mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: leader schumer. mr. schumer: i would just like to welcome our chaplain back. we're glad he's with us and in good health, and wish him and all of us a happy new year. the vice president: the chair lays before the senate the certificates of the election of 32 senators elected for six-year terms, beginning on january 3, 2025. all certificates, the chair is advised, are in the form suggested by the senate, or contain all the essential requirements of the form suggested by the senate. if there be no objection, the reading of the certificates will be waived, and they will be printed in full in the record. if the senators to be sworn will now present themselves at the desk in groups of four as their names are called in alphabetical order, the chair will administer their oates of office -- their oaths of office. the chair will read the names of the first group. the clerk: ms. alsobrooks, ms. baldwin, mr. banks, mr. barrasso. the vice president: please raise your hand. do you solemnly swear that you will support a

mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, two months after americans rejected his presidency and policies, president biden is doubling down. last week he unveiled a new front in his war on american energy. a sweeping ban on new offshore oil and gas development covering the entire east coast and large portions of the west coast, the eastern gulf of mexico, and parts of the northern bering sea in alaska. all told, all told, he's closing off more than 625 million acres to new oil and gas development on top of the bans that were already in place. mr. president, the president's decision last week was particularly notable for its size and for the clear snub to american voters. but this is just the latest in a long series of actions by the president hostile to conventional energy development. a pause on approvals of liquefied natural gas exports, a sharp decline in leases issued for oil and natural gas on public lands and waters, restrictions on drilling in large areas of the national petroleum reserve in alaska. the cance

mr. president the list goes on. mr. president past years i've listened to speeches delivered by other leaders welcoming members to the congress and the discussing the agenda for the coming months and i find myself in the position of delivering that speech. my republican colleagues have trusted me to lead our party in the senate in the next congress and i will work every day to be worthy of that trust. my velocity leadership comes from my dad.da he was al basketball coach at or high school and had very strong opinions about the right wayut o play. sports to him was not about personal glory. it's about elevating the team. he ball. someone else was in a better position to take the shot he always made the extra pass. it's an attitude which i've tried to carry with me throughout my life. it's an attitude i intend to carry with me through all this. my job is to be of service so my colleagues into our country. mr. president i'm here today addressing the senate in this role because of the confidence my colleagues continue. i'm h

mr. president, for giving me the floor. mr. president, excellencies, allow me to congratulate the united states of america for including among the signature events of its presidency and the essential topic and one of great relevance to our lives as states, governments and citizens of the contemporary world. this inclusion demonstrates a commitment to addressing crucial efforts that arc fact us all in seeking collaborative solutions to global challenges. our thanks is extended to his excellency antonio guterres and the secretary-general of the united nations for his briefing on artificial intelligence and the vision and the guidance that his excellency, effectively general of the united nations has it to be adopted this relation to artificial intelligence are essential and they lead to continuous reflection on societies. mr. president, as mozambique's term in the security council is about to end, i would like to express on behalf of his excellency, the president of the republic of mozambique, on beful that of the government of mo

mr. president, the list goes on. mr. president, in past years i've listened to speeches delivered by leaders welcoming the new congress and discussing the agenda for coming months. i now find myself in the position of delivering that speech. republican lg colleagues trusted me to lead our part in the senate in the next congress and i will work every day to be worthy of that trust. my philosophy of leadership comes from my dad. he was a basketball coach at our high school and had very strong opinions about the right way to play. sports to him was not billion personal glory -- was not about personal glory. it was about elevating the team. he hated ball hogs. if someone else was in a better position to take the shot you always made the extra pass. you have didn't try to pad your own statistics. it's an attitude which i've tried to carry with me throughout my life. it's an attitude i intend to carry with me to the leader office. my job is to be of service to my colleagues and to our country. mr. president, i'm here today addr

mr. president, secretary blink en. let me also thank the united states presidency for convening this important high-level meeting on artificial intelligence. i thank you antonio guter eshg guterres, secretary-general of the u.n. the topic for today's briefing is not only timely but highly relevant. as we acknowledge the significant implications of a.i. on the global landscape and president-day realities. this includes the potential to transform societies and economies and the risk it poses to peace and security particularly when misapplied in military context. the rapid development of a.i. technology highlighted in outcomes of ongoing international dialogue including the secretary-general's july 2023 policy brief. on the global digital compact and the future. the general assembly resolution led by the united states and china. presents opportunities and challenges. address global issues within the framework of development. however, as a.i. becomes increasingly persuasive, its ability to disrupt peace and security. a.i.

