mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: i have nine requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. durbin: mr. president, just about every week now, we learn something new and deeply troubling about the justices serving on the supreme court. the highest court in the land in the united states and their conduct outside the courtroom. from unreported luxury getaways with billionaire benefactors who have business before the court, to donor-funded teaching positions that double as all expense paid vacations, to a political megadonor buying a home that belongs to a justice's relative and then allowing that relative to continue living there rent free. we've learned all of this in just a few months. and last week another troubling report. according to the associated press, justice sotomayor used her taxpayer funded court staff to help sell copies of her book. in particular by pressing libraries, communit

mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mrs. feinstein. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative, braun, britt, collins, ernst, graham, hyde-smith, is kennedy, lee, lummis, marshall, mcconnell, pa

mr. durbin, aye. the presiding officer: mr. cruz, no. the clerk: mr. cruz, no. the clerk: mr. tester, aye. the clerk: mr. daines, no. vote: the clerk: mr. markey, aye. the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye. the clerk: mr. booker, aye. the clerk: mr. risch, no. the clerk: mr. schatz, aye. the clerk: mr. menendez, aye. the presiding officer: the yeas are # 55, the nays are 44, the motion is agreed to. the clerk: nomination, environmental protection agency, david m. uhlmann, to be assistant administrator. the presiding officer: the senate will proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to calendar number 119, s. 2226. the presiding officer: the clerk: , motion to proceed to calendar number 119, zest 226, a bill to authorize military activities at the department of defense. 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 ru

mr. durbin: mr. president, just about every week now, we learn something new and deeply troubling about the justices serving on the supreme court. the highest court in the land in the united states and their conduct outside the courtroom. from unreported luxury getaways with billionaire benefactors who have business before the court, to donor-funded teaching positions that double as all expense paid vacations, to a political megadonor buying a home that belongs to a justice's relative and then allowing that relative to continue living there rent free. we've learned all of this in just a few months. and last week another troubling report. according to the associated press, justice sotomayor used her taxpayer funded court staff to help sell copies of her book. in particular by pressing libraries, community colleges, and other public institutions to buy additional copies of her memoir and children's books in conjunction with her speaking engagements. let me tell you, if i or any member of the senate fai

mr. durbin, aye. ms. klobuchar, aye. ms. hirono, aye. the clerk: mrs. feinstein, aye. mr. menendez, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. padilla, aye. the presiding officer: the ayes are 53, the nays are 46. the nominee is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. under the previous order, the senate will resume legislative session for the consideration of s. 2226, which the the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 119, s. 22267 of 6, a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for the department of defense and so forth and for other purposes. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: i ask for six minutes for debate. borrow without objection. mr. cruz: i call up my amendment numbered 926. the presiding officer: roich. the clerk: senator from texas for himself and others proposes amendment 926. mr. cruz: this is a bipartisan bill. this is a cruz-manchin-ernst fetterman bill, which demonstrat

mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be suspended -- suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: with vladimir putin's ruthless invasion of ukraine and the new threats of a.i. and emerging technologies, america's military readiness has never been more important, that's why i'm pleased to speak in support of the national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2024. i want to thank senator reed and senator wicker for their leadership and staff work, and because of that, the senate will vote on the ndaa that will defend our nation's interests and support our allies. for the 63rd year in a row, this bipartisan agreement will authorize necessary funding for our nation's security. i hope we'll pass it without delay. this year's national defense authorization act authorizes a top line of nearly $886 billion, including $884 billion for the pentagon. this is a $28 billion increase compared t

mr. young. the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative. baldwin, durbin grassley, hickenlooper, kaine, lujan, lummis, menendez, merkley, murray, reed, rosen, schumer, scott of south carolina, sinema, tester,, whitehouse. mr. lankford voted in the negative. the clerk: mr. hagerty, aye. the clerk: ms. hassan, aye. mr. heinrich, aye. the clerk: mr. manchin, aye. the clerk: mrs. feinstein, aye. the clerk: mr. crapo, aye. mr. ricketts, aye. mr. graham, aye. the clerk: mrs. hyde-smith, aye. mr. peters, aye. vote: vote: the clerk: mr. cassidy, aye. the clerk: mr. cornyn, aye. the clerk: mr. carper, aye. mr. brown, aye. mr. van hollen, aye. the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye. the clerk: mr. paul, aye. the clerk: mr. cotton, aye. mr. warner, aye. mrs. gillibrand, aye. the clerk: mr. cramer, aye. mr. tillis, aye. mr. budd, aye. the clerk: mr. thune, aye. the clerk: mr. tuberville, no. the clerk: mr. braun, aye. ms. duckworth, aye. the clerk: mr. johnson, aye. mr. marshall, aye. the clerk: mr. boozman, aye. mr. booker, aye. mr. vance, aye. the clerk: ms. capito, aye. mr

