mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: first, to inform folks, in my arcane processes in the senate, i have to switch my vote from the yes to no in order to consider this vote. the presiding officer: motion is entered. mr. schumer: and, madam president, it is regrettable that this bill, which so much helps our veterans, went down. i hope our veterans need it. it was supported by all of our veterans groups. it had bipartisan, unanimous support in committee. and i hope that some of our members on the other side of the aisle who didn't vote for it will reconsider. i yield the floor. i ask unanimous consent that the senate resume legislative session, that the committee on environment and the public works be charged -- discharged from further consideration of s.j. res. 11, that the senate proceed to its immediate consideration, that at 4:20 p.m., the joint resolution be considered read a third time and the senate vote on passage, with no intervening action or debate. and that upon disposition of s.j. res., 11, the senat

mr. schumer: now, mr. president mr. president,. mr. schumer: mr. president, for months, the american people have demanded house republicans stop their hostage-taking and show us a plan to avoid default. last week house republicans failed in their assignment, yet again. speaker mccarthy rolled out a wish list straight out of the freedom caucus playbook. it might as well be called the default on america act. because that's exactly what it is. doa. instead of doing what both sides of done many times before, avoiding default without preconditions, speaker mccarthy and house republicans want to force working americans to accept either a punch to the gut or a blow to the head. either the u.s. defaults on national debt for the first time in american history or maga republicans get their way and america defaults on everything else -- on our future and our security, on our promise to care for veterans and law enforcement and the american middle class. either way, republicans are promising real pain for american families when they bring their default on amer

mr. schumer: mr. president,. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: first let me thank my colleagues, our chair of the senate foreign relations committee, senator menendez, skein, who has -- senator kaine who has worked on this bill not for days, not for months but for years and never gave up hope. senator young, senator risch, and so many others who worked so hard to make this day happen. so 20 years after the start of the iraq war, the senate finally, finally, finally declares today the time has come to repeal the legal authorities that began that war in the first place. this is bipartisan, and that's one of the beauties of this. democrats and republicans join to say it has been long enough. the iraq war has long been over. these authorizations for the use of force against iraq are no longer necessary for our security. make no mistake, this vote, repealing the iraq war powers, is one for the history books. the american people, as we know, are tired of endless wars in the middle east. every year we keep these aumf's on the books. every year t

mr. schumer, let your senators talk about this in public.ndustry is not evil it is a good thing and it's how americans have flourished. a matter fact globally if you don't have american fossil fuels in the mix you are basically telling billions of people around the world sorry you can have to live under the consequences of which you find yourself today and most likely you going to die an early death. >> governor can we probe his agenda a little bit. he is doubly done of not tripling down on the very extreme energy policies pandering to the extreme left as you suggest. you think this will hurt him in the next election? one school of thought used trying to hammer home because not been able to accomplish anything else and is destroy the economy. >> i think americans are by and large when you hurt them enough, they have a lot of things going on in their lives they are trying to make ends meet and meet schedules and they're worried about keeping their job. they see all the discontent across america whether it's on the evening news and they're wor

mr. schumer, is the smart strategy. i think ultimately this week was a win for mr. mccarthy. loss for america. because we had maybe a month or so left before we hit the debt ceiling. there's no progress. but i think ultimately american public will see that the president is being responsible by saying, let's just have a clean debt limit raised. then we can move on later and have a conversation about the rest of your wish list. >> switching gears, former vice president mike pence testified thursday for seven hours before federal grand jury. that grand jury investigating january 6th, and former president donald trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. that same day, trump was seen at a new hampshire diner, hugging and signing autographs for a woman who served jail time for participating in january 6th. michael, at the same time as trump's bid for the gop presidential nomination is gaining ground, he's also quite literally embracing insurrectionists. how big of a problem is that for the republican project? >> you know, it's interesting. donald trump has been indicted from a

mr. schumer and president biden should take note of that. >> okay. hearing matt gaetz say there are eight holdouts as of this moment in time. there won't be a vote tomorrow. do you speak -- have you personally spoken to kevin mccarthy about this? >> i wasn't able to speak to him this evening, but i spoke to members of his leadership team. i made very clear where i stood. and several of my colleagues did the same. and they've been public about it. and so i think that there's still a little work to do, but i don't dispair that. i think that what the american people want to see is that people putting aside partisan affiliation and working together to reduce spending and to not have the catastrophic impact of defaulting, which is not something anybody wants to see. >> you heard me say at the outset, i addressed the subject with some level of trepidation because i feel like viewers across the country are saying, we've heard it all before and they always seem to work this out. is this going to get worked out? >> i hope so. and there's a lot of momentum tow

