mr. markey: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. markey: mr. president, i call up my amendment numbered 911 and ask it be reported by number. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from massachusetts, mr. markey, proposes amendment numbered 911. mr. markey: mr. president, funding for alzheimer's research at the nih is essential. nearly 7 million americans are living with alzheimer's right now and if nothing changes, 15 million americans, 15 million baby boomers will have alzheimer's by 2050 with a cost of $1 trillion a year to our health care system. we need to tackle this challenge head on by increasing funding for nih research for alzheimer's. trump and doge have already cut and slowed down nih research interfering with our ability to cure this disease. this is a make america sick agenda. a no on this amendment means taking away hope for millions of americans. after the bush billionaire tax cut in 2001, the nih budget was cut in spending power by 20% over the next five years, we must guarantee that alzheimer's re

mr. markey, no. the clerk: mr. blumenthal, no. the clerk: mr. grassley, aye. the clerk: mr.tt of south carolina, aye. mr. ossoff, no. the clerk: mr. mr. padilla: no. ms. klobuchar, no. the clerk: ms. gillibrand, no. the clerk: mr. risch, aye. mr. schmitt, aye. the clerk: mr. van hollen, no. the clerk: mr. budd, aye. the clerk: mr. sullivan, aye. the clerk: ms. lummis, aye. the clerk: mr. young, aye. vote: the clerk: ms. hirono, no. the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 53. the nays are 47. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: department of health and human services, robert f. kennedy jr. of california to be secretary. mr. wyden: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: mr. president, as we begin this discussion that is so important to america, i thought i would just mention the conversation i had recently with a couple of young medical & said, you know, we know you're interested in health care and been involved in this. i'm so appreciative of senator murray who is going to pick up on the health

mr. markey: are we in a quorum, mr. president? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. markey: i'm here to speak about the confirmation of kelly loeffler to serve as administrator of the small business administration. i'm concerned for the more than 72,000 people who call massachusetts home. i'm concerned because of donald trump and elon musk that they have sent a clear message, they are here to illegally cut off p funding for government services. they are here to make government work for billionaires but at the expense of the working class people. and they are filling their cabinet with people who are going to carry out that illegal bidding. as i stand here today, doge operatives continue to work under the cover of darkness, including at the small business administration. the american people want answers. is the private information of families and businesses and individuals safe at the sba? will an entrepreneur looking to open their beauty salon be able to close on an sba loan and get their money on schedule? can government contractors, many of which are veterans, conti

mr. warner, no. the clerk: markey, no. . the clerk: mr. whitehouse, no. mrs. moody, aye. mr. king, no. mr. lankford, aye. mr. heinrich, no. mr. cornyn, aye. mrs. britt, aye. mrs. capito, aye. the clerk: mr. moreno, aye. ms. ernst, aye. the clerk: ms. smith, no. the clerk: ms. cortez masto, no. mr. grassley, aye. the clerk: mr. smyth, aye. the clerk: mr. husted, aye. mr. ossoff, no. the clerk: mr. scott of south carolina, aye. mr. padilla, no. the clerk: mr. schiff, no. mr. ricketts, aye. ms. hirono, no. the clerk: mrs. shaheen, no. the clerk: mr. kennedy, aye. mr. coons, no. mr. murphy, no. the clerk: mr. durbin, no. the clerk: mr. sullivan, aye. ms. murkowski, aye. the clerk: mr. welch, no. the clerk: ms. lummis, aye. the clerk: mr. cassidy, aye. mr. hickenlooper, no. the clerk: mr. booker, no. mr. blumenthal, no. vote: vote: the clerk: ms. klobuchar, no. the clerk: mr. hawley, aye. the clerk: mr. hoeven, aye. the clerk: mr. paul, aye. the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, no. the clerk: mr. mcconnell, aye. the presiding officer: we have 51 yeas. 47 nays. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will

mr. markey: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that shari piy, a fellow in my office be granted floor privileges for the rest of the year. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. markey: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, the american people are being robbed in broad daylight. big oil is cashing in on their billion-dollar deal with donald trump from his campaign. the $1 billion to help trump win, and in return he'll rig the rules of the game in line with the pockets of the oil, gas, and coal industry ten times over. so let's call trump's energy agenda what it really is, oil above all. not all of the above. trump's billionaire friends promised to raise tens of millions of dollars, and in return he promised he would deliver policies that will force working families to pay more, inhale more toxic air, reduce their kids' chances for a healthier future. and especially as the climate crisis continues to turbo charge, extreme weather costing billions in damages, sky-high energy bills. we kno

mr. markey: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. markey: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i stand here in strong opposition to the nomination of robert f. kennedy jr. to serve as the secretary of health and human resources for the united states of america. the american people know that our health care system is broken. families have to work through too much. health insurance red tape only to be denied care or forced to pay out of pocket. medical debt is deleting cost -- is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the united states. families are saddled with medical debt from prices that are too high and burdened by quality of care that is too low. when they need to get an appointment, they have to wait months, drive hours, or simply go without the care which they need. pharmacies, hospitals, community health centers struggle to keep their doors open, and communities are watching health providers and workers burn out under the strain of a health care system that is increasingly being sold out to greedy investors and the billionaire