mr. president, the list goes on. mr. president, past years i listen to speeches welcome members and discussing the agenda for the coming months. i now find myself in the position of delivering that speech. republican collective trust me too lead a part in the senate in the next congress. i will work every day to be worthy of that trust by the philosophy of leadership comes my daddy was a basketball coach at her high school at strong opinions about the right way to play sports amazon about personal glory. it was about elevating the team he hated fault talk to someone else in a better position to take this you always made the extrau pass you did not try to pad your own statistics is an attitude which i tried to carry with me throughout my life. it's an attitude i carry to the office. my job is to be of service to my colleagues into our country mr. president here to address in the senate in this role because of the confidence my colleagues have placed in me. but i'm here first of all because of the confidence placed in me by

mr. president, madam vice president. i mean, you and i, sir, have traveled many different disasters, and i can say from what i've seen here yesterday that this is certainly one of the most destructive that you and i have had to deal with during our time here. i had a chance yesterday to talk with the governor and the mayor to hear some of their immediate concerns, but mostly to start to talk about what this recovery is going to look like. i had an opportunity to get briefings from the incident command post both at the palisades fire as well as the eaton fire, and madam vice president, i had a chance to drive through all to dena -- drive through altadina and see just what the heart of this community is by hearing from the local officials and just witness the amount of loss that they are experiencing and going through. i mean, in addition to the thousands of structures that we hear about that are gone, many of those homes, an entire small business district, a booming business district in altadena that has just been burnt t

mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. president. presiding officer: the senate majority leader -- the president pro tempore: the senate majority leader. mr. thune: i understand there's bill at the desk. i ask for its first reading. the president pro tempore: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 5, the bill to require the secretary of homeland security to take into custody aliens charged in the united states with theft and for other purposes. mr. thune: mr. president, i now ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the calendar under provisions of rule 14 i object to my own request. the president pro tempore: objection is heard. the bill will be read for a second time on the next legislative day. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that upon dissolution of the joint session today, the senate stand adjourned until 11:00 a.m., tuesday, january 7, that following the prayer and pledge the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders reserved fo

mr. president. mr. president, two months ago the american people gave republicans a clear mandate. a mandate to get america back on track. senate republicans won 53 seats. the house of representatives, republicans in the majority. and president trump won a historic victory. he won all seven of the battleground states, and he won the popular vote. the victory was decisive. starting it week republicans are going to begin to deliver on the pan date. -- on the mandate. just heard the minority leader in the senate talking about what are republicans going to do to help the american people. i'm going to talk about that because i want to contrast it to what the outgoing president is doing right now in using his final days in office. the democrat president would is leaving is trying to put in place left-wing dangerous policies, policies that have been rejected by the american voters, and policies that are going to make it more expensive for american voters to live their lives. these policies will make america les

mr. president. the president pro tempore: the senate democratic leader. mr. schumer: mr. president, four years ago today, i stood on this very spot, alongside my colleagues, as we prepared to certify the 2020 election. as we were going about our business, all of a sudden i felt a hand pull my collar. my security detail gripped me by the arm and told me we had to get out. a mob of rioters had broken into the capitol, and that we were not safe. i looked to the podium and saw vice president pence quickly rushed out of the chamber by his detail. as we evacuated, accompanied by two of the capitol police officers, we took a turn down the hallway, opened the door, and came within several yards of angry rioters, before my security detail pulled us away to safety. we were maybe within 20 feet of them. had one of them loblgd the door or had a -- locked the door or had a gun, lord knows what would have happened. thus began one of the darkest, most shameful days in american history of our democracy. that was four years ago today. less than an hour from now, the house and senate shall

