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 our party to

the senate and to our country. i look forward to continuing to work with you. mr. president i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. >> madam president this morning thanks to republicans we are less than 48 hours away from a christmas shutdown. unfortunately it seems republicans are in shambles over in the house but as they try to piece things together they should remember one thing, the only way to get things done is to do it through bipartisanship, the only way.

let me repeat, the only way to get things done is through bipartisanship. now on the sergeant at arms, today it fills me with immense gratitude to pay tribute and say thank you to the sergeant at arms general gibson. none of us no matter what we do to get through the day could get through the day forcing security and keeping everyone in the senate say that that's what the sergeant at arms does. general gibson took on this role in march of 2021 and the painful aftermath of the january 6 insurrection. by no means did she need to take this job. it was the senate the needed her. we needed her three decades of leadership for the army intelligence officer for do we needed her steady hand and ability to change their organizations function and to this day i thank god she

answered my call. general gibson helped us get. those difficult months after january 6. she was a breath of fresh air a boost in morale and a jolt of much-needed confidence but she transformed how the sergeant at arms operates for the better. under general gibson's watch we revitalized how the senate approaches safety from top to bottom. she increased how we share intelligence communications and planning with the government and state local partners and she transformed the way the senate handled moments of crisis. there is now a single senate operation center that stand watch at all times. it alerts us to potential threats or disruptions. she was a godsend for other staff across the capitol complex introducing new emergency preparedness applications through training new protocols,

and protocol staff could adopt to keep their offices safe. family she revolutionized how the senate approaches cybersecurity conducting the most comprehensive cybersecurity assessment ever and every step of the way she had a first-rate team by her side to help execute her vision. and one other thing the morale of our capital police force has dramatically improved after the days of january 6 and much of that goes to what general gibson did. she made them feel needed confident and loved and prepared. i can tell just from speaking to so many capital police officers how much they appreciated her tenure and her caring. i am forever grateful to general gibbs -- gibson for hurt terms of sergeant at arms. the senate today is far more secure and far more prepared

since the day she entered the role in my congratulations to her on a job well done. and the senate thinks her and all of us democrat and republican. and dairy i want to say thank you to our wonderful secretary of the senate of the many talented and senate officers i had the privilege of nominating as majority leader i wish you the very best to the job of secretary of the senate is one of the utmost importance and one of the most utmost important and indispensable jobs here in the senate. in fact just days after the senate achieved its first quorum in 17891 and one of its top priorities was to elect the very first secretary of the senate. back then the senate's responsibilities were fractions of what they are today. there's virtually nothing that happens in the senate these days legislatively financially

administrative leave it doesn't cross the secretary's desk so to hold such an extraordinary position you need an extraordinary human being who brings life to the job. she is probably so busy job she's not here. anyway that thank berry to a tee. from the moment and company was sworn in she has carried out her responsibility as secretary of unparalleled accident -- excellent extreme professionalism and she did it while making history as the first-ever first ever to serve as secretary of the senate. a course of her success as secretary comes to little surprise of anyone who knows her background but she's a veteran of some of the most revered senators to pass in this chamber like leahy carper jones and my mentor senator moynihan. for the last nearly four years and though his been one of the most invaluable members of the

senate operation. she made her days easier our operations smoother and made it work better for the american people and that madam president is perhaps the highest test to public servants so anne on the half of the grateful majority leader and senate caucus we say congratulations. thank you, job well done. now to dan who i will so miss. you see here? where is dan? socrates said the only good is knowledge and only the only is. if that is true and i think socrates was onto something this is going to be a particularly difficult goodbye for me to get to. because today it fills me with immense gratitude and deep sadness to bid farewell and thank you to one of the most

knowledgeable and trusted members of my team daniel and away. he served as director rapid response and the entire team i served in leadership but in truth he's far more than a prep he is the knowledge base of our messaging and research operations. he's the facts with the go-to person when her team needs something figured out right away. but that's been a part is he also sees the big picture and he's not just looking at the little details. anyone who excels at these things by necessity must possess a lot of details and dan certainly does that but what makes him so effective is how fluidly in naturally he connects the details to the main thrust of what her team tries to do every day into the larger picture. dan is also a craftsman. there's no speech no press release no video. doesn't pass through his careful

touch. a native of nevada dan came to the senate as a young press assistant for the former leader harry reid. every single day it was dan's job to wake up early read the news in brief senator reed personally on what was going on that day. senator reed had a question it was dan's shop to answer it if there was a specific detail he wanted was dan's job to remember it. for most people out of school that was a baptism by fire but for dan who was early confirmation and that he belonged to the senate. in no time he became the communications director and during joined my team as research director. when i became the leader there was never a moment of doubt that i wanted him to come with me. running or messaging operation is not easy. it's around-the-clock task a seven-day week commitment and

i've asked him all hours about this or that in a stressful ever-changing thankless and on top of that he had to deal with me not so easy sometimes. every day he would succeed and i would succeed because dan has always been there as a stabilizing force. the knowledge of the senate and its his history gives her work shape and form and all this is possible because deep down downloads this institution and loves democracy. of course anyone who knows dan understand he possesses many other good things as well. just ask him about this los vegas golden knights and the time they came to the white house to celebrate their championship were asking about the last concert he went to or ask him about the next time he's planning to organize a schumer field. ask him certainly by this wonderful family, beautiful

redhead 2-year-old his wife and his partner for so many years as well and then ask them about a regular here in the senate on friday. ask them about any of these things and you see dan for who he is someone who leads a rich life someone has a gift in mind someone who is loyal kind thoughtful to all those he comes across. having him on my team for so long has been a blessing to her office, to the senate into the country so wherever you are, you will be working as well, thank you, thank you, thank you. you know how much we will miss you and you know how much we love you and you know how much you will always be part and we can't wait to see what the future holds in store for you. i yield the floor and i note the absence of a quorum.

the president pro tempore: the chair lays before the senate a certificate of election to fill the unexpired term created by the death of the late senator dianne feinstein of california. the certificate the chair is advised is in the form suggested

by the senate. if there be no objection, the reading of the certificate will be waived and it will be printed in full in the record. if the senator-elect will present himself at the desk, the chair will administer the oath of office. the president pro tempore: please raise your right hand. do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that you take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you god?

mr. schiff: i do. .

