mr. cornyn: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: madam president, we are not in a quorum call, are we, madam president? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. cornyn: thank you very much. madam president, the american people are counting on congress to act on some of the biggest issues facing our country. for starters, there's a border crisis. since january, more than 630,000 migrants have come to our southern border, including more than 65,000 unaccompanied children. in may, customs and border protection had their busiest month in 21 years with more than 180,000 encounters in may alone and were on -- we're on track to see some of the highest numbers in yearly border crossings in decades. well, the alarm bells are sounding, but amid this crisis, the senate judiciary committee held a hearing this monger on a partisan -- this monger on a partisan bill that has nothing to do with the border crisis. make no mistake, i believe congress should absolutely take action to allow current daca or deferred action for childhood arrivals, t

mr. cornyn has apparently become a trump republican. they project. john cornyn particularly, i'm from texas. he has a particular obligation, texas has more black citizens than any other satate. so he has a responsibility to stand up for their rights. in austin, they're trying to pass a bill that would take polling places away from black communities and put them into white communities. in ft. worth, it's about 80% minority in one district. it would lose half the polling places, and they would be shifted to white communities. they're trying to cut back on early voting, drive-through voting, late night voting, even sunday morning souls to polls voting. they're targeting black and brown texans with surgical precision. it is racist, and i think it's right to call that what it is. these are racist acts trying to discriminate against some texans. >> imagine what happens if democrats in the majority don't stop it. that will be an existential crisis in the midterms. >> i'm all for infrastructure, but they got to save our democracy. >> you got to go to manchin

mr. cornyn: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with.he presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: madam president, during the first four months of 2021, more than 500,000 migrants have crossed our southern border. a half a million, including more than 50,000 unaccompanied children. now nobody really believes that those children got there all by themselves. the truth is they have been smuggled to the border and across the border only to be picked up by border patrol, taken care of, as we would all hope they would be, and ultimately be placed with u.s. sponsors. i'll have more to say about that in a moment. in the same period of time last year, there were fewer than 125 migrants that crossed our border, including just over 10,000 children. half a million so far this year, 125,000 last year. 50,000 children so far this year, 10,000 last year during the same period of time. put simply, this is not normal, nor should it be the standard operating procedure for the united states government. the truth is our country lacks the facilities,

mr. cornyn: mr. president, yesterday, the senate moved a historic bill one step closer to president biden's desk. the senate unanimously passed legislation to finally make juneteenth a federal holiday and to preserve the legacy of that momentous day for generations to come. for more than a century, texans have celebrated juneteenth and commemorated the anniversary of the day slaves in texas were first informed of the news that they were indeed free. president lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation on january 1, 1963, but the news didn't reach texas for two and a half years, until june 19, 1865. we were the first state to make juneteenth a holiday, and of course it commemorates an event that occurred in galveston, texas, but over the last four decades, many other states have joined us. it's finally time to recognize juneteenth as a national holiday. i reintroduced this bipartisan bill with the senator from massachusetts, senator markey, this year, and i have been proud to work alongside my fello

cornyn. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> mr. garcia i want to direct some questions to you. first thank you for being here and for your service to the people of texas and the united states. i think the southwest texas high intensity drug trafficking area program plays a very important role in dealing with so the scourge of illegal drugs. but i think what you can offer us is a reality check for how and what the conditions are on the ground. one reason why i hope the vice president is as a designated individual to help the administration deal with the current border crisis will duactually travel to the borders that she can do what i tried to do every time i go to the border which is to listen to the experts and understand the circumstances on the ground and what we might be able to do to make them better. but can you explain what affect the current border crisis the surge of 180,000 people a month on the border, what impact does that have on your work and the work of your colleagues who are trying to stop the flow of this poison across the border into the united states? >> tha

mr. cornyn: mr. president, after months of unnecessary hand-wringing, vice president harris has finally announced that she intends to visit the u.s.-mexico border. she was, as you will recall, tapped by the president to lead the efforts to stem the current humanitarian crisis back in march, but three months in she spent more time trying to figure out how to support central american countries than how to help american law enforcement and community leaders in texas. in the absence of any action from the administration, in fact, any acknowledgement of the crisis at all, the humanitarian crisis has gotten nothing but worse. in march, the first month of her heading up the administration's response, there were 173,000 migrants that crossed our southern border. then in april, the number went up to 178,000. and in may, 180,000 migrants. we're now on track to see the highest number of total yearly border crossings in if two decades, according to the secretary of homeland security, mr. mayorkas. at the center

