Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate U.S. Senate 20240712

Vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote . If not, the yeas are 92, the nays are 4. And the nomination is confirmed. Under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table. The president will be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk cloture motion we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of john w. Holcomb of california to be United States district judge for the Central District of california. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. The question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of john w. Holcomb of california to be United States district judge for the Central District of california shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. And the clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote the presiding officer does any senator in the chamber wish to vote or change his or her vote . If not, the yeas are 83, the nays are 13. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the next nomination. The clerk nomination, the judiciary, john w. Holcomb, of california, to be United States district judge for the Central District of california. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. The question is, is it the sense of the senate that the debate on robs robs to be United States district judge for the Southern District of california . The clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22, do hereby bring to a close debate on of Todd Wallace Robinson of california to be United States district judge for the Southern District of california. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. The question is, is it the sense of the senate that the debate on Todd Robinson to be United States district judge for the Southern District of california shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote . If not, the yeas are 33, the nays are 13. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, the judiciary. Todd Wallace Robinson of california to be United States district judge for the Southern District of california. Mr. Toomey mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from pennsylvania. Mr. Toomey mr. President , i have a unanimous consent request. We hope they die. We hope they die. We hope they die. Mr. President , these are the vial words the vile words that antipolice protesters yelled on saturday night outside st. Francis Medical Center in Los Angeles County, california. They were yelling that about two deputy sheriffs who at the time were clinging to life inside the hospital. They were clinging to life, just barely, mr. President , because earlier that night those two deputy sheriffs were brutally ambushed by a gunman to shot them multiple times as they sat in their patrol car. Simply doing their jobs, patrolling the local train station. One of the deputies is a 31yearold mother of a 6yearold boy. The other deputy is a 24yearold man. Both joined the force about 14 months ago. The female deputy was shot through the jaw but, heroically, she still managed to radio for help and apply a tourniquet to her partners wounds. What happened in los angeles, mr. President , to these deputies is horrific and it is dangerous, and it is a reminder that every single day Law Enforcement officers put on a badge and then risk their lives to protect all of us. And i mean every single day. Just this past sunday, a Police Officer in lancaster, pennsylvania, responded to a Domestic Violence call it came in a home in the city. His body cam video captured what happened next. When the officer arrived, a fullgrown man wielding a huge carving knife waving it over his head came charging out of the house and charged straight at the officer. The man who did this, as it happens, is scheduled to go on trial in october on charges of stabbing four people last year. What happened to the deputies in los angeles is not only horrific, but its part of a disturbing trend of violence against police. According to the f. B. I. , 37 Law Enforcement officials were intentionally killed in the line of duty just so far this year. Thats a 23 increase from the same period last year. Rioters have attacked Law Enforcement. Weve seen them h. R. Ing bricks and rocks and weve seen them hurling bricks and rocks and Setting Police cars on fire. Mr. President , this violence against police is not happening in a vacuum. Its not. In recent months the nation has been engaged in an important, substantive debate about the relationship between Law Enforcement and the communities that they serve and protect, and i happen to think that debate is important. Its one of the reasons that i supported senator tim scotts bill to provide more accountability and transparency with respect to Law Enforcement. But, unfortunately, our democratic colleagues blocked us from even being able to hold a debate on that bill. Senator scott and republicans were willing to allow votes on any democrat amendments. They could have changed the bill in any way that they saw fit, if they could make the case with their amendments. But they refused to even have a process, refused to even allow anyone, including in the themselves, to offer amendments. They refused to let us even consider the bill. And the Police Reform debate has