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: let me begin with a quote. quote, i can't imagine anybody ever even thinking of using the debt ceiling as a negotiating wedge. these words are not mine. they're not even the words of a democrat. they come from former president donald trump. for all his terrible flaws, in this case i'd say a broken clock, twice a day. even donald trump understood what house republicans today do not. the full faith and credit of the united states must never be taken hostage. again, to quote president trump, former president trump, i can't imagine anybody even thinking of using the debt ceiling as a negotiating wedge. time is ticking for the united states -- before the united states enters into a first ever national debt if things don't change. yesterday speaker mccarthy met with house republicans in hopes of uniting his party around a single framework of cuts, albeit one that will never become law. the meeting, from all reports, did not go well, to put it lightly. one gop member said yesterday,

the senate democrats would consider agreeable because as you know, the senate majority leader, mr schumer said the same thing, the president said, i won't even discuss it. so we have no idea what the senate would accept. and if they would have a conversation with this, maybe we could do what you've proposed. we would love to have a conversation and see if there's some bipartisan agreement. see if there's some area in the middle, but since they won't discuss with this, neither the senate nor the president, all we're left to do then is to say, okay, this is what we would like. this is something that we think is to the benefit of our economic future. and now please discuss it with us, and we'll see if they will. we hope that they will republican congressman chris stewart of utah. thanks so much, sir. good to see you. as always. thank you respond. white house senior adviser mitch landrieu. mr landrieu, good to see you. a growing number of house democrats calling on president biden to meet with speaker mccarthy. we just heard from congressman jared moskowitz of florida democrat in that piece t

some have defended the legal system in a subtle way for senate majority leader chuck schumer said in part, mrtrump is subject to the same laws as every american. on the other side some prominent republicans are defending the president calling the indictment a political persecution. former attorney general bill barr echoed that sentiment on "fox news sunday", listen. >> what certainly appears to be in a think the american people see that. it is the very essence of the abuse of the prosecutor function. which is pursuing a person rather than pursuing a real crime. >> and trump will not be handcuffed this is after an agreement between trump's legal team in the das office for the secret service of course will be on the former presidents heals the entire time. and should any protest erupted outside of the courthouse nypd is set to take the lead. >> remarkable history set to unfold in the building behind you, cb cotton thank you picnics are just 48 hours from now. coming up a stuart you'll only see here at fox news for ukrainian child, forcibly taken by russian troops and placed in a reeducation cam

mr. speaker, house republicans are taking action to lift the debt limit. to limit government spending, save taxpayers money and grow the economy. president biden and senator schumer have no right to play politics with the debt calling. their extreme positions risk provoking the very crisis they claim to want to avoid. they need to sit down, negotiate and address this crisis. now that we've introduced a clear plan for a responsible debt limit increase, they have no more excuse and refuse to negotiate. i thank the senate -- i think the senate can honor maple syrup and basketball teams and negotiate on a debt ceiling at the same time. we owe it to the american people to use this moment in history to deliver the future they want, need and deserve. house republicans have a plan. the senate does not. and the president is ignoring the debt crisis. president biden has a choice. come to the table and stop playing partisan political games. or cover his ears, refuse to negotiate and risk bumbling his way into the first default in our nation's history. i urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this plan to get our nation back on track so, yes, we then ca

senate majority leader chuck schumer says it is dead on arrival in the senate and mr. biden promised to veto it, if it were to reach his desk. the government needs to raise the debt ceiling were cut spending in order to avoid an historic store catastrophic default the summer. >>> there will be a detention hearing today for suspected pentagon leaguer. the justice department says his history of violent threats and attempts to destroy evidence make him a flight risk. he faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. >>> last night antioch mayor held a meeting. mayor thorpe answer questions about the city council meeting this month where the mayor got into a heated back and forth with the resident who defended the police department after the text got out. >> standing up to racism is not an easy task and that is all that is. it was not an outburst or a trigger. it was standing up to racism. i don't know how clear i can make that. >> 17 officers are accused of being part of the hateful text group. five people who claimed they were targeted in the messages have filed a federal

