the legal issues but also resource costs thess goes along with it. right now in a meeting case, focuses on those decanters and, of course, the pressure on how to be essentially get local governments to abide by most, were taught but some funding action or defending i guess would be thewo way to put a weather network and to see more funding conditions, memos put out with regard essentially potential to comply with ice decanters being attached to different types of grant programs. went are seeing litigation. right now we have lawsuits against chicagogo and illinois d a separate lawsuit against the state of new york both on their policies limiting compliance with ice detainers and those are going to -- >> you can continue watching this on our website c-span.org. over to capitol hill as the u.s. senate returns from a brief recess. live coverage here on c-span2. v:

the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. ms. baldwin. mr. banks. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. ms. blunt rochester. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mrs. britt. the clerk: mr. budd. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons.

mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. curtis. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mr. gallego. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper.

ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mr. husted. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. justice. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. kim. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. mccormick. mr. merkley. mrs. moody. mr. moran.

mr. moreno. mr. moreno. and this was an important first step and that was under president trump's leadership. he has moved the entire global conversation to where we had a senior ukrainian delegation with us today. with a russian counterparts and now it's how the work is going to end and that's under president trump's leadership. >> just to answer one more time, the goal is peace, , that's the president's goal. the best goodwill gesture the russians can provide is to say yes. to say yes to the offer that the greens have made to stop the shooting, to stop the fighting a get to the table. if they do that that's the best goodwill sign we could see. as part of that negotiation as a talk about how to end this conflict there will be issued to unravel. among the that the least of which is a humanitarian concern, children, prisoners of war come all the things that sadly come with these conflicts but the

number one goodwill gesture we can see from the russians is a c their ukrainian offer and reciprocated with a yes. [inaudible question] >> well, let me answer the third, then i'll let the security adviser talk about defense and security assistance. on the second question let me as a verse from the mineral deal, as part of argumentation today. that is something that is negotiated through our treasury and his counterpart on the ukrainian side. you see that express both presidents will instruct the appropriate members of our government to bring this finale the signature of the deal, signature of this agreement. that was communicated today and that will happen. that was not the subject of her talks today. i express the underweight in.

we'll hear in pursuit of peace. that doesn't mean the minerals deal is not important in most areas and we express that today in the statements we put out jointly. that the president a respected presence have the appropriate members of their governments to bring this to finale and to conclusion. the second part of your question was? [inaudible] >> there was one after that. [inaudible question] >> what's back on track hopefully this piece. that's it matters most. edwin is looking for, this is serious stuff. this is not mean girls, not some episode of the television show. today people will die in this war. they died yesterday and sadly unless is a ceasefire that i don't die tomorrow. the president wants that to stop. that's what he's interested in. that's what bikini burqua that's why were grateful for the kingdom of saudi arabia. when we leaked today is a commitment that the cranes are ready to stop fighting, ready to stop the shooting so they can get to the table and bring about peace for the country and for

the world. >> i just can't echo enough president trump's presence of peace. thus recement and willing to take tough measures all sides to drive that home and in terms of the security, et cetera current authority. our defense department on what munition was where in the process but it's the current pda that will proceed to ukraine. >> everyone, thank you. >> thank you. >> thanks for the invitation.

>> my view is that the best way to fund the government and deal with last years business so we can move on to this year's business is to find cr and i'm hoping we'll have the requisite number of democrats in order to do that and i think anything else they put out there is a smokescreen because at this point there's only one solution on the table to keep the government funded. it addresses the core issues a lot of democrats care about in terms of programs they want to funded through the end of the year and we think it represents the best solution at the moment. >> elon musk yesterday on fox business -- 500 billion in waste. he says is 20 million dead people in the social security databases. [inaudible]

>> i think we want to look at all programs incumbent for waste, fraud, and abuse. what he was saying my understanding is he speaking specifically to the issue of waste, fraud, and abuse come not to the underlying programs. any program in government probably can be run more efficiently and probably in a less costly way with a better return of the american taxpayer. looking at the whole of government and trying to determine whether or not their savings that can be achieved through whether its reduction in personnel, reductions in overhead also sorts of thinks ought to be on the table. i think that's the point he was simply making. i don't think you've talk about the underlying programs or the importance which i think we all value. thank you.

the clerk: mr. cotton, aye. mr. schmitt, aye. mrs. capito, aye. mr. thune, aye. leading to potentially as a present discussed more state authority. were focusing the disaster response efforts on helping americans by investing greater power state governments to perform disaster response is long overdue. finally we must make it as the

executive swiftly to undo much of the biden-harris administrations waste of taxpayer dollars. daca has administered -- extending even within departmental on. security outlas on dei programs duplicative awards and services for illegal immigrants. we will examine how under the by harris administration dhs ailed in its basic mission and also explore great efficiency and cost savings for the department of homeland security of the cost the federal government to i welcome our members appreciate the important work ahead of us and welcome our guests today. thank you for joining us. i now recognize the ranking member for his opening statemen statement. >> good afternoon and and io first of all congratulate the chairman for his new role and i'm delighted to be on this committee and work with you throughout the year, and this

congress. also welcome full committee ranking member mr. thompson to ourcl committee here. and good afternoon to all. waste, fraud, and abuse are not new. that's why congress established legitimate entities decades ago to help identify -- those expense government watchdogs are now being viciously attacked by president trump and copresident elon musk. during his first week in office, trump unlawfully fired 17 inspectors general the defense against corruption and mismanagement in government. falsely claimed it is a very common thing to do and pretended not to know the igs he purged

despite appointing many of them himself. those igs save taxpayers $93 billion in fiscal year 2023 alone. now, that is a $26 return on every dollar spent. such a savings are only possible when igs are truly independent from the administration they investigate. such independence is also crucial for the office of special counsel which provides a safe place for government employees to disclose wrongdoing. so it's no surprise when trump unlawfully fired the head of osc last month without cause. trump is purposefully gutting

the watchdog who can help check presidential power and replacing them with a dangerous knockoff. mosques so so-called department of government efficiency, -- a mistake and a chainsaw to the federal government creating chaos and wreaking havoc. -- has assessed highly sensitive systems and information in a manner that makes it easier for our adversarial china and russia to exploit. -- has purchased the government of dedicated civil servants, including thousands of national security employees who help collect and protect our country from terror attacks. -- is canceled contracts without regard to the purpose, including

office leases that enable the government accounting office, congress is unwatchable, to conduct reviews of national security programs. doge is a national security nightmare that is eroding the federal government ability to function effectively and efficiently while the price of eggs skyrocket. let's not forget doge disappearing receipt, financial savings claims are riddled with math errors, axially canceled contracts and contracts canceled by the biden administration. if this administration was serious about fighting waste, fraud, and abuse it would be supporting the independent agencies that exist for that sole purpose.

it's time to aim the failed doge experiment and restore power to the entity congress entrusted to root out waste, fraud, and abuse. with that ideally i yie. chair. >> thank you. i now recognize the full committee ranking member agenda for mississippi mr. thompson for his opening statement. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, my republican colleagues are clearly obsessed with president biden. they investigated him last congress and turned up nothing. they tried to impeach him and turned up nothing. and now that he's out of office they just can't get him out of their heads. perhaps it's because of musk-trump co-presidents are so unpopular. -- us on piper that my republican colleagues are here

today pretending that joe biden is still president so that they can have someone to beat up on for their failures. but just in case my colleagues across the island don't get it, let me make it clear to you. republicans are in charge here in the house. republicans are in charge over in the senate. republicans appointed justices who control the supreme court and your orange cheeses is in charge of the white house. republicans on this committee want to have a hearing to add their grievances about the biden-harris administration because under the trump-musk administration plaintiff in crashing out of the sky, the price of eggs has skyrocketed, tens of thousands of americans have lost their jobs, and russia and china are celebrating. if republicans would want to

combat waste, fraud, and abuse, they should be laser focused on overseeing elon musk department of government efficiency, which is a cheap knockoff of congressionally mandated watchdogs. elon musk, doge, that only is redundant but also is a direct threat to the homeland security. it must be stopped. because elon musk doge legally dismantled the sid. food is rotting in the warehouses instead of feeding starving children overseas. that is waste. it's also a national security risk. why? because hungry nations won't go hungry for long. our global adversary china will be right there to feed them, and china won't be there out of the goodness of their heart. elon musk lost during a cabinet

meeting as he described how doge accidentally cut ebola funding, which is necessary to prevent the ravaging disease from becoming a pandemic and killing people here in the united states. elon musk froze homeland security grants that congress authorized to help nonprofits prepare for a terrorist attack. elon musk and -- have sensitive information and data into unsecure artificial intelligence software that china and russia are sure to exploit. pursuant to demand from president trump, the cia shared the names of every single person hired at the intelligence agency over the last two years. the message went to an unsecured e-mail address at opm. the same agency that was

previously hacked by china. at the same time that trump-musk administration has fired thousands of federal employees including veterans, people working in national security, and hundreds of dhs employees. who does that benefit? it surely doesn't make the united states safer. russian and chinese spies are targeting recently fired federal workers with security clearances. and i can guarantee you that those foreign spies are targeting the young, inexperienced doge employees who have unfettered access to the federal systems and classification information. the trump-musk administration has created a national security nightmare, and my republican colleagues are sleepwalking right into it. make no mistake, elon musk doge is a homegrown threat and it's

time for the other side to wake up. i yield back. >> thank you, ranking member thompson. other members are reminded of statements may be submitted for the record. this committee please have a panel panel of witnesses before us today. i asked what is a please rise and raise the right hand. -- i ask that the witnesses please rise and raise their right hand. [witnesses were sworn in] >> let the record reflect the witnesses answered in the affirmative. thank you and please be seated. i would now like to formally introduce our witnesses. mr. chris currie is rick of homeland security and justice team at the u.s. government accountability office, gao.

ms. kristen bernard is the problem of homeland deputy inspector for audits. ms. erika lang is a department of homeland security assistant inspector general for inspections and evaluations. thank you all as witnesses for being here today. i want you now recognize mr. chris currie for five minutes for his opening statement. >> thank you very much, mr. char thanedar, ranking member thompson, it's an honor to be a to talk about gao's work on the department of homeland security. since 2003 when dhs opened its doors we've issued thousands of reports and just as many recommendations to improve the department. there's been progress made over that 20 some odd years but there's a huge number of challenges that still remain. i can't can cover them ale minutes but i want to give a snapshot of what i see as the biggest priority. there's 459 open recommendations

we have to the department but each year we send a letter to each cabinet secretary outlining those that are of the highest priority. last sure we sent letter outlining 37 open recommendations to the dhs secretary, and these run across the gamut of the mission of the department. for example, we have recommended that improve the i.t. procurement and acquisition processes, better training and hiring for secret service agents, simplifying disaster assistance, sharing cyber threat information across the department and across agencies, and collecting header data on ice detainees, just to give an example of a few of them. each year we also identify areas of duplication and overlap and fragmentation and cost savings across the entire federal government. dhs has been a major part of that. since we've been doing that work we've identified over $19 billion in financial savings that the department could save by making his programs more

efficient. currently there are many other areas over 30 that have still not been fully addressed by dhs. just to give a few examples of these, we have recommended better procuring andm, streamlining its i.t. systems could save potentially hundreds of millions of dollars. closing unnecessary coast guard boat stations overlap with one another could save millions. dhs and the fbi could work together to better streamline the sharing and collection of terrorism information. just to name a few. also want to discuss the dhs high risk areas that are on our list. every two years the new congress, gao issues a high risk report to congress. they are currently over 30 issues across the federal government on there. many that affect dhs but the two i want to highlight our, one, dhs management at large. this event on our high risk list since 2003.

it has been narrowed over the years as the department is working to create itself into one functioning department but we still face a a number of vy difficult financial management and i.t. security issues. for example, ever your dhs independent auditor identifies access controls and i.t. security problems with its systems which clearly is one of the nation's foremost national security agencies is a concern. financial management, dhs has a number of systems including fema and ice was manage most of the department's billions of dollars in resources. some of these are over 25 years old. fema itself is six different procurement systems that can't talk to one another. there still some legacy challenges that it not been addressed in over 30 30 yeare fema was first created. lastly, you mentioned mr. chairman, we just added a new entry to the high risk list this

year, strengthening the delivery of federal disaster assistance. there are over 30 different federal agencies that are involved in disaster assistance of some kind and since 2015 we as the federal come and spent close to have joined dollars in disaster assistance. there are a number of ways this program and these programs need to be streamlined. they are too complicated, we are over and over again from survivors, state and local governments it too difficult and often times assistance they get does not meet the expectation of what they think they're going to get. lastly you mentioned issues about fema mission work load. fema is stretched thin. they are managing over 600 major disaster declarations, , some going back 20 years. they have too much of a workload and they can't keep up with it. they had challenges retaining and hiring the right number of workers with the right skills. as more and more is being added

to the workload they get further and further behind. this completes my prepared remarks and i look forward to the discussion. >> thank thank you very muc, mr. currie. i now recognize ms. kristen bernard for five minutes for opening statement. >> thank you so much, chairman, ranking member thanedar and members of the subcommittee. thank you for inviting me today to discuss our oversight work that improves dhs' execution of its mission operations while preventing fraud and abuse and its programs. my testimony will highlight long-standing and systemic weaknesses that pertain to border security and immigration enforcement, cybersecurity and emergency management. first, dhs faces challenges executing its day-to-day border security and immigration operations. we have issued numerous highlighting recurring problems

and tracking and accounting for migrants entering in being released into the country. for example, we recently reported ice was unable to monitor the location and status of all unaccompanied children was released or transferred from dhs custody. we also reported dhs could not locate migrants once released due to missing or invalid addresses as well as the reliance on manual ad hoc methods for board apprehension and attention processing. each of these deficiencies point to the absence of fundamental practices necessary for maintaining operational control of the border. the root cause of these issues stem from dhs' lack of strategic focus for cross component collaboration. automation and consistency with better enable cpe and ice would keep pace with the fluctuating volume of migrants apprehended. until these issues are addressed

dhs will be unable to maintain awareness of all migrants locations once released on dhs custody which may hinder immigration enforcement operations. second, dhs' in the middle the to consistently secure systems, networks and data across its 22 components may weaken its overall defense against potential cyber attacks are recent audits of access controls which is an essential cybersecurity practice revealed hundreds of personnel who had either left dhs or transferred to a new position that they contend you have access. we also identified hundreds of users with elevated privileges and access. similarly, our audits of multiple pressure mobile device identified thousands of prohibited in high-risk applications and thousands of devices that were not adequately secured. and lastly, our recurring testing of critical systems

across dhs has revealed hundreds of workstations that were not receiving security patches or operating with the right settings. collectively oversight has identified more than 4000 security vulnerabilities over the past three years. but i will note our recommendations have prompted swift action by dhs in the area other cybersecurity posture. they've made continuous improvements and quickly remediated vulnerabilities or i credit those two are testing capabilities and methodology that enable us to provide results before the audit concludes as well as your strong partnership with dhs officials who are responsible for implementing and noticing cybersecurity practices. third and finally i will highlight our continued work to help improve fema administration disaster programs. while fema has faced an

unprecedented number of natural disasters and a global pandemic continues to operate in a manner that is not conducive to the skill or complexity of its current environment. we continue to identify astronomical amounts or question cost totaling $12 billion in the the last three years. earlier this year in fact, we notified fema and congress of her findings totaling $7 billion in funds that could have been put to better use due to the delays and closing out disaster programs. the results them and shake our dedication to promoting the integrity, efficiency and effectiveness of dhs programs and operations. we do remain concerned that until the department fully addresses recommendations for improvement, components may be entered to achieve these essential mission functions that are national security and prosperity rely on. dhs, oig remains committed to

working with the subcommittee and dhs leadership and other stakeholders to promote transparency, efficiency and accountability. and thank you for the opportunity to discuss our critical work and thank you for congress is support for enhancing our ability to promote accountability and deter fraud against dhs programs and operations. and this concludes my testimony. i'm happy to answer any questions you have. >> thank thank you, ms. ber. i now recognize ms. erika lang for her five minutes of opening statement. >> good afternoon, german, ranking member thanedar, and esteemed members of the subcommittee. thank you for the opportunity to discuss the office of inspector general independent oversight of foreign security programs and operations. as you heard from my colleagues are vital for insurers dhs is effective and efficient while

safeguarding americans security and taxpayer dollars. my testimony today will focus on my office is oversight of dhs' efforts regarding border security and immigration enforcement. first i want to highlight oig's body of work related to resettlement of approximately 97,000 afghan e-bike grease into american communities in 2021. we determined approximately 11,700 afghan e-bike threes independently departed u.s. military bases without assistance from resettlement agencies. our review found dhs struggled to track who departed and when these departures occurred. dhs did not attempt to locate all evacuees who independently to parted the basis to verify their complaints with parole conditions. we examined dhs' processes for identifying and resolving potentially derogatory records of afghan parolees and found this process was fragmented

only the department did not have a process for monitoring parole expiration for individual afghan parolees and had not designate a single component to monitor this parole expiration. finally we reviewed dhs' overall management of the evacuation effort. we found the department met timelines for the limited number of of asylum applicants from afghan population. however he did not have a structure to support dhs volunteers for the effort and the lack of direct funding and absence of clear authority affected the coordination of the resettlement process. i want to discuss two to kes that point to specific weaknesses in the department's ability to maintain effective border security. first come in 2022 cbp apprehended and released an alien without providing information requested by the fbi's terrorist screening center that we are confirmee individual was a positive match for the terrorist watch list.

