for over 800,000 americans in over states that are affected by gpo and over two million people in the states impacted by wep. next congress it's going to be up to all of us to look at social security solvency from the larger perspective, to work on it, debate on it, vote on ways to ensure this vital retirement program is going to continue to ensure that americans are able to retire with dignity and security. with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. president. i'm on the floor today to talk to my colleagues about something that is happening right in front of our eyes. it's a set of events that are not random. they are connected to one another, that threaten to destroy this country that we love. everybody can seep it, but for

some reason, maybe the exhaustion of the aftermath of a brutal election, maybe the distraction of the christmas season, maybe just an instinct to flee instead of fight, there are far too many people denying to themselves what they are seeing. what is happening right now is that donald trump and his billionaire advisors are unfolding for the the country in real time a plan to transition this country from a democracy to a restrictive oligarchy, where political opposition is silenced, where the media isn't free, and where government just exists to enrich a small kabul of elites that surround the man in charge. i know how a lot of colleagues see how these dots exist and how they connect, and i know in your gut a lot of you see the specter

of the disaster that is coming. but if you don't, i want to spend just a few minutes laying it out. to make things simple, i'm just going to focus on three events that happened in the last seven days -- the recommendation by house republicans that trump critics, liz cheney, be subject to criminal prosecution, the lawsuit filed by trump gets an iowa polesster and newspaper, and the decision by trump -- by abc to pay trump $-15 million to get rid of a bogus lau lawsuit. first, that liz cheapy be -- that liz cheaney be prosecuted. liz cheney was part of the january 6 commission, that tried to find accountability for the assault on this capitol, that resulted in people dying, with an officer with blood running down his face, trying to rescue us before the violent rioters

got ahold of us. donald trump did not like that narrative, that he had something to do with, that he inspired the january 6 riot. he doesn't even like the narrative that january 6 was a riot. his events are opened by the january 6 choir, in commemoration of the events of that day. what happened this week is that donald trump made good on his promise. he said during the campaign that he was going to use the military, law enforcement, the national guard to deal with the enemy within, and when asked who the enemy within was he said nancy pelosi, adam schiff, democrats. people laughed it off during the campaign because that doesn't happen in america. we don't use law enforcement to lock up your political opposition. but that's exactly what's being recommended when it comes to liz

cheney. liz chen yea did nothing crimmial. there's nothing -- not a wiff of a criminal allegation. she was just in charge of a commission that donald trump opposed. but house republicans, taking orders from donald trump, just recommended that the next administration, the next department of justice criminally prosecute liz cheney, and by the way, liz cheney won't be the last. there will be other political opponents of donald trump who were referred for prosecution. now, that would be laughable today under an fbi and department of justice that doesn't lock up people for political reasons. but donald trump is changing the guard at the fbi. he's putting in someone loyal to him as the next attorney general. the person he's going to put in at the fbi wrote a book about how important it was to eliminate from government anybody that doesn't line up

with the political priorities of the president. he has said that the people herb ran -- the people who ran fair elections in 2020 should if to jail, because if you didn't run an election that resulted in donald trump being elected, then you did something wrong. this week the house recommended liz cheney for criminal prosecution. donald trump cheered that recommendation. and we're getting ready to vote on an attorney general and a director of the fbi who have made clear they are ready to eagerly prosecute trump's political opponents. this is really important to talk about, because this is one of the key ways that democracies fall all around the world. it frankly doesn't take hundreds of political prosecutions. it only takes a handledful, before -- a handful before ordinary, average americans just decide they would be better off staying quiet, instead of facing

potential harassment or intimidation or a jail sentence for speaking out the way that liz cheney did. the second thing that happened in this last week was that donald trump filed a lawsuit against a pollster in iowa. the grounds of the lawsuit are simple -- he didn't like the results of the poll. the poll said the iowa race was close. the poll ended up being wrong. but he is suing the pollster and the newspaper because he was upset that that poll helped galvanize opposition to him. that poll, which suggested that race was close, got a lot of people to donate to his political opponent, gave people in iowa some hope that maybe a democrat could win. that's not allowed in donald trump's world. it's not allowed in donald trump's world for anything to be in service of his political opposition. so he's filing a lawsuit that has no chance of succeeding,

because he wants to try to intimidate judgments and the press into submission. whether he with like it or not, it just is -- whether we like it or not, it just is true that maybe in the future a pollster, who has a poll in front of them that shows a race closing, shows a race that's favorable to democrats, won't publicize that poll, out of fear of a lawsuit. connected to that lawsuit is the third thing i want to talk about, the decision by abc to pay drat 15 million drawers -- to pay donald trump $15 million to settle a bogus lawsuit that never would have succeeded in court. abc, for whatever reason, decided it would be better to pay donald trump to make it go away. and you are seeing repeated decisions by people in the media to just go along with donald

trump, rather than risk his ire, rather than potentially put their profits at risk, if donald trump and his regulatory agencies turn against them. you saw jeff bezos tell his newspaper not to endorse kamala harris. you have seen an effort by comcast to divest itself from nbc. you've seen abc pay off donald trump $15 million. you see, over and over again, members of the press started to decide it's just better not to fight him. these three things taken together show you the pla playbook -- threaten political opposition with jail, throw a few of them into jail to show you're serious, sue and intimidate and harass anybody that does anything that is helpful to your political opposition, and

intimidate and harass the media in the hopes that they will just go away and stop criticizing you. i don't think it's a coincidence that during this period of media harassment by donald trump, when liz cheney was referred for criminal prosecution, all of the headlines played it totally straight. none of the headlines suggested that the criminal prosecution was bogus, was built on lies, was built on no understanding of the law. the headlines just said liz cheney referred for criminal prosecution. i think it's really important that we lay out what's happening here, because this is how a democracy vanishes. but i think it's also equally important to talk about why donald trump and elon musk and vivek ramaswamy and all of his billionaire friends are engaged in this very coordinated, early attack, even before he's sworn in, to try to intimidate his

political opposition and bully the press. the reason they're doing this, the reason they're trying to suppress dissent is because they are preparing to steal from us. donald trump and his billionaire buddies want to be in charge of government so that they can make themselves more wealthy at our expense. they want government contracts. they want to privatize government programs. they want to get bigger regulatory breaks. they want lower taxes. donald trump and his billionaire cronies want government to serve them, but they know the only way they get away with that is if no one holds them accountable. so in order to steal from us, they have to silence political opposition, intimidate activists into submission, and try to get the press to fold.

if they do that, then they can get away with using government as a mechanism to enrich themselves. if you want further proof of their agenda, look what's happening right now, today, as we speak. republicans and democrats had a deal to keep the government open and operating, to fund much needed disaster assistance, and it was killed yesterday by the two billionaires closest to donald trump. when asked as to what their alternative was, they said raise the debt ceiling. donald trump said raise the debt ceiling. you'll have my support for a continuing resolution if you raise the debt ceiling. why do they want to raise the debt ceiling? it's easy. they want to pass a huge tax cut for the billionaires in charge of donald trump's government. that's their agenda -- big, big tax cut for billionaires and corporations.

but the only way you can do that is if the debt ceiling is raised. the only way you can get away with that is if you can borrow more money on the backs of ordinary, average, everyday people in order to pay for that tax cut. so we're seeing the agenda of the trump administration before they're even sworn in, in front of our eyes. rig the rules in order to make the billionaires richer, and telegraph that as your number one priority to congress. listen, there aren't just democracies and dictatorships in the world. there are dozens of countries that occupy a gray zone, in between those poles. countries where there are still elections, but the media and political opposition are so weak, weak because they've been beaten into submission by the

regime, that the people actually have no power. there are elections, but the same group, the same man, the same family wins every time. america has been, for almost all of our history, a functioning, robust democracy, where the party or individual in power changes regularly, because people hold all the tools necessary to choose their lea leaders. but that could change in a heartbeat, so quickly, but without any one galvanizing moment, that the transition might just be missed by all of us. you could just wake up one day and find out that the rules of democracy have been so rigged that republicans or the trump family never, ever lose again, and billionaires get to steal from all of us without any accountability. i know that that sounds hard to believe. i admit that i might be wrong about all of this. america's democracy, it is the

longest existing democracy in the history of the world. it has proven to be resilient. it's filled with grit. it has survived challenges before. but like every one of us, eventually disappears from this planet, so does every democracy. every democracy has a last day. and if you look around the world, the stems that lead to the -- the steps that lead to the termination of a democracy, the termination, the end of self-governance are shockingly similar from country to country. the wealthy people who control the media and the economy fold into the regime. better to join than to fight. the citizens get scared of joining up with the opposition movement because they're fearful of harassment. better to stay quiet than fight. if we don't speak out more loudly and more boldly about the

events of the last week, and the way that we are seeing a purposeful, detailed roadmap constructed by donald trump and his billionaire friends to transition democracy to an oligarchy, if we don't fight like hell against these nominees, especially those going to the department of justice that will execute this assault on democracy, then our nation very soon could easily befall the same as these other destructed democracies. the survival of our 240-year experiment is facing right now one of its most severe tests. i just think it's time that everybody woke up to that and pulled their heads out of the sand. i yield

democracies.

mr. murphy: madam president. the presiding officer: the junior senator from connecticut. mr. murphy: notwithstanding rule 22, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills en bloc, calendar number 457, h.r. 1555, calendar number 532, s. 4403, s. 4634, s. 4807, h.r. 1823 h.r. 3354, h.r. 6810, h.r. 6893, h.r. 7180, h.r. 838 -- h

h.r. 7606, h.r. 7607, h.r. 7893, h.r. 5868, h.r. 6 162, h h.r. 6188, h.r. 6633, h.r. 6750, h.r. 8057. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure en bloc. mr. murphy: i ask unanimous consent that the bill en bloc be considered read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. murphy: madam president, notwithstanding rule 22, i ask unanimous consent that the

committee on homeland security and government affairs be discharged from further consideration and the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills also en bloc, h.r. 6116, h.r. 7158, 6841, h.r. 8841, h.r. 8868, h.r. r -- h.r. 89 19d, h.r. 8976, h.r. 9421, h.r. 9541, h.r. 9600, h.r. 9675, h.r. 10065, h.r. 6244. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, the committee is discharged. the senate will proceed to the measures en bloc.

mr. murphy: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that these bills en bloc be considered read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table all en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senior senator from kansas. mr. moran: madam president, thank you. i have now served on the house -- and the senate

veterans' affairs committee since i came to congress, so about 14 years in the house of representatives and 15 years in the united states senate. it's been a privilege to serve as a member and from time to time as a leader of the senate committee on veterans' affairs and preceding that the house committee on veterans' affairs. for almost five years, senator john tester and i have led the veterans' affairs committee. not only did jon and i both raise dollars to grow up in rural america, but shared the same sentiment there is no one we hold in higher regard than our nation's veterans. this has allowed us to work together for those we respect so much. i will certainly miss the starting of our hearings in which senator tester always said, hello, jerry. you could hear that from time to time as we met going down the

senate halls. i have worked with jon on the senate committee on veterans' affairs since 2013, and we have introduced and sponsored and cosponsored many, many pieces of legislation together. his leadership on the committee in recent years has resulted in major pieces of legislation that have now become law that provide support and opportunities for veterans, their loved ones and their caregivers. some of those landmark and historic pieces of legislation include in the 115th congress, v.a. maintaining internal systems and strengthening integrated outnetwork act of 2018, a lot of words that really boil down to what we call the mission act, designed to make certain that veterans where ever they live or whatever kind of services they need from the v.a. are available to them. in later congresses the johnny

isakson benefit improvement act of 2020, the mental health improvement act of 2019, implemented and designed to make certain that we reduce the veterans who commit suicide, the covid fix for g.i. bill benefits to ensure that the veterans during covid were able to maintain their educational benefits while schools were shut down. in 2017, the joseph maxwell cleland act, honoring our promises to address comprehensive toxics act of 2022, what we refer to as the pact act designed to make sure that those who encountered toxic substances in southeast asia and iraq and afghanistan were eligible for benefits and health

care. the colonel john m. mcqueue tuition fairness of survivor's act of 2021, and within the last week the senator, elizabeth dole, 21st century health care veterans health improvement act. i rise today here at my seat here on the senate floor to express my gratitude for the time that jon has spent in improving the lives of veterans and improving the v.a. system that millions of veterans rely upon. john tester has -- jon tester has helped those who served as veterans and those that are veterans and their family members, he hags made -- he has made an impact on their lives and he has helped us to keep our promises to those who served in the military.

