mr. thune: mr. president, thank you. good morning, i'd like to begin by acknowledging and thanking pastor bob thune for his opening prayer this morning. it should come as no surprise based on the last name that we are related. he is my nephew. i've been blessed through the years with a rich spiritual heritage as as he. his father and my big brother was the spiritual trailblazer in my family. went on to pastor churches in the midwest and west coast for about 50 years. his son bob, my nephew, is carrying on in that great tradition. bob pastor's church is known as coram deo in omaha, nebraska. its a -- it's latin for presence. god. he proclaim, striewt of the gospel from the pulpit but on a daily basis he and his congregation have at the center of their daily lives the presence of god as they seek to have an impact on their community and their region and on this world. and bob is in many respects as it says in the book of acts fulfilling god's purpose for his generation. and so i am grateful for the spiritual heritage that w

mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, over the past week the world has watched in horror as imperialist russia sets its sights on a sovereign nation in eastern europe. putin's unjustified and unjustifiable war of aggression has already left hundreds dead and created a massive refugee crisis. his non-- as noncombatants flee russian attacks. russia continues to press forward with attacks on several fronts with a focus on the capital city of kiev. but courageous ukranian resistance both from its former military and increasing number of civilians is slowing russia. kiev and other major cities remain under significant pressure and could fall within days but ukraine is demonstrating a fierce resolve and continuing to blunt russian advances. russia has also been a victim of its own deficiencies such as broken supply lines and limited ability to fight at night. and surprisingly, russia's not yet established full air superiority with some ukrainian jets flying and some surface-to-air systems still available. this means,

mr. thune: mr.. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, it took several months and the worst inflation in 40 years, but finally, finally democrats are acknowledging that we have an inflation problem. the president actually acknowledged inflation in his state of the union address last week but, unfortunately, while democrats may finally be talking about inflation, they still don't seem to understand how we got here and they're continuing to push a whole raft of terrible proposals that would hurt working families and make our inflation crisis even worse. so how did we get here, mr. president? why are americans currently struggling with huge grocery bills and big price increases on essential goods? mr. president, it's true that supply chain issues and the reopening of economies after covid shutdowns created certain inflationary pressures. but a big part of

mr. thune. mr. blunt. mr. cruz. missus fischer. this moran. mr. sullivan. mrs. blackburn. mr.. mr. lee. mr. johnson. mrs. capito. mr. scott. ms. cantwell. the nominee will be reported from the committee to the floor. i recognize sutter klobuchar for further motion. next i moved p in 1542 the nomination of maryland to be commissioner of the consumer product safety commission be favorably reported pre- >> is her second? thank you. we expect a roll call vote the clerk will call the rope a christmas klobuchar. mr. blumenthal. mr. shots. mr. markey. mr. peters. ms. baldwin. ms. duckworth. mr. must sinema. ms. rosen. mr. lujan. mr. hickenlooper. mr. warnock. mr. wicker. mr. thune. mr. blunt. mr. cruz. missus fischer. mr. manahan. mr. sullivan. mrs. blackburn. mr. young. mr. lee. mr. johnson. mrs. capito. mr. scott. ms. lummis. ms. cantwell. dominate will be reported out of the committee. i now turn to senator wicker for a motion for. >> madam chair i move we end 15 toy the nomination of the district of columbia to be assistant secretary of commerce and director general of the united

mr. thune: mr.president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. thune: mr. president, friday marked the anniversary of the so-called american rescue plan, which is the democrats' partisan $1.9 trillion spending spree. fittingly, the anniversary arrived one month after february's release of numbers. why do i say fittingly, the anniversary of the american rescue plan is basically the anniversary of our inflation crisis. while reopening of economies after covid's shutdown created certain inflationary pressures, the reason for today's inflation is democrats' decision to pass the american rescue plan last march. mr. president, the definition of inflation is too many dollars chasing too few goods and services. and that's exactly the situation democrats helped create with their so-called american rescue plan. democrats came into office mere weeks after congress had passed a fifth -- fifth bipart

quorum call: mr. thune: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: thank you. are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer:er in a quorum call. mr. thune: i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum calling lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: tax day 2022 is fast approaching and americans are prepping their tax returns. i don't think you'll find that the i.r.s. is americans' favorite government agency. with good reason. the agency that is gained a reputation for poor service. last tax filing season was particularly miserable. if you call the i.r.s., there's only a one in 50 chance that you'll reach a human being, note add headline in "the washington post" last april. the national taxpayer advocate noted in her 2021 report to congress that, quote, calendar another 2021 was surely the most challenging year taxpayers and tax professionals have ever experienced. long processing and refund delays, difficulty reaching the i.r.s. by phone, correspondent sponders that went un-- correspondence that went unprocessed, limited