this occurred because of cbp's ineffective processes for resolving inconclusive matches with the watchlist are we determine ice face multiple challenges planning and conducting the indians arrest. second, we examined cbp's and ice processes for detaining and removing inadmissible travelers from a particular international airport. between fiscal years 21 , cbp released at least 383 inadmissible travelers from custody at the airport. 44% did not return for their removal flight. we found cbp did not have an effective process to track who failed to return for the flights into that consistently transfer the cases ice for removal proceeding. our findings that are just here .2 weaknesses and processes, information sharing, resources and technologies that affect the department's ability to effectively secure its borders and enforce immigration

law. lastly, we continue to conduct congressionally mandated unannounced inspections of both cbp holding facilities and ice detention sicilies to ensure the facilities comply with federal detention standards. we've issued 60 reports with an cbp's short-term facility from fiscal year 22-24. our most significant. i'm a significant recommendations address meeting national standards for tiny custody as well as overcrowding. during the same time we issued 14 reports related to ice detention facilities and made multiple recommendations to improve the conditions of those in detention. these unannounced inspections help ensure the department complies with applicable detention standards to maintain the required conditions that detainees in custody and mitigates risk to the health and safety of dhs personnel. as my colleague and i describe dhs oig comprehensive body of work demonstrates our commitment to improving the department's

effectiveness and its many mission areas. the independence inspectors general interest necessary oversight, accountability and transparency in the federal government. it allows us to objective actionable recommendations. we appreciate congresses ongoing support of her independent oversight. this concludes my testimony and i'm happy to answer any questions. thank you. >> thank you. members will be recognized by order of seniority for the five is a question of our witnesses. additional rounds may be called if all mental men have bd i now recognize myself for five minutes of questioning. mr. currie, starting in 2011, gao made 83 recommendations, you pointed pointed this out, implicating $19 billion in savings. 72011 to date recommendations from your organization approved 19 billion to the taxpayer. in march of 2025, there remains

459 open recommendations that gao has made specific and you mentioned 37 of those are high priority recommendations with only five of those recommendations for efficiency being implemented. you mention that you make high priority areas. one of which included fema which are present and has been talking about. we have members of congress talking about. to what extent the high number of recommendations on gao relative the department of homeland security, 37 specifically the remain unaddressed unaddressed in the major duplications? >> definitely all of them relate to streamlining for improving efficiency if not directly finding overlapping programs. certainly you could translate those recommendations that if an permitted you would save

billions if not billions of dollars. >> i want you to can please highlight the errors specific to high risk category, federal government wide, correct? the to a specific to this committee jurisdiction, , what e those to make every second? >> one is dhs security and financial management. also improving the delivery of federal disaster assistance. there's one more did mention today which is the cybersecurity of the nation is high risk areas will. >> oig is also indicated. one area that showcases significant growth, waste as you just said is a fema disaster recovery efforts. it is more than justified what our president has been discussing when he's talking about what we can do to change the status quo. i've asked staff to provide this chart. these are always good. i don't know we may have to raise it up. and you'll see the red lines from receipt of physicians, the red light at the bottom? that's the rate of inflation.

that is the rate of inflation starting in 2000, sidebar, far left. the dark blue at the bottom is the base for disaster recovery. the light blue is the supplemental the congress comes in the brings about. so the bottom breadline represents the base growth every appropriated by congress. the upper breadline represents what would be if we had grown at the rate of inflation something of that. -- red line. at the rate of inflation what we will see is based disaster aid annually appropriated if that adjustment at the rate of inflation it would be two times almost two times greater that bottom left number 2.5. today at the rate of inflation base number would be 4.2 billion. ask the bottom red line. you see very slow growth. the upper red line again indicative of the supplementals if we go back middle number,

4.2 billion in 2000 was a total and the supplemental cost you if you could rise at the rate of inflation would put us at 8.2 billion. notice where the red lines track. way short of where we actually are. instead of a multiplier of 200, you have to put a multiplier of 800%. that is the rate of growth whether it's the base 800% growth relative to inflation or supplemental, 800% growth. you see a few years before. i want, i drive the time to go through this. i've done this before. anyone who says this is climate related, more climate can you cut united nations climate panel, united nations, not known as the right of center saying that there is no coronation, correlation between frequency of hurricanes and drought and wildfires wilted to climate change. so that argument even united

nations is vested with feta waste waste problem. regarding efficiency problem. gao added improving fema disaster recovery assistance to its high risk annual appropriations to that fund have greatly outpaced inflation as i just showed. what does it mean to be on the high risk list and how that even the increase appropriations have continued to receive, what should policymakers be concerned about when it comes to them remaining on that list? especially given these number. >> to be on high risk this means the program is vulnerable to waste, fraud, and abuse and mismanagement or inefficiency. one of the main reasons we added this to a list this year is actually the charges fema.org. if you add the rest of the federal government to go through the ceiling pretty much. what's happened over time is this process and this assistance has gotten too fragmented into large. it's just not well coordinated.

we hear this over and over again when the go around the country and talk to survivors and state and local governments. there's a tremendous amount of efficiency that can be gained by better streamlining these programs. >> thank you. i want to nap for site is a question recognize ranking member thanedar, your recognize. >> thanked the chair. and thank you to our guests here. the inspector generals play a crucial role in combating waste, fraud, and abuse and promoting efficiency and effectiveness in government programs and operation. however, they must adhere to integrity, objectivity and independent standards. previously gao found that a lack of transparency in dhs oig's selection of work topics called into question the independence

of the organization. what changes, a question for mst changes have the oig made to ensure transparency when selecting what proposals? and how does the agency ensure it is targeting the highest risk areas at dhs? >> thank you so much for the question and thank you for recognizing the importance of inspectors general. at dhs oig that is very important for us. we always want to make sure we're allocating resources very wisely, especially recognizing where overseeing a department with 22 components over 260,000 employees worldwide. it's very important to allocr resources to address the highest risk. i am really proud of our

risk-based approach to make sure we are helping dhs accomplish its most critical mission areas and its most critical challenges. so we do have a recurring and repeatable framework for that. it encourages staff to consider project ideas from multiple sources internally and externally. >> my question here is really that the oig's audit evaluations and investigations of the trump administration willah meet integrity, objectivity and independent standards and help ensure dhs operations within the law. >> yes, i can assure you weme wl continue conducting oversight work in accordance with their statutory authority. ..

ms. hirono, no. ms. warren, no. one hundred years gao has played a crucial role in enhancing the effectiveness of government programs and ensuring taxpayer money is well spent. the past 20 years gao work has resulted 1.45 trillion in financial benefits over 30,000 programs operational benefits. gao focus attention most significant challenges facing the government. one such challenge is human capitol including skilled shortage. a challenge trying to does not seem to appreciate is it purges civil servants.

what are the consequences of reducing the federal workforce using a sledgehammer rather than a scalpel? because you are correct. many of the high risk areas, there are over 30 of them across the federal government that we have identified are on the list because of some sort of staffing or capacity challenge. either they do not have the right number of people to perform the mission or do not have the right skills. so typically what you do is you figure out what you want the government or the agencies to do. and how to do it. you figure out what sort of staff you need to do it. so is going to have some implications but we do not know yet what exactly those will be perfect thank you. if you want to take 30 seconds if you like. >> i think i think my colleagues covered everything. >> alright thank you chair and i back. >> a gentleman yields back i would now like to recognize the gentleman from tennessee first

five minutes of questioning. >> thank you, mr. chairman. ms. lange opted by to ministration disastrous from afghanistan, biden offered tens of thousands of afghans passage into the united states through will understand the desire for safety, safely after withdrawal. there are many hostile violent people in afghanistan. the bright administration adequately vet afghans for grit before granting them parole? thank you for the question the screening and vetting of afghan evacuees at the time was subject to one of our reports. yes i can take that. we did do an audit in 2022 to look at the screening and vetting of the afghan

withdrawals. we did, and our population find i believe it was 35 who were allowed to board a flight that have been fully screened. generally we found cbp did not always have accurate and complete data for conducting the screening of those evacuees. in some cases there missing identification we do not have biographic to screen. since that time the department has provided documentation all of the evacuees have been screened and that something we are looking to evaluate peacocks to be clear at the time there granted parole did not have the entire picture of who the individuals were some places did not have identification safe to say some of the very people that

have torn that country apart. some of the very folks from afghanistan that we might otherwise allow to be here, they allowed the folks there running from to come with them. this is a disaster. this is a recipe for disaster. keep in mind the little event called 911 was planned in afghanistan. we have folks in this country, that country that do not like the united states of america. we've seen on full display for decades now. the debauched withdrawal and the failed policies allowing folks from a hostile nation to come here on vetted make america less safe. to be clear we know we've let individuals a terror watch list into this nation. some have walked their southern border. this is a failure of the biden administration. enough is enough. you see president trump going to the process of closing the

bordere . you see that mechanism for deporting individuals. this is our country. these are our borders. if you are not from here you are a guest. we get to decide who comes in and who has to leave. the weight forward as we face the burlington debt this country has in our future is we get to decide. the average emergent family become so illegally will cost the american taxpayer a million dollars. $1 million. where's that money coming from? it is coming from you. it is coming for me it is coming from hard-working americans. it is time which is a hard thing. that we admit the biden administration or for that matter any will allow folks to be here that should not be here. we send them home. we give them the opportunity to go back home. and look, i do not blame anyone

for wanting to come here. i have three children my wife and i have three children. we would walk through fire and over glass to give them a better life. you want to come to this country, our country you can do it the right that way. you're going to follow our rules and our laws. if you do not like it you can leave. i am not going to be apologetic for president from myself, for my colleagues to understand and respect the rule of law. respect everyone citizen, noncitizen, guest, illegal going to follow our laws. mr. chairman i yield back. it's a gentleman yields now ranking member thompson first five minutes. >> thank you very much mr. chairman. mr. chairman how long a view of the gao?

>> 23 years in june. i complement you on that. how long have you been doing looking at dhs and the program? okay thank you. if you look at dhs at this point that had to be a reduction in force. what would you expect, how that process play out? >> it is a challenge because there is not an admission dhs it's not critical. that's very unique. it would be hard to balance between cybersecurity more important than disaster assistance and it is not. each of the missions is critical. what you have to look out is what do the agencies expect to do what did they expect to deliver? for example with fema 100 or

more disasters a year at 600 total disasters they are managing. what do our communities and five survivors expect from them? what numbers of people do we need to deliver that assistance? so right now with fema they cannot keep their head above water expecting what they deliver. >> thank you. you mention fema what was the other agency you mentioned? >> cybersecurity system if i told you there have been hundreds of fema employees summarily told to leave without evaluation, without a plan, or anything of that nature. you seen that?

>> we know there have been dismissals of employees. yes. >> are you aware of any kind of a reduction in plan or dismissal plan for employees who are currently being discharged. >> i have not seen any plan like that. i know some have been based or for newer open probation area. s considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: i ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call with respect to the slater nomination. the presiding officer: is there an objection? without objection. by unanimous consent, the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of abigail slater of

the district of columbia to be an assistant attorney general signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandated quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of abigail slater of the district of columbia to be an assistant attorney general shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule of the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. ms. baldwin. mr. banks.

the clerk: mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. ms. blunt rochester.

ms. blunt rochester. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mrs. britt. mr. budd. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo.

i asked my republican colleagues are you fine with this? do my colleagues agree with moskcalling social security one giant scam? they have done this before several times. they have lostms out but they cannot help themselves because the only way to get the deepest tax cuts for the billionaires dramatically hurts social security, medicare. take it away from people and the american people with macy they're going to hate it. senator durbin. >> i would like to add the following. 73 million americans count on social security to survive. elon musk stand before us and save some type of a ponds eye

scheme easy for a billionaire to make that claim. for a lot of american families it is a lifeline. i want to make one other point. he referred to the people on social security as part of the parasite class. the parasite class. what would you think of a businessman who is facing bankruptcy, it comes to the government asks for special loan under special terms so that his automobile company does not go bankrupt? that person, elon musk president obama helped his company to survive. you see a parasite because he asked for special from the government for this loan. americans work hard their whole lives in the hopes they will have a comfortable secure retirement. social security is one of the keys to it we watch what donald trump and elon musk are doomed to social security we ought to be forewarned such as the current administration cutbacks

on basic benefits for americans who work for their whole lives. >> thank you. senator klobuchar. >> thank you. okay. so, when all of this started the day after the inauguration we warned all of you that chaos would be up and we have been right there we aren't born jew corruption would be up we were right. we warned you cost would go up he would create disasters with the tariffs, we were right. and now we are here to warn you about something else. that is their threats to mess around with medicaid and social security are real. it is not just a game. during the joint address the president spent three minutes marking social security. many of those claims that he made were found to be lies by major newspapers. it's a red alert for the 70 million americans at center durbin and shuman mentioned but

also for intent seniors social security is in fact their primary source of income. the present and then billionaire powell of the richest man in the world have been looking for ways to pay their tax cuts for the wealthy. they are looking to trillion dollars. they are ransacking through the government to find it. ask anyone who has been fired. musk team is trying to fire at 7000 men and women who work every day to make sure seniors get their hard earned checks on time. i know a little bit about this. i've got a strong state office that works on constituent matters all the time. i can tell you right now and things get messed up when they do for seniors, for our veterans, they are not going to get on an a.i. chatline right now but maybe generations from now that's not going to work for them right now and guess what else they do not have elon musk the seniors of this do not have

elon number they do not have anyone toun call that's where ty go to the local offices often they will call the senator's office we call someone social security to figure out what went wrong the spouse that they don't happen to the check the move to assisted living. these things happen all of the time. that is why we have an addition this administration is exposed social security data potentially disclosing millions of americans personal information is tiffany flick served as a social security agency acting chief of staff and dose was forced out but said in a court filing yesterday social security long-standing procedures continue to be ignored by doge that could result in benefit not being paid out until late in payments the stakes are high. she is absolutely right. to our republican colleagues with everything happening now we say they are elected officials.

they are not subject to a king. they have the ability in fact three of them would do it in the house or four of them depending on the type of vote would do it in the senate, they could stop it. they could do something about the tariffs they could certainly do something about this on social security. thank you. >> old saying we all know if someone say whose they are believe them the first time when it comes to social security we are watching how donald trump, elon musk other republicans are mocking the program the president did during his joint address. they're weakening the program by laying off thousands of workers undermining the program strengths they're demeaning andg integrating people who rely on social security people who paid into it patent with their lives using words like parasites. we see what they are doing to

this program were seeing what they are doing to the retirement, security tens of millions of americans. our grandparents roy and social security. our parents relent social security. 73 million americans rely on social security. they have made it clear what they intend to do. they want to attack this program, attack the people who rely on it, weaken the program and ultimately try to take away from the program to have bigger and bigger tax cuts to billionaires. this is outrageous for this is unacceptable we who believe in the program believe the strength and critical importance of social security understand earned benefits to fight against donald trump others who want to take social security down. the stand is clear the president

and musk mock, weaken a social security we are going to stand up to defend it. >> let's go over there. [inaudible] >> una white took a long time? enjoy each other's company. >> yes, yes they. >> you see democratic colleagues even though you don't like that. >> were going to wait to see the house does first. yes, yes. [inaudible] >> have issued a statement on that comments on my website yes. >> when you say to some democrats at michael hayden vote for this they are concerned the government shutdown that gives

elon musk more enterprise? >> were going to wait and see. [inaudible] mr. booker, aye.

>> in this subcommittee it my responsibility is to ensure we are in fact conducting oversight. the reality is that trump is the president right now. that republicans have the house and senate. therefore we are going to have to do some internal assessments of how you are functioning. today given the unethical illegal actions coming from billionaire because i'm sure maintaining independent oversight and accountability are critical for the health and success of our agencies. and for the american people and i want that to be on the record. without mr. chairman i yield

back. i would now like to recognize for five minutes of questioning the judgment from north carolina. >> thank you chairman. witnesses, thank you all for being here. rather than make up most the time was speaking i would love to go in and ask what the previous four years in the border disaster i saw firsthand. i want to start with ms. lange. one of the oig reports under the biden administration described the screening and vetting implementation as soiled. are you familiar with that report or the vetting procedures deficient during the previous ministration? >> is going to defer my colleague. >> if that's referring to 2023 report and i'm guessing that it

is on the port of entry screening and vetting. yes. >> why that conclusion? what's that particular report like a set a moment ago we were looking at the processes at ports of entry. one common theme we see time and time again is the lack of situational awareness. the data inaccuracies, and other lags in getting information from partners that can reduce situational awareness. every land port of entry different technological capabilities and infrastructure. >> is there a system that could have facilitate appropriate screening of 11 million encounters?

