on joe biden so rough? i understand that we are divided in this country. that man tried to do the best that he can, that he could. he's the one that used that big raise on social security a couple of years ago what you're getting this year because the republicans turn around and give a little bit of money. what was he supposed to do do nothing when that pandemic came? we lost over a million people. if he'd done nothing like trump, scared, come to the forefront and fight the stuff because he didn't know what to do. and that's what they're doing now. everyone they're putting in those offices, if we have a-- something goes wrong in this country, these people that he puts in office enter these departments, they don't know how to do nothing. they don't know how to do

nothing. i don't understand why it has to be this way. leave that man alone. >> we're going to leave this, but continue watching on c-span app. we take you live to the senate working on nominations to be a member of the nuclear regulatory commission. you're watching live coverage on c-span2. ... the presiding officer: the the chaplain today doing opening prayer will be offered by reverend lisa wink schultz of the chaplain's office here in

washington, d.c. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal lord god, your word says that those who do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly will be blessed. you also tell us that those who delight in your word day and night are like fruitful trees planted by streams of water. today, let your word guide those who serve here on capitol hill. infuse our senators and their staff with your presence, power, and peace. lord, make your power available to them hour by hour so that they will have the physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual stamina to complete the duties of this day. we pray in your gracious name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag.

i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c, december 12, 2024. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable catherine cortez masto, a senator from the state of nevada, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patty murray, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, nuclear regulatory commission, mathew

james marczano of illinois to b a member of the nuclear a member of the nuclear

>> it's been the honor of my lifetime to represent hoosiers here in the u.s. senate. when i said i was going to do 2017, didn't have much of a political legacy, to leave my business that i had spent 37 years running, and that i wanted to run for the u.s. senate. everybody said fool's errand, couldn't be done. but there were a lot of hoosiers wanting the system to be shaken up a a little bit.

when i interpreted i think what politics was doing back in 15 and 16, i crafted that unusual idea that it could be done even when you have made most of your life in the trenches in the real world. i was told when i got here freshman senators are not to be heard, may be seen, sit back, learn the ropes. well, that wasn't going to work for me as i had already put myself into a corner as i said i wouldn't do it more than two terms. that's unusual. everyone says it. they get amnesia and then you know the rest of the story. i have been so proud of what we've done here in these six

years. what we've done for hoosiers and when i tell you about some of the things that can be done i think you will be amazed. >> we look for to the top nominees as we see them coming through i'm sure in january-february. two two nominations to the bof directors, corporation for public broadcasting, they play a

vital role in access to commercial high quality honor anyways. district of columbia, chairman of the national hispanic foundation for the arts has been a critical voice for the inclusion of promotion of latina voices in the entertainment industry and over the years his advocacy in this regard has yielded great results. adam white of virginia a senior fellow at the american enterprise institute has served on the board of directors of various nonprofits of the non--- preserving the rolloff and his bravely served on the presidential commission on the supreme court of the united states and lisa ballots of orkut has been nominated to be a member of the marine mammal commission. doctor balance is director of oregon state universities marine mammal institute, endowed chair of the research and professor of fisheries and wildlife and conservation department. she also served in roles that noaa and studied conservation

marine mammal for more than 30 years. lewis, a florida has been nominated to be the federal maritime commission member again where he has served since 2019 through the reform act worked hard to ensure they have the tools it needs to ensure ocean carriers playfair and don't leave american products on the dock. there's one vacancy companies act on his nomination we would deprive it of another member and would only reduce our capacity. finally we consider 291 promotions to the united states coast guard. i want to highlight their promotion promotions paul miller and chris endsley, captain sister visited as fellows. want to thank them for the leadership here paul worked on the committee for two given occasions and on the bipartisan coast guard authorization act of 2024. we congratulate the fellows on the well-deserved promotion announced her over to ranking member chris for an opening

statement. >> thank you, madam chair. as this has is the final market of one and 18th congress, i want to thank you personally for your leadership these past two years and i look forward to our continuing to work together on shared priorities and working together to make the country even more prosperous over two years ahead. this committee is losing a few esteem members of our committee i do want to make, take just a moment to express my appreciation to them. one, this committee is essentially proud that will be providing the next vice president of the united states now senator j. d. vance soon-to-be vice president but he will be leaving us but not going far. we will also be losing two import members of this committee, senator sinema and senator tester and want to thank senators fans, sinema and test of whether commitment to finding common ground on many of the issues that come before us that come before this committee. madam chair, two years ago when

you and i began as chair and remember many outside observers question what would be able to work together effectively. i think the past two years as reasonably answered that question. this is been a very productive two years we've had an effective partnership. as result of the election it appears you and i will be changing seats and i can commit to you today that we will continue to have a productive bipartisan relationship, working together. this would be a committee that will bring energy to the very important issues within its jurisdiction and i can also say it is my tension to adhere to be of the customs and practices that you've established with regard to minority rights on this committee. >> which ones? no, just kidding. [laughing] >> i wish sure you knows that word many. and that will no doubt be in

conversations. the american electorate sent a resounding message to washington on november 5. and with it a clear and very strong mandate for donald trump and the incoming administration. the president-elect has only renounced his cabinet and i think we have two stellar nominees already before this committee and former congressman -- and howard lutnick. we've begun the vetting processes for mr. duffy and mr. latinx. and into the next congress and we both come we both thoroughly vet nominees and i believe swiftly come from them. responsibly carry out the sentence advice and consent role. past practice shows us how to do so. for example, this committee held a hearing on president obama's nomination of ray lahood to be sick of the department of

transportation and then reported him out favorably the very next day. in the past, this committee and others have often held nomination hearings prior to the inauguration. under president biden both secretaries lincoln and yelling had their hearings before january 20. as did secretaries ross and chow under current peer what is more, this committee has voted on cabinet nominees including secretary buttigieg within a week of their hearings. as incoming chairman of this committee i intend to follow a similar practice for nominations next congress and to work to move qualified and competent nominees expeditiously. alexander hamilton the first executive officer to receive the senate advice and consent wrote in federalist 76 that the purpose of the senate advice and consent role is quote to prevent the appointment of unfit

characters. that is the standard on which the sentencing judge nominees, not whether they have jumped through procedural hurdles. i look forward to working with all the members of the committee in exercising our constitutional role in reviewing president trump's nominees with every bit of the respect for bipartisanship that has been afforded this pass congress. thank you, madam chair. >> thank you, senator cruz peer because of what you just said i wasn't sure this is our last hearing. we may end up in the new year having something on those nominees. but thank you so much for this, ten thank you for recognizing i'll have at a later time more to say in turning over the gavel to do and congratulate you on that leadership and look forward to working with you. i do think it is an appropriate time to thank the members of the committee who will no longer be serving here and you're right, they all added a great deal of

input to this committee senator tester as i mentioned earlier working on amtrak and many other issues, particularly in the chips and science area and senator sinema on so much energy into our faa reauthorization bill and aviation manufacturing in general. very much appreciated and yet i guess if this is nobly to build you to call the vice president on commerce issues that we want done at the white house? maybe. i very much appreciate those comments and will have more to say on working with you in the new year but i agree with the sentiment, definitely want to work with you and think we did them and look for to that leadership. i now will ask -- with a quorum of 14 so we can move forward. senator cruze. >> very good. madam chair, i move that the

nomination of david capozzi to be director of the amtrak board of directors, pn 1693, the nomination of elaine clegg to be a director on the amtrak board of directors, pn 1692, the nomination of ronald battery to be direct on the amtrak board of directors, pn 2032, the nomination of lanhee chen to be a direct on amtrak board of directors. pn 1568, the nomination of felix sanchez to be a member of the board of directors of the corporation for public broadcasting. pn 2241, the nomination of adam white to be a member of the board of directors of the corporation for public broadcasting. pn 1979, the nomination of lisa ballance be a member of the marine mammal commission. pn 1949 the nomination of the recent solo to a federal maritime commission, and pn 2130, pn 2131, pn 2132, pn 1534

-2, pn 2228, 2228, pn 2229, pn 2230, and pn 2231, coast guard promotions the favorably report. >> is there a second? all those in favor say i. all opposed. the ayes have it that . the motion is agreed to. the nominations are reported favorably. we have now concluded our hearing prep is or any members of wish to be recognized on any issues? if not that concludes our votes today and concludes our markup. >> with efficiency. >> yes.

>> it's been honor of my lifetime to represent hoosiers here in the u.s. senate. when i said is going to do this back in 2017, didn't have much of a political legacy to leave my business that i had spent 37 years running and that it wanted

to run for the u.s. senate. everybody said fool's errand, couldn't be done. but there were a lot of hoosiers wanting the system to be shaken up a little bit. and when i interpreted i think what politics was doing back in 15 and 16, i crafted that unusual idea that it could be done even when you've made most of your life in the trenches in the real world. i was told when i got here, freshman senators are not to be heard, may be seen, sit back, learn the ropes. well, that wasn't going to work for me as i had already put myself into a corner because i said i wouldn't do it more than two terms. that's unusual.

everyone says it. they get amnesia, and then you know the rest of the story. i have been so proud of what we've done here in these six years, what we've done for hoosiers and when i tell you about some of the things that can be done i think you will be amazed. i put together a staff that came here mostly from indiana, and their goal was to get things done, get it across the finish line. and sure, proud to have been named the most effective first-term republican senator, sixth most effective enterococcus generally in the last congress, , probably closeo that again in this one. but all of us here know that we get the credit for it, and it's

your staff that does all the heavy lifting. 2021 freshman senate office gets more bills across the finish line than any other. amazing. 37 in a span of six years. again that's why the center for effective lawmaking singled out our office is being most impactful in areas like health care, education and agriculture. all stuff i bumped into in so many ways in the real world before i got here. want to tell you about a few of those wins, any incoming senators hopefully get inspired by it. imagine as a republican when one of your biggest pieces of legislation has the word climate in it. so i'll get to have that happen

in the first place, but being a conservationist, one knows that's an issue that with republicans and conservatives have to be involved with, were actually crafted a bill called the growing climate solutions act, which was a landmark bill for farmers that matched up there good stewardship with offset markets that were already there. but government was making it too difficult for them to take access of it, especially small farmers. imagine passing in the u.s. senate 92-eight. and it's darn near a miracle. how did that happen in the first place? i was there maybe six or seven months. senator chris coons from delaware had been trying to find one republican to engage in the discussion which we know how big a discussion that's been.

of course we are always going to disagree on policy, but you probably asked so many others over the last two years going after a rookie senator. you didn't realize you ran into somebody who had to think on his feet a lot in the real world, made decisions fairly quickly, based upon what you really know and i said i'll do it. i think the rest of the conversation was, will be more than a committee of two of us? gimme a month. i i got six of the republicans. and it's still an issue of contention in terms of what it's about, where it's going. some are actually certain about it. some output no credence to it. obviously it's somewhere in between.ol that to me was the first moment being here after just six months that said if you do certain things, think out-of-the-box,

you can get a lot done. that is probably put me in front of more discussions now that energy is the biggest issue at the state level. demand for it was flat until two years ago, and now in indiana, one of the best places to have a business, all the data centers want to come there. and we only produce 20 gigawatts of electricity, each one of them needs one one gigawatt. and what's going to be the right mix between baseload, intermittent, green, traditiona traditional, , i intend to have indiana at the leading front of that discussion. veterans, that's an issue in many different ways, those that serve our country still have trouble getting basic benefits, especially as a relates here in the federal government where most of them come from. they told us back home in

indiana that to get claims information through the mail or driving to a regional location was clumsy, even through the mail logistically impossible when you had to travel sometimes two hours to get basic checkup. that was a real burden for disabled veterans. we wrote the wounded warriors access act to streamline the claims process with the online tool, signed into law last year. i came here most proud of fixing healthcare back in my home business. in 2008, small business for half the time i was there, over 37 years, 20 employees are so. by 2008 2008 we had grown 0 employees. you can imagine how sick and tired i was at hearing how lucky i it's only going up five to 10%

this year. well, after hearing that for about nine years, i got involved in the h.r. meeting back in 2008. it was a first question i asked, of the insurance companies since we had hardly any claims, what profit margin did you make on our planned? i was thinking ten, 15%. they were honest, 25%. turn to the agent. what was your commission? 7%. we were stoking $1 million check back then. do the math. that wasn't going to work for me. i said, what can we do to fix it? said, well, you can maybe self-insure. i said you didn't tell us that last year, and i did that. islat. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it.