exposed some radical voices. Unfortunately, that sometimes includes government officials who spew antipolice rhetoric. They call for defunding, sometimes even abolishing the police. And they want to boil out rioters in minneapolis. For example, after the two Los Angeles Deputy sheriffs were shot on saturday, not only did antipolice protesters yell we hope they die and other vile things outside the hospital, but the city manager of linwood, california, the very city where the deputies were clinging to their lives in the hospital, the city manager responded to the shooting by posting on social media the message saying, chickens come home to roost. Can you imagine . Protesters feed off the failure of elected officials to support and defend the police. In lancaster, after that knifewielding man was shot by an officer who was just protecting his own life, which was obviously under serious risk, protesters came out and started rioting, throwing bricks, rocks and bottles at police, smash windows at a Police Station and a post office, setting a dumpster on fire. Despite the fact that the video clearly shows that the officer was being attacked. He was simply defending his life. I have no idea why anyone would protest a Police Officer defending his own life. My own state of pennsylvania, a local democratic elected official in Delaware County recently posted an image unbelievable on social media of two black men holding guns to the head of a white Police Officer with a caption that said, does it have to come to this to make them stop murdering and terrorizing us . What kind of message is that . As Los Angeles County sheriff noted on sat after his on saturday after his officers were shot, and i quote, words have consequences. They do, mr. President. You know, instead of defunding the police, we should be defending the police, defending them against this kind of violence both in word and especially in deed. And thats why im here today calling on the senate to pass my thin blue line act today. My bill sends a very simple and clear message. Anyone who murders a Law Enforcement official should be prepared to pay the ultimate price. Under federal law, killing a federal Law Enforcement official is an aggravating factor for the federal jury to weigh when considering whether or not to impose the Death Penalty on a cop killer. But that consideration does not apply when a state or local Law Enforcement officer is killed, and so the thin blue line act provides that same level of justice to state and local Law Enforcement officers that we already apply to federal Law Enforcement officers by also making the killing of a local Law Enforcement officer an aggravating factor in determining whether or not to impose the Death Penalty in a federal case. In 2017, the house passed a bill, this bill, with bipartisan support, included support of liberals like adam schiff and bay tow owe rocker, and the and beta orourke and the bill has support from groups like the fraternal order of police, the National Sheriffs association, the National Association of police organizations, and others. Mr. President , the thin blue line act is commonsense, Bipartisan Legislation that the senate should pass now. Our Law Enforcement officers put themselves in harms way every day, and we are reminded of that every day. Theyre out there protecting us, and im not sure thats ever been more dangerous for Law Enforcement than it is today. We need to do our part to support them, to send a message to them that we support them, but to send a message to criminals and potential assassins that they will pay the ultimate price. The tragic event that a Police Officer is killed in the line of duty, we owe that officer justice, and im going to keep fighting for them to receive it. So, mr. President , as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of s. 1508 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. Further, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer is there objection . A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from new mexico. Mr. Udall reserving the right to object. Thank you, mr. President. Thank you for the recognition. As a former new Mexico Attorney general and assistant u. S. Attorney, ive worked hard to prosecute Violent Crimes. Ive been privileged to work with Law Enforcement, and we are all thankful for the tremendous work the Capitol Police do here in our nations capital. The recent shootings of two law sheriffs deputies in california was heinous. Our prayers go out to the officers and their families. The perpetrator must be brought to justice. But i do not support rushing through this bill in response to the california shootings. Under california law, murder of a Law Enforcement officer already makes someone eligible for the Death Penalty. This bill needlessly expands the federal Death Penalty. As i understand this bill, for someone to be eligible for the Death Penalty, he or she would have to first be convicted of federal murder, and then it would need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the victim watts killed or targeted because he or she was a Law Enforcement officer. I also want to point out that the Death Penalty itself has widespread issues in many instances of misapplication. D. N. A. Testing and other science have proven that innocent people