mr. welch: madam president -- mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. welch: i ask unanimous consent that all postcloture time on the motion to proceed to h.r. 82, be considered expired, following the remarks of senator lee for up to 30 minutes. further, that following the motion to proceed vote, the senate proceed to executive session, further, that the cloture motions with respect to the cheeks and muserena raquel murillo ripen on friday december 20. mr. lee: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: mr. president, congress must address the challenges facing social security. unfortunately the social security fairness act fails on

all counts and doesn't even come close to living up to its name. let's start with the flawed beflt kalling laigs this legislation -- calculation this seeks to return to, the windfall elimination provision, or weapon, will fix serious problems in how social security benefits were calculated of. before the weapon existed, individuals with mixed careers in public and private sectors often received more in social security benefits than they were entitled to receive. imagine two people, each earning $85,000 annually in their respective primary jobs. one worked in the private sector and paid into social security, but the other person worked in the public sector, contributing to a state pension fund instead of social security. both earned an additional $10,000 a year from the side job but did pay into social

security. without wep, the public sector works would receive it as though they were a low on their income. it would grant they are social security benefits on top of their pension and it would act against the interest of other social security wishes. the gop addresses a collar scombrish of issue with spousal benefits. it prevents unfair overpayments under social security. the wep and the gop are far from perfect. they are very imperfect. they were enacted at a time when congress lacked access to the full data need to make precise

adjustments. they were designed to fix real problems and they do exactly that. if congress repeals these provisions without replacing them with a better system, we will revert to a broken model that unfairly rewards some at the expense of others, and that's not ideal. let's talk about what this bill would mean for the solvency of social security. social security is already on a dangerously unsustainable path. the trust fund, which has been raided time and time again by congress is projected to run out of money in the next decade, which would lead to across the board benefit cuts. this bill would not fix that. in fact, this bill would accelerate that crisis. according to the congressional budget office, repealing the gop and wep would cost $196 billion over the next ten years.

it would push social security's inso insolvency from six to eight months making an already dire situation worse, congress must work on social security's financial health not hasten its collapse. now, look, there is no reason, certainly no legitimate reason to force a vote on this issue right now before we have an administration that will prioritize meaningful fiscally responsible reform. republicans should focus on advancing solutions that align with our principles. we have an incoming republican senate majority and an incoming republican president. we should stick to the principles that have gotten us elected and reelected. this bill is fundamentally unfair. it's unfair to the vast majority of americans who have paid into social security their entire working lives. about 96% of the workforce

contributes to social security. they rely on it as an important part of their retirement security. this bill would force those workers, 96% of them in america, to subsidize overly generous benefits for the 4% of the workforce, those who do not participate in social security and instead contribute to noncovered pensions. most state employees already pay into social security and would be harmed, not helped by this legislation. the social security fairness act would reward a small minority at the expense of the vast majority of american taxpayers. that's not fair. when we look at the overwhelming majority, 96%, those who will be harmed by this, it's not fair to take something away from them, to move up by six to eight months the insolvency of the

social security trust fund just to address the other 4%. now, that's not to say that those 4% don't need to be addressed in some way. but the way that this bill does it isn't fair. and it's unsafe. look, the challenges of social security require solutions that prevent further mismanagement. the social security fairness act is -- a somewhat orwellian name, as i think about it, would take us back to a -- it and fairly shift cost. look, i've been in this chamber before when this body has voted to raid the social security trust fund. i've raised the alarm and it's happened anyway. it's unpleasant. it's not an experience i care to revisit. but never have i seen it -- us raid that fund to this degree. to the tune of almost

$200 billion. this is reckless, but it's worse than that, it's cruel. we need real solutions that address the root causes of these challenges, repealing the gop and the wep without fixing the underlying issues would be a step backward, a huge step backward and profoundly unfair. congress has be a responsibility to address social security's flaws with clarity and with courage. i urge my colleagues to reject this flawed legislation and commit to reforms that serve all americans, not just a select few. to reiterate, there is no reason why we have to rush this. this particular problem was many decades in the making. we can fix it, we can fix it responsibly. we don't have to rush it. i implore my colleagues, you don't have to do this. we can fix this next year and

fix it the right way. i ask my colleagues to oppose cloture on the motion to proceed. thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: under the previous order, all postcloture time is expired. the question is on the motion to proceed. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons.

mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. the clerk: ms. ernst.

mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. kim. mr. king.

ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. i have lots of talk about. first i want to bring up one item. as you know we have been briefing you regularly at their parks mind 900,000 troops deployed this area. might it isl. significant intert we recently learned that those numbers were higher so we were asked to look into it and in fact there approximately 2000 u.s. troops and syria. as i understand it and as it was explained to me these additional forces are considered temporary rotational forces that deploy shifting mission requirements worse the core 900 or on longer term employment. for many of her deployment the numbers of fluctuate from time to time. given that this number is

significantly higher than what we have been briefing i wanted to let you know as soon as i found out this information. i will say that there are diplomatic and operational security considerations oftentimes with their deployments and some of those numbers certainly are the case here. again given that there is significant -- and dorian we previously want to make sure you have the most up to date information. i will also highlight again as it was explained to me these forces which augment the isis mission were there before the assad regime and i'd be happy to answer any questions. i also want to address up front a potential government shutdown and the implications should they shutdown occur.

as we are a planning organizations the department has conducted and planning operations for potential shutdown and our senior leaders have updated our contingency plans. secretary osman the doj leaders are monitoring the situation closely and remain committed to doing everything possible to mitigate the significant impacts of the lapse in funding in this shutdown. in the event of a lapse in funding in the shutdown of the government of the proper defense will continue to carry out her fundamental responsibilities and missions to defend our nation and the american people. military personnel and active duty including reserve component personnel on federal active duty who continue to report for duty and carry out assigned missions worldwide to defend our nation and protect our national security interests. .. the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative --

cardin, fischer, kaine, schiff, and whitehouse. senators voting in the negative -- on fiscal year 2025 appropriations avoid acr or worse a government shutdown. shifting gears, yes or the department similar to congress publishes and report on the military and security developments involved in the people's republic of china commonly known as a china military power report this congressionally mandated report charts the current course of the prc national economic and strategy also highlights insights into the people's liberation army strategy, current capabilities and activities, its future modernization goals. see npr illustrates why 2022 national and strategy identified prc is increasingly capable

military as the department's top facing challenges. please visit defense.gov for more information on the report. keep it in the end of pacific region tumor u.s. and opaque on commander will preside over the ceremony general will turn over command of the united nations command are okay u.s. combined forces command u.s. forces korea to the general xavier who is a commanding general at first core. on behalf of secretary austin the entire department of defense, we want to extend our thanks to the general for his leadership and lifetime of service to our nation. we salute the new general as he takes command. as you have heard to say our commitment to the u.s. alliance remains ironclad. separately, as is tradition daysmust secretary austin deputy secretary hicks will reach out to speak with service members representing each branch of the u.s. armed forces to wish them happy holidays and thank them and their families for their service, sacrifice and

commitment to our nation. further today secretary office and spoke with marines from task 46122nd marine expeditionary brigade deployed naval support activity naples, italy supporting u.s. and that european command area of responsibility. secretary also spoke with guardians when the 53rd space operations squadron detach and in germany to maintain military satellite communications and uconn ao are. i would like to note secretary alston's call with the guardians comes just one day before the u.s. space force will celebrate its fifth anniversary. as you know u.s. space force was established december 20, 2019 with the recognition space is a national security imperative its increasingly critical domain not only for u.s. military operations but for the safety, security and prosperity of all americans and for people around the world. he was space force guardians are integral part of today's joint for service across the globe

operative defending the critical space systems are nation and the world rely upon. on behalf of the secretary of the entire dod happy birthday to the u.s. space force. continuing the holiday spirit deputy secretary hicks will conduct calls martha ehrman for 80th expeditionary fighter generation squadron in saudi arabia. soldiers in the second security force assistance brigade in djibouti and the sailors aboard the uss gettysburg deployed to the uconn ao are. read out of all these holiday calls will be made available on the dod website. and finally in honor of our camera man on the back of the room it is christmas time that means north american aerospace defense command which is tasked with monitoring defend the airspace of the u.s. and canada takes on a special additional mission this time each year. on december 20 forton arrival truck the journey of a very special a beaver, santa makes his way around the globe.