i would like to recognize senator tester's team for their extraordinary work. we all know in this senate the importance of having a strong staff that researches well and values what we do. so i would like to thank tony maclaine, who is from selina, kansas, and led this committee. carlos fuentes, yanko, faye, vill, tess, abbey, weston, liz, cameron, katie and jackson. your work, each of you, your work on this committee didn't go unnoticed. thank you for your kindness that you extended to me while i served as the chairman of the

committee and thank you for your helpfulness when i was the ranking member, without you we would not have been able to provide the benefits and critical resources that veterans deserve and earned. finally, jon tester, certainly i say this on my behalf, i say it on behalf of the other members of the senate and on behalf of the committee of veterans' affairs and on behalf of our nation's veterans. thank you. thank you for your leadership, your friendship, your dedication, thank you for serving as you did so well our nation's heroes. mr. moran: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the

remarks i'm about to make appear in a separate part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: madam president, last month we celebrated national aviation history month many we celebrated that across america and i wanted to make certain that we recognize the air capital of the world and the state of kansas and their contributions to the aviation industry both historically and still today. my home state of kansas is an aviation hub. it has a rich history in aviation manufacturing. this tradition dates back to a gentleman named alvin longrinn, who developed kansas's first aircraft which was fully designed, produced and tested in topeka in 1911, less than a decade after the wright brothers flight, paul cessna designed aircraft in kingman, clyde

cessna, lloyd steerman and walter beach traveled to build the cessna aircraft company, steelman aircraft and beach aircraft companies all of wichita where they were headquartered. all 3 businesses and produced 120 airplanes each week at the outset of wichita's aviation dominance in the late 1920's. it was then that wichita earned the title of air capital of the world. during world war ii, tens of thousands of kansans worked in aircraft plants making nearly 26,000 planes, including b-29 super fortress heavy bombers, they started to test midnight

refueling and delivering the casey 135strato tanker to the united states air force in the 1950's. still one of the premier mid-flight fueling aircraft. many are stationed at mcconnell air base in wichita and some at forbes field in topeka. the aviation and aerospace industries in kansas support more jobs than any other sector, including more than 65,000 aerospace and defense jobs across 150 world-class suppliers. kansas is the world leader in general aviation, producing 85% of aircraft in america and providing 75% of all aviation aircraft since the wright brother's first flight. if you fly in a private plan, it

was either built in kansas or the parts were manufactured in kansas, bombardia, who is located in wichita kansas, they delivered their first global 6500 with the surveillance and reconnaissance, the irs platform. one week later wichita's state university, national institute for aviation research received a boeing 747xi as part of the partnership with the sierra nevada corporation. i'd like to highlight that the national institute of aviation research, a component headquartered on the campus of wichita state university was recently ranked by the national science foundation as the number one research and development expenditure university in the country for aerospace engineering. our

state is also diversion identifying its aviation and aerospace work with companies like general ought tom ecs and has manufacturers working on nasa's artimas program. we're also developing essential components for commercial space providers such as spacex, united launch alliance, sierra space, rocket lab, and blue origin. additionally, kansas is home to crew 9 astronaut nick hague who is currently stationed at the international space station. museums across our state highlight our history and our future. they include the kansas aviation museum in wichita. the amelia earhart museum. i should highlight the importance of amelia earhart being one of our kansans whose statue now resides here in the united states capitol. there's a b-29 museum in pratt.

the museum in liberal and cosmos sphere. when i talk to the astronauts, they brought up the topic and said, do you know you have the best space museum in the world in kansas? they were talking about the cosmosphere. it showcases the aviation history and point to the continued legacy of excellence in aviation and aerospace in kansas and represents a bright spot for our entire nation. i wouldn't want to talk about aviation without talking about kansas. kansas has played a key role in cultivating america's leadership in aviation and is home to thousands of engineers and manufacturers who have supported america's aviation heritage now for more than a century. we are and we will continue to be air capital of the world not only because we build airplanes but because we have leaders and students driving the industry forward with innovation, ingenuity and relentless pursuit of excellence. we will continue to be the air

capital of the world because we have the educational institutions across our state to train and educate engineers and flight mechanic, the whole array of the people necessary for the industries that are located in our state and that will soon locate in our state to have a highly trained, educated, motivated workforce for aviation today and in the future. madam president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senior senator from louisiana. mr. cassidy: madam president, the holiday season is upon us and it should be a time filled with family, friends, and joy, but this year it is filled with financial anxiety for many americans. they're struggling to pay for their grocery, heat their homes with property and casualty insurance. but i'm here to speak to those who are struggling to afford flood insurance. for 50 years americans have relied on the national flood insurance program or nfip to be a safety net in case of

disaster. the program covers 4.7 million homes but the program has become unaffordable, unaccountable, and unsustainable. and without congressional approval, fema worsened this by implementing a new risk assessment program called risk rating 2.0. this program dramatically increased premiums, even for those who had never flooded. and the skyrocketing prices brought on by risk rating 2.0 has left many louisiana families and families in other states struggling with a financial burden. this financial strain has caused 52,000 louisianians to drop their coverage in just one year. leaving them with no way to protect their homes. about half a million americans nationwide have dropped their coverage. and this was anticipated by this risk rating 2.0. the national flood insurance program put it in place, they again anticipated that up to 20%

of the people would drop their coverage. now, during this holiday season, the financial burden of this program will only increase as mom tries to give her kids a wonderful christmas. that's why this month i introduced the national flood insurance affordability tax credit act to give relief to americans enrolled in nfip. this legislation gives low and middle-income households a real time, 33% refundable tax credit to combat the out-of-control flood insurance premium. it is not a permanent solution. we need serious reform. but cutting flood insurance bills by a third is a good place to start. i am working on a comprehensive nfip program that protects families from excessive premium hikes, strengthens flood mitigation efforts, simplifies the claims process by cutting red tape. while we work to fix the broken system and believe me to say i

am working hard to do this, this tax credit provides relief for current policyholders. and it provides a path for americans who have been forced to drop their coverage due to unaffordable premiums to reenroll at an affordable price. it directs the treasury secretary to establish a program where premiums can be paid in advance. this benefits families when they need it the most, like now during the holiday season after a period of years of financial distress. parents shouldn't have to pick between putting food on the table, wrapping presents under the christmas tree or paying for flood insurance. with the tax credit taking a third off of the flood insurance bill, the mother trying to keep this together won't have to make these sacrifices. she'll be able to give her kids a merry christmas that they deserve and protect the home they sleep in. by the way, i'm from louisiana but this isn't just true for families living in my state. it's true for families across

the nation. this year's hurricane season showed us flooding is possible in areas that don't typically make you think of flooding. just think of the homes guess taked by flooding -- devastated by flooding in north carolina. homeowners need relief from risk 2.0. that's not the question. americans need us to massachusettsive reform. however, most importantly, americans expect us to guarantee that the national flood insurance program will still be here come the new year. if nothing happens, this program expires at the end of this week. i should correct that. for those that think the government shutdown does not affect them, if the government shuts down, the nfip program will have a lapse. during that period the program cannot sell or renew flood insurance policies or borrow from the treasury to pay claims for existing policies. so my hope is take we can find this debt deal that supports

speaker johnson's attempts to do so, not the least of which it preserves the national flood insurance program for anyone who may call upon it during this intervening period. so just frankly speaking, letting the program lapse temporarily or long term should not be an option. it's often the only flood insurance option for many communities and without it we leave millions vulnerable. that's why i'm working with the entire louisiana delegation on legislation to reauthorize the program. today i urge colleagues to support this reauthorization giving their constituents peace of mind and protection this holiday season. finally, i urge colleagues to look to the future. passing the flood insurance affordability tax credit to give relief to policyholders and reauthorizing the program are only the first steps. but they are critical steps this body must take. and unless we want to do a disservice to the american people and nfip, we should not stop here. when we come back in the new

year, we should commit to reforming the program to make flood insurance affordable again. every sipping gal one of my colleagues -- single one of my colleagues has constituents who rely on the nfip. if you look at this chart, every state in the union is shaded representing the number of nfip claims each state has. those in the dark yellow have been hit the hardest. and relied on nfip the most. they all have at least $1 billion in nfip claims since 1978. 44 states have had over $50 million if claims over this time period. it's clear americans rely on the program but if we continue down this path, the program goes bankrupt. so my message to my colleagues representing states that rely on the national flood insurance program which is frankly all of us, let's find a way forward. my team has worked on a bipartisan, permanent solution that rolls back risk rating 2.0, makes flood insurance affordable and accountable again. i encourage my colleagues to join me in the new year to get this done.

in the meantime, let our christmas gift to americans enrolled in the nfip be a lower flood insurance bill and peace of mind by reauthorizing the program. with that i yield.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the junior senator from nevada. ms. rosen: thank you. i ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: we're not in a quorum call. ms. rosen: i rise to urge my colleagues to confirm a bipartisan group of four nominees, two republicans, and two democrats, to serve on the united states postal service board of governors.

the board of governors is an independent, bipartisan body that provides leadership, strategic vision, and oversight of the u.s. postal service. confirming these four nominees, val demings, gordon hartogensis, bill zollars will give a full complement of nine governors. it's most effective when fully staffed with individuals who bring a diverse range of prospective experiences and all who understand the critical vision of the postal service. these individuals each have strong leadership and management experience, and they have demonstrated their commitment to the postal service, its workers, and its customers. as we know all too well, in my state of nevada, the postal service has been considering

operational changes that will have severe impacts on service to communities not just in nevada but across this nation. i was proud to lead the charm against postmaster dezoi's misguided effort to -- dejoy's misguided effort to send the letter out of state to be processed but without oversight from a full board of governors, the postmaster general will be able to pursue his agenda for the whole country unchecked. i want to repeat that, without a full board of governors, the postmaster general will be able to pursue his agenda for the whole country without oversight. so it's more important than ever that we have a board of committ ensuring reliable, timely mail delivery and that it will provide necessary oversight of postal service leadership.

that's why i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to confirm these four highly qualified nominees to the postal board of governors. so, madam president, i ask unanimous consent that as if in executive session, the senate homeland security committee be discharged from further consideration of pn2289 and that the senate proceed to the consideration of this nomination and calendar numbers 836, 837, and 840, and that the senate vote on the nominations in the order listed, that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order to the nominations, that any related statements be printed in the record, and that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there

objection? mr. paul: madam president. the presiding officer: the junior nor from kentucky. mr. paul: reserving the right to object, the united states post office faces drastic financial losses. last year they lost $6.5 billion. they're on target this year to lose $9.5 billion. we should return these nominees and give president trump the opportunity to review the postal service, review the postal fix, review the current situation and allow him to determine who is best fit to fix the postal service. for that reason, i will be objecting to each of these nominees. i object. the presiding officer: socks is heard. ms. rosen: madam president, might i say just to the senator from kentucky that these nominees are bipartisan, two democrat and two republican. i believe it is far past the time that we allow our postal board of governors to be filled. thank you, madam president. i yield back my time.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the junior senator from massachusetts. mr. markey: thank you, madam president. i rise with deep frustration at the house of representatives's failure to take up my bipartisan, bicameral legislation with senator bill cassidy, the children's and teens' online privacy protection act, a coppa 2.0. just a few months ago, the senate passed coppa 2.0 by a resounding vote of 91-3, as part of the kids' online safety and privacy act. it was a remarkable moment for a chamber that has too often succumbed to partisanship on key

technology issues. young people and families across the country finally had a moment to celebrate that their government was actually coming to their aid on a critical issue. that lawmakers from across the aisle could hold hands and recognize that the youth mental health crisis was raging in red and blue states alike. this crisis demanded action, and the united states senate was meeting the need and the moment with a popular children's and teens' privacy bill. help, it seemed, was finally on the way. it was long overdue. for more than a decade, i have been fighting to strengthen online protections for our young people. in fact, if coppa 2.0 were a person, it would have just turned 13 and would have aged

out of our current privacy protections for children, which i first authored 26 years ago. over those 26 years, that law, the original children's online privacy protection act, has been critical to protecting children online. but when i wrote coppa, only birds tweeted and tiktok was the sound that a clock made. today our children and teens confront a far more complicated and privacy-invasive online world, that un, according to medical experts and the surgeon general, is contributing to a youth mental health crisis. the stats are devastating. the stats are overwhelming. listen to these stats. listen to the problem we have in our country. more than one in four high school girls in the united states seriously considered

suicide in 2023. one in four teenage girls. and at least one in eight high school girls attempted suicide in 2023. let me repeat it again. one in eight teenage high school girls attempted suicide in 2023. and, amongst lgbtq youth, the number is more like one in five attempted suicides in 2023. coppa 2.0 cuts to the heart of the emergency. coppa 2.30 bans targeted advertising to young people ensuring that teenage girls stop being targeted with weight-loss pills and other harmful acts. it empowers parents and teens by giving them an eraser button to

delete an ill-advised post, and it prevents companies from burying their heads in the sand and ignoring the children and teens on they're platforms. -- on their platforms. these policies specifically targeted big tech's financial incentives profiting off of targeting ads to keep kids and teens clicking, swiping, and scrolling on social media, even to their ill health. in fact, in 2022, the major big-tech platforms earned nearly $11 billion from u.s. users under the age of 18. $11 billion. and that's $ -- and that's 11 billion reasons to oppose any opposition to coppa 2.0. but the tech companies, they want to monetize the young people in our country, and we know they're doing so at the expense of their mental health. who said it?

the surgeon general of the united states. who said it? the pediatricians of the united states. the experts on the children and teenagers in our country. a mental health crisis largely created by online social media. okay, so this is an incredible moment for us because those $11 billion, which the media companies, the big-tech companies make, they're 11 billion reasons to turn their lobbying power on the house republican leadership and concoct far-fetched theories for why a bill in asked 91- -- why a bill that passed 91-3 on the floor of the united states senate should not even receive a vote at the height of a mental health crisis for young people in our country, on the floor of the united states house of representatives. unfortunately, house republican leadership capitulated to the pressure of big tech with grave

consequences for young people. the house had a rare opportunity to show families akrolls the country that -- across the country that it cared about their children, about their teenagers, that money and politics didn't drive their decision-making, that our youngest and our most vulnerable came first and not big tech. but house republican leadership, they failed their test. they sat for months on the child online privacy protection act and then refused to even consider it for passage at the end of the year. they want to wait until next year and next year. we brought this bill out for three congresses in a row. this is not a new issue. it is a crisis. everyone knows it's a crisis. everyone knows that teenagers are getting addicted because of deliberate strategies by big tech to absolutely harm them. we know that right now if a

teenage girl has bulimia and she goes online to get information about it because she's only told her mother and father, that that girl can be bombarded with ads from companies, from others because that information is now out there that she google searched. well, the impact on her psyche is dramatic if that happens, and it's happening every single day because big tech monetizes that girl's bulimia or anorexia problem. this is the bill that says you can't do that. if the parents want that information erased or they don't want the girl targeted with ads, you can't do it. 91-3 on house floor -- i mean, on the senate floor. no vote in the house. three congresses in a row. so they want to wait until next year for 0 republican congress