mr. president. she is on the way, mr. resident, to puerto rico again on an official visit given the island wide black out there and doing everything we can to help on that. and of course, again per your guidance we are doing everything we can to help work with partners including our utility partners but also federal partners as well. as is just coming into this meeting important to note these are actual outages. powers has been disrupted because of the fire but proactive shut offices as you mentioned as well. you have two main utilities out there in the los angeles department of water and power. concluding with their ceos as well including calls to them just a few hours ago to make sure were doing everything we can to help. we are coordinating with those utilities and utilities literally across the country to make sure we have all of the capabilities and the federal government that are utility partners to provide that. i want to thank you, mr. president. you join a call a couple months ago with liz and her secretary to tha

is that _ mr president, you are donald trump? is that a _ mr president, you are donald trump?oke? — mr president, you are donald trump? is that a joke? but— mr president, you are donald trump? is that a joke?— is that a joke? but donald trump's ressure is that a joke? but donald trump's pressure on _ is that a joke? but donald trump's pressure on israel _ is that a joke? but donald trump's pressure on israel as _ is that a joke? but donald trump's pressure on israel as well - is that a joke? but donald trump's pressure on israel as well as - is that a joke? but donald trump'sl pressure on israel as well as hamas to seal the deal before his return to seal the deal before his return to the white house next week might have made a decisive difference. joe biden put the pan on the table last may. with guards in ruins, the point from the president that the palestinians have a path to their own state is wishful thinking. the israeli government says security depends on military power, not allowing palestinian independence. after 15 months of war in gaza, the conflict which has lasted

mr. president. i am here to provide you a brief own significant fires that have occurred near the city of los angeles. we are focusing on the palisades fire. that fire broke out yesterday morning around 10:30. we did pre-deploy a number of resources. we knew there was the potential for a significant threat to our constituents due to the weather event. high wind. we pre-deployed, with that we had a significant amount of fire that occurred. we had an aggressive fire attack. the fire has grown from the original 10 acres to 10,802 acres. it is an active active firefight with firefighters doing their very best to protect the people in this area. we can't say enough because of the wind and the low humidity, a second fire also broke out, just north of that area. this was close to 11,000 acres. this is close to 500 acres that also broke out. the information i wanted to share with you is also the significance of multiple fires in the area for the city and also the county. that is the second fire that actuall

the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. braun: mr. president. mr. young: mr. president.spending his final days in office on a valed valed valedictory tour. here's one accomplishment he won't mention, a crisis on our southern border which spread across across our country flooding our communities with fentanyl and cost innocent american lives. it's correct to call this one of president biden's accomplishments. he intentionally reversed the trump administration's border policies as soon as he reached the oval office. and it was by design, by design, mr. president, that millions of migrants who illegally crossed our southern border were released into our country. this self-inflicted disaster will be a major part of president biden's ignominious legacy, and it is in part why americans chose to return president trump to office in november. when the american people voted for a republican president and a republican congress, they remember voting to restore the rule of law at the border. they remember demanding -- they remember demanding that their government fulfill its constitu

mr. president, mr. president, mr. president, two questions related to each other. >> first, you id on your first y of office. you're going to pardon nuary h. defendants. are you planning to pardon those who were charged with violentffenses? >> well, we're looking at it anwe he other people in there.nd as you see, i guess 24 or 28 people came now from the fbi that came out very quietly. nobody reported it, but they had people in some form related to the fbi. they strongly related to the fbi. we have to find out about that. we have to find out about hezbollah. wha tfind out about who exactly was in that whole thing, because people that did some bad ings were not prosecuted. you know, i see it all t time, and you see it to people at were doing some bad things, weren't prosecuted, and people tt didn't en lk into the building are in jail right now. so we'll be looking at the whole thi. but i'll be making major pardons. yes, please. just one more followp question, plse. >> on jack smith's port. >> good afternoon, mr. preside

mr. smith: would you repeat that question for president carter? mr. hilliard: yes. earners in this country, especially the young, are supporting a social security system that continues to affect their income drastically. the system is fostering a struggle between young and old and is drifting the country toward a polarization of these two groups. how much longer can the young wage earner expect to bear the ever-increasing burden of the social security system? pres. carter: as long as there is a democratic president in the white house, we will have a strong and viable social security system, free of the threat of bankruptcy. although governor reagan has changed his position lately, on four different occasions, he has advocated making social security a voluntary system, which would, in effect, very quickly bankrupt it. i noticed also in the wall street journal early this week, that a preliminary report of his task force advocates making social security more sound by reducing the adjustment in social security for the retired people to compensate for the impact of infla