you see red and green lights in the sky that's probably him. please note this is an authorized object in the sky and nodded unmanned aerial vehicle so please check twice. we kindly ask those observing santa's sleigh refrain from importing into the faa or fbi starting at 0600 eastern time kids, santa fans can track his journey by calling 1877 hi norad or 8774466723 to speak with an official santa tracker you can follow santa's journey online throughout the day it norad sans.org. we wish everyone a merry christmas, joyous holiday and happy new year's that i'm happy to take your question, leah. >> thank you. can you explain a little more fully first of all, why we have

not heard this number before? secondly who are these forces of special operation forces are any bear in an effort are part of an effort to find tice? i am confused you said this was before the fall this is not in response to unrest and disruption? this is in response to what? >> correct it. again a couple of things. as i highlighted for deployment and as you know have been havind these for a while, if not uncommon as units come in and out. the replacement in-place in placetransfer of authoritiese kinds of things they will often times be a bump total number of forces officially deployed to syria is 900. so, that it of itself in terms

of the additional numbers over the years i can fluctuate. obviously given the current situation in syria very recently i was made aware of the fact that maybe there are more forces than a small number of what would normally be considered around the 900 range. we asked to look into it forgot 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 his focus on defeat isis mission. again the core 900 approximate 900 are going to be a longer term deploys nine -- 12 months as i understand it versus temporary forces which are going to rotate in 30 -- 90 day basis as again has been explained to me that they are to be any type of emergent mission requirements associate with defeat this

mission. predominately army forces. i am not going to build providea breakdown of conventional versus special operations forces but all this forces focus on 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 the number we have been providing, have made the decision, i made the decision to go ahead and give you that number. >> just so i'm clear are you suggesting this 1109 on 1101 next linesame tradition ask deployment when we say approximately 900 sometimes is going to fluctuate up to 1200, 1300 as units 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 di system. to support the supported those there longer pretty certain element would be that but a lot of those forces have already been operating there coming in and out in those kinds of things. >> like how long ago did this happen? >> i do not have a specific date but my understanding is that it's been for a while clearly before the fall of the regime. >> what is a while? >> i do not have a number to provide. what's it doubled the number of troops for quite some time. are we talked about this has been going on for months? for years? is it something that just happen this summer? we need a timeframe, i think that is fair request to be fair to set a minimum months. i will go back and look.

it's been going on for a while. >> what assurances can you give to the kurdish fdf right now this u.s. is not planning to pull out or leave? >> right now there are no plans cease the defeat isis mission. isis continues to maintain order pose a significant threat. so right now no plans i'm aware of to stop that mission. >> 500 left their post in terms of guarding isis camps. our u.s. forces going to take their places? >> our focus again is working with them but jennifer, i do not have anything for you in terms of relocation of u.s. forces. how would a potential shutdown specifically m has' consensus lt

me take that question to get an accurate answer. >> a seat defense officials told us earlier this week will likely not be able to use 5.6 billion. the pentagon will be able. can you give us more clarity of that? >> what i would say is we are committed to spending as much of that as we can to get security as quickly as we can. we'll keep you updated on them. other deployment numbers to make sure they are up-to-date and

accurate the number ofno troopsn iraq change? >> that question come back to on. yes? >> thank you. >> yesterday turkish officials. that will continue do you have any current assessment. >> i don't have that. thank you. >> thank you general. two topics first yemen and this 11. on yemen, prime minister benjamin netanyahu that they will pay a heavy price. do you have an assessment on if that could be the next target

after hezbollah and lebanon? >> i would say personal i will not speak for israel in terms of its operation but they certainly have a right to defend themselves and as you know the houthi have lost men's missiles and drones. and so the houthi should not be surprised if israel exercises its right of self-defense. for any potential future operations, i will refer you to israel. >> would you support a large-scale operation? >> and just not going to get into hypotheticals. >> israel is conducting almost daily controlled demolition of civilian infrastructure, houses and villages. [inaudible]

is a violation of the cease-fire agreement. how do you assess this action by israel? do you have concerns these actions might put the agreement at risk? >> what i would say right now it is our assessment the cease-fire does continue to hold. obviously we believe in everyone's interest to ensure that cease-fire continues. we will continue to consult close with partners in the region to include israel and lebanon toward that end. let me go to the phone here real quick, jared. [inaudible] >> the question on the isis numbers, one why? why an emphasis now? >> likes that i learned the number today and again someone has been standing up your telling you 900, i wanted to get

you what we have on that. >> can you give us an update on the cease-fire between the stf and the turkish backed forces bt of the o'grady's? does dod have any role in enforcing or holding that? >> to my knowledge we do not. as you note state department has been consulting of course with our turkish partners. my understanding again and state department can go into much more details is that cease-fire is continuing to hold. that was extended and continues to hold. again, our forces in syria or focus on defeat isis mission. obviously we do not want to see fighting between stf and turkish back forces in syria. security and stability are incredibly important particularly at this fragile time right now in syria. so again we would encourage all

parties to preserve that peace and stability in support of the people of syria. and let me just go to the phone again real quick. sure these people are not in the room. jeff? >> thank you. regarding syria safeway sense, felt it needed an extra 1000 troops albeit on a temporary basis? you also mention 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 without a paycheck although there's never a good time. do u.s. troops and civilians have any recourse to protest that or can they built congress directly for all their expenses until congress passes a spending bill? >> thanks jeff. on your first question centcom for specifics.

we have forces in syria again as isnot primarily all focused on what u.s. troops get paid what i would tell you much of that depends active duty including would continue to report for duty and carry out their assigned duties. without an appropriation and continuing resolution art troops will miss their end of month paycheck during the holiday season. military reservists after december 28 will not receive pay

for those drills federal civilians required to work during a shutdown will not be paid. salida employees whose work is paid for from lapsed appropriations will be furloughed for the duration of the lapse which appear to coincide with christmas and new year's holidays. let me come back in the room. cooked israeli prime minister said retain positions after the fall of the government. un secretary general whether or not israelk: should maintain the positions within the buffer zone? >> what i would tell you is our policy with respect has not changed. i do not have any comment on the announcement of people moving from inside israel. what we have heard israel say is the deployment of its forces is

temporary and we believe the deployment ought to be temporary the disengagement agreement ought to be upheld thank you. >> thank you general. the u.s. says syria should not be fragmented the new syria at thenew government the new count. you have military say. [inaudible] you have a unified syria jeff any plans at all to commit to disarming and says no armed groups they would all have to be dismantled. do you have any plans at all? an unified syria. >> so, that's a great question. i was referring to the state department to talk about the longer-term u.s. diplomatic relations with that new government in syria.

obviously a lot of effort and work going into it 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 all of this is in the context in which the stitching situation you lay out. but in terms of a particular mission focus or change i do not have anything to announce right now. thank you very much, tony. >> how much pda authority is left is about pouring a billion or so? >> what i'm tracking is total pda 5.6 billion remaining u.s. ai 1.13 billion. >> okay at 5.6 is highly unlikely you're going to health issue $5.6 billion by january 20?