quorum call: mr. thune: madam president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: in thursday, the february numbers were released. the inflation for february was 7.9%, the highest since january of 1982. 40 years ago, madam president. we're in the grip of the worst inflation in 40 years. american families have been hit hard by this crisis as the price of every day necessities have soared and energy prices, particularly gas prices are one of the top challenging americans. electricity is up 9%, propane, care seen, firewood are up 19%. utility gas services up 23.9% and prices at the gasoline pump are up 13%, the price for gas was dz 4-dz .32, up from $2.46. that's $1.45 per gallon. that's a big problem for american families. that's a big problem for our entire economy. high energy prices don't just have an impact when americans fill up their cars, it affects prices across the economy. it drives up the cost of operating a factory and the cost of raw materia

ther senator from south dakota, mr. thune. the senator from wyoming, mr. barrasso. the senator from iowa, mr. ernst a. the senator from missouri, mr. blunt. and the senator from iowa, mr. grassley. >> the members of the escort committee will exit the chamber through the lobby doors. [background noises] >> madam speaker the dean at the diplomatic board. [applause] [background noises] [background noises] >> madam speaker the chief injustice and associate justices of the supreme court. [applause] [applause] [background noises] [applause] [applause] [applause] >> madam speaker the president's cabinet. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [background noises] [background noises] [background noises] [background noises] : : : [background sounds] [background sounds] [background sounds] [background sounds] [background sounds] [background sounds] [background sounds] [background sounds] >> madame speaker, the president of the united states. [applause] [cheering]

mr. thune: madam president, is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. thune none in february u.s. -- mr. thune: encountered 164,973 individuals trying to cross our southern border illegally, it is the highest february number in more than 20 years. madam president, border encounters over the past decade have generally been low with numbers far under 100,000, but not since president biden was inaugurated. almost from the day the president took office, our nation has been experiencing an unprecedented border surge. fiscal year 2021, the border patrol encountered more than 1.7 million individuals attempting to cross our border, the highest number ever recorded. we had 12 straight months of border crossings in excess of 100,000, and that is those who have succeeded in apprehending. there's no question that many other illegal immigrants have crossed the border in the past year without being apprehend and have disappeared into the united states. the situa

mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, over the past week the world has watched in horror as imperialist russia sets its sights on a sovereign nation in eastern europe. putin's unjustified and unjustifiable war of aggression has already left hundreds dead and created a massive refugee crisis. his non-- as noncombatants flee

mr. thune: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, over the past week the world has watched in horror as imperialist russia sets its sights on a sovereign nation in eastern europe. putin's unjustified and unjustifiable war of aggression has already left hundreds dead and created a massive refugee crisis. his non-- as noncombatants flee russian attacks. russia continues to press forward with attacks on several fronts with a focus on the capital city of kiev. but courageous ukranian resistance both from its former military and increasing number of civilians is slowing russia. kiev and other major cities remain under significant pressure and could fall within days but ukraine is demonstrating a fierce resolve and continuing to blunt russian advances. russia has also been a victim of its own deficiencies such as broken supply lines and limited ability to fight at night. and surprisingly, russia's not yet established full air superiority with some ukrainian jets flying and some surface-to-air systems still availab

mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, the humanitarian crisis in ukraine continues to escalate. americans who walk by a newsstand on monday were met with the wrenching picture of a ukranian family killed by russian shelling. a mom and her two children struck down as they attempted to flee along a main evacuation route from o urpin to kiev, an evacuation route that russia shelled. yesterday the world saw pictures of the devastation after a maternity hospital in mayor powell, ukraine, a maternity hospital, mr. president, fell victim to a russian air strike. president zelensky reported there are children buried under the rubble, children. one newspaper reported and i quote, the bombing took place during what was supposed to be a cease-fire in mariupol so that civilians could evacuate. it marks the fourth time a so-called humanitarian corridor out of the city has failed because russian forces opened fire. end quote. the fourth time a so-called humanitarian corridor out of the city has failed because

mr. thune: madam president, let me just join my friend and colleague and neighbor from across the border, senator klobuchar, in just acknowledging the passage of something that's really important and credit to her staff who i know worked tirelessly on this and members of my staff, in particular chance costello who worked tirelessly trying to find that common ground and thread the needle to get this done in a way that would expedite its passage here in the senate. as senator klobuchar pointed out, the leadership on the commerce committee, senators cantwell and wicker and their staffs also were instrumental in helping us get this across the finish line. but as senator klobuchar pointed out, i think this is a good example of how if you are willing to keep grinding and keep working at it, you can come up with solutions that are bipartisan and solutions that really get at problems we're facing in this country. i don't think anybody would argue that we have a supply chain crisis in america. it's heig