schumer to show us what they are made of. and now i'm going to turn it over to the tiger from louisiana, our majority leader. mr. scalise: thank you, whip. this is a critically important week for the future direction of our country. for too long, and especially over the last two years, we have seen washington go on a spending spree unlike anything in our nation's history. joe biden has maxed out the nation's credit card. and now at this moment where the credit card is maxed out, joe biden has gone into hiding trying to run out the clock and create a debt crisis demanding not that we address the spending problem that maxed out the credit card, but believe it or not, joe biden is demanding that he get another card to go max out. no family in america would run their household that way. and frankly, i think when you look at the polls and see how low joe biden's numbers are, nobody in america thinks this is the responsible way for the commander in chief to lead this country. but if joe biden won't lead, house republicans will. that's why you will see us pass a bill this week to address the debt ceiling. but also at t

mr. arrington: i yield another 20 seconds to my colleague. >> this bill begins the conversation and president biden and senator schumer must work with speaker many mccarthy to move our country forward and restore fiscal sanity and solvency, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. boyle: i yield two minutes to the the gentlewoman from california, ms. pelosi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. pelosi: i thank the gentlelady for mr. boil h boyle and mr. neal in bringing our side of the story to this. and what is this. i thank the republicans the clarity which they have put forth their default on america act because their default on america act will do just this. when you vote for this bill, you will put veterans' health care at risk eliminating up to 30 million health care visits, splash pell grants from our students, rip a way food assistance from women and children, a million of seniors from meals and wheels and will poll out the planet overturning what we did with green tax credits in the inflation reduction act. what is amazing, a vote to cut $8 bi

schumer says i will be dead on arrival. up next, the floor debate prior to the vote. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas, mr.rrington, seek recognition? mr. arrington: mr. speaker, pursua

schumer and mitch mcconnell saying, journalism is not a crime. next tonight, the spiraling violence in the middle east. is really per mr.hu calling up reserve forces after days of clashes with palestinian groups inside israel and in the occupied west bank. all factions racing for sunday when easter passover and ramadan all coincide. abc's matt gutman is in israel tonight. >> the deadly attack on the most populous city. surveillance video being examined by police showing the vehicle racing down the iconic promenade. killings one and injuring at least five others. the car flipping over. video posted to his social media showing israeli police surrounding the overturned vehicle and opening fire. israeli authorities saying they shot and killed a palestinian driver as he reached for a weapon. a short time later, we were at the scene. you walk down here, what did you say? >> i saw three big people laying on the floor. two of them were being treated by first responders. >> matt: the incident as good an already simmering tensions. two british israelite sisters were killed in a shooting attack on this car in the west bank. their

mr. biden slamming the proposal as a blunt instrument that would hurt everyday americans and today senate leader chuck schumerbill wouldn't advance in the senate. there's one last resort plan emerging from the house problem solvers caucus, a bipartisan group of 63 lawmakers. here's the group co-chair this morning. >> we need to look to our leadership first and hopefully sit down and work this out we offered a backup plan in case things don't work out. but we agree on we can't afford to default on the full faith and credit of the united states and put our reputation and people's savings at risk. that's not acceptable. >> the white house will not negotiate over default the press secretary took direct aim at several specific house republicans challenging them to vote for the mccarthy proposal and risk losing jobs in their districts. >> we're getting questions about whether the house needs to pass a budget kind of -- a revenue bill so that if we get they have this legislation piece to go from something like that are the stakes higher than usual? >> well the stakes are always very high in these scenarios usually t