mr. durbin: yesterday the associated press published a series of articles detailing a range of ethical failures by the supreme court of the united states. the report's detailed justices involved

mr. durbin. the senator from washington, ms. the senator from michigan, ms. stabenow. the senator from minnesota, ms. klobuchar. the senator from wisconsin, ms. baldwin. the senator from new jersey, mr. the senator from nevada, ms. rosen. the senator from kentucky, mr. mcconnell. the senator from south dakota, mr. thune. the senator from wyoming, mr. barrasso. the senator from west virginia, mrs. capito. the senator from iowa, ms. ernst. the senator from montana, mr. danes. the senator from iowa, mr. grassley. the senator from idaho, mr. risch. the speaker: the members of the escort committee will exit the chamber through the lobby doorls. doors. >> mr. speaker, the acting dean of the diplomatic corps. sarj the sergeant at arms: mr. speaker, the president of the state of israel. the speaker: members of congress, i have the high privilege and distint honor to -- distinct honor to introduce to you his excellency, isaac herzog, president of the state of israel. president herzog: madam vice president, mr. speaker, on november 10, 1987, i was sitting at home with my wife exp

mr. durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: madam president, i got home last night, or at least got back to washington last night at midnight after completing a whirlwind trip of three days to lithuania. i went there on a bipartisan delegation to be present for the nato summit. it was an historic meeting. president biden was there. the leaders of many countries from around the world, not just the nato allies, but, for instance, the president of the republic of south korea and the prime minister from australia. what brought them all together was an historic event. the nato alliance, which has been in existence for over 70 years, was created after world war ii to bring peace to at least the european and american region of the world. it has been successful because we gathered nations, now 31, together in common purpose to fight off anyone who would attack us, to let those who are thinking of attacking us know the heavy price they would pay. so the message from lithuania to vladimir putin this week is not a good one for him.

mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mrs. feinstein. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. senators voting in the affirmative, budd, cornyn, cruz, lankford, and rounds. senators voting in the negative, blumenthal, duckworth, fetterman,

mr. durbin, mr. feingold, mrs. feinstein, mr. ford... - was there, like, an uproar when this happened? like, a big headline at the time? - there was no headline. in fact, i don't think most congressmen even knew that it happened until probably weeks, months, or maybe even years afterwards. - the bill i will sign in a few moments will enhance the economic strength of america. - they did this massive change to the economy that would affect all these people, and no one noticed? - it was very sneaky what they did. it was two lines slipped in, in conference committee under the dark of night. - there it is... the two lines of legal mumbo jumbo that would alter the economy for multiple generations, almost entirely. - technically, the bankruptcy code says if it represents an undue hardship, you can get a discharge. - undue hardship? [chuckles] that shouldn't be too hard to prove. - well, the courts have interpreted that saying that means there's no hope of repaying. - what do you mean there's supposed to be no hope? - they have to have such a condition you'd never want to have to get the stude

mr. chairman. >> thank you senator durbin. senator blumenthal. >> thank you senator ossoff for having this hearing. as one of the authors of the sesta fosta bill, i am proud of that legislation. what you are talking about needs to be addressed but that is not a reason not to address the victims of a plethora of people's that tech platforms no they are enabling and propagating and empowering. as somebody who has written a variety of legislation and enforced it, legislation can never be wholly good. we have to accept there will be other consequences intended or unintended that we need to safeguard against. let me just come right to the point here. we have had a number of hearings. one of them involving sam altman. you referred to it. in that hearing and in the subsequent hearing in the committee on intellectual property and copyright, everybody agreed section 230 does not apply to ai. do members of this panel disagree? and if so please -- >> i do not agree or disagree, i do not know. now, how do we interpret it from the legal pe