mr. president. the presiding officer: the speaker pro tem. mr. grassley: i would like to speak for one minute in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: january 9, is national law enforcement appreciation day. today, as well as every day, we should give our thanks to the nation's men and women in blue. i make this practice. whenever i see a police officer, i always try to stop and say two things -- i'm not for defunding the police, and i proud to back the blue or i say it in another way, thank you for maintaining the peace. as chamber of the senate judiciary committee, you can be sure that i'll continue my work to protect and support law enforcement in both iowa and nationwide. the judiciary committee always accomplishes issues supporting police in a bipartisan series of bills most often in the month of may. to our law enforcement friends, all senators say, thank you for your selfless service. may god bless you and may god protect you. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum

mr. president. [inaudible] >> good morning president biden for thank you for being here. last week we began receiving reports the national weather service about a significant weather event the 20 hit southern california. this is not something that is a surprise to us in southern california. it is something we were well prepared for. based on those predictive conditions of wind gusts up to 100 miles an hour, we began increasing our staffing of local, state, federal agencies. hundreds of firefighters began moving on a sunday afternoon from northern california into southern california but local partners began up to staffing their own fire station. helicopters, fire engines, hand crews to be better for an incident that occurred with those resources were pre-position and counties throughout southern california for an event just like this. on tuesday morning the palisades fire again. i like to introduce you to chief who will touch on the palisades fire. >> thank you. thank you so much mr. president. we are provide you fires that have occurred in the city of los angeles. with th

mr. president, we're in trouble. talk to us about blood and sweat and tears. if you lead, mr. ident, we will follow." many people talked about themselves and about the condition of our nation. this from a young woman in pennsylvania, "i feel so far from government. i feel like ordinary people are excluded from political power." and this from a young chicano, "some of us have suffered from recession all our lives. some people have wasted energy, but others haven't had anything to waste." and this from a religious leader, "no material shortage can touch the important things like god's love for us or our love for one another." and i like this one particularly, from a black woman who happens to be the mayor of a small mississippi town, "the big-shots are not the only ones who are important. remember, you can't sell anything on wall street unless someone digs it up somewhere else first." this kind of summarized a lot of other statements, "mr. president, we are confronted with a moral and a spiritual crisis." several of our discussions were on energy, and i have a notebook full of co

mr. president. she is on the way, mr. resident, tope puerto rico on an official visit given the islandwide blackout. per your guidance we are doing everything we can to help working with partners including our utility partners but other federal partners as well. as of just coming into the meeting, there is a little more than 400 thousand customer outages in california. these are actual outages, power that has been disrupted because of the fire, but also proactive shutoffs to prevent fire rig nation and the spread of fire. we have he you will mean utilities. we are in close and continuing contact including what their ceos. including calls with them a few hours ago to make sure we are doing everything we can doubt. we are coordinating with those utilities and utilities across the country to make sure we have all of the capabilities and the federal government. thank you, mr. president. you joined a call a couple of months ago do thank all of these utilities ceos. we have a program called mutual assistance. all of the utilitie

mr. smith: president carter? mr. carter: i mentioned the radical departure of governor reagan from the principles or ideals of historical perspective of his own party. i don't think that can be better illustrated than in the case of guaranteeing women equal rights under the constitution of our nation. for 40 years, the republican party platforms called for guaranteeing women equal rights with a constitutional amendment. six predecessors of mine who served in the oval office called for this guarantee of women's rights. governor reagan and his new republican party have departed from this commitment, a very severe blow to the opportunity for women to finally correct discrimination under which they have suffered. when a man and a women do the same amount of work, a man gets paid $1.00, a women only gets paid 59 cents. and the equal rights amendment only says that equality of rights shall not be abridged for women by the federal government or by the state governments. that is all it says a simple guarantee of equality of