>> again as i highlighted earlier, we are going to continue surge is much capability as we can not going get head of that process. i think you can anticipate we will have some additional announcements i'm not going to get into the timing of that. certainly recognizing the fact there is an urgent need right now in ukraine we are going to remain committed to spending as much as we can. >> you do not know the answer but i like to get it written answer in terms of what will happen to the remaining dollars that are not put on pda? you're going to get a lot of criticism if you have like $5 billion of authority it did not used by the endr, of administration. could youe. get it written answr in terms of what's going happen to those dollars if in fact you don't allocate them? >> i will take your question. but again it recognize the difference between authority and obligated funds but i'll take your question. >> on the drone question you

mention on tuesday counter anti- counter drone systems will be deployed in new jersey this week or this week have they been deployed and what is the rule of engagement on those are that it can edit or fuzz buster type of equipment? >> the majority of that capability has deployed the rest should be arriving very shortly if not imminently as i highlighted earlier in the week that will be a combination of active and passive detection capabilities. as well as some counter u.s. capabilities which would include non- kinetic types of systems like a drone busters which essentially disrupts signals and affects the ability of the systems of flight. thanks very much. >> old but more on drones. i want to ask what the federal ban on throne operations and parts of new jersey. they may use deadly force

against the drones they pose an imminent security threat. would it be dod assets? >> a couple of things but first of all i would note that is standard security language included in national security no dems and temporary flight restrictions. the faa certainly could talk to you more about that. as you have heard us say we are going to work close of the fbi faa to make sure we are harmonizing our on base efforts with anything they are doing off-base. the bottom line is that our forces our commanders they observe activity they believe represents a threat. they have the authority to conduct mitigation operations based on the capability at their location and as i highlighted one of those capabilities could be non- kinetic interruption of signals for example. >> are talking about the government shutdown how could that impact the efforts to

detect and track drones in the efforts are doing right now? we are going to continue to do the operations as highlighted military personnel are going to continue to do operations necessary to protect and defend the nation. in so much as we need to protect our facilities or mitigate potential threats we will be on point in doing that. okay, jennifer. >> it is clear you were surprised by the number of u.s. troops in syria but was secretary austin also surprise? >> i am confident the secretary is tracking u.s. forces deployed around the world. again, as i highlighted there often times are going to be diplomatic or operational security considerations as it relates to the deployment of forces. cooked just on that did the secretary direct people not to make the public?

>> no. just one other to clarify. his 2000 now seen as the amount needed? or is the department looking at any increases and things have been changing over the last several weeks? >> i am not tracking any adjustments. again, those additional forces are categorized as versus the what i would call poor official deployed forces. as of right now i'm not tracking any adjustment in that regard. obviously will sail things play out and see how defeat isis mission works out. >> was the president aware there are 2000 u.s. troops in syria? >> i will not speak for the white house.

>> on the shutdown, obviously we do not know how long it's going to go. she said there's a paycheck due to troops in a week and a half. the question is how long can the shutdown go before those paychecks are impacted? >> i don't have exact date troops just got paid depending how long this goes there's funds and turn around the paycheck. oximeter shoot from the hip we are all monitoring this very closely. contingency plans and place were going to do everything we can

will work to make sure personal have what they need any element for the true number of troops including centcom. you stood up there and said 900. nine has been the number for months and months if not years. surly someone could have come out and corrected that if it is known by someone and the defense department that is not accurate. learn the number today, provided the number today as i've mentioned in looking into this,

part of the explanation is the sensitivity from a diplomatic and operational security standpoint. but given the difference of what we have been briefing with the actual number is felt it was important to get you that information. >> a diplomatic sensitivity aspect of that? >> no i'm not going to get into diplomatic discussions. there are just diplomatic considerations. i have questions on north korea and russia. the congress based on 28500 u.s. troops in south korea. do you think. [inaudible]

>> appreciate the question for just not going to speculate about the incoming administration may or may not do. at least a 100 and biting in ukraine. so we continue to observe and assess. i would say at this stage it is our assessment several hundred several hundred casualties. killed in action two wounded. i am not going have a breakdown for you in terms of a kia versus wounded but several hundred. and as they engage in combat with the russians i would anticipate those numbers will go up. then on against the united states.

unconcerned. [inaudible] >> again, this kind of irresponsible saber rattling and rhetoric from a nuclear armed country is obviously unwarranted. we had not seen any shift or change in the strategic force fostered russian forces that would necessitate a change in our end. certainly were going to continue to work allies and partners around the world towards regional security and stability. yes, sir. the reports of genocide in the gaza water. this report came. [inaudible]

secretary often secretary blinken. do you agree with that and you still believe have to do more? >> thanks for as you know from u.s. government standpoint we do not agree with the allegations or assertions regarding genocide. we do believe way too many innocent people have been killed or injured in this war both israelis and palestinians that was ignited when hamas launched a terrorist attack brutally murdered more than 1200 innocent civilians on october 7, 2023. we want to see an enduring resolution to the conflict in gaza which is widely continue to actively work towards an agreement to stop the war. bring all the hostages home thatare still being held by ham.

are you asking me if dod has been in contact to my knowledge, we have not. and as you highlight you know state department right now has been the lead from a diplomatic stand point so i won't speak for the state department other than to say again taking a step back big picture here trying to work with partners in the region and actors in syria -- to address how we may enable this opportunity for the syrian people to live in security and

stability after 50 plus years under the assad regime but again i would refer to you state to talk about their specific efforts. >> what i'm thinking -- a long list so get there so -- [inaudible conversations] in the united states so -- you have a long partnership with pakistan since pakistan was alliance so you have some assistance. you -- [inaudible conversations]

>> i don't we have worked closely with pakistan and counterterrorism efforts in the past and we'll continue to have those conversations but as it relates to that i don't have anything. >> thank you for -- the update. have the ability to forces in and out at their discretion. is this a scenario where that's where as long as these troops -- that that's why we saw -- >> i don't understand. >> if you're going to sending troops from the united states or from the same -- that's going to have -- to be press forces, approved and require secretary orders. in this case with the rotation of forces from within the aow which is the -- >> i don't have that level of

granularity so i'll talk an and they could be based in the aow and i'll just make this here at lud air base you have a specialized capability and needed to go to somewhere else in the theater to support an operation that's entirely possible. or it could come from state side it just depends on what the requirement is and what the capability is in terms of on the ground. >> my next question you said you learned about it today. is this because -- a question had been posed internally and responded today or because sitcom informed you today? smtion it is because i got word of it recently as our team was looking at this again. given the significant situation in syria. and i asked for more information

on this recognizing if numbers are not what we briefed, let's find out what the actual numbers are. and go from there, and i got the numbers today. >> as secretary austin does he plan to or has he spoken to general -- >> look, but yeah secretary austin in general could speak about aow all of the time -- >> specifically about this -- >> no. >> they have not spoken about this. let me get to folks that haven't had a question yet yes, sir please ask a news conversation and don't lax eloquently i'll stop -- >> intelligence, former intelligence just got court-martialed for corruption. how do you see generals and the extremism, taliban, terrorism disappoint you, sir, face the charges? >> that's really a question for

