we need to start studying those and get rid of the agencies that obstruct close and our focus on advancing them rather than the health of the american people. i would ask you to take a leadership role across agencies to advise us on what policy changes we must make to not make it worse but make it better because we subsidize literally policies as a government and encourage the production of food, particularly poorest americans that lead to these problems literally creating a problem they are trying to solve your recommendations appreciated. >> you already have liaisons.

we can work collaboratively are senator hickenlooper. >> thank you, we share -- >> the u.s. senate is about to cattle in ring back to the testimony still underway. you can continue watching the hhs confirmation hearing live on our video out and he spent now. lawmakers are considering president trump's nominees including doug burgum to be interior secretary. live coverage of the senate on c-span2. ... the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. dr. black, chaplain of the

senate, will open the senate with prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. merciful father, our refuge and strength, we pause to thank you for the courageous contributions of mark gazelle during his 34 years of dedicated service with the united states capitol police. be with him in all of his tomorrows, doing for him more than he can ask or imagine. in the midst of our gratitude, our hearts are also filled with sorrow. we mourn the loss of precious life last evening at

reagan national airport because of the collision of a jet with an army black hawk helicopter. our grief reminds us of your words in proverbs 27:1 which state, don't brag about tomorrow. you don't know what may happen then. you are kind, lord. please have pity on us and all who mourn. we pray in your merciful name amen. the president pro tempore: will you please join me in the pledge of allegiance.

i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: under the previous order, morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of the interior, douglas burgum of north dakota to be secretary. mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: president pro tempore. mr. grassley: governor doug

burgum of north dakota will soon be our next secretary of the department of interior. i am going to support that nomination. i think he will be confirmed, but until that happens, we always say if confirmed, mr. burgum will play a critical role in balancing the importance of conserving our wildlife and natural resources while also assisting in the enhancement of domestic energy production. now we must remember over the last four years -- in other words, under the biden administration -- many of our nation's federal lands were off limits for any type of use, and the excuse was for the sake of conservation. though that's a broad stroke, the word conservation, it wasn't

made very clear what was meant. many know that i have been a longtime advocate for transparency and the public's business because transparency brings accountability. mr. burgum will be expected to be transparent and forthcoming when leading the department, and i expect that he will be. but especially when responding to letters from members of congress. if confirmed, mr. burgum will oversee several bureaus and agencies that all work together supporting the interior department's mission of protecting, of managing, and of honoring our nation's natural resources and the lands. on the topic of our country's

resources, the u.s. has ample responsibilities for energy production and generation, and president trump, winning the election, has made clear that that's a top priority for him, and the president has created a special council on energy, and mr. burgum will be chairing that council. now i happen to be a believer, as i'm sure mr. burgum is, in what you call all-of-the-above strategy on energy. and all-of-the-above strategy really means just that. in other words, emphasis upon what we've got energy from -- fossil fuels, and that's declining in use but is still going to be around for a long, long time. it means all the energy,

alternative energy that we can create. it means conservation, and not necessarily conservation promoted by government, but individual conservation. and of course nuclear. and nuclear brings to our attention a whole new generation of ways to produce nuclear energy. that's all of the above. and of course we ought to, in order to accomplish that, cut back on biden-era regulations. these regulations seem to be very opaque, and consequently we would forge a fiscally sound path forward in regard to everything that less regulation would bring us. i believe that mr. burgum

understands the need to support an all-of-the-above approach to energy policy given his leadership on that issue as governor of the state of north dakota. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum, mr. president. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks.

mr. kennedy, will you use your position to squelch medical or scientific views with which you disagree? . this is relevant to what senator hickenlooper was asking. we tried a system where government lies to americans or where the tell them, with the level of assurance they don't feel themselves. it isn't working. initial covid vaccine americas

fought to get it. 90, 95% of americans went and got it. cdc has now recommended a booster in only 23% of% of americans that most are taking it. it's because 77% of americans of americans the longer trust cdc. that's not a good thing. if you want uptake of vaccines we need a trustworthy government. other nations when you don't have mandates like japan and if years ago in germany, they had the same uptake as we did. but that any mandates because people trust their government. that's what i want to restore to the american people and the vaccine program. i want people to know if the government says something it's true. it's not manipulative. it's not a noble truth which is what a certain doctor called his lies. >> i don't have a lot of time but i'd like to bring attention to a grand jury investigation we did in florida and ask to enter into the hearing record to make grand jury reports human

trafficking and covid-19. do i have your commitment any organization of your purview will work with states to not be out investigations to ensure children that are in this country that are minors that that are under your purview that you'll communicate with us so that we can have the information to make sure they are safe, unlike investigation where biden's administration at every turn kept us and get information showing they trafficked children that were brought into this country and lost dozens, tens of thousands of children come lost track of them and never gave us and us important information so we could protect them? do i have your what you protect children? >> absolutely. president trump is determined to find the 300,000 children that were lost over the past four years. and return them to their parents. >> thank you. >> without objection it can be entered into the record. senator markey. >> thank you.

yesterday under oath you told my colleagues on the senate finance committee that when you went to samoa in june of 2019 it, wilcock had nothing to do with vaccines. will you confirm again today that the trip had nothing to do with vaccine? >> i call my purpose in going down that had nothing to do with vaccines. >> i have in my hand a blog post in 2021 in which you say the anti-vaccine group children's health defense, which you redcoats offered to fund the purpose of the trip to samoa. and in the same post you state that the trip was ultimately arranged by anti-vaccine activist. during the trip you met with an activist who later compared vaccine mandates to nazi germany. during that trip he also vaccines with the prime minister and director general of health of samoa the director general of

health said you specifically discussed your views on vaccine safety fears. and with unanimous consent i will submit those blog posts, mr. chairman, into the record. >> without objection. >> thank you. ongoing to ask, i'll ask again. did the trip have nothing to do with vaccines as you told my colleagues at the senate finance -- >> if you want me to explain i will. >> didn't have anything to do with vaccine? >> no, it did not. >> they did not? >> the purpose was to i ended up having conversation with people some of whom i never intended to meet. ent, before i begin, i want to comment on last night's horrific tragedy. as most know, last night around 9:00 p.m. a passenger flight out of kansas coming into reagan airport collided into a

helicopter. authorities confirmed that they do not expect any survivors. mr. president, there are few words in instances like this. only our heartfelt prayers for those who have received unbearable news over the past few hours, and our gratitude for rescue personnel who spent the night searching for survivors and remain on the river. it's too early to know why last night's crash occurred, but we're going to find out. congress and federal agencies will be closely examining this tragedy to ensure that america's skies are safe. mr. president, my prayers today are with all those suffering, with our first responders, and with our kansas senators and everyone affected by this terrible event. mr. president, later today the senate will vote on former north dakota governor doug burgum's nomination to be secretary of the interior. governor burgum knows america's

natural resources or our greatest national asset. in the spirit of teddy roosevelt he believes energy can be a big stick to promote peace and prosperity but p we have to leverage our resources. too often under the biden administration the interior department was the tip of the spear in restricting development of america's resources. the biden administration seemed to believe that land use and conservation were mutually exclusive. but people in places like my state and governor burgum's, where the land is part of the way of life, know that the farmer, the rancher, forrester and other landowners are some of the best con servationists. i'm pleased governor burgum is committed to restoring the multiple-use approach to managing public lands. mr. president, i might argue with governor burgum over whether north dakota's badlands are, in his words, significantly badder than south dakota's, but i can't argue with his record of

success. he literally bet the family farm on a small technology company, and he grew it into a major player in a then-nascent sector. when he turned his sights on public service, he made a huge impact on north dakota. he leveraged the state's natural resources to grow its economy and attract talented people to move to the great plains. and he will bring the same data-driven, consensus-based, think-big work ethic to his work as secretary of the interior. i look forward to working with him to protect our public lands and leverage some of america's greatest assets for a safer and more prosperous future. mr. president, i've said it before, i'll say it again, not one of us would last a day here in congress without our staffs. but mr. president, it's not just our staffs. there are a lot of other people on this campus who are essential to ensuring the continued

running of this institution. the men and women who clean our offices, who perform ongoing maintenance around the capitol complex, who ensure that members and staffers have someplace to get food, who issue i.d. badges, who run the press galleries, who maintain our historic buildings, who set up for events, sometimes very big events, and then break things down afterward. mr. president, the list is long. day-to-day operations in the capitol complex are significant in themselves, but there have been some particularly noteworthy events recently -- president carter's lying in state, a presidential visit, and president trump's inauguration. every one of these events required substantial planning and coordination and a lot of extra work for a lot of people. today, mr. president, i want to say thank you. there's no way to name all of the people who are involved in pulling off these events, but i

want to make sure to recognize the joint congressional committee on inaugural ceremonies, ably led by senators klobuchar and fischer, and by mike wagner and julia daniel, executive director and chief of staff of the committee. the inauguration would not have happened without these folks, and i'm very grateful for their work. i also want to thank the architect of the capitol, tom austin, and his incredible staff, from preserving the historic treasures in this building to tending the gardens around the capitol complex, the staff of the architect of the capitol office make sure that our capitol continues to stand as a visible beacon of freedom and the rule of law. and the work they did for the inauguration and for president carter's lying in state was tremendous, from building an inaugural stage, then another inaugural stage, once freezing temperatures forced the inauguration indoors, to setting up chairs, providing support for tv and press operations and

decorating the building, tom and his staff worked tirelessly. i want to give special thanks to raynell bennet in tom's office, who plays a key role in ceremonial events in the capitol and whose unfailingly can-do attitude makes planning these events a lot easier. in addition, i want to recognize jennifer hemingway, the senate sergeant at arms and her office. members of the sergeant at arms office perform essential security and preparedness functions in the capitol. they monitor the doors to the senate floor and maintain order in the galleries. and they're custodians of senate protocol, including providing key ceremonial support when dignitaries visit. they're essential to both the inauguration and president carter's lying in state, and i'm very grateful for their work. i also cannot fail to mention the secretary of the senate's office as well as members of my staff who worked on both the

lying in state and the inauguration. my deep thanks to all those who maintain the cleanliness of the capitol and the senate buildings and ensured so many spaces were ready to welcome visitors. finally, mr. president, i want to recognize all the women and men of the capitol police, who stand on guard for us every day, but whose workload was vastly increased by these events. they put a lot of effort and a lot of overtime into ensuring safe and successful events, and i'm grateful every day for their service. thanks is also due to other law enforcement agencies and officers who contributed to these events, including the secret service, as well as members of the national guard. i'm grateful for every man and woman in this country who put themselves on the line to protect their fellow americans. mr. president, before i close, i want to mention another senate employee, the first and so far only archivist of the senate, who is retiring after an

incredible 40-plus years. as the first ever senate arch archivist, karen paul played a significant role in creating archiving standards for the senate and in drawing attention to the need to preserve records of the work we do for posterity. her publications as archivist include the records management happened book for united states senators, and the archival repositories, and the records management handbook for united states senate committees. key references for senate staffers working to ensure the documents of democracy are preserved for the long term. i want to thank karen for her decades of work and her dedication to the senate. not everyone can say that he or she has played a key role in safeguarding the history of an american institution, but karen can, and i wish her the very best in her well-deserved retirement. 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.

my father and uncle ted kennedy, my father, were deeply, deeply critical of the function of the indian health service back in 1968 and 1980, and nothing is changed. nothings gotten better. i'm going to bring in a negative ads the assistant as the assistant secretary level i would like to get been designated as an assistant secretary for the first time in american history, ensure that all of the decisions we make in our agency are conscious of their impacts on the first nation here i spent a lot of time in years in your state come my favorite place to go.

i've been up in the village. and been all over the state and remote areas. i understand in alaska unique needs of alaska because of health care. some of these as errors not acceptable except for airplane. they don't have a billing service that the federal government needs to pay attention the financing transportation in unusual ways that are required to bear. and we really need to focus on telemedicine and ai, make sure that even in remote places in alaska that our native people can get high-quality healthcare, and we can do that today. i look forward to working with you on those issues, and others. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator murkowski sets a record for going over. senator alsobrooks. >> sorry. >> good morning. thank you, mr. chair.

mr. kennedy, i was struck by your comments are in our meeting last week -- >> what? >> i was struck by your comments in a meeting last week we made it abundantly clear to me that you intended to clean house of the professional sciences at the national institutes of health which you know is headquartered in the state of maryland and employs thousands of hard-working marylanders. i for the record believe in scientists and the police and doctors, and i trust them over politicians without medical degrees. he talked about bad science and bad scientist. in fact, you said to me in response to my question that you intend to replace the bad scientist with a good scientists. i want to ask you, in european what makes makes a scientist or a doctor qualified to serve at t the national institutes of health? >> site is devoted to empirical

methodology, and scientists understand the importance of replication, importance of publishing raw data and being open, transparent about it imports of publishing peer-reviewed. we had, nih has overseen over the past several years of decline, precipitous decline in american health. there is 91,000 people at hhs. are you suggesting some of whom should not be held responsible for that decline? they were in charge -- >> let me insert here -- >> let me finish. >> i only have three minutes left. idle set the rules but i ask the questions and the question is, really whether you intend as you said to substitute potentially your judgment for the judgment of these professional scientists and -- >> i'm not going to substitute my judgment for sites. of course not going to do that. what i'm going to do, the "new york times" just an article last week talking about the fraud,

twenty-year fraud, 800 800 fraudulent studies produced by mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the minority leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, this morning our hearts go out to everyone impacted by the horrible, heartbreaking incident at reagan washington national airport last night. i've been briefed on the horrific incident at dca and have continued to monitor the situation. my heart goes out to everyone who was impacted by this incident. i'm praying for the victims, their families, and our brave first responders as we monitor the situation.

