thunder. >> it's not shock anymore. [laughter] >> from your the current space will look like actual. >> it is drill baby drill, immigration and the economy. what looks like a sponge paper, that will be a big question especially as we talk about what the future is for the democrat party and have this ideologically diverse coalition that's ever existed like this before which gives trump with mandate and it makes governing very difficult. they been dealing with this issue for a long time trying to

figure out how to cite -- >> we are going to leave this here. live now to the u.s. capitol for the senate has legislation requiring the homeland security department. the bill named after laken riley. the senate here on c-span2.

.. mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, two months after americans rejected his presidency and policies, president biden is doubling down. last week he unveiled a new front in his war on american energy. a sweeping ban on new offshore oil and gas development covering the entire east coast and large portions of the west coast, the eastern gulf of mexico, and parts of the northern bering sea in alaska.

all told, all told, he's closing off more than 625 million acres to new oil and gas development on top of the bans that were already in place. mr. president, the president's decision last week was particularly notable for its size and for the clear snub to american voters. but this is just the latest in a long series of actions by the president hostile to conventional energy development. a pause on approvals of liquefied natural gas exports, a sharp decline in leases issued for oil and natural gas on public lands and waters, restrictions on drilling in large areas of the national petroleum reserve in alaska. the cancellation of leases in the arctic. the administration's so-called good neighbor rule designed to effectively force fossil fuelled power plants to close. and, mr. president, the list goes on.

in short, president biden has done everything he can to set up -- set us up for a future of diminished conventional energy production. and that's a problem. because we are nowhere near being able to rely primarily on alternative energy. and if we don't have sufficient conventional energy, we're going to find ourselves in serious difficulties. for starters, mr. president, insufficient conventional energy production could mean big increases in energy bills for american families. a lack of domestic supply or the need to rely on expensive energy imports will be likely to make things like gas and electricity far more expensive. now, needless to say, that's the last thing that americans are looking for after the steep increases in gas and electricity bills under the biden administration. and apart from price, there is the even more concerning prospect of major supply short

annuals. -- shortages. i'm fairly sure americans don't want to wait in long lines for gas or face rationing or wonder whether the lights are actually going to turn on when they hit the light switch. and then there are the national security implications. if we're not producing enough conventional energy here at home, we're going to have to make up these supply -- the supply from abroad, most likely from hostile nations or volatile areas of the world. and as european countries learn the hard way after russian invaded ukraine, relying on hostile nations for your energy supply is not a winning proposition. plus, foreign production can be far less environmentally friendly than producing oil and gas here at home. one of the best things that we can do for our national security is to ensure that we have a stable, reliable, and affordable domestic energy supply.

mr. president, fortunately the biden administration is being supplanted by the trump administration. and i know that president trump is committed to reversing president biden's anticonventional energy policies and unleashing american energy production. hopefully it will be possible to undo much of the damage that president biden has done and set us up for a secure energy future. but it's worth reflecting on what might have been and could be again if we don't have a congress and a president committed to conventional as well as renewable energy development. and i hope that future administrations, democrat as well as republican, will make american energy security a priority. mr. president, i yield the floor, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the clerk: ms. alsobrooks.

>> we talked about the fact the pentagon can't do an audit. you talk about mid-gum i've run big businesses. accountability. if you want to get an audit done you can get an audit done. you might get a letter saying this thing yet to fix when all

goes to accountability and we haven't had it. can you talk about what you bring, how you bring accountability to the table, what you done in the past and what you will do with regard to bring accountability? >> i meant when he said any opening statement. i know what i don't know. i don't never run organization of 3 million people with a budget of 350 billion. what i do know is i lead men and women. i played people. its leadership the people and motivation of people and a clear vision of people where you build a team, cast that vision, power people properly. i want smarter and more capable people around me than me. you will get that at the department. i cast a clear vision, build a plan can work it. we set the metrics and everyone is healthy cattle. i know our business, incoming businessman president believes in accountability and holding people accountable. that will happen at the pentagon. this is been a problem for a long time. secretary rumsfeld gave a speech