mr. markey.mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. mccormick. mr. merkley. mrs. moody. mr. moran. mr. moreno. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schiff. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. plan is to help the wealthy get wealthier tax giveaways families paying the bill. how massive giveaways going to be paid for? slashing services to families and families try to get on their feet so they can thrive and get to the middle-class. great betrayal. today we will consider russell the office of management and the budget really the place for this campaign is coordinated. we will hear very different ideas have to take our country forward. from my friends across the aisle will hear we need to continue to give massive tax giveaways to the wealthiest americans and we will hear how nonpartisan expertise that makes our country run smoothly should be replaced by those with politic

mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. mccormick. mr. merkley. mrs. moody. mr. moran. mr. moreno. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schiff. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. mr. sheehy. ms. slotkin. ms. smith. mr. sullivan. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. the last thing they need is another massive tax hike on top of that inflation. what happens if the tax cuts expire . if we do not extend these tax policies americans will be at with an over $4 trillion taxincrease . more than 2.6 trillion of that tax increase will fall on households giearning $400,000 per year and an average family of four making $80,000 will be saddled with the $1700 tax increase . this is the equivalent to 6 to 8 weeks work of groceries for a family of four . tens of millions of families will see their child tax credit cut in half to $1000 and 90%

mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. mccormick. mr. merkley. mrs. moody. mr. moran. mr. moreno. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schiff. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. mr. sheehy. ms. slotkin. ms. smith. mr. sullivan. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. the presiding officer: a quorum is present. the ske is is it the sense of the senate that the debate on the nomination of russell vought of virginia to be director. office of management and budget shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. ms. baldwin. mr. banks. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. >> thank you, mr. chairman, ranking member, members of the esteemed committee for the opportunity to appear before you today

mr. markey: thank you, mr. president. mr.sident, i rise tonight in opposition to the nomination of russell vought to be director of the office of management and budget, also known as omb. my colleagues and i have been holding the senate floor since yesterday to sound the alarm on this dangerous nomination. russell vought is the architect of project 2025, the hateful, racist, sexist policy road map at the summer of trump's campaign. mr. vought has been working behind the scenes for years on policies to consolidate power, undermine the critical services that the federal government provides to the american people and undermine congress seapower of the purse -- congress' power of the purse. when vought was at the office of management and budget during the last trump administration, he demonstrated a complete lack of regard for our branch of government, the congress. he was responsible for illegally withholding and delaying billions of dollars in congressionally appropriated finishing. and is planning to ratchet up this whole dest

mr. chairman. >> thank you. senator markey. >> thank, mr. chairman. i want to come back to broadband. in the bipartisan infrastructure law, congress invested $40 billion to ensure all americans benefit from the digital revolution. had the vast majority of that money will go towards insuring that all americans, inner-city and rural, have access to high-speed broadband but such -- will you faithfully execute the dispensing of that $40 billion? >> i have said the goals are right and i will try to get you the benefit of the bargain. yes. i will do it as efficiently and effectively as we can. >> i appreciate you and i will repeat again the bargain was won between democrats and republicans on this committee. we largely wanted to go to urban america. so it is not separable, ok? >> great. i said yes. i will try and do it efficiently and effectively. >> we just needed to be faithfully executed given the designee saying he wants to protect against marxism in our country in the budget and i know he is dead serious and we are dead serious as well. but you know, that $40 billion is important to en

mr. markey, no. the staff and funding levels to properly support and prosecute cases pickwick center to the false claims act is so important. especially by what you said with whistleblowers as well the protection and the money brings back to our country yes, sir. >> thank you for your answers. senator durbin? thank you. if you are successful in your nomination, this democrat would like to give you three words of advice. answer grassley's letters. [applause] you will never hear the end of it if you don't. [laughter] an issue i believe this nomination hearing is not your competence or your experience. issue is your ability to say no. there is a peaceful transition of power. president trump was overwhelmingly elected in 2024. >> you have any doubts joe biden had the majority of votes, electoral votes necessary to be elected president 2020? collection of center i can size a prosecutor is from my first-hand experience. i accept the results. i except of course joe biden is president of the united states. b

mr. lutnick: absolutely. sen. moran: thank you, sir. chair cruz: thank you. senator markey. sen. markey: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. lutnick, welcome. on monday night president , trump's budget office issued a memo that directed agencies to cut off all federal spending. all federal spending. outside of payments to individuals. the trump administration issued this order even though the spending was authorized and appropriated by congress, and intended to benefit the american people. a bargain was struck here with the article i power of the purse. the benefit is supposed to flow to the american people. the freeze could affect semiconductor groups, broadband groups, fisheries, disaster relief, habitat conservation. all programs in the department of commerce. mr. let nick do you believe this , action by president was lawful? mr. lutnick: i rely on the president. if his advisers say it was, then i will rely on him. and his advisers. sen. markey: that is an unacceptable response, because this action has caused mass confusion, disrupted critical payment systems, and violated directly federal spending statutes passed o

markey: thank you, mr. chairman. since this inauguration president trump waged war on public servants, especially federal workers and unions. the president violated union contracts including firing tens of thousands of federal workers. used his fork in the road proposal to strong arm federal workers into resigning and waving away their legal rights, illegally attempting to nullify union contracts ratified in december 2024 and january 2025. as a secretary of labor we will abide by the terms of collective bargaining agreements by the -- between the department of labor and federal agency staff unions? ms. chavez-deremer: thank you, senator. it was nice to visit with you. it has been a few weeks since we had the meeting and i appreciate you being here today. certainly, the department of labor is outside of the nlrb. where collective bargaining is committed on happening independent of the department of labor. i will work with your office in determining exactly what it is that you are specifically asking. outside of the de