mr. valeriani, a question for president ford. mr. valeriani: mr. president, the policy of your administration is to normalize relations with mainland china. and that means establishing at some point full diplomatic relations and obviously doing something about the mutual defense treaty with taiwan. if you are elected, will you move to establish full diplomatic relations with peking, and will you abrogate the mutual defense treaty with taiwan? and, as a corollary, would you provide mainland china with military equipment if the chinese were to ask for it? mr. ford: our relationship with the people's republic of china is based upon the shanghai communique, of 1972, and that communique, calls for the normalization of relations between the united states and the people's republic. it doesn't set a times schedule. it doesn't make a determination as to how that relationship should be achieved in relationship to our current uhh diplomatic recognition and obligations to the taiwanese government. the shanghai communique, does say that the differences between t

mr. president. so what is happening in los angeles is truly heartbreaking, and there's an extraordinary amount of trauma that so many people are experiencing through loss of life, loss of their homes, loss of normalcy, and what i would ask is that on this day 7 of the fires in the midst of the extraordinary exhaustion that everyone is feeling on so many levels, that we stay vigilant. the next 48 hours, as we will hear, are very critical. the winds are going to pick up with wind gusts that may reach as much as 70 miles per hour. and so this is the time that everyone must be vigilant. follow whatever orders you are receiving from your local authorities. if you are in any area where you may be called to evacuate, collect your belongings that you would want to take in the tragic event that you have to evacuate, and please be ready and prepared in that event. lots of people who still have a home who are under evacuation order, i know you want to get back home, but this is the time to be patient. there is

mr. valeriani, a question for president ford. mr. valeriani: mr. president, the government accounting office has just put out a report suggesting that you shot from the hip in the mayaguez rescue mission and that you ignored diplomatic messages saying that a peaceful solution was in prospect. why didn't you do more diplomatically at the time; and a related question: did the white house try to prevent the release of that report? mr. ford: the white house did not prevent the release of that report. on july twelfth of this year, we gave full permission for the release of that report. i was very disappointed in the fact that the gao released that report because i think it interjected political partisan politics at the present time. but let me comment on the report. somebody who sits in washington, d.c., eighteen months after the mayaguez incident, can be a very good grandstand quarterback. and let me make another observation. this morning, i got a call from the skipper of the mayaguez. he was furious because he told me that it was the action of me, pres

mr. president. i'm here just to provide you a brief on three significant fires that have occurred within the city of los angeles. with that, i'm going to be focusing on the palisades fire. that fire broke out yesterday morning around 1030. we did pre-deploy a number of resources. we knew this was there was a potential for a significant threat to our constituents due to the weather event. high, high, high winds. i've never seen the winds in my 25 year career, so we leaned forward as much as possible and pre-deployed with that, we had a significant amount of fire that fire attack. the fire has grown from originally ten acres to 10,802 acres as we speak. it's an active, active fire fight with our firefighters, and they're doing their very best to protect our people within this area. interestingly enough, because of the winds and the low humidity, we had a second fire also break out, and that was the hurst fire, which is just north of that area. again, this was close to 11,000 acres. this is close to 50

mr. president. [applause] with president biden working by our side, senate democrats confirmed 235 judges, more than any majority have confirmed in decades. this is historic. we confirmed more judges then were confirmed under the previous administration, something no one thought we could do. in fact we confirmed more judges than under any administration going back decades. when people look back at the most consequential accomplishments of the last four years, two things will stand out. the legislation we passed between 2021-'22 and the historic judges reconfirmed to the bench. now these are amazing accomplishments. even more importantly, these judges come just in time. our democracy faces an uncertain future. many people are rightly worried. we hear incoming leaders saying things about undercutting the wellsprings of democracy, that make many americans anxious. the good news is these judges will be a barrier against attacks on our democratic institutions. at the district level, these judges will have

mr. president, let's get it done. mr. president, before i yield the floor, let me, let me say i understand that there is a bill at the desk that is due for a second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for a second time. the clerk: h.r. 23, an act to impose sanctions with respect to the international criminal court, and so forth. mr. thune: mr. president, in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14 i would object to further proceeding. the presiding officer: objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. durbin: mr. president, later today the senate will vote on the motion to proceed to legislation known as the laken riley act. the loss of a child is something no parent should have to endure. my thoughts and prayers are with the family of laken riley by every measure an outstanding young woman. we should do everything possible to make sure this type of tragedy never occurs again, but i do have concerns about some of the language

