mr. menendez: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule 22, at 6:3e on the cloture motions with respect to calendar numbers 683, 679, 680; r 681, 685, and 662. that tomorrow morning the senate vote on confirmation of executive calendar numbers of 656 and 738 and at 1:45 p.m., the senate vote on calendar number 677. if any -- that the senate vote on the confirmation of the nominations at a time to be determined by the majority leader or his designee following consultation with the republican leader. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. 6. mr. menendez: mr. president, i have eight requests for dmoits meet today during -- for committees to meet today. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. menendez: mr. president, i rise today to seek unanimous consent to confirm four nominees to post that are critical -- critical to our response to putin's war against ukraine. through smoke and

menendez: with strengthening supply chains and resolving bottlenecks help to comply inflation -- help to combat inflation in the long term? mrpowell: certainly in the near term it would. i would think it would certainly be a good thing. sen. menendez: we passed the strategic competition and innovation act last may, in the house now has its own provisions. i'm looking forward to a reconciliation of that, because that would address bottlenecks and strengthen our supply chains going forward, including funding of semiconductors and my supply chain database provision as well. finally, he mentioned labor. we are facing a dire labor shortage across the country which is holding back this economy. the fed's monetary policy report from last week noted that "labor supply has been slow to rebound, even as they were demand has been remarkably strong. there are currently 11 million job openings nationwide. immigrants are ready and willing to fill many of those jobs. would you say that if we had a process in which we could ring those immigrants out of the shadows and into the light, have them go through a process, criminal background check

mr. menendez: madam president, i wanted to join in the comments made from the distinguished chairman of the finance committee, which i have the privilege to sit on, and my distinguished colleague on the senate foreign relations committee who is the author of the magnitsky act. i just hope -- i came loaded forebear to the floor because i thought we were going to have a different result, but i'm optimistically going to expect that we're going to to have a resolution, because, look, there are burned bodies in the streets of ukraine. there are mass graves to bury the dead. there are ukrainians who are melting snow in order to drink water to survive. so it's truly mind-boggling that we cannot get this legislation passed that eliminates russia's preferred trade status and reauthorizes the magnitsky act. so we see that putin's actions are not only creating a horrific set of circumstances in ukraine, they're creating a huge shortage of wheat across the middle east and north africa, bombing maternity hospitals, and theaters housing children, causing the worst refugee crisis in europe in decades. we'

mr. chairman. senator menendez is recognized. >> thank you mr. chairman and for holding this hearing. i know there are some who will never see bias in anything and presume that our systems work colorblind, efficiently, effectively and without consequences to certain communities, and i wish that was the case. but that is simply not the case. freddie mac published a story last year on the topic of appraisal bias and one of the key findings of the study was that appraisal gaps in minority census tracts isn't being driven by a limited number of bad actors but rather a large portion of appraisers are generating statistically significant gaps. can you give a brief overview on the standards for housing appraisals, particularly whether they are required to go under any kind of bias training? >> thank you for that question, senator. currently, there is not a requirement for the appraisers to attend fair housing or bias training. although there are several states that do require it, it is not a requirement for certification. >> well that appraisal work with more than 12% decline on the appraisa

mr. chairman. >> thank you. senator menendez, i believe, is now with us from new jersey from his office. >> thank you, mr. chairman. the defining feature of stable coins versus other types of crypto currencies is they claim to be backed by reference such as the dollar and other currency. however, without proper transparency, this only provides the illusion of security for stable coin investors. are they able to verify the portfolio holdings banking the stable coins they invest in? >> stable coin issuers, perhaps under pressure from investors and regulators, are providing self-audited statements. some of the major ones are providing self-audited statements on their holdings. but regulators are not in place to confirm those or to set the standards for them. >> i look at tether, which is the world's largest stable coin, which was created with a promise of a one-to-one banking with the dollar. instead bloomberg found that many stable coins are backed by risky loans from chinese companies. it seems to me transparency is a cornerstone