the pakistani, you know, authorities and government. i'm not going to wait into pakistani domestic politics. thank you. >> let me go to the phone here howard altman. >> thanks i appreciate it. i wonder can you tell me whether there's been any additional forced protection, you know, wrap ups at any facilities in the u.s. regarding joint kurgses. have any additional equipment being equipment sent to any facilities beyond ones that you've already mentioned? >> yes thanks howard i don't have anything additional i would refer you to north come to talk about any additional facilities that they're looking at or -- or movement of equipment, obviously, as you well know base demanders have the authority to take appropriate steps in terms of forced protection as it

relates to anything. and so that's something that's done on a day by day basis not necessarily managed or tracked here at osd go ben refer you to north come. >> one -- if you had a -- u.s., india, space delegates here in washington and -- regulations between space regulations? >> i'm not tracking that -- >> who is helping and if this building is -- for sanctions against iran on their program and also of sanctions against pakistan about their missile, missile program. >> i would refer you to state department as it relates to any type of diplomatic end of thes on that front i don't have anything to provide from here. >> last question. >> just on the section on entities with pakistan --

in securities spectrum, how does the see any advancement in technology acquired by pakistan to upgrade your system, and as it is being by nuclear india being iran, and pakistan this year, and on pakistan -- >> yeah so i won't have anything to provide in terms pakistani or indian weapons programs other than to say look, we value both india an pakistan as important partners in the region. we believe that each country has an important role to play when it comes to regional security and stability and i'll just leave it there. all right. >> request for taking -- >> only because it is the holiday season. >> can you i know you can't right now but can you provide to us whether or not these troop increases were specified in the

orders book that the secretary has approved every week and how far back those go? can you confirm and get that for us when possible? >> i'll take the question, i don't know -- to what level of detail we're abler. to provide specificity i will say broadly speaking again without getting in classified information, that those order books are often looking at individual units or personnel right they're not necessarily looking at broad numbers. all of that to say -- again, understand your intent and we'll provide what we can. thanks everybody. appreciate it.

mr. bennett

>> good evening everybody. this is washington. this is how the law making is done this is a lodge process sometime it is takes while to reach the consensus but the american relief act of 2024 will provide temporary funding to get us into the first part of next year. we're excited about that. because republicans will have control of the white house in the senate in the house and we'll be able to make the key decisions about funding for the 2025 fiscal year. so this is allow us the

opportunity to do that in addition we're going take care of americans who have suffered true devastating emergencies and disasters. we had, of course, the record hurricane season with helene and milton that did real damage across as many as six states there's 100 billion dollars to provide much needed relief to those people those americans who have really been struggling an still are from those storms and in addition to that, we have ten billion dollars of emergency aid to small farmers and high cost of inputs and fertilizer seed everything they need to keep the farms going and they've had three lost years in a row, some of it because of drowlgt, a lot of it because of the economics of it and it doesn't make sense for lenders to provide them funding anymore. so this is a -- stop gap measure to save those farms to save food production in america. to ensure that welfare that diversity in marketplace and

food supply is directly related to national security so it is an important thing for both parties to do to provide that aid. we also have a clean extension of the farm bill. a clean extension of health extenders that are necessary and a couple of other details. everything that i just told you -- was negotiated in a bipartisan fashion, both parties agreed to these terms and that's what's on the floor right now. the only change in this legislation is that we are going to push the debt limit to january 30th of 2027. we will -- we will push it beyond that or to that time point and that will allow us stood the important work of governing in the new congress why does that matter? because we are committed to cutting hundreds of billions of dollars of wasteful spending out of the federal budget. that's what we're going to do the doge effort with elon musk and vivek ramaswamy the commitments that president trump made on the campaign trail will come to fruition when we get about that important work for the american people the government is too big it does too many things and it does --

very few things well. we're going to cut and limit the size and scope of the government and get it under control for the american people we have a mandate to do so. president trump receives 77 million votes in the election. house republicans 74.7 million votes. the most in history we know what we're to do we're determined to do that even though this vote would push the debt limit to 2027, it in no way lax enthusiasm on our part to get about those serious cuts for the american people. we have to have fiscal responsibility as a core principle of our party so that's what the -- house republicans are committed to every single one of them. we will get together and do that work and it begins in early january. i -- i hope that this vote passes tonight we will sngd it to senate. we will extend funding and we'll come back and we will have the america first agenda come in roaring in january for the american people. thank you so much.

>> how's everyone doing? i don't have anything off the top. i may have some comments at the end but we will save that. >> shall we wait until the end then? >> you want to stand here for 45 minutes to an hour and then -- then jump into that -- >> five minutes of complete silence -- >> no, no i'm sure there's still important -- >> as well but let me start by saying -- thank you very much for your time at the podium and around the building and this is -- for people might not know your last briefing.

>> that is correct. >> on behalf -- thank you. thank you, matt. >> endeavoring to be honest, and to be open and transparent. >> of course. >> so thank you so much. >> i'll let you take it away. >> all right let's start with syria. >> sure. >> so you know, what is the latest? there in terms of your guys interactions with hts and others -- >> sure. >> and how you see things going? >> sure, matt should be no surprise to you not much has really changed since i talked about this yesterday. we have been in touch in contact with all of the groups in syria including hts certainly not going to get into the private diplomatic channels but we have once again and will continue to

stress upon everybody that -- that we have an importance of doing everything we can to find missing u.s. citizen including austin and bringing them home. the secretary on his trip which i know you were on stressed quite clearly the transition principles that have been -- that cornerstone of our ongoing diplomatic engagement principles that have now been taken up by countries throughout the region and well beyond that if you know, humor me -- our view is that when whatever government arises out of this transition it needs to be inclusive it needs to protect the rights of all syrians including women and minorities. like all governments it needs to -- preserve critical state institutions and deliver essential services. and perhaps most importantly, we want to see a syria that does not pose a threat to its neighbors or the regions or -- syrians or syria being a place that's going to serve as a base

for terrorism or allying with groups like cyst isis syria is a member to the chemical weapons convention and ensure they are secured and destroyed that continues to be -- our north star when it comes to engagements as it relates to syria. >> sure. >> thank you for -- being accessible in terms of the questions are not always comfortable some are comfortable but -- for asking have hasn't been the case -- >> of course. >> to continue on syria just -- can you say a little bit about this situation in north, the diplomacy on getting the cease-fire or getting with -- [inaudible conversations] >> talked about it a little bit yesterday our assessment continues to be that the cease-fire has been extended and that is holding.

