mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 107. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say 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, office of personnel management, kiran ahuja of massachusetts to be director. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. 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 nomination of executive calendar number 107, kiran ahuja of massachusetts to be director of the office of personnel management for a term of

mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of monger business with senators -- morning business and senators permitted to speak for ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i understand there's 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: the bill to expand americans access to the ballot box, strengthen ethics rules for public servants and implement other anticorruption methods for fortifying our democracy and for other purposes. mr. schumer: i now ask for a second reading and to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i object to my own request. the presiding officer: objection having been heard, the bill will receive its second reading on the next legislati

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 123. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of the interior, tommy p. beaudreau of alaska to be deputy secretary. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. 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 executive calendar 123, tommy p. beaudreau of alaska to be deputy secretary of the interior, signed by 18 senators as follows -- mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion

mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, madam president, i understand there's a bill, there is a bill at the desk that is due for a second reading. the presiding officer: the leader is correct. the clerk will read the title of the bill for a second time. the clerk: s. 2118, a bill to amend the internal revenue code of 1986, to provide tax incentives for increased investment and clean energy, and for other purposes. mr. schumer: madam president, in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i'd object to further proceeding. the presiding officer: objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. schumer: now, madam president, on today's and tomorrow's and this week's business, the senate will soon vote on two more nominees to join president biden's administration -- christopher fonzone to serve as general counsel for the office of director of national

mr. schumer: madam president? the presiding officer: mr. majority leader. mr. schumer: madam president, the senate returns to session with a busy and consequential work period healed of it. we will consider -- ahead of it. we will consider landmark legislation to establish paycheck fairness, legislation to boost american innovation in the 21st century, and legislation to protect voting rights and american democracy the final week of june. the senate will consider all three of these issues this month. we'll start we finishing the u.s. innovation and competitive act now known as usica. the bipartisan legislation will be the largest investment in scientific research and technological innovation in generations setting the united states on a path to lead the world in the industries of the future. it includes the input of virtually everyone in this chamber, a product of over six committees and dozens of amendments from our republican colleagues. tomorrow the senate will consider a couple of final amendments before passing this historic legislation. it will be one of t

mr. schumer: thank you, mr. president. i note the absence -- i yield the floor. i yield the floor to mr. christopher coons, d, delaware. mr. christopher a. coons. mr. coons: thank you, mr. charles e. schumer. the presiding officer: the senator from delaware is recognized. mr. coons: madam president, today has been a great day for the american people, a great day for our democracy and for bipartisanship. some of you may know that just hours agriculture over at the white house a determined group of republicans and democrats led by senator kyrsten sinema, senator joe manchin, senator susan collins and a number of others announced a deal on an infrastructure package with the white house that represents the largest investment in infrastructure in a generation, and this is a big accomplishment. i'll talk about it in a few moments. but i also with a tonight bring your attention to something that happened earlier today on the floor here that may just go overlooked because of the other important news of the day. by a vote of 92-8, this senate passed the growing climate so

mr. schumer: i've laid out the facts for weeks. republican state legislatures across the country are engaged in the most sweeping voter suppression in 80 years. capitalizing and cat liced by do not's big lie. these state governments are making it harder for younger, poorer, urban and nonwhite americans to vote. earlier today the republican leader told reporters that, quote, regardless of what may be happening in some states, there's no rationale for federal intervention. the republican leader flatly stated that no matter what the states do to undermine our democracy, voter suppression laws, phony audit, the senate should not act. my colleagues, my colleagues, if senators 60 years ago held that the federal government should never intervene to protect voting rights, this body would have never protected -- passed the voting rights act. the republican leader uses the language and the logic of the southern senators in the 1960's who defended states' rights and it is an indefensible position. -- for any senator, any senator, let alone th

mr. schumer: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: late last night, madam president, a giant of the legal world, judge robert katzmann passed away at the age of 68. he was the former chief justice of the second court of appeals in new york, one of the nation's foremost jurists and a kind, humble, compassionate human being who was deeply admired by everyone who knew him. the son of immigrants. his father was a refugee from nazi germany. robert katzmann was an amazing intellect attending the nation's top schools. he worked for daniel patrick moynihan, wetting his chops working on the confirmation of ruth bader ginsburg to the supreme court. the rest of his life he was maybe the most important writer on the topic of legislative judicial relations. later in his life, even when he had obtained one of the highest judgeships in the country, judge katzmann never lost his passion for helping those who were just starting their careers. he taught at n.y.u. at scwhrornlgtown and -- n.y.u. and run an acclaimed course. he also lectured wide

mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: the meeting leader. mr. mer: ever since democrats passed the affordable care act, expanding health coverage and access to tens of millions of americans, we have had to fight tooth and nail to preserve the law from partisan republican attacks. for more than a decade, the assault on health care law -- for more than a decade, the assault on our health care law was relentless from republicans in congress, from the executive branch itself, and from republican attorneys general in the courts. in a landmark vote, we in the senate prevented the republicans from repealing the a.c.a. in 2017. each time, in each arena, the affordable care act has prevailed. and once again today, the united states supreme court in a 7-2 ruling upheld the affordable care act in the face of another legal challenge. so let me say definitively -- the affordable care act has won. the supreme court has just ruled the a.c.a. is here to stay. and now we're going to try to make it bigger and better, establish once and for all affordable health ca

mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: are we in a quorum? the presiding officer: no. mr. schumer: okay. so, mr. president, senators are moving forward this week on two major legislative initiatives, infrastructure and voting rights. bipartisan infrastructure talks continue in our senate committees and among our members. remember, discussions about infrastructure both physical and human are proceeding along two tracks. the first track is bipartisan and i understand there's been some progress. the second track pulls in elements of president biden's american jobs and families plan and will be considered by the senate even if it does not have bipartisan support. today we're going to start moving the trains down the second track. i will convene a meeting with all the members of the majority party on the senate budget committee to begin the important work of producing a budget resolution for the senate to consider. this is something we planned for quite a while but we're moving forward today after having individual disc

mr. schumer: madam president? the vice president: mr. majority leader. mr. mer: madam president, i want to be clear about what just happened on the senate floor. every single senate republican just voted against starting debate -- starting debate -- on legislation to protect americans' voting rights. once again, the senate republican minority has launched a partisan blockade of a pressing issue here in the united states senate, an issue no less fundamental than the right to vote. could we have order, madam president? the vice president: the senate will be in order. mr. schumer: i've laid out the facts for weeks. republican state legislatures across the country are engaged in the most sweeping voter suppression in 80 years. capitalizing and cat liced by do not's big lie. these state governments are making it harder for younger, poorer, urban and nonwhite americans to vote. earlier today the republican leader told reporters that, quote, regardless of what may be happening in some states, there's no rationale for federal intervention. the republican leader flatl

mr. schumer might be -- pelosi or mr. schumer might be looking at it. millions from washington, d.c. for pet projects. how much taxpayers are shelling out for the golden state still the ahead. muck -- i gotta feeling i'm not the only one. ♪ all i wanna do have some fun. ♪ i got a feeling i'm not the only one ♪♪ ♪ when traders tell us how to make thinkorswim even better, we listen. like jack. he wanted a streamlined version he could access anywhere, no download necessary. and kim. she wanted to execute a pre-set trade strategy in seconds. so we gave 'em thinkorswim web. because platforms this innovative, aren't just made for traders—they're made by them. thinkorswim trading. from td ameritrade. i became a sofi member because i needed to consolidate my credit card debt. i needed just one simple way to pay it all off. it was an easy decision to apply with sofi loans, just based on the interest rate and how much i would be saving. there was only one that stood out and one that actually made sense and that was sofi personal loans. it felt so freeing. i felt

mr. schumer: madam president, i want to be clear about what just happened on the senate floor. every single senate republican just voted against starting debate -- starting debate -- on legislation to protect americans' voting rights. once again, the senate republican minority has launched a partisan blockade of a pressing issue here in

mr. schumer: yesterday, madam president, the senate was given an opportunity to begin debate on a subject that by all rights should be beyond debate. protecting the right to vote. as we all know, republican legislatures across the country are passing some of the most draconian restrictions on the right to vote in decades, a throwback to jim crow. every single democrat yesterday voted to begin debate on legislation to fight back against this assault, and that's what it is, an assault on our democracy. every single one. it was the first time in this congress that we have united all 50 democrats on moving forward with strong and comprehensive voting rights legislation. senate republicans to the very last member voted against allowing the senate to even have a debate on voting rights. not a single republican voted to move forward with a simple debate. in fact, the republican leader went so far as to say that, quote, regardless of what may be happening in some states, voter suppression laws, phony audits, or the partisan takeover of election boards, he believes the federal government should no

