mr. barrasso: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, madam president. i rice today during police week to pay tribute to sergeant, member of the police force had in sheridan, wyoming. he was a beloved officer? sheridan -- in sheridan. he was well known for his selflessness. his colleagues will tell you he always put others first. his death in february of this year in the line of duty was absolutely tragic, and it shook our state. he was the first officer? wyoming since 1997, the first one in century to die by homicide in the line of duty. he's actually the first line of duty death in the history of the sheridan police department. sergeant krinky made the sacrifice for the community that he loved and community that he swore to protect. he was only 33 years old. in march i attended his funeral in sheridan, wyoming. so large they had to move it to the community college to the great auditorium there. there was an outpouring of folks from all around the community as well as the state as well as the country. they were there

mr. barrasso, aye. mr. blumenthal, aye. mr. schmitt, no. mr. romney, aye. mr. lujan, aye. mr. vance, aye. mr. coons, aye. the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye. the clerk: mr. scott of south carolina, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. welch, aye. mr. johnson, aye. the clerk: mr. braun, aye. the clerk: mr. warnock, aye. ms. rosen, aye. the clerk: mr. graham, aye. mr. budd, aye. the clerk: mr. hoeven, aye. the clerk: ms. lummis, aye. the clerk: mr. lee, aye. the clerk: mr. brown, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. mullin, aye. the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye. the clerk: the yeas are 90, the nays are 4. the nomination 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 consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, seth robert aframe of new hampshire to be united states circuit judge for the first circuit. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. hagerty: m

mr. barrasso: madam president, let me defer to my colleague from utah. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: i will be brief and i appreciate my friend and colleague from wyoming indulging me in this. there are a couple of points. they are entering unlawfully, again, this administration is using other laws to paper over their illegalty. the fact that president biden is unlawfully using immigration parole to make them appear legal does not make them legal. if you count the tail of a dog as a leg, how many tails does the dog have? the answer is it's still four tails. somebody who enters unlawfully is here lawfully because the president is using an authority that makes them lawful doesn't allow him do that. as to the suggestion those who enter using the cbp one mobile app has uniformly provided a passport. it just isn't true. in fact, i had confirmed right now with the person who helps me with these things, who helps constituents and people in my state who confirmed just now that it is not a requirement. they're not required to provide ra pa

mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs.tt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. 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. 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. sinem

mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. 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. the clerk: mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow

mr. barrasso, no. ms. warren, aye. the clerk: mrs. britt, no. the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 54, the nays are 44. the nomination 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 and resume consideration of the motion to proceed to h.r. 3935 which the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 211, h.r. 3935, an act to amend title 49 united states code, and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate >> and the senate will be back this amp at 2 eastern for more debate on a 5-year federal aviation administration reauthorization bill with. a vote on whether to begin work on the measure is scheduled for 7 p.m. eastern. current faa programs expire on may 10th. as always, lye coverage of the >> charter is proud to be recognized as one of the best internet proked slid

mr. barrasso: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: i rise to talk about a great win for america's people and for america's energy future. and i want to start by saying something that i know vladimir putin is going to hate to hear. that's that russia's choke hold on america's uranium supply is coming to an end. putin's war machine has now lost one of its cash cows. america is finally starting to take back our energy security as well as our energy future. last week this body unanimously passed legislation that i sponsored, bipartisan legislation, to ban the import of russian uranium. it will soon become law. this victory is tremendous and transformative. and it is truly bipartisan. i'm very grateful for senator manchin, senator risch, senator lummis, mr. coons and senator marshall for their critical work in helping get this bill into law. i also want to thank kathleen m{l1}c{l0}morris rodgers. together we all worked together to make america more safer and more prosperous. i'm espec

mr. barrasso, aye. mr. manchin, aye. mr. brown, aye. mr. hickenlooper, aye. mr. cardin, no. mr. van hollen, no. mr. young, aye. mr. marshall, aye. mr. padilla, aye. mrs. shaheen, aye. ms. hirono, aye. the clerk: mr. coons, aye. mr. vance, no. mr. lee, no. mr. ricketts, aye. mr. merkley, aye. the clerk: mr. tuberville, aye.