mr. arrington: i yield another 20 seconds to my colleague. >> this bill begins the conversation and president biden and senator schumer must work with speaker many mccarthy to move our country forward and restore fiscal sanity and solvency, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. boyle: i yield two minutes to the the gentlewoman from california, ms. pelosi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. pelosi: i thank the gentlelady for mr. boil h boyle and mr. neal in bringing our side of the story to this. and what is this. i thank the republicans the clarity which they have put forth their default on america act because their default on america act will do just this. when you vote for this bill, you will put veterans' health care at risk eliminating up to 30 million health care visits, splash pell grants from our students, rip a way food assistance from women and children, a million of seniors from meals and wheels and will poll out the planet overturning what we did with green tax credits in the inflation reduction act. what is amazing, a vote to cut $8 bi

and sensible manner and bringing chuck shumer and joe biden to the -- chuck schumer and joe biden to the negotiating table. mrskiggans: thank you. i hope we can restore fiscal responsibility and empowers americans to be good stewards of our nation's vast natural resources. i thank the gentleman and i yield back. mr. reschenthaler: thank you. i yield back to the gentleman from missouri. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. neal: thank you. i want to thank the gentlelady from virginia for calling attention to these tax credits. and you talk about frew tew tuss -- timing. the $300 billion along with earl blumenauer and we intend to lay out where they're going, to republican districts, and see if they'll take advantage of these tax credits or not. i yield to congressman thompson for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: i rise in strong opposition to the default on america. we need to raise the debt ceiling, not because of money we want to spend in the future, but because of mone

mr. speaker, house republicans are taking action to lift the debt limit. to limit government spending, save taxpayers money and grow the economy. president biden and senator schumer have no right to play politics with the debt calling. their extreme positions risk provoking the very crisis they claim to want to avoid. they need to sit down, negotiate, and address this crisis. now that we have introduced a clear plan for responsible debt limit increase, they have no more excuse and refuse to negotiate. i thank the senate can honor maple syrup -- >> sandra: we will continue to monitor kevin mccarthy on the hill, making the case president biden has ignored the impending debt crisis, for 77 days. we are about to hear from the president, a live shot in maryland where he is about to speak and fire back at mccarthy, who he is refusing to meet with and limit save grow act, he says will responsibly lift the debt ceiling into next year, wants to limit federal spending, save taxpayers trillions of dollars and we are about to hear the president's response to the pitch to the american people in a few moments, john. >> john: all the talk how to get spending under control, and

mr. kessler is the executive vice president for policy and co-founder of the third way. previously served as legislative and policy director to senator schumer. ms. brain is the new york state woman of the victims rights reform counsel. formed to provide an advocate for victims of crime. her son, sergeant hanson, was murdered in 2018 by four assailants. his father was stabbed during the attack. we are sorry for your loss and thank you for being here. councilman holden represents district 30 and leads the common sense counsel with another congressman and a member of the community board five queens for 30 years served as first chair for seven years and on the public safety committee for 13 years. thank you for your service. ms. fisher is the executive directors of new yorkers against gun violence. organization seeks to inform youth about gun violence to prevent it. the president of the new york police detectives endowment association representing 20,000 active and retired new york city detectives. he served with nypd for 40 years. thank you. mr. bore began. his son was a victim of a violent crime tar geted because of his jewish faith while wal

leader chuck schumer spoke on the floor at the house gop plan for the debt ceiling criticizing the proposal claiming it would be quote dead on arrival if it were sent to the senate. >> mr. president. four months the american people have demanded house republicans stop their hostagetaking and show us a plan to avoid default. last week house republicans failed in their assignment yet again. speaker mccarthy rolled out a wish list straight out of the freedom caucus and playbook. it might has well be called the default on america act. that is exactly what it is. do a. and set up to him the both sides of done many times before, avoiding default without preconditions speaker mccarthy and house republicans want to force working americans to accept either a punch to the gut or a blow to the head. either the u.s. default on debt for the first time in american history or maga republicans get their way in america default let ureverything else, on our future and our security for on our promise to care for veterans in law enforcement and the american middle class. either way republicans are promising a real pain for american families when they bring default on thet house flr this w