>> i think there's a lot of nuances to that question. it all goes back to volume. dhss certainly struggled to keep pace with the volume. you know where the decisions were made to allow or facilitate the number of illegal immigrants at the border or to admit them? was that the white house? the dhs who made those decisions? >> that could be a combination of dhs guidance. >> with there ever any discussion of limiting the number of inflows so we could vet them more thoroughly? >> we would not get involved in those policy decisions as the inspector general's office. that would be for dhs. >> reef invoice any discussions about limiting the number of people coming into the country? >> i'm not familiar with that thank you. >> mr. curry in regards to your role and identifying how the department functions the highest

level of functionality. really aware of discussions with leadership in the white house the biden administration about limiting the number of illegal immigrants whose coming into the country? >> no, sir. >> there any concerns related to the administration? we have terrorists coming in. we have human traffickers coming in. because the sheer volume. >> in our work we certainly done a lot of work over the last foue at the border in the processing piece of the influx would have an impact on cbp mission. for example the number of staff they need to process all those people. from that standpoint we have assessed those aspects. >> can cbp process 11 million people known encounters? i submit this more than 11 million people out of crossed over but is that a feasible ask?

does that you need to process 11 billion people in four years. >> traditionally they've been very shortstaffed. they're struggling with hiring for example it's been a big problem to me the numbers they needed. it's been a huge challenge. >> is the agency able to facilitate 11 million people come into the country? can you facilitate vetting you know what competencies people are not a threat to the company? >> him honestly not sure about the exact number of 11 million and what they can do. i can say based on our work then struggled to meet the mission for a long time they've hired the number people may need an regular times let alone in the surge. >> regards the number employees you think cbp needs to secure the border and effectively protect the homeland. how many more people do think we need? >> the exact hiring targets of the tip of my tongue. cbp does set eight targets of what they need. they had challenges in meeting

that hiring enough agents. part of the problem is the process like a multiyear process to hire somebody. >> is particularly challenging as been something dhss try to can for quite some time. >> mr. chairman i yield back. >> if it is a go at the committee can he ask a follow-up? >> two and ask a question? yes. >> and regards to going to the portion of disaster relief to the states is there anything cao can do is shop the assist the council in terms of research on returning power to the state disaster recovery?

he has mission block grants pretties mention giving money more efficiently to the state. is that something you would have interest in doing customer if so what kind of recommendations would you give us to assist in that regard? >> have not been counted but we have been a report on this for a number of years. for reforming the system. by the way has been a problem for many. >> you said the system. >> the recovery system it's 30 federal agencies large bureaucratic agencies it is too complicated is the bottom line. we have a number of options we have laid out. one is federal government providing less assistance. not getting involved in that medium and small. another is changing the grant structure.

right now fema's grant source of the most complicated and all of government. like i said some of these disasters -- met hurricane katrina's own open disaster fema so writing checks and obligating funds or hurricane katrina. getting out of the business of that so they can focus on response in near term and many other options. it just incentivizes states and local governments from having creativity or outlets viewing disasters. >> it up so they know they can blend the federal government a few years ago how many states have a rainy day fund for disasters very few do. they told us outright if something is bad to more efficiently and effectively

respond i would just add to it mr. curry said. there is a lot of bureaucracy and fema and something we have seen in the 20 years we have been there. with operational efficiency. there are a lot of partners involved. they also struggle with just making sure they are collecting sufficient documentation. it is a heroic effort to review the sheer volume of transactions they are dealing with. and so they have a lot of different options for reviewing payments as they go along. overviewing a sample of payments. that's just something we see time and again. the more transactions they are dealing with the more opportunities there are for potential fraud or misspent funds. >> what's the source of the

inefficiency? >> is the work load? is it the workforce? is that the process? >> definitely all three. yes, all three pre- >> mr. chairman i think my times up i yield back. >> i think the gentle go-ahead. >> like to ask unanimous consent to enter in the statement from the council of inspector general on integrity and efficiency that speaks to the value of the ig community pecos that objection so ordered. i think the witnesses for their valuable testimony. members for your questions. members of the subcommittee of e witnesses are dismissed the committee will be in recess for five minutes.

the clerk: mr. schmitt, aye.

the clerk: mr. hickenlooper, aye. the clerk: mr. kennedy, aye. mr. rounds, aye.

the clerk: mrs. hyde-smith, aye. mr. kelly, aye. the clerk: mr. thune, aye.

as it has been clear from his first day as president, even as a candidate president trump is a president progressive president of pieces gold the entire goal e process is to bring an end to the war because they were bloodied war number one interest is ending the war once and for all to enter into a cease-fire into immediate negotiations and the conflict in a way that is enduring and sustainable and accounts for their interest, their security, their ability to prosper as a nation. i want to personally think we both want to thank saudi arabia's majesty for hosting us in making this possible placement instruments on this process.

hopefully we'll take this off to the russians and hopefully they will say guess that they say yes to the piece the ball is on the court. but again the president's objective is number one above everything else he wants the war to end i think today ukraine is taken a concrete step in that regard. we hope the russians will reciprocate. >> just to add to the secretary's comments the ukrainian delegation today make something very clear. nature's determination to end the fighting. to end the killing. two and the tragic meat grinder of people and national treasure happening on the front in ukraine. number one. number two, they made concrete steps in concrete proposals. not only accepting our proposal

for a full cease-fire. which you can see the details are in the joint statement that we release together. we also gone to substantive details on how this was going to permanently end. what type of guarantees they're going to have for long-term security and prosperity? but also, really looking at what is going to take to finally end the horrific fighting. the other piece i want to make very clear is president trump started his diplomatic effort in the oval office talking to both leaders, both president putin and president zelenskyy back to back. that shuttle diplomacy continues. we have a named delegation in terms of next steps from the russian side we have a named delegation in terms of next steps from the ukrainian side.

i will talk to my russian counterpart in the coming days. secretary rubio will be with g-7 foreign ministers. and the next couple of days we had that nato secretary-general in the white house on thursday. and we will take the process forward from there. as a result of that and a result of this positive step forward the president i decided to lift the pause on aid and on our security assistance ukraine going forward. and that is effective immediately. [inaudible] let start alex of cnn. >> we understood the ukrainian proposal for a cease-fire. how did this become an american proposal for an immediate 30 days cease-fire? to be clear your tongue but a

complete sears cease-fire across the front line not just what they propose. how do you expect to take this to the russians? is it later this week will he deliver that the pollutant of president trump or that counterparts how will that happen it went? what's the first point of your question is yes that is the offer the offers to stop the shooting. the goal here is the only way to end this war is to negotiate out of it for there's no military solution to this war in the way to end it and achieve the president's objective of peace is to negotiate. but before you can negotiate you have to stop shooting each other that is with the present is wanted to see that the commitment we got today from the ukrainian side their willingness to do that. obviously that would now be delivered to the russians. it will be delivered multiple through multiple channels not only will they see it will be communicated to the diplomatic channels and conversations and other methods.

there obviously well aware of ourhope is the russians will say yes for that also agrees to the shooting will stop, that killing will stop, the dying will stop the talks can begin how to end the war permanently in a way that's acceptable and enduring for both sides. >> there is been all kinds of discussions in terms of different types of cease-fires. there was the deal in terms of green moving years ago for this discussion of halting aerial attacks on each other's infrastructure. the president has made it clear and certainly has made it clear to us that all fighting needs to stop. the ukrainians have agreed to tt proposal per their ready for and will take that to the russians and get that response. i expect any goodwill gestures for russia?

hoping that they reciprocate on that? >> are going to tell them what's on the table ukraine is ready to stop shooting and start talking. and i'll be up to them to say yes or no help they say yes then also made great progress. we will note the impediment is to the pc or president been abundantly clear was a shooting to stop he wants the war. he wants the dying and the suffering to stop and he believes and rightfully so the only way to end this war is to negotiate an end to it. we think it's easier to negotiate when people are not shooting at each other that that's what the president believes that's what we hope to achieve the ukrainians that have expressed their willingness and readiness to do so immediately whip the russians answers that will also bee. yes. >> the deadline is we hope to do this as soon as possible people die people are bound their hold on both sides of the conflict. the president wanted an yester the day before the president's clear once piece he wants to see

it as soon as possible but our hope is the russians will answer yes as quickly as possible swings in second phase of this which is real negotiations not never ending dialogue, talk forever but real negotiations to end this conflict in a way that is acceptable to both sides that sustainable in the civility of ukraine for the long term. [inaudible] cooks we have discussed a number of things the prison exchanges, folks that were detained and what have you. but the fighting has a stop without we agreed to. think about it we have gone for if the war's going to end to now how the war is going to end. this was an important first step that was it a president trump's leadership is literally move the entire global conversation went very senior ukrainian delegation with us today. we had engagements with the russian counterparts. i now is how the wars going to

and that's under president trump productions your question time, the goal here is peace. for that is the presidents goal. the best good will gesture the russians can provide is to say yes. to say yes to stop the shooting to stop the fighting and get to the table. they do that that's the best goodwill sign we could see. obviously as part of the negotiation return mode and the conflict there will be a lot of issues to unravel. among them not the least is a human chain concerning the children, prisoners of war. all things at sadly, the conflicts in a broad goodwill gesture we can see from the russians is to see the ukrainian offer and reciprocate with the s. [inaudible] [inaudible]

cooks will meet answer give two-part a look this is the security advisor talk about defense and security assistance. on the second question limit answer on the minerals deal heard this part of our communication today for that something negotiate to our treasury comments counterpart on the ukrainian side. the presidency both presidents will instruct the appropriate members of our government to bring the venality, the signature of the deal the signature of this agreement. that was communicated today that's going to happen for them stop the subject of the tots today i thought expressing on my way in. we were here in pursuit of peace that does not mean that minerals mineralstill is not very import.

>> we have the biggest in the at advanced factory in texas. this is very much, best car ever. all these cars of one of several awards. they are great american cars are american-made. the other cars are great. we have to celebrate that has the courage to do this. he could've said i'm not doing anything apparent not going to get involved. let the country go to [bleep]. he did not want to do that. remember we are up to almost

$5 billion worth worth of waste and fraud and abuse. 500 billion. we give to billion here, to billing it's not millions it was a million or $2 million is a lot of money but we are talking about billions of dollars being given to defunct scams. given to people with nothing for they have nothing going for they open up a sub chapter s corporation and put $2 billion into it from nowhere. we've got a lot of them but wish we'd catch all of them but was caught a lot of them he's been largely responsible. we have to celebrate him. as nothing is conservative i don't even know if he's conservative. i will tell you this, i've known you for pretty long time. i did not know him that well and he endorsed me. but, in the time i have known him he has never asked me for a favor. he did not ask me for this is that you know elon, i do not like what's happening with you

and tess was a great company. i do not like what is happening. it's from our standpoint american cars he employs thousands of people at the same time the most modern plans in the world. i do not like what's happening are going to do it i did not know who's going to come. he has never asked me for anything. he endorsed me and never asked for anything but i did not know who's going to endorse me. he's not saying that guy could go a step further by ended the electric band-aid. when it is this guy calling to raise a [bleep] with me and he never called. he never called me. if i were him i would've called me. he's probably better than i am. [inaudible] >> is electric the way to go? >> this is not for lecture gas to bother choices. i'm saying i know people who have these cars i know what know we see them all the time he has

five of them. he was a big guy for ferraris and other things. this blows him away. i know others have three or four they love them, they love them. they should have their options i am all about options. i ended the electric mandate i was waiting for a call i said it elon call yet? they said no, sir with an exit would but eli did a call? you never even mentioned it to me until this moment and bring t up. who would do that? he has never asked me for a thing you took this great company and should not be penalized. i do not even know if he is a republican. arts and market going go up physically go down question we have to rebuild our country for

a country's been stripped of his jobs, it's factories i'm tired to see where they build cheap apartments and an old broken down factory. factors all over the place are empty for many decades ago. we are going to change it around. a truly impulsive great workers, great people, taxing and incentives. i'm bringing incentives back numerous plans i do not want to mention specifically but i will mention this one and mexico and other places are now coming here. it is unfair what was happening. mexico was a building cars buile selling them into the united states with no tax no nothing. in the united states we are allowing them to take our jobs and take our factories we don't do that anymore.

rub president be easy if i posted for four years i had the best economy i would have done e very wellin this one. i had a decision to make i want to do this or do it not? i wonder right? already in canada i respect very much as you know there's a very slow man inch can lycées pointed charge a surcharge or tariff on electricity coming in. he is called and said he's not going to do it. he's not going to do it. be a very bad thing if he did. we're just in form is not going to do that. we've been treated very unfairly by canada very unfairly by mexico.19 the been treated very unfairly by every company nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of justice, abigail

slater of the district of columbia to be an assistant attorney general. mrs. murray: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: mr. president, if house republicans don't think they need us when writing a bill, why should they expect us

to support that bill, especially when it comes to taking funding away from our families who depend on it and hurt our communities and give away congress' power over key funding decisions. instead of working with democrats to invest in working people all across our country and make sure our constituents have their voices heard in government funding, speaker johnson abandoned talks and rolled out a bill that includes major cuts. it cuts nondefense discretionary funding by $15 billion in total in 2025 and hands a blank check to trump and elon musk to pick winners and losers and steal from our constituents. make no mistake, the entire bill the house is voting on today is house republicans' own doing, and it is a dumpster fire. so i'm here to sound the alarm about that fire before it

spreads. but first, i need everyone to understand the choice is absolutely, is not dumpster fire or shutdown. i should know. i introduced another option yesterday. it's a short-term c.r. that would give us the time to finish doing our job and negotiate bipartisan full-year bills. there's no reason we cannot do that, and there is every reason that every single one of us should prefer actual bills that we write to help people over the bill that just empowers two billionaires who are running our government into the ground and our economy into a recession. i really want to make sure all of my colleagues understand how bad this bill is. so if anyone thinks this bill from house republicans is going to avoid chaos or avoid pain for our country, listen up, because it is only going to add to the chaos. this is not a, quote, clean

c.r., as some republicans claim. it cuts programs our communities rely on, and that includes a major 44% cut to army corps projects that help mitigate against floods and hurricanes and much else. it cuts medical research into diseases and conditions affecting servicemembers and their families by more than $1 billion. that is over 40%. it leaves a massive $280 million shortfall in nih's budget, and that is a big cut to research that saves lives. it leaves a shortfall for housing programs. we're talking about 32,000 fewer vouchers, and that, mr. president, is just scratching the surface. it also completely lacks the basic guardrails we include in all of our funding bills on a bipartisan basis each and every year to make sure that our

states and our communities are taken care of and not just subject to the whims of trump administration to pick winners and losers. house republicans are not trying to responsible blip fund the government. they are trying to turn it into a slush fund for trump and musk to wield as they see fit so they can shift their focus entirely to tax cuts for billionaires. right now we, congress, have the power of the purse. we have that power to fight for our states, to fight for our families to, bring federal dollars back home and build bridges and feed families and care for veterans and fight for fentanyl, whatever our communities tell us they need. we should not cede that power with this bill. that is really worth sitting with for a minute. we all chose to be here, to be here in congress. we chose to take on this role so

we could advocate for causes and communities we care about and work in a bipartisan manner to reach compromise to make sure our causes and our communities get the support they need. house republicans' full year c.r. would instead pass the buck to elon musk to decide who gets funded and who doesn't. is that why we were elected, to fight for our states and fight for our communities as the people who know them best? i certainly know that's true for me. i've worked for years with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make sure that people back home, who trusted us when we said we'd fight for them, always knows congress has their back. so really think about that before you vote to make your voice mean less for the rest of this fiscal year, because it is terrifying to think of what unelected political appointees would do. we've already gotten an alarming preview of how trump will

threaten to cut off states and cities who might disagree with him and elon will warp the government to hurt his competitors. i have to say our bipartisan appropriations process is not always easy, but it is a heck of a lot better than handing over our decision making to this or to any administration. voting against this bill is about standing for communities and families who actually rely on the funding, and for our ability, mr. president, every one of us, for our ability to be a voice for our constituents in congress. because what will happen when medical research funding gets sucked away all because some scientist worked previously and said vaccines were safe and the tuck is -- and the funding is gone. what happens if you can't get a bridge fixed and they don't like

the people who is the mayor. the bipartisan directives we provide, we, congress provides each year with our funding bills help guard against that kind of thing for any administration. and all of that is missing from this disastrous slush fund c.r. through bipartisan compromise, we make sure our communities have a voice at the table, our taxpayer dollars are a return on their taxes. we should reject this bill. we should pass a short-term c.r. to avoid a shutdown and then, mr. president, we should do our job and work on full-year spending bills that we were sent here to do. thank you, mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: mr. president, i'm scheduled to be part of a colloquy here in just a couple of minutes. but i wanted to make a comment about what the senator from

washington has shared. and i'm going to use a term that maybe some people are not familiar with. we are in a morton's fork. morton's fork. we heard about fork in the road. some people know what a hobson's choice is. but a morton's fork is a choice between two equally unpleasant alternatives, and if this isn't where we are right now ladies and gentlemen, i don't know what is. as senator murray outlined, a long-term c.r. when we have already done our appropriations work and we're not able to get to that work, instead we basically give the administration the ability to direct, within the funding levels, but direct as they will see fit until the end of september, is something that i think many of us, certainly this appropriator, doesn't really feel comfortable with.