-- for a republican congress, a republican president. yeah, what about right now? and are they actually going to do it next year? and while they wait, our young people will continue to suffer. every day that this does not pass is another day where platforms can serve dangerous, targeted ads to children and teens. every day that it does not pass is another day where parents and teens do not have the tools they need to protect themselves online. every day that coppa 2.0 do not pass is another day that teens are suffering from sue idea and depression. this is the -- suicide and depression. this is the sin certificate side -- this is the sinister side. there is a you don't keynesian quality. this is the best and worst of technolog: it can degrade and debase.

these companies tell all the wonderful things they're going to do. a.i. they're going to find a cure for cancer and all these wonderful things. we'll see. but at the same time we don't have the safeguards built around the harm they're doing right now, the mental health harm to teenagers and children in our country. it will get much worse as a.i. injects itself into the system more and more. more suicide, more anxiety, more depression. so it's a sad day. we're an institution that had an historic opportunity. i commend the senate leadership for making a different decision in prioritizing the mental health of kids and teens, but i am deeply disappointed in the house of representatives where i proudly served for 36 years. for decades the house has lamented that the senate's rules have prevented us from taking action on important issues. and i have made those arguments myself as a house member years ago. but when the senate did act on

an issue critical to families and to parents across the country, and when it acted decisively, house republican leadership decided to play politics with the lives of teenage children in our country. so to the kids and the parents and the advocates who fought for stronger online privacy rights, for children and teens, thank you. don't go away. keep your energy up. you're knocked down, you're hurting. just come right back. come back the same way the abolitionists came way, the same way the suffer jets came back, the same way the anti-vietnam movement came back, the same way the -- we're right, they're wrong. i've been honored to be with you. it's a very disheartening moment, very disheartening. this is an ongoing preventable crisis in our country.

and if we don't act and act soon, we're going to have teenagers and children 20 years from now writing books about what their congress men, with n protections whatsoever. they'll be talking about it, they'll be writing about it. so let me finish again by giving you the numbers. these are without question some of the most staggering numbers i have ever seen attached to one single preventable issue. one in four high school girls in the united states seriously considered suicide in 2023. let me just say that. one in four seriously considered it. one in eight high school girls in the united states in 2023

attempted suicide. and one in five lgbtq attempted suicide in 2023. the self-image is depicted as one of the leading causes and we're not going to pass this legislation. the actions in the house and now from elon musk and others who are preventing this whole institution from working are going to ultimately expose all these young people to images, ideas that are in fact avoidable. so, mr. president, i thank you for giving me the time. and to all of those who worked so hard on this legislation over the last two years, please get up and get ready to come back again next year because this is a crisis in our country. this is something that these young people do not deserve, and

their privacy cannot be monetized. it is just absolutely wrong and preventable. so with that, mr. president, i yield back the balance of my time.

disaster relief? support. i will not go until we make sure farmers have an families and

they are wiped out. they have an the past. we have talked about that. border security and faith for all about but if it's not an emergency, if this doesn't qualify as an emergency, of onto my frivolity follies today for border security is offset and i will pay for itself. we are going to get this back is out the door and get people back home for those who need.

virginia and florida. we are urging on the body which this package and come back next year end hit the ground running. >> decision demanded of offense before the house before so i believe speaker johnson to go forward, not what it is there decision and get further into the bill they pulled back.

they are right criticize it and the disaster supplemental. we are is the need to deliver on desperately needed support. >> president trump and i are in agreement and it was implement it in 1917 and three billing dollars 60 billing dollars and need and 2024 the debt limit, right now it's 36 trillion and that hasn't really done a good

job. whether or not the democrats would accept the package, i doubt the negotiation reaches the food disaster recovery. and that is the and the debt limit the deadline seven years and it continues to increase.

and it resulted in that. we fund the government. >> the probably is the negotiating process and people in the room were democrats and the default and never raise the debt limit and never will punish as the reality. the votes in the united states

and i will do that. [laughter] [inaudible] >> that's a great question and does not will get back to it. >> the next year. >> we need disaster relief,

ladies and gentlemen, the $100 billion for all of the damage and other storms but no, i hope we don't get to where we politicize a lesser voted for every disaster relief since my tenure and we never play the game of having offset. disaster relief is something we get to people in their time of need and thousands of people who are desperate. i'm happy to have a discussion about bending the curve. $200 billion over the next ten

years, happy to have that discussion but when you're in the middle of a crisis, i don't think anybody's going to want to hear the talk about fiscal responsibility giving people a home again, an opportunity to open up a business again so as a ten or 20 or something more in march with a solution. it is negotiating these facts. h virginia. the presiding officer: blessed by god virginia, west virginia. mr. manchin: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. manchin: in a moment i'm going to be asking for unanimous consent to pass the explore act. let me say this to you, this is something we all agree on.

both sides, this wonderful institution of congress, because the house and senate are in agreement, there were changes that needed to be made. we all agree to get that done, but the bill we have before us is the house's version without the changes that we've agreed to. and the reason for that, the house has already passed theirs. and i understand my dear friend is going to be speaking on this too in the objection part of it. but i just would like for everyone to understand we have a chance, truly a chance, and i have, as chairman of energy and natural resource committee, we made focus of supporting our public lands and the outdoor recreation economy, which gos the fastest growing element of our economy in every state. we all have beautiful venues in every state. we've taken advantage of that. starting with the john dingell act, now to the explore act, to give us a chance for these vendors in those parks to be able to offer a true experience. that's really what it's all

about. i have no objections around all 50 states. one of the first things we did, passed the dingell act, we did the land and water conservation fund. a year later, the great american outdoors act, which permanently funded the land water conservation act. it provided nearly $2 billion to provide the maintenance for our wonderful, beautiful parks. the same year we passed the same american outdoors act. senator capito and i passed a bill in our home state for one of the most visited parks that we have. it's close to most of the population of the country. since the designation four years ago, visitation has jumped more than 40%. people want to get out and enjoy this beautiful country that we all own. a year later, in 2021, senator barrasso and myself introduced america's outdoor recreation

act, the basis of the explore act. it basically gives you the ability now to really do it. we reported that bill out of the energy and natural resource committee on a bipartisan basis. we tried very hard to pass that by the end of 2022. ultimately, we had some disagreements with the house. however, senator barrasso and i were not ready to give up. we introduced the bill and were able to report it out with a bipartisan voice. congressman westerman, with us today in the chamber, we appreciate him, to his credit introduced the explore act last year, which includes nearly every provision of my bill and senator barrasso's bill with additional house priorities. our bill, senator barrasso's and our staff immediately got to work with the sta of to iron out the differences -- with the staff to iron out the differences. we've had bipartisan, bicameral agreement on the negotiated text for more than six months. we tried for months to get that passed, but that had been blocked along the way.

this late in december, we're simply out of runway. time is running out. i'm willing to pass the house version without those negotiated changes so it can be sent straight to the president's desk because we're accepting what's already been passed in the house, with the agreement with the house that every one of those changes will be done. every one of them. it's the only path available to us. this is our last shot to get this important legislation. so, notwithstanding rule 22, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 6492, which was received from the house and is at the desk, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there an objection? mr. cruz: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: reserving the right to

object. mr. president, i thank my friend from west virginia for his hard work on this very important matter. i support the objective of this legislation. i also appreciate the commitment the senator from west virginia has made and also that congressman wester brook has made to, if this bill were to pass today, to incorporate the changes that have been negotiated to improve it in the next congress. in particular, these are changes dealing with the deployment of resources for broadband and those negotiated changes would significantly improve and ensure that it operates the way it is intended to operate. i appreciate that commitment. as the senator from west virginia knows, i am pressing very hard right now to pass legislation that is very important to me and very important texans, called the take it down act. this is bipartisan legislation

that i authored, along with democrat senator amy klobuchar, to protect women, to protect teenage girls and young girls from a growing epidemic of nonconsensual intimate images online, both actual photographs and also a dramatically escalating problem of deepfake a.i. images that target real people. and we're seeing every day more and more women, more and more teenage girls targeted, with false deepfakes made using a.i. that appear to be explicit photographs, explicit videos. they are victimized. the take it down act makes the publication of those nonconsensual, intimate images a crime, a federal felony, and puts on the tech the duty to

remove those. you have the right to protect your privacy not to be victimized. the women have a right. that legislation, the take it down act, passed the united states senate unanimously, 100-0, every senator, republican and democrat, agreed with the bill. that is now at the house. house leadership placed the take it down act in the continuing resolution introduced earlier this week. it is in the bill. i'm grateful for that. as the president knows, as the senator from west virginia knows, the path to passing the continuing resolution has proven to be challenging, and house leadership right now is actively negotiating and trying to find a path forward. i very much want the take it down act passed by whatever vehicle gets it to the president's desk, because we have an obligation to protect women and to protect teenage

girls. i've asked the house as an alternative to take up the take it down act on suspension calendar, if it gets a vote on the floor of the house it will pass. all it needs is a vote. from my perspective i'm fine with it passing as part of the c.r., if a c.r. passes with anything on it, or i believe it should pass on the suspension calendar and go to the president's desk. now, the senator from west virginia and congressman westerman have both committed to me to use their full force of persuasion and leverage to ensure that one way or another the take it down act will pass out of the house and gecht to the president's desk -- and get to the president's desk, because all of us want to protect our constituents. we have an obligation to do so. because the gentlemen in question are my friends and i

trust their good faith representations, and because we're about to lose the good graces of the senator from west virginia, who has decided to ride off into the sunset and leave us to the nonsense of the swamp, both senator manchin and congressman wepserman have -- westerman have asked for a personal favor that i do not object, and therefore, mr. president, i do not object. the presiding officer: the senator is not recognized. i do recognize you. does the senator from texas object to the request? without objection, merry christmas, so ordered.

mr. manchin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mr. manchin: mr. president, this is the relationships that we all should have. this is the good will, knowing that we want the tick it down -- the take it down, we want the take it down, we have senator barrasso who worked so hard on this, his staff, my staff, your staff. i can assure you, we're behind you a thousand percent. we're going to get that done. i pray to god the house will accommodate what you're asking for, because no one -- that bill is so important, the take it down. you and i cosponsored a bill yesterday that is so very important, working on that. but your good -- your graciousness on this, knowing how important it is, you have your vendors in your state, this allows us to finally get into our parks and maintain them, maintain our outdoor activity. it gives the vendors the ability to get things permitted so they can offer the services people have been clamoring for.

we saw the demand that was coming during the pandemic. this is really, really good news for our country, and i just want to thank you, my dear friend, senator cruz from texas. god bless. merry christmas to all. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: first, i express my gratitude to senator cruz, very gracious on the floor of the senate. you talk about a champion, mature, experienced, reliable, responsible voice in this body, that's senator cruz from texas. what he just did today, deciding to not object to a piece of legislation we worked on for so long, is the right thing to do, and we credit him for that. we also stand here saying we want to do everything we can to assure his major piece of legislation is one that does get passed out of the senate previously, out of the house,

take it down legislation, and take it down to the white house where it gets signed into law. and it will be such a benefit to so many americans, and we stand united in this senate behind senator cruz who will be soon the chairman of the commerce committee to thank him for his efforts and his help and his assistance on this bill today in this body, mr. president. i also rise to congratulate my friend and colleague, senator manchin, who will be leaving this body, on the success here today. if the senator from west virginia would like to head over to thank and shake hands, walk in front of me to get to congratulate and thank the senator from texas -- the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: i want to congratulate him on the success in the passage of the explore act. this is great news for every state, all 50 states. it is certainly most important and very important to my home

state of wyoming. mr. president, it is often the case in this body, but not often seen by the press and public, this bill is bipartisan. it's a first of its kind recreation package, and it will boost our nation's outdoor economy. according to the u.s. bureau of economic analysis, outdoor recreation added over $1 trillion to our national economy in 2023. $1.2 trillion. that's 2.3% of our entire gross domestic product, our nation's gross domestic product. this is a big deal. in my home state of wyoming, outdoor recreation contributed over $2.2 billion to our state's economy. that's 4.1% of our state domestic product. we have a strong outdoor legacy

in wyoming, mr. president. we work hard to support the local communities, and we try to do that by developing an outdoor recreation economy. we do it all across the state. the explore act we've just passed in the senate, previously passed the house and soon on the way to the white house, that is going to help wyoming and help the rest of the nation increase access to the great outdoors. this legislation, it does several things. it streamlines and simplifies the permitting process or outdoor guides and outfitters. chairman manchin and i began working on this legislation the last congress. it's the results of years of work, bipartisan work. senators east and west, north and south, senators so committed to this legislation. it includes bills from many members, on the house floor as well as the senate floor. for example, this bill includes the federal interior land media act, called the film act.