the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: madam president, it's my understanding the senate has received a message from the house of representatives to accompany h.r. 5009. is the presiding officer: the senator is correct. mr. schumer: i ask that the chair lay before the senate the message to accompany h.r. 5009. the presiding officer: the chairman lays before the senate a message from the house us. the clerk: resolved that the house agree to the amendment of the senate to the bill h.r. 5009 entitled an act to reauthorize wildlife habitat and conservation programs and for other purposes with an amendment to the senate amendment. mr. schumer: i move to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 5009 and ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. schumer: madam president, i send a cloture motion to the

desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 5009, an act to reauthorize wildlife habitat and conservation plans and for other purposes. signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask that further reading of the names be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to concur in the house amendment to h.r. 5009 with an amendment. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from new york, mr. schumer, moves to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 5009, with an amendment numbered 3317. mr. schumer: i ask consent that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be.

the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. schumer: i have a second-degree amendment at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from new york, mr. schumer, proposes an amendment numbered 3318 to amendment number 3317. mr. schumer: i ask consent that further reading ever the amendment be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to refer h.r. 5009 to the committee on armed services with instructions to report back forth with with an amendment. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from new york, mr. schumer, moves to refer the house message to accompany h.r. 5009 to the committee on armed services with instructions to report back fo forthwith with the following amendment numbered 3319. mr. schumer: i ask consent that further reading of the motion be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. schumer: i have an amendment to the instructions at the desk.

the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from new york, mr. schumer, proposes an amendment 3320 to the instructions to the motion to refer. mr. schumer: i ask consent that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. schumer: i have a second-degree amendment at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from new york, mr. schumers -- mr. schumer proposes amendment 3321 to 3320. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to calendar 6893, h.r. 62. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 82, an act to amend title 2 of the social security act and so forth.

mr. schumer: i send a p cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to calendar 693, h.r. 82, an act to amend title 2 of the social security act to repeal the government pension offset and windfall elimination provisions signed by 18 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the reading of the names be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> roughly a third of the systems were unsustainable. even more concerning the government accountability office, gao, looked at the sa-8 assessment and discovered the faa didn't have plans to modernize 17 systems that were quote most at risk. this is completely unacceptable. air-traffic facilities and radars need improvements.

based on faa data the reliability of the faa radar fleets is declining. their online less often, unscheduled unscheduled outages last longer, , and it takes lonr to restore service when radar does break down. the united states should be a leader in aviation technology. sadly, this is often not the case. natalie does the report deliver a harsh assessment of decades of sustainment efforts, it also presents a bleak picture when one considers the funding wasted on doomed projects. for example, the gao identified one system that need additional funding for monetization just two years after it was completed. other projects that more than ten years to complete, becoming obsolete almost as soon as they

were deployed. the faa has long been plagued by difficulty in maintaining and modernizing the systems. especially the nextgen projects. nextgen was first developed in the early 2000s and is largely failed to deliver on the promised and if it's. as projects finish they quickly become outdated underscoring the problem such slow monetization. the faa reauthorization act of 2024 addresses the problems with nextgen, requiring the faa to finish development of nextgen and to sunset the office by the end of next year. before the faa can embark on another wholesale modernization project, the law requires the faa to present the business case for the project to congress, during the faa conducts the analyses necessary to identify feasible benchmarks for the naf before starting the next big

project. the breadth, scale and share number of these challenges should cause us to question the fundamental structure and operations of the faa. is this the right model for air-traffic control? experts across the political spectrum agree there is a need for stakeholders to come together and discuss the path forward. in november 2023 the national airspace system safety review team appointed by the faa submitted and independent report to the faa and to congress focus on improving safety in the nas, which included evaluating the reliability of the air traffic organization at the nas. administrator michael whitaker has also said the aviation community should be evaluating alternatives to insulate the agency from lyrical distractions. i agree.

congress should discuss and consider creative alternatives to ensure that the national airspace system reliably works for all users, particularly as the aviation transportation technology enters the market. the conclusions from the gao report are numerous but they all point to one clear conclusion. the status quo of how the faa modernizes our atc is unacceptable. our nation should be the leader in the field, and instead we're stuck with technology that is outdated, almost as soon as it is introduced into the airspace. i applaud the thousands of air-traffic controllers who safely manage thousands of flights but broader conversation about how we modernize our air-traffic system are desperately needed. the american people deserve an operation that uses its funding wisely, is innovative while ensuring safety, and is also a

world leading in reliability. as chairman nextgen i tend to focus heavily on the status of the airspace and what changes may be necessary to enhance its efficiency and reliability. >> thank thank you, rankingr cruz. i now recognize chairwoman cantwell. >> thank you, senator duckworth for having this important hearing this morning on aviation safety. like you, i am saddened and surprised to hear of administrator whitaker is decision to step down in january of 2025. i know this, that if you want to be the leader in aviation you have to be the leader in aviation safety. i think administrator whitaker was living by that model. i hope that the next administrator will live by it as well. the next administrator needs to be ready they wanted to continue the job of restoring the faa safety culture and providing real oversight of the aviation

sector to this committee has done good work looking at not just what manufacturers must do but making sure the faa does its oversight role and responsibility. so we look forward to this opportunity to continue to work with chairman to be ted cruz in january and with you, store duckworth, on the very, very important technology challenges that we face in the faa. and i will have more to say about administrator whitaker later today. last years outage of the faa system underscored that the faa, like airlines, must have a backup system and redundancy. objection. mr. schumer: madam president, yesterday the house of representatives passed the national defense authorization

act, bringing this bill here to the senate. i just filed cloture on the ndaa setting up the first procedural vote for early next week. this year's ndaa has some very good things we democrats wanted in it. it has some bad things we wouldn't have put in there and some things that were left out. but we're going to keep working. we're going to keep working at it. both sides are working well together and i hope we can finish the job soon. thank you to chairman reed, to ranking member wicker and to my colleagues on both sides for finalizing the text of ndaa. as for next week, next week will be very busy on the senate floor where we have a number of legislative priorities to complete before the end of the year. we must for one continue working on confirming more of president biden's nominees. voting on well-qualified nominees is our job, it's our responsibility, and we're going to continue working on nominees

so long as this session of congress continues. second, as i mentioned, we'll finish passing the ndaa. members should be prepared to take the first procedural vote early next week. we also, we must also pass an extension of government funding to avoid a shutdown right before christmas. the only way we prevent a shutdown is through bipartisan cooperation without any last-minute poison pills that create controversy. we can't have that. it has never worked in the past. and adding poison pills at the 11th hour would only make the risk of a christmas shutdown greater. i'm pleased so far talks remained productive. negotiators continue working around the clock to reach an agreement. they're meeting early in the morning. they're meeting late at night. and they will work through the weekend if necessary. i want to thank chair murray, ranking member collins, appropriators in the house and house leadership for their cooperation on getting a c.r. done. i also hope we can reach an agreement to pass a strong

disaster package before the end of the year, as part of the c.r. democrats continue to work on the disaster package. we know one thing -- just as both parties represent communities affected by disasters, both parties must take passing disaster aid seriously. we urge our republican colleagues to keep working with us and get us as generous a package as possible, because there's so much damage out there and so many communities need help. right now the federal government faces its looming disaster. the vast majority of funds intended for emergency disaster relief have nearly dried up. we have very few resources left for helping small businesses, helping farmers, helping people rebuild their homes, helping communities fix their main streets and repair their highways. this is a problem for states across the country, in every part of the country whether they be red or blue, whether they be represented by democrats or republicans. and unfortunately, but

necessarily, the only fix is congressional action. democrats are working with our colleagues on the other side on a reasonable proposal to help cities and towns in rural areas rebuild. we hope to reach an agreement soon. and finally, madam president, today i filed cloture on the social security fairness act, a strongly bipartisan bill already approved by the republican house, that would ensure americans are not erroneously denied their well-earned social security benefits. simply because they chose at some point to work in their careers in public service. i'm talking at public servants like firefighters, teachers, postal workers, policemen and so many other jobs like that. the senate is going to vote on the social security fairness before the end of the year. ness a chance for senators -- this is a chance for senators to do the right thing, for our teachers, workers, postal workers and firefighters and they'll certainly be watching what we do with their retirement benefits. i'm proud to cosponsor in bill

with senator brown. democrats are ready to act on this fix for millions of retirees. the bill p passed the house with a huge bipartisan majority. the senate should follow suit. americans deserve to see which side the senators are on when it comes to securing their well-earned retirement benefits. for too many retirees, millions and millions have been robbed of their hard-earned benefits because of wep and gop. passing the social security fairness act is our shot at helping out working families. the senate will get the chance to -- to pass this important bill with a vote here on the floor next week. i yield the floor. i i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the clerk: ms. baldwin. >> as part of a recent report we've reviewed selected average to modernize dozens of air-traffic control systems and found on average it as a to more than four years to greet the baseline. that is, expected cost, schedule performed progress. we knows they receive limited oversight from faa. after establishing baseline these plans take a further 12 and half years to complete deployment on average. longtime friends like this will impact faa mission. for example, the in route automation modernization was completed in 2015 after tenure effort but it was deployed without did technology which require a major refresh soon thereafter. back to the 138 air-traffic control systems. to its credit the faa reviewed

the system to gauge how easy they are to maintain as well as operation impact of the systems. the faa expects to use this assessment going for to prioritize its modernization efforts. that assessment found 33 air-traffic control systems, .4% had adequate funding and spare parts. the remaining 105 had differing degrees of shortages or potential shortages in spares and funding. many of them also of limited staff expertise, did not meet mission needs. confirming those issues, they can assess members questioned on our behalf and their top issues were also obsolete systems, difficulty signs parts and staffing shortfalls. worryingly, faa assessment showed 58 of the systems with shortages or falls had a critical impact. we had dinner at 17 we felt were specially especially concerning given their age, sustainability and operational impact.