but i have to tell you, i just watched president trump's news conference. listen, it's one thing for internet pundits to spew off conspiracies. it's another for the president of the united states to throw out idle speculation as bodies are still being recovered and families are still notified. it just turns your stomach. in the meantime, we are keeping the families and loved ones of the victims in our prayers, and we are keeping our brave first responders in our prayers as well. now, on omb and russell vought, this week the american people saw firsthand just how destructive the impact of project 2025 could be. in the blink of an eye, president trump ordered omb to illegally freeze trillions of dollars in federal funding for families and kids, for hospitals

and fire stations and police depar departments, impacting almost every single community in the united states. thankfully, the american people fought back and made their voices heard. trump was forced to retreat, rescinding his disastrous m memo -- for now. but make no mistake -- as long as russell vought is donald trump's pick for omb director, the american people can bet he will try again to illegally seize the funding for their communities. now that donald trump rescinded the omb order, he should rescind the nomination of russell vought as well. the chaos of this week should be a lesson to president trump. following russell vought and project 2025 is a loser, it's a loser, of course, for the american people, but it's also a loser for donald trump as this

week has shown. given the unlawful behavior of omb this week, senate democrats will not move to advance mr. vought's nomination any further, until he gives the american people more answers. if mr. vought, the chief architect of project 2025, intends to continue breaking the law at omb and harming our communities in so many ways, he should return to the committee and explain himself. he should answer for the mess he launched on the american people this week. the committee's hearing was last week, before the funding freeze was issued. the american people need new answers. if he's doing the right thing and communicating what he's going to do in this powerful position at omb, he should return to the committee for another hearing. mr. vought tried to hide the

truth during the hearing last week, but the truth of his plan was on full display this week. the future of our hospitals, schools, and food banks should not be in the hands of an ideologue who -- this is bad faith, and mr. vought needs to return to the committee to give the american people some honest answers, or at least comprehension as to what the hell happened this week and what is the plan for moving forward. until then, i stand with ranking member merkley and my colleagues when they said that they should do nothing to advance mr. vought and not go to the markup today, which is at best premature, i support them fully in what they have done. salt, this week house republicans re -- this week house republicans released their

laundry house list of priorities for this congress. dra cone yun cuts and the same ultra right ideology that most americans, even most republicans reject. but what is equally bad is what was left off the list. salt, the state and local tax, and that's what i want to focus on today. republicans are saying they don't have any plans to get salt done this year, to get rid of the cap this year and that should leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth, especially for new yorkers in the hudson valley, especially for police officers, firefighters, and teachers who work hard, who are middle class and get clobbered

by salt. and the cap on the deduction. with the absence of salt from house republicans' priority list, it's clear that the upcoming budget will be nothing more than a trump budget grab. by omitting any salt fix, this is what republicans are telling hardworking americans in new york and massachusetts and california and so many other states. it's saying we don't give a hoot about lowering your costs. in fact, let's raise them. imagine that. imagine that. any republican, particularly those in new york or new jersey who claim to care about helping our teachers, our firefighters, our police officers, our construction workers save money should be outraged. they should be blasting this proposal and calling on house republicans to eliminate the

salt cap. but so far all we hear are contradicts -- crickets or shoulder sh-russian of -- sho shoulder shrugs. taxpayers across the country are sick and tired of the unnecessary cost by the salt cap. people who live in the hudson valley, people who live on long island, and in many other places are severely affected by the cap. and we should hear from our republican colleagues that they won't vote for any tax package unless it eliminates the cap, which is a dagger at the heart of new york. i will continue to do everything i can first to remove the entire salt cap tax and second to never let a new proposal that for the

first times allows salt caps to be put on businesses small and large. on the patel and gabbard nominations. today the judiciary committee is hearing from kash patel. the hearing is still ongoing, but it is clear that mr. patel is not remotely prepared to serve as fbi director. mr. patel has failed to answer his confirmation as one of the nation's chief law enforcement -- how his -- mr. patel has failed to answer how his confirmation as one of the nation's chief law enforcement officers will make americans safer. he's failed to convince americans that he will serve their interests and not donald trump's. it is no wonder so many have spoken out against him, saying he has ludicrous ideas and, quote, no experience to serve at

the high lest level -- highest level of the world's most prominent law enforcement agency. no one who has a history of spreading lies about the fbi like mr. patel should be the fbi director. and today in another nominee that defies belief and imagination, the senate intelligence committee is also hearing testimony from president trump's nominee for director of national intelligence, tulsi gabbard. if confirmed, ms. gabbard would be a walking liability to our intelligence community and our national security. she has a long and troubled history of spreading falsities and sympathizing with vladimir putin and bashar allah schad.

our intelligence agencies are a place where truth and facts must prevail or we become much less prepared in terms of protecting american security. and, yet, someone who is so immune to a fact-based analysis of things, who makes up conspiracy theories left and right is the last person who should be the director of national intelligence. it would be antithetical to elect somebody like mrs. gabbard to the highest level of our intelligence community. finally, today the senate says farewell to a long-time and wonderful colleague, the first-ever activist, karen paul. before she joined the senate, the senate didn't have an archival records program. she arrived in the midst of

chaos. she saw the blank canvas as an opportunity. a chance to develop the standards for how records and papers preserved here in congress are done. for over four decades she's been at the heart of nearly every effort to establish the policies and procedures related to congressional records. i don't know if she's here. is she? i know the word trailblazer and archivist are probably rarely used in the same sentence let alone to describe the same person, but that is karen to a t. away thank her for her service in the senate and to the nation and wish and her family the very best in their next chapter. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. quorum call: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. >> use both article summarizing older articles that, since the original refuted wakefield article in the last regarding measles and autism. here is somebody who can't he

said, he said, but somebody who said that previously you had this presented to you. so back to me. i'm a doctor trying to understand. convince me that you will become the public health advocate but not just turn old information so there's never any conclusion as senator hassan suggested but that will become the influencer for people to believe, there's 1.20 5 million kids studied and there is no autism associate with measles. how do -- you tell me. you see what my question is in there. [inaudible] >> i'm going to be an advocate for strong science. you show me those scientific studies and you and i can meet about it. and there are other studies as well. i would love to show those to

you. a study that came out last week, 47,009-year-olds in the medicaid system in florida. i think the louisiana scientists shows the opposite. there are other studies out there. i just want to follow the science. and i will do, if the science says, and i am wrong about what i said in the past, as i said i will publicly apologize. there's many times i've been wrong about science, if you look at my instagram account when i'm wrong i apologize for it. and i say i was wrong. i don't have any problem. science is a process of challenging hypotheses with new evidence. scientists have to be able to admit when they're wrong. presid majority whip is recognized. mr. barrasso: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be

vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. barasso bros mr. president -- mr. barrasso: mr. president, first let me start, all of us here in the senate and around the country after seeing what happened last night at reagan national airport, it was tragic, it was heartbreaking. there are many questions that need to be answered in the coming days but today all of america is operating. -- praying for those who lost their lives, including the three soldiers in the army helicopter, and praying for the families of the victims. we're so grateful to the bravery of the first responders, and we thank the fire department, the washington, d.c., fire department, the metropolitan police department, the u.s. park police, and the more than 300 first responders who are assisting in the recovery efforts. mr. president, i also want to

talk today about prices, about energy, and about our economy. the message is simple. unleashing american energy will help lower prices. it's essential. energy is often called the master resource. by controlling our own energy production, we are able to control our own future. not along ago america was the leading producer of energy in the entire world. president trump had made america energy independent, and he did that for the first time in decades. well, that changed in four short years under the prior administration. we went from a nation of energy dominance to a nation of energy dependence. the previous administration went on a regulatory rampage. it was disastrous for our economy. the result was painfully high prices, prices for food, prices for fuel, all sky high. suddenly washington was

attacking energy per hoursers and -- producers and energy workers. our nation found ourselves turning to our adversaries for energy. let me ask a simple question. does anyone -- anyone believe that we are better off relying on dictators in china or russia or venezuela or iran to help power our country? does anyone believe we are better off when energy prices are sky high? are we as a nation more prosperous? well, the answer to all of these is no. for the past four years, the previous administration treated energy as an enemy. governor doug burgum and chris wright will treat energy as the god-giving blessing it is. it's available, affordable, and reliable. american energy is an asset. energy is the source of our strength in america. it is a solution to help bring

down painfully high prices. america is an energy superpower, and we should act like it. working together, governor burgum and chris wright will be a powerhouse energy team for our nation. governor burgum grew up in north dakota. he studied business at stanford university. he built great planes at a software company and built it into a global company. as governor of north dakota, he drove his state's trns formation into -- transformation into an energy and technology leader. instead of blocking energy production, he invited companies to operate in north dakota. in turn, his state produced more and more energy with more and more success. in his senate hearing, governor burgum explained the success. he said we live in a time of

tremendous abundance and we can access that abundance by prioritizing innovation over regulation. he's right on. i questioned governor burgum in the energy and natural resources committee. in wyoming we have more than 600,000 acres of federal land that were previously approved for energy production. but for the last four years the previous administration never offered those acres for lease. it also blocked using that land even though energy explorers purchased the right to that land over four years ago before they even came into office. i'm so glad that governor burgum has committed to quickly address this issue. he's going to take the commonsense action of unlocking our lands for oil and for gas production, and we need the energy. we need all of it in this country. chris wright is also an innovative leader.

he studied nuclear fusion at the massachusetts institute of technology. he then worked in solar and geothermal engineering at liberty energy, a fracking company he founded and is currently the ceo, his creative data-driven leadership kick started the american fracking revolution. what i like most about mr. wright is that he tells the truth about energy production. he acknowledges that climate change is real. he knows more american energy is the solution, not the problem. his energy realism is welcome news. when i spoke with mr. wright in the energy and natural resources committee we agreed about the need for an all of the above energy strategy, including nuclear energy. mr. wright agrees with me that it is not in america's best interest to be dependent on imported uranium from russia. congress passed my legislation to ban the import of russian uranium into the united states.

the secretary of energy has discretion to provide waivers to companies to import that uranium, and i am pleased that mr. wright committed to using these waivers only in very limited and extreme circumstances. he also pledged to work with all of us to end uranium imports from communist china. these are very positive steps that need to be taken for rebuilding america's energy nuclear supply. both governor burgum and mr. wright are optimistic about energy's energy future, and they should be. i strongly support them. they are america's energy all stars. they have laid out an inspiring vision for lowering prices, for building up our energy supply, and for dealing with our adversaries from a position of strength. later today this senate will vote to confirm governor burgum as secretary of the interior. chris wright's confirmation will

follow soon thereafter. they deserve strong support here in the senate. with their leadership, the age of climate alarmism is over. the golden age of american energy dominance is here. additionally, mr. president, i just heard the minority leader talk about the hearing today for kash patel, as the nominee to be the director of the federal bureau of investigation. the minority leader had said he hadn't heard anything at the hearing that adequately addressed what mr. patel would do to make america safer. and i would just refer to what was written today by mr. patel in the "wall street journal" when he wrote an article that s said, how i'll rebuild public trust in the fbi. that will make america safer. he wrote if confirmed, i will remain focused on the fbi's core mission and not involve the bureau in prosecutorial

decisions. determining whether someone should be charged with a crime is the responsibility of the justice department, not the fbi. if confirmed, i will guide the agency in investigating criminals and safeguarding the homeland. to me, that answers the question, mr. president. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. >> you know, the problem of corruption is not just in the federal agencies. it's in congress, too. almost all the members of this panel, including yourself, are accepting billions of

pharmaceutical industry -- >> no no, no. no. i thought that -- no, no, no. i ran for president like you. i got millions and millions of contributions they did not come from the executives, not one nickel of pac money from the pharmaceutical. >> in 2020, in 2020 you were the single largest -- >> because i -- from workers all over this country. workers. not a nickel from corporate pack. >> the single largest -- >> know, from workers in -- [talking over each other] >> out of 290. all right. but you have not answered the last question. you've not answered my question. [talking over each other] >> how do you make america guilty spitted your three minutes over. >> how long to the keep going?

you are battering the way to. >> no, i'm not. [talking over each other] >> bernie has gone over. >> before i entered politics, before it's ever think about running for office i practiced medicine for 30 years. i worked in public hospitals in california, louisiana specializing in liver disease, caring for those who otherwise would not have had a specialist. if you will dedicating my life to saving lives. that is being a doctor. that guides me now. in my opening statement i told the story of my patient an 18-year-old girl with acute liver failure from hepatitis b. let me finish the story.