mr. cornyn: madam president, dating back to his time as a member of the senate, president biden, then-senator biden, frequently shared a piece of advice from his dad. quote, don't tell me what you value. show me your budget. i'll tell you what you value. he's not wrong. we've heard countless iterations of the same message from president biden. actions speak louder than words. talk is cheap or as we say in texas, sometimes someone is all hat and no cattle. i want to take president biden up on his advice. we spent plenty of time hearing what his values are. he's talked about the importance of rebuilding our economy following the pandemic. we all agree with that. restoring public trust in government. check. protecting low and middle-income families from tax hikes. check. and standing up to russia and china, the two greatest threats to the world order. these are priorities shared by americans with diverse political views, and they're critical goals that any president, republican or democrat, should have. but we don't have to take the president at his word when he talks about the force of each of

mr. chairman. >> senator cornyn. >> thank you mr. chairman. i've read over the statement of drug policy priorities for year one and i appreciate your testimony about the importance of follow-on services for people released from incarceration so they don't repeat their mistakes. to that end senator whitehouse and i introduced a bill called the residential substance abuse treatment act of 2021 which would expand the access to substance use treatment and jails in prisons. certainly with you on that and want to continue to support those efforts. in my state in texas part of what we did on prison reform is get people access to programs when they're in prison and hope they don't residivate once they get out. it really did require follow-on services. we can't expect somebody to get out of prison and go back to the same old neighborhood and be exposed to the same old temptations and associated. what do you intend to do in your office to improve domestic drug enforcement? >> ondcp has many aspects to it. what we try to do is look at source countries, s

mr. cornyn: thank you, madam president.adam president, last year our friends across the aisle painted a picture of doom and gloom of what governing with a republican senate majority might look like. they forecast unprecedented obstruction, endless stonewalling, and the inability to get anything done. now there's nothing more popular than the myth that congress is unable to get anything done. it's pretty popular. the press uncritically reports it, even when it's demonstrably false. but it's safe to say the vision painted by our democratic colleagues of doom and gloom with a republican senate minority of unprecedented obstruction, endless stonewalling and inability to get things done, that hasn't come to pass. actually, i feel like i'm doing a "washington post" fact-check, but over the past few months republicans and democrats have actually worked together to make progress on a number of issues. one, i'm sure the biden administration would confirm that we've been able to confirm a number of nominees for high-ranking positions

mr. cornyn: madam president, last week congress notched another bipartisan win for the american people. a bill i reintroduced earlier this year along with senator markey from massachusetts was signed into law finally establishing juneteenth as a national holiday. this bill was unanimously supported in the senate and got an overwhelming vote in the house of representatives, and i was honored to be with president biden at the white house when he is signed it into law late last week. and it was even more special to celebrate with my fellow texans over the weekend. on saturday i was honored to spend the very first juneteenth national independence day in galveston where major general gordon granger and his troops declared that all slaves were forever free. this happened two and a half years after the emancipation proclamation was signed and just a couple of months after hostilities between the north and the south had ended. but communication being what it is across a huge country, particularly at that time, it took two and a half years for the message to get to the former slaves in galveston

mr. chairman. >> senator cornyn. >> thank you, mr. chairman. is it dr. mejia?yeah, that's fine. >> thank you, doctor. what year did you apply for a deferred action? >> i applied the year that -- as soon as it was available to me. >> okay. and there's no question that you have made incredible contributions to our country as an emergency room physician and i think the reason you're here is because you are exemplary of the type of young person who applied and received daca, whose life has been cast into uncertainty because of the fact that this is not something that resulted from congressional action and consensus building, and i personally support trying to provide a permanent solution for people like you. as i think you heard me say that there's a number of different iterations of the dream act and daca starting with the original daca that has 640 active individuals. the bill before us today would provide a pathway to citizenship for 4.4 million people. if it is politically unlikely for us to be able to pass something like the american dream and promise act, whi