of those, the earliest of the 17 modernizations is planned to finish in six years. some are planned to be completed and ten, 13 years, and four do do not have ongoing modernization efforts. we also found the faa acquisition oversight council had not insured investments delivered functionality in smaller site is not consistent monitored high risks. we noted the council made decisions based on incomplete data and documentation. despite this, flying is safe but can to improve life on his legacy system diminishes the margin of safety and adds stress to the national airspace. to that end faa needs to break modernization in smaller pieces, delivered functionality quicker and improve accountability. i hope this hearing is a catalyst for action. there is no easy answer or quick fix. a snap of ironman fingers cannot

fix this. this'll be the work of many years of billions of dollars. this concludes my statement and a look forward to your question. >> thank you, mr. walsh. i know recognize mr. iacopelli from the national air traffic controllers association. >> good morning, chair duckworth, chair cantwell and ranking member cruz. thank you for the opportunity to testify before you on this important subject. my name is dean iacovelli, i'm chief of staffca of national air traffic controller association, natca, retired be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: the senate armed services committee passed its version of the bill six months ago, six months ago. but leader schumer never bothered to bring the bill to the floor. i can tell you right now that this will not be the case next

year with the new republican majority. next year the ndaa will not be placed on the back burner. it'll be a priority. madam president, the ndaa, national defense authorization act, is one of the most important bills that we consider each year. and that's even more true in a time of increasing instability on the world stage. american servicemembers have come under attack from iran-backed groups in the middle east. china is taking increasingly brazen actions in the indo-pacific and beyond. russia continues to wage unprovoked war on ukraine. israel is defending itself against terrorists. and there's a disturbing trend of collaboration among our adversaries to sow chaos in every corner of the world. madam president, the united states military stands guard against these threats and

countless others. and it's critical that it has the resources and capabilities it needs to deter threats against america and, if necessary, to respond. but our readiness is not where it needs to be. adversaries like china are outpacing us in defense investments. we're falling behind in critical technologies. the number of air force planes and navy ships is approaching record lows. our supply and production of munitions is inadequate to meet demand. and our military increasingly depends on rapidly-aging supplies and infrastructure. madam president, we need to turn this around. and i'm pleased that this year's national defense authorization act addresses some of these serious readiness issues, and i want to say right out that it is not a perspective bill. i am disappointed the -- not a perfect bill. i am not disappointed that it

does not include senator wick's proposed and sorely needed defense increase. and i will push for needed additional funding in the coming year. but i am pleased that this bill directs resources to a number of priorities. it upgrades our capabilities in hypersonics, missile defense, dreariness and artificial -- drones, and artificial intelligence. it expands navy shipbuilding and reverses the shrinking air force fleet. it ensures the pentagon is focused on defense, not diversity programs. it supports is our allies in israel and taiwan, and it provides a pay raise to our troops and a larger pay hike for junior enlisted members. this bill is a step forward to closing the readiness deficit we have. and south dakota will play a critical role in closing that gap. in 2019 the air force announced that ellsworth air force base

would hold the first b-21 raider mission. it will be the backbone of the fleet. it will enable the united states to project power and deter threats around the world and will employ some of the most advanced technology in executing its stealth missions. i'm proud that this bill fully funds the b-21 at ellsworth and support facilities that will be needed to house this critical mission. madam president, when i look at where we are today, it is sometimes hard to remember that not long after i was elected to the senate, ellsworth was slated for closure by the base realignment and closure commission. i spent some of my first months as a senator in a sprint to save the base. there were some who wondered whether a small state like south dakota would have the clout to protect ellsworth. we got to work and with the combined efforts of a lot of people, we kept the base.

we proved that closing ellsworth would not only cost more money, it would diminish readiness. and the commission voted to keep ellsworth open. but we didn't stop there. we worked to make sure ellsworth would never be threatened with closure again. today it is a undisputed asset to the air force and to our national defense. madam president, national defense has always been a priority for me. i believe in peace through strength. i believe that deterrence works, and it's a lot cheaper to invest in a strong military by choice than to spend on a war by necessity. and so i can promise that next year national security will be a priority in the senate. we will work to make sure that the military has everything it needs to project american strength and to keep the peace. madam president, i yield the

floor. and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

>> however, the systems potential isn't being fully realized. in part because many airliners are not properly equipped to take advantage of these updated capabilities. as result pilots and air traffic controllers are forced to use workarounds that allows to operate aircraft with outdated equipment in today's complex system all of which runs counter to the disability benefits of nextgen. if the many communications delegation and surveillance with aircraft management data communication systems will allow controls to monitor aircraft improved communication between pilots and controllers for clearance and reroutes and is your aircraft lineup on the creek runway. to the latter point out what is please faa reauthorization addresses the need for turmoil airspace automation display at small airports that are traditionally operated without these technologies.

as i testified previously before this committee we have seen several miss incidents including a particularly close call as you mention in austin federal election in which pilots for the final line in defense and ensuring safety. time and time again similar examples highlight that the presence of at least two highly trained and well rested pilots on all commercial airline flight decks at all times is a major factor in what airline travel remains the safest form of transportation. the human element of pilots working together on the flight deck is irreplaceable. we are able to see, hear, feel and react to issues in real time as the austin incident showed come we saved lives. to respond to these concerns and augment the critical role of pilots on the flight deck committee has health insurance legacy systems including remains fully operational to five air-traffic controllers that

timely alerts that prevent accidents and near misses. similarly, the committee has responded to these incidents with greater focus on runway incursions through the establishment of the policy for no tolerance for near misses which expands faa focus on improving the ground operation of aircraft at airports establishing the runway safety council and supporting discretion airport grant programs for runway safety projects. unfortunately, , underinvestment including professors and equipment account is affecting the systems pilots and air traffic controllers use to ensure safe and efficient operations. while congress has provided the funding requested each year by the faa during the annual appropriations process, there remains a significant shortfall in numerous maintenance and modernization efforts. resources have not kept up with inflation and effectively require the agency to prioritize sustainment in the judgment of

modernization and infrastructure needs. the faa must ask congress for its true needs in order to sustain the legacy systems and make greater headway on nextgen to improve for pilots and all users here as they could and qualified airline captain with ongoing first-hand experience in national airspace system i can tell you are commercial aviation system is safe and other four to working with the committee and the faa to continue to improve aviation safety. thank you. >> thank thank you, captaini know recognize mr. spero for his opening statement. >> good morning. chair cantwell, ranking member cruz, subcommittee chair duckworth, thank you for inviting me to testify on behalf of of past their past represents a privately 11,000 faa faa and department of defense employees throughout the united states and abroad.

these employees install, maintain, support and certify air-traffic control and national defense equipment, respect and oversee commercial and general aviation industry, top flight procedures and perform quality analyses of complex aviation systems used in air traffic control and national defense at home and abroad. every day they were to ensure the safety and efficiency of an aviation system that transport over 2.9 million passengers across more than 29,000,000 square miles of airspace miles of airspace. their work is essential to the safe and effective operation of the aviation system. unfortunately, challenges and related to employee expertise are limiting that effectiveness. pass appreciates the opportunity to share information recordation regarding air-traffic control systems, , personnel and safety. the largest pass as as a barg union is air-traffic or position in the technical operations

union. there are approximately 4000 technicians responsible for installing, , operating, maintaining and repairing more than 74,000 radar, communication, automation, navigational aids, airport lighting, backup power and hvac systems at as a facilities in support of the national airspace system. in february pass was asked to provide the government of canada's office with information regarding 135 faa programs and services. to provide accurate and current information, sure the list with employees nationwide and asked them to complete a survey. their feedback was extensive and concerning. the challenges our technicians face range of dealing with aging equipment, navigating through cumbersome procedures, and limited availability of parts. the complexity of these assistance assassins compounded by staffing a training inadequacies further exacerbate the situation. for instance, outdated

technologies like time divisionn multiplexing hitter the swift and limitation of new systems while reliability concerns played critical systems such as the advanced lighting systems for aircraft runways and vipr optic transmission systems. the maintenance is increasingly challenging assistance become obsolete, necessity specialized training and expertise. that being said, technicians also interface n a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes, sir. mr. durbin: i ask consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: on january 20, 2021, little girls worldwide watched in awe as the daughter of a mother from india and father from jamaica placed her happened on the bible of supreme court justice thurgood marshall and took the oath to serve in one of the highest offices in the land. at that moment, history was made. kamala harris became the first woman in american history to

serve as vice president of the united states. during a time when america gamed a pandemic, there was hope, and many saw that, the promise of what could be, in vice president harris. i sat there, one of the lucky witnesses, to see that historic moment on that cold winter day. i couldn't help but smile and think of my former senate colleague from california, who served with me on the senate judiciary committee. i served on that committee more than two decades and had the honor to work with many brilliant colleagues on both side of the table. then senator harris brought vast knowledge of issues. i always counted on her for intelligent, discerning questions, homed over the years as a -- honed over the years as a prosecutor, effectively reaching the heart of each matter at hand. i remember how people would stick around to hear her ask questions, because of her seniority situation, she was one

of last to ever ask in the committee. there were many witnesses who would have preferred she would have asked no questions. she was that good. throughout her long and successful career as a civil servant, vice president harris always foucused on what's best for the american people, whether fighting for working families, taking on special interests and winning or working across the aisle to pass legislation, and conducting critical national security investigations, vice president harris has worked in service of every american, no matter their party. four years ago, she left the senate as president biden's vice president and had a tall order on her hands. to bring this country back from a life-altering perched and reenergize the american economy. with our democracy and nation's soul at stake during the 2020 election, vice president harris and president biden ushered in a knew era, embodying the campaign

slogan, our best still lie ahead. under their leadership, america has made significant progress. a little over four years ago, the term infrastructure week was little more than a wish list and a punch line at worst. in 2021, the biden-harris administration with democrat support in congress made the infamous quote, infrastructure week, a reality. we passed the bipartisan infrastructure law. since its enactment, the biden-harris administration announced $568 billion in funding for more than 66,000 projects across all 50 states, territories, and tribes. this funding helped repair more than 196,000 miles of roads, updated 11,400 bridges, replaced more than 350,000 led -- lead pipes and created nearly 16 million jobs. we helped millions of americans head back to work, thanks to the

american rescue plan the economy is back on track and the world's struggle with the deadly life-threatening virus. america had one of the most robust job recoveries and strongest economic recovery in the world, driving unemployment below 4% for 28 months, the longest stretch of low unemployment in more than 50 years. we lowered health care and prescription drug costs, including a $2,000 cap on prescription drugs for seniors and people with disabilities. a $35 a month cap on the cost of i understand lynn and new -- insulin, and new lower prices for prescription drugs and medicare. since the supreme court decision to overrule roe v. wade, vice president harris has been outspoken advocate for reproductive freedom. offense the past two years, republican lawmakers have picked up where the supreme court left off and in state after state they eliminated reproductive health care for millions of

americans, with devastating consequences. the biden-harris administration has been a steady, predictable, consistent beacon in what feels like a never-enning storm. with the vice president leadership, the administration protected access to reproductive health care, including through fda-approved medication abortion, emergency medical care and supporting the ability to travel for reproductive health care. on what would have been the 51st anniversary of roe v. wade, vice president kamala harris launched a nationwide fight for reproductive freedoms. she's always been a fighter. i didn't hesitate when she called and asked my support when she ran for president. i didn't hesitate to say yes. now i know the election outcome is not what we wanted or fought for, but believe me when i say she made a difference in the history of this nation. i could not be prouder of her strength and resolve during the campaign. her recent address at howard university, vice president harris said something that will

stay with me. she said, the light of america's promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting. madam vice president, you've been and always will be the light of america's promise. you've given voice to the voiceless. may those who felt invisible feel seen and fought for those unable to fight for themselves. it's been a true honor to work and serve with her over these years. i thank her for her service to this country. we're all the better for it. and i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, last week i spoke about some of president trump's nominees to unleash american energy dominance. today i'd like to highlight another issue and some of his great picks to help lead his ag agenda. for one thing, i'm very excited about his partnership with my fellow texan, elon musk, who will help lead the newly created department of government efficiency, or doge. we've reached a point as a nation where it's almost a cliche to say our spending has become out of control. we all know that. but doing anything about it seems to be elusive, to say the least. it's a problem we're all aware of, but one that many are afraid

to make hard decisions to do anything about. our nation's debt has skyrocketed to more than $36 trillion. that's a number that none of us can possibly conceive of in terms of the magnitude of that debt. we do know we're spending more money for interest on the national debt than we are on defense of our nation. something that is unsustainable. but what is lesser known is that 61% of the federal budget is mandatory spending, which means it's on autopilot and we rarely go back and revisit it to make sure that this spending program, this mandatory spending program, is still a priority. there's no cap on it, no cost-of-living index, nothing of the nature to control the cost. so they tend to grow at 5%, 6%,