her mother was not allowed to fly in a helicopter. her mother drove the three hours from baton rouge to shreveport. when she arrived they later visit her daughter before you went back to the o.r. the mom goes in to say a prayer. squeezes the daughters hand. the daughters eyes open and she said, mom, and the daughter began to recover. powerful story. powerful story with a happy ending. but as a doctor i saw in dean's not so happy. i just had a friend text me two children died in intensive care unit and a baton rouge hospital from vaccine preventable diseases. this past month. so my concern is that if there's any false note, any undermining of imams trust in vaccines, another person will die from

vaccine preventable disease. now, you've got a megaphone. maybe you and bernie, bobby and bernie. of everybody in this room, the two of you have the biggest followings. tremendous credibility. and with that influence comes a great responsibility. now, my responsibility is to learn trying to determine if you can be trusted to support the best public health. a worthy movement called maha, to improve the health of americans are always asking for more evidence and never accepting the evidence that is there. i look at the article and seems to be come have some issues, i'll just put that to the side. that is why i've been struggling with your nomination. there are issues, all processes,

obesity, we are simpatico. we're completely aligned. as . as some of his discussed immunizations with thousands of people i understand mothers want reassurance that the vaccine the child is receiving is necessary, safe and effective. we agree on that, the two of us but we've we approached it differently. i think i can say that i have approach to using a preponderance of evidence to reassure and you've approached using collective evidence to don't. put different, were about the same age. a seven euro man, 71-year-old man-year-old man who spent decades criticizing vaccines and is financially vested in finding fault with vaccine, can you change his attitude and approach now that people have the most important position influencing vaccine policy in the united states? will you continue like you have been or will you overturn a new

leaf at 870? i recognize, man, if you come out unequivocally vaccines are safe, does not cause autism, that would have an incredible impact. that's your power. so what's he going to be? will it be using the credibility to support lots of articles, , r will it be credibility to undermine? i've got to figure that out for my vote. you have the power to help rebuild, to a public health institutions we earn the trust of the american people. now, let's be political. i'm a republican. i represent the amazing state of louisiana and as a patriotic american i want president trump's policies to succeed in making america and americans more secure, more prosperous, healthier. but if there's someone that does

not vaccine because the policies or attitude you bring to the department and there's another 18-year-old 18-year-old who dies of a vaccine-preventable disease, helicoptered away, god for bid dies, it will be blown up in the press. the greatest tragedy will be her death but i can also tell you associated tragedy that will cast a shadow over president trump's legacy which i want to be the absolute best legacy it can be. so that's my dilemma, man, and you might be hearing from you in middle of the we can. you may be hearing over the weekend. thank you for your time. ideal to my ranking member. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you very much for your job today and conducting this very, very important hearing. let me reiterate my concerns.

every person on this panel, and i would hope everybody in america, wants to make us the healthiest country on earth. and i applaud mr. kennedy for raising the issue, documents and very important truths, but what i'm not hearing from him are some very specific policy issues that we absolutely need it we're going to make america healthy. it is unquestionable that when 68 million, 68,000 americans die because he can't afford to go to a doctor, you've got to do with it. i have not heard one word about the need for universal healthcare that exist in every country on earth. when one out of four people can't afford prescription drugs because the pharmaceutical industry is ripping us off and charging us ten times more in some cases and the people in other countries, i have not heard the definitive answer i

need that we are not going to pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. one of the points mr. kennedy made which is right, healthcare is not just medical care. it's a lot more. talk about the food industry. with help a hearing, senator cassidy and and i held her a couple months ago when we made the point that the food industry is, in fact, poisoning our kids with addictive food that is leading to obesity, diabetes, heart conditions, et cetera. and i hope, i hope that our congress and the white house will have the courage to take on a very powerful food industry and the man at the products that they sell our kids are, in fact, healthy and nonaddictive. in many ways with the food industry is doing today is what the tobacco industry did 50 or 60 years ago. we talk about making america

healthy today. again it's not just doctor care, medical care. we have millions of people working for starvation wages. you cannot be healthy if you're working 50 or 60 hours a week and you can't afford the rent that your landlord is charging you. stress kills. stress makes us sick. pics of mr. chairman let me just say this. i think the issues that have been raised in this hearing today are of enormous importance. i look forward to working with you and all the members of this committee to make sure that we develop the policies that have the courage to take on very powerful and wealthy special interests. so when fact we can make america healthy. thank you. >> this concludes our hearing. ..

[applause] [inaudible conversations]

electric situation the blowhards allowed to everyone affected by . praying for the victims and families and our great

responders, i have to tell you the series. since november the president rollout title regulation of bodies are still be recovered. issue. the impact of product 2025. worked with bill and beaches. trillions of federal funding for families with kids, hospitals, physicians, police officers. it affects every communities.

and donald trump or omb director of americans believe several. given the this week will not move any further. continue to break the law. our sin return to know what the

hell forward will be hearing that the committee held was before the funding freeze was issued. the hands of an ideologue involved with this own ideology. let's the list risk. the funding freeze but his actual plan was put on full display and what he told the committee and what he did. so devastating. the vote needs to return to the committee and give the american people honest answers. what the plan is moving forward.

i fully support the committee's decision not to participate. the nomination altogether. the administration he had to backtrack.

and no secret that they will try to find more and they will. unit democrat will be there. >> thank you very much. and it is unfit to serve

director right democracy. all these programs and families across america. a two week extension indirect specific questions, he has chosen not to answer those questions. the majority deciding to hold the boat now, the private room of the floor senate chamber that is not okay. this nomination is so troubling especially between members of the committee.

it's rejected and secret off the floor of the senate chamber. he said so many things that make him dangerously unfit holding of military aid for ukraine and trumps first impeachment. thousands of nonprofits and dedicated people are government employees only by the failure of president trump to end supports prosecuting officials who investigated president trump.

we want to transfer the power of the first and the president and decide how much goes to each program. domestic unrest for drug use and medical abortions to be banned and abortion itself to be bd exr incest or the life of the mother. this all-powerful president and there are checks and balances.

and playing out the members of his body to confirm posting medical plans and action in the vote is mastermind of double the spirit of auricular unilaterally blocked with the american people caps on. susan stopping truck delivery

will security he's written a lot about it and went came before all of us, he refused time after time to simply commit to following the law. makes no sense confirming the mastermind the last few days of chaos. someone in addition from working families and project hundred 25 all for the complete abolition of the portion. the 2020 election, he said we

live in the constitutional time and dedicated and what people are counting on, the base of should never continue and should not be held behind closed doors without any opportunity for the american people see that discussion calling on the full. >> thank you very much. >> government should not be in a

lot of hundred 45. and who they are working or because word is out. a guy named no funds we know from the billionaire dreams the other guy leonard l elizabeth implementing.

the same billionaires behind the court capture scheme bashing into agencies and institutions are states who are suddenly confused by the unilateral government shutdown. what is the medicaid portal doing in rhode island? what are they doing with firefighters? what does it mean for head start? domestic violence shelter wanted to know. committee health centers are wondering about appointments dealing with addiction prevention and recovery.

this job and unfit for this job and trump billionaire and the american people real hard luck in the hearing, one of the things i questioned about the statement, not produce spending, they won't want to go to work because they are increasing. we wandered and i asked law air traffic controllers.

buyout and take steps get fired because of razor blades in it. matthew will in short air traffic traumatized the federal workforce the second thing, dealing with our legal and certain program. many were in washington yesterday. his bail, order was so poorly

lit so they did what they would naturally do. we've been aware there's a is a gag order in those who are alive to talk to voters, i was not aware until i met is. there is internal gag order, to. many of these federal agencies like the left the directly in answer especially. i have a program on a positive contact that and tomorrow. he didn't answer about an extension. application for months and they

can't give an answer. as we all caps off on display and there's a region where the budget committee having a medical on the nomination in the rigidness, exotic the hate. the look they don't want a discussion where the persuade. they clearly responsibility. >> i do want to begin the

country are fears of with them. i talked to us marylanders this morning. i was outraged like you. it was grotesque terrible tragedy. immediately pointing fingers. part of what we are witnessing.

as it behind the scene, consequential 11 qualified. submitted this. it's clear he wanted. the way to enforce our constitution separations spirit he refused to comply so i gave him another chance. when you live president ran against cells you want to propose an amendment will, that

is your prerogative but he refused to do it. thousand sunday say on importantly sources, but that was not by accident, that was by design led by people in this administration who don't want to follow the law refused to comply. president stoker to say want to support the i will just enforce the parts of the law that will register and wealthiest and forget about everybody else. you don't get to do that.

the director of go and blue and delayed recall they would help military support so i wrote and asked questions they can violate that and i got back a letter 2020 concluded the ipa. the same guy who was found to have violated the law is helping of what and route to and will violate the law pretty much admitted so i am running my

colleagues in him that. violations of the law are hurting. >> thanks for being here today i want to thank senator murphy with his leadership here he has together. it occurred already chaotic confusion across america right now. when the white house they were in by the executive order in place, more confusion fails. i've been on the phone with my

colleagues have said over and over, democrats and republicans, opioid the victims of natural disasters we don't know what up next the start trying to make payroll. systems they normally use to be able to get everything done and a switch was flipped on somewhere nearly one rise to precious the same time, what would happen? this is happening to regular people all over america and attorney folks. it's not right what concerns me,

who personally today and having an american conversation shedding light what happened ranking than an open conversation will think goes to go into a room not accessible to any of you want the american people were left out from and that will only create more chaos and confusion trying to get the proceeds in my line of questioning and time again project relates 25 of the foundation found like it on the vioxx why did you stop this group looks president trump

really develop the documents and put the budget together. go back and look at the transcript. there should be no confusion about what is up to what he's doing. he's doing it now and other similar foreign aid. a little boy, that gets one in a confirmed to what is going on there's a lot of alarm and confusion you should not have been difficult for republican colleagues to work together and to be honest with the american people because seth's will want, they just want to know what's going on they don't need to be little use normal daily chaos.

all those victims natural disasters, people who lost everything new mexico had the largest buyer in our histories years ago. is this on enough on each family dealing with the traumas we are only going through figure out three years later they look at the fund also promised? another sleepless night. a spotlight for the american people so i pray my republican colleagues and right this wrong but it doesn't seemed like they are willing to and natural disaster in california, senator alex padilla.

>> thank you and jihadi the families in the coming days will hear the stories and the impact of thing buyers in los angeles and in the kind of crisis people turn to local leadership to be done. in those moments from others efforts will spending freezes and hiring freezes in so many

ways, go back on the obligation to constituents in the american people. the past few days have been anything but business as usual. i agree, this was an attempt in a one-man government shutdown a president trump, and efforts to grilling is dollars in funds that will support caps off the qualifies and law enforcement agencies and programs for children. very partial on this is because

of that real impact, they knew immediately what was at stake and so many of them jumped into action calling to share their concern, looking for guidance, looking for help. republicans calling had to adapt, to look for trumps families in the very squandered responsible. the curve to agree, this is a hearing. both in public.

what are they trying to hide what are they afraid of stress we are here today because this kind of behavior cannot be business as usual. this is the senate. the dates are too high and packs are to else. as those of said trying to repeatedly politicized the distribution of federal funds including disaster, ornate, is demonstrated he holds himself about the law, about the constitution and above made by congress and that's why president trump like him so much

but for any of my colleagues, work so hard, they should be concerned. the first trump administration cracking 2025 in his arrogance during the confirmation hearing, it's clear he's coming after constitutional authority and repeat this over and over again. there is still time. my republican colleagues, there is still time. have the power to stop this if you have the courage to do so.

so also that power to president trump. use that power for your constituents. senator came is really out in the committed a plane crash, this emphasizes across is executing policies and placing officials as those who have no respect for the law or delivery of services for everything families depend on that is the vision for america.

one of the deficit and deliver to the billionaires. increase the debt. does anyone have a question? >> we have seen reporting return for the darker playing old and programs for families and acting

as omb director and own a payroll. is it appropriate that the capacity he has been confirmed get specs. >> has always advocated for this status of the topic for today

and more will to be done. >> and will we have a cultivate confirmed we were not doing it that way and only i would be allowed to make comments and demands public discussion. this morning is a hearing, discussion and everyone was

given the opportunity to serve as ambassador to the united states. and then the vote was held. and i can't tell you how important this is this is the engineer at the trump train protected vision product footage of the god and they out the vision for the first 180 days proceeded to illegally and have funds and said he will continue to act illegally because he doesn't care what it says so this is absolutely a type of moment, level and decision come

to the floor. under our process you are on the floor and you will utilize these on the nomination not a lot.

