responsible for that attack? >> that is something we are still addressing. important to highlight that region. we know militia groups are in the area and we know military

regime forces used in the past to target u.s. forces but in terms of who's operating those vehicles or firing rockets, that something that will come. >> is not something daring over. >> in terms of mom and who's doing what. >> i think we are at 6 million.

>> 2.21 billion in usa i and what we perceive from the white house and every effort and we are doing exactly that. the thing that hasn't changed is the sense of urgency in the department. we've been doing that of years now. we will continue to ensure they are speaking with them and allies and partners. >> could you give an update on

restrictions? >> to my knowledge, no change and posture. we are ensuring in terms of accountability. i'm not aware of any impact. we are in contact with our counterparts. >> troops are free to go on but. >> i recommend you reach out. >> how long in the making and

increasing over u.s. military bases? >> i don't have time, i'm confident this has been going on. you know what terms of had -- mr. markey: thank you, mr. president, very much. and i'm actually joined here today with my -- my massachusetts staff who is joining with my washington staff, and they're in the gallery today. the subject that i'm about to talk to is very near and dear to their hearts. it's near the top of the list of all the issues that they think

go to unfundamental unfairness -- fundamental unfairness in our country. because teachers, firefighters, postal workers and public servants of all stripes are being denied the social security benefits which they earned. in 1933 the so-called windfall information slashed retirement benefits in the name of asi was member of the united states congress in 1983, i voted against the windfall elimination provision, i voted against republicans. i voted against many democrats who all were willing to slash the benefits of those hardworking teachers,

firefighters, police officers across the board and have lost it for four decades because i knew that i was voting for public servants and vote foirg their -- voting for their families. and i've been fighting for repeal of the windfall elimination provision as well as the government pension offset ever since. and i stand here today because we have an opportunity to finally see this repeal through to conclusion. senator brown and senator collins' social security fairness act would repeal the windfall elimination provision and the government offset provision. and i'm proud to cosponsor that bill alongside 60 of my

colleagues from both parties, and 60 is the number you need to pass a bill on the floor of the united states senate. we can restore social security benefits for millions of workers now and we should do it now. three million, unbelievable, three million public servants and their families around the country including 130,000 in massachusetts and their families are counting on us to get them their earned benefits. they've already done the work, but a 1983 law denies them that check in the mail. no one else in the country was targeted in that bill, just those public servants, those people who work for each and every one of us every single day. a retired public school teacher

in chica pooe, massachusetts, told me she paid into social security for decades, earning her right for social security and a secure retirement, but late in her career, she answered the call to public service and dedicated her time to being a teacher in massachusetts and that's the kind of value we should reward. instead she was blindsided ten years later to learn that because of her public service and the modest public pension that she accrued, her social security benefits would be cut by $580 a month which otherwise would be there on her kitchen table for herself, for her family. and now instead of a secure and dignified retirement, she's has

to worry about affording rent and groceries and education. if instead of teaching, had earned a private pension, had worked in any other sector of the american economy or wealthy enough to live off of her investments, her social security would be safe. the only category are these people who are the public servants. they were the ones who were targeted in 1983, another constituent from kingsbury, massachusetts, said that after her father passed away, her mother, a retired school employee lost over $1,000 a month in social security. now in addition to mourning her husband, she also struggles to pay bills and meet her basic needs. there are three million more stories of injustice and indignity just like this. we know the federal government

can be in the business of allowing windfalls, major corporations hiking up prices on american people while paying effectively no federal taxes, that's a windfall. private equity cronies making millions off the backs of workers while laying them off and gutting their pensions, that's a windfall. but make no mistake, allowing a third grade teacher, a town firefighter, and the mailman to receive their hard-earned retirement benefits is not a windfall. repealing these draconian policies is a matter of justice and dignity for millions of public servants. these workers served their communities and delivered for us every single day in every city and town across the country, massac massachusetts, the president's