the film act modernizes film and photography permitting on public lands. you think that wouldn't be an issue, but it is, mr. president. what we've seen is currently anyone who uploads a video at our national parks, as tourists, put it up on a social media platform, i know, mr. president, your social media is heavily subscribed, people turn to it heavily, well, they also do that at the national parks, put things on people's social media posts. national parks right now, you have to obtain a permit and pay a fee. you wouldent think that would be the -- you wouldn't think that would be the case. the park service hasn't enforced that requirement consistently, but it has been fining people whose videos become very popular. you would find yourself there that position, mr. president, had you gone to the national parks and posted something, knowing how popular your videos have become. look, there are examples of

families who have been fined by the park service for posting their vacation videos on youtube. that's not right. this bill updates the law by requiring agencies to focus on actual impacts to park resources. that's not visitors' videos. the film act is a win for the first amendment and xhaenls management of our -- commonsense management of public reynolds. there are good -- public lands. there are good component parts to this. there is something called the connect our parks act, which ensures visitors to our national parks have access to cell phone service. that is so vital for someone who can't find their way back. it directs the national park service to address where broadband and cellular service is lacking, the park service will develop a man on how to

improve these services overtime. this has been long overdue, mr. president. this also includes something called the cape act. it is a conservation victory for specifically native big horn chiefs and grande teton is in my home state. through coordinated efforts volunteers play a major role in helping to conserve the big horn sheep by culling the nonnative groups and current law gives discretion of the park service to donate the meat obtained. the rest of the animal goes to waste. the cape act to be able to donate the cape and the horns. let me remind all those viewing today that americans love to

recreate outdoors, hunting or fishing, hiking or skiing, we need to support this by modernizing the way that the government manages them. the explore act does this and i am glad that the senate has passed it. i'm grateful for the cosponsorship and the hard work and the work together i've done with senator manchin and i'm so very grateful that senator cruz would come to the floor and in such a gracious way help us with the passage of this important piece of legislation on the senate floor today. thank you, mr. president. i yield the minor. -- i yield the floor.

an families cross americans.

the shutdown government. it's not about millionaires and billionaires heard. family. everyday americans logical turned upside down during weather events and while cars we hurt we don't really they need

and deserve. college level impacted the ability of everyday americans, friends and loved ones will be regarded. security and border patrol shutdown.

in the bipartisan agreement they themselves negotiated. >> eighteen congress majority of the house leaving chaos. her term governmentand the

voices are heard because it should mean in the situation.

prescription drugs and ignoring bringing down prices of first does not benefit anyone we will remain steadfast. next deliver the bipartisan.

we'll with them or not lowering the cost of childcare are making unsupportable what turn our back on people providing is and how shall comes a united. >> on top of that me.

>> cost democrats of the child's problems working american daily post player years ago and not moment.

>> we are going to be here and and you make sure. >> will get what they need. time for people. the orchestra going to pay your bill and aid for your small business is not from proverbs military families who will get paid. that is a lifeline.

will remain here donald trump said -- are you open? >> voting enough. >> to follow your, you're not closing the door to the cement we are prepared to move forward

without was negotiated in good faith alone senate democrats. we are fighting for everyday americans by reckless triple digit so. >> when he received in his administration in the house

negotiate. in working was in charge. >> is a great surgeon, and human open line of communication terms that are favorable to everyday americans to fight for everyday every week, every month every year.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. ms. hassan: mr. president, is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: no, it is not. ms. hassan: i come to the floor today because the funding for -- mrs. shaheen: i come to the floor today to because the funding for the government is going to run out at midnight tomorrow night. what is schaaping right now in the house is a manufactured crisis that's been created by donald trump, elon musk and the republicans in the house of representatives. now, president-elect trump hasn't even been sworn in office yet and already he's thrown the government into chaos. that's really unfortunate because the people who are going to be hurt the most are the ones

that we serve as representatives, as senators right here in congress, and that's the american people. shutting down the government just days before christmas means that thousands of federal workers will be forced to work without pay. in new hampshire, our farmers could lose out on disaster aid that they need to recover from devastating crop losses last year. the health clinics that are vital to granite staters will shudder. the -- shutter. the coast guard wouldn't need the funding they need, and that's particularly important because what they do is to escort in nuclear submarines to the portsmouth naval shipyard. and everyone should know that one of our most fundamental responsibilities as elected officials is to keep the federal government open and operating. instead, we're here today facing our fifth lapse in funding in 11

years, all because there are a few extremists who are being egged on by an unelected billionaire, and are refusing to do their duty. and speaker johnson is allowing them to push us to the brink. we have seen repeatedly now that these shutdowns hurt the country. they hurt our states, they hurt our constituents. the 2019 shutdown cost the american economy more than $10 billion, and this shutdown, if it occurs, is likely to cost more than $2 billion a week. so, again, let me repeat that. because for an incoming administration that claims to be focused on fiscal responsibility, that claims to be looking for efficiencies in government, what elon musk, the head of this commission that's supposed to look for efficiencies, what he's doing is going to cost our country $2

billion each week. that doesn't sound like fiscal responsibility to me. and in new hampshire, the effect of these shutdowns is felt across the state. if government shuts down, small businesses across new hampshire may be unable to sign new contracts, start new projects. just last year, 845 companies in new hampshire received contracts from the departments of defense and homeland security, and during a government shutdown, these small businesses and their employees will be adversely affected. they won't be able to plan for the future. that would cause real uncertainty on the business owners and on their employees. now, the supplemental emergency disaster funding would have addressed a number of critical needs that we have in new hampshire. like many other states, new

hampshire has been hit by a number of disasters over the last few years. now, we've been more fortunate than some of our -- the states that our colleagues represent because we haven't been hit in the same way that the florida, the carolinas, virginia were by the hurricanes. but we still have very serious recovery needs. the disaster funding that's been paired with the continuing resolution would address some of new hampshire's recovery needs, and as i mentioned earlier, this unnecessary crisis would block disaster relief from getting to the farmers in new hampshire and across the country who urgently need it. for example, in new hampshire, our farmers experienced extreme losses in 2023 due to natural disasters from frost and flooding. i've heard from many apple growers from our stone crops, apples, peaches, that some of

those farmers lost from 80% to 100% of their crops in 2023, and while it doesn't seem like a lot of money and not huge farms like we have in some parts of the country, for those farmers who are affected, it is their livelihood. and, unlike large single-crop farms in many other states, our small fruit and vegetable growers in new hampshire typically don't have access to other federal agricultural support programs. more than 90% of our farmers in new hampshire don't have crop insurance because crop insurance doesn't work for our farms. that's why this emergency disaster relief is just so critical. another example for us in new hampshire is our coast guard station in new castle. it was severely damaged during january's storms. the seawall was breached in a number of places and the

boathouse was wrenched from its mooring. as a result, the station is in need of significant repairs. the bill that's been negotiated and agreed to by republicans and democrats, the bill that the house now is saying they're not going to support, it would provide over $210 million to repair coast guard facilities around the country, including the new castle station in new hampshire. now, unless these supplemental funds are appropriated, the station in new hampshire will be more susceptible to future storm damage, it will need more extensive and expensive repairs in the future -- again, that doesn't sound like government efficiency to me; sounds like somebody is not paying attention. and like almost every other state in the country, new hampshire has been hit by a number of storms that have led to presidential disaster declarations. communities in our state are still rebuilding, so the $29

billion that's in the disaster relief fund are important for new hampshire to ensure that this fund is solvent when cities, counties, and towns submit reimbursements. the package that is on hold in the house also includes funding to address an emergency outbreak of spruce bug worm that threatens forests in maine and new hampshire. new hampshire is the second most heavily forested state in the country, after maine. we know that this outbreak is coming from canada. it's affecting our states, and it could have a major impact on our timber industry, if we don't do something about it now. the funding in the bill would allow us to address this before it wipes out significant portions of our timber stand. and last year i met with a group

of housing stakeholders, homebuilders, relate at the, housing -- realtors, housing developers, tenant advocates, to hear how a shutdown would worsen new hampshire's existing housing crisis. we currently have a currental vacancy rate of .6%. we know that a healthy housing market usually has about a 5% vacancy rate. so at .6%, we desperately need more housing. a shutdown will slow progress on construction. it will risk hundreds of housing units that are under construction now at a time when we really urgently need them. and for those low-income households who depend on mortgages that are backed by the federal housing administration or the u.s. department of agency, they may miss out on buying their first homes because they won't be able to get a loan. now, we've also heard from nonprofit organizations in new

hampshire who have shared that 44% of adults that they serve are reporting food insecurity, even at what our current funding levels for women, infants, and children. the wic program -- women, infants and children -- helps feed more than 12,000 people in new hampshire, and if we don't act now, funding to continue to support thousands of women and newborns will be at risk. so, let me say it again -- this harm is being inflicted on women, children, and families, and it is avoidable. our colleagues in the house, the republican majority, could end this today. they could end it right now if they would pass the deal that they negotiated, that has been months in negotiations, that both democrats and republicans

in both the house and senate have agreed to. furthermore, in terms of the federal government, it employs more than two million americans in civilian activities it across the country. 80% of those federal workers are outside of washington, d.c. in new hampshire, there are about 5,000 federal workers, and a quarter of them are veterans. they're air traffic controllers, custom and border control agents, safety inspectors. we have more than a million uniformed military, including 1,100 in new hampshire who may be affected. they'll be forced to work in defense and protection of our nation without getting paid. it is shameful, and it is unacceptable. and during the last shutdown, federal employees had to visit food banks to help get meals when they missed paychecks. and there is no guarantee that

the employees of federal contractors will be able to get back pay, as we remember, the last time we had to pass specific legislation to ensure that those people who lost their pay were able to get reimbursed. now, i've also had the honor of serving as chair of the small business and entrepreneurship committee for the past year. small businesses are the lifeblood of new hampshire's economy. in fact, they account for more than 99% of all the businesses in our state. two-thirds of the jobs that are create, not just in new hampshire but across this country, come from small businesses. and yet the sba has been unable to give out disaster loans for more than two months now. that leaves more than 10,000 hurricane survivors with approved loans that they're not going to get the funding for unless we pass this disaster funding.

and this isn't a partisan issue. thousands of families and businesses in virginia, in north carolina, in florida, in georgia are waiting for these funds. they're in limbo, and here we are not even a week -- less than a week before christmas, and we're saying to all of those people who have been waiting for months, i'm sorry, we're not going to fund you because billionaire elon musk said, don't pass this legislation because it's too expensive. well, he needs to look at what the cost is of not passing that legislation. and should the federal government close, it is not hyperbole to say that we will be leaving our most vulnerable without proper care this christmas. i met with community leaders from new hampshire recently. they talked about what they do in their communities. we know that our community health centers provide daily care for uninsured patients for

those who can't afford expensive health insurance, who live workplace terrible diseases like diabetes and cancer. our community health centers are the cornerstone of our health care safety net, and they rely on federal funding to keep their doors open and provide lifesaving care to americans. about 70% of community health center funding is going to expire if we don't pass the spending package. should that funding disappear, health clinics across the country should be forced to closed and the communities they serve will suffer the consequences. the people who president-elect trump promised to protect are the people who are going to get hurt. if the shutdown drags on, inspections and enforcement that prevent air and water pollution will cease. that puts public health at risk especially in our most vulnerable communities. with a lapse in appropriations, the forest service has to stop issuing contracts, including for

timber sales, which in new hampshire, even for a short period of time can have ripple effects through our local economies because we have towns that depend on that timber economy. a shutdown also leaves forest ranger stations in new hampshire closed right as we're starting the winter recreation season. and a prolonged government shutdown will lead to delays for food assistance to meals on wheels, where in new hampshire we have more than 20,000 seniors who will be threatened by our currently experiencing hunger if they don't get meals on wheels. nationwide more than 1.5 million wheels are provided in states each year. so a shutdown needlessly risks health and well-being. and we know the other thing that's in the package that the house is objecting to is the extension of telehealth benefits for people who need it.