7%, 8% a year. well, this is no longer acceptable, if it ever was. because it's not sustainable. we have to do something about it, and i think we have a gene generational opportunity to do just that come january. if you look at the other piece of the pie, only 26% of our budget is discretionary. we fight over continuing resolutions and appropriations bills here in the senate, which represent 26% of the money that the federal government spends, and act sometimes like, well, we need to balance the budget, but dealing with 26% of the spending, that's obviously a fool's errand. the other 13% is interest on the national debt. just think about the trillion dollars a year we spend on

interest on the national debt, if we did not have a $36 trillion debt, if we didn't have to pay that interest, what good could be done with that trillion dollars a year. so we've almost reached the point where our interest payments, of course, as i said, have actually eclipsed defense spending, and that's obviously never a good place to be. where we spend -- what we spend is almost as important as how much we spend. let me say that again. where we spend, what we spend, is almost as important as how much we spend. i've never been one to believe it's just a matter of, in terms of judging our national security, that we need to spend x amount of dollars, because that doesn't really tell you much about how those dollars are spent. one of the things i'm hoping the

new administration can do, being disruptors, being -- opposing the status quo, that we can see some real changes at the pentagon, and in terms of equipping our war fighters with the most modern, most effective weapons and weapon systems that they need in order to restore deterrence. so, i think it's obvious, and i think the selection is a referendum on this, that we need to take a look in the mirror and look at our pocketbook and have a reckoning. so for this reason i'm excited to work with elon musk and his cochairman, vivek ramaswamy, as a founding member of the doge caucus here in the senate. i don't imagine they're going to be able to unilaterally cut out the waste and inefficiency in the federal government, because obviously they're not part of

legislature, but i do believe they can highlight ways we can cut waste and inefficiency, whether the president through executive order, whether it's the congress through congressional review acts, or through other legislation, we can join them in cutting our spending and making the tax dollar that is spent here spent more efficiently, in accordance with our priorities as a nation. so, i look forward to working with both of them and our house colleagues on the doge cause us, first to identify the low-hanging fruit. now, there's already been some good ideas that we've seen floated. for example, the committee on responsible federal budget recently found that simply reversing every one of president biden's executive orders could save taxpayers up to $1.4 trillion. you know, it's a sad day, mr. president, when we who are

supposed to have the pursestrings have relinquished to the executive the ability to basically obligate the nation to spend $1.4 trillion through executive orders. there's something terribly out of whack about that. we're the ones who should control the pursestrings of the nation, and be the ones account and to the -- accountable to the voters for how we spend that money, but that's gotten terribly out of whack, as i said. for the most part, these executive actions are things that folks on this side of the chamber agree we should reverse. for example, simply preventing the implementation of president biden's rule limiting vehicle carbon emissions, effectively an electric vehicle mandate, would save $150 billion. i've never understood the wisdom of low and middle income taxpayers subsidizing wealthy

people to buy expensive cars, which is what the mandate provides. and while there's incredible innovation in the health care space, blocking the biden administration rule to allow medicare to cover glp-1 obesity drugs could save $40 billion. i think that's a fascinating topic, one we need to explore more in depth, but i do oppose the president doing this unilaterally before congress has had a chance to do our due diligence to see does this save money, leafs the impact on the -- what's the impact on the public health, rather than president biden with the swipe of his pen spending $40 billion. then there's the so-called thrifty food plan update that increased snap benefits. we've been debating the farm bill, which is about 80% of nutrition benefits and very

little benefit to our farmers, but president biden again with the swipe of his pen obligated us to spend another $180 billion. it's a little ironic, to say the least, that we spend billions of dollars on food stamps and on nutrition programs that could be used to buy who knows what and then turn around and spend billions of dollars more on obesity drugs to help americans who are overweight. there is something strange about that juxtaposition. but another simple but effective way of eliminating waste would be to eliminate covid-era work policies for employees at federal agencies. my friend and our colleague, senator ernst of iowa, has pointed out that taxpayers continue to pick up the tab for the upkeep of federal buildings that are by and large empty.

the government accountability office conducted a study that found that 75% or more of the office space in d.c. headquarters of federal agencies is not even being used. 75%. at the same time the people who rely on these agencies for services, the public, are often faced with extended wait times due to federal employees working remotely. and i hear on a daily basis from my constituents that, as i'm sure many others in this chamber have as well. veterans are calling the veterans administration and they're waiting for call backs. taxpayers are trying to file their tax returns correctly, and they face long wait times at the irs. meantime, an internal review of the department of health and human services found that as many as 30% of the employees of

that huge agency, quote, did not appear to be working on any given day during the pandemic and thereafter. now the pandemic is over, but those same working arrangements seem to have carried the day and seem to have continued without a thought to what it means in terms of efficiently providing the services that these government agencies and these employees are supposed to provide. the office of personnel management has found now that the pandemic is over, that only one in three federal employees is fully back in the office. if we required federal employees to come to the office five days a week, as we should, there would likely be a number of voluntary terminations. this is something i think we should welcome. if federal employees don't want

to show up for work, then american taxpayers should not have to pay them. of course this is an obvious first step -- there's an obvious first step we should take here in the senate, and that is pass a budget come january which provides us the reconciliation instr instructions we need in order to do more work that needs to be done. this is an opportunity given the fact that the republicans have the majority in the house, senate and the white house, it is not an opportunity we should squander. we must not squander. when democrats had this opportunity, they used it to pass the so-called inflation reduction act, which, as i pointed out time and time again, did not actually reduce inflation. it went to a 40-year high, and it's still high. set aside the ridiculous notion that you can reduce inflation by

massive spending, something milton friedman, i'm sure he's spinning in his grave at that concept, democrats also set a new precedent by working around the long-standing prohibition on making policy changes in a budget resolution. that's a so-called byrd rule, or the law which says that you've got to get 60 votes to make policy changes, and you can only do budgetary matters through budget reconciliation using a majority vote in the united states senate. but this is now precedent of the senate that we have at our disposal when it's time for us to pass a budget resolution, and i'm hopeful we can use this vehicle as an opportunity to reform some of our mandatory spending outside of social security and medicare. i've always been a proponent of reevaluating the money we spend. this is something every family in america, every business in america has to do on a regular basis.

we don't do it here, and we need to start, especially with this looming debt and this unsustainable amount of money that we are spending on interest on that debt when we could and should be spending it on other programs or returning those resources back to the american people in terms of lower taxes. so i look forwarded to working with the doge committee and all of our efforts to identify and eliminate areas of government waste and rein in reckless and wasteful spending and improve the lives of texans and all americans in the process. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin. congress has provided the request annual appropriations

process remains a shortfall. lord the document of modernization. make headway. >> the sustainment so how do we still not? is much debate about what they thought the faa's thing at sustainment the modernization,

absolutely capable as the chairwoman said. how can we be better informed? that is no trade-off when safety is concerned. how do we better understand this. >> a shadow work. it will be said to see the long-term stable leadership request budget to address the silly.

>> we said we want a top and top safety trend. the test in the administrator hurt her put out order were large but you are asking for our large oversight but it is deep down that it is this disagreement. what can we do to crystallize

the east coast safety? halogen problems that may be there leave they have a path forward with got to ask for what we need and go out and do that. >> a lot of people are sitting there arguing over hermela models. that's what we argued over hermela models for staffing. nobody argued over needing this technology now you can prevent

x, y, and z. the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. tillis: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call with respect to the marzano nomination be vitiated and the vote occur immediately. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 835, matthew james marzano to be a member of the nuclear regulatory commission signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by

unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of matthew james marzano of illinois to be a member of the nuclear regulatory commission shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:. the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer.

mr. crapo. mr. cruz. meditation improving efficiency. what are the tools -- has been

focused on safety identify the systems we. need to be separated out. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin.

mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schiff. mr. schiff. more technology and modernization in this court hearing on aviation in general. >> it is medically important.

subcommittee on commerce and it begins with air traffic controllers staffing air traffic controllers are work more consecutive days we do agree it must be addressed its own staffing or lives with for the

next three years. the faa taken into consideration every resource will inform its own workforce? >> all true and accurate points. men and women represent are working longer and harder handling aircraft than they have likely in most of their careers. affect the organization staffing

target because we partnered with apo and we think mike whitaker for safety but it has been a challenge and as a whole they are correct number that we need to stop traffic control and allow them

and the terminal fight and a minute left in the polio system and we are better at our jobs it's overwhelmingly

received. we talked to the folks there and it has many different and we are going to another nine facilities

between modernization safety but the service awareness initiative is a direct tool. >> it's going to help us across the nation. what you need to help let's. >> be adequately funded the knowledge of deploying this and something else thank you very much. it is critical safety and

security only upgrade is why back as you know cause a delay fact system in place but there is more place to do in their legacy system. >> it is difficult to turn off does not usually transition and

they help to sustain so as air traffic controllers and it's on them to catch it when it's wrong thank you for being here. we have a major hub in

minnesota. what is the latest? >> absolutely. the faa has just met their hiring goal and we have partnered with the faa. and how great is you have recently agreed to new initiatives and they will ask

for the right amount of money. >> repairs got some funding but not enough to get going that's the biggest obstacle.

it's not even the world, it's quite a big city. >> we've been using the bipartisan fellow at the base to look at facilities k. when i mentioned plumbing, upgrading plumbing in the facility so the restrooms and water work and alaska they have space heaters. several locations stopped working. it was 90 plus the power demand to go to rural sites.

this necessarily the news, care about it through constituents but it is an enormous task to upgrade the entire infrastructure of the international space station. it's not over the past three years building 50 years. if it's not broke, we going to fix it. we have radar sites because they don't have the means being down for radar site the support someone else.

>> anything you would like to add that. >> it is all of the above it working so we can keep and finally with the resources and money in place so i would agree with everything many things going on around here today so thank you. have heard about those days heaters i think you and always good, my friend from we don't have bob dylan but we have a lot of others so i want to thank the

chair holding this important hearing air traffic controllers across the country in alaska. they keep us safe, aviation challenges in alaska. great job. workers and members and even the whole issue asia and air traffic control. as we were developing the hiring

act for air traffic control. is there more congress can be doing. >> appreciate those of any alaska. the reauthorization act, but success depends on having sufficiently funded. request the money they need and continue working with faa.

hands and improve training and the success rate. we have all facility sure the funding is not a one-year. >> thank you, i set out to our members and more pallets in the country and veterans.

but you in regards to how you look at regional airlines so. bipartisan support in labor union support and industry support focusing on education. one thing i don't understand loan treatments between students seeking a professional airline pilot shoulder costly loan for training so i'm trying to fix

that. we had a bill that didn't make it that i thought a no-brainer and you explain for assessing like education and training and what you think congress should be doing? federal loan payback and training to get federal loans. they will have a record. they will get in aviation or private job so what more can we do ask. >> thank you again and i thank you for your leadership on this.

it has gotten out of hand. all but the best is out there that will have the resources it takes away the ability and they don't have the resources. you can get those that we can't do for those. >> opening the doors of opportunity for all those that

would like this. >> i know you care a lot about this issue. my time is expired so i will submit the record. a privatization. i know we have differing panel. on thanks again he.