>> certainly -- people are in shock and air travel in america is safe because every crash is taken so seriously. this is a very unusual situation in a civilian complaint approaching the leave it to the experts to weigh in. i have's confidence will do an incredibly competent job figuring out what went wrong. >> governor doug burgum north dakota soon be our next

secretary. i am going to support that nomination. we always say if confirmed will play a critical role in the importance of preserving our wildlife and natural resources while in domestic energy production. we must remember the last four years biden administration, any of our nations federal lands were off limits for any type of uses -- suspend the quorum? the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. tuberville: mr. president, i'd like to start by thanking leader thune for president trump's cabinet nominees so far. president trump is on the verge of having his full team. we've confirmed pete hegseth, kristi noem, scott bessent and many others who are doing an outstanding job implementing president trump's america first agenda but there are more nominees that president trump still needs to confirm. this includes robert kennedy, kash patel, and tulsi gabbard, along with a few others. i've gotten a chance to meet with each of these nominees, been very impressed. they are all outstanding choices and should be confirmed to president trump's cabinet as soon as possible. first i'd like to express my complete and total support for robert f. kennedy jr. nomination

to be the next secretary of health and human services. last november we saw millions of americans, especially young americans, flock to the maga movement after bobby kennedy endorsed president trump. both my sons, 28 and 30, tucker and troy, were huge fans of rfk, and i know there are millions of young people who rfk have brought to the table and into the fold, opening their eyes towards something they had never really been involved in, and that's the health of their generation and all generations across the country. as we know, bobby started to make america healthy again movement, known as maha, which eventually joined forces with president trump. maha is not just a political slogan, it's a movement that has swept our nation. for the first time, important

issues like the effectiveness of vaccines, the dangers of prescription medicines and the chemicals in our food and household products are part of our national political disclosure. as it should be. it's all because of the work of robert f. kennedy jr. you know, before entering the arena, bobby spent four decades, environmental law, and in health care policy, specializing in issues like water pollution, vaccines and food safety. four decades. he is an accomplished attorney who attended harvard, the london school of economics, and the university of virginia, and he's authored multiple best-selling books that i would suggest anybody that's concerned about health of our country should read. throughout his career, he has

committed to discovering the truth about what is causing the chronic disease epidemic in america today, and his presidential campaign exposed the fact that we have a serious, a very serious public health crisis facing our country today and in the future. for example, in his hearing yesterday, bobby kennedy laid out that over 70% of adults and one-third of our children are overweight or obese. the rate of diabetes is ten times more prevalent today than it was in 1960. cancer among our young people is rising by 1% or 2% every year. autoimmune diseases, neurodevelopmental disorders, and addiction cases are hugely on the rise.

depression and anxiety rates are absolutely through the roof. meanwhile, more americans are reliant on pharmaceutical drugs than ever before. i saw that in my former life of being a coach, of players years ago, very few on any kind of drug, such as aterol or retalin for attention deficit. but the last few years, it was a huge uptick in prescription drugs and many, many young people across the country. these findings are alarming, and they should -- and they had better shock all of us. thank god bobby has dedicated his life to getting to the bottom of what's causing these tr trends, as he did in his hearing yesterday, bobby is an expert on the health issues facing our country and has the facts, the data and the evidence to prove it. and he will bring his commitment

to evidence-based science transparency to our national health agencies, and it's simple, americans want access to all the facts so they can decide what's best for themselves and for their families. bobby has committed to giving americans the information that they need to be informed and make informed decisions. recently, i've seen the mainstream media and some politicians attempt to smear bobby kennedy as anti-vax, anti-industry or an enemy of food producers. all of this couldn't be further from the truth. it's just a political attack. we've even heard from prominent republicans, like former vice president mike pence, who is running ads on tv criticizing bobby kennedy for not being sufficiently pro-life. bobby addressed this himself yesterday. he believes every abortion is a tra

tragedy, and he will work with president trump to implement his pro-life policies. these attacks are nothing more than dishonest attempts by the d.c. establishment to tank his nomination. we've seen that in the last couple of weeks on all nominees. sure, bobby kennedy may not be the typical pick for the job, but the american people don't want a typical pick. the one we picked four years ago for president biden was a lawyer living in california and very seldom came to washington, d.c., worked from home. we got nothing done in health and human services. they gave us a mandate in november, 77 million people, to deliver trump, president trump's agenda, and that includes making america healthy again. as far as i'm concerned, bobby is not part of being the health care establishment class.

that's a really good thing. we don't need that. look where it's got us. pharmaceutical industry and industrial food complex won't be running the show anymore when bobby kennedy is confirmed. instead, he will restore our health agencies to the gold standard of specific research and explore historic health care alternatives as part of our efforts to end chronic disease epidemics across this country. ultimately, this will lower costs for americans and ease the burden on our entire health care system, which is being overrun by all the conditions that we have popping up today. with the many public health crises we're facing as a country, we have no time to waste. i hope my colleagues will join me in supporting bobby for hhs secretary and help president trump make america healthy

again. our next nominee, i'd like to turn to kash patel. he is on the hill today, going through his confirmation hearings. kash is president trump's pick to be the fbi director, who testified in front of the senate all morning long. kash is an excellent choice, and he has my full support. it's clear to the american people that the culture at the top, of our top police agency in this country, the fbi, is rotten, it's rotten to the core. we have some good people, but the people in charge have made devastating decisions against a lot of people across this country. it is far past time to clean house at the fbi. over the last four years, we've seen the bureau become politicized and weaponized.

the biden administration turned the fbi into the fake bureau of investigation. the scales of justice were never fair and balanced under the last administration. christopher wray, the director, went after parents at school boards, pro-lifers. he went after catholics. he went after grandmas who peacefully protested right outside this building on january 6. he went to their homes and arrested them. not to mention the unprecedented raid on president trump's home in mar-a-lago, florida. what we've seen unfold at our nation's premier law enforcement agency over the last four years is a complete and absolute disgrace to the american people and to our constitution. not only has the public's trust in the fbi been completely eroded, it's been a disservice to all the great men and women in the fbi who commit every day to defending the constitution and protecting us as american

citizens. it's going to take a lot of hard work to right this ship. trust has to be put back into the fbi. kash patel is the right man to do the job. he's qualified and has an impressive resume. he served in several national security and intelligently roles as federal prosecutor and as a public defender. not only is kash qualified, but he also has the courage and the resolve needed to restore our faith in the fbi. despite the media's lies, kash won't have his enemies list when he takes the job, unlike the biden administration. if crimes are committed, he will open an investigation, follow the facts wherever they lead, no bias, no partiality. kash will bring back truth and trans transparency, uphold the rule of law and the constitution, and

protection americans against its enemies, foreign and domestic. he will insure that the government works for the american people and not the other way around. let's confirm kash quickly and give president trump an important component of his national security team. i look forward to supporting kash patel and hope my republican colleagues will do the same. finally, we need to confirm tulsi gabbard to be our next director of national intelligence. like kash, tulsi will play a critical role on president trump's national security team. she just had her hearing in front of the senate intel committee this morning. her hearing only further confirmed to me that tulsi is the perfect candidate for the dni role. she is a decorated lieutenant colonel, over 20 years of service in the military. tulsi served in combat in the iraq war and is currently active

in service. she has a top security clearance having passed five background collection to receive it. tulsi served in congress for eight years, where she sat on the homeland security armed services and foreign relations committee. and as a member of congress, she consistently participated in high-level intelligence briefings. and she has displayed throughout her entire career in the military and as an elected official, tulsi will bring a fearless spirit to the dni role. i have to tell you, my meeting with tulsi was one of the most impressive i've had since i've been in this office going on five years. knowledge and expertise is unmatched. i have no doubt she will keep our country secure while protecting the constitution and the constitutional rights of all americans. she will help us return to peace through strength and put an end

to americans' costly foreign wars. the attacks on her, questioning her loyalty to the united states, are absolutely disgusting. it's insulting. tulsi devoted her entire life to serving this country, the military, and in public service. to the senators criticizing tulsi for not fitting the typical mold of a dni director, might just be a good thing. have the last several years shown us that the status quo is working? no, i don't think so. i don't think the american people think so either, and they're the ones that count. tulsi brings a fresh perspective to the job of america that we all want and deserve. we do not need another james clapper. like the fbi, we've seen our intelligence community weaponized to target opponents of the regime. the i.c. conspired to take down

president trump in 2016 and 2020, and maybe most recently the election a couple of months ago. for that reason, i think tulsi is exactly the change agent we need leading our intelligence community. like bobby kennedy, tulsi switched her party affiliation because she saw the status quo as a threat to the american people and our constitutional rights. as director of national intelligence, tulsi will check her politics at the door, just like she's done the last 20 years serving in our military. she will come to dni without any bias. she will fix our broken intelligence community. and folks, it is broken. i look forward to confirming tulsi to dni. i urge all my colleagues to join me in voting for tulsi. she will play a major role in president trump's team and

restoring faith in our intelligence community. mr. president, i yield the floor, and i notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. quorum call:

>> before it get on with two comment unless such horrific tragedy. last night around 9 p.m. past new flight of wichita, kansas, come into reagan national airport collided with a black hawk helicopter based out of fort belvoir. this recovery efforts continue, authorities confirmed that they do not expect any survivors. there are few words in instances like this only our heartfelt prayers for those who have received unbearable news over the past few hours and our gratitude for rescue personnel who spent the night searching for survivors and remain on the river. it's too early to know why last night crash occurred but we're going to find out. in congress and federal agencies will be closely examining this tragedy to ensure america's skies are safe.

my prayers today are with all those suffering with our first responders, with arkansas senators and everyone affected by this terrible event. later today the senate will vote on former north dakota governor doug burgum to be secretary of the interior. governor burgum nose and america's natural resources are our greatest national asset. in the spirit of teddy roosevelt he believed energy can be a big stick to promote peace and prosperity that we have to be able to leverage our resources. too often under the biden administration the interior department was the tip of the spear and restricting development of america's resources. the biden administration seem to believe land use and conservation were mutually exclusive. but people in places like my state and governor burgum where the land is part of our way of life know that the farmer, the

rancher, the forrester and other land owners are some of the best conservationists. and then please governor burgum is committed to restoring the multiple use approach to managing public lands. mr. president, i might argue with the governor burgum over whether north dakota's badlands are, in his words, significantly batter than south dakota's cop but i can't argue with his record of success turkey literally bet the family farm on a small technology company and the group into a major player in a then nascent sector. when he turned his sights on public service, he made a huge impact on north dakota. he leverage the states national resources to grow its economy and attract talented people to move to the great plains. he will bring the same data-driven, consensus-based, think big work ethic to his work as secretary of the interior.

i look forward to working with him to protect our public lands and leverage some of america's greatest assets for a safer and more prosperous future. mr. president, i said before and i will say that again. not one of us would last a day in congress without our staff. but contrary to its not just our staffs. there are a lot of other people on this campus who are essential to ensure cotton showing the continued running of this institution. the men and women who clean our offices, who perform ongoing maintenance around the capitol complex. who ensure that members and staffers have someplace to get food. who issue id badges, run the press galleries, who maintain our historic buildings. who set up for events sometimes very big events and break things down afterward. mr. president, the list is long.

day-to-day operations in the capitol complex is significant in themselves but there been particularly noteworthy events recently. president carter's lying in state, a presidential visit and president trump's inauguration. everyone of these events requires substantial planning and coronation a lot of extra work for a lot of people. that a country don't want to say thank you. there's no way to name all of the people who are involved in pulling off these events by want to make sure to recognize the joint congressional committee on inaugural ceremonies ably led by senator klobuchar and senator fischer and by mike wagner and julia daniels executive director and chief of staff of the committee. the inauguration would not happen without these folks and ungrateful for their work here i want to thank the architect of the capitol tom austin and his incredible staff. from preserving the historic treasures in this building to attending the gardens the capitol complex costa will be

architect of the capitol office to make sure our capital continues to stand as a visible beacon of freedom and a little flaw. the work they did for the inauguration for president carter's lying in state was tremendous. from building an inaugural stage and then another inaugural stage, freezing temperatures forced it endorses setting up chairs, providing support for tv and press operations and decorating the building, , tom d his staff worked tirelessly. i want to give special thanks to reino bennett, in tom's office who played a key role in ceremonial events here at the capital, whose unfailingly can-do attitude makes planning these events a lot easier. mr. president, in addition to the architect of the capitol office architect of the capitol office, directions -- also recognize jennifer hemingway the senate sergeant at arms and her office. members of the sergeant at arms office perform essential security and proper dysfunctions

in the capital. they monitor the doors to the senate floor and maintain order in the galleries. and they are custodians of senate protocol including support when dignitaries visit. they were essential to both the inauguration and president carter's lying in state, and i'm very grateful for their work. i also cannot fail to mention the secretary of the senate office of those members of my staff who worked on both the lying in state and the inauguration. and my deep thanks to all those who maintain the cleanliness of the capital and the senate buildings to ensure the summary spaces were ready to welcome visitors. finally, mr. president, i want to organize all the women and men of the capitol police who stand on guard for us every day but whose workload was vastly increased by these events. they put a lot of effort and a lot of overtime into ensuring safe and successful events. and ungrateful every single day for their service.