on september 10, 2001 that is mostly forgotten but it was not the need for acquisition reform, cutting tale to give two teeth, to war fighters. 9/11 happened and these are problems that event persisted for a long time but now we have new threats and we need the urgency of this moment. as you said the most dangerous moment pasley since world war two. the urgency do everything possible to get the capabilities in the hands of war fighters, emergency powers defense production act whatever it takes and an audit is part of it. >> why do you want to do this? why you want to do this job? what drives you? >> you have 30 seconds. >> because i love my country. i've dedicated my life to the war fighters. people see that someone who host a morning show on television. but people that really know me know where my heart is at. it's with the guys in this

audience who of had my back d i've had there's, been in some of the darkest most difficult places you can ever be in, come back a different person and only by the grace of god and my here before you today. i'm doing this job for them, for all of them. >> senator warren. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. hegseth, thank you. thank you for your service. so if you are confirmed you will oversee our military including about a quarter of a million women who currently serve on active duty in the army, navy, air force, spaceports, marines. i have serious concerns that your behavior toward women disqualifies you from serving in this role. now i been trying to get answers from you for quite some time on this. you haven't wanted to meet our answer into my questions get so we'll just have to do it here and diving.

i want to pick up on some of the questions asked by senator shaheen and gillibrand and geraldo and make sure with a list to some of the facts i think are undisputed. a going to talk about anonymous sources. i'm going to quote you directly. we've got the video. with god it in print. so going back to january 2013 come to told fox news interview the women in military simply could measure up to me in a military saying allowing women to serve in combat roles would force the military to lower the bar. he picked up on that same theme in 2015 a given marks on fox news referring to women in combat as quote it would erode standards in june 2024 you sn ben shapiro podcast quote, women shouldn't be in combat at all. and then of course we talked about in 2024 he published a book and you say on page 26 of your book we need moms but not

in the military, especially in combat units. page 48 of your book you claim that women should not be in combat roles because men are distracted by women. and then ten weeks ago you appeared on the sean ryan show and said i'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. now, i presume you recall making all the statements? >> senator, i'm not familiar with the article you're .2 in 2013 but it underscores my argument but in the 2013 are you i was talking about -- >> i -- let's not have the same fight -- i quoted you directly to we've got the video. what happened to show it. i want to be clear here. for 12 years you are quite open about your views and your views were consistently saying women are inferior soldiers, , sailor, marines, airmen and guardians. and in case anyone missed the

point, and these are your words from ten weeks ago, women absolutely straight up should not be permitted to serve in combat. add a no on each of these quotes, that said without qualification. it's not by how much you can lift or how fast you can run. they don't belong in combat, period, your words, straight up. and then on november 9, 2024, just two days after your last public comment saying that women absolutely should not be in combat, you declared that, quote, some of our greatest warriors are women, and you support having been serve in combat. now, that is a very, very big about-face in a very, very short period of time. so help me understand, mr.

hegseth, mr. schumer: mr. president -- the presiding officer: we're in a quorum call. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, today, the senate began holding hearings for the president-elect's nominees to serve in his cabinet. this morning senate armed services committee heard testimony from pete hegseth to serve as secretary of defense. few nominees will face the kind of troubling questions that mr. hegseth faced going into today's hearing. he is, by outward appearance, woefully unfit for a job like secretary of defense. unfortunately, mr. hegseth -- unfortunately for mr. hegseth, his testimony thus far has

failed to address the disturbing questions that plague his nomination. it appears mr. hegseth's strategy is to follow the five d's of dodge ball -- dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge. mr. hegseth failed to explain for one why someone with his lack of qualifications should be entrusted to lead our armed forces. why should america entrust our military to a television personality who has never led any large organization? it's a huge organization, dod. he hasn't come close to having any of that kind of administrative experience. we didn't hear any good answer to that question. mr. hegseth also failed to honor his deeply flawed history of financial and organizational mismanagement. why should he be the one entrusted to manage the

pentagon's budget? again, no good answer. when asked about his comments as recently as two months ago, when he claimed we should not have women in combat roles, he had no good answers. finally, mr. hegseth failed to assure us he has the temperament for the job. his history of excessive drinking is troubling, for someone seeking to lead our military. and his reflexive defiance against the allegations regarding sexual assault undermines his credibility. if mr. hegseth had nothing to hide about his past, then it shouldn't be a problem for the chairman of the armed services committee to allow all committee members to review all fbi background documents. but today, chairman wicker rejected this reasonable request by ranking member reed, to let committee members review mr. hegseth's past. again, if there's nothing to hide about mr. hegseth, why is