home state of pennsylvania, state after state the story is the same. and now it is time for us to deliver for them. after four decades of fighting and iergzing -- organizing alongside workers, unions, congress must repeal these policies once and for all. the senate may be short on time, but public servants have waited long enough. in the time remaining this year, we must deliver for those three million families in our country. they earned this benefit. we have to finally meet the obligation which has been accrued by the american people to those three million workers. so let's vote to pass the social security fairness act, bring home this win for public servants, their families and our

communities. no matter where you live in america, when you see that firefighter on the fire engine, when you see that police officer rushing to protect a family, when you call the teacher to ask how is my child doing, every time you make one of those calls, every time you see one of those people, just know that they're denied -- they're denied the benefit which they have earned. they're denied by an act of the united states congress in 1983. why them? why were they singled out. why wasn't it billionaires or private equity? the votes were there. unfortunately too many democrats voted for it as well. it's time for us to rectify that historic injustice. it's time for us to provide fundamental fairness for each and every one of those families. this is the time. this is the place. we are the people who must get

this done. it goes right to the heart of would we are as a people. if you believe in government, then you must believe in everything that teachers and firefighters and police and everyone else that's in our cities and towns provide for us every single day. and we must have that vote on the senate floor. we must pass this legislation. we must finally give back to these families what they have earned by their service to us. mr. president, i thank you, and at this point i yield back to the presiding officer.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. van hollen: thank you, mr. president. i come to the floor today to discuss the terrible ongoing humanitarian situation in sudan. and the atrocities that are being perpetrated against

innocent civilians there every day and to discuss measures that the united states and the united states senate can take to help end the suffering. since that brutal conflict erupted in april 2023, a staggering 11.8 million people have been displaced within sudan or fled to neighboring countries. more than half the population, over 25 million people face acute food insecurity, including 13 million children and 1.million of them are at risk or facing famine. while the total casualty numbers have been difficult to determine, a new study from the london school of hygiene and tropical medicines, sudan research group, estimates that more than 630,000 -- 60,000

people died in the region alone between april 2023 and june of 2024. that study found that 26,000 people have died as a result of violence, but it also highlights another awful reality, that starvation and disease are increasingly becoming the leading causes of death reported across sudan. in a hearing in the senate foreign relations committee in may of this year, u.s. special envoy to sudan tom periello suggested the total death toll could be as high as 150,000 people. mr. president, given the scope and scale of this human suffering, the united states and the international community should be doing everything in our power to end the carnage and end the suffering in sudan. toward that end, i want to

commend america's special envoy to sudan, tom periello for his tireless shuttle diplomacy and his ongoing efforts to seek a negotiated agreement to end the conflict that is fueling this crisis. but he can't do it alone. and his job is made much more difficult when other parts of the u.s. government fail to effectively use our leverage to support his efforts. one thing we should not be doing is shipping advanced american weapons to any country that is fueling the misery and suffering and killing in sudan. and yet that is what the biden administration is proposing to do. they are proposing to send weapons to the united arab emirates at a time that the uae is reportedly supplying weapons to a vile and murderous militia

group in sudan, a group called the rapid support forces or the rsf for short. so i am here on the floor today urging my colleagues to prevent the sale of american weapons to the uae until and unless the biden administration provides us, the senate, the congress, with credible assurances that the uae will not in turn supply additional weapons to the rapid support forces in sudan. so let me step back for a moment to put all of this in context. about three and a half years ago in may of 2021, i traveled to the capital of sudan with my colleague, senator coons. at the time sudan was experiencing a difficult

transition to democracy after a popular revolution in 2019 succeeded in ousting the brutal regime of the dictator omar bashir. it wasn't easy. but there was hope for a brighter future. then the sudanese armed forces or sfa and the rapid support forces, the rsf, who had backed the popular protests in 2019 and had happened oust the dictator bashir, usurped the newly formed government and proceed to violently suppress mass protests. following pressure, both from the people of sudan but also from the international community to restore the civilian government and merge their forces, instead a long simmering

rivalry between the saf and rsf erupted in april 2023. and sudan descended into chaos and civil war. now, there's plenty of blame to go around, but one of the many drivers of the collapse of the fragile democracy was the refusal of the rapid support forces, that militia group, to come under the umbrella of the sudanese armed forces. and, mr. president, the rsf has an especially sinister lineage. they have their roots in the militias that former dictator bashir used to brutally crush rebellious tribes in the western dar far region in the early 2,000's. think many who followed those