thanks is also due to other law enforcement agencies and officers who contributed to these events including the secret service as well as members of the national guard. i'm grateful for every man a woman in this country who put themselves on the line to protect their fellow americans. mr. president, before i close want to mention another senate employee. the first and so far only archivist of the senate who is retiring after an incredible 40 plus years. as the first ever senate archivist, karen paul has played step in creating archiving standards for the senate and a a drawing attention to the need to preserve records of the work we do for posterity. her publications as archivist occlude the records management handbook for united states senders and the archival repositories and the records management handbook for united states senate committees. he references for senate staffer centura the documents of the markers are preserved for the

long-term. i want to thank karen for decades of work and her dedication to the senate. not everyone can say that he or she has played a key role in safeguarding the history of an american institution, but karen can. i wish her the very best in your well-deserved retirement. mr. president, i yield the floor and and i suggest the absence of a quorum. >> mr. president, this morning our hearts go out to everyone impacted by the horrible heartbreaking incident at reagan washington national airport last night. i have been briefed on the horrific incident at dca and continue to monitor the situation. my heart goes out to everyone who was impacted by this incident. i'm praying for the victims, their families and our brave first responders as a monitor the situation. but i have to tell you, i just watched president trump's news

conference. listen, it's one thing for internet pundits to spew off conspiracies. it's another for the president of the united states to throw out idle speculation as bodies are still being recovered, and families are still notified. it just turns your stomach. in the meantime, we are keeping the families and loved ones of the victims in our prayers, and we're keeping our brave first responders in our prayers as well. now on omb and russell vought. this week the american people saw firsthand just sc

the presiding officer: i recognize the senior senator from hawaii. mr. schatz: thank you, mr. president. we're not in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are in a quorum call. mr. schatz: i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schatz: mr. president, the american public won yesterday. after 26 hours of public panic and confusion and outrage, the trump white house rescinded the illegal and unconstitutional order to freeze federal funding for every state in the country. it was an obvious attempt to usurp power, designed to hurt people by cutting off access to the things they need most. when you say federal grants, you might think it's a sub category nonprofits and they're just doing a review. let me list the things cut off over the 36 hour period. meals, schools, health care,

child care, roads and bridges, public safety. and so it was no surprise that people all across the country were so outraged. they called our offices, they spoke up online and they let their frustration be known and it was a little different than a normal political argument because it was very real. it was, do i have to send my people home today? it was, hey, the federal funding portal, basically a website, we take a drawdown and then those dollars allow us to make payroll for this domestic violence shelt are or this construction project and if it's shutdown i'm not going to be able to make payroll and if i can't make payroll, you guys have to go home. i can't pay you. this wasn't something to argue online.

this is across the country, people trying to figure out if society as we knew it was going to continue. it wasn't a review of federal funding or an effort to allow a new administration, a new congress to put its stamp on the appropriations process. this was an attempt to take an enacted law and say, you know, i'd like to take the parts of this law that i like and implement them and i'd like to take the parts of this law that i don't like and not implement them. and, look, i'd like to be six foot tall, i'd like to be able to dunk a basketball, i'd like to be able to suffer pipe -- surf pipeline and i would like to take the department of defense and pour it into native hawaiian needs and pour it into health care.

i have to work with my colleagues, do a little horse-trading with my colleagues and get a law enacted and there are going to be parts of that law that we enact, because it's big, it's federal spending, that i'm not going to like and there are going to be parts that i love. but once it becomes the law, it is not within anyone's discretion, not a president, not a head of the office of management and budget, not the majority leader, not the minority leader, not an individual member of congress, not a federal judge to say, pick what you like in this law, implement it, pick what you don't mriek in this law and don't implement it. so the judn federal court, the administration is acting with a distinction without a difference while the piece of paper may not exist -- and that's the rescinded budget people mow -- there's sufficient evidence that the defendants, the government,

collectively are acting consistent with that directive, end quote. we won the first battle, but, look, we understand this is probably going to last a thousand days or so. and we're ready and we will win this battle. and look, i am not naive about what happens when you lose the house, you lose the senate, and you lose the presidency to the other party like you're in for some policy outcomes that you don't like. but you know what? do it the old fashion way and enact the law. work within the law. because the door does swing both ways in this town. and i just want every republican who may be watching this speech, every person who cares about democracy itself who may be watching this speech, every staffer who may be watching this speech, i want you to imagine a president that you didn't vote for with this kind of authority.

i want you to assume that sometimes there will be a democratic president and sometimes there will be a republican president, and that's the way it goes. that's the way our system is set up. and it's okay to suffer through and try to slow down or even thwart bad policy outcomes. but it should not be within the authority of a president to say i won and so i'm just going to hand wave away the parts of federal law that i find objectionable. and i think that's such a high principle for finish who spent all of this time and frankly money to get to the united states senate, right? it is a sacrifice. it's a great job. there are senators who like spend so much time and then they get here and they kind of hate it. kind of whining about it. i don't do that. i love this job. but it is a sacrifice. there are a lot of very talented people who could be elsewhere working less hard and making more money. we get here because we want to

get something done. and we all swear and oath to uphold the laws and the constitution of the united states of america. and the constitution is not unclear. there are places where the constitution, as pad lynn albright -- madeleine albright said was a place to struggle. the constitution is a place to struggle. it was intentionally made kind of opaque or even confusing between the article 1 and the article 2 branch. it was actually supposed to be not clear who was to drive foreign policy. and so we have the form relations committee. we have the appropriations committee, the senate -- state and foreign op subcommittee which i'm ranking member. that is a place where we're going to kind of do battle with each other. between the branchs of government and mopping the parties and between the two chambers. that's all final. that's how the constitution is set up. but let's be clear. the constitution is not an all -- at all unclear about the power of the purse. the power to appropriate money,

the obligation to appropriate money is squarely in the hands of the legislative branch. and so it's not like a state government. it's not even like a county government when you can go hey, you know, i know you want that swimming pool if your district -- in your district. can we talk about how i need your vote on x, y, z. that is how counties work sometimes, unfortunately, right? that is how even state governments sometimes work, unfortunately. but in the federal system, once the law is enacted, the executive branch has discretion within that law but they can't just ignore it. and when it's spending, they can't ignore it. and that's would a federal judge confirmed yesterday and they will continue to confirm it. i mean, look, i worry about a lot of things. i think we should all be vigilant. but i also don't think we should act as though we're powerless. we're out of power but we're not powerless. but this president just like any

other president, this is not personal. it's constrained by the law. is constrained by the constitution. and is constrained by politics which is to say doing unpopular things is going to make him unpopular. shutting down v.a. home loans is unpopular. telling people who are showing up to work on a highway maintenance project with all their equipment staged, sorry, there's been a freeze on grant funding, you've got to go home is unpopular. taking medicaid -- by the way, medicaid comes to state government and then to hospitals and to clinics and to elder care facilities as a grant, right? so when you think grant, i don't want you to think about a $1.2 million grant to a nonprofit, although that's very important, too. most of the money that flows to state and county government, most of the money that flows to the private sector, they are

grants. and so everybody needs to understand this lesson this week, which is we did not elect a monarch. and what i mean by that is, for my fellow travelers on the left, everybody has to understand things are scary. we should be vigilant. this is going to be rough. i understand all that. but we don't catastrophize to the point that we think this man is above the law. he is not above the law. and yesterday was a good reminder nobody in this country is above the law. and so i'm reminded of what the former speaker of the hawaii statehouse used to say, calvin who i was friended with but then i tried to topple him so he relegated me to the back bench. now we're friends again. he said be like the bamboo. bend but don't break. i do think democracy is going to

be tested. i do think this institution is going to be tested. and i think we're going to bend in ways that are super uncomfortable. and i'm going to hate it. but we have to bend but not break. we have to bend but not break. and that goes for both political parties because i promise you, it's not worth it. this person is not going to be president forever. and a lot of people have safe seats and a lot of people are in six-year terms and a lot of people are about to retire. and i do think that that oath to uphold and defend the constitution and laws of the united states of america has to continue to count for something. and so there was a lot of good, frankly, bipartisan pushback on what was clearly an unlawful executive order and an implementing memo. so -- but it's worth -- look, it's been a rough couple of weeks if you're on my side of the aisle. i get that.

that's elections and consequences and it's been really, really painful and scary and real bad consequences happen. but we also have to understand that we won one yesterday. and that federal funds appear to be flowing again for state and county governments. and that a couple of judges basically said you can't do that. you can't do that. and so whether it was the birthright citizenship loss in court that the trump administration experienced or this about the power of the purse, we just need to remember that we are still a democratic system with three coequal branchs of government. mr. president, i ask consent that these remarks appear in a separate part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. schatz: thank you, mr. president. we're voting on several neeps would will be in charge of -- nominees who will be in charge of several departments. the trump administration's climate change and energy policy are not a mystery. it is to exacerbate the climate crisis, right? i think there's a healthy debate to be had and i think some of my republican colleagues know that i can be shockingly reasonable in the policy space around energy. and the reason is, even though i've devoted my entire political career to climate action, i also come from a state that's highly dependent on low sulfur fuel oil for electricity. so the pragmatism has to kick in because as much as i want us to be a hundred percent renewable and i think we'll eventually get there, in the meantime i have no interest in turning off the lights. in the meantime, we have a

tourism industry to support. in the meantime, indopacom is located on the island of oahu. the closer you get to operationalizing a clean energy transformation, the more reasonable i think you become because you understand that we are currently using electrons that are derived, at least on the electricity transmission distribution generation side, that are derived from fossil energy. so we'll have to make a transition. so most of us, most of us, some people wanted to cease all fossil fuel generation. some people want to go a little more slowly in the direction of a transition. but most of us are probably in this band where we're just arguing about how fast we need to make this transition. but i just want everybody to understand that the trump administration's position is not we're making this transition too fast but that we should never make it. and one of his first executive

orders was to shut down a bunch of offshore wind. so we've gone from energy abundance, energy dominance, all of the above to -- actually, we really don't want energy dominance or energy abundance. we only want one category of energy. we're in the tens of billions of dollars, very exciting things. we're coming in really low, cheaper than the current power purchase agreements that the u tiles on the east coast were under. and so this was about cheap and abundant energy. so to the extent that there are some folks who thought we were moving too fast in the direction of a clean energy transformation and maybe we should slow down and maybe we should look at the mix and maybe we should do natural gas if we can get the methane part of this under control, all of that is like i might not agree with it but i can kind of see where you're coming from depending on your geography and depending on your

politics. but that's thought would just happened. would just happened is they said wind is dead on the offshore. and they're trying to do as much of this as possible to create a demand for coal, right some for fossil gas. and so i am deeply worried about lee zeldin and mr. wright and mr. burgum. i will also tell you that i was inclined to be open minded to mr. burgum because he has a very good relationship with his tribes. and as the ranking member of the senate committee on indian affairs, i have come to take seriously the idea that, as i work with markwayne mullin and lisa murkowski and john hoeven and a bunch of people with whom i don't necessarily vote the same way. we have common cause when it comes to protecting the tree and trust obligations and rights. i was just complementing you,

mr. moran -- of native people, native hawaiians, native alaskans and native american indians. so i was inclined to have a good conversation r conversation with -- a good conversation with mr. burgum and at least consider voting for him. and let me el why i'm voting no. two reasons. one is i do believe what happened this week is unlawful. i think it's unconstitutional. and i think it was presenting us with a constitutional crisis. and so in a moment of it being a close call, i'm going to err on the side of expressing my opposition to what the trump administration is doing as it relates to federal spending. but i also specifically said, i'd like to have a phone call with mr. burgum. and i'm not like -- look, i have an ego like the rest of us but i'm not one to get my nose out of joint except playing

basketball against my older brother, about someone not getting back to me or treating me with the proper protocol. but one of the reasons you vote for a secretary is to have a working relationship should anything come up, whether it has to do with tribal equities, federal land in the state of hawaii or anything that comes under the department of interior. and mr. burgum i guess just doesn't feel that he needs my vote because we were never able to land the phone call. and so i'll vote no today. and i hope that we can continue to explore the possibility of working together and compromising where we can and fighting where we must. this week was a rocky, rocky road. but week two, democracy is still standing. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a

quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. quorum call:

>> ladies and gentlemen, welcome. before we get underway today i like to take a brief moment to recognize a terrible loss of life that occurred a few miles away from here last night or carhart and prayers are with the families, friends who lost loved ones last night as well as the brave first responders who are still on the scene. i'd like to take care i'd like to schedule and to join us in a moment of silent prayer and reflection for the souls lost. [silence] thank you. next, i want to remind everyone in attendance here that while

you are all welcome to observe today's hearing, i will not allow or tolerate disruptions from the audience your audience members been nonverbally or physically distract from the hearing including by shouting,, standing, raising signs of making gestures at block the view of other members of the audience or the cameras for those watching on television or online. anyone who does so will be removed immediately by the capitol police and banned from return. welcome everyone to this hearing on president trump's nomination of tulsi gabbard to be the director of national intelligence. ms. gabbard, welcome to the senate intelligence committee. also want to welcome your family and attendance today including your husband abraham, your mother carol, and your sister. i also want to acknowledge some very special friends of yours, dakota myers and pat.

medal of honor recipients are gentle and on behalf of the grateful nation, i extend my deepest thanks to you and the heroes with whom you served. [applause] i also know our next attorney general pam bondi is joining us. apparently she did have enough fun at her own confirmation hearing. ms. bondi, welcome and congratulations. and -- [applause] and finally, finally senator joni ernst and former senator and chairman of this committee richard burr will introduce ms. gabbard shortly. we look forward to your remarks. i think it's fair to say that ms. gabbard nomination is generally a bit more interest and attention to do most nominees before this committee.