mr. barrasso, aye. the clerk: mr. young, aye. mr. coons, aye. the clerk: mr. heinrich, aye. the clerk: mr. marshall, aye. mr. tillis, aye. mr. hickenlooper, aye. the clerk: ms. stabenow, aye. mr. ricketts, aye. mr. braun, aye. the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye. the clerk: mr. wicker, aye. the clerk: ms. murkowski, aye. the clerk: mr. johnson, aye. the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. rubio, aye. ms. hassan, aye. the clerk: mrs. hyde-smith, aye. the clerk: mr. casey, aye. the clerk: mr. cornyn, aye. the clerk: mr. cotton, aye. the clerk: mr. padilla, aye. the clerk: mr. lee, no. the clerk: mr. lankford, aye. the clerk: mr. scott of florida, aye. mr. paul, aye. the clerk: mr. risch, aye. mr. vance, no. mr. kennedy, no. mrs. fischer, aye. the clerk: mr. rounds, aye. the clerk: mr. schumer, aye. the clerk: mr. mcconnell, aye. the clerk: mr. hagerty, aye. the clerk: mr. tuberville, aye. the clerk: ms. cortez masto, aye. ms. sinema, aye. mr. scott of south carolina, aye. the clerk: mr. romney, aye. the clerk: mrs. capito, aye. the clerk: mr. budd, aye. the clerk: mr.

barrasso. >> thanks, mr. chairman. thanks for being with us today. >> so 26 days for the processing to be restored like other hospitals, taking months for which to recover. over the 26 days they were delayed in filing 17,000 claims result about 20 million of services, rural hospitals all across wyoming in the u.s. provided access with central health services and they represent the most financial vulnerably. how are you prioritizing the processing of claims? >> senator, thank you very much for the question and let me say how sorry i am to hear the kind of pressure that you just described. >> i would encourage them to do so. so we believe most of the backlog, not like obviously i cannot 100% but where there's lag is payment on those claims. for example, if a claim is to united health care, we will pay instantly, but not full payers are paying instantly. some maybe paid 30 days after claim is received. that would explain the delay. we are permitted to maintain interest reloan capacity from yfolks until they -- >> we want

barrasso. >> thanks, mr. chairman. thanks for being with us today. the cyber attack of of her fm hospital blood all across wyoming. country for from people all across the country. shared in the more hospital, shared environment, showing how the attack has impacted them and their patients. so it took 26 days for the claim processing to be restored at shared memorial, like thousands of other hospitals of the experience financial hits that e take a month from which to recover. over 26 days they were delayed in filing 17,000 claims resulted about $20 million in unpaid services. world hospitals all across wyoming in the u.s. provide access to essential health services. they represent the most financially vulnerable hospitals and one hospital closes at usually a rural hospital. so 50% of rural hospital already operate right now in the red. this breach mason some of it into a financial spiral for which they can't come back and those communities are often rural frontier areas, not another hospital nearby. how are you prioritizing the processing of claims? >>

mr. moore: thank you, senator. >> please pass along to senator barrasso there's bipartisan support for that. now turnover senator cortez. >> thank you. good to see you, thank you for being here, not that you had a choice but we appreciate you being here. over the past few year, the forest service along with other public land management agencies have seen considerable investment. the great american outdoors act. the bipartisan infrastructure act, the inflation reduction act and the wildfire strategy. at the same time the forest service has made an effort to recruit and hire new staff to do the work from these major investments. i know this let me give you an example. the national forest mostly in nevada i understand has the highest staffing levels you've had in decades. in 2022 and 2023 more permanent employees were hired than were lost to attrition which had not been the case in years. last year 69 new hiers were brought on board in nevada. i'm curious to hear your outlook for the future. unless congress enacts extensions, all of these authorities have an expiration date. yet the need, as y

mr. chairman, this is on behalf of senator barrasso, he had one question he wanted know ask, with your indulgence'll do that. epaha revised standard for particulate matter particularly matter 2.5 on the clean air act and so the concern is that it will effectively prohibit prescribed fires, you know, prescribed burns in the west. that's something that we are concerned aboutom in the grasslands too turned new standards. under the standard will emissions put communities in violation of the lane air act? >> so how i would respond to that, senator, is that we've got to make some choices and if we to not allow prescribed fires to take place then wild fires is going to take place and while we argue and debate about the amount ofou particular matter w, i think, really need to have an honest conversation about what is it that we are trying to achieve and what are the lesser evils of this issue around fire, but prescribed fire, i think, is necessary to take place. >> exactly. and so us the congress need to provide an exemption for prescribed fires under the clean air act in your opinion? >> i think if cong