mr. schumer says. federal government has no say in how states run their elections. look what harry reid did with the nuclear vote. look how that backfired on the democrats. go ahead and get rid of things. when democrats are out of power and it comes back and bites them, they'll do all the complaining. i don't vote republican. i don't vote democrat. i'm independent. i vote for independent or third-party candidates. that's what a true independent does. joe manchin is a true senator who loves his country. can't say anything more about the man. he's a great man. >> brett from nevada. it's coming up on 7:30 on the east coast. another half hour to talk to you this morning about senator joe manchin. ask you to keep calling in on phone lines for republicans 202-748-8001, independents 202-748-800 and that line for west virginia residents 202-748-8003. as you continue to call in, a few other headlines to keep you aware of, continuing to track vice president kamala harris's trip to central america, the story about it in today's washington times, calling for more spending on ce

mr. speaker, madame speaker, do the same thing with the senate and schumer to mcconnell why go out to everys of the state that's in a crumbling stake and make them defend it and play defense on infrastructure. that's what i would do. >> all right. let me -- i said earlier, i asked when the democratic party become the party of fred rogers? what happened? >> you are talking jimmy. i remember the sergeant in "untouchables." bring a gun to a knife fight. chicago. well yeah. i think they have to get to enjoy politics again why when i worked for tip i would pull numbers. big rallies in the middle of the night against the regan. i enjoyed it. we made noise and made the point that way. we woke up the country about what was going on with the economy. i think you have to do that and the democrats have to have fun doing it. there's no joy. they just lose. i think if they want an immigration bill, a police reform bill they need all this stuff so they have to play tough. they can't afford to lose the battles because if they do they go into the 2022 election with the republicans with three big nails in t

continuing to filibuster the vote and the debate rather than allow schumer to limit debate and set a date and that is what we're trying to do. please, mr. manchin, vote to limit debate so we could set a date and have an up or down vote on whether or not we are going to have a continuation of voter rights in this country. >> congressman, i always enjoy having you here on a sunday morning because i get a little history. you are a historian as well and the issue about the filibuster has been the subject of historical debate with senator manchin and cinema for what it was for and what it mostly did and one could argue about these things but ultimately this comes down to senator manchin saying that preserving the filibuster is preserving democracy and the argument you're making right now is that preserving the filibuster is not preserving democracy at the moment? >> it is -- democratic processes. that is what it does. there is nothing in the congress about phil filibuster. i've heard people talk about what the filibuster was put in place for. nobody knows what it was put in place for. it just popped up and came in to dialogue or to the proc

schumer to limit debate and set a date. and that's what we're trying to do. please, mr. manchin, vote to limit debate so we can set a date and have an up or down vote on whether or not we are going to have a continuation of voting rights in this country. >> reporter: so with senator manchin a know on s. 1 in his op-ed, he's defending his position on not changing or eliminating the filibuster, as many senate democrats are feeling more and more frustrated with what they say is antiquated rules of the filibuster that are blocking potential policies especially when it comes to president biden's infrastructure bill. manchin is not budging on his stances here, alex. >> we'll see when he gets face-to-face with people and see what they say to him. i know you'll report on it, thank you, amanda. >>> coming up, they are speeches few democrats want to hear but they could help immensely at election time. what are they? we'll give the answer, next. into the spotlight isn't the awards ♪ ♪ or the acclaim. the best part of stepping into the spotlight is helping others step into theirs. ♪

mr. mccarthy: i view them as separate votes when the president first came out and said he has an agreement on an infrastructure bill, but, no, when they went to clarify and the speaker and schumeraid,, no you cannot vote on that until we have all the taxes and the green new deal and they have to go together, then the president says he has to sign them together -- it's one big deal. it's not separated. i don't see any republicans supporting that structure. i actually think the speaker's trying to kill it. reporter: on the debt ceiling. what do republicans need to see in exchange for raidsing the debt ceiling and it if it's not done with reconciliation, how big of a fight is this going to be? are republicans willing to -- mr. mccarthy: we should not continue to spend the way it's happening today. i think we'd have to see real reform. where's some real structural reforms that we're working to balance our budget and pay off the debt? i think people would like to see. if you're continuing to spend trillions of dollars and waste and call it a covid bill but less than 9%, first bring us an infrastructure bill, again, less than 10%, on real infrastructure, that's a problem. reporter: a

mr. president, any reaction to the bipartisan plan? >> i'll let you know monday. >> it seems like none will join in a voting rights compromise. majority leader chuck schumer is set to bring the major voting rights bill the for the people act to the floor on tuesday where it will almost certainly fail since it appears to have no support among senate republicans. the latest version of the for the people act came out in recent days after democratic senator joe manchin of west virginia released a new proposal that is more limited in scope than the initial bill and combines some elements from the john lewis voting rights advancement act which is a bill that manchin does support. however, he does not publicly support getting rid of the filibuster in order to pass it, which is unfortunate since that is what is needed to pass this bill. and that also lacks republican support. newly leaked audio appears to reveal that manchin may be more flexible than he lets on in public. in case you have trouble keeping track, manchin was for the for the people act two years ago and then against this year due to the fact that republicans are against it. and now he is for it agai