the chairman hell-bent on keeping all relevant information out of the hands of his colleagues? to dismiss the allegations against mr. hegseth, but then reject full transparency is odd at best, darrening russ at -- dangerous at worst. it reeks of something hiding in the dark. being secretary of defense demands discipline, character, restraint. mr. hegseth's history shows he is dismissive in all these qualities, and thus so far his hearing has not changed that. now, on the thomas tomorrow -- on the noms tomorrow, mr. hegseth is not the only nominee testifying this week who must answer for disturbing record. the number of people with disturbing records who have been nominated, some good nominees, but the number with disturbing records and histories i don't think i can remember a time in history when we've had that many. tomorrow, we will hear from a large collection of nominees, but let me focus on two --

russell vought to serve as director of omb and chris wright to serve as secretary of energy. let me begin with russell vought, a key figure in the first trump administration and one of the chief architects, one of the chief architects of project 2025. this man is not just a bystander who supported it. he helped put it together. no administration on earth can claim to be pro-worker and then nominate someone like russell vought to oversee the federal government's budget. again, you can't be pro-worker and be for russell vought. he has spent years, years pushing for trillions in cuts to america's social safety net, something that would cause immediate, severe harm to tens of millions of american citizens. we all know mr. vought's history very well. we know his awful and radical record from the first trump admini administration. even after leaving government, mr. vought was the go-to authority for the most radical

elements of the house gop, advising them on budget that punished america's families, seniors, kids, law enforcement and others with draconian, draconian budget cuts. his budget cuts weren't just snipping at the edges. they cut to the keep. tomorrow, when vought testifies before the committee, americans will be reintroduced to his outl outlandishly extreme agenda. if project 2025 caused your stomach to turn during the election, mr. vought would be a nightmare scenario. if you're among america's works class or from low-income families or middle-class families working marred to make -- hard to make ends meet, mr. vought would be disastrous. if you rely on medicare or nutrition assistance, mr. vought would put those services in danger. on the other hand, if you're among the wealthiest of americans in in this country, mr. vought is a wave of good news. he's a staunch advocate of tax cuts for the untrarich,

deregulation for america's megacorporations, even if that means adding trillions to the deficit. as we will all see tomorrow for ourselves, confirming mr. vought would be a disaster for america's working and middle-class families. finally, i'd like to say something about president trump's nominee as secretary of energy, mr. chris wright. there's a lot, a heck of a lot in mr. wright's background that should trouble americans who care about affordable energy and creating good-paying clean jobs. mr. wright is one of america's wealthiest fossil fuel executives and has a history of sounding like a climate change skeptic. he once said there is no climate crisis, and, quote, we have seen no increase in the frequency of hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts and floods. what on earth is this man talking about? is he such an ideologue that he doesn't see the truth of the world around him? mr. wright, look over at california right now and say

that we haven't had increases in these kinds of problems. tomorrow mr. wright must answer for his background and his comments. it's like putting a fox in the henhouse. if you believe in clean energy, you couldn't have a worse nominee. if confirmed, will mr. wright fight to lower the cost to american consumers or fight to help -- or will he fight to help the bottom line of polluters and oil companies? will mr. wright push policies that build on the policies in the inflation reduction act, which created hundreds of thousands, if not millions of good-paying clean jobs, or will he kill those jobs because he's such an ideological extremist? if confirmed, will mr. wright advance our country into a prosperous, affordable clean energy future, or will he take us backward and do the bidding of big oil? he must answer these questions

and more tomorrow. i yield the floor. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that senators barrasso and durbin be permitted to complete their remarks prior to the scheduled recess. the presiding officer: without obje objection. mr. barrasso: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. i rise too discuss the confirmation process, because today senate committees are beginning their hearings, starting to hear from the nominees from president-elect donald trump, qualified nominees. we've been hearing from many of the nominees this week. i just heard the minority leader talk about what's happening today, because at this very moment pete hegseth is testifying, testifying in the armed services subcommittee. he is the president's nominee to be the secretary of defense. i've been following these

