mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 602, senate resolution 472. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 602, s. res. 472, reaffirming the partnership between the united states and the deminute can republic -- dmoan can republic. mr. durbin: i ask that the menendez substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to, the risks, as amended, be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the rules committee be discharged from further consideration of h. con. res. 82. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: authorizing the printing of revised and updated version of the document entitled black americans in congress, 1870 to 1889. the presiding mr. durbin: the motion to reconsider be considered made an

mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the democratic whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of s. 4240 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 4240, a bill to amend section 2441 of title 18, united states code to broaden the scope of individuals subject to prosecution for war crimes. the presiding officer: without objection, the amendment is discharged, and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. durbin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the durbin substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. durbin mr. president, i will --. mr. durbin: mr. president, i will come to the floor later this morning or early this afternoon to

, the senator from — illinois mr durbin, the senator from washington, mrs murray.. that is kamala harris because she presides over the senate, announcing the names the senators were going to be escorting president zelensky into the chamber and so, this is the protocol and nancy pelosi hasjust is the protocol and nancy pelosi has just announced which members of the house of representatives will be escorting president zelensky and that means this big moment for ukraine's wartime president andindeed for ukraine's wartime president and indeed destroyed meaning of the us congress is about to happen and we are about to see president zelensky be escorted here to the floor of the us house of representatives and jeffrey is with me now, what an overwhelming moment for president zelensky. it certainly is because look at what he has gone through. he was nearly deciding to stay in tf in the first is the war, nearly overrun by russian forces right outside the city and he served as a symbol to his people but is now serving as a symbol to all americans and people all around the wo

mr. durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent that it be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: thank you, madam president. madam president, i rise today to speak about the james m. inhofe national defense authorization act for this fiscal year 2023, about to come before us. first let me say this bill is aptly named in recognition of nearly three decades of service in the senate of our colleague, senator jim inhofe of oklahoma. i count him as a friend, and i wish him the very best in his future endeavor. i am grateful to him, chairman jack reed from rhode island, and their staff for working to produce this bill. this is the 62nd year that congress has reached a bipartisan, bicameral agreement to produce this defense authorization bill. it's about the only thing which you can count on with regular yachter -- regularity every year, and i commend senator reed and senator inhofe for maintaining that tradition and

mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: at the outset i want to join the majority leader in his kind words related to judge doris pryor, who is seeking a seat on the seventh circuit court of appeals. i ask consent that my statement be made part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, i also ask that the statement that i have here relating to the great news that we received friday, the jobs report showed that our economic recovery under this president is continuing with 263,000 jobs created during the month of november, but more than strong numbers, what caught my attention is that there was very little response from the other side of the aisle. while it is good news -- well, it is good news and i ask to place this statement in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, this is a statement that i've been reluctant to make because it relates to a dear friend of mine and my

mr. durbin the senator from washington ms. mary. the senator from michigan ms. stabenow. senator klobuchar. senator menendez. senator cardin. senator mcconnell. senator thune. senator ernst. senator blunt. senator wicker. and the senator from ohio, mr. portman. pres. zelenskyy: the members of the -- spkr. pelosi: the members of the escort committee will exit through the lobby doors. [gavel] >> bottom speaker, the act being of the diplomatic poor -- diplomatic corps. [laughter]-- [applause] [gavel] >> madame speaker, the president's cabinet. [applause] [gavel] [applause] >> madame speaker, the president of ukraine. [applause] [applause] [gavel] [applause] pres. zelenskyy: thank you so much. [applause] [applause] [gavel] spkr. pelosi: members of congress, i have the high privilege and the distinct honor of presenting to you is excellency volodymyr zelensky, president of the ukraine. [applause] pres. zelenskyy: thank you. [applause] pres. zelenskyy: thank you so much. thank you. it is too much for me. all of this for our great people. thank you so much. dear americans, states

mr. durbin on this front. maria: that's incredible.are talking about this morning this effort out of the biden administration to push this climate change agenda. >> right. maria: esg. new calls for larry fink to resign from blackrock. kentucky congressman james comer joined me on sunday morning futures. he said he's going to investigate the administration's energy policy and priority around esg when the republicans take the gavel, here is james comer from sunday, watch. >> what we've requested what is energy policy, what did they base selling strategic reserve on, what exactly did they ask saudi arabia when they asked saudi arabia to increase oil production before the election, the democrats will call that a quid pro quo in the previous administration. so we have a lot of questions with this administration pertaining to the energy policy and hopefully we will be able to get answers in january when we get subpoena power. maria: he sent letters to head of federal agencies and i know this is a major issue for the banks. james, you've writ

mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. durbin: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor very briefly to make note of an article that appeared this morning in the "chicago sun-times." the article relates to a opportunity that terrence duffey, who is currently the chairman of the chicago-based exchange cme group, chicago mercantile exchange, that mr. dpufey in his testimony before congress and since has commented on the situation with the cryptocurrency exchange known as ftx and its former head, sam bankman-fried. we are all aware of what happened here. this is a situation where an individual capitalized on the cryptocurrency craze and became a billionaire. he was a young man who struck a different pose than most finance financiers and spent his time wearing t-shirts and playing video games when he wasn't making millions of dollars with his crypto investment. many people were unfortunately drawn into his portrayal of what cryptocurrenc

mr. durbin: i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. durbin: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination, calendar number 1195, richard revesz, administrator of the informs of -- -- i've been instructed to hold this thought. resuming my unanimous consent request, calendar number 1195, richard revesz, that the senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate resume legislative session. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, executive office of the president, richard l. revesz, of new york, to be administrator of the office of information and regulatory affairs. the presiding officer: the question occurs on the nomination. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. >> h

mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: it was ten years ago today. when i first heard the news i couldn't believe it. and then as i heard the details and learned of what had happened in connecticut, i thought to myself this is the moment. this shooting is so outrageous and horrible, this is the moment when finally america will come to grips with the reality of gun violence. what i'm referring to of course was the sandy hook elementary school. it was ten years ago today, 20 beautiful little children and six teachers and staff murdered in the classroom at this grade school. i thought this was it. all of the gun violence and all the gun deaths notwithstanding, this will do it. it's the tipping point. america will come to the honest reality that gun violence is unacceptable and will do something about it. other nations have done something. other nations that have had incidents like this, maybe even fewer victims, have decided to change their nation's laws, and they've done so, and they made their nation safer because of

mr. durbin. the senator from washington, mrs. murray. the senator from -- the senator from minnesota, miss -- senator from new jersey mr. menendez, the senator from maryland mr. cardin, the senator from kentucky mr. mcconnell, the senator from south dakota mr. -- the senator from iowa miss hurst, the senator from missouri mr. blunt, the senator from mississippi mr. wicker, the senator from idaho mr. -- and the senator from ohio mr. -- >> the members of the committee will exit the chamber through the lobby doors. >> ambassador michael mcfaul, i apologize, a cap catapulted you into that sound clash with speaker of the house nancy pelosi in the vice president. let me ask you again, what you see in terms of your contact with zelenskyy's team, in terms of how why they thought this was important, and what you are expecting tonight. >> so, you are talking about concrete objectives, i think there were two. one with the president and his team, they want more offensive weapons, they believe that fighting in the war on a battlefield and they still

mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, i want to thank my colleagues, senator sinema, senator tillis, for their statements on the floor earlier on the issue of immigration. a number of us are going to the floor to discuss it today. it is a sad day. it is sad because there are many people who were counting on this congress to do something, who understood that we have an immigration system that is terribly broken and we're paying a heavy price for it it and there are many who are watching this proceeding today who are paying an even heavier price. if we do nothing to help those who are protected by daca, if we do nothing to help the dreamers, court decisions, they pre-emeutes and may force some of these people to force reality that they can no longer work in america and are subject to deportation. many of these young people -- and i'd tell the story of one in just one minute -- have spent their whole lives here in the united states. they go to our schools, they go to our churches, we see them at the high schoolen

mr. durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: madam president, i came to the floor to speak on another topic, but i want to join in the comments of the republican leader about richard shelby of alabama. we became friends under different political circumstances when he served in the house of representatives. it's been my honor to count him as a friend and to have the occasion to travel with him and his wife, annette, in the past. i'm going to miss my friend. i wish you well. i'm sure you got some football to watch in alabama when you get home. madam president, this congress democrats have shown up for everyday americans. we passed historic legislation to build infrastructure, we became a global leader in chip manufacturing, we improved gun safety, and we protected our climate. these are wins for americans, and they make headline news. but today i want to talk about an issue that may not get the headlines, but it's just as important to fixing our broken student loan system, ensuring that americans can go to school and partic

mr. durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i'm sure anyone who tuned into c-span 2 might be thinking they're watching something out of this world because you see democrats talking so highly of a republican. one of the highlights i've had is working with rob on the ukrainian caucus. i know you have been there more than i have, but also your commitment to this issue has been personal, real, human. you can feel it. and rob is the type of person, the type of senator who takes his job so very seriously. he put me to shame with the map that's you brought to the floor of the senate on a regular basis to chart the course of the bravery and courage of the people of the ukraine as they fight for their freedom and their future an resist the invasion of vladimir putin and his thugs. i know you have been there to meet with mr. zelenskyy to heads up the ukrainian effort. i know as we met this week and many weeks before, that when the ukrainian parliamentarians come to town, they look forward to meeting our caucus and in particular th