have been executed. The Innocence Project has found that 21 of 375 individuals who were falsely convicted and exonerated by d. N. A. Testing since 1989 have served time on death row. The Death Penalty has also been applied in a racially discriminatory way. A 1990 g. A. O. Report on capital sentencing noted that 82 of studies conducted between 1972 and 1990 found that the race of the victim influenced whether a capital murder charge was brought or a death sentence imposed. As Justice Breyer has noted, and i quote here, the factors that most clearly ought to affect application of the Death Penalty, namely comparative egregiousness of the crime, often do not. Instead, circumstances that ought not to affect application of the Death Penalty, such as race, gender, or geography, often do. Thats in a recent Supreme Court case here in 2015. I also understand that this bill has not been through the regular order in the Judiciary Committee. Its important that legislation that would have serious consequences is fully examined by the Judiciary Committee, the committee of jurisdiction here. Id also like to take this opportunity to call attention to key legislation that addresses violence and should come to the floor, and thats the violence against women reauthorization act. Vawa authorization expired over a year and a half ago, on february 15, 2019. Funding continues, but key improvements are being delayed by lack of reauthorization. Violence against women reauthorization act of 2019 is supported by all 47 democratic senators. The house passed the bill 263158. 33 House Republicans voted yes on that bill. This bill would extend vawa waw waw vawa for five years through 2024. As the member on Indian Affairs i know how critical this bill is for indian country. Native women face mutter raids that are more than murder rates that are more than ten times the National Average murder rate. There are more than 5,000 cases of missing American Indian and alaska native women, and 55 of native women have experienced Domestic Violence. More than four in five American Indian and alaska native women experience violence in their lifetimes. Without enactment of a vawa reauthorization, these tribes will lack the jurisdictional tools they need to keep their communities safe. The vawa bill also explicitly states that grant recipients can train staff to prevent lgbt discrimination and it adds dating partners convicted of Domestic Violence and stalking to the category of persons barred from having handguns. This bill would make a real difference in preventing Violent Crimes against women and has passed the house and has been pending before us here in the senate for many months. For these reasons, i respectfully object to the senators request. The presiding officer the objection is heard. Mr. Toomey mr. President , first of all, let me just say bringing up vawa cant be anything other than an attempt to obfuscate from the case thats in front of us. Id be happy to talk about vawa. I happen to agree that violence against women is a serious issue. Its a serious problem. All the programs in vawa are still fully funded. They continue. And i dont think anybody in this body or the other body has done as much as ive done to make sure that the crimes victims fund, the resources in that fund goes to the victims of crime, very much including women who are victims of violent crime, and children and the groups that serve those victims. And, as a matter of fact, ive supported previous versions of vawa. Theres been a bipartisan effort to get a new reauthorization of vawa. Senator ernst and senator feinstein have spent months developing that, but thats not the version thats been under consideration here. Mr. President , theres nothing incompatible about passing my legislation, the thin blue line act, standing up to protect local Law Enforcement and having a separate consideration about vawa. Theyre not mutually exclusive. Theyre not in any way related to each other. But unfortunately, our democratic colleagues are not willing to simply extend the same protection we extend to federal Law Enforcement officials to the local Law Enforcement officials that are at risk every single day. So im very disappointed that my colleague from new mexico would object to a very simple and sensible bill that has bipartisan support. Mr. Udall mr. President. The presiding officer the senatorthe senator from new mexico. Mr. Udall as if in legislative session i ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of s. 2843, the violence against women reauthorization act, and that the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. Further, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer is there objection . Mr. Toomey mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from pennsylvania. Mr. Toomey for the reasons that i mentioned earlier in my comments, i object to this version of vawa. The presiding officer objection is heard. The senator from new mexico. Mr. Udall thank you, mr. President , for the recognition today. We rise, a number of senators that will be speaking today in this hour, we rise today to demand that the white house immediately remove William Perry penally from exercising the authority of the director of the bureau of Land Management and nominate a qualified person to be director subject to