i -- i spend a lot of time within my appropriations subcommittee working very hard in the department of interior to make sure that we knew whether it was funding for federal land firefighters or with the v.a. or within any of the other agencies, that we did what people asked and expected us to do. we did those bills and i think we did a pretty good job. mine moved out of full committee unanimously. and then they didn't advance. and so here we are sitting at a place where we have to take either the choice of a long-term c.r. and basically give up the work we have done as a congress or we move to a government shutdown, and equally untenable and equally unpressant alternative, and one that quite honestly we should not be in this position, we should not be

in this place where we have two bad choices for our government, for the people of this country. we can do better. i wish -- i agree, senator murray, i wish that what we were able to advance is a short-term c.r. that would allow us to move to finish up our appropriations bills, do our work and then start moving on fy-26. i don't know if it's possible between now and the end of day on march 14, but i for one is at a place i'm beside myself that we're in a place where we feel we have no good alternatives. we are in a morton's fork.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator a from new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: i'm pleased to come to the floor to support ukraine and i'm especially pleased that we have colleagues from both sides of the aisle to support the ukrainians in this unjust war against russia. now, i understand and appreciate the desire for peace in ukraine, and i understand why we should end the senseless killing of innocent people, and i think if you ask ukrainians, they want this war to end too. they're watching how this war is destroying their country, but the best way to make a deal here is to give ukraine as much leverage as possible. i'm pleased to hear today that

there is the potential for a cease-fire, that as part of that, u.s. intelligence sharing would be turned back on. i think we should also keep sanctions on russia. i think nato membership should be on the table for ukraine because vladimir putin only understands strength. when he invaded crimea in 2014, a lot of people, including myself, didn't think our response was strong enough. we were concerned that vladimir putin couldn't be trusted to abide by negotiated agreements. and three years ago, of course, putin proved us right when he directed his forces to attack ukraine again in a full-scale invasion. his missiles struck kindergartens and maternity wards and they continue to strike innocent civilians. his soldiers carried out

massacres in places like bucha where just a few weeks ago i saw first hand, along with senators bennet and tillis, the lingering affects and trauma of what the russians did in bucha. we heard about the indiscriminate murders of civilians, the rape and torture of innocent bystanders. well, russian soldiers rushed into ukraine from the north, east, and south, and many predicted the country would fall within weeks, not days. but as we stand on the floor today, ukraine is still standing and that's thanks in no small part to the strong bipartisan support that ukraine has enjoyed here in congress. and i think that support, that strong bipartisan support has been there because we understand that this is a fight for

democracy. this is a fight to stop the overturning of the international rules-based order, to stop a dictator like vladimir putin from going into a country and thinking just because he wants to take it over, he can. and we know that not only -- are -- not only are our allies watching here, but so are our adversaries. north korea is already fighting on russia's side against the ukrainians, iran is providing missiles, china is providing support. they are watching what america does here. we understand, as republican and democratic senators, that to have a lasting peace in ukraine, we need to make sure russia's accountable and that we have security guarantees. now, there are a number of ways to do that, and they don't necessarily mean u.s. troops on

the ground or even nato troops on the ground. europe is working through different options. as i said, senator tillis and i were recently in ukraine, along with senator bennet, and we saw first hand that despite russia's advantages and size and manpower, that ukrainians are not giving up. ukraine now has one of the most advanced militaries in the world, the most advanced in europe. i came away impressed by their ingenuity, their ability to innovate in the face of russian aggression. ukrainians are sharing those lessons from the battlefield with the united states military. they're helping us prepare for the wars of the future. and it's not just something that we understand in congress that's important, but my constituents in new hampshire understand how important it is that we support

the ukrainians. and i brought with me today a poster from a community effort in new hampshire that has raised $4 million to support the people and children particularly of ukraine. they provided 3 million-plus pounds of food, 10,000 sleeping bags, hundreds of generator, 900 children are in trauma counseling because of their effort. they raised over $4 million from new hampshire to support the ukrainians. and americans across this country understand why this fight is important to us. it's why we're here on the floor today to reiterate that we stand with ukraine, and i urge all of my colleagues who support ukraine, republicans and democrats alike, to join us -- join us in speaking up for ukrainian sovereignty and

territorial integrity, join us to strengthen ukraine's place at the negotiating table, join us from calling on moscow to withdraw from the territory it seize dz. thousands of ukrainians have given their lives in this fight. they have been on the front lines for all of us. as a group of women in the ukrainian military said to me in the first year of the war, give us the equipment, give us the arms so that we can fight the russians so that you and america don't have to. well, they've been on the front lines for all of us defending the international order that has served american interest since the end of world war ii. i hope we will continue to support them in that effort. thank you, mr. president. i yield to my colleague, senator murkowski. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: mr. president, i'm pleased to be here on the floor today with the senator

from new hampshire as well as other colleagues on both sides of the aisle to speak in support of ukraine. we're now more than three years into russia's unprovoked, brutal war against ukraine. i think we are encouraged by the news that we are seeing advance this afternoon with the talks in saudi arabia between the united states and ukrainian officials as they talk about the potential for a cease-fire, the potential for the u.s. to restore military support, and an intelligence -- and intelligence sharing. these are promising developments. i think we all want to -- we all want to arrive at that place where we see peace, but when we talk about how the peace is gained, i think, again, the discussions that are had on this floor, those of us that have had an opportunity to go to ukraine

and see the situation on the ground ourselves, to speak with so many who are engaged in this effort, the stakes are not only about ukraine's sovereignty, the stakes also include our values, our security, and our creditibilitiy -- credibility as the leader of the free world. this is not just a regional conflict on the edge of europe, it's a global test. it's a test of whether the international community will allow borders to be redrawn by force. a test of whether democracies will continue to stand together when authoritarian regimes literally try to rewrite the rules. and it is a test of american leadership in the 21st century. as was stated, the ukrainian people are not asking us to fight their war. they are doing the fighting.

it is their sons, it is their daughters that are dying. what they're asking of us, as the world's leading democracy is to help us with the tools. help us with the arms, the ammunition, the logistical support, help protect them, help them with the intelligence that can be provided through satellite imagery. help them so that they can -- they can protect themselves. and i think that we should be proud as americans that we have helped to make a difference. we have helped ukraine push back. it has prevented kyiv from falling to russia. it continues to help ukrainian defenders hold the line there. so that every weapon system, every round of ammunition and radar or drone that we have helped to provide, these aren't just supplies. these are literally lifelines to

the people. and when we think about the people, i think it is important to also recognize another way that we have helped in this country. senator shaheen showed a picture of the ukrainian families and the people in her state. in alaska we have welcomed, we have embraced, we have helped situate ukrainian families who have sought refuge, who are here in a place like alaska, a place like new hampshire because where they call home is not safe to be. and so how we can support them is important. because when we support ukraine, we're not just helping a nation in need. we're protecting and we're preserving the rules-based international order that has helped keep the peace for generations. and if we falter, others are

watching. others are watching the situation in moscow, in beijing, in tehran and pyongyang. so if it's seen we're walking away from ukraine, if we embrace appeasement, we embold every aggressor around the globe. and more than that it's our allies. it's our friend, our partners. they're watching us. and they're asking the question, is the united states a country that can be depended on? are we seeing this alliance that we have had, that we have worked to nurture and build for 80 years? are we seeing that fray? i understand absolutely the calls for restraint in our support, that the war costs too much, we need to be focusing on issues here at home. but again, the fight is bigger. the fight is bigger than that. it is significant, yes, for

ukraine, but it is about democratic values and standing up for democratic values. it's about stopping the expansionist ambitions of authoritarian regimes. because i think we've got to be honest here. look at history. russia is not going to stop at ukraine. in 2005 in a state of the nation address, putin said, quote, the demise of the soviet union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century. and he's never hidden his ambitions from that statement. when putin says the ongoing collapse of western hegemoniy is irreversible, he means us. he means our allies and the broader narrative about the decline of western influence. he wants nato to be divided, and he wants the united states isolated. this works to his advantage. he just probably didn't expect that america was going to do it

for him. now, as an alaskan, i get geography. i'm acutely aware of the threat a more aggressive russia poses. just across the bering sea, two miles separate the united states, alaska's little diomede and russia's big diomede. we see russia's military buildup when we see the russian bombers take are flying, when we see the russian and chinese naval forces out in our waters. but we also know and have long known that a destabilized europe means a more dangerous world for the united states. and this conflict may seem like a continent away, a long waysway, but the consequences are anything but distance. we all want this war to end, but it cannot end on russia's terms. if it does, we should expect nothing more than a temporary respite before the resumption of hostilities. why are we going to start trusting and believing putin's

word now? given his track record? we've seen this before. history doesn't lie. and the appeasement of tyrants does not bring peace. russia started this conflict and it's critical for us to stand with ukraine to end it, not just because it's right but because it's necessary. mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. a senator: thank you. i thank my colleagues, republican and democrat, for coming to the floor today showing our continued support for ukraine. i was heartened, mr. president, to hear today that president zelenskyy is on board with the u.s. cease-fire proposal. that's good news. and it does highlight that president zelenskyy has shown time and again that he's always willing to negotiate for peace. mr. welch: putin has always been the aggressor.

and that is why i believe we must stand with ukraine. you know, the question before us today whether we will continue to stand with ukraine has immense implications for the security of the united states, of our european allies, and of world peace. these are critical questions to get right. should the united states stand by our 80-year-old security commitments in europe? should the united states stand behind the rules-based order established in the aftermath of the catastrophic world war ii? or should we abandon those rules despite the fact that they have served our national security interests for so long? that's -- those are the questions. you know, in the aftermath, mr. president, of the horrors of world war ii in which more than

80 million people died, the united states did establish alliances and security commitments in europe and determined that this was the way to avoid a word war iii -- world war iii. investments in nato, armed forces in europe, and european democracy and economic prosperity. we did not want to repeat what happened after world war i where none of this was done and it created the conditions for a second world war. perhaps most importantly, america asserted that it would defend a europe so borders are not changed by force, where nations cannot invade weaker neighbors with impunity. was that effort worth it in these past 80 years? since some are now suggesting otherwise, i'd like to mention a few of the reasons why the post-world war ii order in europe led by the united states

and enacted by a treaty in this united states senate was a success in keeping the peace. no conflict. europe has avoided a major war for 80 years. the end of the ussr, europe weathered the storm of the breakup of the soviet union ushering in new countries committed to democratic values of freedom and democracy. yugoslavia, europe and nato weathered the conflict demonstrating an unpress devented effort u.-nato cooperation and commitments to the balkans and western democratic values. our european allies have always been there for us, including in the aftermath of 9/11. economic values, our commitments also ushered in the fall of communism in a vibrant european union that is peaceful and

democratic, a club that the balkans, eastern europe, and now ukraine want into. it's a testament to the success of the painstaking efforts that republican and democratic administrations, republican majority and democratic majority of a united states senate adhered to. but these commitments to european security, to nato, and protecting territorial integrity weren't only good in the past. to say that these alliances and commitments are tired or worn out says that we're tired and we're worn out of peace and tired of maintaining peace for our citizens here in the united states. and that is a fatigue we can never succumb to, ever. those values are needed today to protect ukraine and europe and the united states from a rampant

unlawful, invasive russia. you know, mr. president, since the fall of the soviet union, ukraine along with the rest of eastern europe and the balkan states has moved rapidly to reorient its politics and policies towards the european union, toward democracy, toward freedom. it was in fact ukraine's pursuit of a closer relationship with the e.u. that pew tip, the autocrat, used as an excuse to interfere in ukraine yeas in -- ukraine's internal affairs. the invasion of ukraine also demonstrated the resilience of america's security relationships with europe and nato. never has the european command of the united states armed forces designed and built to defend western europe against a soviet invasion has it been called upon to coordinate the actual defense of european

sovereign borders from the invasion from the east. today that's a reality. europe also very much our partner saw the threat and rose to the occasion in part -- and i want to acknowledge president trump's insistence on this -- european countries have begun to increase their defense spending, as they should and as they must. they have done so and they have stepped up by providing material as we have, advanced missiles, drones, and other military technology for ukraine. in fact, as a percentage of the gross domestic product, europe has given more to ukraine in support and weapons than the united states. we're doing it together. mr. president, we cannot take for granted that we've had this peace in europe for 80 years. we cannot take for granted that

we did that. it was the result of that sustained commitment of members of this body on both sides of the aisle, of presidents of both parties. our duty is to keep that alliance united at this stressful time. if ukraine fails, we should not assume that the european security and our alliances there will survive. world war ii ended 80 years ago. we've got to keep it 80 more. the centers that ratified the establishment of nato and our american-european commitments to peace and security on the european continent, they understood that our european alliances are critical to our own security. they would be rightly proud of their success story of 80 years of peace, of democracy, of freedom in europe. but they'd be horrified at the

threat that putin now poses to europe, threatening everything that we and those who came before us have worked for. ukraine's integration with the rest of europe, their own right to self-determination, ukraine yeas battlefield courage, ukraine yeas political -- ukraine's political commitment to democracy and freedom validate the 80 years of america's commitment to creating structures that can enforce and protection peace. -- protect peace. mr. president, turning away from ukraine now when it needs us most could mean the end of that 80-year success story. we must stand by ukraine and against that unlawful invasion by mr. putin. we must stand by our european allies and we must reaffirm our

continued dedication to the work of those who served here before us, to build the alliances, to sustain the alliances that have preserved the peace in europe. their future and ours depends on it. mr. president, i yield back. the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: thank you, mr. president. before i begin my formal remarks, let me thank my neighbor from new hampshire for organizing this bipartisan display of support for ukraine. mr. president, on february 24, 2022, without justification, without provocation, russia launched a full-scale brutal invasion of its democratic

neighbor ukraine. with missiles, air assaults, and army divisions. as john adams said, facts are stub born things. -- stub born stub burn things. and the facts of what happened on that terrible day are undeniable. it was russia which started the war. many thought that ukraine had no chance against the perceived might of the russian armed forces. however, the ukrainians fought so bravely against that initial onslaught, and since then the west has come together with speed and clarity of purpose to support ukraine. senator mcconnell stated it best last week by saying russia's horrible invasion of ukraine has had a unifying effect on the

world's democracies. mr. president, as a result of the invasion, two nations, sweden and finland, joined nato, eastern europe is completing a pivot away from russia's energy sources, and nato allies are surging to the 2% gdp goal for defense spending. as for the brave ukrainians, they pushed back the initial russian invaders and are now doing their best to hold the line in eastern ukraine, despite russian soldiers, ammunitions, and uav's far outnumbering their ukrainian counterparts. ukraine decimated the russian black sea fleet, and has forced

russia to augment its forces with north korean soldiers and iranian weapon systems. but despite the successes in the past three years, the war drags on, with devastating consequences. 390,000 ukrainians have been wounded, with more than 46,000 deaths so far. hundreds of thousands of ukrainian families have been displaced, and estimates are that approximately 29,000 civilian ukrainians have lost their lives. in many cases, they were targeted by the russians. mr. president, it is not american troops who are dying on the ukrainian front lines. it is the ukrainians who are

courageously defending their country, their democracy, their way of life. and their defenses directly connect to our defenses of nato and the defense of eastern europe. if vladimir putin is allowed to succeed in ukraine, as several of my colleagues have pointed out, he will not stop there. he will continue to pursue his dream, his goal of re-creating the former soviet union. he has made that crystal clear. in my judgment, he would most likely seize moldova next. again, invade georgia, as he did in 2008. threaten the baltic states and menace poland and finland. the best way to ensure that the united states isn't drawn into a larger regional war in europe,

which would directly threaten american troops, is by helping ukraine defend itself against this unprovoked invasion. the national security supplemental appropriations package that was signed into law last year included $15.4 billion to help ukraine purchase american-made weapons. it is strengthening our military readiness, rebuilding our industrial base, and assisting our partners and allies at a volatile and dangerous time in world history. mr. president, for the past three years, we have heard rep repeatedly the myth that somehow the european countries were not doing their part in helping to

equip ukraine. but let's take a look at the facts. as a percentage of gdp, the united states ranks 17th, 17th in support for ukraine. the top three countries include denmark, estonia, and latvia. these nato nations are all in on supporting ukraine's defenses because they understand that the stakes are so high. furthermore, nato allies have committed more than $185 billion to buy weapons and defense systems produced right here in the united states, which helps us sustain good jobs and strengthens the industrial base.

mr. president, both the biden administration's slow walking of the delivery of weapons to ukraine and the trump administration's pausing military aid and intelligence sharing sent the wrong signal to an aggressive russia. the decision this afternoon to restart u.s. military aid and intelligence sharing are welcome steps to strengthening ukrainians ukraine's position in negotiations, with the tentative ceasefire signed by ukraine and now up for russia's concu concurrence, resumed aid and intelligence sharing with our ally, ukraine, allows that country to be in a much stronger position moving forward.

mr. president, history is filled with examples of well-intentioned leaders who sought to avoid war but who actually made war more likely by refusing to recognize the evil with which they were confronted. neville chamberlain declared peace in our time, trying to appease germany before world war ii. we should not make the same mistake today by appeasing russia. we cannot avert our eyes. we cannot leave an ally to fend for itself. and we must show resolve to deter possible future aggression by china, iran, and north korea.

mr. president, our adversaries are watching closely our response in ukraine. thank you, mr. president. mr. coons: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. coons: putin will only stop when we stop him. that piece of wisdom was shared with me on a trip to europe by a former colleague, senator mccain, and it seemed to me to predict what has now unfolded over the last three years. three years ago, i was in europe with colleagues visiting american troops training with nato allies and partners in poland, in lithuania, on the day that the russians began their illegal, unjustified, full-spectrum invasion of ukraine, as more than 100,000 combat troops poured over the border, missiles flew in the air, jets bombed, the world recoiled in horror and watched,

expecting that the ukrainians would be overrun in just three days. instead, president zelenskyy, the elected president of a demo democracy, stood firm and stayed fast and defended his country. when offered a last-minute evacuation by america, he said, i don't need a ride, i need ammunition. and i am thrilled to be on the floor today with a bipartisan group of my colleagues. thank you to my colleague from new hampshire for organizing this. to my colleague from maine, for her words, which i will agree with from beginning to end. we must deter russia's aggression in ukraine. if you look at who has joined the fight alongside russia, iran, north korea, this is not a team america should be on. and if we look at who has come to the defense in aid of

ukraine, it is democracies from throughout europe and the world, more than 50 countries who, in combination, have done more than we have, significantly, to welcome ukrainian refugees, to support the recovery of their economy, and to arm them in this ongoing, desperate, and critical fight for freedom in ukraine. who is vladimir putin? he is a brutal and aggressive dictator. he is a war criminal. he is someone who has used every ounce of power and resource at his grasp to shatter the piece of europe that has lasted decades since the second world war, and to attempt to drive a wedge between the united states and our european partners and allies. the bravery, the determination, the skill, and the capacity of the ukrainian people to stand and fight is breathtaking. and all of us who've had the honor of visiting kiev, visiting

ukraine, spending time with those who behind the front lines support their troops and those who have served and sacrificed have been forever changed. i had the opportunity, with our former colleague and friend senator portman, to go to kiev and to present the liberty medal from our national constitution center to president zelenskyy. and to travel through a city shattered by war, and to visit with people determined to continue their fight, was as inspiring to me as i know it's been to many of my colleagues who've made that same trip. we are here today to ask who are we and what will we do? we're americans. we have stood alongside and fought alongside those who have pursued democracy, those who've stood up for liberty for decades around the world, and we should not shrink from this fight.