mr. menendez: i rise in opposition. i am a little perplexed by the parliamentarian's decision that this can move forward because there is a statutory time frame that says that the resolution needs to be brought forth in in order for it to have validity. and my understanding of the parliamentarian's decision is that even though if there was passage of this resolution it would not have validity because it is past the time frame. it still can be brought. but that seems to be a pursuit of the senate's time is in a way that is an extraordinary amount of time on unlimited numbers of discharge resolutions that potentially exist that having passed the statutory time frame can still be brought to the senate floor even though whatever the vote is has no consequence. so i fail to understand that. but since that is the ruling, let me just say that i appreciate that the senator from kentucky has concerns about human rights in egypt, and i agree that we must absolutely continue to raise concerns in a way that will meaningfully bring

by the democratic senator, the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee, senator bob menendez. mrer the briefing you attended today, one of your colleagues, democratic senator chris murphy, said there will be new announcements, he said, from the biden administration soon on transfers of weapons. i wonder what you can share with us on the details of this upcoming announcement. >> well, wolf, i think the administration is doing everything possible to make sure that that which the ukrainians can use and can get speedily and can put into action quickly is going to either be supplied by the united states or transferred from a neighboring country to continue to help the ukrainians both deal with air defense questions as well as with all the other elements of stinger, javelin, and other lethal equipment. and i think that that's -- that will build upon the president's humanitarian announcement today. >> they really do need the antiaircraft, antitank, all those kinds of missiles. and they need tons of them. do you think they're going to get what they want? >> i think there is an overwhelmi

next is senator menendez. >> thank you, mr. chairman. across the congress we all talk about the provider shortages the nation is facing especially mental health providers that are available for black and latino communities and the pandemic has taken a disproportionate toll and the provider shortage has only grown more dire. more dedicated support for a larger and more diverse pediatric workforce is critical, i believe, to address children's mental health needs now and into the future. dr. benton, what are three things this committee can do to address the recruitment, training, retention and professional development of a diverse clinical and nonclinical workforce? >> thank you for that question, senator, and it's one of the issues i struggle with every day as a training director and as a physician. some of the things we could do now is developing pipelines at a much younger age. so in my testimony i mentioned the fifth graders interviewing me about why did i become a child psychiatrist and i was pleased they were asking these questions in

menendez. next? >> thank you mr.man and the testimony and the fact you are in the trenches every day doing great work with our young people. doctor hoover i just want to be sures they are focused on students abuse is one of the few silver linings in a dark cloud of covid and with regard to substance abuse treatment there have been some real improvements. >> i would agree with that that has been exacerbated during covid so the funding provided by the federal government. with that opioid crisis has been tremendous and under medicare medicaid. so a record level that was a 20 percent increase of over does on —- overdose death now wewe see more and more people dying of overdose death and that topic today shows that we have anywhere from an increase of three times higher number of overdose death at 13 times higher 2021 compared to the numbers of 2019. dramatic increases among black youth that is particularly concerning. our state has done a report from a different perspective, how many years have been lost? their analysis

mr. foreman chairman. >> thank you, senator menendez. senator crapo joins us from his office. >> thank you very much, mr. charl. chair powell, thank you for being with us today. i wanted to start by follow up on some of the questioning that was raised. a cut the quick questions in its ability to operate right now. it is correct that you were recently named by the federal reserve board as the chairman pro tem is that correct? >> yes. >> and you have the full ability to chair the board while we wait for the handling of your nomination. is that correct? >> yes, it is. >> i want to make it clear i hope we handle your nomination soon and i intend to vote in support of it. but i wanted to make it clear you're fully functioning as the chair now in the capacity of chair. it's also correct that you were named in january by the federal reserve board as the chairman of the fomc. that's correct also? >> actually, i was elected by the fomc to be chair. >> okay. let me move on to one other aspect you have already discussed the duel mandate of the fed t