terrible days remember that the united states determined that those mass killings constituted genocide. the current leader of the rsf goes by the name hameti. he is a former militia leader who was complicit in those atrocities in darfor and he hasn't changed. in the current conflict, the united states has charged the rsf with committing ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. representable human rights organizations and news outlets have also reported widespread acts of sexual violence, including rape by the rsf. as our ambassador to the united nations linda thomas-greenfield noted in march of this year, and i quote, children are starving,

wasting, and dying. far from their homes and their communities, millions of refugees are praying in overcrowded camps. people wake up not to the call of prayer but to the sound of gunfire, of shelling, of cries for help. unquote. and the situation has not improved since then. famine has taken hold and the rsf siege of the city has only exacerbated the already terrible humanitarian situation. . it should be clear that providing weapons to the rsf is tantamount to aiding and abetting ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. and yet that is what the uae is reportedly doing.

now, i should make it very clear that the uae denies that it is arming the rsf. they say they're not doing it. indeed, when i travel to the uae in july of this year, emirati officials told me that they were not sending weapons to the rsf. and yet numerous credible reports and sources indicate just the opposite. they reveal that the uae is in fact supplying the murderous rsf militia with weapons that they use to commit atrocities. in january a u.n. panel of experts documented what they described as, quote, credible allegations that the uae was violating the darfur arms embargo which was the embargo put in place in 2005 to stop the genocide at that time.

their findings have been corroborated by credible human rights organizations and by an independent investigation by "the new york times" which found that the uae smuggled weapons to the rsf under the guise of humanitarian aid. the front page story of "the new york times" -- and i have it here, mr. president -- is entitled how a u.s. ally uses aid as a cover in war. and they go on to point out that the uae is expanding a covert campaign to back a winner in sudan's civil war. and they point out that the uae was smuggling in weapons and deploying drones. beyond "the new york times" independent investigation, the sudan conflict observatory group, which is a group funded by the state department, also tracked 32 emirati flights

between june 2023 and may 2024 going into sudan and they concluded -- and again this is a group funded by the united states department of state -- they concluded with, quote, near certainty, unquote, that they constituted weapons transfers from the uae to the rsf. now, the biden administration has also acknowledged that the uae has been supporting the rsf. you have to read carefully between the lines to determine that. again, our ambassador to the united nations, ambassador thomas-greenfield said, and i quote, we're atwhar both sides -- that both sides are receiving weapons and other support to fuel their efforts to destroy sudan. and, yes, we have engaged with the parties on that, including with our colleagues from the uae, unquote.

so the question is this -- if the biden administration acknowledges that the uae is arming the rsf against our demands and our interests and that they are lying about it, why are we, the united states, not doing more to stop it? mr. president, i understand that we have a very important bilateral relationship with the uae. they are hale an important security -- they're an important security partner in the middle east. major american companies like microsoft are talking about collaborating on building data centers for advanced a.i. in the uae with companies like g-42. they may also be cooperating with us on other important american priorities, but that is not a good reason to approve the sale of advanced weapons to the uae at a time that the uae is

reportedly aiding and abetting ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in the sudan. that's why i have filed what's known as a joint resolution of disapproval, known by its shorthand jrd, on the biden administration's requests to sell offensive weapons, including rockets and missiles worth $1.2 billion, to the united arab emirates. in the house of representatives, congresswoman sarah jacobs has filed a similar resolution, and both of us have introduced additional legislation on this issue. and i would submit that if any senator is serious about ending the suffering in sudan, we should not object sending weapons to any country -- in this case, the uae -- that is arming those engaged in eliminating nick cleansing -- ethnic cleansing there. a lot of as if in morning business have talked about the