we can and should insist on a just and lasting peace. we would all like to see this brutal war come to an end. we would all like to see the suffering stop. but to force on ukraine a ceasefire that is really a surrender, masked as a ceasefire, would be to betray the sacrifice and service of so many. asking ukraine to willingly give up conquered territory and recognize russian sovereignty, asking ukraine to give up its desire for security and for integration into the west, to ask ukraine to agree to limits on its military and its capacity to be prepared for what is a likely renewed russian assault on the future, all of these would lead to not a neutral ukraine but a neutered ukraine. we know what happens next. what happens next is that the world will look at whatever peace we can secure for ukraine

and ask are we reliable. is the united states a reliable ally and partner? putin has already suffered a strategic defeat. nato has already been expanded. the border between nato and russia has doubled. our partners throughout the world have come to this fight, and they are committing even more in recent weeks as europe has stepped up to pledge hundreds of billions of dollars more. if we are to restore deterrence, if we are to sustain the peace, if we are to be the indispensable nation that we have worked and fought so long to be, we must finish the job. we must deter putin from future aggression by demanding that ukraine be secured by a just and lasting peace. the news today that intelligence and security cooperation has restarted is encouraging, but we

have a resolution cosponsored by all the members on the floor today that makes clear where we stand. we stand with ukraine. we stand with democracy. we insist on a just and lasting peace in this instance. and we stand for ukraine. slava ukraine. the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. mcconnell: my views on

america's interests in ukraine are well-known. i spent the better part of the last three years here on this floor pointing out the glaring connections between european security and the security of america's interests all across the globe, core national security interests that determine our prosperity. ukraine's victory and stability in europe is squarely in the interest of the united states, our interest. europe is our trading partner. russia is a thuggish autocracy with an economy smaller than italy's. the russian economy is smaller than italy's.

there's simply no equivalence. there's no grand realignment opportunity that's gone unnoticed. so let me start with this -- the most harmful positive outcome of russia's invasion of ukraine for u.s. interests would be this headline -- russia wins, america loses. russia wins, america loses. we can't let that be how this ends. but look at where we are right now. on one side, fellow members of the most successful military alliance in world history with a combined gdp of more than $17

trillion are openly -- openly -- planning for a world in which america does not call the shots. and where our word no longer carries any weight. these are the closest allies and partners who've worked hand in glove with america, bought american equipment, take -- and taken america's lead. but if america turns its back on them, they'll look elsewhere for guidance and coordination, for weapons, and even for trade. on the other side, putin's russia and its $2 trillion gdp where kremlin officials now say

that america's current foreign policy configurations now largely aligning with our version and that hiccups in the u.s.-ukraine relations are, quote, useful, end quote, because they drive a wedge between america and our european allies -- that's how the russians look at this. well, it's not hard to imagine why. -- why they look at it that way. freezing lethal assistance and intelligence support to ukraine make russia's job a lot easier. it was easier to hit ukraine's defenders along with its schools, hospitals, and nurseries. and after three years of immense progress toward a stronger and more capable trans-atlantic

alliance, with greater commitments to burden sharing and european leadership, the west that had resolved to check putin's neo-soviet ambitions is now in danger of being consumed by internal recrimination. what welcome news for an autocrat whose grip on power depends on the endurance of a wartime economy. the will to force putin to make serious concessions in the interest of lasting peace is fragmented, and too many on this side of the atlantic seem to believe foolishly, oh, his appetite will be satisfied in eastern ukraine.

his appetite will be satisfied in eastern ukraine. this is the same mistake made by the architects of minsk agreements. circumstances are not crying out for a minsk 3. somehow this doesn't sound like the makings of a successful deal for america. somehow these don't seem like the conditions for advancing america's interests in europe, european peace, and security, let alone pretending to mediate a dispute between equals. russia wins, america loses. it's not too late to avoid that outcome, but it'll require that america and our allies operate from the same set of facts.

so let's talk about actual facts. first, the dollars and cents -- america's total ukraine-related spending comes in at $175 billion. not $350 billion, but half that much. 11 european countries have allocated more ukraine-related spending than the united states. in real terms, total european aid is twice -- twice -- u.s. spending.

more military aid than america, more budgetary assistance than america, period. those are the actual facts. and our allies' increasing investments have been good news for america's security and strength of our alliance. they've made expanding arsenals and industrial capacity along with bigger defense budgets for buying american for now. but what if -- what if -- even having established the correct math, you think it's still too much to spend on helping to degrade a major american adversary without putting a single american servicemember in harm's way, not a single american servicemember in harm's

way? what if you still think somehow we're getting a raw deal? consider where most of the ukraine-related spending -- $120 billion -- has actually gone. to investing in u.s. capabilities and expanding our own defense industrial capacity. we're already $120 billion closer to restoring the sort of forces and capacity we need to deter conflict in the indo-pacific than we were three years ago. or consider -- consider the value of the operational and tactical lessons the u.s. and our allies are drawing from ukraine's battlefield experience. the conflict in ukraine is a

battle lab, a glimpse at the future of warfare, and our ukrainian partners are innovating faster than american industry is often able to. concerned about the next major conflict? we're learning how to prepare better for it. u.s.-made systems are literally feeding performance data back to us. the american people are not getting fleeced. i'm going to say that again. the american people are not getting fleeced. far from it. but if we mistake surrender for peace, we'll be risking far worse. china is watching what we do. so are america's allies and

partners in asia. to believe that we can torch our credibility in one region and not tarnish in another is foolish. when we treat withholding assistance from ukraine like a cudgel and insist that the victim of aggression is the side that has made no concessions, do we expect other partners to conclude? i've heard that ukraine needs to be prepared to do difficult things. i'm curious which difficult thing our frontline partners haven't been doing for the past three years. like defending besieged towns and cities? like burying their sons and daughters?

will russia be expected to do difficult things as well? like ending the onslaught? by what means are we prepared to compel them? war is hell. and the worst consequences are always borne by innocent civilians in flight and by brave soldiers holding the line. ending the war in ukraine is a noble aim. preventing war, even more so. but peace is different from surrender, and being honest about who's to blame doesn't hinder lasting peace. it enables it. why should we be less willing to call russia out for its brutal aggression than we are to call hamas or hezbollah out for theirs?

would we be afraid to call iran out if it had nuclear weapons? is that the lesson we want the world to draw from this conflict? ronald reagan epitomized strength through strength, not just by saying the words but by action. he called the soviet union an evil empire. at the same time as he dealt productively with gorbachev. in july of 1983, he spoke to the people of the cabbive nations of the -- captive nations of the soviet union and communist regimes. here's what he had to say -- to every person trapped in tyranny, whether in ukraine, hungary, czechoslovakia, cuba, or vietnam, we send our love and support and tell them they are

not alone. our message must be, your struggle is our struggle. your dream is our dream. and someday you, too, will be free. in the fall of the soviet union, ukraine got its chance at freedom. putin intends to extinguish it. ukraine is serious about a just and stable peace. we know because the ukrainians preferred it overwhelmingly until their neighbor chose war instead. again and again. i'll reserve my skepticism, my

disdain, and my condid he essential -- condominium essential -- condescension of a thug. anyone who cares about not getting played for a sucker should do the same. in the face of hesitation, putin has escalated. he's insulted the sincere pursuit of peace. it's a crystal-clear reminder that what he's after isn't an end to the bloodshed. america cannot afford to get played, so let's not. i yield the floor. mr. b

mr. bennet: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. bennet: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that i be permitted to speak for up to six minutes, senator tillis for up to ten minutes, and senator sanders for up to 20 minutes prior to the scheduled roll call vote. test. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. bennet: thank you, mr. president. i'd like to thank senator mcconnell for his constancy over the last three years. we've been out on the floor together many times to speak about the need to support ukraine. the last time -- and i also want to thank my colleague senator shaheen from new hampshire, the ranking member of the foreign affairs committee, for organizing this bipartisan gathering. senator tillis from north carolina is here as well. it's nice to be here in a bipartisan way with people from both sides of the aisle to work on something of this critical importance to my state of

colorado, to the country, and to the world. senator mcconnell, not surprisingly, today talked about that very, very famous lesson that ronald reagan taught all of us, mr. president, and that was his pursuit of strength -- of peace through strength. and i was on the floor talking about that last week. today we have a corollary to t that, to ronald reagan's rule peace through strength from senator mcconnell, which is don't mistake surrender for peace. don't mistake surrender for peace. and the lesson that ronald reagan was teaching when he said peace through strength was a lesson that history had taught him. and history had taught the free world, dust off your reliable

tenth grade western civics textbook and look up president woodrow wilson's attempts to achieve, quote, chief without victory for -- peace without victory for either side -- that's how he described it -- as an example of the failure that weakness invites, the kind of weakness that leader mcconnell was talking about. before the united states even had entered world war i, president wilson tried to force both sides to accept a peace deal they didn't want by de -- depriving them of weapons and depriving them of funds. in 1960, again, before the united states was directly aiding the allies, financiers from the united states were financing the u.k., which was at war, and also funding their allies in mainland europe.

so wilson's government cautioned u.s. investors against issuing short-term bonds to the u.k. and to france. this presidential expression of disapproval had the effect of cutting off u.s. private assistance to europe altogether. and the record is painfully clear. president wilson's decision created a financial crisis in the united kingdom, but it did nothing to end the war. instead, germany in 1917 only escalated their attacks on civilian shipping from the united states, prompting congress finally to declare war and approve a $3 billion loan to france and to england. by the way, just to amplify what the leader has already said this morning, that $3 billion loan was about $81 billion in today's

dollars. when you think about the roughly $120 billion that we have invested in ukraine. and in 1938, british prime minister neville chamberlain even more famously than wilson, tried to appease hitler with the infamous munich agreement, through which the u.k. and germany tried to annex czechoslovakia. as our history textbooks shoeshgs hitler never stopped in czechoslovakia but continued his war throughout europe, just as wilson and chamberlain failed, friends of freedom in ukraine and around the world should not pressure ukraine into accepting an unjust peace that will never ever last. only with security guarantees from europe and the united

states can we have some assurance that putin will not invade ukraine again. and at a moment when he thinks the world is not watching. that's a guarantee. that is a guarantee. i visited ukraine last month with my friend senator shaheen and senator tillis, who are both here today. we saw the courage of the ukranian people up close. we've seen the courage they have forged to save their country and the suffering they have endured. 43,000 deaths and another almost 400,000 casualties. not just on behalf of ukraine, mr. president, but on behalf of europe, the west, democracy, freedom, our national security. in cemeteries all across

ukraine, fresh graves are piled high with dirt and flowers testifying to the ukranian people's sacrifice. to put it in american terms, colorado terms, there is not a county in the entire country where somebody hasn't lost somebody to this war. but the ukranian people have not had to fight this fight alone. the american people have steadfastly and generously backed this fight to the tune of, as i mentioned, $125 billion. i won't go through all the reasons why that's been good for the united states, as senator mcconnell said, and that's a lot of money but it's about 4.35% of our gdp, that's about $365 an american. our european allies and far-flung ones like australia and japan stepped up as well,

because they know that supporting ukraine means standing with people who are willing to do anything to fight for their kuvenlt that know that with american weapons and those of our allies, the american people have literally kept putin's army at the gates of europe while forcing him to squander more than $200 billion and stagger casualties of 700,000 people. we learned while we were in ukraine that the ukrainians are killing more russians today than they were six months ago. we all want this war to end, which is why i was glad to see the u.s. commit today to resuming intelligence shares and security assistance to ukraine as part of the potential u.s.-brokered 30-day cease-fire with russia. but for the sake of ukraine and

the rest of the free world, we must not pressure ukraine to silence their guns unless russia commits to do the same. we cannot force ukraine to accept an end of this war that has anything other than just and enduring peace. this requires that the united states, our allies, and ukraine continue working together to establish terms of the peace and negotiate with putin while the ukrainians begin, continue their brave fight. they're not asking to be relieved of this terrible burden. i couldn't even imagine the other day when we were in kiev how cold it must have have felt to people who were on the front lines of that war. it was cold enough just in the streets of kyiv. it was cold enough just getting on the train from poland to go to kyiv. but they're embracing their

responsibility because they know that any cease-fire without credible security guarantees will allow putin to rebuild his army and attack again. p and they know that how this war ends will determine whether putin sets his sights on our nato allies like poland and the baltics. to conclude that any other result is possible is to completely ignore history, it's to completely ignore what putin has said, and whether dictators like china's xi jinpinging test our resolve by invading taiwan. whether the post world war ii international order u.s. and our allies persist, and whether the united states continues to provide the leadership our parents and grandparents supplied since the end of that war.

that is what senator mcconnell calls on us to remember. throughout history it's been too easy for some to ignore the moral responsibility we have to people who are sacrificing their lives on behalf of our shared values and interests. it is harder in these moments, but important and, i would say necessary, for the living to stand for freedom and democracy. and those willing to give their last breaths to make those values eternal. we in this chamber have to demand a moral and strategic clarity by continuing to support ukraine's fight to secure a truly just peace through str strength. because as the ukranian born author basili grossman wrote

nearly 70 years ago, in the cruel and terrible time in which our generation has been condemned to live on this earth, we must never make peace with evil. we must never become indifferent to others or undemanding of ourselves. with that, mr. president, i thank my bipartisan colleagues again. i look forward to the day when we are out here not with eight senators, but 80 senators in support of freedom and in support of the fight that ukraine is yielding. i yield the floor. mr. tillis: mr. president, last night i had someone reach out to me and said they heard i was going to speak on ukraine again on the floor and asked me what i was going to talk about. i said to reinforce that ukraine needs our help, that europe needs to step up, and that vladimir putin is the personification of evil. and i'm going to try and

accomplish all of that in less than ten minutes so we can get over to the vote. mr. president, everybody needs to remember how this war started, just to show you, you can believe me when i tell you, you know when putin is lying when his lips are moving. and let's go back to october before the invasion in february. he said he was just putting troops together on a training mission. thousands of troops, just coincidentally near the ukranian border. but a training mission. and then it became a military exercise. and now it's become an illegal invasion of a sovereign democratic nation that has experienced 80,000 dead. servicemembers, more than 13,000 dead civilians, 400,000 wounded servicemembers, 30,000 injured civilians. let me tell you a little bit

about those civilians. there are 16-year olds who had their leg blown off because vladimir putin ordered the launching of dumb bombs into residential areas. he allowed drones to hit children's hospitals that we visited. this is the carnage that the ukranian people are experiencing every single day, 24/7, 365 since the invasion three years ago. vladimir putin is a murderer. he's not only allowed his servicemembers some estimated 800,000 lose their lives on the battlefield, but he's gone so far as to engage mercenaries vagner group that he had down in africa and ukraine murdering indiscriminately anybody that moves. if you want to see the best example of that you need to go to bucha and hear the story we heard when we were there it has

100,000 people just outside of kyiv. shortly after they invaded and it was clear they weren't going to achieve their objectives, they decided they were going to invoke terror in the minds of those who were fighting and the civilians in ukraine. so they decided to go into a community that would be similar to going out to northern virginia. imagine kyiv is washington, d.c., and they go out to northern virginia and they just indiscriminately start murdering people. they killed over 500 people in 33 days, all of them civilians. and this isn't like urban legend. this was caught on video. people riding a bicycle, walking a dog being murdered. vladimir putin ordered that. vladimir putin allowed that. ladies and gentlemen, the surprise to vladimir putin was he had no earthly idea what the strength of democracy and freedom has in the hearts and minds of human beings. the ukranian people, in spite of overwhelming odds, numbers and weapons, they defended it.