mr. cornyn. >> thank you, mr. chairman and good morning, mr. secretary. it is tempt to go spend my five minutes to sort of tell -- allow you to tell the story of your journey through life to get you to the place where you are today, again, you are as the chair alluded a product of public schools, public higher education, in the classroom, teacher, principal, local superintendent. i mean, your dna is right in the heart of the department of education and we are all so proud of you in the state of connecticut and your congresswoman johanna hayes i'm sure will double down when she gets the opportunity. we are not here for a walk down memory lane, we are here to talk about the future. this budget having been on this committee since 2007 the investments in title 1, special education finally, impact aid, i have a military district as you know and impact aid is very important for those military kids to get the education that their parents wearing the uniform really are entitled to, as well as investing in the magnet schools, which as you know in the state of conn

mr. chairman. sen. durbin: thank you senator cornyn, senator feinstein? sen. feinstein: thank you, mr. chairman.ant to begin by thanking you for your tireless efforts over two decades to pass the dream act. i also want to say that i really believe now that this bill will pass. i think people are beginning to realize certain facts. this bill can secure a better future for millions of people who live in a lot of uncertainty about their place in our country, through no fault of their own. let me put a few things -- facts in the record. according to the migration policy institute, there are nearly 198,000 daca recipients in california. that is more than any other state. they pay $2 billion in federal taxes, and nearly $1 billion in state and local taxes every year. nationwide 80% of them are working oriented school. in california -- are medical workers who have been on the frontlines of the pandemic. like dreamers, tps recipients establish deep routes through many american communities. on average, tps recruits have lived in the u.s. for nearly 20 years. in california alone, they contribute 446 milli

mr. wales, which is why senator cornyn and i introduced a bill last congress to codify cdm. i'm also interested to hear about cdm from those agencies implementing. so ms. vogel and mr. higgins, how does cdm factor into the plans for improving your agency's cybersecurity and what challenges, if any, have you encountered in implementing cdm? ms. vogel, we can start with you. >> thank you, and thank you for your comments. cdm has been quite a challenge and that's because it is a huge effort. it is looking into or the complexities of our multiple operating divisions within hhs. and in doing so, we encounter different scenarios, different status of modernization. and each of those areas has to be tailored to a specific requirement. and it means we have to change software, hardware, whatever we do. so it's a very, very complex activity. we have found, though, that what is provided really helps us as a department because we are getting information more timely and we can respond to anything we see on our network or anywhere else, if we see it faster we can respond faster. we're encou

cornyn, senator clyburn, representative barbara lee, representative danny davis, chair joyce beatty and sheila jackson lee, and miss opal. [indiscernible] [laughter] [applause] [indiscernible] >> thank you, mrpresident. president biden: i have got three more. [indiscernible] [laughter] president biden: does anybody else want this? thanks, everybody. [applause] reporter: is election day next, mr. president? is the plan to sign election day a national holiday? [applause] [indiscernible conversations] >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated while the president and vice president depart. thank you. [indiscernible conversations] ♪ ♪ ["god bless america" playing] ♪ ♪ ♪ [indiscernible] ♪ ♪ [indiscernible] ♪ ♪ [indiscernible] ♪ >> 80's is and gentlemen, remain seated as the president and vice president depart. thank you. ♪ [inaudible] [indiscernible] >> today on the communicators. antitrust policy in digital markets. >> we are off the charts in terms of where we have been in the last 40 years of competition policy and monopoly. in the last year, we had five antitrust lawsuits against google and facebook. we have all kinds of actions against amazon. we have people talking about new philosophie

warnock, senator john cornyn, representative barbara lee, representative danny davis, chair joyce beatty and sheila jackson lee and miss opal. all right. [applause] >> is election day next, mr. president? is election day next? is the plan to sign election day a national holiday? >> thank you, everybody. thank you, thank you. >> juneteenth is officially a federal holiday. president biden just signing into law with bipartisan support commemorating the end of slavery. it is the first new federal holiday since martin luther king jr. day was created in 1983 and it will be marked on june 19th of each year. welcome, everyone. i'm charles payne in for neil cavuto, this is "your world." we're going to talk to alveda king. >> juneteenth is a public holiday. it's known in some states as emancipation day or jubilee day. now it's a federal holiday to celebrate after the house overwhelmingly passed this bill commemorating the anniversary yesterday. you saw president biden signing it in to law. the back story here is a bipartisan group of senators had been pushing for some time to commemorate the holiday at the federal level. democrats including chuck schumer have said "it's a way to aton