schumer says the senate will vote to advance on tuesday. joining me now is michael harriet, author of "the black af history of america" and jonathan cott. let me start with you, mrtt. there's been skepticism about senator manchin's role and whether he is playing above board. that audio makes it sound like what he is doing is looking out for the future job prospects of republicans, trying to pad and pave their way with wealthy donors as a way to do the sausage making of making a deal. that is called negotiating with the wrong people. he is not talking to the people who would be affected by voting rights, to black lawmakers like warnock who have to run in the elections. why is he talking to the rich folks instead of the people directly affected by the legislation? >> he is talking to the people directly affected by the legislation, the thing i found out after a couple of weeks working for joe manchin and seven years is he will talk to anybody. his phone does not stop ringing. mostly, 90% of the time, it's from west virginia. if you met joe manchin, you probably have his number. that was one hour of his day. i'm guessing he spent another 15, 16 hours of his day tal

mr. mcgahn in an apple representative did not respond to a request from the times for comment. senate majority leader chuck schumer wants former attorneys general jeff sessions and william barr to testify on the judiciary committee. i'm joined by correspondent ken delaney. ten, what do we know about this latest reporting from the new york times. the doj also obtaining phone records, don mcgahn. >> alicia, nbc news has not much that reporting but it's quite interesting and if true it shows that obviously wasn't just democratic members of congress who came under this doj dragnet where we're getting secret gag orders and subpoenas to get the phone records of high government officials. it's really unclear what was going on with mcgahn. obviously, around the time to subpoena would've gone out, donald trump was pressing him to fire robert mueller and he was resisting and so that was going on. there's also an issue with the investigation into trump campaign -- but the larger and more controversial issue has to do with the lawmakers who are the subject of this subpoena which is such a rare and unprecedented thing to happe

schumer will put the bill to a vote on tuesday. it is all but guaranteed to fail as the "new york times" reports with mr.on the voting rights bill portraying it as a power-grabbing abomination. though some republicans previously expressed willingness to talk about a potential compromise, it seemed impossible to emergency a few let alone 10 of them siding with democrats on this measure. all this boils down to the fact that without eliminating the filibuster, manchin's compromise will likely prove fruitless. and there is no time to wait. it is written that elections have consequenc and without fair voting rights, there may be a permanent loss of democracy. we do not have the luxury to wait. while the american people continue to raise their voices as a push for reforms, we need voting rights lawyers to continue to show up in court and tell the story of american citizens whose right is being threatened. for now democracy remains on the docket. the fight is where we start this hour with some of our favorite reporters and friends. judith brown from national office is here. and also with us, cliff albright from

mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: first, i for, would like to thank senators cants quell and wicker. they did an amazing bipartisan job. senators menendez and risch, another great bipartisan contribution. all the members, just about every member has contributed to this bill. i do want to single out two of my staff members who just slaved over this bill relentlessly. and that is mike kyton and john cardinal. mike is thr. i don't know if john is here but they deserve tremendous kudos. without them i don't think we'd have a bill, to be honest with you. and everybody else, all the other staffs who worked so hard. now, this is a quote from dr dr. vanderveer bush. could we have order, mr. chairman. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the majority leader. mr. schumer: without scientific progress, no amount of achievement in other directions can ensure our health, prosperity, and security in the modern world. that was dr. vanderveer bush, the head of the u.s. office of scientific research writing in

mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: we have two of our members who couldn't be here because of serious illnesses in their families. therefore, we're going to delay the vote on kiran ahuja. so i ask unanimous consent that the cloture motion with respect to the nomination of kiran ahuja to be director of the office of personnel management be withdrawn. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: we will return to that vote as soon as these members can return. now, also i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to 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. schumer: i now ask the senate recess until 2:15 p.m. the presiding officer: without objection. the senate stands in recess the senate stands in recess internet traffic soared and we never slow down. businesses went virtual. at me become we are built to keep you ahead. >> media, support c-span as a public service along