and we're close to being monitoring the situation around ka bani that continue to say fluid but we have not drawn conclusion that we're seeing large scale fighting. i'm not going to get into some of these private discussions but we're working very hard to avoid an escalation to north and that would -- certainly be of concern to us because it would limit the ability of our local partners the fts to carry out our shared d.i. mission has been a top u.s. policy priority in syria. we'll continue to pay close attention to this. but beyond that, we support the immediate deescalation and of violence in all parts of syria it is our view that it is the time to increase stability. >> sure. i know i want to get into the -- details and negotiations. but turkey is probably said that they want the -- to disarm that's serve a red lien for them, and is this agrees with what's the conversation? >> so i'm not going to get into

some of the private conversations shawn our focus is on promoting a syrian led political process while also ensuring a top priority for us which is maintaining defeat of isis and terrorism that's been originating in syria given that we know isis exploits instability it is incumbent on all countries with influence on the ground including, of course, turkey to promote stability dialogue and restraighten and ultimately at the end of the day shawn we support syria territory integrity. >> a little bit it continued here. >> on syria -- where is roger carson is he still -- >> i don't have any specific updates to offer as it relates to roger. what i can say as it relates to the -- bill. the clerk: calendar number 693, h.r. 82, an act to amend title 2 of the social security act to repeal the government pension

offset and windfall elimination provisions. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session. the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills en bloc, calendar 128, s. 623, calendar 626, s. 4451, calendar 635, s. 4974, calendar 298, s. 2020, calendar 606, s. 3617, calendar 632, s. 4851, calendar 608, s. 3790, and calendar 591, s. 2784. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measures en bloc? without objection, the senate will proceed to the measures en bloc. ms. murkowski: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the

committee-reported amendments where applicable be agreed to, the bills as amended, if amemmeded, be considered read a third time and passed, the committee-reported title amendment to s. 3790 be considered and agreed to, the title of s. 3790 as amended be considered and agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. ms. murkowski: thank you, mr. president. i'm really glad to see that we could pass eight bills by unanimous consent here. i want to thank colleagues from california, senator padilla, my colleague from oregon, senator merkley, and my senator from ohio, senator brown, for helping work to develop these pairs and to move them forward. i also want to acknowledge the cloakroom teams. thank you very much. we appreciate that. as well as the ranking and the chairman of the energy and natural resources committee, chairman manchin, ranking member barrasso and their committee for their assistance. we've now passed a total of five

alaska lands related bills in the last couple days. just last night my friend senator hirono graciously offered a pair that included my legislation to sunset an outdated requirement in the alaska native claims settlement act for native village corporations to help convey lands to the stay of alaska to be held in trust for municipal uses. by sunsetting this requirement and allowing our village corporations to regain title to these lands, will help free up lands for pressing needs such as housing. i hear it all the time when i'm out in the villages. we were able to move that measure. we paired it with a bill from congresswoman rattay wagon to allow american samoa to more easily make amendments. i was in american samoa with a group of nbc a couple of months -- with a group of members a couple months ago. this was a priority for the congresswoman and governor. good news for them. the four bills we just passed

are important as well. we have legislation to amend ancsa to ensure when aged, blind, or alaska native seniors receive dividends they do not inadvert andly become ineligible for federal assistance programs. another bill settles cape fox remaining land entitlement to remedy an injustice limiting where they can select lands. this has been going on for more than half a century here. very important to the people in the cape fox region. then my legislation to reauthorize the national volcano early warning and monitoring system, to provide for critical research, upgrading existing networks and installing new detection technology. this helps in a state like mine, or like hawaii, where we've got people living around volcanoes. we included legislation led by my colleague from alaska, senator sullivan, to extend the

alaska native vietnam veterans allotment program an additional five years, to ensure eligible individuals and their heirs can receive their rightful lands. these are individuals who stood up, answered the call, served in vietnam, and during their service were unable to make their native selections. so remedying this has been a long cause of both mine and senator sullivan's. so, we recognize this is the end of the year, and all of these measures that i've just passed all start with an s. dot, which means they're senate bills. they go to the house and may not become law this year. we get that. though hope springs eternal around this place. i'm hopeful the house can plas potentially more -- can pass potentially more bills by suspension. if they can't, we can revisit these in the new year, which are not controversial, but to get

them across the finish line in in body is important. there are a lot of folks in these communities waiting for final action on that. pleased to be able to actually do some legislating here this evening. with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. .

everyone doing? have anything off the top but we may have questions. stand your for 45 minutes to an hour, and will dive right into that. [inaudible] there is still important business. [inaudible] >> me start out by saying thank you very much for your time at the podium this might be for people who might not know this is your last briefing records that is correct. but thank you. >> thank you, matt.

thank you for endeavoring to be honest, to be open and transparent. >> of course. >> thank you so much for it i will let you take it away. >> all right, what's our syria. what is the latest? what is the latest there in terms of your guys interactions with hts and others? and how you see things going. >> sure. not much is changed as i talked about this yesterday. we have been in touch, and contact with all the groups in syria. i'm certainly not going to get into the private diplomatic channels. we have once again and will continue to stress on everybody that we have an importance of af doing everything we can.

the secretary of the trip which i know we were on stress quite clearly transition principles the cornerstone of our ongoing diplomatic engagement. and it will be on that. humor me. our view is whatever government arises, and needs to be inclusive. needs to protect the rights of all syrians including women and minorities. like all governments it needs to preserve critical state institutions deliver essential services. we need to see eight syria the does not pose a threat to the region or syria being afraid that's going to serve as a base for terrorism are allying with groups like isis. also syria is a member and have an obligation is secured and

destroyed. that continues to be our north star. as it relates to syria. >> sure. her accessible not always comfortable. there's be accessible thanks for having the situation in the north on getting the cease fire our assessment continues to be this has been extended. that is holding. i continues to be fluid will

sink large-scale fighting i'm not going to get into the private discussions for working hard to avoid the escalation in the north. that would certainly be of concern to us. the ability of our local partners to continue to carry out our shared mission which has been at the top priority in syria. we will continue to pay close attention to this. but beyond that, we support the immediate de-escalation in all parts of syria. >> the details of the negotiations. what's a conversation with these answer promoting the political

process also ensuring a top priority for us maintain the enduring defeat of isis and terrorism that's been originating in syria giving leno isis it's incumbent on all countries influence on the ground including turkey will ability,and restraint ultimate d of the day we support territorial integrity. texting on syria, where is roger? >> they do not have ending specific updates to offer as it relates to roger. what i can say as it relates to our efforts to locate or ascertain more information on missing american citizens including of course austin tice, that's a top party for us in the region. something we are continuing to engage on around-the-clock. we are working with counterparts in the region we are working at making it very clear this is a key priority for the united states. i don't have any additional specifics on that line of effort

to offer for obvious regions which i'm sure you can understand. some think that were made a focus for us for. >> is this department have any comment on vladimir putin after requesting his assistance? >> i am just not going to, i do not have anything to offer on that if there is any country that wants to play a constructive role in allocating him we would certainly welcome that i will note many, many years the russian federation has been to prop up the brutal transient regime mr. putin had the opportunity to try to help ascertain the whereabouts or information about him and had not done that in any of these previous. actions are going to speak louder than words. mr. putin is welcome to do whatever he wants. we've done everything we can do at our disposal.

