mr. hoeven: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator for north dakota. mr. hoeven: mr.president, i ask unanimous consent that the vote scheduled for 1:45 commence. the presiding officer: is there objection? hearing none, the motion is agreed to. the question is on the nomination. the clerk will report. mr. hoeven: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: vote: vote: vote: vote: vote: vote: will go ahead and get started today. because this is a critical issue because this week republicans put out their true position on abortion, a national ban and punishing doctors. for months they have been posturing and hiding their extreme views and ignoring the healthcare crisis that they are causing. but republicans can't pretend they just want to leave abortion to states and in block senator cortez masto bill, the bill acts and make sure people could travel to other states for an abortion. they can't figure they don't want to punish doctors and meanwhile block my build make sure do

mr. hoeven: i ask that it be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. hoeven: thank you, mr. president. i come to the floor to discuss how consumers are paying more for less reliable energy as a result of the policies of the biden administration and congressional democrats. north dakotans are paying 60% more for gasoline since january of 2021, and diesel remains at nearly $5 a gallon. now, plieses are high because we have a supply problem. our friends and allies in europe are facing an even worse supply crisis unless the biden administration changes its approach, american families and businesses will continue to face these ininflationary pressures. fortunately the solution is clear. more energy supply means consumers pay less. more supply is what helps us get prices under control, get inflation under control, and coupers relief. in 2019 the u.s. was producing nearly 13 million barrels of oil a day. today that production is down at about 11.8 million barrels a day. that's because the policies of the democrats in congress and the biden administration inclu