again, an effective, efficient way to provide health care and they're objecting to it. as chair of the senate appropriations subcommittee that funds the departments of commerce and justice as well as our science agencies, i'm also concerned that 84% of department of commerce employees, about 44,000, will be furloughed if we can't get a continuing resolution done to keep the government open. this includes national oceanic and atmospheric administration employees who protect life and property on the job. also we have 84% of department of justice staff who would be considered essential workers but would be forced to work without pay. in new hampshire, we have a federal prison in northern new hampshire that is very important. it's a medium security prison. and what we would be asking

those correction officers, those other employees of the prison is to work without pay, to take an iou until the government is funded again. so i think this is actually very simple. democrats and republicans negotiated in good faith. we agreed to keep the government open through a negotiated process. we agreed to provide disaster relief and to support critical needs for working families. we were ready to vote so we could keep the lights on here, so we could turn the christmas lights on at home for so many working people across this country. and now because the world's richest man, elon musk, doesn't understand what this bill actually does or how government works, we're facing a shutdown that is going to force americans to work without pay during the holidays, is going to leave communities in the lurch without the funding they need to rebuild

from the recent natural disasters. i urge speaker johnson to do the right thing. stick to the agreement he made just this week. let's bring this deal to the floor. let's get this done, and let's help the people across the country who need the support that we promised. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. van hollen: i thank you, mr. president. i was scheduled a couple of days ago to come here to the senate floor to talk about what measures the united states could be taking now to help relieve the suffering in sudan, and i plan to get to that topic. but since i planned to come talk about that, we have seen this disaster unfolding on capitol hill, where an agreement that had been reached in a bipartisan manner between democrats and

republicans, between the house and the senate to prevent a government shutdown and to support critical priorities around the country, how that bipartisan agreement got blown up because of a tweet from elon musk, the richest man in the world. and we don't know if he's just decided that he is going to be sort of king maker on capitol hill. all i do know is that was shortly followed by it tweets from the president-elect and other members of the trump family. who's leading who here, we don't know. all we know is that the end result is very bad for the american people. p because federal employees provide all sorts of vital services from air traffic controllers to nurses and doctors and veterans, hospitals, to the people who look out for

the safety of our food. some of them will be prevented from coming to work. others will be asked to go to work without their salary during that period of time. all of that will disrupt the country and all of that was avoidable. in fact, if the speaker of the house had just stuck to the agreement that he had reached over a period of weeks, we would not be in this situation, heading toward a government shutdown with last-minute demands made by tweet. in my state of maryland, we had a provision to deal with the disaster of the collapse of the key bridge in baltimore city. we all know the story there. a big ship hit the pylon, brought down the bridge.

we lost a number of souls who had been working on that bridge. we worked to get the debris out of the bottom of the river so that we could reopen the port, but the next step is to replace the key bridge. and just as the country came together to support the people in minnesota after the collapse of the minneapolis bridge the maryland delegation is asking the same much our colleagues. we were heartened by the fact that republicans and democrats did come together in the spirit of all for one and one for all, to help maryland just as we're helping other states -- red states, blue states, purple states. they are red, white, and blue states and we're helping people in all those states in their hour of hurt after disasters hit their states. i heard our colleague from north carolina, senator tillis, who has worked very hard to get

relief for the people of north carolina, talking about how he doesn't plan to support any continuing resolution that doesn't include relief for the people of north carolina. p and that is the sentiment we should all share not only because it's the right thing to do but because we recognized it's the rile thing to do when -- right thing to do when we negotiated that bipartisan agreement. this wake-up call should be a moment for everybody as we look to the next four years, because this republic will be on very shaky grounds if one or two tweets can throw the whole place into disarray and lead us to a government shutdown. i also point out the fact that the president-elect asked for an early increase in the nation's debt ceiling sent a very clear signal as to what his priority

is. his priority is to cut taxes for very rich people and very big corpo corporations, and to make that easier, they want to raise the debt ceiling now rather than take responsibility for it themselves down the road. this is a preview of what the priorities of the coming administration are and the lengths they are prepared to go to bring this place to a halt to achieve their goals. and, by the way, i'm sure that the richest guy in the world will just get even richer with those tax cuts that would be coming down the line. so i really urge our republican colleagues in the house to keep their word, stick with the agreement that we reached.

it's a compromise agreement. it has things in it that i would not have put in it if i were to draft this myself. and it leaves things out that i'd like to see included. that's the nature of compromise in divided government, which we have right now. so, mr. president, i really hope that smarter, cooler heads will prevail, and not when they get a tweet that says jump. say how high should i jump. but to really think about whether that's the way to govern in the years ahead. so, mr. president, now i do want to turn to the matter that i had planned to talk about before this latest disruption, and that is the p terrible, ongoing l killings, starvation and

humanitarian disaster in sudan. two weeks ago i came to this senate floor to discuss this same issue and to explain why i had filed what's known as a joint resolution of disapproval, a jrd, to block the biden administration's request to send offensive weapons, including advanced rockets and missiles worth $1.2 billion, to the united arab emirates. i was joined in filing a joint resolution of disapproval by my house colleague, congresswoman sarah jacobs. she filed that on the house side. when i introduced that joint resolution of disapproval, it was based on credible reports and investigations, including by the united nations, that found that the uuae has been

transferring arms to the rapid support forces in sudan further fueling this terrible conflict that has already claimed thousands and thousands of lives and creating one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. and it's my view that the united states should use all of our leverage to help bring peace and stability to the people of sudan. it's the right thing to do from a humanitarian point of view. it's also in america's interest to stop the fighting. and certainly the united states should not be rewarding any country, any country that is fueling the conflict. that's why congresswoman jacobs and i filed that jrd, because we want to use our influence to prevent the united arab emirates from sending weapons to the murderous rsf. after we filed the joint

resolution of disapproval, we wrote a letter to president biden dated december 2, 2024, outlining our goals, and again strefg the fact -- stressing the fact that the objective was not to end arms transfers forever to the uae. the objective was to use our leverage to get the uae to stop sending weapons to the rsf, which the united states has charged with war crimes and ethnic cleansing in sudan. so i'm here on the floor two weeks later to say that yesterday we received a letter from the biden administration, specifically from the white house coordinator for the middle east and north africa, brett mcgirk, stating, and i'm going to quote here from the letter, stating that the uae has

informed the administration that it is not now transferring any weapons to the rsf and will not do so going forward. the letter goes on to say the administration will work with relevant departments and agencies to monitor for indicators of the credibility and reliability of these assurances provided by the uae, and by january 17, i commit to providing you with the executive branch's up-to-date assessment in that regard. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to put this letter in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. van hollen: because we've achieved our objective, which is to get the uae to provide those assurances to the biden administration and to get the

biden administration to assure us that they will monitor compliance with those assurances, we will not be insisting on a vote on the jrd at this time which is our right because it's a privilege motion that can be brought up at any time. but i want to thank the biden administration, i want to thank the white house and the national security council for working with us to achieve what i know are our mutual objectives, which is to prevent the rsd from getting arms from any party. if you look at what's happening there, you will find the situation getting worse and worse. since the brutal conflict in sudan began between the sudanese armed forces and the rapid

support armed forces, a staggering 8 million people have been displaced. more than half the population, that's 25 million people face acute food insecurity. and while the total casualty numbers have been difficult to determine, a study from the london school of hygiene estimates that more than 60,000 people have died in the cartoom reasoningon alone. in a hearing on the senate foreign relations committee, the u.s. special envoy to sudan suggested that the total death toll could be as high as 1 # 50,000 people. both the rsf and the saf has worsened this crisis with both parties credibly accused of using starvation as a weapon of war, by intentionally blocking

humanitarian aid from reaching those most in need. the united states has determined that the rsf and saf have committed war crimes. the state department has also concluded that the rapt support forces have committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. i want to remind my colleagues that this organization, the rapid support forces, traces its roots to the militias and is led by a man known as hemeti, who along with others, participated in the genocide in dar forin the -- dar -- in the early 2000's. we should not be sending any arms to any country that is aiding and abetting their actions in sudan. and, yet, that's what credible

reports have shown. in january a u.n. panel of experts documented credible allegations that the uae was violating the arms embargo first established in 2005 to stop the genocide in darfur. it has -- there was an investigation by "the new york times" which showed that weapons were smuggled to the usf under the guise of humanitarian aid. that's why it is important that we act. the united states is trying to reach an end to the conflict. we should not send any weapons to any contract that fuels that conflict. i appreciate the administration's support and working with us and to create an accountability mechanism to

monitor its compliance with those commitments. i want to thank my colleagues, senator cardin, my colleague from maryland, senator schumer, the leader, and their teams for working with us and the administration to get those assurance from the uae and to create that accountability structure to monitor compliance with those assurances. and while i will not be seeking a vote on the jrd today, if in january the administration determines that the uae has not been compliant with those promises, commitments and assurances, then, of course, we retain the right to refile the joint resolution of disapproval in the new congress to block arms sales from the united states to the uae, that

$1.3 billion sale. as president biden said in september of this year, and i quote, the united states will not abandon our commitment to the people of sudan who deserve freedom, peace, and justice. we call on all parties to this conflict to end the violence and refrain from fueling it for the future of sudan and for all the sudanese people, unquote. and that is why our message has been that any country that is supplying any actor in this brutal civil war must stop doing so. that is why congresswoman jacobs and i filed the joint resolution of disapproval against the proposed arms sale to the uae because they have, based on credible allegations, been sending weapons to the murderous rsf, that's why we will not seek a vote now on that jrd because

the biden administration received received those ashurpss -- assurances i just read on the senate floor from the african -- uae and will monitor them. let's hope this puts an end to the chapter of the uae sending weapons to this murderous organization where so many were responsible for genocide in darfur and are committing war crimes and crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. we should do everything in our power as a country to end that suffering, and that is why we took the measure we did, and that's why i'm grateful that the administration worked with us to reach this point and it's why we will continue to monitor the situation to make sure that those armed shipments do not happen in the future. i thank you, mr. president, and i yield the floor.

mr. welch: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. welch: i rise today to speak about the concern everyone in this chamber has about the jeopardy of disaster assistance to the communities that so desperately need it. we had an agreement. we had an agreement that was reached between house republicans and democrats and bipartisan agreement here in the senate, and it was to -- it was to provide desperately needed disaster relief to citizens in the eyes of storms in vermont, in north carolina, in iowa, in texas, $100 million. what that meant in vermont was that communities that had put money out to fix cull verts --

cullverts to repair bridges and realign roads and expecting money from fema for disaster assistance are on hold. will they get it? we don't know at this moment. farms, where farmers lost crops in july of 2023 and we had another flood in july of 2024, where couples were making existential decisions about whether they could keep farming. we need them to keep farming and we need it for vermont and to show respect to our farmers and we need it. this will be a huge impact on vermont, our appropriate tapes who suffer -- tax payers will be pounded if that relief does not get back to those communities where they fronted the voen for the bridge repair, road repair. in our small businesses that

have been hammered as well and awaiting an answer to see if they get relief and assistance from that program. homeowners who have been told they could get money for a buyout because their home was destroyed in a flood. what a horrible thing for folks to go through. a lot of that happened in july of 2023, but to have to go through the uncertainty and bureaucratic delays that has been rampant in fema, we had this moment where $100 billion was going to be available to help in vermont and other states where this relief is necessary and it's not right that after we have this agreement, negotiated on a bipartisan basis is pulled out from underneath us. by the way, one of the greet experiences i've had in the united states senate was working with colleagues, my republican colleagues like tom tillis and

like ted budd from north carolina whose citizens suffered an enormous loss from what happened in hurricane helene. wiped out restaurants in asheville who needed help, whether we represented folks in a red state or blue state, whether the constituents in need voted for trump or harris, it didn't matter, our obligation was to help them. and that is a basic responsibility that this congress has when our citizens, through no fault of their own suffer enormous economic loss as a result of a natural weather event. we had this agreement. what happened? literally we had this agreement that speaker johnson signed off on, the speaker here signed off

on it. mr. musk didn't like it and it blew this up. how is it that someone can destroy what the american people need. $227 million contribution of a campaign gets you a seat at the table, maybe a head seat at the table. and that flat out is wrong. the american people, those folks who suffered in asheville, north carolina, in lyndonville, vermont, they are entitled to immediate action. so we don't know what the next few hours are going to be, but what i know is that i will not abandon vermonters, i will not abandon americans who are counting on this disaster relief. i am going to hang in there to make certain i do every single thing i can to help the vermonters and north carolinians and the folks in iowa and texas

and louisiana who have been in the path of these terrible storms. mr. president, i yield back.

ms. stabenow: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: thank you, mr. president. in a few moments i'll be asking unanimous consent on a really special person to be the federal cochair of the great lakes authority. but let me speak a little bit first about him. matthew kaplan has been nominated to serve as the federal cochair of the great lakes authority, and he really is an excellent choice for cochair. i'm so pleased that his nomination was reported out of the epw committee by voice vote in november. matthew and i have a connection through his work for congresswoman marcy captor who is my partner in creating the great lakes authority which we

successfully created back in 2022. i'm so proud that we secured the first batch of funding to be able to start the program earlier this year, and by combining federal money with state resources, the great lakes authority will serve as a new economic development agency for the great lakes region. and let me say, most regions of the country already have an economic development authority. the great lakes are one of just a couple that have not had over the years. and so this fills that gap. and i'm pleased that i was originally working with this on -- with senator robb portman. this important partnership will give state and local governments the tools they need to promote

economic development and job creation, restore and protect our great lakes, ensure the region continues to lead on manufacturing, and so much more. matt is a terrific nominee to lead the new authority. he was a key advisor to congresswoman kaptur and her leadership of the energy and water appropriations subcommittee. the bipartisan and bicameral great lakes task force, and in drafting the legislation to create the great lakes authority. this experience will undoubtedly help him hit the ground running in his role as federal cochair. he is also eager to be a change maker on behalf of the region. i urge the senate to advance his nomination by unanimous consent so that matthew can get to work. and with that, mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that

as if in executive session, the senate consider the following nomination, calendar 834, matthew kaplan to be federal cochair of the great lakes authority, that the senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate, that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the president be immediately notified of the senate's actions. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. the senator from utah. mr. lee: mr. president, reserving the right to object. i appreciate the passion and sincerity and hard work of my friend and colleague, the distinguished senator from michigan. who is a dear friend and whose presence i will miss here. we have a situation in which we've got a new administration

coming on board. and president-elect trump has asked that we hold off on confirming additional presidential nominees until he gets into office. it's an understandable request, a request that particularly in these circumstances i agree with. and on that basis i object. thank you. the presiding officer: the objection is heard.