mr. president. mr. president many senators used his pulpit to wax poetic but only on special occasions do i quote poetry. my former college friend of several decades in the nation's 46 present feels appropriate to do so. quote history says don't hope on the side of the grave. once-in-a-lifetime to long for tidal of justice can rise up and hope and history rhyme. some of president biden's favorite by poet seamus haney. as i reflect on this time in our nations highest office i think it's only right to use these words again. over the course of his long service to this country president joseph biden has been the source of hope and an author of history. and just as haney observe he's become one of the rare leaders amid hope and history right in america's better for it. over the decades i've found president joe biden. he's proven to be one of the finest public servants america has seen. coming from humble beginnings he worked hard and put himself in positions to give back to this nation that is given so much t

mr. president, i yield the floor. i'd ask unanimous consent that the senate stand in recess pursuant to the previous order. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate stands in >> we saw lawmakers giving floor speeches. this afternoon senators will be making their way to the capitol for a ceremony to honor former president jimmy carter whose body will be lying in state for the next two days. you can see live coverage of the ceremony across the c-span platforms and live coverage of the senate when members return here on c-span2. >> president jimmy carter the 39th president of the united states and the nation's longest lived leader passed away last month at the age of 100. joint c-span for live coverage of the state funeral. today his journey continues to washington, d.c. where he will lie in state of the u.s. capitol rotunda with the service attended by members of congress. the public will again have a chance to honor him wednesday as his body remains in state at the u.s. capitol. on thursday the national fune

mr. president? we've seen there that there's been a severe reaction against the opposition among the leadership, significantly different than egypt. what do you think will transpire there in the coming days? pres. carter: you remember about eight or nine years ago, there was an honest and fair election in iran and a very moderate president was elected. and he served until netanyahu became president. probably netanyahu was elected fairly the first time when he took office, but then in this last election there's great doubts about whether it was an honest election. the ultimate power in iran is, obviously, religious. the ayatollah in iran makes the ultimate decisions, even vetoing what netanyahu, the elected president, says he would like to do on many occasions. so i don't really see any prospect at this time as much as we would like to see it of a president being elected that's not approved directly by the religious leaders. as a matter of fact, even in previous elections that i just described in a f

mr. president -- >> democratic leader. sen. schumer: first let me concur on the remarks my colleague made about the tragedies in new orleans, and on the west coast, and in las vegas. we regret that. i also want to say a word about jimmy carter. last week, america mourned the loss of one of the most decent and humble public servants we have ever seen, president jimmy carter. president carter was a living embodiment of leadership through service, compassion, and a thirst for justice for all. i will have more to say about our president in the coming days. we will all have more to say about the loss of this wonderful and inspiring american. it is rare that someone leaves the presidency only to continue building his legacy to even higher levels as president carter did. that is a testament to how rare and special a person he was from improving rights to his tireless efforts alongside his wife, rosalind, with habitat for humanity. he inspired millions with his unwavering commitment to justice and equality. we pray for his family, we p

mr. president?

mr. president? we've seen there that there's been a severe reaction against the opposition among the leadership, significantly different than egypt. what do you think will transpire there in the coming days? pres. carter: you remember about eight or nine years ago, there was an honest and fair election in iran and a very moderate president was elected. and he served until netanyahu became president. probably netanyahu was elected fairly the first time when he took office, but then in this last election there's great doubts about whether it was an honest election. the ultimate power in iran is, obviously, religious. the ayatollah in iran makes the ultimate decisions, even vetoing what netanyahu, the elected president, says he would like to do on many occasions. so i don't really see any prospect at this time as much as we would like to see it of a president being elected that's not approved directly by the religious leaders. as a matter of fact, even in previous elections that i just described in a f

mr. president, mr. president, do you regret your decision to run for reelection? >> do you think that that made it easier for your predecessor to now become your successor? >> i don't think so. i think i would have beaten trump, could have beaten trump, and i think that kamala could have beaten trump and would have beaten trump. it wasn't about. i thought it was important to unify the party. and when the party was worried about whether or not i was going to be able to move, i thought even though i thought i could win again, i thought it was better to unify the party. and i had the greatest honor in my life to be president of united states. but i didn't want to be one who caused a party that wasn't unified to lose an election. and that's why i stepped aside. but i was confident she could win. >> do you think she should run again? >> what your assessment is of how long you can last without further aid. >> in fact, your administration marks the end of american. divisions over there. >> well, i had a long talk with zelensky today, and i think that. as long as we conti