john cornyn, john cleburne, representative barbara lee, representative danny davis, and sheila jackson lee and ms. opal. you should have my chair. all right. [ applause ] there you go. >> thank you, mr. president. [ applause ] >> all right . >> is election day next? mr. president, is election day next? is the plan to sign election day as a national holiday? >> thank you, everybody. thank you. thank you. thank you. [ applause ] >> welcome to "the lead." i'm pamela brown in for jake tapper. you have been watching president joe biden at the white house signing a bill that makes juneteenth a federal holiday. this is the first new federal holiday in nearly 40 years. it commemorates the end of slavery in the u.s. since juneteenth this year is on a saturday, tomorrow is the new holiday. let's bring in phil mattingly. he used this as an opportunity to bring us his key priorities like voting rights. >> yeah. like voting rights and just equity generally. that sounds like a broad concept out of hand but when you talk to administration officials and you pay close attention, pamela, to their policy agenda not just on issues like voting rights but whether it's on housing or federal contracting, e

since the daca program and as senator cornyn mentioned to you all, this is something that was not legislative action. mrchairman, i will finish in just a second. this is an action, and an executive memo. this is a program that got stood up on executive memo by president obama. and while you know that there has been a push to find a way for people such as yourself, doctor, to find a way to be legally recognized. we also know any kind of blanket amnesty with a wide net would involve so many people who have come to this country with ill intent or with criminal conviction and have cut the lives of many american citizens short and to deprive them and their families of the right to pursue their version of the american dream. i yelled back. >> before some of the brief closing comments, i feel compelled to allow mr. rodriguez to briefly respond to a statement for several colleagues that daca serves as a magnet again just to briefly giving your experience and observation if it serves as a magnet. >> i think you have to look at the propeller, not the magnet. and when we talk about the rule of law, the complete ab

mr. cornyn. mr. cornyn: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: madam president, the senate not in order. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. cornyn: madam president, during the committee markup on this bill in the commerce committee, there was an amendment offered that was accepted that added davis-bacon prevailing wage protection to the underlying bill, which is now the bill before us. this is purely a gratuitous additional to this addition to this bill because the fact? constructing these major semiconductor fabs, they pay far greater than the minimum wage. but perhaps the most dangerous part is the fact that this now is being applied to the private construction. davis-bacon historically, statutorily has been applied only to public works. but this is an unnecessary expansion and jeopardizes some of the support we are getting for the underlying bill, which we cannot afford to lose any of that have support particular will i when it comes to manufacturing semiconductors here on shore and shoring up of supply chain. i'd a

mr. cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: thank you, mr. president. the right to vote is the most fundamental and essential feature of our democracy. as abraham lincoln said, the government of the people, by the people, and for the people would not be possible if it weren't for citizens who cast their ballot at every available election. from city councils to school boards to president of the united states, the american people have a right and i would argue a duty to make their voices heard. in 2020, a record number of voters did just that. nearly 160 million americans cast their ballot accounting for roughly two-thirds of all eligible voters. if you compare that to 2016, just four years earlier, 17 million more people voted in the last election. this included higher turnout across all racial and ethnic groups. african americans, caucasians, hispanics, asians, each had a higher turnout this election.

mr. cornyn: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: madam president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. mr. cornyn: i ask consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: madam president, last month more than 180,000 migrants crossed our southern border. that's the highest monthly total since the clinton administration. unaccompanied children continued to arrive at the border in the tens of thousands. more than 65,000 migrant children crossed our southern border, nearly double the amount we saw in fiscal year 2020. as bad as things are, things can and i predict will get worse. the administration's weighing whether this is an appropriate time to lift title 42, which a public health order designed to protect from the spread of covid-19 virus. but they have yet to tell us what transition plans they may have, if any, from transitioning from the current seclusion of many adult migrants who welcoming those who are currently secluded or processing them -- excluded o

mr. cornyn: mr. president, eb5 investments are an economic driver in texas. it uses mert-based information to create jobs and bring thousands of jobs to places like dallas and houston as well as rural communities across the state. these projects include projects for infrastructure for a wide variety of sectors including hospitality, residential and commercial. i'm a supporter of the eb-5 program, but there is no question that it could stand some reforms. as with any debate in congress, there's a lot of different opinions on what those reforms should look like, but we can all agree we need to strengthen this program and reauthorize it. i'm glad to join senator grassley in offering this legislation to improve the integrity and security of the eb-5 program while ensuring that law-abiding texas job creators aren't negatively impacted. this bill would have reauthorized the eb-5 program until 2023 with significant oversight and integrity motions it would -- it would give the department of homeland security greater authority to terminate applications based on fraud,