mr. durbin, mrs. murray, mrs. stabinau, ms. klobuchar, mr. menendez, mr.enator from kentucky, mr. mcconnell, the senator there south dakota, mr. thune, ms. arnst. the senator from missouri, the senator from idaho, mr. rische and the senator from ohio, mr. boardman. >> the members of the committee will escort the chamber through the lobby doors. >> ambassador, michael cfall, i apologize. let me ask you again what you see with zelenskyy's team why this was so important. >> you were talking about concrete objections with this trip. i think there were two. one with the president and his team, they want more offensive weapons. they believe this is not in their long term national interests. that's what the conversation behind closed doors i think is about. today is to explain why we need to stay with them. they worry, we're right about that. this is a way to bring it back. look at us. we're all talking tonight about ukraine. that's exactly what -- why he came. that's the message he's going to deliver tonight. >> in terms of the one-on-one discussions with presid

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

the senator from new york, mr. schumer, the senator from illinois, mister durbin, the senator from washington, mrs. murray, the senator from michigan mas stabenow, the senator from minnesota. as clover char, the senator from new jersey. mister menendez, the senator from maryland. mister kardon, the senator from kentucky. mister mcconnell, the senator from south dakota. mister soon. the senator from iowa. miss ernst, the senator from missouri. mister blunt, the senator from mississippi. mister wicker, the senator from idaho. mister ish and senator from ohio. mister portman, the members of the escort committee will exit the chamber through the lobby doors. and if you're just joining us right now, you're watching the w news. we're broadcasting live from washington where we're waiting for you. creating president vladimir the lens happening un hungry matic. on a surprise visit to the us where he met with president biden earlier today. and now we're seeing images from the us congress where nancy pelosi us house speaker, as well as commonly here as us vice president are opening the thieves. and we'r

mr. fossil. >> good morning, chairman durbin, ranking member grassley, distinguished members of the committees and guess. i would like to sincerely thank this committee for the opportunity to present the prospective of our federal prison system from our professional, hardworking men and women. correction and officers of the bureau of prisons. -- represents nearly 30,000 correctional professionals of the bureau of prisons. we take the safety of our employees extremely seriously. it is our number one priority as a representative organization. we look forward to working with the newly appointed director, miss collette peters, to address our biggest challenge in the bureau presents, insufficient staffing. it is no secret that the bureau of prisons is in the midst of a staffing crisis of epic proportions. our numbers have declined from the january 2016 authorized complement of just over 43,000 employees. in 2017 and again in 2018, a total of 4300 positions were eliminated why prison violence, employees and inmates suicide rates and contraband were all on the rise. the g.a.o. revealed that overtime

mr. mcmullen, amateur senator durbin once to ask questions here so i will handed over in just a second butou have as a thinker testified earlier you conducted a stock buyback recently of about a billion dollars. why not give that money, passive money along to your associates as you say in the form of higher wages? >> as i shared earlier we've invested in increment $1.2 billion in associate wages over the last four years. >> could've been 2 billion if you have not done the stock buyback. >> we also spent over, right at the billion dollars improving pension benefits as well. it's really balancing all the constituents when you look at customers, associates, communities and shareholders come back to your earlier comment. >> thank you, madam chair. >> thank you very much. next up, our patient and great leader of this committee, chairman durbin. >> thanks, senator klobuchar, and thank you to all the witnesses. i'm sorry i was late but there was a roll call on the floor and were trying to balance things back and forth. very interested in this issue but also want to comment on this hearing. you pr

durbin. let me ask you, mr.cmullin, when kroger and albertsons announced the merger on october 14th, you said and i think you are quoted correctly, importantly the merger secures union jobs and we will continue to work with local unions across america to serve our community both kroger's and albertsons stores. both have unionized workforces according to the ufcw, more than half of kroger stores and a majority of albertsons stores are members. and yet multiple unions have said that they're opposed to the transaction, particularly expressing their concern over the possibility of closures. my question to you is, how do you plan to secure, and will you commit to securing jobs and work with local unions? >> thank you for the question. as mr. sankaran mentioned earlier, we are in active conversations with the unions, both ufcw and teamsters. we view them across the u.s. as an incredibly port and partner. we will work together with the unions, obviously exit sets will business in terms of taking care of customers provi

mrs. peltola: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on s. 1402, the durbin feeling native american languages act of 2021. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. peltola: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise in strong support of s. 1402, the durbin feeling native american languages act of 2021. preserving native american languages is essential to esseno preserving identity, tradition and culture of the native american community. regrettably, for decades, the american government created policy to suppress the use of native american languages. in response, president george h.w. bush sthiend native american language act into law which ensures the rights and freedoms of native americans to use, practice and develop native american languages. the bill before us today, the durbin feeling nate miff american languages act of 2021, helps ensure the federal government makes good on that promise. specifically, the bill directs the president to review federal agencies' compliance with the native american language act requirements and make recommend