. >> my time is expired but i think, if mr. thune, if senator thune is available that i think it is senator moran. >> thank you, chairman thank you ranking member and are witnesses today for joining us. according to a report issued by the semiconductor industry association, less than 5% of of the global manufacturing share for packaging, assembly and testing is done onshore, onshore of the united states. we have companies in kansas and across the united states that are well-positioned, i know are well-positioned to increase the capacity alongside chip fabricators like intel and micron to address shortage issues for the automotive and other industries. i would ask all three of you, can you comment on importance of having the chip at investment address post-fabrication or downstream part of the semiconductor supply chain to reduce the supply chain and security vulnerabilities? >> overall, the indications are exactly as you say. the package assembly test which is generally more dependent on low labor cost, has even drifted more aggressi

mr. thune: i withdraw. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will proceed to the consideration of s. j. resolution 32 which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 291, s.j. res. 32 providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5 united states code of the rules submitted by the centers for medicare and medicaid services relating to medicare and medicaid programs omnibus covid-19 health care vaccination. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the time until 2:30 p.m. is equally divided between the leaders or their designees. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. markey: thank you, mr. president. are we in a quorum call, mr. president? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. markey: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, as i speak here today on the united states postal service reform act, russian president vladimir putin is waging a cruel, unjust, and barbaric war of choice financed by a global addict

john thune, a big republican leading senate member had the same reaction to bob. why not, mr. 's the person who holds everything together. it's a battle, you know. i'm going to be there. keytruda and chemotherapy meant treating my cancer with two different types of medicine. in a clinical trial, keytruda and chemotherapy was proven to help people live longer than chemotherapy alone. keytruda is used to treat more patients with advanced lung cancer than any other immunotherapy. keytruda may be used with certain chemotherapies as your first treatment if you have advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer and you do not have an abnormal “egfr” or “alk” gene. keytruda helps your immune system fight cancer, but can also cause your immune system to attack healthy parts of your body. this can happen during or after treatment and may be severe and lead to death. see your doctor right away if you have cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, diarrhea, severe stomach pain or tenderness, severe nausea or vomiting, headache, light sensitivity, eye problems, irregular heartbeat, extreme

thune? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate your continued focus on youth mental health, and i appreciate the panel for joining us today, and as i discussed last week when i talked to parents, teachers and school administrators across south dakota addressing the behavioral health needs of students is a big priority. dr. hoover, your testimony you mentioned we need to be looking for more formal partnerships with community behavioral health providers. we have multiple cooperatives in place in my state where schools that are in close enough proximity share a provider but in some circumstances distance is a barrier. do you know of instances where the partnerships you refer to have been formed using telehealth or a combination of in-person and telehealth services and what are the biggest barriers schools or school boards encounter in forming these types of partnerships? >> thank you for the question, senator thune. absolutely we've seen actually tremendous partnerships that rely almost exclusively on telehealth especial

mr. chairman, thank you very much, sir. >> thank you. >> i hear rumors you had a great afro back in your day, too, sir. >> lots of hair. senator thune. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and i assume that all of you are going to be the life of the super bowl party because when matt damon comes on and says fortune favors the brave, you can start riffing about cryptocurrencies. you know it's main stream when professional athletes, some of whom will be participating in this weekend's super bowl like odell beckham, are getting their compensation or at least part of their compensation in the form of crypto. so i'm interested, obviously, as most of my colleagues are, in what's the best approach to make sure that we're not stifling innovation, but that we're regulating digital asset technology in a way that appropriately reflects the risk. so i'll just ask this maybe mr. wer balk, in your view, what would a risk based approach of digital asset regulation look like? >> thank you, senator. that's a very healthy way to look at this, because there's a variety of technologies here. and any entity involved needs to think about what are the different ki

mr. president. i reserve the right to object. i say to senator thune while he's still on the floor, i have great respect for him and his views on all kinds of issues. the presiding officer: senator, there was nothing to object to. mr. carper: all right. then i'll just wait. when i do have the opportunity to object, i want to explain why. having said that, senator thune knows we look for opportunities to work together. this is one of the instances where we don't see entirely eye to eye. mr. president, right now, the american people face two existential threats to our way of life. one is the threat of, really, to our world order, imposed not so much by russia but by putin, the president of that country. the other is the threat of climate change. legislation we're discussing today assumes we must ignore the threats of climate change in order to wean our nation off of foreign oil from countries like russia, but this is a false choice. since the arab oil embargo of 1973, some have argued if we simply drilled more oil, we could be free of the price whiplash