mr. chairman. >> senator toomey. senator menendez from new jersey is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman. at thank you for holding this hearing. look, there are some who will never see a bias and just presume our systems work, colorblind, efficiently, effectively and without consequences to our communities. i wish that was the case but that is simply not the case. freddie mac published a study last year on the topic of appraisal bias and one of the key findings of that study was that appraisal gaps in my noting since its tracks being driven by a limited number of bad actors but rather that quote a large portion of appraisers are generating statistically significant gaps. ms. taylor can you give a brief overview on standards for housing appraisers, , particulay whether they are required to go under any kind of bias training? >> thank you for the question, senator. currently there is not a requirement for appraisers to attend fair housing or bias training. although, there are several states that do require it. it is not a requirement for certification. >> well, that appraisal workforce is a

menendez. >> i shared with mr.wood and his staff they good work you did to build a strong transit title and you are recognized. >> thank you mr. chairman. it's wonderful to be a part of this hearing. all public transportation and the bipartisan infrastructure bill. i have to say the physical mobility and social mobility is connected. people need to get where they are going to get where they are going. so this is important work. i'm particularly proud mr. greenwood is here representing marta georgia has more than 15 urban transit systems and 80 rural system serving 80 percent ofs the 159 counties from augusta to valdosta. georgia transit and the expansion plan has been top of mind for me since my first day here in the senate especially negotiating the bipartisan infrastructure package and i went is proud to introduce the capital investment grant and thought to ensure the provisions were included in the bill. talking specifically about the work and play in county it creates jobs and provides commuters with more affor

i'm only moving on because we want to see if we can get senator menendez, senator brown and senator cortez masto in. >> thank you, mrairman. >> before you do, okay, it goes menendez, brown, bennett, cortez masto, and we'll see what we can do to get that in. >> dr. murthy, welcome. the maternal infant and early childhood home visiting program is an evidence-based program that supports pregnant women and young families. this multi-year support is critical to having young people start off their lives healthier and better prepared for early childhood learning. it also helps parents, including through mental health screenings in connecting to community-based resources. so my question is how can we further support this program so that more young people are starting off on a strong footing and young parents, including pregnant and parenting foster youth have an additional means of support? >> well, senator, i appreciate the question. i do agree that these early intervention programs, especially that support families, are absolutely essential. we have more and more evidence that these kind of programs make a big difference,

. >> thank you, senator toomey, and joining us from his office is senator menendez from new jersey. >> thank you, mr. chairman. there's a massive racial ohm ownership gap in the country, which is a serious problem, because owning a home the key to building generational wealth and reducing wealth inequality overall. the white home ownership is 74.4%, compared to 43.1% for african americans, and 48.4% for hispanics. so what are some of the barriers to minority home ownership and how do large land ownership contribute? >> what we discovered through the analysis of the land conservancy is lending disparities are very real. we're finding that majority/minority neighborhoods do not have access to credit, and we still see red lining going on in those neighborhoods, and we see disturbing trends where black borrowers are getting less opportunity of mortgage capital than white income barrowers, and it's clear as stated, you know, in some of our low income areas, there's no opportunity for homeowner as it has become a investor-dominated market. there's few to no mortgages being written in some parts of our com

. >> senator menendez from new jersey is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman.is hearing. i know you many topics before you and i appreciate it. as my colleagues have heard me say many times over, we have a program in the northeast quarter called the gateway program to modernize our century old infrastructure between new jersey and new york that is utilized by both new jersey transit and tracks northeast corridor, some of the new york transit entities. it's absolutely vital to the future of my stay, the northeast corridor and our national economy. an essay the national economy because that we can generate 20% of gdp for the entire nation. and this section is incredibly important. i'm happy to report we made significant progress on gateway over the last year or so, the portal northbridge project in january of last year, that is a little over 800 million in federal funding to begin to flow to the project and the hudson river tunnel that has been stalled for years under the previous administration are moving again. last year the biden administration finalize the en

