mr. menendez: mr. president, i know the hour is late, but we have nearly 30 highly qualified foreign affairs and development nominees who are languishing on the senate floor. we have to confirm these nominees to fully equip the united states to pursue our foreign policy objectives, and i will be asking unanimous consent to confirm each one. my distinguished colleague from connecticut, senator murphy, a member of the committee, is here to join with me in this effort. i know the presiding officer is also a distinguished member of the committee. in the nearly 30 years that i have been working on foreign policy, we have never faced such a confluence of global challenges, a once in a century global pandemic, climate change threatening stability, health and safety across the world, fueling displacement and resource-driven conflicts, great power competition from an increasingly emboldened china and russia. we have the tools to confront these challenges, to promote american values and interests around the worl

mr. menendez: mr. president, i come to talk about the process that we're in here. first of all, the process that brings us the legislation that is before us. now, i respect my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have come together to draft the legislation that we have been debating on and off, voting even less, but that process is short -- shortchanges i think the senate and the american people. it is a process that our colleagues, well-intentioned and working incredibly hard, but had no geographic diversity, had no ethnic diversity, had no racial diversity, and that's consequential. it's consequential in the legislation that we are dealing before us. for example, this legislation does very well in taking care of dealing with abandoning mines, but it doesn't do all that well with dealing with superfund sites, the sites that most americans who happen to be from disadvantaged communities ultimately reside along. this legislation does much to help with the challenges of wildfires in our country, which i support, but doesn't do very much -- but doesn't do very mu

mr. chairman. >> senator menendez from new jersey is recognized. >> i want to thank you cut and ranking member forolding it. financial institutions work for everyone, everyone. as regulators you oversee those financial institutions and its vital you look like the communities, the institutions you ultimately serve. i appreciate some of the responses you have given but i want to make clear it's not enough to hire a a diverse workforce but you must ensure your leadership and senior staff are also diverse. currently only 8% of ncua senior staff country .9% fdic executive management and 5.6% occ senior-level positions are latino. we can all agree largest minority population in america growing exponentially that doesn't work. can you commit to significantly increasing latino representation in your senior positions? >> i'll start, senator, and absolutely. for me inclusion is highly important, having diverse views and perspectives need to be brought to the table. we recognize that our hispanic hiring is the weakness for the agency, that we are underperforming there and we are committed to work on that to

senator menendez: thank you, mr. chair. i think everyone on the committee can agree we need to put an end to the short term reauthorization extensions of the nfip and finally pass a long term reauthorization of the program. in my mind, any nfip authorization bill needs to keep premiums affordable, invest in robust litigation and exclaim process that has left so many new jerseyans out of their homes for years after hurricane sandy. i also think we need to deal with the nfip debt so we can put the program on sound financial footing and invest into building resiliently so communities are prepared for the climate challenges of the 21st century. last congress, i introduced a bipartisan react that addresses these problems. i'm hopeful we can come together. i look forward to working to get a long term reauthorization done, but unfortunately, what i've heard from some of the witnesses today concerns me and runs counter intuitive to the whole purpose of the nfip. the great solution, as some say, to the problems is to raise premiums.

as senator menendez has, with respect to executive calendar 150, brett holmgren to be assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. cruz: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: reserving the right to object, you know, the senator from connecticut is correct. if a senator were to halt a large number of nominations for an ideosin accurate i can -- an ideosyncratic concern, for a concern not widely shared, that could constitute an abuse of power. i will suggest some aspects of this situation that make it quite different in a subsequent situation if there were a comparable situation would make these same levers appropriate. number one, the biden administration is defying three separate federal laws. two different nord stream 2 sanctions, both of which i authored, along with democratic senator jeanne shaheen, both of which passed the senate and the house that were signed into law, both of which enjoyed massive near-unanimous bipartisan support. in addition to that, strong russia sanctions that are mandatory, that are designed to force a president to sanction russia, even if they are re

mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the menendez substitute amendment at the desk to the resolution be agreed to, the resolution be amended and agreed to, the menendez amendment at the desk to the preamble be agreed to, the preamble, as amended be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: madam president i ask unanimous consent that the help committee be discharged from further consideration the senate now proceed to senate res. 319. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 319 expressing support for the designation of july 2021 as national sarcoma awareness month. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the johnson amendment to the preamble be agreed to, the preamble, as amended be agreed to or and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding of

mr. menendez: mr. president, i strongly support the gentleman's amendment. in fact, the biden administration is in the midst of trying to find out what is the greatest technological ability to create internet access for people of cuba without the limited -- and limiting the ability of the regime to jam that internet access. and i hope that we will see this shortly. so this reserve fund would be in good order and in line with what the administration is seeking to do as well. the presiding officer: the question is on the amendment. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the amendment is agreed to o. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. leahy: mr. president, i have a unanimous consent request, if i might -- the presiding officer: if the senator from alabama would withhold, the senator from vermont is recognized. mr. leahy: i would like to put in the record a statement in support of the rubio amendment. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. the

mr. menendez: briefly, mr. president, i want to appreciate that the senator from florida, while i share his sentiments, did not press forward on insisting the amendment which would have delayed this and most importantly i think the cuban people will be the ones that will thank you as well. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i have 12 requestings for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. durbin: mr. president, i want to start by wishing our friend and colleague, senator lindsey graham, a speedy recovery. yesterday senator graham shared that he had tested positive for covid-19. we're all relieved to hear his symptoms are mild and we look forward to seeing him back in the chamber once he recovers. i hope everyone at home follows his example by getting vaccinated. in senator graham's worded, without vaccination i am certain i w