. >> my time is expired but if senator thune isn't available then it's senator moran. >> thank you mrairman and ranking member and witnesses for joining us. according to a report issued by the semi conductor association less than 5% of the manufacturing shared per packaging assembly and testing is done on shore, not on shore in the united states. we have companies certainly in kansas and around the united states that are well positioned to increase the capacity alongside chip applicators to address shortage issues for the automotive and other industries. i would ask all three of you can you comment on the importance of having the chip act investment addressed post fabrication or downstream of the supply chain to reduce the supply chain and vulnerabilities? >> overall the indications are as you say the package assembly tests generally are more dependent on the labor costs as drifting more aggressively to asia. we believe it is critical to restore the integrity of the entire supply chain including advanced packaging and assembling tests are at a minimum north america. pieces of the act

senator cantwell, senator thune and senator menendez and members have been coming in and out. senator cantwell is next in the order. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and continuing on that same theme of young people, ms. lubarsky, the general advisory on mental health, one in half of students had feelings of sadness and hopelessness during the covid pandemic. we already know what our challenges are. the washington hospital association said major depression disorders are leading in the diagnosis in my state. so when it comes to seeking treatment, not everybody gets a fair shot at that. the numbers on individuals with lower income is that they're nearly 20% higher than the rates for those people with higher incomes. so affordability is a factor. i know my colleague, senator stabenow, had a chance to ask questions earlier, but i'm very supportive of her certified community behavioral health clinics. these have been great programs. there are five community clinics in my state that serve low-income populations, and this grant over the past two years has been used to enhance the care of those experiencing mental illness. we really are buildin

mr. zelensky wanted like the air cover, the help in sort of sealing down the military space over the country, that was not going to happen. at least not now. senator john thuneor just out of a very important classified briefing with senate leadership. senator thune, good to have you back. >> thanks, neil. it looks for the time being that the one thing that president zelensky wants and he looks for again and again, whether or not he's taking with representatives from america or canada or the european union is that coverage over ukrainian airspace and to make sure that that is provided, because that will change the odds for ukraine. it's not happening. how do you feel about that? >> to me, neil, this is what they're asking for. i think if we're going to be all in on this and supporting their effort, that they want migs, we ought to give them migs. if they won't drones, give them sams. the ukraines want to carry the fight. let them. if they need these weapon systems, we ought to make it possible for them to help defend the airspace over ukraine. it think at least the speech this morning was very powerful, very effective. everybody had a chance to see it. it was

mr. chairman. and dr. murthy, it's great to see you again, at least remotely. let me pick up on where my colleague, senator hasan, left off about some of these online challenges and i think senator thunetioned this as well. we have broadly bipartisan legislation called the detour act that would prohibit the use of dark patterns not only for kids but also for adults, the ability of these platforms to kind of lure you in and no way to opt out. we've all seen click here and no other exit vehicle. our legislation as well specifically prohibits companies from using some of these manipulative features for children under 13. i know, dr. murthy, you've kind of addressed this, but this kind of legislation, i don't want to be hitting you cold, you may not have seen it, but the idea of looking at manipulative tools and dark patterns has got to be part of this effort going forward. >> senator, it's good to see you virtually as well again. i do think that there are potentially harmful tools and algorithms like on some of these platforms which can lure young people further and further down harmful paths, which can -- and that can have adverse impacts on their mental health and well-being. we need t

mr. thune: madam president. madam president, is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. thune: i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: madam president, the senate commerce committee recently voted on the nomination of gigi sohn to be a member of the federal communications commission. i voted against her nomination as did the 13 other republican committee members. i was deeply disappointed that not one of my democrat colleagues on the committee stepped forward to affirm what should be glaringly obvious. that ms. sohn is not an appropriate candidate for the position on the federal communications commission. madam president, one substantial concern i have with ms. sohn's nomination is her extreme position on net neutrality. in 2014 the obama administration decided the federal government wasn't regulating the internet enough. in 2015 the obama administration passed a legislation which dramatically

mr. thune: it's been 40 years since the 2018 farm bill. the house agriculture committee has begun holding hearings on the 2023 farm bill and i'm hoping the senate agriculture committee will begin holding hearings as well. agriculture is the lifeblood of our economy in south dakota, and advocating for farmers and ranchers is one of my top priorities in the senate. i'm fortunate enough to be a long time member of the agriculture committee which gives me an important platform. during my time in congress i've worked on four farm bills and i'm particularly proud of the nearly 20 measures i was able to get included in the 2018 farm bill. among other things i authored provisions to improve the agriculture risk coverage program, improve the accuracy of the u.s. drought monitor, and include soil health as a research priority at the u.s. department of agriculture. i was also able to secure a number of improvements in the conservation reserve program including a provision to increase the c.r.p. age raj -- acreage cap and cost sharing on c.r.p. enroll