mr. blackburn. durbin? 21 -- kennedy monmouth is agreed, two for their moments are coming before the committee. similarly. >> i would like you to call up my amendment. a sigh of 23890. purpose of this amendment is pretty simple. when a federal crime for -- confidential judicial work product. through an unauthorized person. this is something that we could be punishable by a fine of up to $24,000 and ten years in prison. the aim is also last for the criminal forfeiture of all proceeds. from having engaged in this kind of criminal behavior. it's important that we take care of this, because if we saw what the leaked draft of the jobs opinion, but leaked draft opinion is hard for me to speak in the plural in this respect. never in the history of the supreme court of the united states has occurred at least in this way. prior to the dobbs case. part of the dobbs case there is been a handful of circumstances in which rumors could of the court suggesting that a particular case was going to be decided this way or tha

do you agree that dick durbin should do away with the process? mr. jeffries: i agree the senate should do away with the process. reporter: good morning. obviously you're concerned about this right tilt on the abortion issue and transgender issue in the armed services. how do democrats -- [indiscernible] -- from a political stance? obviously democrats were very successful in running on the dobbs decision last year. seeing a vote like that and seeing some of these efforts to get woke policies out of the military, how do you then turn that around against the republicans? mr. jeffries: it was shocking to me that the so-called moderates from new york and all across the country, like anthony d'esposito, nick lalota, molinaro and of course george santos, among others, who do all that they can to project moderation, we're reasonable, we're not part of team extreme, but every single opportunity they have to vote with the american people, to vote with the women of this country, to vote with team reasonable, team normal, team america, that's the house democrati

and you know, to answer a little bit more the question that chairman durbin asked of mr. sample, professor sample, you know, the supreme court has a mistake. you may regard it as a mystique not justified in fact, but it is a credibility. a trust. a confidence that is so necessary for a court composed of nine people, unelected, presiding for life, and able to strike down the will of a democratically elected congress, it is extraordinary and democracy. and so, i am really just baffled by chief justice, roberts. because he should know better. and this controversy could be defused, if he were willing to lead. and obviously, we have asked him to lead. again and again and again. and the failure to take the reins here, which could easily supplant these kinds of measures, if he were to voluntarily impose some code of ethics, and there would be enforcement questions. but at least there would be a code of ethics and the judicial conflict, someone could enforce it. you know, i don't want to be unfair to any particular justice, because i recognize these questions can be asked of any

when justice roberts declined the invitation of chairman durbin that his letter was signed by the entire court? we're all of you aware of that? mr. fogel, do you think that was a wise decision? >> thank, you senator. i think, i said in my statement that i respect it. i think it was sincere. i think the problem, and i think it is significant. i will grant that that it was signed by all nine of the justices. >> that is my point -- i just want people to understand that the court, as a whole, has no problem with this. whether they are right or wrong -- >> and sorry, senator. i wanted to share one other thing if it was all right. i think it is significant that they all signed it. i think it does not suggest that that is what all of them would do. it is a point where they all reach. >> you and mr. payne mention something that struck a nerve with me. i'm not micromanaging the courts but when you look at what the other brand to do versus the court, mr. payne says it is obvious that they have a lower threshold, is that right? >> that is correct. >> i would urge the court to take this moment to instill more public confidence. i am not agr

mr. durbin: mr. president, just about every week now, we learn something new and deeply troubling about the justices serving on

mr. durbin: yesterday the associated press published a series of articles detailing a range of ethical failures by the supreme court of the united states. the report's detailed justices involved in fundraising at colleges and universities, the use of supreme court staff members to push sales of books, donor funded teaching positions that double as all expense paid vacations. the supreme court is now on recess. i wish them many sunny days, but even if the sun is shining there is still a shadow over the supreme court. for several months now there's been a steady flow of reports documenting how the members of our nation's highest court have failed to live up to the public trust that they have been given. justice clarence thomas has traveled the world on billionaire harlan crow's yacht and private jet. crow bought the home of justice thomas' mother and allowed her to continue living there rent free. he even paid for the education of justice thomas' p minor relative. mon of this was included in justice thomas' financial disclosure forms. justice samuel alito took a luxury fishing trip to alaska. he