but i want to stress that ms. gabbard has been and will be treated with the exact same respect, consideration and professionalism that we extended to every nominee. no more no less, no better no worse. that's how we treat as cig director john ratcliffe two weeks ago and how we are treated dni nominees like avril haines and dan coats in the past. for instance, ms. gabbard has conducted dozens of office meeting with senators. she has completed the committee standard questionnaire. she has answered 247 questions in writing. this is all in keeping with the committee's customs, , preceden, and rules. before i address the important work ahead of the dni, please also let me make two observations about some of the accusations about ms. gabbard. first, i'm dismayed by the

attacks on ms. gabbard's patriotism and her loyalty to our country. for instance, hillary clinton has smeared ms. gabbard calling her an asset of a foreign nation. let me remind everyone that ms. gabbard has served in our army for more than two decades. she has multiple combat tours and she still wears the uniform to this day. she has undergone five fbi background checks. i spent more than two hours last week reviewing the latest top putting eyes on more than 300 pages. it's clean as a whistle. it's fine that we have differences of opinions on policies and programs, but i suspect some my republican colleagues might disagree with some of ms. gabbard's votes in the house of representatives. just as i suspect some my democratic colleagues might

criticize ms. gabbard's statements and actions since she saw the light and left the democratic party. but i sincerely hope that no one today will impugn ms. gabbard's patriotism and integrity. second, i can only laugh at some critics who say ms. gabbard has unconventional views. no doubt she has some unconventional views, like her criticism of barack obama's regime change interventions in egypt and libya. but guess what, i opposed the disastrous interventions in egypt and libya as well. mubarak was a longtime american partner and egypt was a linchpin of our security system in the middle east. gadhafi had been scared straight after we toppled the taliban and saddam hussein. he turned over its weapons of mass distraction and cooperated

against terrorists are in return we had lifted sanctions and reestablished diplomatic ties. but president obama intervened to topple both regimes. what came next? the muslim brotherhood in egypt, and dangerous chaos in libya to this day. no one ever took, ms. took mubarak or gadhafi as the little sisters of the poor. let's not kid ourselves. the world is a dangerous place. not a church picnic. ms. gabbard understand this. which is why she also solve the problem with regime change interventions in these places. the vast number of governments throughout history and still today are not democratic. we may wish it were different and we were to prove it but that's the way the world is. if we only befriended nations that share our system of government and our social and cultural sensibilities, well, we wouldn't have many friends. in a fallen world we have to

take our friends where we find them. no question, stable democracies make the most stable friends. but what matters in the end is last whether the country is democratic for nondemocratic, and more whether the country is pro-american or anti-american. i'll confess those views may be somewhat unconventional, look at where conventional thinking has got us. maybe washington did use a little more unconventional thinking. and i'm sure that the office of the director of national intelligence could use more unconventional thinking. ms. gabbard, i submit that if confirmed a measure of your success will largely depend on whether you can return the odni to its original size, scope, and mission. when congress created the odni we intended to put one office in charge to manage the different agencies of the intelligence

community. congress intended the odni to be a very lean organization that would use small staffs to execute specific tasks. congress can know we wanted another unruly bureaucracy layered on top of it already bureaucratic intelligence community. unfortunately 20 years later that's exactly what the odni has become. incredibly the odni now has, as now larger than any agencies it was established to manage. it has 15 offices and centers which have many subunits within them. the odni staff is measured in the thousands when it should be measured in the dozens, or maybe a few hundred. i promise that's going to change. i intend to get personnel into odni back to their home agencies doing real intelligence work, not bureaucratic makework. i also expect to cap the size of

the odni. ms. gabbard, if confirmed i hope you will be a partner in these vital effort. another example of bureaucratic mission create and empire building is what come to be known as the intelligence community as dni taxes -- mission creep -- the odni levies the so-called taxes on other agencies shifting and directing funds away from the intelligence community is core mission to the winds and fantasies of any particular dni. that practice which seems to have grown in run rampant under director haines is also going to stop. ms. gabbard, if confirmed, you have a lot of work ahead of you. and as chairman of this committee i'm committed to ensuring that we see it all the way through. at this moment i will now recognize senator risch a brief statement. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. i appreciate that i want to fake ms. gabbard for meeting with me and having candid conversation we did on issues.

fourthly i have to chair the foreign relations committee. we have our first substantive meeting today on find influence of china here at home and abroad. some not condemned to stay for the syrian government would get a chance to ask questions. however, we will have closed session to meet and the questions i have will be thrust upon the security of our country and as a result of that, they need to be done in a classified setting in any event. so i beg indulgence be excused to preside over the other committee. would like. i know you do well. thank you. >> you are excused. [laughing] >> i was going to leave whether you excuse me or not. thank you very much. >> i will never recognize vice chairman senator warner for his opening remarks. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and your comments at the top cost the most of the morning at the national airport and a new senator moran with her last night. it's a horrible tragedy.

the victims families are still being notified. for those of us who live in this region, you know, it's always kind of complicated. we've got virginia, d.c., maryland, a host of local jurisdictions. the last night when this tragic your place and they happened to be driving by on my way home, and saw all the first responders rushing to the scene, people came as far away from baltimore, fairfax county. dod and federal officials there, and these first responders as always ran towards the tragedy. there will be a time to figure out how what happened and now we can rectify it. but thoughts and prayers ought to be with the fans and begin thank you, our first responders here ms. gabbard, welcome and congratulations on your nomination to be the next director of national

intelligence. i would like to begin by thanking you literally for your decades of public service, both in uniform and as a member of congress from hawaii. i applaud your continuing commitment to serve, should you be confirmed. the president has nominate you to be director of national intelligence. most folks probably don't understand the importance of this position. if confirmed, you would lead 18 agencies of the ic. you also serve as the principal advisor to the president, national security council and the homeland security council for all intelligence matters related to national security. and in this role you will be responsible for over $100 billion between the national intelligence program and the military intelligence program. it's a position of great importance and significance to

our national security created after one of our worst national security failures, 9/11. for that reason when congress established this position, thanks in large part to our colleague and a friend susan collins, it mandated into law that any individual nominated for this position must have quote, extensive national security -- i appreciate you taking the time to meet with me, and as i noted in the office both before and after, i continue to have significant concerns about your judgment and your qualifications to meet the standards set by law. first as i noted previously, they dni was created in part to make sure we had appropriate intelligence sharing which prior to 9/11 obviously we didn't. but the mission also used to not only share information between the ic but also with our allies.

there is no legal requirement our allies share intelligence with us. it's all predicated on trust. trust that our allies will protect each other's secrets. it appears to me you have repeatedly excuse our adversaries worst actions. instead often blame that on the united states and those very allies. for example, you blamed r russia's 2022 invasion of ukraine. you rejected the conclusion that assad used chemical weapons in surrey. despite it being unanimous assessment of the thin trump administration's dod, state department and ic, as well as the assessment of our european allies. instead you blame the united states for supporting terrorist groups in syria. now i don't know if you're intent on making the statements was to defend those dictators or if you simply unaware of the

intelligence and how your statements would be perceived. in either case it raises at least for the senator serious questions about your judgment. it also leads me to question whether you can develop the trust necessary to give our allies conference that they can share their most sensitive intelligence with us. make no mistake about it, if they stop sharing that intelligence, the united states will be -- we seen this as recently as the pastor because of those strong intelligence sharing between the united states and austria countless lives were saved by disrupting a terrorist attack is going to take place at a taylor swift concert in vienna. second, you have been publicly outspoken in your praise and defense of edward snowden. someone who betrayed the trust of our nation and jeopardize the

security of our country. the truth is the vast majority of information he stole and leaked before running off to china and russia, might i add, had nothing to do with americans privacy, and compromise are most important sources and methods. in many ways we are still paying a price for that. i believe edward snowden is action put them in and women in uniform places like iraq and afghanistan at risk. you celebrated snowden as quote brave whistleblower, and put forward legislation asking for his part. furthermore, when given the opportunity to clarify your position in prehearing questions you declined. that is that you again i quote, that dni has no role in determining whether or not edward snowden is a lawful whistleblower. that is troubling to me in so many ways.

not only did you think someone who divulge secrets and then ran off to russia should be celebrated as brave, but you don't seem to understand the dni's role in determining whistleblowers determinations. in fact, the dni has a significant role in transmitting lawful whistleblower complaints to this committee. all laid out writer in the statute. and i would have serious concerns about confirming someone who cannot establish between complaints that a lawfully and those that are made -- in the statute that says the job of the dni is to protect intelligence sources and methods from unauthorized -- that's a cool. i'm asking what message would it send to have a dni he would celebrate the work of a member of the ic for a contractor that would on their own mission

decide what's appropriate to leak. i don't understand it. third, until recently you had a clear and consistent record of opposing fisa 702. i know members on this committee already understand how important this is but from folks who don't, this law is critical to our national security. literally 60% on average of what goes into the president's daily brief come what president trump will read each day in assessing was going on in the world comes from this important piece of law that allows us to seek out those foreign, foreigners abroad for coverage. and it's help prevent terrorist attacks. it helps us prevent foreign cyber attacks. helps us on a topic a lot of folks are looking at, fentanyl trafficking. many in this congress and many on the committee have tried to

reform his legislation. to better balance security and civil liberties. however, you have consistently gone further. not only did you vote against reauthorizing 702, actually introduce legislation to fully repeal the whole thing. calling it again quote a blatant disregard for our fourth amendment constitutional rights. now i understand that since you have been nominated to lead dni you've expressed a change of heart. i think that's welcome but have to tell you as i try, i feel like this is a job interview, as i try to make my judgment on what used to be confirmed i don't find your change of heart right. the world today is more complex and more dangerous than ever before. we need serious people with sufficient experience to be able to navigate that complexity. i hope you use this opportunity

to address my concerns and all of the members of this committee. i appreciate they can your service and am looking forward to a thorough discussion. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, mr. vice chairman. we welcome back senator richard burr, former chairman of this committee who has emerged from retirement to introduce ms. gabbard. yet still every time he still seems unable to find a pair of socks. [laughing] >> nonetheless, we say thank you and welcome you back, senator burr. >> somethings are very predictable, mr. chairman. chairman cotton, vice chair barr, members of this distinguished committee, i want to thank you for allowing me to join you today to provide my thoughts and support on behalf of tulsi gabbard nomination to be the director of national intelligence. this is my first visit back to the senate in slightly over two years. permit me to say from this side

of the dais you are not as intimidating as i thought when i was on your side of the dais. when i i was chairman of this committee, start one and i stuck to a single refrain with our staff. follow the facts wherever they lead. today, an anonymous person, or group called launching a campaign using rumors as source, sources and accusations as fact can try the outcome of an election and the public opinion. i knew it to be true. remember, i sat in your chair for the russian investigation where we found much of the influence to be the result of fictitious narratives driven by russia. now, some of you may be wondering why do i support tulsi gabbard and why am i here to introduce her as a nominee? i've experienced firsthand a

coordinated attempt to influence this nominees support in the united states senate and with the american people. i was contacted by several national journalists shortly after the president nominated tulsi asked me to confirm one of the many rumors circulating about this nominee. i inform each journalists over a five week. back at the rumor shared with me was simply not true. this narrative was shared from one journalist to the next journalists to the next journalists here i assume today ran out of journalists this was a coordinated effort to kill this nomination. advice and consent is the responsibility of the united states senate and i truly believe that each member takes it seriously. all members of this committee will offer the opportunity for individual meetings with chelsea, and if you chose not to meet with her, it's on you. i've done my homework here are the facts. tulsi gabbard historic life

began at berth. she's the first american someone born member of congress, period. she graduated from hawaii pacific university with a degree in business administration with a concentration of international business. in 2002 at age 21 tulsi became the youngest woman in america ever elected as for state representative. that was not enough in 2003 caution join the hawaii national guard. when deployed in a reelection opponent raised the issue, could you serve the people that elected you if, in fact, you were deployed? what did tulsa do? she withdrew from the reelection campaign in order to continue to serve our country in the war on terror. this would not be the first or the last time tulsi put putr

country above her career. after multiple deployments and serving in the hawaii city council, she was elected to the united states house of representatives where she served four terms. throughout her political career she maintained our military service either in the national guard or the army reserve. media stories and anonymous rumors have questioned her qualifications, or patriotism and whether she can be trusted, just to name a few. i refuse to question the qualifications of a a woman wo has worn the uniform of her nation for 22 years and never taken it off. no fewer than five times has the department of defense reviewed her security clearance, and extended it. every single time. if she is guilty of anything, it's since she was born her views, opinions and beliefs have evolved to reflect her life

experiences. winston churchill once said those that never changed their minds never change anything. she served her city, state, or country while winning the support of the people she represented. she has fought in war, and yes, she's tried to stop wars. at the ripe age of 43, tulsi has the life experiences that match or exceed most members of congress. total tulsi was serving in m three years before some of us here today voting to create the director of national intelligence. chairman cotton, vice chairman warner, members of the committee, it's my honor to support and introduce to the committee lieutenant colonel tulsi gabbard. thank you, mr. chairman. ..