senator durbin: the reason i'm doing this to put it in the context, mr. bankman freed, my contributor, people like him, will spend a lot of money to make sure there is as little regulation as possible. unfortunately, you are a captive of a process that is driven by politicians like myself. what assurance do we have you are going to have adequate resources, staff, technology, people over and above the authority to execute any kind of meaningful regulation of an industry which is almost impossible to describe, let alone regulate. chair behnam: a couple things. i want to agree with you on your point about regulation versus nonregulation. this area needs to be regulated. all components of it need to be regulated. without a question. second, in terms of responsibilities and this narrative of small or weak agency couldn't be farther from the truth. i shared that with senator boozman. i can give you reasons why. we have a separation of duty and responsibility at the agency in terms of months long enforcement action done by the enforcement team. they are best in

mr. heinrich: i ask unanimous consent that the durbin-cornyn amendment at the desk be agreed to, the bill as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. heinrich: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 348, s. 1324. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 348, s. 1324 had a bill to establish a civilian cybersecurity reserve as a pilot project and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection -- mr. heinrich: i ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and that the the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. heinrich: i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of h

mr. durbin: mr. president, i ask recognition. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i want to close by thanking the senator from alaska, republican, democrat, but committed to the same values, make sure these marines and their families are treated fairly. we have currently 14,000 pending claims, these marines had two years since july. there's going to be a mountain of claims here and we need to make sure it is done in a thoughtful and timely way and fair to the marines every step of the way and i will be part of that effort every step of the way, senator. the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to concur with respect to amendment 6533, the motion to concur with amendment be withdrawn, if cloture is invoked, the second-degree amendment be withdrawn. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mr. manchin: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. manchin: i ask unanimous consent that floor privileges be granted to david rossner, effect effective immediat

mr. durbin: i ask consent to suspend the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: madam president, i walked on to the floor just as senator leahy was closing his remarks, and i want to tell you that we were together in the judiciary committee this morning where i joined the chorus of praise for his career and his service in the senate. and it seems like every room he steps in, there's another tribute. well deserved. i thank him for being such a steadfast member of the senate and particularly of the senate's judiciary committee which will forever be benefited by his contribution. but i rise today to speak on a different topic, and it's one that's very timely and important. yesterday a number of us received a classified briefing from the white house about russia's ongoing invasion of ukraine. it was sobering. russia continues to indiscrime fansly target arrival civilian populations and infrastructure killing tens of thousands of innocent people in ukraine leaving countless more in the bitter dark and cold without access to electricity, water, or heat. the brie

mr. durbin: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, it's been nearly ten months since that cold, dark morning when i was in the departure lounge in vilnius, lithuania, with my colleague, chris coons. we watched on television as russia attempted to seize another country in the heart of europe. i'll never forget those early scenes of putin's horror unleashed on ukraine. my friends had warned of russia's potential to strike again in ukraine, in europe, and beyond. years earlier i'd seen firsthand the seizure of georgian land by the russian military in 2008. in 2014, my friend and fellow colleague, the late-senator john mccain and i, with a group of senators paid tribute to those slain in kyiv's maidan square just as russia had seized crimea and was looking to take other areas of ukraine. but putin and his henchmen failed miserably at understanding ukraine and understanding their resolve to halt him and his brutality. his initial ploy to quickly topple ukraine's democratic government and replace it with a puppet failed immediate

mr. durbin: madam president. are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: no. mr. durbin: i know roy blupt, of missouri, delivered -- roy blunt of missouri delivered his farewell remarks some time ago. i regretly -- regrettably, i was in a longtime appointment and couldn't get away. i want to thank the senator from he missouri. i grew up in east st. louis, illinois, across the east mississippi rivers from st. louis, missouri. my hometown is springfield, illinois, and roy blunt's hometown is springfield, missouri. we often catch about catching the wrong plane in st. louis and ending up in one another's homes. senator blunt and i came from different political parties, obviously. we have different ideas on a lot of thing. but over the 12 years he served in the steat of missouri in the steat -- in the state of missouri in the senate, he's become a friend and ally. managing the mississippi river is an issue we share. many of the locks and dams that keep the river navigable are nearly 100 years old. for many years, senator blunt worked with me and with the army armycorps

mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: . the logic of title 42 is a public health response to a crisis. it was determined that foreigners coming into the united states could be turned away under title 42 and more than a million were last year. now, what has happened to the public health crisis? in june of this year, our government announced it would no longer require covid tests for foreigners entering the united states. we have 22 million international visitors each year, and now there's no longer a requirement for testing. let's be honest -- this is not about public health anymore. of it is our excuse for not tackling the very real challenge of coming up with a border policy on a bipartisan basis. i salute senator sinema and tillis for their undertaking. i want to work with them in the future, and i think we should reject this amendment. the president pro tempore: the question is on the amendment. mr. schumer: i ask for the yeas and nays. the president pro tempore: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be a suffic