they have been defending it for three years. so we've got to help them. there is good and evil here. there is no kind of putin's just misunderstood. this man is a murderer. this man is a rapist. he is a rapist by virtue of allowing systematic rapes happen in places that he invades. that's how he operates. he is evil. ukraine needs help. now before i talk more about that help, i want to talk about europe having to step up. i really appreciate what senator collins put together in putting together what -- putingthis together -- putting this together. let's make sure that on the one hand we thank europe for stepping up and doing its part in supporting this effort, but let's not forget that our nato

partners have come short in satisfying their obligation to nato to the tune of $2 billion. what would happen if our nato alliance was stronger if everyone met the bare minimum for nato support, $2 trillion more would have been spent. would that have been enough to possibly persuade putin from invading ukraine? what i do know is that i do not want them to get credit, but they he -- living up to their commitment over the last 20 years. let's get that rate, folks so that we don't have the distraction that the american people get confused with nato members not stepping up and doing their fair share, so why are you asking more money from ukraine? vladimir putin has a plan and we could play right into it. people need to understand that

ukraine is a doormat to europe. it's how he gets from russia into countries that are trying to -- democracy. if he succeeds in ukraine, he will move to moldova. he is causing problems in bosnia. senator shaheen, i don't know if you're aware, but tomorrow the republic of surfska legislature is going to separate from bih, that's bosnia. vladimir putin is getting his chess pieces around the board. if he feels like he can get some level of success in ukraine, he will march right through there, folks. it is going to happen. and then, finally, i had somebody ask me, why are you so animated over ukraine. why are you so concerned with russia? i give them a one-word answer --

china. china is what -- china is supporting putin. at least economically, there's even an argument that ammunitionings and -- ammunitions are other things are going their way. does anybody believe that would happen until china was okay with it. then we have iran. iran is sending drones to russia to kill innocent civilians and military personnel in ukraine. they are the axis of evil and now they've regenerated themselves. we can't let putin have a win in ukraine, ladies and gentlemen. we have to step up and make sure that the american people know that it's in our national interest to support ukraine. and we also have to let vladimir putin know that we do owe him thanks in one way. thanks for waking up the -- thanks for waking up europe and

understanding the great existential threat that he helps represents. thanks for adding 800 miles for border. and i think he needs to recede back into the cave he came from, and that democratic nations will be free and until we are sure of that, we shall not relent. thank you, mr. president. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, my office and i suspect all senate -- and i suspect, all senate offices are getting a whole lot of calls from senior citizen who are experiencing a great deal of

fear and anxiety as to all of the confusion and chaos that is currently going on here in washington. when we have the president and my republican colleagues talking about cutting medicaid by some $880 billion, let us be clear they are not just talking about throwing millions of children and others off of the health insurance they have, they are also talking about cuts to community health centers which receive about 43% of their funding from medicaid and where millions of seniors go to get their primary care. so cutting medicaid impacts primary care. at a time when we have a major crisis in nursing home availability -- i know that's true in vermont. i expect it's true in almost

every state in the country. let us understand that medicaid provides approximately two out of three seniors with the funding they need to live in nursing homes. make drastic cuts in medicaid, it will be harder for your mom, your dad to get into a nursing home or stay in a nursing home. cuts in medicaid would be a disaster for seniors in nursing homes. it's not just medicaid cuts that worry seniors. at a time when the social security administration is already understaffed, and, again, for years i have been hearing in my office, i expect other senators have been hearing in their offices from seniors who tell us they're calling up social security, they've got a problem, they are not getting a response. and the result of that is some

30,000 people a year die -- die waiting for their social security disability benefits. and in the midst of all that -- in the midst of a crisis where social security is understaffed, what our response should be is to significantly increase staffing so that social security can better respond to the needs of our constituents, we have elon musk and his minions at doge cutting some 2500 of social security staff, and incredibly they're now threatening to cut up to half of social security administration staffing. and then on top of all of that, you have mr. musk claiming that social security, which has paid out every benefit owed to every eligible american for over 80 years, claiming that it is a ponzi scheme. social security is not a ponzi

scheme. paid out every benefit owed to every eligible american for over 80 years. and then you have the president of the united states, state of the union, lying about millions of people -- millions of people 200 years of age, 300 years of age, image that, getting -- imagine that, getting social security benefits. seniors understand what all of that is about. they know that musk and trump want us to lose faith in social security and that over a period of time they want to give that indispensable program over to wall street. mr. president, let us be clear. in america today 22% of americans living who are 65 years of age are trying to survive on an income of less than $15,000 a year. think about that.

22% of seniors in america trying to survive on $15,000 a year or less. 30 -- half of seniors are trying to get by on $30,000 a year or less. frankly, i don't know how any senior living on -- on $15,000, $20,000 survives. i don't know, high cost of prescription drugs, food, housing, keeping warm in the winter, i don't know how they can do that. according to the organization of economic cooperation and development, we have the dubious distinction of having senior poverty compared to other wealthy nations. in america today, according to the latest ouscd estimates, 230r7b of seniors are living in poverty, compared to 4% in norway, 6% in france, yeah, we

have more nuclear weapons than any other country. we have more billionaires than any other country but we also have the highest rates of senior poverty than any other country the we might want to get our priorities right. mr. president, while our republican colleagues would like to make massive cuts to medicaid in order to provide more tax breaks to billionaires, some of us have a better idea. we think that it makes more sense to substantially improve the lives of our nation's seniors by expanding medicare to cover dental health, vision and hearing benefits. in 1965, president lyndon johnson signed medicare, one of the most popular and successful preparation in our nation's history into law. before the enactment, this is quite interesting, before the enactment of medicare, about half of our seniors were uninsured. today everyone in america, aged

65 or older is guaranteed health care benefits through medicare regardless of their income or medical condition. that is the good news. the bad news is that since its inception 60 years ago, medicare has failed to cover such basic health care needs as hearing, dental care and vision. the result, millions of senior citizens have teeth that are rotting in their mouths, they are unable to hear what their children say or unable to read a newspaper because of failing eye sight. mr. president, this is the united states of america. we are the wealthiest country in the history of the world. senior citizen should not be walking around with no teeth in their mouth, they should not be unable to hear conversations,

they should not be unable to afford glasses so they can read a newspaper. the need to expand medicare to cover dental, hearing and eye fwlass is absolutely -- eyeglasses is absolutely critical. nobody denies that oral health, hearing and vision are essential parts of health care. we cannot continue to deny seniors these basic health care benefits. mr. president, we can no longer tolerate the fact that 26 million seniors and people with disabilities in america have no dental insurance and no idea how they will be able to pay for the very expensive dental procedures that they need. the results have been tragic. nearly one out of five seniors in america have lost all of their natural teeth. 20% of seniors in america have no natural teeth in their mouths.

disgracefully, 60% of our nation's seniors have untreated gum disease which can increase the risk of cardiovascular dees, diabetes -- diabetes, and arthritis. it is unacceptable that while two-thirds of seniors over the age of 70 experience hearing loss, less than 70% of seniors above this age have never used a hearing aid primarily because hearing aids are too expensive. seniors should not face isolation from their family and friends simply because they cannot afford the extremely high price of a hearing aid. we cannot allow seniors with poor visions to go without routine eye exams, it could lead to injury, cognitive impairment. adding dental and hearing

benefits to medicare is not just good public policy. it will not only ease human suffering and improve the health of our nation's seniors, it is precisely what the overwhelming majority of the american people want. poll after poll tells us exactly that. according to a poll conducted by data for progress last year, it found that 92% of the american people support expanding medicare to provide dental, vision and hearing benefits. and that is why, mr. president, i have introduced legislation today with senators warren, booker, welch, markey, duckworth, merkley, and blumenthal to do that. congressman lloyd d frn ouan has similar legislation that has 110 cosponsors. i am sure that some of my republican colleagues may say it's an interesting idea, it's a good idea, but how are you going

to pay for it? let me tell you how we're going to pay for it. we are going to pay for it by requiring medicare to pay no more for prescription drugs than the v.a. right now, we pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs and that means significantly increased spences for medicare. by making sure that medicare pays no more than the v.a. which has for decades negotiated prices with the pharmaceutical industry, we can not only cut the price for prescription drugs for our seniors in half, we will save over $800 billion over the next decade which would more -- more than pay for this legislation. some of my republican friends my also argue that this bill is not needed.

some medicare advantage plans already offer dental and medical benefits but, yes, what my republican friends may not tell you is, one, seniors still pay thousands of dollars out of pocket because of these private medicare advantage benefits are totally inadequate. further, the nonpartisan medicare payment advisory commission has estimated that medicare advantage plans o overcharge the federal government by $83 billion a year. in other words, mr. president, if we are serious about waste, fraud, and abuse -- we hear a lot about that -- we may want to take a look at the massive waste and fraud that is taking place with private medicare advantage plans. those savings would also more than fully pay for this legislation. therefore, mr. president, as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. 939 which

was introduced earlier today, that the bill be considered read three times and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: mr. president, reserving the right to object. thank you, mr. president. mr. crapo: i share my colleagues -- colleague's frustration with the medicaid system. they routinely prioritize treating the symptoms instead of the underlying causes of chronic stress and disease. research shows patients with diminished vision, hearing, or oral health are more likely to suffer chronic conditions, like kidney, alzheimer's, and heart disease. we should modernize medicare to focus on prevention and maintenance interventions.

patients should have access to a full spectrum of specialized providers working together as a team from nutritionists to dentists, to psychologists and surgeons. however, we must tackle these reforms without increasing the cost for patients or taxpayers. my colleague's proposal would increase the deficit by tens of billions of dollars and risk spiking seniors' premiums. after years of record inflation, we cannot rush to enact a policy that has not been carefully considered and appropriately integrated into medicare. this bill was just introduced today. it hasn't even been looked at by the finance committee. no hearing has been held. and no evaluation of how to effectively intoing great these -- integrate these types of policies has been made. i welcome the opportunity to work with my colleague to enact meaningful improvements to medicare that deliver better

outcomes for americans. however, simply introducing a bill and then moving to have it passed on the floor of the senate before there has been any consideration is not the way to proceed. we must proceed within the committee and floor process, within the regular order that this senate requires. and for these reasons, mr. president, i object to the request. mr. sanders: mr. president. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. mr. sanders: i ask my colleague, my friend, the chairman of the finance committee a question. i hear what you're saying. do i hear you correctly take you are prepared to discuss this legislation in committee? mr. crapo: i'm prepared to discuss the issue. i'm not telling you that i will limit the discussion to this piece of legislation, but, yes, we are prepared to discuss significant approaches to how we improve and expand proper health care treatment in america. mr. sanders: look, i understand that this bill would bring forth serious debate and discussion,

but i would appreciate if we can have a starting point. this bill is pretty simple. it says -- and i hear you saying that you need -- am i hearing you correctly to say that the idea of covering dental, vision, and hearing is something that you entertain, that you think is a good idea? or am i not hearing that? mr. crapo: i do think that idea -- that outcome is a good outcome to seek, to achieve. i can't say to have your legislation or my legislation -- mr. sanders: that's fair enough. but what i would like to do -- and i appreciate -- you know, i think you and i can agree that we don't use the committee structure here in the senate as effectively as we might. that is the place to have serious debate and discussion. correct? mr. crapo: correct. mr. sanders: okay of i would hope in one way or another, i would appreciate if we could start off with my bill. you can come in and tell me what you don't like about it. we can go from there. but this is a crisis situation. i think you and i agree that too many of our seniors are

suffering because of lack of dental, hearing, and vision. i look forward to hearing what you have to say. let's debate it. but can we get this into the committee and to have a serious discussion on it? mr. crapo: i assume that this bill will be referred to the finance committee. mr. sanders: it will be mr. crapo: if this bill is referred to the finance committee, then it like all other legislation in this area that is referred to the finance committee will be reviewed by us. i can't tell you that it will have a specific hearing. i can't tell you exactly how that will work. we will look at developing a very significant and i hope broad and successful approach to reducing the cost of our health care system and increasing the focus and successes in our health care system. and i look forward to working with you on that. mr. sanders: thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be.

the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. ms. baldwin. mr. banks. mr. barrasso. the clerk: mr. bennet.

the clerk: mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. ms. blunt rochester. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mrs. britt. mr. budd. >> hello president trump. >> number one it's a great

product and this is as good as it gets. this plan is devoted to energy. i think he's been treated unfairly by a small group of people and they just want people to know you can be penalized for being a patriot. and he's done an incredible job with tesla and nobody else -- our company started up the last 30 years so i don't think so. not only is he successful the super successful and because he's able to find billions and billions of dollars in fraud and waste our country is going to be strong very soon because of the lot of the things that he is bound in the lot of the things that i am doing. there's no better team and for what we are doing there's nobody like him and he shouldn't be penalized. i watched the other day is that i can't believe it, should be

the opposite. people should be going wild for they love the product. because he's finding all sorts of things that are taking place against our country they want to penalize him in an economic way and if it gets very unfair. so i just want to make a statement. here's the bad news. i'm not allowed to drive because i haven't driven a car in a long time and i'd love to drive cars. i'm going to let my staff use it and let people at the place use it and they are all excited about that. one of my great things in life is i like to drive cars. i'm not allowed to. the cyberjocks, i bought for a special young woman you know. she's a great golfer and she puts the clubs in the back and she loves it.

she loves it and is very safe and very strong and heavy. it's all steel, stainless steel that the cars, what is this one a long? a lone? i want to make a good deal here. i noticed this they have one which is $35,000 for three adult. what is that all about? b that's expensive as it gets as far as $35,000 but i want to thank the president for his support and thank everyone out there who is supporting tesla. it's really that they are so much violence being per brigade it against people like tesla owners and tesla tesla stores. these are innocent people who have done nothing wrong. so you know.

>> nobody, there has been some physical damage a little damage and we want to keep it that way because i don't want to say this, it's not appropriate. law enforcement is out there watching everybody. we don't want this to happen and not somebody who's been so good to our country. he did not do this. he did not to gora through this and we can't let it happen and it's not going to happen to a product. it's a lot nicer if you happen to love the product and he's done a really good job. >> i guess this is for elon is there a discount? is there any kind of negotiating gio? >> i don't want to ask for one. i'm president sought to pay full price. >> what is your message buying a new car while there folks who are struggling with their retirement accounts that are down at the moment and uncertainty about work.

>> i think they are going to do great. our country had to do this. we had to go and do this other countries are have taken away her businesses and our jobs and i did it initially strongly against as vision of china and some others in the first term and it was a very successful term. we had no inflation in the greatest economy in the history of our country and then we had cobain so i didn't want to do anything with respect to other countries at that time and we did a great job with it. we handed the stock market over and it was higher than it ever was and think about higher than it ever was at that point before. and nobody thought that was even possible. we did a great job as we have the greatest economy in history. this economy in my opinion is going to it away to what i had to do as i had to get the workers back and i had to get the factories open. we have 90,000 factories and plants that are closed from what

you had prior to nafta which is not long ago. 90,000, think of it 90,000 factories and plants are closed from what it was and is just not right. and we gave it away. the president before me gave it away and i can name everyone of them. they gave it away and we are taking it back. we are taking our jobs back in one of the things i will say speaking of tesla the manufactures more cars. he opened this incrediblen plat one of the largest plants in the world in texas. can you talk about that? >> we have the most u.s. content of any car in the market the most made. behalf the biggest factory and the most vast manufacture in texas and we need to expand. so this is very much, it's a great product and one of the

best cars ever you know. so all these cars have won awards. they are great cars and they are american made. so try it, you'll like it. >> and beyond the cars, they are great but we had to celebrate somebody that has the courage to do this. he'll say i'm not going to get involved and let the country go to. he didn't want to do that and remember we are up to him most $500 billion worth of waste and fraud, $500 billion. we are giving 2 billion here and to billionaire. not millions and if it was a million dollars or $2 million that the lot of money but we are talking about billions of dollars being given to scams, given to people with nothing. they open up a subchapter s. corp. and they put $2 billion into it from nowhere.

and we caught a lot of them. i wish we could catch all of them but we caught a lot of them and he's been largely responsible. we have to celebrate him and it's not that he's conservative. i don't even know if these conservative but i will tell you this i have been doing this, i've known them for a pretty long time. i didn't know him that well when he endorsed me. since that time i have known him he has never asked me for a favor. he didn't ask me for this. he said you know elon i don't like what's happening to you and tesla's a great company and i don't like what's happening. it's from our standpoint american cars, american made he employs thousands of people. at the same time he is the most modern plant in the world. i don't like what happened to you. i didn't even know he was going to come previews never asked me for anything. he has endorsed me and he never asked me. i didn't even know he is going to endorse me. he's not saying and in fact i could go a step further.

