signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands adjourned until 3:30 p.m., on tuesday, 3:30 p.m., on tuesday, >> so the senate is meeting every three days to hold pro forma sessions like this as lawmakers return to the states for the july for the break. last that the chamber approved the bipartisan gun bill which expands background checks and provide resources for mental health treatment. the bill has made its way t

signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands adjourned until 3:00 p.m. on tuesday, position is unique and interesting way to schedule substances. this brings a lot of complex factors and that is the reason the administration proposed scheduling fentanyl as a class but also balancing that with the rights and research part. we would love to continue to work with you at your office and with your staff to figure out the path forward. it is imperative we continue to find a permanent path forward. sen. grassley: why don't you give me a rough idea of what some of those things are? simple things that congress has been doing four or five times on a piecemeal basis for two or three years of the schedule. dr. gupta: what we don't know is what the future may hold. they may be other compounds, others that might not be active compounds. you want to be careful that those are included but also their consciously included in class. secondly, the notion of the outlands does not app

signed: patrick j. leahy,

alex padilla, a senator from the state of california to perform the duties of the chair, signed patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. also under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of h.r. 3967 which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 388, h.r. 3967, an act to improve health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances and for other purposes. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask -- mr. president, as we speak, the united states senate is working on something not seen since the time we passed the brady bill i authored nearly three decades ago. a bipartisan effort to draft meaningful gun safety legislation. for decades, the rhythms of the gun debate in congress have followed a disspiritting pattern. a mass shooting takes place in america. innocent people are slaughtered. families grieve and demand action but gridlock takes over and nothing, nothing gets done. this was the cycle in acti

signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. the presiding officer: morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of defense, alex wagner, of the district of columbia to be assistant secretary of the air force. it was sheer devastation. last year communities in my state had some of the worst air quality in the world because of wildfire smoke. sad to say this but northern utah and colorado on the same day have the worst air quality in the world. worse than beijing and that led senator romney and me to take a about water and climate and forestry. deeply appreciated. there are days when people can't go outside. they can't open the windows. they can't see the mountains. the dangerous air pollution puts coloradans health at risk and is left people across the west direct with the soberin

signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the motion to discharge the clarke nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to discharge jessica g.l. clarke of new york to be united states district judge for the southern district of new york, from the committee of new york, from the committee in the gallery right now listening to the senate debate bipartisan safer communities act. it's one of my interns. her name is sarah kaufman. i'm glad to have her as an intern in my office this summer, but she has a story to tell because she is a survivor of a mass shooting. she was a student at marjory stoneman douglas high school when a gunman entered that campus and shot and killed her friends, her classmates. she reminds us that she went to more funerals in a matter of a week the many adults do in their entire life

signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of h.r. 3967, which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 388, h.r. 3967, an act to improve health care and benefits for veterans exposed to objection tokingic substances, and for other purpose -- toxic substances and for other purposes. all four the packet legislation . as a former chair and longtime member of the senate veterans committee, one of my highest priorities is to make certain that every veteran in this country, people that put their lives on the line to defend us, get the quality health care and benefits that they have dessert. this is an important piece of legislation, and i want us to congratulate senator tester chair of the committee and ranking member moran for the hard work on this. this legislation will improve healthcare, research and resources for veterans who were exposed to deadly

signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands adjourned until 3:30 p.m., on tuesday, 3:30 p.m., on tuesday, >> so the senate is meeting every three days to hold pro forma sessions like this as lawmakers return to the states for the july for the break. last that the chamber approved the bipartisan gun bill which expands background checks and provide resources for mental health treatment. the bill has made its way to the u.s. house where members are currently debating and voting on the measure. you can see live coverage of the house on c-span. the u.s. supreme court today has ruled in jackson versus tops the decision effectively overturned abortion rights from the roe v. wade decision in 1972. live pictures now at the u.s. supreme court as people react to the decision. >> i am a resident of san francisco. this is just the beginning of our battle. there are so many people in san francisco facing poverty and homelessness. we are going to create sustainable communities

signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of h.r. 3967. the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 388, h.r. 3967, an act to improve health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances and for other purposes. mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: american families are being crushed by giant backdoor inflation tax, and it's been fueled in large part by democrats' huge mistakes. month after month, families pick up the newspaper, flip on the television, and hear that democrats' inflation is setting new 40-year records. month after month, families find themselves shelling out hundreds upon hundreds of extra dollars per month, just to actually tread water. forget about saving and getting ahead. in this democrat-run economy, working americans have to shell out hundreds of extra dollars eve