mr. goffman. recently in his current position at the epa, mr. an has proposed the second iteration of the clean power plan. many of us have learned a lot about the lawlessness and danger of this regulatory plan, and i appreciate my colleagues on both sides of the aisle speaking truth to the epa in recent letters about what this would do to our economy and to our energy sector. but you don't have to take it from us. here's what our nation's grid operators, which are nonpartisan groups responsible for ensuring our electric system is reliable and affordable, this is what they said about the clean power plan 2.0. quote, without firm proof of the commercial and operational viabilities of these technologies, proceeding with these requirements could place the reliability of the electric grid in jeopardy. in short, hope is not a strategy, end quote. despite these concerns, mr. goffman is intent on implementing this part of a misguided climate agenda regardless of what the law says or its disastrous consequences on the reliability of the grid or the affor

mr. goffman' nomination and i urge each of my colleagues to join me in voting no this afternoon. mr.durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, i listened to my friend, the senator from kentucky, and his remarks and it really brought to mind a division in the united states that most of us are aware of when it comes to the issue of climate change. you either believe that human activity is having an impact on the weather of the world or you don't. you either believe that it's not in the best interest of our country or the world for us to continue to heat this planet to levels unheard of in history. you either believe that the extreme weather situations which we are witnessing on a regular basis are just a run of bad luck or sadly maybe the design of energy that makes a difference. you either believe that fossil fuel creates emissions that make it tougher to live in this country and this world or you don't. you either believe this generation has a responsibility to do something different try to preserve the planet that we live on for our k

the clerk: nomination, environmental protection agency, joseph goffman, of pennsylvania, to be assistant administrator. mr i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. e the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 142, joseph goffman, of pennsylvania, to be assistant administrator of the environmental protection agency. mr. schumer: i ask that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, january 5 -- january 25, be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. a senator: mr. president, it has been 111 days since hamas abducted innocent men and women from their homes and took them into gaza. the hostages are d

mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the cloture motions with respect to the rodriguez and goffman nominations be withdrawn and the senate resume consideration of the hal chick nomination. further, cloture motions ripen at a time to be determined by the majority for the cruz and mehalchick nominations with consultation of the majority leader and minority leaders on wednesday. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin. welcome back, everyone. we're working very hard to come up with an agreement for the situation of the border is also important to remember world is literally up for it i decided to go over each. not only did we have 300,000 people across the border in december alone, with all got wars in the middle east and europe. the who these. commerce and red sea. iranian proxies attacking our soldiers in iraq and syria. russia is stepping up in ukraine while we were on. china of course watching all of this and next year's election in title i. ... w