let you know as soon as i found out this information.

there are diplomatic and operational security considerations often times with our deployments and some of those numbers and certainly the case here. again, given that there is significant interest in syria, given what we have brief seriously previously wanted to make sure we have the most up-to-date information. i will also highlight again as it was explained to me, these forces which augment the isis commission where they are before the fall of the assad regime. i would be happy to answer any questions on that when we get to the q&a. >> i want to address upfront the government shutdown and the implication should a shutdown occur. as we are a planning organization, the department has conducted operations for potential shutdown and our leaders have updated our contingency plans.

leaders are monitoring the situation closely and remain committed to doing everything possible to mitigate the significant impacts for lapse in funding. on the department. in the event of a lapse in funding and a shutdown of the government the department of defense will continue to carry out. defending our nation. military personnel enacted beauty for component personnel on federal active duty. continuing to report for duty. missions worldwide to defend our nation and protect our national security interest. however it is important to note that military personnel would not be paid until new funds are appropriated by congress. additionally, civilian personnel including military technicians who are not necessary to carry out her support activities would be furloughed with a lapse in appropriations. objectively speaking, a lapse in

funding will cause serious disruption across the defense department and is still avoidable. therefore, dod urges congress to raise a bipartisan agreement on fiscal year 2025 appropriations and avoid a cr or worse government shutdown. shifting gears yesterday the department to meditate congress and published its annual report on the military security developments involving the people's republic of china. this congressionally mandated work charts the current course of the prc national economic and military strategy. it also highlights insights into the people's liberation's and army strategy current capabilities and activities and its future modernization goals. the cmp are illustrates why the 2022 national defense strategy identified and is increasingly able military is a department stop pacing challenge. please visit defense.gov for more information on the report. keeping in the indo pacific region that pay comp commander

will preside over the ceremony or general paul will turn over command of united nations command rok u.s. combined forces command and u.s. forces korea to general xavier brunson who most recently was a commanding general of first core. on behalf of secretary austin and the entire department of defense, we want to extend our thanks to the general for his leadership in part lifetime of service to our nation and we salute the general as he takes command. as you've heard us say our commitments to the ur -- u.s. alliance remains ironclad. separately as is tradition, today and tomorrow secretary austin and deputy secretary hicks will reach out to and speak to service members representing each branch of the armed forces to wish them happy holidays and to thank them and their families for their service , sacrifice and commitment to our nation. earlier today, secretary austin spoke with marines to test 46,122nd marine brigade deployed in naval support activity in

naples italy supporting u.s. six fleet in the command area of responsibility. the secretary also spoke with guardians from the 53rd space operation detachment station and germany to maintain military satellite communications. i would like to note that secretary austen's call with these guardians comes just one day before the u.s. base course will celebrate its fifth anniversary. as you know the us-based force was established on december 20, 2019 with the recognition that space is a national security imperative. it is a critical domain not only for u.s. military operations but for the safety, security and prosperity of all americans and people around the world. the air force is an integral part of today's joint for serving across the globe operating in defending the critical space systems that are nation and world rely upon. on behalf of the secretary and the entire dod, happy birthday to the us-based force. continuing the holiday spirit,

deputy secretary hicks will conduct calls tomorrow with airmen from the fighter generation squadron at consultant airspace in saudi arabia. soldiers from the second security force assistants were great and sailors aboard the uss gettysburg deployed to the area. all of these holiday calls will be made available on the dod website. finally, in honor of our cameraman in the back of the room there, it is christmas time the north american aerospace defense command or norad which is test with monitoring or defending the airspace with u.s. and canada took a special edition this time each year. december 24 norad will track the journey of the very special aviator santa as he makes his way around the globe. it is probably him and the lights and sky. please note that this is an authorized object in the sky and not an unmanned aerial vehicle.

please check twice. we kindly ask that those observing santa's sleigh refrain from reporting him to the faa or pi. starting at 0600 eastern standard time. kids, family and santa fans worldwide contractors journey by calling 1877 hi norad or (877)446-6723 to speak with the unofficial santa tracker. you can also follow santa's journey online throughout the day at norad santa.org. we wish everyone a merry christmas to us holidays and a happy new year and without i am happy to take your question. >> thank you. >> can you explain a little more fully, first of all, why we had not heard this number before. secondly, who are these forces? special operation forces? an effort or part of an effort to find ties.

i guess i'm a little confused. you said this was before the fall. this is not in response to unrest and disruptions. this is in response then to what >> a couple of things. as i highlighted for deployment as you know we have these for a while. it is not as common as units come in and out. the replacement transfer of authorities, those kinds of things, there will often times be above. so the total number forces officially deployed to syria is 900. so, that in and of itself in terms of the additional numbers, as you know, that can fluctuate. obviously, given the current actuation in syria, just very recently, i was made aware of the fact that, hey, maybe there

are more forces than just a small number or what would normally be considered, you know , around the 900 range. we ask look into it. we got those numbers today. significantly higher than 900 which is, again, why we wanted to let you know. now, those forces, what they have been doing is all focused on the defeat isis mission and again, that core 900, approximately 900, those will be your longer-term employers. nine-12 months as i understand it versus temporary forces which will rotate in on a 30-90 day basis as it has been explained to me that are there to meet any type of emerging mission requirements associated with the defeat isis mission. predominantly army forces and, i will not be able to provide a breakdown of conventional versus special operation forces, but, all of those focused on the defeat isis mission.

again, as i understand it, a certain element of this also goes into diplomatic and operational security concerns as it relates to the region, but, again, given the difference in the number that we have been providing, have made the decision. i made the decision to go ahead and give you that number. >> just so i am clear, are you suggesting this 1100 -- >> no, i am not. traditionally as we track deployments, approximately 900, sometimes that will fluctuate up to 1200, 1300 as unit go in and out. obviously, these numbers, the additional numbers, again, as i understand it are considered temporary forces that are there to support the d isis mission to support the forces deployed there longer-term. to include, you know, i am sure

certain element would be that. a lot of those forces have already been operating there coming in and out and doing those kinds of things. >> how long ago this happened? >> i don't have a specific date, but my understanding is it has been for a while. clearly for the fall of the assad regime. >> what is a wild? >> i don't have a number to provide. >> double the number of troops we have been told for quite some time. are we talking about this has been going on for months, four years? is it something that just happened this summer? we need a timeframe is fair. >> fair to say at a minimum months. i will go back and look. it is, yeah, it's been going on for a while. >> what assurances can you give to the kurdish sdf right now that the u.s. is planning to pull out or leave? >> right now we have no, you

know, there are no plans to cease the defeat isis mission. again, isis continues to maintain or depose a significant threat. so, right now, no plans that i am aware of to stop that mission >> about 500 sdf have their post in terms of guarding the isis camps. our u.s. forces going to take their places? >> well, our focus is, again, working with the sdf, jennifer, i don't have anything for you in terms of relocation within syria thanks. sir. >> thank you. on ukraine. would it have been able to shut down aid specifically to ukraine the administration that has put on the safety for how you prefer something similar as well. >> let me take that question for

you to get an accurate answer for you. >> or in ukraine, too. your defense official told us earlier this week that likely they will not be able to use the 5.6 billion for ukraine by the end of this administration, however, officials tell doa that the pentagon will be able to do this. can you give doordash can you give us more clarity on that? >> what i would say is, you know , we are committed to spending as much of that is we can to get security assistance to ukraine as quickly. we will keep you updated on that front. natasha. >> are you all reviewing other deployment numbers to make sure that they are up-to-date and accurate? for example, the number of troops in iraq change? >> i will take that question and come back to you. okay. yes, ma'am. >> thank you. yesterday took us defense

officials authorized disarms in the form proprietors preparations continue. do you have any current assessment of the foreign fighters numbers? >> i do not have that to provide from here. thank you. >> thank you, general. lebanon. on yemen, prime minister netanyahu has warned today that they will pay a heavy price. do you have an assessment on may be the hostess could be the next israeli target after hezbollah and lebanon and hamas? >> first of all, i will not speak for israel in terms of its

operations. they certainly have a right to defend themselves. they have launched missiles and drones toward israel and, so, they should not be surprised if israel exercises its inherent right of self-defense. for any potential future operations, i refer you to israel. >> supporting a large scale operation by israel like an lebanon? >> i will not get into hypotheticals respectfully. >> conducting almost daily control of civilian infrastructure, houses and villages on the borders and the government considers this a clear violation of the cease-fire agreement. how do you assess the action by israel? do you have concerns that these actions might put agreement at

risk? >> what i would say is right now it is our assessment that the cease-fire does continue to hold obviously, we believe in everyone's interest to ensure that the cease-fire continues. we will continue to consult closely with partners in the region to include israel and lebanon towards that. let me go to the phone here real quick. jared, i will monitor. on here, too. [laughter] >> question on the d isis numbers. why announces now? >> i mean, i explained that. i learned the number today. as someone who is been standing up here telling you 900, i wanted to get you what we had on that. >> can you give us an update on the cease-fire between the sdf and the turkish forces west of the ukraine. do they have a role in enforcing or upholding that?

>> to my knowledge, we do not, jared. state department has been consulting of course with our turkish partners allies. my understanding, again, state department can go into much more details, that cease-fire is continuing to hold. it was extended. it continues to hold. you know, again, our forces in syria are focused on the defeat isis mission. obviously, we don't want to see fighting between sdf and turkish back forces in syria. security and stability are incredibly important, particularly at this fragile time right now in syria. again, we would encourage all parties to preserve that peace and stability and in support of the people of syria. okay. let me just go to the phone here real quick. make sure these people are not in the room.

>> thank you. regarding syria, do you think it felt an extra troops on a temporary basis? you also mentioned that if congress does not pass a spending bill, u.s. troops and civilians will not get paid over the holidays. this is not a great time to go out to go without a paycheck. there is never a good time. do u.s. troops and civilians have any recourse to protest that or can they bill congress directly for all of their expenses until congress passes a spending bill. >> thanks, jeff. for specifics, you know, again, just broadly speaking, as i understand it, as we have forces in syria conducting the defeat isis mission, there may be capabilities, augmentation that is required. i do not have that in front of

me. just getting this information today. but, again, as i understand it, all focused on the defeat isis mission. as for your second question, will u.s. troops get paid over the holidays if there's a government shutdown? what i would tell you is that much of that depends on the duration of a potential shutdown as i said at the top, military personnel on active duty, including reserve component personnel on federal active duty would continue to report for duty and carry out their assigned duties. without an appropriation or continuing resolution, our troops will miss their end of month paycheck in the holiday season. military reserve drilling after december 20 will not receive pay for those drills and federal civilians that are required to work during a shutdown will not be paid. civilian employees whose work is paid for from last appropriations will be furloughed for the duration of the lapse which appears to

coincide with the christmas and new year's holidays. let me come back to the room, mike. >> israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said his forces retaining their positions on the heights that they took to the assad government. the un secretary-general is criticizing the only government. does the u.s. have a conversation one way or another on how israel shall maintain the positions within the buffer zone ? >> i tell you, mike, our policy with respect to going on hikes has not changed. i don't have any comment on the announced in a people moving from inside israel to go on hikes. what we have heard is the deployment of the forces in and of that buffer zone is temporary we believe that it ought to be temporary in the 1974 disengagement agreement ought to be upheld. thank you. >> syria should not be

fragmented, the new syria, the new government, new country. the sdf said to count on isis. have a unified syria, do you have any plans at all to commit to disarming the sdf and disbanding them the new page yesterday saying no odd groups will be allowed in all of them have to be dismantled. do you have any lands at all? that will be a massive obstacle in a unified syria. >> so, i think, you know, that is a great question. i would refer you to the state department to talk about the longer-term u.s. diplomatic relations with the new government in syria. obviously a lot of effort and work going into what that could look like as it relates to the sdf and the department of defense right now our focus continues to be on the defeat

isis mission. preventing a resurgence of isis. certainly, with the understanding that all of this is in the context of the situation which you layout and in terms of a particular mission focus or change, i don't want to have anything to announce right now. thank you very much. tony. >> pda authority left to spend, or in a half-billion or so? >> what i'm tracking right now is total pda. 5.6 billion remaining usa i i 1.3 billion. >> on the 5.6, is it highly unlikely that you will be able to issue $5.6 billion of pda by january 20? >> again, as i highlighted earlier, we are going to continue to surge as much capability as we can. we will get ahead of that. i think you can anticipate that

we will have some additional pda announcements. i will not get into the timing of that. certainly recognizing the fact that there is urgent need right now in ukraine. we will remain committed to expending as much of that as we can. >> you don't know this answer, but i would like to get a written answer in terms of what will happen to the remaining dollars that are not put on pda. you will get a lot of criticism. $5 billion of authority by the end of the administration. could you get a written answer in terms of what will happen in terms of those dollars if it fact you do not advocate them? >> i will take your question. recognizing the difference between the authority and obligated funds. i will take your question. >> you mentioned on tuesday a drone system will be deployed to new jersey. the diverse systems being deployed and what is the rule of

engagement. .... as you have heard us say we are going to work closely with the fbi.mr ing officer: we are not. mr. warner: madam president, as i come to the floor today, as we all know, this is a time of incredible international instability. if you turn on the news, you're confronted with tragic scenes of violence in the west bank and