mr. chairman. our debt is a huge issue to working-class americans. huge issue. when spending caps fell off in 21, we saw under one-party democrat rule joe biden, nancy pelosi and chuck schumer increased spending by more than $10 trillion. increased spending in two years with no caps. $10 trillion. and that resulted in working class americans inflation has gone up almost 15% in those two years. 14.9%. real wages have decreased 3.5% in those two years because of those policies increasing the debt, increasing the spending. and that means every american is paying more to put food on the table, close on their backs into gasoline in their cars. that is devastating and that is why the american people are calling on congress and the white house to address this fiscal insanity and figure out some way to come to a common ground. the speaker and house republicans have been clear there are few redlines. one, just not going to be a clean increase to the credit limit and number two, there's not going to be tax increases included to it. other than that, we will work with you on anything. so come to the table. don't be reckless and let's accomplish this. >> so to be clear, senator schumer

mr. speaker, house republicans are taking action to lift the debt limit. to limit government spending, save taxpayers money and grow the economy. president biden and senator schumer have no right to play politics with the debt calling. their extreme positions risk provoking the very crisis they claim to want to avoid. they need to sit down, negotiate and address this crisis. now that we've introduced a clear plan for a responsible debt limit increase, they have no more excuse and refuse to negotiate. i thank the senate -- i think the senate can honor maple syrup and basketball teams and negotiate on a debt ceiling at the same time. we owe it to the american people to use this moment in history to deliver the future they want, need and deserve. house republicans have a plan. the senate does not. and the president is ignoring the debt crisis. president biden has a choice. come to the table and stop playing partisan political games. or cover his ears, refuse to negotiate and risk bumbling his way into the first default in our nation's history. i urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this plan to get our nation back on track so, yes, we then ca

schumer. and people wonder why inflation has gone up 14.9%. in those two years when inflation was 1.4% before overspending started. >> and that's what put us in this position. thank you, mr chairman. i yield back. >> the gentleman from new york is recognized for questions. >> thank you. chairman smith, in a statement regarding house republicans comments as a proposal to raise the debt ceiling and to cut spending, the white house accused of the house republicans of threatening to kill off thousands of manufacturing jobs. so i'd like to ask you this, what effect will the continued runaway inflation have on manufacturing jobs or just jobs in general? >> let me tell you, let's talk about the green credits in this bill. the green credits were helping with manufacturing jobs. but manufacturing jobs in china because the policies that this administration with fake agreements and changing of rules is violating even their own language in the inflation reduction act, which will allow those tax credits to go to china and will not help the american worker or the american manufacturing. so, by us repealing these incentives, it will help us have more manufacturing jobs in the united st

schumer and lindsey graham. >> today i'm acting not just as leader, but as dianne's friend in honoring her wishes until she returns to the senate. mrd as senator feinstein asks us for something so important to her, we ought to respect it >> the reason this is being made is to try to change the numbers on the committee in a way that i think would be harmful to the senate and pass out a handful of judges that i think should never be on the bench. with that in mind, and all due respect to senator feinstein, i object. >> reporter: so what's next, democrats can put this through the full senate, vote on a resolution through the 60 vote process. republicans have made it clear they're going to filibuster that resolution which leaves democrats with three options senator feinstein could come back and resume voting on the judiciary committee. she could resign and get replaced by governor gavin newsom which republicans told me would be a unique situation, they would be more inclined to reshuffle the committee because new senators get appointed mid session. they're not interested in a temporary swap she could remain absent in which case preside

mr. schumer: mr.sident. the presiding officer: the majority leader. the senate will be in order. mr. schumer: mr. president, it's a great moment because, or a few moments ago was a great moment, but it continues to be. our dear friend, senator patty murray reached an amazing milestone. 10,000 votes over the course of her career in the senate. the first woman senator in american history to do so. we're not supposed to clap, but every once in a while, breaking protocol is appropriate as it is now. so it's a remarkable accomplishment for a truly remarkable public servant. if she just cast 10,000 votes, that would be pretty good, but her accomplishments go way beyond that and often dwarf it. she was the first woman to serve as the chair of the veterans' affairs committee, the budget committee and at the beginning of this congress she made history as the first woman ever to serve as president pro tem in the senate. she's a voice the senate and the country replies on -- relies on. when we speaks, everyone l

schumer first, mr. president -- mr. schumer: first, mr. president, i'd like to speak about the upcoming vote on the equal rights amendment. as we all know, the story of american democracy has been a hard but inexorable march towards greater equality. equality regardless of race, regardless of social status, regardless of marital status and equality regardless of sex. that march began at the founding of our country when abigail adams reminded her husband to, quote, remember the ladies when drafting the constitution, which fell, unfortunately, on deaf ears. it was a march that grew great numbers during the convention at seneca falls, new york, in 1848 and found expression in the abolitionist movement. that march took a bold step 100 years ago when alice paul and crystal eastman drafted the original iteration of the equal rights amendment and it became before congress for the first time. let that great march towards equality take the next bold step today when the senate votes to take up this bipartisan resolution on the e.r.a. this resolution