hearings closely. piece hegseth is giving -- pete hegseth is giving strong answers to tough questions. he's confident, knowledgeable and should be confirmed quickly. we have a significant problem in our military, with morale and with recruitment, and pete hegseth is the right person to address those issues of military readiness. mr. president, the incoming administration is ready to act, ready to act and deliver on the historic mandate that president trump won in november. his victory in the electoral college and the popular vote gives him a mandate, a mandate to undo the damage of the current administration, and to unleash new american prosperity. president trump understands the old saying that personnel is policy. that's why he nominated his entire cabinet before thanksgiving, and it is a strong

team. doug burgum, chris wright, lee zelleden will take the handcuffs off american energy. marc marc, pete -- marco rubio, pete hegseth will restore american strength of. no more weakness from america on the world stage. scott bess ant will stop a $4 trillion tax increate. pam bondi will stop the weaponization of the justice department and enforce the law. christ kristi noem will make sure the border is secure. these nominees are not a return to business as usual. business as usual gave us painfully high prices. business as usual gave us wide-open borders. business as usual gave us the disastrous death of soldiers in the fall of afghanistan. these nominees by president trump are bold choices. they're motivated, they're skilled, and they are committed

to the safety and security of every american. most importantly, they show that president trump is serious, serious about bringing fresh eyes and a new outlook to washington, d.c. that's exactly what the american people voted for in november. senate republicans are committed to get president trump's team in place quickly. our committee chairs are working aggressively to give each nominee a fair and speedy consideration. that's how the senate had operated historically, especially when faced with such a mandate from the american people. mr. president, in 2009, the president coming into office, obama, had seven cabinet nominees confirmed on his very first day in office. within eight days of taking office, he had 14 nominees confirmed. all but five of his nomination in 2009 were confirmed by voice

vote. president trump deserves the same deference. it's interesting to me to hear the democrat leader talk about republicans rushing the process this year. well, four years ago senator schumer pledged to hold hearings right away, he said, for president biden's nominees. he said, and i quote, it's traditional for a new president. well i believe senator schumer was right to move quickly. but now that the shoe is on the other food, democrats should work in good faith with us to uphold that tradition for president trump. i have my doubts. the democrat leader reportedly told his caucus to create fireworks at this week's hearings of our nominees. well, we've seen democrat obstruction before. due to senate democrat obstruction, president trump had only five nominees confirmed in january during his first term.

we saw obstruction for the sake of obstruction. americans now have chosen a new direction. they chose this president and the president's victory was decisive. elections have consequences, and you and i know that, mr. president. this week the united states senate is engaging in our constitutional duty of advice and consent. advice and consent means to deliberate, to debate. it means giving advice to the nominees, and we are doing that and have done it. but it's no excuse to distract and delay or to slander and then to try to search and destroy. the senate is going to follow the mandate of the american people and confirm president trump's strong nominees. we will do it swiftly. we are committed to working around the clock, including nights and weekends, if democrats choose to deliberately delay. with this majority, with our new president-elect, we will deliver

a new direction for america. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks.

the presiding officer: the senator from from illinois. mr. durbin: ask that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: many senators use this to wax poetic. today our nation's 46th president feels appropriate to do so. history says, don't hope on this side of the grave. but then once in a lifetime, the long foretitle wave of justice can rise up and history rhyme. i recited these words -- some of president biden's favorites a -- by irish poet haney.

as i reflect on his time in our nation's highest office, i think it's only right to use these words again. over the course of his long service to this country, president joseph biden has been the source of hope and an author of history. and just as haney observed, he became one of the rare leaders who have made hope and history rhyme. america is better for it. over the decades i've another president joe biden, he's proven to be one of the finest public servants america has seen. he worked and put himself in positions to give back to this nation. when it came to i can making decisions of consequence on issues that mattered most to the american people, joe biden put america first. through immense personal tragedy, through setbacks and obstacles, president biden has taken the strength and wisdom he lev -- learned from his family,