>> concludes very much. i want to start and had a short time on that. in the vote in. i have a phone cushion surely will return clearly implement

changes in think tank here is and that has been detrimental to ask you. only the national airport. from jfk to burlington and grilling him to do okay with

implementation tell us on reauthorization was out. his will is a little want to call some an expert describes a distorted listing of you will will a folder you question is how would i position was old related to do, already that also knowledge of an x rotted wood more so would air traffic controller will will you will

board included one. >> will determine the senseless we can start is it it is smaller airport in burlington.

we've got fund. implement the faa reauthorization. how can they better coordinate? consistently maintained. >> you to stay involved with the faa mcclatchy? profession is working on their

counterparts or the other modernization. and it is previously discussed. >> the hearing record will remain open. compare for a very good discussion and that concludes today's hearing seriously.

the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye.

the clerk: mr. sullivan, no. the clerk: ms. smith, aye. ms. lummis, no. mr. schiff, aye. ms. rosen, aye.

mr. kaine, aye. mr. kaine, aye. it is important to start here is it is on this supporting syrian

risk. before moses. it's like. ...

and so here we are working to build up and build out that unified approach. that was based on my conversation today here in jordan, i'll continue those conversation with president erdogan and the foreign minister in turkey as we head there going forward. we're also going to be very focused on preventing any actor inside or outside the country from putting their self-interest in the interest of the syrian people, especially in this delicate moment. that includes of course isis which no doubt will seek to regroup and i think has

demonstrated the united states is determined to keep the property. we want to make sure we're doing everything possible to support those people, those organizations that are working to find the thousands of disappeared people, children, women and men during the assad regime. that includes of course the american journalist austin tice, we're determined to find them and bring him home to his family and loved ones. this is i think as a set of the outset and moment of tremendous potential opportunity. because for the first time in decades syria has an opportunity to have a government that is not dominated by a dictator like assad. it's not dominated by one religion or one ethnic group. it's not dominated by an outside power. it's not dominated by isis, but,

in fact, is run by and answers to syrian people. we are determined to do everything we can working in close coordination with partners to help the syrian people realize that aspiration. with that, i'm happy to take some questions. >> mr. secretary, , could you expand a bit on -- around the neighborhood. did you see, obtain any assurance from the jordi nazir on board course of what if you could speak to transfer of an american as a joe mosel riesling and then potentially austin tice committee to talk about that? >> as i said the conversation that had before coming here on the phone with all my counterparts, there's a strong desire to get together and get behind a unified approach to syria and in particular what all of us would be looking for on

any interim government that emerges and ultimate a government of syria. but these are principles that are designed to reflect the need for the aspirations of the will of the syrian people, not to dictate what they should do but to make sure they have the opportunity to follow their own path. that's what i'm hearing throughout the region. we're having now detailed conversations about what they could look like and i would anticipate that you will see countries come together in support of of this basic approach. the g7 countries just put out a statement but it's so critical i think that this process be led by countries in the region in support of the syrian people. >> do you know what that could look like? >> stay tuned in the days ahead as we continue to work on this. in terms of american citizens

who was found just today. i can give any details on exactly what's going to happen except us that we are working to bring home, bring them out of syria to bring home. for privacy reasons i can't share any m more details at the moment. >> any update on austin tice. >> was no details except as every single day we're working to find an end to bring him home, making sure the word is out to everyone that this is a priority for the united states. >> are you concerned about israel's widespread air strikes across syria and also their maneuvers inside this buffer zone that has created some anger in the arab world among u.s. partners? secondly i'm wondering what your message will be to erdogan when it comes to u.s. backed kurdish forces who have lost territory in syria against other malicious? >> first, when it comes to the buffer zone, the buffer zone they came from the 19 said for

ceasefire agreement, what israel has said is syrian forces the were on one side of that buffer zone abandon the area and israel was concerned that vacuum could be filled by terrorists, by extremists so it moved forces into the buffer zone. it's told us and others it's a temporary move to ensure again the vacuum is not filled by something bad. when it comes to actions israel has taken, the stated purpose of those actions from the israelis is to try to make sure equipment that is been abandoned, military equipment abandoned doesn't fall into the wronger hands of terrorists, et cetera. but we'll be talking and we've only talk to israel and will talk to others about the way ahead. and when it comes to turkey speeders on israel, to support their moves? they basically just for the entire navy. dick on apple of state assets

and people understand the desire but there's obviously people are wondering whether this is overkill to some degree in terms of taking out the entire navy? >> the israelis have been clearer clear about what they are doing and why they're doing it. i think across the board when it comes to any actors who have real interest in syria, it's also really important at this time that we all try to make sure we are not -- [inaudible] also an important objective and goal. and when it comes to what's happening in the northeast, look, turkey has a real ann coulter enters particularly when it comes to the pkk and terrorism, which is an enduring threat to turkey. at the same time again we want to avoid sparking any kind of additional conflict in syria at a time when want to see the transition to an interim government into a better way forward for syria.

and part of that also has to be ensuring that isis doesn't rear its ugly head again. and critical to making sure that doesn't happen is the so-called stf, the syrian democratic forces, that we've been supporting for they have been critical in making sure isis is kept at bay, critical also to guarding the pretension that in detention facilities were fighters had been detained for years, , keeping them off the battlefield, cuban boy from rejoining isis. that's a critical mission ander it's one we have to see pursued with ford. >> will that be the message or to was purpose one of the things but again on of these conversations are looking to bring all the countries in the region to give as a look beyond the region in a unified approach to supporting the same people as they emerge from dictatorship. thanks. thanks everyone.

the clerk: ms. ernst, aye. >> thank you. thank you very much.

this is an honor, tremendous honor. brought some our compatriots along with us. they're going to do beautiful jump 40 for the the next four years, and it's really been something very special and i have to say "time" magazine getting this honor for the second time, i think i'm like it better this time actually. but we did a good chappaquiddick great first-term despite a lot of turmoil caused unnecessarily, but the media has tamed down a little bit. they are liking is much better now i think. if they don't we'll just have to take the modicon and we don't want to do that. but i do want to thank time magazine. i been on the committee times. i don't know who has a record but i can only probably talk while about 25% of the covers. 25% are great. the others are just sort of -- it's been an honor and every time it's an honor i will tell you. thank you very much for doing it and thank the whole group at time. really very professional people. thank you very much.

and to jeff and all of the people from the new york stock exchange come he knows how much i like it because many years ago i've bought a building across the street or i wasn't going to bite but the message and its right next to the newark stock exchange. i'm going. we've had tremendous success with it. but you really had success with the newark stock exchange. it's an incredible group of people and jeff you have done an incredible job. you and your group and what a beautiful speech you made. thank you very much. introduction of all of us. but we we've gone up since the election i was just told by scott aviles and you have to scott, scott has to be the treasury. what is got? he's around or someplace. he's around here. he told me we picked up $3 $3 trillion since the election

day, and i said that's good, but what about before the election day? he said we picked up some money because they thought it would with. i said i like this guy, he's going to be by treasurer secretary. i thought love a tremendous run come straight out some problems, some big problems in the world. when will that we did that any of these problems. we didn't have russia with ukraine. we didn't have israel october 7. we didn't have the afghanistan disaster. we didn't have inflation. we had no inflation, and we had a very strong economy and we're going to do that again but i think we're going to even of the because now we have experience that we didn't have. now i know everybody. when i first came in we came down, melania and i can first great lady very popular by the way. she rang in the bell. she rang in the bell. but we came down driving down

pennsylvania avenue and so beautiful. i said i've never done this before. i didn't know anybody. i got to the oval office and then picking all these big position that a jiggling of the people in washington but boy did i get to learn fast. and now we do. i think we have an incredible staff behind you, and others that are not here. and we're going to do a fantastic job. we are going to create the incentive the region piggybacked the just announced yesterday i i didn't announce it for this reason but anybody investing a billion dollars or more gets a very expedited approval process because you do with the approvals when people come into the country it takes in many cases 14, 15, 16 years to get the approval. we have lee is right or someplace in charge of the private and lee zeldin who we had an incredible race for governor in new york, very successful guy before that he was a great congressman and he's a fantastic learner picky is in charge of environmental and will try to push miss much is possible to get those permits very quickly.

like a nuclear power plant i would say a week would be enough time can what do you think? will get, were going to get fast approvals and it's great we have lee and all the people behind, all-stars in your own way. but it is an honor and this is a double because usually they don't coordinate the man of the year or the person of the year with the ringing of the bell. and brilliantly you pick them both at the same time and your offense and you said let's do it. and it takes one trip. it doesn't take two trips, that's okay. we like to save. we like to be able to do it properly but this is a special counsel be in the audience john, great job be done at abc. i'm really proud of you and you been so nicely otherwise i wouldn't actually acknowledge you at all. you have you have been that's really a terrific job you've done. but again i want to thank you. we're going to go down during the buildup and i can just say that the economy i believe is going to be very strong. we do best to solve some

problems. we have wars going on we didn't have. we have a lot of things happening that we didn't have that would have never happened, they would've never happened but now they have happened and i want to get installed, have to get them so because ultimately the power of weaponry today is the biggest threat we have in my opinion. it's not some of the other thing she read it after it's the power of weaponry. the weapons are so powerful so devastating. i read the military. i got to everyone of them including nuclear weapons. i hated to do. actually i hated to do it but we did some nuclear weapons that are so devastating and almost makes you very sad when you as you get them nsa come online, a makeshift race that because you know what the purpose of the is and you just hope to god gou never have touse if you do the l never be the same. we have to be very, very smart and very sharp. we have to be we have to be very special to do a job, at a think

we will get it done and to think we're going to get a lot of people. we seem to appear we were in france where president macron did a fantastic job with the cathedral. absolutely fantastic job of notre dame, and it was beetle. the opening, it was the opening and i just got back and it was something really beautiful. a lot of world leaders come about 80 world leaders different countries and they were all coming together. they all wanted to meet us and meet me as representative of the u.s. and there was a lot of goodwill but we're going to get some really tremendous goodwill to i was even think about inviting certain people to the inauguration and some people said that's a little risky, isn't it? and i said maybe it is, will see. we'll see what happens. but would like to take little chances but that's not a bad chance. here's the challenge is going to do a great job at hud. good luck. going to become he's going to be, he's been my friend for a long time.

i haven't shaken his hand yet. congratulations. really, you're going to be great. and ben carson is your biggest fan in the world, you know that. dan has been with us a long time and us in a fantastic job. thank you, ladies and gentlemen, go on, were going to put it straight. were going to give tremendous incentive like no other country has. we are cutting their taxes. we're going to cut the very substantially. we got them down to 21% from probably 42 or 44% depending on where you are. we cut them down to 21. egeland said that was a miracle. now a miracle. now we're getting them down to 15 only if you make your product to get otherwise you pay 21 which is not bad. it's in the middle of the pack but 15 bring you down to among the lowest. and, and for those that are running the big companies those great big beautiful companies nobody's come to be leaving us. you will be coming back, bring them back to the united states.

will be incentivizing everybody to come back to the united states. we want you back here. our manufacturers, everybody. we have one product that nobody has really to the extent that we do. it's called oil and gas. there is no country in the world that has more per we are number one. i brought it to number one during my first term in terms of production. we are going to be number one plus with the numbers that nobody will really see before. when that happens prices are going to strike me down because people can't afford to groceries and they are going to be affording the groceries very soon. i tell the story about a woman who, old woman, an old woman, no money went to the grocery store, had three apples. she put a dent on the counter and she looks and she saw the price and she said would you excuse me? and she walked one of the apples back to the refrigerator and came get back to pay for the two apples and she left with two apples. and the woman at the counter said that was so sad. and one heard about this story as it that should never happen

in america and its that would happen in america. we're going to do it right and we're going to take care of our people and we're going to do things that nobody ever thought it were possible but we would have an economy the likes of which nobody has ever seen before and everybody is coming back to america. i saw that the other day at the cathedral. they are also i want to come back, we want to come back in with a couple of changes done by howard and scott and some of the great people up here with me we're going to bring them all back, they're all coming back. so thank you much but this is great honor and bringing the bill will be fantastic, and go out and get them. we are with you all the way. thank you very much. thank you. [applause]

the clerk: mr. ricketts, no.