need to focus on ending the humanitarian disaster in sudan, and they're absolutely right to do so. many of us have been addressing this and talking about it for a very long time. the senate foreign relations committee had an important hearing on this matter in may of this year. but, colleagues, you don't end the horrific suffering in sudan by sending weapons to a country that is fueling the conflict in sudan. that's why i'm asking the biden administration to provide us -- the senate, the congress -- with assurances that they have received credible commitments that the uae will not send weapons to the murderous rsf in sudan. and i would submit that given the fact that the uae denies that they are engaged in such actions, they should be able to provide assurances that the

biden administration deems credible. and if president biden believes that those shoournss are -- assurances are kreshlgs he should so inform the united states senate as we consider their request for this arms sale. as representative jacobs and i indicated in our letter to president biden that we sent a short time ago, if we receive those assurances, we will of course take them into account as to how we decide to proceed on the joint resolution of disapproval. i say that because our goal is not to prevent the sale of arms to the uae. the objective is to ensure that the uae is not fueling the very crisis and conflict in sudan that we, the united states, are seeking to end. indeed,in september of this year, president biden said -- and i quote -- the united states will not abandon our commitment

to the people of sudan, who serve freedom, peace, and justice. we call on all parties to this conflict to end the violence and refrain from fueling it, for the future of sudan and for all sudanese people, unquote. i would rephrase that again. and to all people who are fuelling it. the biden administration has rightly full pressure on the rsf by sanctioning several high-level commanders for their aprocessties. but it -- atrocities. but it has yet to use the full leverage at its disposal to hold their primary external backer, the uae, accountable. indeed, just days after "the new york times" story about their independent investigation of uae

arms sales to sudan broke, the president finalized a major defense partnership with the uae and now it as we see, the administration is pushing for a billion dollars-plus arms sale to the emirati chart. the title of an op-ed in "the washington post" not that long ago put it the bluntly, and i just quote the title of that editorial -- "biden needs to pressure the uae to help end sudan's civil war." that's exactly right. and that is what we are calling on the biden administration to do. i support a mutually beneficial bilateral relationship with the united arab emirates, and i am

certainly not seeking to permanently end arms sales to that country. but a partnership with the united states needs to account for u.s. interests and values and priorities, and we need to make sure that foreign governments that benefit from a security relationship with the united states understand the importance that we hold on those important issues. so, mr. president, the bottom line is that the united states should not be sending weapons to the uae, as long as it is aiding and abetting a group that is one of the primary drivers of the humanitarian disaster in sudan, the rsf, and rsf that has comm committed atrocity crimes.

that's why arms transfers have been halted to the uae unless the united states congress can be assured that the uae will no longer provide materiel support that aids and abets the killing spree of the rsf. i hope that the senate will come together on this important question, and i hope the president and the biden administration will agree that securing those assurances from the uae is essential to our goal of achieving peace and stability in sudan, just as the president indicated we should be doing. mr. president, thank you, and i yield the flo

test: .

mr. van hollen: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. van hollen: i have five requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. van hollen: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 185, s. 1868. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 185,

s. 1868, a bill to require an interagency study to produce a security assessment process, and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to the proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. van hollen: mr. president, i further ask that the committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a h third time and passed and the health care worker be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. van hollen: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 513, s. 4212. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 513, s. 4212, a bill to amend the visit america act to promote music tourism and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure.

mr. van hollen: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the blackburn amendment to the committee-reported substitute amendment which is at the desk be considered and agreed to, the committee-reported substitute amendment as amended be considered and agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. van hollen: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 525, s. 3606. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk:

the clerk: calendar number 523, s. 3623, a bill to reauthorize the eric reduction act of 1977 and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to -- is there

objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. van hollen: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. van hollen: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on health, education, labor, and pensions be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to the consideration of s. res. 908. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 908 expressing the goals for support of stomach cancer month. 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. van hollen: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to

reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. van hollen: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it stand adjourned until 3:00 p.m. on monday, december 9. that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour 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 to resume consideration of the johnson nomination. further, that at 5:30 p.m. the senate vote on confirmation of the johnson nomination as under the order of december 4. finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during monday's

session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. van hollen: mr. president, if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until

on the trial of lizzie borden who was accused of murdering her father and stepmother with an ax they received widespread publicity at the time and lizzie borden became a lasting figure on popular culture. exploring the american story. c-span.org/history.

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