broader violence in syria, lebanon and the ongoing violence in ukraine with russia's illegal invasion. each of these crises deserve our attention. what many of us may not know, if you look ought across the world in terms of -- if you look all across the world in terms of what conflict are more people impacted daily, hunger, humanitarian, or literally acts of war, where are there more deaths than gaza, middle east, ukraine, and that is the war in sudan. this is a conflict between two warring parties, no good guys here, fueled by external actors in which violence has caused tens of millions to flee their homes. and it's left more than half of sudan's 50 million population

literally on the brink of starvation. the international rescue committee recently affirmed that this is the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded. think about that. greater than darfur, greater than we are the world and the starvation in ethiopia, this is the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded. yet, for the most part, the sudanese people feel forgotten by the world. i rise today because this conflict must not be ignored and because america must lead, not back away, in times like these when suffering and terror are at their peak. at the heart of this crisis is the ongoing violence between the sudanese armed forces and the rapid support force, rsf, fighting for control over this

country. it is estimated that the fighting and resulting flood crisis has killed upwards of more than 100,000 sudanese and left millions on the verge of hunger, this has been atrocities on the people of sudan. the state department accused members of saf and rsf of war crime, while the members of the saf stand accused of crimes against humanity. large scale human rights and international humanitarian law violations by both sides and also in particular rsf horrific alleged sexual crimes, including widespread gender based, abduction and recruitment of

abuse of children in hospitals. these atrocities over nearly two years of conflict have left the sudanese population, more than 50 million in total, over 25 million of those in desperate need of food assistance. health and sanitation conditions have contributed to spiraling outbreaks of cholera, malaria and other diseases. our ambassador to the united nations said in recent months that this conflict and resulting conditions placed on millions of sudanese, quote, are on the verge of generational famine. due to these conditions more than 15 million sudanese have been forced to flee their homes with large numbers actually seeking refuge in neighboring countries which again risk are broader destabilization. very poor, south sudan, if you're fleeing to south sudan or

chad or ethiopia because sudan is in such challenging state, that could lead to destabilization. and as much as we cite these statistics, the truth is we don't really know because this civil war for the most part has secluded all outside media. what i have learned over the last year and there are other members of this body who have spoken on this issue, the one thing clear to me in is a catastrophe. the sudanese people need humanitarian aid and aide workers, humanitarian actors and local sudanese volunteers need safe access to respond. but did hes spied -- despite public promises, there have been barriers to deny, delay and

other wise hinder humanitarian aid from reaching those displaced civilians and even at times targeting and literally killing aide workers. as they mark the human tragedies of this conflict, we must also recognize the conflict's political tragedy. the outbreak of this violence a couple of years ago just came after the historic pro-democracy protest that swept parts of sudan in 2019 when literally hundreds of organizations came to call for an end and actually got rid of then-president omar abasheer's government. that government latviaed since 19 -- lasted since 1989, 30 years, and it had a record of trampling on human rights. what happened was these groups

can came together with a promise of a democracy government. yet, both sides, after a year or so of some back and forth, ins instead started this civil war that rather than bring democratic reform, as, again, as unprecedented levels of violence, brutality and deprivation. now, the biden administration has helped. they are currently the largest donor of humanitarian aid. and just today -- just today added $200 million more to that humanitarian aid. the biden administration, again, through the special envoy for sudan, tom perrielo, has leveraged sanctions to stop actors fuelling the conflict. that has increased humanitarian aid into the country and has

particularly provided critical assistance to local responders, including the sudanese emergency response workers, which are community members in sudan at oftentimes at risk of their own lives have been truly incredible on the ground. they were actually nominated for the nobel peace prize. yet, despite this aid, the violence continues to escalate, not de-escalate. starvation, disease, and death are increasing, not decreasing. so we can't just look at the current conditions and say anything other than the following that we, and frankly, the world have come up short on this conflict. the vacuum created by the lack of a coordinated international response has led to foreign governments and foreign entities, frankly, backing proxies on both sides.

russia, always willing to spend and spread mischief is fueling parts of warring factions on both sides. the uae, saudi arabia, egypt, in many ways our allies, they have supported humanitarian aid, but at the same time, they've also created a proxy battle with uae supporting the rsf and oftentimes saudi arabia and egypt supporting saf which really needs to be called out. foreign business entities are profiting literally billions and billions of dollars from this conflict. this week i sent a heard to president biden, along with senator risch, and other bipartisan colleagues, urging the administration to take additional steps to ensure that humanitarian aid continues to

flow and that the actual external parties who are fueling the conflict be held accountable, including in particular the administration to sanction business entities profiting from the illegal and illicit smuggling of sudanese gold. many of us remember the con nikts in central -- conflict in central africa years ago from blood diamonds. in many ways the size and scale and profit coming from mining, extraction and then smuggling of sudanese gold dwarfs those other activities. sudan is one of africa's largest gold producers and has a gold industry literally worth billions of dollars. and while both saf and rsf control some of the minds, the rsf controls the vast majority,

and over the past decade, its leadership has frankly funded a lot of itself by taking that goal and illegally smuggling it to then raise money for arms, for propaganda, and to fund their efforts. the united states department of treasury has identified gold operations as a vital source of revenue for the rsf. this has been documented by the united nations that this -- these revenues go directly into fueling this conflict. and while the true scale of this whole illicit gold network is obscured, the truth is, most of this gold is ending up in companies in the uae. reports that further link not only this gold going to the uae, but also the notorious russia wagner group has been using

these funds to support this group for not only other proxy wars but also to help russia in ukraine. there have been recent steps to desi desi designate in the uae. we must stop all of the revenue that's going to funding, again, the conflict where more people are displaced and die every day than gaza and ukraine combined. through tools like the global magnitsky act already in the backs, the administration can and must hold to account not only the warring parties but also these external actors who are aiding and abetting this conflict. and we must stop these foreign entities, some who are our allies, from harming these

warring parties -- harming these warring parties. there are detailed and well reported allegations from news organizations and from our intelligence community about foreign weapons and other support into the hands of both rsf and saf. media reports 0 report -- reports to alleged involvement from saudi arabia, uae, egypt into this region. while there are decades-old arms embargoes that impacted the darfur region in sudan, this new conflict is at a new scale and takes in wide swaths of the country that weren't in conflict in darfur. it's time for the united states, along side its allies and partners, to urge the u.n. security council to expand the existing darfur embargo across all of sudan. we must make clear to all countries around the world that

any foreign government or entity that is providing support for either side of this civil war that allows it to continue to drag on, have this massive, worst humanitarian crisis ever, those entities must be held accountable. and beyond foreign actors, stopping support to warring parties, it's incumbent on all of these countries, alling of these -- all of these countries, many of we have very close relationships, to work towards a cease-fire and a civilian government in sue dan. also more action can be done here at home. last spring a colleague, senator kaine and i called on the biden administration to issue a new, temporary protective status, which we call tps for certain sudanese individuals living in the u.s. who are unable to return to their country due to this conflict. i was pleased that in august of

last year, the administration took that step allowing those individuals not to go back to this worse conflict in the world. the problem is that designation runs out next spring. and i call on the administration to extend that designation before they leave office. one of the things we're proud in virginia is that we are home to a large sudanese group. i'm lucky to have part of that, proud to have them work on my staff, one of my rising legislative assistant stars. i have heard from those members of that community on a regular basis that we've got to do more. in fact the sudanese people didn't ask for this war. they actually threw out a dictator saying we ought to bring a democracy. the rest of the world focused a

little attention but when it got messy, they turned away. we need a sudan that reflect, the young people and civil society groups brought in 2019 and not have that promise sniffed out. we find ourselves about a month away from a new administration in washington. now, i've worked and pledged to work with the incoming trump administration. where i can. i make the appeal right now that sudan should be one of those areas. we've got to make sure that we show american leadership in this crisis. the truth is if we could actually resolve this major conflict in africa where we show that we care about africans killing africans supported by outside forces that we call our allies in certain ways, we could do remarkable things in terms of restoring america's image as a protector of democracy and the aspirations of people all over

the world. we've got to also make sure that all of the international partners continue to work to bring humanitarian assistance and put their pressure as well on the funders and suppliers of the arms that go into this conflict. there are more things the administration can do. the unfortunate truth is this probably won't be resolved by january 20. one of the things that was in the ndaa that i know the president will sign will be a more permanent status for the special envoy on sudan. it's my hope that the trump administration will choose someone of similar caliber to continue this critically important role. again, i want to thank friends like the incoming chairman of the foreign relations committee jim risch. this is a bipartisan issue. we can't let it -- we can't

forget that when we turn on these images and we see gaza, ukraine, lebanon, and syria, that there's something actually worse happening in africa that we could help bring a conclusion to. i know we can do more. i pray we will do more. and with that, madam president, i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: will the senator hold his suggestion. mr. warner: yes, i will. i will not note the absence of a quorum.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. ms. rosen: thank you, madam president. i rise today to talk about a subject you know a lot about as we share serving the great state of nevada. i'm here to talk about public land management in nevada. and the challenges that my state, our state is facing as our communities continue to grow. some in this chamber may be unaware but my state of nevada is unique. we have the highest percentage of land owned by the federal government. 85% of our state is made up of federal land. let me repeat that. 85%. this means nevada has to rely on federal legislation to do things like making land available to provide more affordable housing, more schools, more parks, more chumps, more fire station,

police departments in every single county in nevada. so think about that. we need to pass bills here in congress, in washington and have the president signed them into law to do local things that most other states can just have their local governments do. and that's why in washo county, those types of everyday action, well, they just haven't been taken in years. and we're starting to feel t. over the last few decades, nevada has brought in new industries and created good-paying jobs in and around washo county, from reno, sparks we're creating jobs in technology, critical minerals, battery recycling and so much more. and this is leading to an economic and population boom that frankly is helping our residents prosper but is also placing a great strain on things like the supply of housing.

but again because 85% of nevada is made up of public lands, washo county relies on resource management plans to grow our community. . sad to say this but the current plan on the books -- and you know this, madam president -- they're more than 20 years old. even as the population of the county has grown more than twice the rate of the overall u.s. population in the last decade, we're using current plans over 20 years old. as our state grows and more people move in, it's critical that we take steps to manage responsible growth and development of our local communities so we protect our beautiful public lands, we support our tribes and economic development alike. without new federal legislation, washoe county is stuck. they're just stuck. it can't grow. can't accommodate its increasing population, and it can't protect the spaces that people recreate

or come to visit in our beautiful state. and for the last few years, i've been working closely with a diverse range of local stakeholders from conservation and outdoor recreation groups to local governments and tribal leadership to draft a proposal that has the best balance. you know, we released a working draft and took public input from nevadans and developed the public land management act or the washoe county lands bill. i'm going to tell you a little bit about the bill. my bill is balanced. it's thoughtful. it has a thoughtful approach that i've worked on for more than four years. to do a few things. well, we've got to allow for new economic development opportunities. we have to make more land available for affordable housing. this is at the top of everyone's list. we want to protect nearly one

million acres of land for recreation in our gorgeous state. we want to convey parcels to local entities for public purposes, like schools and water treatment facilities. and we want to place some of our lands into trusts for three different tribes in northern nevada. this bill has broad local support from republicans and democrats alike in nevada. i introduced the final version of this bill nearly one year ago. it's gone through a committee hearing. it's been marked up. and it's been passed out of committee. my team and i have spent years discussing this legislation with relevant committees and for months, literally for months we've been working to include this bill in a public lands package. we've consistently reached out to senators and staffs on both sides of the aisle to get the bill passed, a bill very specific to nevada for the benefit of nevadans.

and we have an open door for any recommended changes to get this critical legislation across the finish line. and yet we still haven't been able to get a vote here in the senate. and one thing i want to tell you for sure, madam president, is i am not going to allow typical washington gridlock like we've seen here to block this bill that my constituents, our constituents, are relying on for more affordable housing, for stronger communities and protected lands. so today i'm taking matters into my own hands. i stand here today asking for my colleagues' cooperation to support the state of nevada, to support our ability to grow and build our communities and protect and preserve the beauty of our great state and support the passage of my washoe county lands bill unanimous consent. so notwithstanding rule 22, i

ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 604, s. 3593, that the committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there an objection? a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, madam president. reserving the right to object. this bill does two things, as my friend and colleague from nevada mentioned. it would eliminate multiple use management from hundreds of thousands of acres of federal land. it would also grand authority for the secretary of interior to convey thousands of acres of federal land to local governments in nevada. other western states are trying to do this exact same thing. the former majority leader harry reid cut special deals in the past like this for nevada.

and i'm happy to work with my friend and colleague from nevada. congress should not enact another special deal for nevada when other western states are seeking similar legislation. therefore i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. ms. rosen: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. ms. rosen: i look forward to continuing to work with the senator from wyoming on improving this bill. but, madam president, for me today it is beyond disappointing that washington's business as usual approach is once again getting in the way of my bill passing. the legislation would not cost any additional taxpayer money, and it would not directly impact any state other than nevada, and it would allow washoe county to be able to serve its business community, tribal communities, and the people who live there. all it's going to do is protect our outdoor spaces. like i said, support local

tribal communities, expand economic development opportunities, including the much needed affordable housing desperately, desperately needed by so many. today's outcome is frustrating. i want to assure the people of nevada that my colleagues and my colleagues and i will continue to work on this issue and it is not settled. and the fight to get nevada lands, for us to be able to use in smart ways is not over. i will reintroduce this legislation next congress. and i will continue fighting until my washoe county lands bill is passed and nevadans are better able to responsibly build in and protect our state. i yield my time. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: madam president, notwithstanding rule 22, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills en bloc, cal identify 2160, h.r. 7938 received from the house and is at the desk.