held steadfast to his faith and gave people reason for hope. his record as a senator while serving as vice president under barack obama and while sitting behind the resident desk itself speaks for itself. when future generations hear the name joe biden, they'll think of the incredible growth, recovery, and progress america has made under his leadership. the covid-19 pandemic changed life in america as we knew it. it claimed thousands of american lives per week and brought our economy to a virtual halt. but thanks to joe biden, we recovered from the devastation of this pandemic. we passed the american rescue plan to support working families and businesses and address the public health crisis. this law deployed vaccines to millions of americans and normalcy returned. in 2020 the world economy was in shambles due to covid-19. in april 2020 our economy lost nearly 12 million jobs in a

single month, our unemployment rate skyrocketed to 14.7%. but thanks to biden's leadership, many workers were able to get about a being to work -- back to work. since joe biden has taken office, our economy has added 16 million jobs, 20 million new business applications have be filed, the mos in any single -- the most incy single presidential term in history. and unemployment was under 4% for the longest stretch in 50 years. four years ago infrastructure week was nothing more than a punchline and a broken promise, but thanks to joe biden, we passed bipartisan infrastructure law that replaced our aging infrastructure and expanded access to clean drinking water and the high-speed internet. thanks to joe biden, we took historic action to address the climate crisis through the inflation reduction act, the most significant investment in clean energy, sustainability and climate resilience in america's history.

and we guaranteed american leadership in science and technology with the chips and science act, a bipartisan bill bringing semiconductor manufacturing back to america and bolstering our competitiveness for generations. we were able to enact the most significant gun safety legislation passed in nearly 30 years, the bipartisan safer communities act. thanks to joe biden, over $80 billion -- -- $1800 billion has been. we lowered the cost of prussian prescription drugs, made historic gains in expanding health coverage. history will also remember joe biden for the violence against women act. he wrote the bill. he championed this while in the senate, bipartisan legislation aiming to make sure every woman can live free from violence and

abuse. as chair of the senate judiciary committee, i'm proud to say that i worked with joe biden to confirm 235 judges to the federal bench under his leadership, including the first african american woman and former public defender as a member of the supreme court. that is only here at home. on the global stage, he restored faith in america as a world power, a global leader, and a responsive ally, one that would not tolerate post world war ii to be undermined by autocrats like vladimir putin. he defended ukraine, boosted competition with china. he oversaw the expansion of nato and its bolstering of defenses of its baltic members. most importantly, thanks to joe biden, the office of the presidency once again stood for decency, civility, respect, and empathy. i sincerely hope our nation does not lose sight of these values. there is no doubt when it comes

to haney's words, protected's life has imitated art. throughout his time in public service, president biden inspired hope in so many millions of people and in his commitment to ensuring that america lived up to her lofty ideals, he left a legacy that will shape history. president biden, it's been an honor to count myself as an ally and friend. on behalf of a grateful nation and world, i want to say to you and to jill and to all of your family who shared you with us for so long, thanks for making history right and rhyme. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate >> the senate is in recess now for the weekly party caucus lunches. lawmakers are debating legislation requiring t homeland security department

detain migrants with sex-related also former west virginia governor jim justice is being sworn in today. you can watch live coverage of the senate when members return here at 2:15 p.m. eastern on c-span2. wedsday president-elect trump secretary of state ninee senator marco rubio appears befo a confirmation hearing before thee feign relations committee. he served and use senate since 2011 and was vice chair ofhe senate intelligence committ he ran as a presidential candidat in 2016 lost the nomination to donald tmp. he was speaker of the flo 20-2008. representatives from you can watch his eight. you can his confirmation hearing live canadian eastern on c-span at three, c-span now our

free mobile app or online at c-span.org. >> democracy unfiltered with c-span. experience history as it unfolds with c-span's live coverage this month as republicans take control both chambers of congress and a new chapter begins with the swearing in of the 47th president. on monday, january 20, tune in for our live all-day coverage of the presidential inauguration as donald trump takes the oath of office becoming president. stay with c-span this month for comprehensive live unfiltered coverage of the 118th congress and the presidential inauguration. c-span, democracy unfiltered. >> c-span, democracy unfiltered, we are funded by the submission companies and more including charter communications. >> charter is proud to be recognized