>> represent hoosiers here in the u.s. senate. when i said is going to do this back in 2017, didn't have much of a political legacy, to leave my business that i had spent 37 years running and that i wanted to run for the u.s. senate. everybody said fool's errand, couldn't be done. but there were a lot of hoosiers wanting the system to be shaken up a a little bit.

when i interpreted i think what politics was doing back in 15 and 16, i crafted that unusual idea that it could be done even when you have made most of your life in the trenches in the real world. i was told when i got here freshmen senators are not to be heard, may be seen, sit back, learn the ropes. well, that wasn't going to work for me because i had already put myself into a corner because i said i wouldn't do it more than two terms. that's unusual. everyone says it. they get amnesia, and then you know the rest of the story. i have been so proud of what we have done here in these six

years, what we've done for hoosiers and when i tell you about some of the things that can be done, i think you'll be amazed. i put together a staff that came here mostly from indiana, and their goal was to get things done. get it across the finish line. and sure, proud to have been named the most effective first-term republican senator, sixth most effective in our caucus generally in the last congress, probably close to that again in this one. all of us here know that we get the credit for it, and it's your staff that does all the heavy lifting. 2021 freshmen the senate office gets more bills across the finish line than any other.

amazing. 37 in the span of six years. again, that's why the center for effective lawmaking singled out our office as being most impactful in areas like health care, education, and agriculture. all stuff i bumped into in so many ways in the real world before i got here. what to tell you about a few of those wins in incoming senators hope to get inspired by it. imagine as a republican when one of your biggest pieces of legislation has the word climate in it. so i will get to have that happen in the first place, but being a conservationist, one that knows that's an issue that we as republicans and conservatives have to be

involved with, we actually crafted a bill called the ruling climate solutions act, which was a landmark bill for farmers that matched up the good stewardship with offset markets that were already there but government was making it too difficult for them to take access of it, especially small farmers. imagine passing in the u.s. senate 92-eight. that is darn near a miracle. how did that happen in the first place? i was here maybe six or seven months. senator chris coons from delaware had been trying to find one republican to engage in the discussion which we know how big a discussion that's been. of course we are always going to disagree on policy, but you probably ask so many others over the last two years going after a rookie senator. you did to realize that you ran

into somebody who had to think on his feet a lot in the real world, made decisions, fairly quickly based upon what you really know. and i said i'll do it. i think the rest of the conversation was, will be more than a a committee of two of ? give me a month. i've got six of the republicans. and it's still an issue of contention in terms of what it's about where it's going, some are actually certain about it, some that put no credence to it. obviously it's somewhere in between. that to me was the first moment being here after just six months that said if you do certain things, think out-of-the-box, you can get a lot done. that is probably put me in front of moreay discussions now that energy is the biggest issue at the state level or demand for it was flat up until two years ago.

and now in indiana one of the best places to have a business, all the data centers want to come there. and we only produce 20 gigawatts of electricity, each one of them needs one gigawatt. and what's going to be the right mix between baseload, intermittent, green, traditional? i intend to have indiana at the leading front of that discussion. veterans, that's an issue in many different ways, those that serve our country still have trouble getting basic benefits, especially as a relates here in the federal government were most of them come from. they told us back coming indiana that to get claims information through the mail or driving to a regional location was clumsy even through the mail

logistically impossible when you had to travel sometimes two hours to get a basic checkup. that was a real burden for disabled veterans. we wrote the wounded warriors axis act to streamline the claims process with an online tool, signed into law last year. i came here most proud of fixing healthcare back in my own business in 2008. small business for half the time i was there, over 37 years, 20 employees or so. by 2008 we had grown to 300 employees. you don't, can't imagine a stick of tight i was appearing how lucky i was, it's only going up five to 10% this year. well, after hearing that for about nine years, i got involved in the h.r. meeting back in 2008. he was a first question i asked.

of the of the insurance company since we had hardly any claims come , what profit margin did you make on our plan? i was thinking ten, 15%. they were honest. 25%. turn to the agent. what was your commission? 7%. we were stroking $1 million check back then. do the math. that wasn't going to work for me. i said what we do to fix it? said, well, you could maybe self-insure. i said you didn't tell us that last year. and i did that. and self-insured and made a cost center. but the critical question was we need to all start asking these kinds of questions, how do you really lower cost and make hoosiers and americans healthier? they said we got a broken system that's built upon expensive remediation. sounded a little abstract, so i said let's flash flesh sea little bit.

well, you got your deductible. i had to raise the feature to moderate increases can change underwriters every three years. that was a pain in the rear. so they said if you really push wellness and prevention, it will be the start of how your lower healthcare costs. and then they said something that really surprised me. healthcare consumers are nonexistent. because they are not involved in actually shopping around for healthcare. you depend on the insurance company in your company or the government to do it. that's the driver in most markets. ended up after that meeting throwing every wellness tool and the kitchen sink at it, turn by employees into healthcare consumers, cut costs by over 50%. haven't had an increase in 16

years. i always ask the question, raise your hand if that's been the case. no one does. those are the kinds of things we will have to do here and back home in the states. here being on health, education, labor and pensions i told the chair of that committee, senator sanders, if you want to lower healthcare costs, start incentivizing the industry to be competitive and transparent. well, that ended up creating what would be the most transformational bill called the healthcare price transparency act. and when you are dealing with someone like bernie sanders and mike braun, the two loudest voices in the senate on healthcare reform, that's a modern miracle. and that bill there as a template already strongly bipartisan, some of the features of it could be dropped into reforms that we do even this

year. during the pandemic josh hawley and i passed through a bill that would declassify all intelligence about the wuhan lab. also prompted the president to direct intelligence community to investigate the lab leak. as result of that investigation the fbi confirmed that they found the lab leak to be the most likely theory of origin. and when the current administration announced the vaccine mandate for businesses that would have vaccinated every employee in all businesses if you had 100 more employees after it was in the rearview mirror, we dusted off an old law called the congressional review act that had not been used in years. and we use that, got bipartisan support on it, and then lo and behold, with the supreme court struck down the vaccine mandate they cited our challenge as the

most significant action in congress that had weighed in on the mandate. you can get results if you stick your neck out, take a little risk. before i go to the other side side of being a senator, it's what you do the calm that's called constituent services. want to talk about a few of the lighter moments of being in the u.s. senate. never forget when i got here, and we have great lunches, kudos to the staff that prepares them, and this at lunch time starts 30. it's over at 2:00. does he like a lot of time dick and i show up at 12:30. even the staff wasn't fully, have the meal they are ready to go. i said what's going on? they said well, 12:30 is the official time. no one shows up until after 1:00. so there is then a time in real-time. you got to get adjusted to that. the case is little different

when you come to feel of being a scrappy entrepreneur. the only other senator that did the same thing was of course a guy named rick scott, you know, who ran a business, randa state of florida. we didn't make that mistake another time. able to host a lunch and amid the logistics business, and you've got to come up with something that unique to your community. we're probably the most german catholic community in the state of indiana so we wiretap schnitzel and brought spirit well, the plan was driving from indiana to d.c. i ask that a volunteer do that because believe it or not there was a way that's practical in the least expensive to host the lunch. here is one of those unusual motor we all get involved in media. probably far too much of it but part of this job is having the pulpit to say what you believe,

what you want to weigh in on. it's actually doing an interview in the middle of covid. can remember which network, but all of a sudden a minute into about a seven minute interview the cameraman goes down. literally. i thought the camera or the like stan was coming at me. and the interview continued. my wife was watching it at home i thought we had a mini earthquake year. so a member, one of the other cameraman said i've never seen anything like that in the u.s. senate. industry wasn't over. about a minute before the interview was over, starts to dust himself off, had been up for four minutes. grabs the camera stand or light and i thought this time it's coming at me. i do did know what i was going to do, although he went down again and we completed the interview. of course i was worried about what happened. ambulance came and we were lucky

in that case, it was dehydration. but imagine being in a pickle like that. we got through it. other memories, first date of the union address, walking back, just live right east of the supreme court building. starlit evening. the move so the wedding the capital. said to myself, how can you be so lucky backs now the other side of being a senator. constituent services. customer service was always my priority of my business. believe me you don't have to pay consultants for them to tell you what's wrong with your business. just listen to your employees and your customers. free advice, doesn't cost a penny. and if you get it fixed you've corrected an issue you've got with the company. so i told them i wanted to run constituent services back home just like customer service in my business. we put together a team just as

good there when you listen to these stats as the one that enabled me to do so much year on the legislative side. closed 13,775 constituent cases in six years. assisting hoosiers with problems that were really impacting their lives. there are many ways you can get entangled with the federal government. my team returned $21.6 billion that were owed to hoosiers back to them, mostly from the irs. that money had an immediate impact. one woman in columbia us that in columbus was at risk of losing room and were able to recover $10,000 that begin us go to hurt the irs. the team handled 2 million, 381,000, 813 e-mails, phone

calls. believe it are a lot of ways that people just do it to get hold of who represent you here in d.c. but then what do you do with it? we put a metric in that if those were not handled within a certain number of days, gets set off an alarm. unbelievable constituent services. 1500 hours of mobile office hours. when they reached out, we found the solutions. one hoosiers family, her mother, their mothers ashes were lost at a post offices silly. could be located. we secured an inspector general audit of the post office to make sure that that never happens again. family of an indiana soldier killed in vietnam didn't get the silver star. been a long time. we covered that for them. my team cut through the red tape and delivered that metal to its

family. it'd been 50 50 years they we trying. asp outdoes him of the legislation passed, in the constituent services that we gave, i'm also proud of sounding the alarm from what i think is our biggest issue impacting our country. to be honest it's been like talking to the side of my barn back home. i learned what it was about to make ends meet, because your tail was on the line running a small business. i'm optimistic since we do so many great things in this country that the incentives have been so strong to go the opposite way that hopefully we can change the direction that my mind will bankrupt the country. and it's been from both sides of the aisle. it's been where we just expected too much out of this place we need to focus on doing a few things better.

show me the magnitude. six years ago, 18 trillion in debt. in six years we have doubled. we borrow a trillion dollars every six months, and that the interest that we pay on our debt now every six months as well. we actually borrow $2 trillion a year. this spending spree has had a real effect on the american people, that inflation rises, interest rates at a projected debt that's going to be 56 trillion in ten years. that gets geometrically more difficult to get out of that hole being dug that deep. i had a business first 17 years where the office was in a mobile home that introduced out here, had his office and a double what i said was a used single wide.

that was my first and only opportunity of doing what i wanted to do. the overhead was so low you almost had to stoop to get in the door, figuratively speaking, but i learned a lot of valuable lessons. in the real world you've got to live within your means. borrowing money from our kids and grandkids is not a business plan that's going to work. how do we turn things around? the saying, we are not flying blind here. there's an instruction manual that's called the constitution, especially the tenth amendment. as the federal government has struggled, the states have been a laboratory for how you fix things. that's where the innovation is going to come from in the next decade. i'm so excited to lead that charge back home in indiana.

it was so hard to get her in the first place. the question i get asked most, why wouldn't you stay? i have kind of explain that a little bit earlier, that i believe in term limits and it was an either/or choice. either run for governor or serve another term here. i'm not going to decide what i have been a part of. but i do feel i have made the right choice. and on this entire journey, i couldn't have done it without my life partner, maureen, married 40 years ago. never get that never wrong, even if it's off by a year. at our wedding, i'll never forget, everyone mr. cardin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland.

mr. cardin: as if in legislative session, notwithstanding rule 22, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on foreign relations be discharged from further consideration of s. 920 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: would the senator withhold his request. mr. cardin: i withhold my request.

mr. cardin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: as if in legislative session, notwithstanding rule 22, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration -- immediately -- immediate consideration of calendar number 91, s. 920. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 91, s. 920, a bill to reauthorize the trafficking victims protection act of 2000 and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection.

mr. cardin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the cardin substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to and the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cardin: i know of no further debate on the bill as amended. the presiding officer: is there further debate? if not, all those in favor aaye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill as amended is passed. mr. cardin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cardin: mr. president, i ask consent to put a statement in regards to this bill in the record. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection.