vance of the state of ohio received four votes for vice president. mr. steil: madam president, the certificate of the electoral vote of the great state of wisconsin seems to be regular in form and authentic and it appears therefrom that donald j. trump of the state of florida received 10 votes for president and j.d. vance of the state of ohio received 10 votes for vice president. sen. fisher: madam president, the certificate of the electoral vote of the state of wyoming seems to be regular in form and authentic and it appears therefrom that donald j. trump of the state of florida received three votes for president and j.d. vance of the state of ohio received three votes for vice president. vice president harris: members of congress, the certificates having been read, the tellers will arer dane and deliver the -- ascertain and deliver the result to the president of the senate. >> the undersigned deb fisher and amy klobuchar, tellers on the part of the senate, and bryan steil and joseph morelle, tellers on the part of the house of representatives report the

mr. president, madam vice president. i consider california my home, so it is great to be here to talk about this traumatic situation that we have. forest service and the department of interior are actively engaged in supporting the response to the wildfires in southern california. there are four major fires that we currently have going on. the for service is an unified command with l.a. county as well as other local and city agencies. were looking at the eaton, hearst, and lydia. that is the northernmost part of that area where the farmers are taking place. the palisades fire, which calfire is in control of, and the we have a new start that just started last night and it also has the potential to expand quite significantly, just based on the location it is that and also the winds are expected to continue. right now when i look at the mutual aid system in california, i want you to know that it is second to none in terms of how it's systems work and how it really moves to activate the firefighting community and how it is a

mr. president.er wrote this in 2015 and clorely he edited it a couple of times since then but here we go. >> today we join in sadness to honor our dear friend president carter for his extraordinary years of principled and decent leadership, and his courageous commitment to civil rights and human rights. i remember the emrmg ps of jimmy carter on the national stage. in particular, his 1971 inaugural address. for the first time a georgia governor called for a commitment to the traditions of martin luther king jr. and for the decency that has leadership stood for a lifetime. i was surprised when then candidate carter asked me to join as his running mate in 1976. he has amazed me then as he has effersince. he was brilliant and also had a great sense of humor. while we had only four years in the white house, he achieved so much in that time. it stood as a marker for americans dedicated to justice and decency. carter was a man of his word. i remember when he talked about the concept of the vice presidency

tellers will make the final ascertainment of the results and deliver the same to the president of the senate. >> mr. vice president, the undersigned crist officer j. dodd and mitch mcconnell, tellers on the part of the united states senate, william m. thomas and chaka if a day, tellers -- fattah, report the following as the as a result of the ascertainment and counting of the electoral vote for president and vice president of the united states with a term beginning on the 20th day of january, 2001. >> the state of the vote for president of the united states as delivered to the president of the senate is as follows. the whole number of the electricker toes pointed -- appointed to vote for the president of the united states is 538. of which a majority is 270. george w. bush of the state of texas has received for president of the united states 271 votes. al gore of the state of tennessee has received 266 votes. the state of the vote for vice president of the united states as delivered to the president of the senate is as follows. the whole number of the electors appointed to vote for vice president. u

mr. president. i'm here just to provide you a brief on three significant fires that have occurred within the city of los angeles. with that, i'm going to be focusing on the palisades fire. that fire broke out yesterday morning around 1030. we did pre-deploy a number of resources. we knew this was there was a potential for a significant threat to our constituents due to the weather event. high, high, high winds. i've never seen the winds in my 25 year career, so we leaned forward as much as possible and pre-deployed with that. we had a significant amount of fire that occurred. we had an aggressive fire attack. the fire has grown from originally ten acres to 10,802 acres. as we speak. it's an active, active fire fight with our firefighters, and they're doing their very best to protect our people within this area. interesting enough, because of the winds and the low humidity, we had a second fire also break out and that was the hurst fire, which is just north of that area. again, this was close to 11,0