. >> thank you, senator toomey, and joining us from his office is senator menendez from new jersey. >> thank you, mr. chairman. there is a massive racial homeownership gap in this country which is a serious problem because owning a home is the key to building intergenerational wealth and reduce racial wealth inequality overall. the white homeownership rate is 74.1%. what are some of the barriers to minority homeownership and how do large commercial landlords mitigate or exacerbate those obstacles? >> lending disparities are very real. majority minority neighborhoods do not have equal access to credit. and we still see red lining going on in those neighborhoods, and we see disturbing trends where black borrowers are getting less opportunity of mortgage capital than white income barrowers, and it's clear as stated, you know, in some of our low income areas, there's no opportunity for homeowner as it has become a investor-dominated market. there's few to no mortgages being written in some parts of our community. >> if i could add, senator, these practices and these types of landlords are often concentr

. >> senator menendez from new jersey is recognized very. mr. chairman. the biden administration coordination with u.s. allies around the world has placed historic sanctions on russia in response to the invasion of ukraine. in particular sanctions on the russian central bank cutting off its access to international reserves i believe will have a powerful effect on pollutant and the elites who have reaped the benefits of his repressive regime. sanctions are one of the most important foreign policy tools. but it is not always easy to understand just how effective they can be. so chairman powell can you explain in layman terms the effective sanctions imposed onus the russian central bank? >> sure. i should start though by saying everyone should know we do not implement sanctions for those row thesi providence of the elected government in the treasury department. all we do is were in the background. i would technical backstop it. >> i understand i want to use your expertise. >> with the central bank does is, different currencies in different countries are trad

menendez. senator warnock from georgia is recognized. i shared with mr.enwood and this staff from marta prior to the hearing the good work you did in helping to build a strong transit title. so you're recognized. >> thank you so very much, mister chairman, and it's wonderful to be a part of this hearing. on public transportation. in the bipartisan infrastructure bill. i often say that physical mobility and social mobility are inextricably connected. people need to be able to get where they're going. to get weather going. and so this is important work, and i'm particularly proud that mr. greenwood is here representing marta with services the metro atlanta area. george's more than 15 urban transit systems, and 80 rule systems serving nearly 80% of our one hunted 59 counties from augusta to -- georgia transit and marta's expansion plan has been top of mind for me. since my first day here in the senate. especially as we negotiate the bipartisan infrastructure package, i agree with my colleagues who have talked about the importance of cig and i was proud to in

menendez. we begin with breaking news. president biden spoking moments ago about his comments in poland about what most people are thinking, putin cannot stay in power. >> mralling for regime change? >> no! >> meanwhile, new hope for a peace deal in ukraine. president zelenskyy says the ukraine is ready to

mr. chairman for. t >> thank you. center codes progress thank you chairman menendez pre-thank you undersecretary both for this hearing and for it last night's classified briefing. i wish the american people could see the determined and strong and bipartisan engagement that i am at least experiencing from this committee and from congress over the weekend more than 280 members of congress took a call, participate inm the call with president zelenskyy and if anything, i have been encouraged even surprised by the unanimity within congress of support stronger and stronger measures against putin and putin's russia or his unjustified and immoral invasion of ukraine. you have served for 32 years at least our nation and the publici state department and other roles your advice and insight isur greatly appreciated, welcome. and i believe president biden's forceful leadership the decision to proactively release intelligence in order tolc maket clear to russia we knew what they were planning, to proactively invest time, effort, diplomatic resources and rebuilding our ties with the eu, with nato, with other vital partners, laid th

menendez. we begin with breaking news. president biden spoking moments ago about his comments in poland about what most people are thinking, putin cannot stay in power. >> mr. president, were you calling for regime change? >> no! >> meanwhile, new hope for a peace deal in ukraine. president zelenskyy says the ukraine is ready to discuss adopting a neutral status. this comes as ukraine says russian attacks have left more than $60 billion worth of damage across the country. that includes 4400 residential buildings. and a new look from the destruction left behind in lviv. russia claims it used high-precision weapons. and there is new hope for the people trapped in mariupol for ukrainians escape the brutal violence. in just a little bit we will hear about real-time intelligence on russian violence declassified. at "washington post" lays out why putin's brutality is only inspiring ukrainians to fight harder. quote, you don't see the attacks on maternity hospitals as reasons to hide. it's about survival. we have no choice but to win. if we lose, we know what awaits us. let's kick off this hour in the western stiff lviv, ukraine, where nbc news correspondent ali