mr. padilla: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from california. mr. padilla: mr. president, it's been nearly four years since i was first sworn in to serve here in the senate, and since then, as a member of the senate judiciary committee, i've had the privilege of working alongside my colleagues to provide advice and consent on president biden's judicial nominees. over the course of the four years, we've confirmed some of the most qualified, extraordinary public servants ever to be nominated to the federal bench. as of this week, that's meant that 233 new federal judges are serving in the federal judiciary, including 33 in my home state of california. so, i rise today to celebrate the three most recently confirmed federal district court judges in my home states. in the has week, with your -- in

the last week, with your support, we confirmed judge anne hwang to serve the central district of california. she got her bachelor's from cornell university and law degree from the university of southern california law school. after beginning her career as a litigation associate in manila, in los angeles, judge hwang served 12 years in the federal public defender's office in los angeles, the largest public defender's office in the nation. during her time there, she rose through the ranks, from deputy public defender to chief deputy public defender as she gained extensive trial experience. in 2018, she was appointed to the los angeles county superior co court, informed by the invaluable experience that came from serving as a public defender, judge hwang now brings an important perspective to the

federal bench. next, earlier this week we confirmed judge cynthia valenzuela dixon, also to the u.s. district court for the central district of california. judge valenzuela earned her undergraduate degree from the university of arizona, before earning her law degree at the ucla school of law. after graduation, she served as special assistant on the u.s. commission on civil rights, and later as a trial attorney with the department of justice's civil rights division, voting rights section. eventually, she returned to los angeles to work in the u.s. attorney's office as a prosecutor in the criminal division. in 2006, she became national vice president of litigation at malda, the mexican-american legal defense and education fund. she left five years later to

become a supervising attorney for the california central district criminal justice act panel. finally, in 2016, judge valenzuela was appointed to serve as a judge on the california state bar court, ha handling attorney regulatory and discipline cases. throughout her confirmation process, judge valenzuela has been praised by her current and former colleagues for her tireless work on behalf of victims, for her intelligence, for her integrity, and for her dedication to fair and impartial application of the law. her academic credentials, her legal qualifications, and experience will make her yet another outstanding federal judge for the central district. and finally, also earlier this week we had the honor of confirming judge noel wise, president biden's nominee to serve on the u.s. district court for the northern district of

california. judge wise earned her undergraduate degree from the in fact of nevada las vegas and her law degree from nova -- excuse me, nova southeastern university law school, and her master of science of law degree from stanford law school. judge wise first clerked on the fourth district court of appeal, before joining the u.s. department of justice as a trial attorney there the natural resources division, where she also spent a year detailed to the assistant u.s. attorney's office for the southern district of california. she then worked in private practice before cofounding the firm wise gleisher where she litigated in state and federal courts. for the past decade, she served on the alameda county superior

court, including as supervising judge since twiencht and judge -- 2019, and judge pro tem for the california second district court of appeal for a time. judge wise's wealth of experience in state and federal courts, civil and criminal litigation, and in public and private practice make her more than prepared to now serve on the northern district. so, on behalf of the state of california, i want to thank my colleagues for helping confirm these three outstanding federal judges, and for continuing to prioritize judicial confirmation here in the days to come. thank you, mr. president.

mr. padilla: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from california. mr. padilla: i ask that, as if in legislative session, notwithstanding rule 22, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar item number 510, s. 4000. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 510, s. 4000 to reaffirm the applicability of the indian reorganization act, and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. padilla: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. padilla: and i know of no further debate on the bill. the presiding officer: is there

further debate? if not, all those in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill is passed. mr. padilla: mr. president, ski that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. padilla: mr. president, as if in legislative session, notwithstanding rule 22, i also ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar item number 562, s. 3857. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 562, s. 3857, a bill to take certain land in the state of california into trust for the benefit of the gemal indian village of california, and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. padilla: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment be withdrawn, the padilla substitute amendment at

the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. padilla: i know of no further debate on the bill as amended. the presiding officer: is there further debate? if not, all those in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill as amended is passed. mr. padilla: mr. president, i also ask unanimous consent that the motions to rewhere be considered made and -- to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. padilla: so thank you, mr. president. . i want to thank you and your colleagues for your support of these two measures, which will help tribes in my home state of california regain control of their rightful ancestral lands, and help the federal government take steps to fulfill our sacred trust responsibility to tribal

nations. the first of these bills we just approved, the jamul indian village land transfer act, establishes in trust over 170 acres of land in san diego county for the jamul indian village of california. for the jamul people, what was once over 640 acres of ancestral lands, were diminished to just six acres, one ever the smallest reservations in the country. in 2005, tribal members voluntarily moved off the reservation to allow the tribe to pursue economic development opportunities and become less reliant on the federal government. but in order to build a true homeland fitting for their tribe, the jamul indian village purchased four parcels of land, a combined 172 acres in total, in san diego county.

so by establishing this land in federal trust, the united states government would be -- is now fulfilling our obligation to the jamul people, and returning their tribal members back to their permanent and proper homeland. i want to take a moment to thank represent darrell issa for his work in the house of representatives and senator schatz and murkowski in the senate. i also thank all the members of the jamul indian village who have been such honorable and relentless advocates for their community. so thank you, colleagues, for supporting and passing this bill. i also thank you for your support in passing s. 4000, my bill to make sure the indian reorganization act applies to the litan rancheria of california. this addresses the legacy of disenfranchisement for native communities across the country.

it was a landmark bill that helped tribes reestablish their sovereignty and rebuild their communities after decades of immoral assimilation policies attempted to tear them apart. the bill we just approved will simply provide clarity that the litan rancheria can place land into trust through the department of interior's standard land-to-trust process. i again thank my partners, senators schatz and murkowski, for their support, and thank you all for your support in passing both of these measures today. thank you, mr. president. i yield the flo

test: .

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from california. mr. padilla: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

the country so these are located starting with the pope new york coming down to establish all that. the exceptions were primarily released largely because it

where essentially. so there is a complex relationship there but in the northwest there were remnants of isis outside and they were centered around the north of aleppo so that is where established small form of government in control and military. i didn't sense strength that was developing think they were surprised by what's happened and the speed. that always existed in the

northwest small movements here and there but that came together in the last russia lost their help and to dissolve before our eyes. >> what we know about the organization holding the masses and leading most of the country what we know that maybe they things they push and pull. obviously an effective military leader and a coalition in a way 13 years nobody had come close to doing. he has extremist to and links to

al qaeda and ice. women's rights and not about down the path area and others that isis it seems to back up claims is moderated. of course that's perhaps what explains success because of the groups were willing cooperate with him rather than by each other which is often the case that we will see if that continues. we know he's a very effective that a leader in monarch government in the region moves

away from those? what does that mean if it is in place that's my tent would be provided days a week with the claim he really has moderated unit was in violence sparingly and willingly promises on those issues we should let is no reason to think because it was five it will correct but is still correct today. they said actions be louder than words early conversation those.

>> secretary of state blinken. this process government national standards transparency and accountability budget report in the transparent process and external interference. we stand prepared for support for all of deterrence is. that sounds really good but only the in office two more weeks would be expecting trump administration? >> good points but be hard to

deliver on those nice words but the idea that out of syria and that resolve this on their own it is correct at one level that they will need help rebuilding their country and make a difference. what time do you consider a new government inclusive enough competent enough that merits support, financial support? it's a big decision and not something else can make the decision for you. after with the principles out there and watch what happens the amount of iraq, afghanistan and i would underscore one warning we got wrong in iraq election

democracy not true strong justice and balances which ideally should not be based on identity 2003, four and five. >> near eva the regime syria you like to you mentioned the other armed groups. right now isis and others, what does it mean going forward?

they have to lay down their arms press. >> under the control of the central military establishment. i think they need some sense short delayed option counterproductive so exception are also breaking. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. shaheen: mr. president, i'm here on the floor today with the incoming chair, current ranking member of the foreign relations committee to talk about the political -- the presiding officer: some order here on the floor, please. continue. mrs. shaheen: -- to talk about

the continuing deteriorating political situation in the country of georgia and urge the united states to take immediate action in response. senator risch and i have had a long history of working together on georgia. we were there in 2012 when georgia dream took over in georgia. we were part of the election observation team. we agreed those were free and fair elections. senator risch was very eloquent in talking to the president there at the time or the prime minister about the need to hand over power because it was a free and fair election and we needed to do that. in october, georgia held parliamentary elections, and the vote took place against a backdrop of threats. in some cases, even violence. and there's evidence that the ruling party, georgia dream, specifically targeted activist,

opposition figures and ordinary voters. consequently those elections, unlike the elections in 2012 that we observed, have not been deemed free and fair. and the majority of the georgian people, sfaundably so -- understandably so, do not support the election results. in the aftermath georgia dream government decided to yank georgia off the euro atlantic path. of course it's a move that pleased vladimir putin and the kremlin and reenforced the policy of georgia. the georgia people enshrined their commitment to joining both the e.u. and nato, and it has rightfully caused outrage across

the country. we've seen widespread protests that brought thousands of people to the streets. the protests are being led by young people, young people who have grown up in an independent georgia, in a country that was looking toward a better, more democratic future. in an attempt to control those peaceful protesters, the government has responded with brutal force. and over the last two weeks we've seen georgian dream target opposition politicians, rounding up individuals at their homes, beating them, and and detaining them. that is not what a democracy does. the president of georgia has stood in solidarity with the protesters. she's urged the government to stop its campaign of violence against its own people. but now in a very concerning

turn, georgian dream intends to appoint a new president this weekend by holding a vote in parliament where only its members are participating. a new president and commander in chief, one who stands with georgian dream and supports the kremlin, could dramatically escalate an already volatile situation. as we think about why this is important to the united states, since 1992, the u.s.-georgia partnership has been based on shared democratic values. we've partnered with the georgian people, successive georgian governments to build a military and a society capable of cementing the country's transatlantic future. georgia is an e.u. candidate country. it has been until recently a

close reliable partner for nato and the united states. georgia joined the u.s.-led coalition in the iraq war in 2003 and georgian soldiers deployed to afghanistan in 2004. this is a country and a people who have stood by the united states and it is time now for us to stand by them. that's why it is so distressing to see what is happening in their country and why we need to see action from our government to condemn what is going on there. the leadership of georgian dream is a -- was founded by a billionaire. they've adopted laws and policies aimed at constraining civil society's ability to operate, including a foreign

agent's laws that meant to vilify civic activists as dangerous outside agents. so what are we doing as the united states? how are we supporting the georgian people? well, i'm very frustrated because in my view we are not doing enough. we are failing to meet this moment and answer this call. we have failed to respond in a meaningful way that would help change the calculus of georgian dream's leadership. they are paying no price for their actions as they defy the will of the people and take pages from putin's authoritarian playbook. there are well-documented human rights violations, but the treasury department has failed to sanction a single official for their actions. it's perplexing, i don't understand it. i urge the innings to act immediately. georgia's future is in jeopardy. and the georgiian people who

have repeatedly supported us deserve our support. treasury has all the authorities it needs under the global mag knits i ask being act -- magnitsky act. this is not a hard call. the next two weeks are critical for georgia. the administration has bipartisan, bicameral support to act. i urge the u.s. administration to stand with the georgian people in their fight for a democratic future. thank you, mr. president. i yield to my colleague. mr. risch: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from idaho. mr. risch: first of all, let me say i want to fully associate myself with the remarks of my colleague from new hampshire. she said it about as well as it can be said but i'm going to underscore it and go back, as

she said in 2012, she and i were the appointed representatives of the united states to look at and monitor the elections in georgia. i have to tell you it was an interesting process to do that. we looked and watched the election from our point of view it was straight up election. it was well done, well executed, and at the end of the day, the incumbent lost, and the dream party won. we had the interesting experience the next morning going to see both camps, and one of the things that gave me great hope is that it was very much like an american election, both camps in campaign mode when we talked to them. as senator shaheen said, we had very candid discussions with both sides. before we left the region, i think we went to turkey after that, before we left the region,

they had made agreements to talk about a transition that would be a peaceful transition. that was a really, really good sign. and we left there quite optimistic that things were going in the right direction, they had a spirited election but it came out the way the people of georgia wanted it to come out and things would go forward. it wasn't too long after that we started to have suspicions that it wasn't going as well as it should. indeed of that was the case and it continued to deteriorate and continues to deteriorate today to where it is of an urgent nature. look, this is -- this country is a country that after ronald reagan brought down the soviet union and all these countries got their freedom, most of them took it, this is one of those countries that has not been able to get complete footing and get the complete shakoff of russia that it wants.