>> sorry. [inaudible] >> roger? he said on ending specific so his heat missing to question quincy is not missing i don't have anything to offer. he continues to be in the region working on this very important issue. >> is not back in d.c.? >> correct. he is in that region i do not have any other updates to offer. >> there been any efforts to communicate with the rapture to try to ascertain his location? >> i would not be able to get into something of that specifically. it has been no secret for many, many years of priority for us in the middle east region has been locating and determining information about the whereabouts of the russian federation has known that every country in the region has known that we have indicated that to

just about everybody that this is a key regional focus of ours it ultimately one of our main priorities. no country on the planet to help us in that work. the responsibility they have that information no one needs an invitation for years and years and years went main pillars with the brutal redraw action speaks louder than words. what we may or may not have to play. the top of the russian be to see

if they will follow up question. >> again in terms of sharing information and locating his whereabouts, we would certainly welcome any information as it relates to that. go ahead. >> thank you. i just want to thank you for always being the perfect gentleman. it is something i never take lately and i want you to know that. i appreciate you calling me. >> sure, my pleasure. now with that said i need to ask about syria. i mean in theory is it possible for u.s. official to visit damascus will there still bombings there? the expectations, at one point

whether to look at the whereabouts or something else? is it possible to go to damascus go to syria will bombing syria? >> i'm going to refrain from getting into the theoretical and hype travels to syria u.s. government officials i do not have anything to announce at this time working to assess the situation when it might be appropriate for us to send personal into syria beyond our previously discussed concentrated presence in the northeast. expect you would cause to cease and this cyst. >> in any corner of the world we take the safety and security of our diplomats doing just about anything counted out to us

appreciate the point you may be trying to make. i just don't have anything on that. >> okay. yesterday or this morning he keeps saying that hamas should realize that calvary is not coming to save them. is he basically saying. [inaudible] when you look at the trajectory of this conflict and the things they've been working tirelessly on is an agreement between two parties. of course israel and hamas. we have seen time and time again hamas unwillingness to engage in good faith its unwillingness to

accept deals that have been on the table. of course it's always going to be incumbent on both of these parties israel and hamas to come to agreement. what we are working on intensely is to bring a cease-fire to the finish line ultimately helsing and perhaps most importantly the remaining hostages including the americans can be returned home. we think a deal is possible i do not have anything new to announce we are hopeful parties can come to agreement soon. >> the language of the secretary we have that back on may 31 i have a suggestion this is no longer on the table, correct?

>> i cannot of what thomas is thinking or their strategy is. ask what do you think? >> our thinking is we think that deal is possible we are working to bring the cease-fire across the finish line. absolute secretary is correct i would check it what you had said. through malign actors like iran it's a very clear perhaps eight possible with the broader regional conflict. out of much great work on behalf of the united states and its allies and partners that has largely been avoided. that's what the secretary was alluding too. >> a couple other questions if you would indulge me. was it reported they have a kill zone doesn't matter children or not children. did you wonder if you saw such a report and you may comment on that? >> looks like nothing that i don't what item we are referring

to. >> that basically have established a kill zone anyone that comes close to that is shot dead. it's kids time and time again our shot. if this is the case is this a crime? >> again i'm not familiar with this policy. we have stressed again for israel, every single casualty is a tragedy. they not only need to comply and you to take every possible step to prevent civilian harm broadly we support israel's right to defend themselves as it relates to this i will defer to the idf to speak to any operational adjustments they may or may not be making in the region. i'm just not familiar with it. >> okay finally, just about aid. entered gaza since the beginning of december. we talk about that i know you're

pushing for more aid. where are we with a question. >> these are conversations we continue to have a counterpart in the reaching we are stressing that every possible measure needs to be taken to open more border crossings, to everything we can to open more commercial corridors. and take additional steps to bolster the humanitarian flow into gaza. i believe it's a number of weeks ago i talked about the steps that have been taken by the idf and others to help the on the right track. we continue to think that is the case. there is no silver bullet we are going to continue to pursue this at all angles. accent you comment about amnesty. human rights watch the israel genocide and borders had to report the ethnic cleansing.

what is the u.s. feel is worth something checking out? >> first, will break that into two questions, sean. first i will refer to doctors of without borders to speak to the details of the report i can say even within their report they make pretty clear they do not have the legal authority to determine intentionality. i certainly do not have an assessment from the u.s. government to offer today as it relates to ethnic cleansing. we continue to appreciate the important rated role including doctors without borders and we are concerned about the scale of civilian harm in this conflict we continue to emphasize the parties need to comply with ihl. most importantly it is because of the circumstances and the crises we are seeing that we are working so tirelessly to stop

the war bring the hostages home ultimately improve the humanitarian situation and get us on the path to an enduring resolution for the conflict in gaza that's what we are squarely focused on. on the human rights watch separately that should come as no supply at the surprise we disagree with the conclusions in this particular report certainly appreciate the role groups like human rights watch have played over the course of this conflict. but other conflicts around the world. we disagree with conclusions we have not concurred with past findings regarding genocide we do not now when we do not believe that term applies here. now if you all remember when it came to the national security memorandum support we previously had said it's reasonable to assess the idf in certain instances did not meet its

obligations. but on something like genocide, that is a conclusion we disagree with. we disagree with other entities have come to this conclusion and do so here. ultimately i will stress the same point i said in that context with doctors without border we are continuing to work toward an agreement to stop the war, bring the hostages home and put us on a path to a resolution to the conflict in gaza. >> just briefly cute. the human rights watch is saying a large number of civilians will die because of lack of water access and this is really actions causing that what is your assessment of that? is it equally concerning finding? >> certainly we need to be doing everything we can to ensure water access is strong and everybody who needs water in gaza's able to get it for that something we have stressed we

talked about the influx of humanitarian aid that need for products like water, food, shelter and medicine. but again specifically when it comes to a determination of something like genocide the legal standard is incredibly high. sinner it would just disagree wh the does not take away from the fact there is a dire humanitarian crisis in gaza. it doesn't take over the fact that of course there are still many in gaza who are struggling from water scarcity. these are the kinds of things were pressed partners in the region including israel. this did not come out of the blue sky. two weeks ago there's amnesty oy international he got the same thing it's genocide. it's the same thank you continue to dismiss this but the facts on the ground safe genocide.

organizations not affiliated with u.s. government have the right to draw any conclusion based on their analyses that they want to and they can we certainly welcome the work that they do. but on the perspective of the u.s. government will stress again as i did stress in the center of amnesty international this is not a conclusion that we agree with. >> make these conclusions make you have known the ground in gaza? >> jenny, the point i am making is a broad one. the legal standard for genocide is incredibly large. you've also heard a state previously and i just spoke about that we made the conclusion is reasonable to assess the idf in certain instances did not meet financial obligations in the context of genocide we disagree with the

conclusion our belief is this is a legal standard that's incredibly high we get into conversation late in intentionality for our assessment is that not been the case in this scenario. >> other than the conclusion have there been any other scenarios or incidents that you have been investigate the come to final conclusion on this is a human rights violation? >> he spent a lot of time talking about the deliberative process for quick that ended? >> these are processes ongoing i do not have any of the conclusions are shared today. my last question related to this there's another foreign service officer who resigned the fact he said his findings reports were largely ignored jeff any response? >> i am not familiar with the circumstance. i will just say it selman's decision to work your or not or stay employed that's ultimately

very personal decision from the president on down in the secretary we welcome and encourage different points of view. we think the end product is better public policies is not anything you've never heard me say before i will say that when it comes to our policy as it relates to the middle east which is where the policy with the conflict in gaza is something we continue to be incredibly deliberative about we welcome different points of view on what our aim is at the end of the day i will say again we are working tirelessly to get everything we can to get the cease-fire proposal across the finish line stop the war and bring the remaining hostages home. >> the question was about this about the guy who resigned in july? more than almost six months ago