i entered the electric mandate. when is this guy calling to raise with me and he never called. he never called me. if i were him i would have called. >> mr. president is electric the way to go? >> this is in for electric or gas. people have their choices. i'm just saying i know people that have these cars and i know man we see them all the time and yes five of them. and he was a big guy for ferraris and other things that he says men this is great. i know others that have them and they love them and some people like gas cars and they should have their options. i'm all about options. i'm telling you i ended the electric mandate and i was waiting for. i said to the long call yet and they said no sir. what about the law and the next

day, he never even mentioned or complained until this moment. and i'm just bringing it up. who would do that? he is never asked me for a thing and he is built this great company and they shouldn't be penalized. he has incredible patience and i don't even know if he's a republican. >> mr. president. >> are you afraid that markets are going to go up or is it going to go down. >> we have to rebuild our country. our country has been of its jobs in factories and i'm tired of seeing them building apartment in an old broken down factory. you have factories all over the place that are empty from decades ago and we are going to change it around. you know it's really a policy with great workers great people and it's a policy of taxing and incentives. i'm bringing incentives back and i'll tell you what can i do want

to mention specifically but i will mention this once, and numerous plants in and other places that were under construction or soon to be under construction are now coming here and they dropped out because it was unfair was happening. they were building cars and selling them into united states with no tax, no nothing and in the united states we were allowing them to take our jobs and take our factories and we don't do that anymore. from a president it would be easier by just coasted for another four years. i would have been an eight year president i had the best economy in history and my first four years and i would have done very well and i had a decision to make, do i want to do this or do i not and do i want to do it right? the right thing to do is aware doing. we will get our jobs back. i will say canada and i respect him very much as you know there's a strong man in canada who said he was going to charge a surcharge or a tariff for

electricity coming into our country. he said he's not going to do this. he's not going to do this and it would have been a bad thing if he did and he's not going to do this and i respect that. we were just informed that he is not going to do that. we've been treated very unfairly by canada. we've been treated unfairly by. we've been treated unfairly by every country all over the world. we are going to get it back and i have a choice. i could coast and eventually there'll be a blowup because down the road may be a long way but we have a $36 trillion we are going to get it back with us. we are the biggest in the best and i'm very optimistic i have to tell you i'm very optimistic about the country. much more optimistic this way than if i did it easy way. i could have done it the easy way. biden left up to -- left us en

masse tremendous inflation tremendously high cost of products but he also left us a mess with millions of people better criminals. millions of people happen to be criminals and we are looking for them all over the place we are looking for them. they are doing an incredible job but he left us a situation and we are changing it. one of the things we are changing as we will make our country wealthy again and we will bring our jobs back. right now we are like being plucked out from all over the relative merit going to let that happen anymore. and ukraine cease-fire ukraine, cease-fire. just agree to a little while ago. now we have to go to russia and hopefully present putin will agree to it also and we can get this show on the road. we can get this -- two or 3000 every week two, three or 4000

are the reports and they are not american american soldiers for they are ukrainian and they are russian. people are being killed outside of that. people are being killed in the cities. we want to get that war over with. i think it's a big difference between the last visit he saw the oval office. ukraine has agreed to a total cease-fire and hopefully russia will agree to it. we are going to me with them later on today and tomorrow and hopefully we will be able to work out a deal but i think the cease-fire is very quick. if we can get rush into it that would be great and if we can't we just keep going. lots of people are going to get killed. >> mr. president you mentioned the ups and downs of the stock market. do you and your tariff policies are there -- bear any responsibility for the turmoil. >> biden gave us a economy and

inflation i think the market was going to go very bad. if anything i i've allow this very smart people friends of mine and great businessman that are investing because of what i'm doing. it's long term what i am doing is making our country strong again and strong militarily strong and strong and we want to get away, remember this. when i left we had no wars we didn't have ukraine and russia and we didn't have october 7, we didn't have the disaster that took place with the withdrawal from afghanistan and you know what happened there. we had major tariffs which, why did he catch it? like weeks into the presidency i thought the man responsible for abbeygate and he's going to pay for it right now but it's a bad dude and he's a bad guy. but we didn't have these problems. i had no inflation, had a great economy. he gave the high prices. you can buy bacon or anything

and also i inherited the situation with eggs for the price of eggs is -- and now the price of eggs is come down lot. interest rates have come down to gasoline prices have gone down. it's all coming down. it's all a beautiful thing. i can do it the right way or the wrong way and we are doing at the right way and i have tremendous confidence in the people of this country, much more so than if i sat back for years and had a good time in the oval office. i want to look at cars. >> i want to say the great policies of president trump in his administration and faith in america tesla's has gone through double vehicle output in the next two years in the u.s.. double. [applause] >> by the way he makes one car and this is what i don't understand. without a steering relic comes out this year. explain that please.

>> it's a cybercab production in texas next year and is the self-driving. it will not have a steering real or petals. it will either be self driver not drive at all. it will be self drive. >> before the event was the last time you bought a new car. >> i buy a lot for my children because they run the company now. i used to buy lot. i haven't bought a new car in a long time. the only thing i know is i got a car with fixed windows and fix side panels. we buy lot of cars. actually i bought this one from -- [inaudible] the city were pleased about that. we make a different decision about the tariffs on canada?

>> probably so, yeah. he was a gentleman, look i said it before we get canada $200 billion. we subsidize canada and when all the things we give them in trade , we don't have to have cars manufactured and we don't have to have lumber from canada. we have tremendous lumber in tremendous trees. all we have to do a sudden freeze them from the restrictions that are put on them and i could do that with an executive order. we don't need energy. we have more energy than anybody else in the world. we have $200 billion a year subsidizing canada and we don't have to do that. frankly the way that gets solved his canada should become our 51st state. we wouldn't have a northern border problem and we wouldn't have a tariff problem. they very little as you know the least of almost anybody on the military and we the most of anybody on military. we have a great military.

i've rebuilt a military and will have to rebuild it a little bit again, not that much but we will have to rebuild a little bit again that canada would be great if there cherished 51st day. you wouldn't have to worry about borders and you. wouldn't haveo worry about anything and by the way canada is highly taxed and we are very low taxed. we are considered a low taxed nation because of the cuts to taxes. the people of canada, it makes a lot of sense and by the way when you take away that artificial line that looks like it was done with a ruler and that's what it was. some guy sat there years ago but when you take away that and you look at that beautiful formation of canada and the united states, there is no place anywhere in the world like that. >> and if you add greenland, that's pretty good. okay? i'm going to make a decision.

what's your best of these cars? into the car that i drive is the model s. the red one in the middle. >> i like that. >> it goes from zero to 60 miles an hour in two seconds. >> i'm not allowed to use it. that's a fast one. >> is the 50% going to go into effect on canada? that 50% tariff. >> i will let you know about it. but i appreciate it his call. this is beautiful. can i get then. >> get in. >> have you ever sat in one of these? >> they gave me notes. i don't need notes. >> thank you.

watch secret service go. wow. >> everything is computer. that's beautiful, wow. [inaudible conversations] that's beautiful. >> should we get started. >> shut-eye. do you want to actually drive it? >> you don't want me to drive it, do you?

>> you are the only one that saw it. it's very simple. there are no gears. >> this is really amazing. >> do you think biden could get into that car? that's beautiful. making you talk about the violence going on around the country. some say they should be labeled domestic. >> i'm going to stop them. if we catch anybody doing that because they are harming a great american company. i've stuck up for the nfl and stuck up for a lot of american companies and other countries with american countries. i'm a big fan of the nfl and i do favors for all of them. when you heard an american company especially company like this that provide so many jobs that others are unable to do,

when you do that people will go through a big problem when we connect with them. with a lot of cameras out. we argue no who some of them are and we are going to catch them. they are the same guys this girl with our schools and universities. the same and we are going to catch them. let me tell you, you do a test tesla and you do it to any company we are going to catch you and you were going to go through. >> i have a roundtable in a little while. i considered this much more important because i want to buy one of these. my whole staff is going to safely use them and they can't believe some margot wherever you are, marco. they are all going to be using it and they are going to have a good time. there you are, look at margot. she has become a member of the

press and takes great pictures. what do you think about marco? do you like the idea of. >> i love it. we are going to have fun. >> your comments comments in the day not ruling out a potential recession rattles the stock market. >> just so you know, specifically on the recession. >> i don't see it at all. i think this country is going to move but i can do it the easy way or the hard way. the hard way to do it is exactly what i'm doing but the results will be 20 times greater. >> and remember trump is always right. look it what i've said over the last 10 years. trump has been right every time. this is the way to do it. we are going to make america great again. to make a great you have to have jobs than you have that factories. and look at some of the things like the last administration, he was the worst president in the history of our country.

nothing was happening, nothing. he had no idea what was going on. then too. allow millions of peoe to come in better prisoners from mental institutions, patience and all the things, gang members, drug lords. we are searching them all down trying to get them out of our country and we are going to do that. on the financial and in the economic and what we are we are doing to me is the most exciting. our country will be greater than ever before and it won't take too long. >> americans of our word about the stock market and what's your message to them? >> let's go see it. i did buy one of those. >> i mean look and in terms of imagination i think i have a great imagination. who else but but this guy would design us and everybody on the roads looking at it. it's amazing actually.

that's the coolest design. do you agree with that brian. >> i do, it's very cool. >> what kind of trucks [inaudible] >> it's really amazing. >> is there any thinking on your future the company talking about tesla and wondering what your thinking is. >> your thoughts on the market. >> mr. president when you look at the market selling up does it concern you? they make no comment doesn't concern me. some people will make great deals by buying stocks and bonds and all the things they buy.ms i think we are going to have an economy that is a real economy

and not a fake economy. the fake economy. they are putting in all government jobs and did you see what happened last month? we had more real jobs in government jobs are way down. that's going to continue. those are real jobs. those are jobs that keep the country going. you can have all government jobs. there's no income to pay the workers. a lot of those workers don't show up to work and that was the other problem. >> there's a protest leader from columbia university and he said it will be the first of many. >> i think we ought to get them all out of the country. they are agitators and they don't love their country. we ought to get them out. i heard the statements do then they were plenty bad and i think we ought to get them out of the country. i watched him and i watched watch the tape specifically. i watch the tapes and you can have them. you can have them. you can have the rest of them. let them go to school and let them learn.

columbia used to be a good school and now it's been overrun because of bad leadership or that's what happens. it happens to countries and it happens to universities and happens to companies and i don't want it to happen to a guy that did nothing. he did everything right and he had a great company but what he did by coming into government to help government from years of abuse, from decades of abuse, and you see that. when you look at social security were you have 200-year-old people on the rolls. he uses the word care. people don't care. it's also i believe it's large -- [inaudible] i'm just telling people this man is a great patriot and you should cherish him. you should cherish him. we have take take care of her height iq people because we don't have too many of them. we had to take care of them. >> you are looking for fraud and

waste and abuse. can you guarantee people are concerned about an interruption to benefits that there will not be put. >> we are going to be buried careful with any disruption of benefits. only by tackling the waste and fraud in social security medicare can we preserve those programs for the future. unchecked fraud and waste we won't be able to support them. the president is dedicated to fixing the budget deficit and if we don't we'll go bankrupt in this country. there's no social security no medicare and know nothing. what really matters is jobs that are low productivity to high productivity in the private-sector and the true product of goods and services. that's what enables americans to have a higher standard of living and that's what's happening and you will see the truth of that

in the months to come. >> we are going to make it much stronger. by taking people that don't exist in taking people that shouldn't be there out and taking illegal aliens that are on social security or medicaid and medicare, taking them out and making a much stronger. the country will be much stronger but it's going to be stronger economically and i've been called by so many companies. yesterday i had a meeting with some of the biggest tech companies in the world and all they are talking about ibm was there and we had a lot of them dealt, michael dell was there in about a great companies. hewlett-packard and all they are talking about is investing in this country. don't forget they are looking down the road 10 years in 15 years and i want to make sure we have a strong country. they are all coming in as you know apple but he's going to

invest $500 billion in two night stays. he never did that before. he has his plants in china and now he's got them in the united states. if i didn't have a victory that election he wouldn't be doing it and if i didn't say a thing and i'm being very honest it's much more difficult than sitting around and having a great time. it's a glamorous position if you want to do that. eventually bad things would have happened. i'm very optimistic about the country. i think we will have the greatest markets we have ever had and it's going to be fueled by what we are doing. you ought to see these companies yesterday. they are investing billions and trillions. they are investing trillions of dollars. they would not have invested 10 cents. >> mr. president we have talked to vladimir putin about the cease-fire deal and do you think you need to have a conversation with them? >> e. it takes two to tango as they say, right? hopefully he will agree and i

think that would be 75% of the way but the rest is getting it documented and negotiating positions. >> you will talk to him this week? when will you meet in person? >> on the ukrainian side how close do you think you are to a total cease-fire? >> i hope will be over the next few days. i know we have the big meeting with russia tomorrow and great conversations and hopefully they will end to the good people of done a great job. marco rubio has been great steve would cost has been great michael walls, everyone of them is stepped up. they are into it and they want to see two things. number one is debt. the people that are citizens of our country like you, they are people and we don't want to give hundreds of billions of dollars away. $350 billion there was no reason. this would have never happened.

amongst house democrats. we stand ready willing and able to negotiate a bipartisan >> agreement that meets the needs of the american people in terms of their economic well-being, health and safety. a partisan republican >> bill will hurt every day americans and house democrats

will never be complicit in their reckless scheme. >> thank you mr. leader. the republican majority just voted to hand a blank check to you on my and his billionaires and their other billionaire donors with the payment interest for any loss 277 million-dollar contribution. they also voted in the four corners of this bill to evict families from their homes, 32,000 kicked veterans off of their care treatments and cut health care in alzheimer's research and take food away from hungry families. and they aren't hiding this anymore. the plot is clear. so they can cut billionaires taxes and funnel corrupt

contracts for spacex. that's the agenda and that's the plan so when republicans to use this bill, this vehicle to cut social security, to cut medicaid, to cut the va and hand the cash to the rich the american people are going to know who to blame. two-thirds of trump voters opposed these tax cuts pay for by their hard-earned dollars. no wonder republicans are canceling their town halls, no wonder they are running away from their own constituents. they know what the american people no, nobody voted for them. i'll turn it over to the chair of our caucus peter aguilar. >> thank you represent clerk big economy is heading toward a recession.

the stock market is tanking and peoples costs keep going up. today's partisan funding legislation does nothing to over the cost for expenses for every day americans. instead of giving permission to enact their plan to cut medicaid to give tax cuts to billionaires we are not going to sign a blank check to the chaos and corruption coming out of the white house. house democrats remain willing and able to work on a bipartisan funding agreement that protects social security, medicaid and medicare. we need republicans to work with us to put the american people first. so far that spirit of cooperation has been hard to come by. house republicans seem only focused on rewarding their billionaire donors and corporations who price gouged the american people. we need extreme partisanship to end. if we are going to be able to

lower costs. >> we just learned in the last few minutes and i'd like to get reaction to this nearly half the department of education is now being laid off as soon as this evening. your response to the trump administration and the education funding? >> donald trump and his administration and extreme other republicans in the house are undermining everything that matters to the american people, including trying to take a chainsaw to medicare medicaid social security and public education all across america. it's unacceptable it's unconscionable it's un-american and it is not what the voters thought they were getting with a trump presidency.

this bill is going to the senate and do you want senate democrats to filibuster this legislation? >> my understanding senate democrats are meeting at the caucus tomorrow. a strong house democratic vote in opposition to this reckless republican >> bill speaks for itself. >> i want to thank catherine clarke for giving members the information they need. they put up a strong vote in opposition of this bill because this hurts families. i wouldn't expect senators to vote for this. this is a bad bill. we did not negotiate this bill and they did not negotiate this bill. they should vote no in the interest of our national security in the interest of american families. they need to vote no and beat

back this bill. this is not a bill for any of us and i'm not aware they were at the negotiating table with republicans. this is a republican partisan bill that hurts american families. our expectations is that they will vote no. >> can just add to that this is one of these votes that shows who's side are you on? are you for the folks at home and fighting for things like public schools and our veterans administration, all the things they are cutting. are you fighting for children to continue to rely on cancer research. are you fighting for the fact that the cost of eggs is skyrocketing and this bill cuts the very inspectors who are working to contain the avian flu. so i don't know why a democrat would look at that and decide they want to be on that side of the ledger.

i think we have house democrats have sent a very strong message. we stand with the american people and whether you voted for donald trump or you didn't, this is a betrayal. if you voted for him and you put your trust in him and think's he's going to shake things up and make things more efficient on your behalf every single day he's thumbing his nose at u.n. telling the american people that he just doesn't care. elon musk is in charge taking a chainsaw to the fundamental families budgets and their ability to get ahead. they don't go after people's health care and you don't go after research, you don't go after our public schools and our veterans and say if there's anythingth else here except a pt to cut spending in order to give

it to the wealthiest people. so i expect we are going to see a no vote in the u.s. senate. >> mr. jeffries were heard from jared golden that he voted yes in your caucus because he wanted to avert a government shutdown. senator fetterman from pennsylvania and other democrats told us earlier today i refuse to burn the village to down in the claim to save it. is that undermine democrats message that this is a bad bill? >> how many democrats voted in opposition to this bill? that speaks for itself. the reality of what's in front of us is a partisan republican bill that will get spending on health care, hurt veterans as well as children families and seniors all across america.

that is why there was strong house democratic opposition. the alternative is not a republican inspired shutdown. the alternative is a bill that rosa delauro and patty murray introduced which is a four-week continuing resolution that will both keep the government open and allow for negotiations to continue. there were bipartisan negotiations that were ongoing to reach an agreement consistent with the bipartisan responsibility act and donald trump pulled the plug on those negotiations because he wanted to jim a far right extremist bill down the throats of the american people. house democrats rejected it

because we are standing on the side of the american people. >> because of the tight margins in the house there was plenty of discussion about how the republicans saying they would be coalition on their republican site and this would be a leverage point for you all. are you surprised by the fact that the republicans have stuck together on this the way that they have? >> it's not surprising to me that house republicans have walked the plank because of their fealty to donald trump. republicans in this town no longer work for the american people. they aren't even pretending. that is why they have set in motion the largest possible cut to medicaid in american history. we are prepared to hurt their own constituents as part of the

scheme to enact massive tax cuts for their billionaire donors, the wealthy, the well-off and well-connected corporations. that's what this is all about. and so it should not surprise anyone that house republicans continue to bend the knee to donald trump and their billionaire puppetmaster elon musk. it does not surprise anyone. the american people will have an opportunity to speak and when they do next november it will not be pretty to extremists. thank you everyone.