menendez and brown and in before. we will see what we can do. >> thank you mr. chairman. the maternal instinct of early childhood home is evidence-based program that supports pregnant women and young families the multiyear support is critical to have their lives healthier to benefit childhood learning it also has parents through mental health screenings to communicate community-based resources. so how can we further support the program so more young people are starting off on a strong fitting and young parents including pregnant and parenting frustrated have an additional means of support? >> i appreciate the question and i do agree these early intervention programs that support families are absolutely essential. we have more and more evidence these types of programs make a difference for years down the line. anything that i can do to work with you to support these efforts, i would be happy to do. i find it one of the challenges even when programs are funded so they don't avail themselves to what technical assistance is available to implement those programs. but these are

menendez. we begin with breaking news. president biden speaking just moments ago about his comment yesterday in poland in which he said what most people are thinking. putin cannot stay in power. >> mrmeanwhile, new hope tonight for a peace deal in russia's war on ukraine. in a new statement, president zelenskyy says ukraine is ready to discuss adopting a neutral status, in the statement, zelenskyy also said the war has caused damage in ukraine worse than the russian wars in chechnya. this comes as ukraine says russian attacks have left more than $60 billion worth of damage across the country. that includes 4400 damaged residential buildings, more than 100 health care facilities and nearly 400 schools. also tonight, a new look at the destruction left behind by russian missiles in the cityf

menendez. we begin with breaking news. president biden speaking just moments ago about his comment yesterday in poland in which he said what most people are thinking. putin cannot stay in power. >> mr. president, were you calling for regime change? >> no. >> meanwhile, new hope tonight for a peace deal in russia's war on ukraine. in a new statement, president zelenskyy says ukraine is ready to discuss adopting a neutral status, in the statement, zelenskyy also said the war has caused damage in ukraine worse than the russian wars in chechnya. this comes as ukraine says russian attacks have left more than $60 billion worth of damage across the country. that includes 4400 damaged residential buildings, more than 100 health care facilities and nearly 400 schools. also tonight, a new look at the destruction left behind by russian missiles in the city of lviv this weekend. russia claims it used, quote, high precision weapons to destroy a large fuel depot in the city, and there is new home for people trapped in mariupol. ukraine says russia has agreed on two humanitarian corridors. we're going to hear from a member of the house intelligence committee about new demands from congress to get

mr. acting chairman ranking member -- members the committee, thank you so much for inviting me here today. i'm going to begin where chairman menendezleft off. we talked about -- he talked about how chairman menendez spoke of how in the 21st century, the idea we have an autocrat being a single person operated by himself is no longer true. nowadays, autocracies are run not just by one bad guy but by network composed of kleptocrat it financial structures. security services, and professional propagandist. the members of these networks are connected not only within a given country but among many countries. so the corrupt state controlled companies and russia do business with the corrupt state controlled companies in venezuela and iran, china cell surveillance technology all over the world to some bob way, to others. oligarchs for multiple countries the same accountants and lawyers to hide their money in europe and here in the united states. propagandists, whether for communist or nationalist or theocratic autocracies, pound home the same messages about the chaos and democracy in the evil of america. and their goal is to confuse audience

mr. acting chairman and ranking member risch. members of the committee, thank you so much for inviting me here today. i'm going to begin where chairman menendez left off. we talked about how -- he talked about how -- chairman menendez spoke of how in the 21st century the idea we have of an autocrat being a single person operating by himself is no longer true. nowadays autocracies are run not just by one bad guy but networks composed of kleptocratic and professional propagandists, the members of the networks are connected within a given country but among many countries. so the corrupt state-controlled companies in russia do business with the corrupt state-controlled companies in venezuela and iran. china sells surveillance technology all over the world, to zimbabwe, to others, they use the same accountants and lawyers to hide their money in europe and the united states. propagandists whether from communist or theocratic autocracies pound home the evil of america and their goal is to confuse audiences at home and abroad in order to make all of us believe change is impossible. in my role as a journalist in poland, as a historian of communism, i'