was there question? snow i just want to make sure he understood who it was. >> got it. jane go ahead. russia and north korea. [inaudible] south korea's acting president. [inaudible] south korean parties includes diplomatic assessment is it possible for south korea and the united states in this situation? do you think a diplomatic

evaluation can be grounds for impeachment? >> let me make two broad points first added that i want to be very clear about first we strongly support the ironclad alliance that join our two countries together and then asked him so much over the last few years especially under the by administration. in recent years the alliance has made enormous strides the united states looks forward with partnering to achieve further progress. but if you recall the secretary strip he said the most important thing is it relates to south korea at the republic of korea has demonstrated his democratic resilience is not a something we strongly support we strongly support the korean people throughout this process. we have seen what's happening. we've seen it followed a process clearly laid out in the constitution will continue to be ready to work with the active president and the government. we look forward to sharing the

future if anything it scheduled. >> were in ukraine. [inaudible] also to jill information. >> i do not have a legal determination or assessment offer on that. what i can say is they continue to be a regime that oppresses human rights. not only that it's a volatile regime that is controlled a bit too much of the d stability we are seeing not just in the region but also encouraging in other areas like europe as well. >> yes of course. >> estimates that fighting on

behalf of the russians. >> thanks. our assessment is that there have been several hundred casualties of the prk in ukraine. that is what we are seeing. i am not in a place to more specifically than that. >> casualties could mean like wounded or killed? of the basically north korean casualties? >> that is correct. >> just quickly, suggesting russia might formally conclude except as a nuclear weapon state. that's a big you are tracking is something? >> i do not have a timeline. but, should that come to fruition should the russian federation make that declaration we would view as another step in a long line of examples of the

posting of relationships between these two countries. it would be of great concern to us. i do not i'm not in a place. >> thank you. i cannot thank you enough for making this accessible. you have more and on top of that is taking further steps so individuals and members. how many today? >> sure. to give them additional color for the room on this today, the

department of treasury imposed sanctions on georges minister of internal affairs georges deputy head of ministry special task department. these are leaders have been involved in the brutal crackdown of members of that media and peaceful protesters including during demonstrations throughout 2024. the department of state also announced it took steps to impose additional veto restrictions on individuals responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in georgia and their numbers. these actions follow the actions we announced last week. ultimately this is something we united states condemn the ongoing brutal violence chain

away overwhelmingly desire. we remain committed to accountability undermining democracy of georgia. how many have been added to the state department? >> i just spoke that ministers at the top. >> a supersmart technical breakdown i've parsed it is much as i am able too. despite letting him off the hook. as you have heard us say it before taking one designation or action one day certainly designate us to doing something else in the future. this is the latest example using

tools at his disposal told perpetrators in georgia accountable. and wait continue to have the various tools at our disposal. >> cooks i'm not going to preview potential action. [inaudible] i will at the incoming administration speak to foreign policy. this is a priority for us based on our knowledge. >> thank you. i want to thank you and echoing my colleague. evidence of war crimes in syria including evidence of torture in prisons continues to emerge. i was wondering what is the u.s. position on investigating the crimes and are there any actions

the u.s. is planning to take regarding? >> albeit very clear the assad regime brutalized, tortured and killed hundreds of thousands of people in syria. and now, at long last the assad regime has fallen that the fundamental act of justice. it's a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people to build a better future for their country of risk and uncertainty. what we are focused on toward our apartments with the stakeholders in syria with the syrian people to seize this opportunity and manage that risk. engage with all communities in syria toward an independent sovereign syria that respects human rights. not the whole of international

law. we want to establish an infrastructure to support serious neighbors including jordan, lebanon, iraq, turkey and israel should any threats arrive from syria during that period of transition. we want to maintain our mission is isis to protect our forces against any threats. maintaining security of retention facilities, displaced persons camps et cetera. >> of these were crimes do you support international investigation into war crimes? impracticality i'm just unsure how that would work. given mr. assad is not in the country. that is on the for the future governance of syria and the representatives of the syrian people to determine. make no mistake, the assad

regime is one that brutalized, maimed and killed hundreds of thousands of people in syria. is something we think is incredibly serious and concerning. but the assad regime has fallen. virtually everything we can to engage stakeholders in syria. first and foremost the syrian people. >> do you plan to engage cooperate with the government to identify these war criminals? >> we are engaging on a variety of areas. >> thank you. a question about and making headlines. thank you very much. [inaudible] for new sanctions against long

arrangement leveling the move as double standards how would you respond? >> let's take a step back. the u.s. is committed to maintaining nonproliferation regime. following nominations, en bloc. 859, 8 oh, 861, 862, 63, 864, 865, 866, 867, 868, 869, 871, 873, 874, 550, and all nominations on the secretary's desk in the air force, army, coast guard, navy, and space force, that the nominations be confirmed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action.

the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. bennet: mr. president, as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on the judiciary be discharged from further consideration of s. 5062, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 5022, a bill to address sexual harassment and sexual assault of bureau of prisons staff and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. bennet: i ask unanimous consent, mr. president, that the blackburn-ossoff substitute amendment at the desk be considered agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bennet: as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on the

judiciary be discharged from further consideration of s.4640 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. cleric cleric s. 4640, a bill to strengthen sex trafficking victim assistance grant funding. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. mr. bennet: i ask unanimous consent that the ossoff-blackburn substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bennet: i congratulate the president on his prodigious legislative accomplishments. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. bennet: -- this evening. as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on commerce, science, and transportation be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 7365 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 7365, an act to provide precheck to certain severely injured or disabled veterans and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. mr. bennet: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bennet: as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar 714, h.r. 9592. officer the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 7 had h.r. 9522, an act to amend the united states code to modernize the "federal register" and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there fowlkes proceeding to the measure? -- objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. bennet: i ask unanimous consent that at bill be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to

reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bennet: as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 9487 which was received from the house. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 9487, an act to amend theologicalive reauthorization act of 1970 and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection proceeding to to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. bennet: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bennet: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the appointment at the desk appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. en about been mr. president, i ask unanimous consent -- mr. bennet: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to s. res. 937 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 937, to authorize testimony and representation in united states

v. ornagarus. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. bennet: 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. bennett: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it recess until 10:00 a.m., friday, december, 20 and resume consideration of the cheeks nomination. further, that upon disposition of the murillo nomination, the senate resume legislative session. further, that if any nominations are confirmed during friday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. so ordered. mr. bennett: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand in recess under the previous order. the presiding officer: the

the presiding officer: the senate lawmakers today to begin debate on social security pension benefits bill repeals provisions that reduce social security benefits to refer individuals to receive pension from state and local government. a final vote is expected on friday. in the meantime congress is a daily from a deadly trap government funding measures need to be paired with an increase the debt limit the built funds the government until march 14 m4 the open watch of the senate live here in cspan2. ♪ for more than 45 years c-span's been your window into the workings of our democracy offering live coverage of congress, hosting form call and programs access to these decision-makers that shape our nation. done all that ascent of government funding.

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