mr. schumer: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: madam president, tonight congressional leaders will mark what is hopefully the final -- the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that at quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: madam president, tonight congressional leaders will mark what is hopefully the final somber milestone of the covid pandemic -- 600,000 american lives lost to the disease. it is particularly jarring at this moment, a moment of recovery, optimism, and hope to remember the enormity of lives lost over the past 15 months. not only that, we face the grim reality that these recent fatalities happened while americans were on the verge of getting the vaccine. some had their appointment just days away. so, as our fellow americans are taking their masks off, going back to work, seeing families and friends and returning, as they should, to life, let us remember those who cannot. let us hold them in our hearts a little while

mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to 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. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to consideration of senate res. 266, submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: expressing support for the designation for may 2021 as national brain tumor awareness month. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: and, madam president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:30 a.m., thu

mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. schumer: thank you, mr. president. now, the senate today will achieve an important milestone for the session. we will confirm the first of president biden's judicial nominees, the first but certainly not the last, not even close. we will soon confirm julien neals to be a judge for the district of new jersey and afterwards we'll turn to the nomination of regina rodriguez to be judge for the district of colorado. i greatly look forward to confirming what will be the first of many judicial appointments during the biden administration. later today, the senate will take a final vote on the u.s. innovation and competition act paving the way for the largest investment in science and technology in generations. after three months of bipartisan negotiations, after hard labor of six senate committees, after considering over 20 amendments from both sides of the floor, we should and we will pass this historic bill today. when all is said and done, the bill will go down as one of the most important

mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: first i have a message for the information of the senate. i understand there is an important meeting at the white house this morning that several members are attending. so in order to accommodate the first vote will start at 10:45, not at 11:00. and we're going to have to move quickly on that vote so people can get their votes done and get to the white house. so members, please take notice. on nominations, before we reached the conclusion of the june work period, the senate will confirm yet another one of president biden's highly qualified nominees to the federal bench. candace jackson-akiwumi to serve on the seventh circuit court of appeals. a graduate of princeton and yale law school, ms. jackson-akiwumi left a career at a big law firm to work ten years as a federal defender in illinois. she was a voice in the courtroom for americans who often had no one else to speak for them. the mentally ill, folks who could not afford an attorney. we have plenty of prosecutors and corpor

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. schumer: so, mr. president, act 77 was passed in 2019 by the pennsylvania state legislature when republicans held the majority in both houses. among other voting reforms, the bill provided for no excuse absentee voting and extended registration deadlines. at the time republicans in the state legislature were operating under the assumption that mail-in voting would boost participation among seniors who tend to lean republican. every single republican state senator voted for the bill. in the statehouse, 105 pennsylvania republicans voted for the bill and two voted no. that was 2019. fast forward one year later, donald trump, fresh off a resounding loss in the 2020 presidential election, cried foul and lied, lied that the election was stolen from him like a petulant child. one of his favorite bugaboos, as we all know, is mail-in voting. so a little over a year after 132 pennsylvania republicans voted for act 77 with only two against, they introduced a bill to -- you guessed it -- repeal a

mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: thank you, mr. president. now, 68-32, that was the final vote tally last night for the u.s. competition and innovation act, usica, an overwhelming display of bipartisan support, a rarity on a major bill in this senate. the think the final vote reflects the importance of the bill, outcompeting our adversaries, especially the chinese communist party, to strengthening critical supply chains as well our alliances abroad. i believed that future generations will look back on this competition bill as the turning point for american leadership in the 21st century. i think the depth of the bipartisan support reflects the process we took as well. the kernel of the bill is legislation i wrote with todd young, the frontier act. over three weeks the senate considered more than 20 amendments, the vast majority from republicans. in fact, the senate even accepted an amendment from senator paul by voice vote. that doesn't happen touch around here. -- too often around here. excluding budget resolutions, nearly as many

mr. president, this letter written on april 7, 2017 persuasively authored by susan collins and chris coons and signed by more than 60 of our fellow senators, urging senator mcconnell and senator schumer to preserve the existing rules, practices and traditions as they pertain to rights and members to engage in extended debate on legislation. they note that these rules have changed on our executive calendar when we consider judicial nominees or executive branch nominees. but they say we are mindful of the unique role the senate plays in the legislative process and we are steadfastly committed to ensuring that this great institution continues to serve as the world's greatest deliberative body. therefore, we are asking you, senator schumer and senator mcconnell, we are asking you to join us in opposing any effort to curtail the existing rights and prerogatives of senators to engage in full, robust and extended debate as we consider legislation before this body in the future. let me remind you, more than 60 senators signed this. 26 democrats currently serving in the senate signed it, 27 if you include the vice president. let me give you a few notabilities -- notables. the vice president s