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: mr. president, few have left their mark on this country like our dear friend senator dianne feinstein. she's a legend in california. the first woman senator from the state. she's a legend here in the senate. the longest-serving woman senator in u.s. history. she built a reputation as an expert legislator on so many issues, gun violence, have a u.a.w. -- vawa, and so much more more. dianne is a legend throughout the country, moved countless mountains and-month-old -- and molded millions of minds. few have accomplished as much in office as senator feinstein. she has made her wish clear, that are another senator temporarily serve on the judiciary committee until she returns. i thank senator cardin for agreeing to step in. so today, i am acting not just as leader but as dianne's friend in honoring her wishes until she returns to the senate. mr. president, when someone as dear and as accomplished as senator feinstein asks us for something so important to her, we ought to respect it. and so i a

mr. schumer: mr. president, for months, the american people have demanded house republicans stop their hostage-taking and show us a plan to avoid default. last week house republicans failed in their assignment, yet again. speaker mccarthy rolled out a wish list straight out of the freedom caucus playbook. it might as well be called the default on america act. because that's exactly what it is. doa. instead of doing what both sides of done many times before, avoiding default without preconditions, speaker mccarthy and house republicans want to force working americans to accept either a punch to the gut or a blow to the head. either the u.s. defaults on national debt for the first time in american history or maga republicans get their way and america defaults on everything else -- on our future and our security, on our promise to care for veterans and law enforcement and the american middle class. either way, republicans are promising real pain for american families when they bring their default on amer

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: mr. president, in reference to the amendment -- the presiding officer: senate is? a quorum call. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum be dispensed with. may we have order, mr. president. the presiding officer: without objection, the quorum is dispensed with. mr. schumer: thank you. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. the majority leader is recognized. mr. schumer: now you mr. president, when the health and safety of our country is at risk, it is up to veterans to step up to protect us. they risk their lives for us. they're always there for us. but today senator tuberville from alabama is pushing legislation that would a way reproductive care for hundreds of thousands of veterans and their families. that's right. the hard right is stem celling our veterans they should -- the hard right is telling our veterans they should be treated as second-class citizens, our women veterans. it is the kind of extreme proposal millions of americans strongly oppose and one,

mr. schumer: on this solemn day, mr.sident, we owe it to the survivors, their families, and the world to continue bearing witness to the tragic legacy of the holocaust and keep repeating our conviction and our prayer, never again. senate business -- it's a busy week here in the senate, mr. president. we're starting with the very important bill that's going to help so many communities, particularly rural and suburban communities in america. and that is the fire grants and safety act, which i expect to pass the senate this week. the overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation would ensure that two important federal grant programs that support our firefighters, safer and afg, remain available. we had a 96-0 vote last month to move forward with the fire grants legislation, and i hope it portends swift action this week. on the nominations front, we're continuing to move ahead. on thursday, the help committee will hold a confirmation hearing for president biden's nomination for secretary of labor, julie suh, who is a strong fighter

mr. graham: thank you. i will be very brief. to my colleague and good friend senator schumer. i want you to know that 99 senators agree with you said. we all hope, she's a dear friend and we hope for her speedy recovery and her return back to the senate. with all due respect to my colleague, senator schumer, this is about a handful of judges that you can't get the votes for and i have been a pretty consistent vote in the judiciary committee in a bipartisan fashion. i understand that you won the election, we lost, and i want to make sure we process judges fairly. but the reason this is being made is to try to change the numbers on the committee in a way that i think would be harmful to the senate and it to pass out a handful of judges that i think should never be on the bench. so with that in mind and with all due respect to senator feinstein, i object. th