quorum call: as a young soldier in the hawaii national guard, answer the call

to duty the middle east. and graduated top of us the accelerated school of the alabama military academy. the first woman to do so serving as the youngest member in the highest legislature, upheld the honor while breaking barriers both uniform and civilian leadership role demonstrates the committee prepared to answer the nation's called logic and this time is the next director of national intelligence. we sort stimulus backgrounds

are. we want the same in international court and army reserve. iraq kuwait. state legislatures and the representing our community. help exemplifies what it means to radicals partisanship putting the need of the american people over political division. their own life on the line side the differences is affirmatively he to answer the call to serve in a republican administration.

talk to your own picture talk about kelsey everett. in the soldier of come to know and respect. i've known decade. relationships matter to 15, and congresswoman met my dear friend i would, a dear friend of mine from iowa state university, owen was a wound special operations warrior who embodies resilience and strength of our military community. owen was the subject of an attack in afghanistan where he lost his legs and left eye serving in war.

excruciating will pain, i'm not that and a work writer. the road to recovery was long and hard. during this time, a fellow warrior compatriot congresswoman josie calvert became a friend. he prides himself a man of character and she speaks volumes. her integrity throughout her career.

i will leave you with this. you know me, i trust tulsi gabbard. he will be honest with you. she will listen to your concerns. she will be receptive to your feedback. rest assured, in fact proven by her willingness to put her life on the line to defendant's. for over 20 years to put on the uniform and power great united

states of america. in several carnation involving the value of all military and setting up as electric national intelligence. relationships matter my colleagues support her family. process our country so. >> busy schedule to include a

hearing the armed services committee. it's little excuse both at the witness table. it will remove, it is political to ask questions or what you swear or affirm the committee the full testimony? >> i will connect you every before the committee to appear? committee and staff are invited. will you ensure is provides the committee you agree to inform to

the fullest extent possible so unintelligent opportunity finally your own words peanut before it began, i would like to start with prayers and to those were killed in last night's horrific track. our condolences to all of your constituents it's an honor to be here before you today appreciate the opportunity to meet with so many of you and adjust the questions and concerns. i'm grateful senators for the

trust. trust in the intelligence community. chuck schumer admitted a few years ago you take on the intelligence get back to long levin eyes intelligence will and values.

consent to suspend the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. justice: thank you, sir. i also ask unanimous consent to address the senate while seated. the presiding officer: without objection. start board-certified what mr. president, i can clearly tell you that it's a real honor to be addressing you, addressing my address on the senate floor. also, it is a real honor from the standpoint of being the new kid on the block. you know, you've got several new kids now, but -- but it is a real honor to be here to be with you. i want to tell you just one thing about me real quaffed i'm all about -- real quick.

i'm all about the truth. and today what i say to you will be just that. i challenge the media from time to time and say, find something that knowingly i've told you is not true. and they can't do t now, i make plenty of mistakes, but i speak just the truth. so i'm here today not to waste anybody's time. you know, i really truly will never do that. i absolutely -- absolutely when i speak, i hope that others will listen because i am speaking from the heart, and i am speaking just purely the truth. doug burgum is a really special man. his wife, katherine, absolutely a wonderful lady. i know them well. it's a great man and a great family. i can tell you just this -- if you're looking for a secretary of the interior that's a smart guy, a superexperienced

guy, a compassionate guy, a guy that absolutely has unbelievable knowledge, doug burgum is the giechlt -- guy. that's all there is to t you know, being expect of the interior, i know you wear lots and lots and lots of hats. you look after lands and tribes, and you're really truly the doorkeeper of god's gifts. absolutely, from my standpoint, anybody and everybody that knows jim justice knows that i absolutely love the outdoors, and i truly absolutely am a person that gets it, gets it all about god's gifts, gets it about the beauty of our -- of all of our lands and all of our country, all across all of our lands. gets it about nature. i can promise you doug burgum

sees just these things because i see them. he not only sees them, but he hears them. and not only does he hear them, but it touches his soul. you know, doug burgum has seen the brilliance of the red on a scarlet tananger on a really crispy morning as the sun comes up. he's heard a wild turkey thunder as it gobbles. and he's seen the majesty of a great big bull elk. and is he'll seen the discipline of a -- and he's seen the discipline of a bird dog. you know, many dogs when they're hunting or whatever, they chase after and they bark. but a bird dog runs its heart out, finally finds the bird, and freezes and stops. the discipline of a bird dog is something really, really special. many people don't see all these things, but doug burgum does,

and being the secretary of the interior, with all of our millions of acres of lands, we expect that of that man. and he gets it. he truly, truly gets it. also, way beyond that, he will protect our ability to be able to hunt. he absolutely will protect our lands because they touch his soul. it's really, really special. he also knows something about energy. he has vast, vast knowledge about energy. he's got to protect our natural resources. so if you just step back and just think here's a man that really nature, the beauty of our lands touch his soul, he'll protect that. and absolutely on top of that, we have an energy crisis in this country like you can't imagine.

west virginia knows energy, and jim justice knows energy. doug burgum knows it too. and president trump knows that absolutely of everything, energy is the most important of all to today. it solves inflation, it provides for our defense. it is absolutely the key, the answer to everything. i promise you that president trump knows this and doug burgum knows this. i can tell you from the bottom of my heart -- and i hope everyone will listen to just this -- if we don't get a handle on our energy situation in this country, a year and a half from today we'll be deciding between homes and jobs. we'll be deciding between homes and opportunity for all of our

people. we'll be deciding between homes and industry. we will have the biggest crisis that you can ever imagine, and it will absolutely come down to just this -- are we going to give all the advancements, are we going to give china every opportunity under the sun, or are we going to have those opportunities? now i also believe just in -- in this world as a businessman, i've never seen a situation where you can purely cut your way out of a mess. i've never seen that. now does that mean we don't mind the store? of course we do. does that mean we don't cut out unnecessary waste? we best better, that's all there is to it. we better mind the store and do what's right in the greatest way imaginable. but with all that being said, we've got to grow revenue. we have a $2.5 trillion hole in the bucket.

we've got to grow revenue. well, what's the secret to emerald city? what's the secret right now to emerald city? it's energy. it abounds all around us, and the united states of america could dominate as an energy leader throughout the entire world. it is absolutely ridiculous for us to blow our own legs off while in china they're building coal-fired power plants absolutely faster than you can possibly imagine. and the energy that they produce to fuel those coal-fired power plants is filthy compared to our energy. i would also say one other thing. you better always protect the eastern coalfields, because if you were to have an emergency, a real, real emergency, our eastern coalfields could bail us out. two-thirds of the population is within a truck's driving distance of the eastern coalfields. they're really, really

important. doug burgum gets all of this, and absolutely with all in me, i amazed at president trump's nominees. you just think of who he has come up with as his nominees. this is a great, great nominee, and i support him wholeheartedly in every single way. and i would say just this -- as impressed as i am with president trump's nominees, as impressed as i am with douglas burgum, i would just say just this -- in my world, the pick of the litter is doug burgum, and absolutely we ought to unanimously, unanimously confirm his nomination. thank you so much, mr. president. thank you so much.

the presiding officer: the senator from washington is recognized. mrs. murray: mr. president, over the last few days the american people have felt the painful consequences of trump's

disastrous funding freeze. seniors who count on meals on wheels have wondered whether they would have dinner this week. head start teachers in red states and blue states panicked over whether they'd have the funds needed to keep their doors open and take care of kids. disaster relief for people who have endured the unimaginable and have been knocked off their feet was thrown into jeopardy. grant programs to help firefighters do their jobs, combat the fentanyl crisis, get families health care, so much more were in an instant at risk of evaporating into thin air. i heard from a tribe in my state concerned they'd have to lay off hundreds of staff providing essential services for the tribe. that could mean putting everything from providing health care to housing in jeopardy because of the president's freeze. a shelter for homeless youth in my state still, still can't

access its hud funding and is staring doen a $3 million deficit forcing them to hold an emergency board meeting to figure out what if anything they can now do. hospitals in my state are worried that programs which are appropriately focused on someone's gender or race are in jeopardy, like how pulse oximeters don't work as well on dark skin so they need other pathways to be found. the chaos and the confusion, the needless stress and distraction are the result of having a president who is more focused on the billionaires who now fill his administration than the plight of regular people all over this country. yesterday because of the american people spoke up loud and clear, donald trump retreated from his devastating blanket funding freeze. however, make no mistake, there is still far too much chaos on the ground, and trump is still blocking billions of dollars for communities across the country

in every one of our states through these executive orders. we're talking about critical funding to rebuild our roads and bridges, resources that are already creating thousands of good-paying new clean energy jobs in every state of this country, and critical global investments that help keep america safe. this is so completely unacceptable, so today i am calling on president trump to take four simple commonsense steps. first of all, he needs to ensure that every last dollar down to the last penny that was caught up in this disastrous blanket funding freeze gets out the door. secondly, he needs to rescind his executive orders that are still at this very moment ripping funding away from american families and communities. third, he needs to withdraw russ vought's nomination to oversee our nation's budget. it is clear that the person who masterminded so much of this chaos doesn't belong anywhere near the office of management

and budget. and finally, president trump needs to abandon once and for all his illegal scheme to skirt around our laws and block funding that american workers and families are counting on. i am not asking for a lot here. i'm sure every dollar held up by this illegal freeze is restored, stop the ongoing effort to block funding, withdraw the mastermind of this chaos, and simply follow the law. the american people deserve better than the ka tass free we witnessed this week and deserve to know the investments trump is holding up to rebuild the highway they drive to work on or lower their energy costs, so much more, will make it out the door. if the president is so intent on opposing funding for infrastructure projects and good-paying american jobs, he needs to sit down at the negotiating table, make his case to congress. i, mr. president, will not let

the president rip up the constitution or rip money away from our communities. thank you, 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.

did deserves to rot in jail. yes or no question. please the intelligence to be

released. broke the law that exposed this on the program happening within two serious reform. >> you got five minutes. take your answer in this year quotes, these join my legislation be trump. it was not appropriate whether you are brave or not.

it is a brief yes or no, please. >> i'm making myself very clear. released information. let me finish my thoughts. remaining notice. >> i would only ask you again. i agree with tom cotton. "the national intelligence.

how would you maintain the trust? the social security you. you have done and the conversion and it is vital. the reforms have been enacted. what are the reforms?

>> in the short time -- you, mr president. mr. president, first i would ask if we could vitiate a quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: -- mr. markey: i ask unanimous consent that bianca route be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the day. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. markey: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise today to speak out on behalf of the american people about the trump administration's unjust and unconstitutional cutoff of federal grants and assistance programs. donald trump's administration isn't governing. it's not delivering for the american people. it's stealing from our public services, from meals on wheels to community health centers to housing for our veterans. from day one, donald trump's

administration has careened from chaos to self-induced crises. american families and workers are left guessing whether lifesaving services, school lunches, help paying for home heating, basic health care and public safety are going to be funded day by day. the collective outrage of literally everyone in this country, along with lawsuits filed over its illegal behavior, got donald trump's administration to rescind its latest memo to cut off federal money. but the chaos continues. the confusion continues. the federal funding witch-hunt continues. the trump administration has made clear they intend to proceed with their cruel plan of stalling or stopping essential federal funding.

they'll lie, disregard congress, and now they're bypassing the courts. we'll need all of our collective engagement to make sure donald trump, elon musk, and their unelected, unqualified henchmen keep our services going, and to stop breaking the law. because the american people are paying the price on a daily basis. the consequences, the consequences of trump's federal funding cutoff are already far-reaching and they're devastating. doctors were told to turn away patients when the medicaid payment port as were -- portals were down. the organizations that are the backbone of our country, food pantries, vocational services, are looking at laying people off. veterans might be getting evicted as their rent payments don't come through.

there might not be someone on the other end of the phone at the national suicide hotline. think about what that might mean to someone in crisis. i say again, this funding was sent by congress to provide necessary services to our constituents in owl states -- in all states, red and blue alike. it is essential, and it has already been signed into law, passed by the united states house, passed on the floor of the united states senate, and signed by a president. so, this is what the american revolution was all about. when the red coats were coming down massachusetts avenue, heading towards lexington and concord in massachusetts in

1775, the minutemen and women were coming out, all saying the same thing -- no taxation without representation. the king would not give the american colonies any members of parliament. they kept begging for the ability to have representation. so, after the american revolution and they wrote the constitution, the first article is to create a house and senate and to give that first article the power of the purse, the power to spend money. they made it very clear that's what the revolution was about. so i say again, this funding was sent by congress, article 1, to provide necessary services to our constituents in all states. if the trump administration claims this funding, quote, i'm quoting him, does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we

serve, then there's just one question every american should be asking from the president -- who do you serve? because it certainly isn't the everyday americans who will wake up tomorrow without heat in their house, their medicine, or a roof over their head. the trump administration said it's targeting, quote, the green fro deal, social -- the green new deal, social engineering. though when trump says he wants to end the green new deal, he wants to end union battery manufacturing jobs in ohio. he wants to end rebates that help american families afford new air-conditioners and heaters. he wants to keep school districts from getting clean buses to take kids to school. he wants to end programs that help our communities rebuild after a disaster such as the fires in los angeles or the hurricanes that devastated georgia and north carolina.