the presiding officer: is there an objection to proceeding to the measures en bloc? without objection, the senate will proceed en bloc. mr. wyden: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment where applicable be agreed to, the bills as amended if amended be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table all en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: madam president, i'm very pleased that my legislation has just passed and i particularly want to ex -- express my thanks to my colleague and friend, my neighbor, senator barrasso, john tanner, jack, kristin who have been a big help in this effort. the legislation by my republican colleague from eastern oregon,

congressman benson ah is a companion to my bill, which would uphold promises to the federal government to farmers and tribes in the basin. it's the subject of one of the largest river restoration projects in history. as a result of this work, new habitat is being opened up to recover fish and wildlife and provide norflexibility for managing water deliveries for farmers in the basin of the promise made to agriculture communities and agreed to by stakeholders in the basin is that they would receive support for the work that must now be completed to avoid conflict. work like putting fish greens on water diversions. i commend the house for passing this legislation on suspension. and i'm really pleased that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle are going to allow us to make sure that we don't lose this critical and timely opportunity to finally live up to a promise made to these local communities nearly a decade ago. madam president, madam president, i'll close by this h i promised that i would

have an open-to-all town hall meetings in every county in my statement i just cleared town hall meeting number 1100. that means that 1100 times for 90 minutes we just said we're going to throw open the doors of government and listen to folks, make sure that i'm not giving any speeches or using any teleprompter or whatever. just letting people share their views. and it was there that i heard about this idea, this idea that is being advanced now on a bipartisan basis -- congressman bence, my colleague from eastern oregon, myself, urban and rural, democrats and republicans coming together to do something that makes a lot of sense. and i want to also, while i'm making these remarks, thank my senatorial colleague, senator merkley, who is a senior member of the appropriations committee who has been doing so much good work on the cha math over the --

klamath over the years. the passage tonight is a goodwin for rural oregon, long overdue, and, madam president, with that,

and for so long in the

republican leader's office. today have reached the end of the list. my one remaining task is to prepare our colleagues for the senate without sharing -- they tell the story of my chief of staff and you might start in 2010 when she assumed that title or in 2007 when she joined my team or perhaps back in 1999 when she showed up in the republican leader suite for the first time. if you want to make sense of the person i've been so fortunate to have at my right hand, the friend and counselor i have trusted so deeply for so long, it's worth starting at the beginning with the people who

showed who she is. she grew up in stony brook, new york. on the campus of a christian school where her father was a teacher and headmaster. and the house on campus where they raised sharon along with her brother mark and sister cheryl faith and learning were unshakable cornerstones. quite literally. the windows of sharon's bedroom looked out on one side of the chapel and on the other side to the classrooms. you hear about sharon's upbringing for the first time and everything you know about her start to make even more sense. my seniormost adviser is a woman of integrity, teacher who leads by example and rather than

reinvent the wheel i think the best way to sum up her distinguished service is through some of the lessons that her favorite teacher, her dad taught in the same way. lesson number one, do meaningful work for a long time and volunteers become lifelong friends. a long time ago and i won't tell quite how long, she began her meaningful work here in the senate. as a junior legislative aide to a freshman senator. the prospect of devoting her life to this institution not yet had crossed her mind. the senate was beginning to reel her in and work its will.

sharon would not have allowed herself to imagine that someday the senate's sharpest minds would bring their weightiest questions to her or that eventually an entire institution would come to lean on her voluminous legislative knowledge and her plumage or political analysis and her wise personal counsel. and if she had her deep humility would not have let it show. instead perhaps the sharpest and most capable staff the senate has ever seen chose to invest her time and talent in building teams and mentoring colleagues and making a serious principals look smarter than we deserved. she her time in public service

launching your most on the most visible stage while deflecting the praise. although sharon hasn't been able to dodge the lesions of colleagues past and present who stand in the trenches with her among the greatest honors of their careers. it's no mystery how her calendar fell so quickly for a vacation to celebrate weddings and birthdays and it's no surprise how readily she clears her schedule to be with friends and colleagues in moments of grief. our friend, our chief has done meaningful work for its own sake. she has got the admirers to prove it. i will turn to the second lesson

from mr. soderstrom. living as a servant and took every moment is an opportunity to practice, public service right in the name and the brand of gracious and selfless leadership that is become sheriff's calling card and the thoughtful courtesy which comes naturally to her, these are exceedingly rare. senator from california. mr. padilla: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on natural resources be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 509 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. is there an objection?

mr. barrasso: madam president, this bill is not the right choice. the database would lack approve say protections for sensitive business information. i'm committed to addressing permitting challenges. this bill is not the right answer, and, therefore, madam president, i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. 696. mr. padilla: madam president you i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule 22, the senate proceed to the consideration of senate resolution 936, submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 936, congratulating the los angeles galaxy for winning the 2024 major league soccer cup. the presiding officer: is there an objection to to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. padilla: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that

the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. padilla: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from california. mr. padilla: madam president, as we conclude the final week of the 118th congress and we -- [inaudible] -- truly historic biden-harris administration. we look back on the biggest accomplishments of this body. now or, serving on the senate -- now or, serving on the senate judiciary committee alongside my partners over the years, senators dianne feinstein, senator laphonza butler and as of last week senator adam schiff, i am proud to have played a role in the

confirmation of a nearly record number of president biden's federal judicial nominees. now today i want to ask for your support on the final two nominees that are awaiting confirmation by this body. so first let me introduce to you judge serena raquel murillo, president biden's nominee to serve on the u.s. district court for the central district of california. the proud daughter of a waitress and a mexican-american farmworker who went back to school to become a teacher, judge murillo was born in pamona, california. she earned her undergraduate degree from the university of california. after a year in private practice, judge murillo joining the district attorney's office in los angeles where she served as a prosecutor for the next 17

years. in the district attorney's office, she served as both a trial and appellate attorney, and throughout her time there, she tried 68 cases to verdict. now, since 2015, judge murillo has serve as a judge on the los angeles superior court and was even appointed justice pro tempore in the california court of appeal, second appellate district from 2018 to 2019. her deep experience across the whole spectrum of criminal and civil war and her reputation for thoughtfulness, fair-mindedness, courtesy, and hard work on the bench will make her a tremendous district attorney if she earns this body's support. and on her behalf and on behalf of the people of california, i ask for your aye vote for this nomination. now, this week we will also

consider the nomination of judge benjamin cheeks to serve on the u.s. district court for the southern district of california. judge cheeks was born in albany, georgia, and raised by a single mother who worked multiple jobs to provide for him and his siblings. recognizing that education was the key to a better future, he worked hard and earned a full scholarship to attend the university of miami, and he went on to earn his law degree from american university washington college of law. after law school, judge cheeks served as an assistant district attorney in manhattan for seven years. and then the light went off. he made his way to california. where served as an assistant u.s. attorney for the southern district of california. three years later he started his

own criminal defense practice, serving on a panel to represent defendants who could not afford private attorneys. and earlier this year judge cheeks was unanimously selected by members of the u.s. district court for the southern district to serve as magistrate judge. that says a lot, and it says a lot about the qualifications, the values, and the approach and the great service he'll provide as a district judge with your support. so, madam president, two more more than qualified, more than ready to serve nominees awaiting our confirmation. i ask you, colleagues, for your support. and, madam president, i ask unanimous consent that my next statement appear at a separate place in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. padilla: madam president and

colleagues, i rise today to congratulate and to thank congressman tony gardenez as he prepares to retire after 12 distinctive years of service in the united states house of representatives and 28 years in public service overall. since his time in the house, he's been a tremendous, aggressive, effective, and passionate member of the california delegation, in particular, and one of the true stars of the congressional hispanic caucus. he's my fellow tiger from san fernando high school. he was my first boss in politics. and more recently, to the thrill of our wives, my roommate here in washington. for many decades now, tony has

been a cherished friend and truly a brother in politics and in life. tony is a champion for the san fernando valley and has been for nearly three decades, and tony's story and legacy deserves to be celebrated and remembered. and that's why i truce to make these remarks today so they are permanent record, yes, even here in the united states senate. he was raised just a few blocks from where i grew up in the -- in a proud working class community. he was born on march 31, 1963, the youngest of 11 children. and, yes, tony is just a few years ahead of me, but our stories followed similar paths. tony's parents and my father are

from the same state of jalisco in mexico, and they emigrated to the united states in search after better life, in pursuit of the american dream, colleagues, that you know i fight so hard to defend. we both attended talfur elementary school, went on to attend san fernando high school, and when it came time to attend college, p despite diskurment from some of our -- discouragement from some of our teachers, we both went to college and earned engineering degrees. it's in part because of tony and his passion and commitment to community that i left what could have been a very promising and fruitful career in engineering to pursue public service. when tony first set out to make a difference and run for the state assembly in 1996, he

actually took a chance on me asking me to be his campaign manager. when he asked, i couldn't help but be honest. i looked at him, and i said tony, i don't know the first thing about running campaigns. i think he was equally honest, because he looked right back at me and said i don't know the first thing about running for office. but you know me, i know you, we're smart, we're committed, we're hard working, we'll figure this out together. i think we kind of did. i was pretty young at the time, like literally fresh out of college. but he took a leap of faith on me and i took a leap of faith on him, like many, many young people, you're cynical about politicians and about government, but i knew who tony was as a person. i knew his values, i knew his work ethic, i knew his moral

compass. aside from having so much in common in growing up. and i knew how committed he was to our community and to making change. tony had previously left engineering and entered real estate. he had his own very successful real estate company. he could have moved on to live anywhere else and been tremendously successful in the private sector, but he chose to leave that and enter public service to improve the quality of life of the folks that we grew up with. and from his very first election to the state assembly -- and he was an underdog candidate, trust me -- but he was successful. to the times that he and i worked together on the los angeles still council to the last few years where we served together here in the halls of congress, i've been blessed not

just because of his mentorship, not just because of his friendship, but to just have a front row seat to his public service career. i've seen him and i've been inspired by him and his fights for justice and opportunities for at-risk youth, him leading the charge in our nation's clean energy transition, again, something that started years ago in prior offices but he's continued here at the national level through his work in congress. and his advocacy for better access to mental health care. he's done so much in a number of policy areas. but what i admire most as sort of through line in his narrative and in his career is that he's never shied away from a righteous fight. the most righteous fights, as you know, are often the most

hard battles to fight. tony never shied away from that, and he won a heck more often than he didn't. i also appreciate and reflect on his public service and the way he's gone about carving out a path for others to follow. i mentioned his first run for the state legislature in 1996, i take you back to a time when even in the state of california there were not nearly as many latinos in positions of power at the federal or state or even the local level. but through the power of his example, he's opened the door for so many others, including me. to dream of running for office, to think of office, to actually

run for office, to win the opportunity and to serve well. yes, colleagues, entire generations of young latino leaders now see running for office and having a say in the decisions that affect our communities as the norm, not the exception. and it's in part, large part because of the trailblazing legacy of tony cardenas. and i'd be remiss if i didn't take a moment to thank his wife norma and his four children vanessa, christian, andres and gallena and the entire family for sharing him with us for all these years. and while next month tony will officially step away from his work in the united states house of representatives, i have no doubt that his service to others is not coming to an end. it will continue.

i look forward to continuing to fight alongside him for many, many years to come. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor.

a career that began with a hard-fought race for student council president in his junior year pie school a race i might add he won with what would become his signature blend, hard work, intelligence and determination. it's a legacy that will long outlast his time here in the united states senate. mr. president the day he became the longest-serving party leader in senate history leader mcconnell delivered a speech discussing past senate party

leaders and their characteristics from the mastery of relationships demonstrated by lyndon johnson to be culp tackle football end quote of joseph taylor robinson. he got me thinking about some of the things that are characterized his tenure and there are three of them and that in particular. first there's matches knowledge of senate procedure. i suspect you who have served in this body have developed a kind of knowledge that mitch possesses and the most arcane detail and they are arcane, of senate rules and he recognized early on down the senate to see george play a big part in the success as a senator and it was -- he was right. so it's his signature determination he set out to acquire it and became an undisputed master.

that wealth of knowledge he has added a fierce commitment to the senate as an institution. a commitment i hope to emulate when i take over as majority leader next year. a lot of people out there these days who would like to see the senate turn into a copy of the house of representatives but that is not what our founders envisioned or what our country needs and mitch has served our entire country by fighting to ensure that the senate maintains its institutional character. finally mr. president perhaps the aspect of mitch's tenure that stands up as most is the work he's done to protect the rule of law by filling the judiciary with judges injustices to understand that the role of a judge is to interpret the law and not to make it. to call balls and strikes and not rewrite the rules of the game. during his time as majority leader mitch oversaw confirmation of 234 men and

women to the federal bench. three of them are supreme court justices and the effects of that will be felt for a long time to come. a decision up and down the judiciary to respect the law and the constitution. that mr. president is no small place and mitch can step down from his post knowing that no one has done more to preserve our legal system and the essential role that it plays in our republic. mitch it's been a great honor to serve with you and i'm grateful that while you are stepping down as her role as leader you will still be here in the senate with your mastery of senate procedures and leadership of the senate rules committee. hopefully you won't mind if you knocks on your door for a device. thank you for your long and faithful service to