the ghosts of the russian empire still are there in that country and they're showing up in what's happening today, the tactics being used which the government in place today are the tactics that they use in russia. it is brutal. it involves tortures, it involves arrests, it involves all the things we see from the old soviet union. this is not what the georgian people want. you say, well, how can you say that? the georgian constitution actually has enshrined in it that they will pursue and have been pursuing membership in the european union. when that happens, things change dramatically in the country, they go to much more western values than what they inherited from the old soviet union, and that's the direction the georgian people want to go. again, it is not only in the constitution, the polling shows

that 80% of the people there want to pursue both european membership and nato membership. what has the current government done about the georgian dream? they did the things the good senator from new hampshire has laid out. they have done awful things that resulted in arrests and torture and the kinds of things that autocratic governments do in order to get their way. the georgian people have not stood by passively and let this happen. there have been lots of protests in the country over recent weeks. indeed, some of them are quite violent because the -- the georgian dream party is cracking down on these people who are just simply trying to pursue their dreams for georgia, both as expressed in the constitution and expressed by the will of the people. we had an opportunity to talk to the president of georgia just recently, and came away again

disappointed with the way things are happening. but, look, there's hope here. we passed a bill that gives the biden administration the ability to go in and levy sanctions on the people who should be sanctioned. it's not a secret. we know who they are, we know who they are the state knows who are are and the biden administration knows who they are. so let's get at it. like the senator from new hampshire, i am deeply disappointed we haven't done that. putting sanctions on this country isn't a strain for us to do, but it will be a strain on the people who are sanctions. like my friend from new hampshire, i don't understand why it isn't being done. is it incompetence? is it laziness? is it they don't know better? again, i want to join in with my

friend from new hampshire and urge the administration to step in and do what should be done, follow the law that we've put in place, take the opportunities for sanctions we put in place. i want to continue to be hopeful for the georgian people. they don't want what's going on there. they don't want to drift back to the soviet union, they want to look westward by the constitution, by their own will, they want to be part of the european union and part of nato. let's give them every help that we can possibly do and it won't cost us anything. with that, thank you, and i will yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mrs. fischer: thank you, mr. president. i rise again today to request passage of the swanson and hugh b bronson. the residents of the swanson have built friendships, started and supported businesses and

enjoyed the recreation that southwest nebraska has to offer. now, starting on february 1, in less than two months, these people will be forcibly removed from the reservoirs unless this pill passes. this is for a -- per a contract signed between local parties and the bureau of reclamation. i worked with the nebraska delegation, the residents, the small businesses, the bureau as well as both democrats and republicans on the enr committee to draft a bill that would solve this issue. senator hirono and i are following regular order, but we have to use unanimous consent. our bills passed the house. our bills have passed out of the

senate enr committee. this is what we all say in here, what we all tell our constituents that this has to happen. we need to follow regular order. we travel our states talking about regular order all the time. we say one or the other is not following it. this is the way to do bills. this needs to happen. we need one subject bills, another demand of our constituents, instead of piling 150 bills that aren't in a package yet trying to get them into a package. but i understand we will have an objection. senator hirono and i have paired a democrat bill with a republican bill so we can move

forward and other members can then move forward on noncontroversial bills for our people at home and for our people who support this. so, mr. president, as if in legislative session, and notwithstanding rule 22, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediately en bloc consideration of h.r. 3418 and 8219, which were received from the house. i further ask that the bills 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? mr. padilla: reserving the right to object. the presiding officer: the senator from california. mr. padilla: i rise to object to h.r. 3218, but i want to be

clear. i want to ensure my colleague from nebraska that i don't object on the substance of the bill itself as she alluded to, there is an effort under way to pull together a package of public lands and water bills like this one many we have he over 100 pending land and water bills, in fact, that are awaiting final consideration, and, yes, there is only about a week or so left before the holiday recess. but there's a lot of bills awaiting final consideration and so we need to make sure that they can pass all together as a final package, both out of fairness, out of efficiency, the way the process works here. i understand that this particular bill is a priority for senator fischer and the nebraska delegation and the constituents. i respect that. i appreciate that.

i too have lands and water bills before the senate that are universally supported by constituents and constituencies in my state that i am working hard to get enacted before the end of the congress. and, in fact, as a member of the energy and natural resources committee, i can report to all of you that just last month we held one final business meeting in committee, and we reported out nearly 80 bills. most of them with unanimous, bipartisan support. so the holdup here, the objections here, et cetera, continue not to be so much on substance but the process being what it is, so much good work we're trying to finalize for so many states in the final days of this congress. so i think to help get us there, i want to continue to urge chair

manchin, urge ranking member barasso and their house counterparts, chairman westerman and -- and the ranking member to continue to working and negotiating in good faith to assemble a public lands and water package that will be of tremendous service to the country and i urge both the senate and house leadership to agree to move a land and water package that we can send to president biden as soon as possible. mr. president, for t reason i object. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. the senator from nebraska. mrs. fischer: i am astounded by this, once again. as i've said, the situation is dire. my constituents will lose their homes. the communities they've built for the last 50 years will be destroyed. i don't know of any other bill

in the hundred or 150 bills that are on this time of -- type of time crunch. my bills have to pass now. yes, it's a priority as the senator from california, his bills are a priority as well for himself, his constituents. i respect that. but we are on a time crunch. this has to pass now or next week. maybe we won't be home for christmas because i plan to keep coming back here and get this done. we did our work. we did it the right way and we did it on time. we have presented a solution that everyone and i mean everyone agrees with. it is so uncontroversial. it was voice voted out of

committee. even the senator from west virginia who objected last night, he doesn't have any concerns with this legislation. nebraskans' very homes and communities are now on the line in this final hour. they cannot wait. they should not have to pay the price for stalled negotiations. saying there's going to be an agreement after working a year on an agreement, saying there's going to be an agreement on this 100 to 150-bill land package, come on. that isn't even realistic at this point in time. going to work through the weekend. you know, i hope it comes together.

but come on. these are noncontroversial bills. and using my constituents as political pawns instead of moving bills in normal order, which we all tout, is unacceptable. in fact, it is absurd. we better do better. i yield. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from mississippi hyde as if in legislative section i ask unanimous consent that the committee on the judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to senate resolution 733. the presiding officer: the clerk

will report. the clerk: senate resolution 733, honoring the life and legacy of patrick goche. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. mrs. hyde-smith: i know of no further debate on the resolution. the presiding officer: is there further debate? there is not. all in favor say aye. opposed will say nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the resolution is agreed to. mrs. hyde-smith: i ask unanimous consent that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. hyde-smith: i ask unanimous consent that the preamble be agreed to. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. hyde-smith: mr. president, i rise today to ask unanimous consent that the senate adopt my resolution honoring the life and legacy of my dear friend patrick

goche. patrick was a strong, friendly, and ally of rural america, and it is only appropriate that the senate commemorate his life. along with so many other rural americans, i miss patrick every day. it is an honor to remember patrick by advocating for and promoting the american rural way of life in the senate. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> so quiet, it's like a classroom.

[laughter] [cheering] intermission, or you dancing and everything? [laughter] thank you for standing like he said, a little movement. all stretched out by now. i'm so glad you got to come here because the white house is decorated. [cheering] the theme this year is peace and light. for a moment you feel the joy we

all need to now so anyway. for centuries at dinner tables and waiting rooms and whispered conversations transfer coffee, women have been about our health. isn't that true? today we brought back conversation to the white house. [laughter] here you and we will get you the answer we need to thank you for joining us on women's health research.

united states has the best research in the world. it's understudied and underfunded. the united states economy loses 1.8 billion every year and up and women's lives that's what we talked about that saturday afternoon in april last year. [laughter] why go to the moon? kennedy asked, we choose to go to the moon in this decade not because they are easy because

they are hard so thank you for carrying on that mission pushing for breakthroughs that are never easy but possible. thank you. [applause] more than a year ago we launched the first ever white house initiative on women's health research. building on the foundation of decades of work in women's health for many of you in this room. jill, i know we are doing this now but there's some are doing this research forever and ever. we recognize that.

our incredible team at the white house to ensure the government funded research will include. separating data reporting finding for treatments specifically for women and men. we've invested one billing dollars research on women's health. [applause] really incredible researchers.

to bring people together connections across industries. the women of this country are paying attention. elevate all of this information. discovery how we treat menopause this morning. i heard this a couple weeks ago my own granddaughter was going to the same thing we are going to be great grandparents. [applause] n, i

want to rise to express my strong support for the nomination of matthew james marzanow to serve as a member of the nuclear regulatory commission. today there is a critical need for nuclear power in our nation and in the world. this carbon-free energy resource essential to assuring the reliability of our electricity grid and to continuing our work to significantly is reduce greenhouse gas emissions. i have said on this senate floor before, but it bears repeating, nuclear energy has become the largest source of reliable, clean energy in the united states. i will he'll say that again. -- till a say that again. -- i'll say that again. nuclear energy has become the largest source of reliable clean energy in the united states, providing about 20% of our

nation's electricity. but get this -- nearly half of our clean power, nearly half. as it turns out, the energy regulatortory commission plays an important role in facilitating the deployment of safe and clean nuclear power. most american citizens have never heard of the nuclear regulatory commission. every one of them have an interest in making sure we address the climate crisis we face as a nation, as a planet. everybody here wants to make sure that the electricity, when we turn on the lights, that it works and the prices that we pay for that are affordable. the nuclear regulatory commission helps on those fronts, but a really big thing they do is to make sure that the energy they create through nuclear sources is safe and something that we can go to bed at night and not have to worry about causing calamity or

disaster in this country. that's a big reason why it's critical that we in this body confirm mathew james marzano to be a member of the nuclear regulatory commission. they have five seats. one of those seats is vacant, and we need to fill that fifth and last-remaining vacant seat on the commission. let me take a moment, if i might, to discuss why matt is uniquely qualified for this position. to put it simply, no other commissioner has the distinct and valuable set of credentials that matt possesses. he has expertise he has gained over the course after series of positions in the nuclear industry, including as a nuclear

engineer. he has run a nuclear power plant control room and overseen safety, operations, and maintenance personnel on site. he has trained sailors -- i say this as a proud navy captain. he's trained sailors for service aboard our navy's nuclear ships, one of which i was on last week, the uss delaware. and he has actually worked phon the safety -- on the safety systems of a new reactor that's under scrapings. most recently matt has applied his background as a nuclear engineer to his role on our staff of the senate environment and public works committee. matt worked tirelessly with me, senator capito and her team -- our team to move the advance act, her legislation -- she led

us on this. but it was our legislation to accelerate the deployment of nuclear energy safely and move that legislation through the senate, through the congress and to the president's desk. in my view, no one -- no one -- is in a better position to help implement that advance act legislation that we passed here overwhelmingly. no one better prepared than matt marzano. and no one else on the nuclear regulatortory commission possesses his commission of, on the one hand, a deep expertise, and, on the other hand, relevance experience. matt is pragmatic. matt is hardworking. he is thoughtful and he is kind. he believes, as i do, in working across the aisle, finding common

ground. he is a dedicated public servant of the american people. it is no surprise that his nomination is one of the key organizations involved as we attempt to bring about a new nuclear era. they include the nuclear innovation alliance, third way, the national brotherhood of electrical workers, good energy collective, american nuclear society, fusion industry association, and general atomics. in conclusion, if matt marzano is -- is confirmed, the nuclear regulatory commission will be fully empowered to make sure that we seize the day with respect to this crucial moment for the future of nuclear energy for our country. i urge our colleagues to join me in confirming mathew james

marzano as a member of the nuclear regulatory commission. and with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. president, i know of no further debate on this nomination. the presiding officer: is there further debate? if not, the question is on the nomination. mr. carper: i'd ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper.

the clerk: mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer.

mrs. gillibrand. funding menopause and migraine, high blood. pressure. i need to break down silos across america. make more progress. we don't know enough about menopause and that is going to. the department of defense like arthritis cancer, chronic diseases and in the military our work doesn't stop here.

action. graded and prioritized in all research projects across the entire government and women's health says so much more is never proper has a government. [applause]

the research is going across the entire world. one thing about that today.

combination of people. women's health center holiday season for gratitude but reflection and it's important. [applause] we are blessed to live in america. and often say american some of

in one word. this is all on record. possibilities. there is evidence that we never fail. it's all about possibility, anything is possible. that's what it is all about, possibilities. this is. unleashing drive and every you have in this room. the people to your left and right. the possibility and belief and

change things. one more thing can never. to raise these expectations let them know we have not forgotten. you go out there care.