what trump is doing with this so-called freeze, with his executive orders, with his firing of inspectors general and government regulators is an unconstitutional, illegal power grab. but here's the truth, trump can't get rid of the green new deal because there is no stopping a mobilization and a movement once it is galvanized. the green new deal doesn't stop until the climate crisis stops. the green new deal doesn't stop until fossil fuel billionaires stop lining their pockets while our cities burn to the ground. i introduced the green new deal resolution nearly six years ago, with congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez. its values of jobs, justice, and climate action are now core parts of our economy and our society. clearly, trump's unelected

bureaucrats are terrified of the power of union jobs, clean air and clean water and climate action. they're trying to break our country's laws in order to break our movement. we cannot let him do that. we know we face an uphill battle with the climate denier in chief. he doesn't have a cabinet that he's appointed. he has a cartel that he is putting in place. you know the saying money talks? well, we heard the money talk loud and clear with donald trump's day one executive actions, which were a parade of price gouging fossil fuel give giveaways. his energy agenda isn't american dominance. it's the dominance of his donors over our energy policy. it's not all of the above. it's oil above all. yes, drill, baby, drill, but kill solar, kill wind, kill

all-electric vehicles, kill the green revolution. kill it. it's not all of the above. it's taking care of all of his fossil fuel donor buddies that he made a promise that if he won he would kill the competition, he would kill the darwinian par paranoia-inducing competition that is happening with wind, solar, and all-electric vehicles and battery storage technologies and any technologies that reduce greenhouse gasses which are dangerously warming our planet. why are they doing that? because big oil and big gas is running scared, fossil fuels have been getting outcompeted by wind, solar, and all-electric vehicles. the big oil, big gas barons, they see people rejecting their products and having an alternative, and they want to choke out the competition.

that's what the fossil fuel fat cats demanded when they got donald trump elected, and that's what trump is delivering on, with his orders to attack climate action, attack offshore wind, attack international climate agreements and attack our movement, the green new deal movement of young people across our country demanding that this government do something about the threat of climate change that was ignored for generations. that's what young people are saying all across our country, protect us, protect us from the threat of climate change. instead, what donald trump is trying to do is to kill all of the protections, all of them, all of them. so, just think of what has been happening as the rest of the country is sitting around the table, the kitchen table

debating necessities to sacrifice this month. they're wondering if they can rebuild after a wildfire or if they can keep the lights on when prices spike as energy gets exported overseas. i want everyone to understand this. he wants to export oil and export natural gas out of our country. that's his promise to the oil and gas barons. you know what that does domestically? it increases the prices for everyone here, consumers, businesses, they have to pay more because there's less oil and gas here, fueling inflation. yeah, that's the plan. increase the profit for the big fossil fuel plant. so we can't allow trump and republicans to throw families into financial instability just to pay for tax breaks for the ultra wealthy. just like climate change won't be solved by any one president, climate action won't be stopped by any one president.

look what has happened in the past week. this isn't business as usual, and we have to stop acting like it. that's why i won't be supporting any trump nominee who will only do his illegal bidding, and i urge all of my colleagues to join me in rejecting those who will reject the will of congress and reject the needs of the american people. from day one, donald trump has been singularly committed to abandoning working people, their future, our very democracy, all for the power of wealth. that is absolutely unacceptable. donald trump isn't just ignoring the promise to lower costs for families and make our nation safer. he is inflicting harm on millions of americans, taking away funding for critical lifesaving health research from cancer and alzheimer's, the potential ramifications of trump's federal funding freeze

are endless. trump is trying to bully the american people and public servants into submission by ignoring the law and cutting off funding to take away the services the public needs to get by. this is what dictators do. he wants us to forget what he stands for, for us to either give up, either slowly or all at once. we cannot do that. we must stand up. so, whether it's racial justice, the rule of law, reproductive freedom, economic equality, immigrant and refugee rights, our lgbt qanon community universal -- our lgbtq community and supporting our union workers fighting the climate crisis, holding the cat fats accountable for their greed and corruption, more than ever we must be the fearless voice for a liveable future. that is my pledge to you. it is time to be brave.

it is time to stand up for the protection of the most vulnerable in our country and our vulnerable planet. he's trying to frighten people. he's trying to scare people. that is what his agenda has been right from the beginning. even when his henchman puts out that first statement in terms of the freeze, the cutoff the funding on monday night, what does he attribute it to? they want to root out marxism in our country. they want to protect against transgender people. and they want to kill the green new deal. that's what he puts out on the first night. just so everyone understands, when republicans are talking about marxism, they're talking about social security, they're talking about medicare, they're talking about medicaid, they're talking about public education. that's what they call marxism. just so everyone understands. they're going to need hundreds of billions of dollars and more

in order to have tax rates for the billionaire boys club that was sitting right behind the president at the swearing in. he promised them tax b■reaks. where's the money going to come from? i'll tell you where. from the programs they call the marxist programs. those are all the health care programs. those are all the education programs. he has nominated a secretary of education who has had to promise to try to end the department of education in our country. end it. they need money for bill billionaires. title 1 in the department of education, that's for the poor children of america to get an education. money in there for the kids with disabilities. end the department of education? y yeah, marxists, get that money into the hands of billionaires and millionaires.

medicaid, the affordable care a act, medicare, the three programs provide help for 170 million americans to get their health care, which they need. 170 million americans. but that's where the money is, health -- health care. you have to call it marxist. you have to try to demonize it. that's because he has to pay back all of the people who gave him the money in order to win in november. and he then moves on to transgender kids, trying to demonize them. and we know why he does that. just trying to scare people. it's part of who he is. and then the third part of what he mentioned on monday night was the green new deal. and the green new deal is the ultimate payback because the president met with the oil and

gas executives in april of 2024, and he said to them, if you give me $1 billion, i'll kill all of the renewable energy projects in america. i'll take all the money away. they gave him the money and now they're going to get paid back. so when they say green new deal, they want to kill it, just understand, they want to kill all the competition to the oil and gas industry. the natural gas industry wants all of offshore wind all along the east coast to be destroyed because those 30,000 new megawatts they would obsolete the need for more natural gas mriens to be built -- mriens to be built -- mriens to be built along the east coast. when he says he's going to roll back -- cars. we put 77% of our energy into

gasoline tanks, the higher the fuel economy standards, less oil people have to consume. less money in the pockets of the oil barons, but more money in the pockets of consumers. so that's what this fight is all about. it's pretty immany and i'm glad they -- up to and i'm glad they put it up there on monday night because i know it's going to create a movement across this country, in the same way the green new deal made it possible for us to pass the ira in 2022. another way to say ira is to say the largest climate bill in the history of the world. that is it scary to the oil and gas industry. they can see they're losing in the marketplace. they can see that's where americans are moving. i will conclude with this one brief history lesson.

back in 2009 when joe biden was sworn in as vice president, we had 2,000 all electric vehicles in the united states. that's all. we had 2,000 watts of solar in the united states. last year 40,000 new megawatts of solar in one year, frightening to them. the electric car revolution, millions have been purchased in the last two years. the oil industry is petrified because we've gone from 2,000 megawatts of solar total in the history of our country, 2,000 electric vehicles to a revolution and they want stop the revolution. that's what trump is all about, it's a pay back to big industries that want to thwart industries from playing a role on being the leader in the world on all the green new deal, and

saying to the rest that we will partner. you cannot tell the rest of the world to stop if you're not doing it yourself. you lose all credibility which is why trump pulled totally out of the paris climate agreement at the same time. he doesn't want to be a part of the world but that's not how greenhouse gases pass, they travel with the clouds and all over the world and also we lead we will pay a tremendous price in the future with what president trump is trying to perpetrate. i yield back, mr. president. i thank you for your indulgence and i thank the senator from delaware for your indulgence.

mr. coons: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from delaware is recognized. mr. coons: mr. president, i rise today to address the chaos that has been caused by this week's disasterus, unprecedented and unconstitutional funding freeze directive. then-candidate trump said on the first night of the republican national convention that starting on day one, we will drive down prices and make america affordable again. i don't think the actions of this week have contributed to making america affordable again or driving down prices at all. instead, when the white house abruptly announced a complete halt to all domestic grants, grants that covered trillions of dollars of spending to thousands

of organization, from medical research to police and fire, from construction projects to day cares and senior centers. it caused great chaos and concern. i got calls, texts, e-mails from hundreds of delawareans, from the state and local governments, from nonprofits, from business leaders saying, what does this mean? meals on wheels and school lunches for delawareans in school, opioid prevention programs and community health care centers, critical programs for military families stationed at dover air force base and police and fire departments up and down the state raised their hand digitally to say what does this mean and where are we going? the delaware delegation called a meeting with 250 different participants to try to give them clarity on the path forward.

i hope that this disastrous directive has been rescinded, but i can only say i hope because i don't truly know. the white house press office trying to rescind the rescission. it is unclear what its status is now. there have been filings in the court, both in the district court of d.c. and rhode island, there's an injunction against the omb order, and there's an injustice in policing acts under consideration up in rhode island, but it created a mess. it created a mess at a time when americans need clarity. what i heard from business and business leaders for decades is predict akty is -- predictability is the most important part for businesses to grow. and what i heard from families and friends at home was this was not the sort of start they had expected to the trump administration. i want to caution folks, we may

not know when or if the administration will try to order a second time or a third time. i'll remind you at the beginning of the last trump administration, he tried to pass a muslim travel ban, a ban on people coming to this country from a series of muslim-majority countries. that ban was enjoined in federal court. it was blocked. they tried again. it was blocked. they tried a third time. it was ultimately found to clear judicial muster. so frankly an administration said over and over they believe imwithin the scope of the -- impoundment with the scope of the president, they will try again and again. what it means is violating our constitution order. article 1 of the constitution sets the powers of congress and the power of the purse, the ability to say what will and

won't be spent is essential -- central to the can authority of the united states congress. i'll say this is -- there is a reason this is dangerous, this is bad. i am an appropriator. those of us who serve on the appropriations committee every year participate in a difficult and complex process, we pull together all the concerns and issues across our states and departments, and we pass a bill here on the floor, we pass it through the house, we send it to the president and the president signs it be and the fungoes out for what grants will be available. i understand president trump won the loeks. there's a new majority in congress. i fully expected this year's appropriations process would reflect those different priorities, but this order is reaching back to last year's appropriations and the previous president and trying to freeze

it and reallocate it. that has real consequences for aur ability to come -- for our ability to come to bipartisan agreements and pass agreements on appropriations. if presidents can say i'm not going to do disaster relief for this date because i don't like it or cut funding for this program because it doesn't fit with my priorities when he already has signed legal orders. there are still impacts on the ground. i many -- i am still hearing from delawareans that construction for roads and bridges, new energy sources and tax credits under the inflation reduction act are frozen or facing freezes. i want to turn to another concern of mine that is critical, important, and ongoing. but let's just focus on this first point. until trump backs down on these illegal orders and respects congress's power of the purse,

and puts his focus back on helping americans and reducing costs, this place and our country will not function and will not get better. nothing about this order makes us safer, more prosperous or more secure. mr. president, i'm speaking today in strong opposition to president trump's illegal executive order of last friday night that pausz all of -- pauses all of our foreign assistance and development assistance. let's be clear. our development assistance, our foreign aid isn't about charity, it's about security and it's about values. we have alliances and partnerships around the world ungirded by our power, by our investments in helping make the world safer, more stable and secure. and what happened last friday night at the end of the work day when there was no one there to answer urgent questions, was a

freeze on all foreign assistance with a very narrow exception for food aid and if has caused chaos in the global community that delivers assistance around the world. for days there were questions unanswered. what did this mean in ukraine and lebanon where there are wars and cease fires where critical grant funding and work by contractors puts the lights back on after the electrical attacks. where a ceasefire in lebanon was ongoing and in parts of the world we were continuing to bring home to the united states those who served alongside us from afghanistan, waiting for processing abandoned in qatar. a halt on drug supplies that helped keep 20 million people living with hif, long supported by presidents and congresses of both parties. a freeze ontive to counter

fentanyl narcotics. and to promote democracy. with upcoming elections, the national republican institute and democratic institute are frozen in their activity activity and -- activities and forced to lay off their employees. secretary rubio signed humanitarian waivers for this freeze. with dozens of the most senior people at usia -- usaid got furloughed and with thousands of contractors and others dismissed or laid off, the consequences will be severe. i will give you one example. i suspect everyone listening has heard about the disease ebola, and -- there is a new outbreak

of ebola in the capital of uganda and an outbreak of u -- this freeze pausz the urgent public health work, the assistance that we provide to make sure we are safe from a lethal global pandemic that we put in place after the last pandemic. when we halt foreign assistance, it has consequences. it's just 1% of our total budget. most americans think it's a big percent of our spending, but it's 1% -- less than 1% of the total federal budget and there's a winner here and it's not the american taxpayer. freezing programs like this causes chaos and also costs more to restart them after review. the winner is china. our biggest global competitor is delighted that we handed them