the senator from alaska. >> mr. president i'm scheduled vanik colloquy in a couple of minutes but i want to talk about what's the senator from washington has shared and i'm going to learn -- use a term that some are not familiar with. we are in a morton's fork. it's that fork in the road and some people know what a hobson's choices choice is but a morton's fork is a choice between two

equally unpleasant alternatives. and if this isn't where we are right now ladies and gentlemen i don't know what is. as senator murray has outlined a long-term cr a long time -- long-term cr when we have our defense our appropriations work and we aren't able to get to that work and instead be basically give the administration the ability to direct within the funding level through the end of september is something that i think many of us certainly this appropriator doesn't feel comfortable with. i have a lot of time within my appropriations subcommittee working very hard on the department of the interior to make sure that we knew that there was funding for wild land firefighters and what we were doing with then cia or within any of the other agencies that

we did what people asked and expected us to do. we did those bills and i think we did a pretty good job. mine moved out of committee of the full committee unanimously and then here we are sitting at a place where we have two take either the choice of a long-term cr and basically give up the work that we have done as a congress or remove to a government shutdown, and equally untenable and equally unpleasant alternatives and one that quite honestly we should not be in this position. we should not be in this place where we have two bad choices for our government, for the people of this country. we can do better. i wish and i agree senator murray i wish what we were able to advance as a short-term cr that would allow us to move to finish up our appropriations

bill, do our work and then start moving on fy26. i don't know whether it's possible between now and the end of the day on march 14 but i for one him out of place where i'm just beside myself that we are in a place that we feel that we have no good alternatives. we are in the morton's fork.

ppp. vote:

the end innocent bystanders. while, russian soldiers rush in to clean from the north, the south and from the east. many predicted the country would fall within weeks if not days. but, as we stand on the floor today ukraine is still standing that is thanks in no small part to the strong bipartisan support that ukraine has enjoyed hearing congress. and, i think about support, the strong bipartisan support has been there because we understand this is a fight for democracy. this is a fight to stop the overturning of the international rules -based order. to stop a dictator like vladimir putin going into a country and thinking just because he wants to take it over, he can.

we know not only are our allies with watching here, but so are our adversaries. north korea's 30 fighting on russia's side against the ukrainians. iran is providing missiles. china is the supplying support. we understand as republican as u have elastic peace in ukraine we need to make sure russia is accountable and if we have security guarantees. nay do not mean u.s. troops on the ground. nato is working through different options. along with senator bennett.

size and manpower ukrainians are not giving up. ukraine has one of the most advanced militaries in the world. the most advanced in europe. i came away impressed by their ingenuity, their ability to innovate in the face of russian aggression. ukrainians are showing this lessons in the battlefield with the nine states military. helping us prepare for the wars of the future. and it is not just something we understand and congress that is important. my constituency new hampshire understand how important it is that we support the ukrainians. to support the people and shoulder particularly of ukraine. their million plus pounds of food.

the presiding officer: the yeas are 78, the nays are 19. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. majority leader. mr. thune: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. thune: mr. president, i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 30. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, federal housing finance agency, william

pulte of florida to be director. mr. thune: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of william pulte, of florida, to be director of the federal housing finance agency, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. thune: i ask that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection mr. thune: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. thune: mr. president, i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 32. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of commerce, jeffrey

kessler of virginia to be under secretary of commerce. mr. thune: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, cloifrp we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of jeffrey kessler to be mr. thune: i ask that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed, no the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it the motion is agreed to. mr. thune: mr. president, what is the pending business. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the pending business. the clerk: s. 331, a bill to amend the controlled substances act with schedule related broadbandses. -- substances. mr. thune: i send a bill to the

desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on the calendar number 18, s. 331, a bill to amend the controlled substance act and so forth and for other purposes. mr. thune: i ask that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent that the senate resume legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: i have four requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate with the approval of the majority leader and the minority leaders. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: i understand there is

a bill at the desk and i ask for its first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for the first time. the clerk: h.r. 1 the 68, an act making extensions for the fiscal year 2025 and for other purposes. mr. thune: i ask for a second reading and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i object to my own request. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the bill will receive its second reading on the next legislative day. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. 960 introduced earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 960, a bill to ensure that homicides can be prosecuted under federal law and so forth. the presiding officer: is there an objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time

and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, i move to adjourn until 6:40 p.m. today. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all favor say aye. all opposed, nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it the motion is agreed to. the senate's adjourned until 6:40 p.m.adjourn: adjourn: the presiding officer: the senate will come tord. the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., march 11, 2025, to the senate, under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3 of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable john r.

curtis, a senator from the state of utah, to perform the duties of the chair, signed chuck grassley, president pro tempore. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their hughes later in the day and that the senate be in a period of morning business with the senators mermented to speak therein tore up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: i understand that there is a bill due for a second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the titles of bill for the second time. the clerk: s. 924, making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2025 and so forth and for other purposes. h.r. 1968, making further continuing appropriations and other extensions for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2025, and so forth and for other purposes. mr. thune: in order to place the bill on the calendar under

pro provisions of rule 14, i object to further proceeding en bloc. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the bills will be placed on the calendar. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it stand adjourned until 11:00 a.m., wednesday march 12. following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of calendars number 31. further, at noon, the senate vote on cloture on the morin nomination, and the postcloture time expire at 2:15 p.m. and the senate vote on confirmation. if cloture is invoked on the sonderling nomination, the senate vote on confirmation of the nomination at 5:15 mmm. further, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. thune: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask it stand adjourned under the previous

order following the remarks of senator blumenthal. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: my thanks to senator thune for yielding and you for presiding over the balance of the day. i am here with sadness, not for the first time, and tragically not for the last, i fear, because i am here to speak to the decimation and destruction of veterans services, ongoing in real time, right before our eyes, affecting real people in their daily lives. it is a tragedy, and a travesty, because the people affected are our nation's heroes, whom we all

say we respect, but in practice right now elon musk and donald trump have launched an assault to degrade and denigrate. donald trump has called veterans s suckers. elon musk shows the same kind of disrespect in the cuts in hiring freezes and reductions in amounts of research, a panoply, a tsunami of cuts in both resources and workers that are essential to the v.a.'s functions in providing health care as well as pact act

benefits that veterans have earned. they deserve them without delay. and this assault on veterans is unprecedented in our nation's history. we had a hearing this morning in the v.a. committee, on various pieces of legislation, some of them probably positive in the effects that they may have if we pass them. i have cosponsored some of them and will support others. but their meaning and effect will be absolutely eviscerated if these cuts, including 80,000 workers in addition to the 2400 already fired, are in fact discharged in the future. the plan that the secretary of

the v.a. has stated, it's his word, plan, is to fire 80,000 workers. it's his goal. he said it in an interview, and i ask that that interview be made a part of the record. without objection, thank you. but we did learn in this legislative hearing that, in fact, there is no plan. the 80,000-worker target for firing is in the absence of any plan. it's the target. it's the goal. it's the intention. fire now, plan later. no plan, no metrics, no methodology, no strategy for

right-sizing the v.a. now, we know a right-sized v.a. needs every one of those 2,400 workers who have been discharged now. it needs every one of the 80,000 that are targeted in the next few months to be fired. and we learned this morning that there are, in fact, open positions, 36,000 of them, including more than 3,000 positions for doctors, thousands others for nurses, thousands for the custodians who maintain the v.a. health care properties. we're talking about real people who will be fired, who are on the job doing essential work right now, and we are talking

about discharging people when there are open positions, a need for more doctors, nurses, and others. how's that going to work for recruiting? not so well, when the v.a. is firing exactly the people whose positions it is trying to fill. that is absolutely a disgrace, and it will be seen as a disgrace by anybody wanting to serve in the v.a. we also learned today that the v.a. is focusing on legislative measures that will make it easier to fire people, that will more readily enable it to discharge people without stating a reason, without a

performance-related reason for firing them. so we are seeing the biggest attack and assault on veterans' access to care and benefits, at least in a generation, maybe in our history. and trump and musk have already fired more veterans than any administration before now. but the numbers fail to adequately tell the story, because it's a story of heartbreaking loss as a result of heartless decisions, loss of health care on a timely basis, loss of benefits, fear from people who have earned the right to security when it comes to health care or the pact act. over the weekend there was an article in "the new york times" that described some of this real

impact going on right now. a v.a. clinical trial for treating advanced cancers of the mouth, put on hold. a v.a. supply technician whose role was described as critical, fired. a vet center office manager fired, leaving therapists, who should be treating patients, using their precious time sitting at the front desk to check in the patients. talk about waste? what we're saying in real time is not just heartless, heartbreaking firings and deprivation of care. we're seeing waste of talents and time that cry out for action, and in fact we are hearing that cry from thousands

of constituents of my colleagues, from all around the country. this chart shows where we have received complaints and stories from people. of their words are here. please do not let this administration take all of this away from not only me, but thousands of other veterans in my similar situation. i'm a spouse of a 100% permanent and total disabled veteran with two young kids. i'm scared to fight back and have them target me to eliminate my job entirely so i just have to take it to protect my family's only income. the v.a. provides the veteran community with excellent health care in my area, and anything

done to devalue that care or its facilities would be detrimental to the veteran community. the blue represents the states that we've heard from. almost every state in the country, some with many different complaints, but all many them expressing fear, apprehension, and anger. at what they see is the looming additional cuts in care coming to their communities. this administration, very simply, is failing to put veterans first. let me tell you about a veteran who knows that it's failing to put him first, a veteran on the west coast who shared his story, quote, i lost a part of my foot serving this countries, and now

people with zero military experience are gutting the veterans -- the benefits veterans have earned, end quote. and he continued, quote, if it were not for the v.a., i would not have been able to be in a position i am now. i own a home, and i am able to manage my anxiety with therapy and medication. he was homeless in 2012. he would go to the library every day to search for work. he was not receiving any v.a. benefits. he didn't know he was eligible. once he knew about it, and he signed up, and the health care and disability benefits began, he was, quote, propelled into success, end quote. he was able to rent an apartment, purchase a car, get a job, all thanks to the v.a. in quotes, all thanks to the v.a. and his final comment was, please do not let this

administration take all of that away from me but thousands of other veterans in my similar situation. he knows this administration is not putting veterans first. what i was hoping to hear in today's hearing was a call to action. well, we didn't hear a call to action. in fact, we didn't even hear from the secretary of the v.a., who has dodged our questions, refused to answer them, who has failed to be transparent with our committee and with members of the congress. i was hoping that he would be there, or at least that he would be invited to a date certain. but none of it happened.

instead, the agenda included legislation that attempts to make it even easier for the v.a. to fire employees. it ignores what's happening on the ground, ignoring the illegal mass termination of those 2400 v.a. employees, with tens of thousands of firings now in the works. that's no way to put veterans first. it is illegal. it is unlawful. it is reckless. and it is morally repugnant. because it involves breaking pro promises. a great nation keeps its promises, as we promised to veterans that we would provide for their health care, that we would give them the benefits of the pact act, that we would care for them after they were exposed to toxic chemicals, that we would give them skill training,

job assistance. all of it now, potentially, ended, at least for a lot of those veterans. because it's a funny thing about service, difficult to provide service in an empty office, with an empty chair, behind an empty desk. service really does consist of people helping each other. veterans know it better than anyone, because peer-to-peer veteran programs work better than any other kind, and it's one of the reasons why it's important that 30% of the veterans administration workforce are themselves veterans. they help each other. and it's no accident that many of those provisional employees, who were fired, they're the ones who were fired first, are

veterans as well, because they're coming out of the service, and they're looking for meaningful and productive ways to help other veterans. i am introducing this week a measure called putting veterans first act. essentially, it's a comprehensive effort to stop the ble bleeding. i'm quoting the commander in chief of the veterans of foreign w wars, stop the bleeding, put pressure on and stop the bleeding is what he told us in one of our hearings. the best way to stop this administration from actively robbing and rolling back our recent bipartisan accomplishments, canceling

contracts critical to the implementation of the dole act or the debra simpson act, firing thousands of workers critical to the basic functioning of the pact act, from the schedulers who connect veterans to care or the claim staff who process those pact act claims, the best way to stop the bleeding is to put veterans first. number one, hire back all of the veterans who have been fired, no matter what the agency, hire back those veterans, along with all of the military spouses, the veteran caregivers, survivors, members of the guard and reserve. they too serve. and hire back all the v.a. employees who've been fired, whether or not they're veterans

or military spouses or veteran caregivers, survivors, members of the guard and reserve. everyone who's been fired from the v.a. then, if the administration wants to eliminate waste and fraud, let's have some standards. per performance-based standards, not just you're fired because we don't need you, when in fact they're needed. but more to the point, any sort of firing ought to be based on individual performance. nobody is arguing here that there's no waste in the v.a. nobody's arguing that there's no waste in other agencies of the federal government, any more than we would argue there's no waste in any american corporation. everybody knows that there is waste. the trick is to eliminate the weeps without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. or to use a much more direct

analogy that came from al lippat, commander in chief of the vfw, when he was woned in vietnam, the -- wounded in vietnam, the surgeon took shrapnel out of his arm with a scalpel. he didn't amputate the arm. exactly the same choice faces us here. performance-based criteria and standards, and a means of appeals for those employees who may be terminated, a means of readily bringing their claim about improper firing to some kind of appeal that is based on performance. and merit. it ought to be a matter of merit, not just money, not just slashing and trashing. merit. and then hiring to replace that person if that person has no merit, fill the position so the

job can be done because the need is there. and of course notice to congress, to labor partners and impacted employees before instituting any changes to telework or remote work policies, allowing time for employees to submit reasonable accommodation requests and work to their supervisors, which would help a veteran spouse and caregiver, and i've been contacted by my -- by those kinds of spouses. like the spouse of a hundred percent disabled veteran with two kids. quote, i've worked for the feds for 20 years. my spouse was active duty. i'm also ada disabled myself, performed full-time telework successfully including pre-covid with accommodations. even though the prior one

approved had no expiration date. you know, when trump or musk talk about mandating returns to office, i personally love being in the office. and as a former prosecutor, i think being in the office makes managing a workforce easier in some institutions, but not all and not for all employees and certainly not for the disabled veteran who wrote to me. and this employee has outstanding performance reviews and her duties haven't changed. the only change here is the one prompted by president trump's draconian work-to-office policy. the putting veterans first act would take other commonsense veterans first actions, such as prohibiting -- and this one is

really important -- prohibiting unauthorized, unlawful access to veterans' data and v.a. systems by unqualified, uninformed tech bros. well, we know what's happening in the v.a. elon musk tech bro elves are muscling and plundering their way through the v.a.'s database. now, you may say what's harmful about access to private confidential, sensitive information, potentially about health care? well, it's an invasion of privacy. but number two, also illegal, it is potentially a monitorization of your information used for elon musk corporations it make more money or to be shared with his fellow billionaires so they

can make more money. and that invasion of privacy, the monitorization and possibly weaponization of that information would be prohibited by the putting veterans first act. putting veterans first act. it is comprehensive. it is specific. and it makes a priority of protecting veterans and putting them first. now, i don't want to exaggerate the chances of this measure passing in the next month. i'm very clear-eyed. i recognize that the administration will put a full-court press against us, that elon musk will perhaps

denounce it. but i think we have on our side an indom minutable -- indefeatable force and that is veterans because i'm listening to the veterans service organizations who came before our committee on prior days and this morning, representatives from american legion. mr. coyle from the vfw, mr. murray. we've heard from other organ organizations who have expressed their concerns about what's happening at the v.a. and they can put a face and voice to this issue. their support for putting veterans first can make an absolutely critical difference. and so i want to make a plea to

our veterans. you may feel you don't need it, but there's no question you deserve it. and the ones who need it really deserve it as well. they deserve to be put first. they deserve to have no fear or uncertainty or insecurity about whether they live in a state that will not be receiving the kind of benefits and care under the pact act or their v.a. facility won't be renovated or their doctor will be gone or nurses will be missing, their positions unfilled. they deserve to know with the kind of certainty they have earned and we all talk about our veterans as heroes, which they

are, but let's put our money where our mouth is. let's be measured by what we do, not what we say. and i'm extending an arm and a hand to my colleagues across the aisle to join me in this comprehensive bill that guarantees veterans what they have earned and what they deserve against someone whom we didn't choose. nobody did except donald trump. elon musk is unelected, unappointed, unconfirmed, and his doge boys are depriving our veterans of what they have earned. we can't lose hope or energy. we can't abandon our veterans. we can't surrender in this

battle. our veterans have served and they can continue to serve by helping their brothers and sisters make sure that the veterans administration puts veterans first. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. did do some lawmakers confirm rendering to be to be transportation secretary nelson confirmed abigail to serve as assistant attorney general for antitrust as we can sentence concerning legislation to permit ossified fentanyl, the highest control and penalties and some very because occasion sent to expire at the end of this month. and congress is facing government funding deadline with justice party at midnight house passed legislation to 17 —-dash

213 into extended funding for the end of september and of its it's approved pfizer comes here to the upper chamber printed law makers returned watch live coverage of the senate here on "c-span2". >> river missed any of c-span's coverage, you can find it anytime online@cspan.org it videos of key hearings, debates and other events, feature markers and guide you to interesting and newsworthy highlights these points of interest markers appear on the right-hand side of your screen, you have plans like that is the timely makes it easy to quickly get an idea what was debated and decided washington and scroll through commencement a few minutes on c-span's points of interest. >> today lawmakers putting house speaker mike johnson coming later i came jeffries discussed the legislative priorities conference hosted by the news and wash their conversation at

8:00 o'clock eastern on "c-span2", cspan now, free mobile video at work i might have cspan.org. >> mr. speaker, on this historic take on the house of representatives opens the proceedings for the first time televised coverage it. >> since march of 1979, she's been is been your unfiltered the window to american democracy bringing you direct news coverage of congress or the supreme court, and the white house. >> this major brian lamb it would you hold one moment please for the president. [laughter] up next to exist because of cspan founder's vision of the cable industry supports the government funding the public service isn't security, on this month in honor of founders think about your support is more important than ever and you can keep democracy unfiltered, today and for future generations et