barrasso. >> thanks so much, mr. chairman. senator shaheen if you would come in, it's like to go first. [inaudible] >> okay, thanks. i'd like to talk about the world health organization if i could. the biden administration has vowed to reform the world health organization but it threw away its leverage early on in my opinion. i, begins advice of many rejoin the world health organization, gave it $200 million without insisting on a single reform. in a few weeks the administration expected to commit the united states to two international agreements that would expand the world health organization authority during a global pandemic. last my republican colleagues in calling on president biden to reject these agreements which i believe are harmful. yesterday, a uk announced they will refuse to sign the world health organizations pandemic accord saying they will only support the adoption if it is fairly in the uk national interest and respects national sovereignty. december 13 last year during a hearing held by the select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic, you said, oh, this administrat

barrasso. >> thank you so much, mr. chairman. senator shaheen, you just came in if you would like to go first. >> [inaudible] >> okay, thanks. i'd like to talk about the world healthth organization. the biden administration has vowed to reform the world health organization, but it threw away its leverage early on in my opinion. against the advice of many i rejoined the world health organization and gave $200 million without insisting on a single reform. a few weeks the administration is expected to commit the united states to two international agreements that expand the world health organization's authority during the global pandemic. last week i joined my republican colleagues and calling on president biden to reject these agreements that i believe were harmful. yesterday the uk and announced that they would refuse to sign the world health organization's pandemic the court is saying that they would only support the adoption if it is firmly in the uk national interest and respect national sovereignty. december 13th last year duri

mr. chair. and ranking member barrasso, i have and continue to support your bipartisan efforts to -- >> we've now got con tepts for you we're going to have everything at your desk. >> ready with that permitting form and assist any way i can. obviously, we need to accelerate all of the points that you all are making. and it's far beyond whether someone iski on one side or the other on the climate change debate. the world is changing so rapidly. and a big part of the -- of the ability to respond to the greater need is going to be our ability to move electricity from one placety to another. i'll start with -- how would you just say specifically just a couple of examples of how permitting delays impact your members their ability to grow? >> right. thank you, yes. so you know, we are looking into communities as the micron we're looking for the reliable. we're looking for states and regions that have, that are open to infrastructure expansion that they are not shutting those conversations down. the permitting, of course, when we delay getting that infrastructure in the ground, we cannot command our ope

senator john barrasso, republican from wyoming, joins me now. mr.ariffs on china electric vehicles? >> well, stuart, look, this president, joe biden, is desperate ifly trying to look tough on china, and it's just not working. it's not going to work because joe biden has already made us so dependent on china for critical minerals, critical materials that are used in the electric vehicles. and his environment aleck treatmentists are blocking our ability to get those here in the united states. all of those things play right into china's hand. stuart: why -- >> this president has taken 200 toattacks on american energy. every one of those makes chai i that stronger, russia stronger, iran stronger, and they hurt america. that's what's hurting american jobs. and you just had the spokesperson if from the white house saying, oh, we want to protect jobs. no, they don't. they -- they're attacking american jobs when they attack american energy. stuart: why do you want to end federal tax credits for evs in the united states? >> the hard working people of wyoming

mr. werfel: those are my marching orders. as long as i'm commissioner -- sen. barrasso: not from anyone on my side of the aisle. thank you, mr. chairman. chair wyden: senator casey. sen. casey: congratulations on a successful filing season. i am pleased that the irs continues to use the money appropriated in the inflation reduction act to improve taxpayer services and with call wait times down to three minutes after being up to 28 minutes just two years ago and more filing options available than ever before. i'm pleased you announced an increase in audits of large compex partnerships with more than $10 million in assets and that you will pursue the 25,000 -- in assets and that you will $10 billion pursue the 25,000 millionaires who elected to file taxes since 2017, a much bigger number when you lower that below $1 million. here is my first question. can you explain what the irs is doing with this new funding to ensure that billion dollar companies and millionaires or higher pay what they owe, just like middle-class americans? mr. werfel: i appreciate the question because i want to close out my response from sena