senate confirmation. William perry penly embodies the Trump Administrations approach to conservation. They dont believe in it. He embodies the Trump Administrations approach to tribal sovereignty. They dont respect it. And his continued employment at b. L. M. Embodies the Trump Administrations approach to the law and the separation of powers. Theyll trample all over it every chance they get. Mr. President penly has been exercising the authority of the director since july 2019. Lets get one thing straight. This title has no basis in law. Hes be serving as acting b. L. M. Director under temporary appointments that the secretary keeps renewing in a cynical ploy to evade the constitution, the federal vacancies reform act, and the judgment of the senate. Mr. Penlys record on conservation is so bad, so antithetical to the agency he oversees that the Trump Administration knew ep wouldnt survive he wouldnt survive a senate confirmation, so instead theyve concocted this shell game. The director of b. L. M. Is subject to senate confirmation. This administration did not bother to nominate anyone for four years until june of this year when mr. Penly was formally nominated. However, the ink had barely dried on his nomination papers before the president was forced to withdraw the nomination. From the beginning the conservation Outdoor Recreation are sports men and women communities have been uniformly opposed to mr. Penleys appointment. But thats not why the president withdrew his nomination. He withdrew the nomination because mr. Penleys extreme antipublic lands position made him too toxic for republican senators from western states facing tough reelections. Mr. President , if mr. Penley cant be confirmed as b. L. M. Director he should not remain the de facto leader of the agency. He should be immediately removed. No more shell games. There are many reasons mr. Penley is unfit to serve more than i have time to discuss, but let me discuss three with you now. First, over the course of his 40year career, hes established himself as one of the premier antipublic lands crusaders in the nation. Hes repeatedly advocated that the federal government sell off public lands argue iewrg that was arguing that was the nations founders intent. In 2016, he penned an opt ed, and i quote, the federal government should follow the constitution and sell its western lands. This from the man who is now charged with running the agency that oversees our public lands. Its appalling. B. L. M. Manages 245 acres on behalf of the American People. Managing these public lands is the Central Mission of the job and he doesnt think there should be any. Its no wonder hes trouble for western republican candidates. Poll after poll of westerners show overwhelming support for public lands among republicans, democrats, and independents. Selling off our National Heritage to the highest bidder is extreme and extremely ub popular. Mr. Unpopular. Mr. Pendly has been singularly focused on renting out our lands to other industries such as conservation, Outdoor Recreation and preservation of kuralt and historic values. As Deputy Assistant secretary of energy and minerals, pendly was a tireless advocate for opening up public lands from the outer Continental Shelf to wilderness areas to drilling and mining. When he was in charge of coalescing in the interior in the 1980s, he helped Coal Companies get a sweetheart deal leasing 1. 6 billion tons of coal at Bargain Basement prices. Federal taxpayers received about 100 million below fair market value for that sale or about 286 million in todays dollars. Mr. Pendly was removed from his position after that g. A. O. Report. And he hasnt changed one bit over the years. As executive director of the Mountain States Legal Foundation for 30 years, pendly fought tooth and nail for drilling and mining on our public lands. If left unchecked, i have no doubt mr. Pendly will continue to turn back the clock on 60 years of National Reckoning with the devastating consequences of recklessly extracting from the earth. Second, mr. Pendlys welldocumented racist attitudes make him unfit for his role. He has disdain for native americans, their trial sovereignty and religious practices. He is antiimgrant. He smears the black lives Matter Movement. He called native religious views panthism, he fought against protecting their sacred sites. Its pendlys b. L. M. That wanted to hold Virtual Meetings of the chaco landscape at the same time the Navajo Nation was facing one of the worst covid19 rates. Talk about tone deaf. As the vice chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs im here to say that mr. Pendly has no business managing lands that are home to sacred native sites. Hes questioned the basis of tribal sovereignty and even tribal recognition. He wrote, and i quote here, the day may come sooner than many expect given that with everdeclining Blood Quantum per tribe member, recognized tribes may be no more than associations of financial convenience. Lets call mr. Pendly offensive statement what it is, overt racism. But his disdain for people of color is not limited to native americans. Hes called undocumented immigrants, and i quote here, a cancer. Hes claimed immigration will lead to, quote, you and i permanently losing the country we love. Hes claimed undocumented immigrants create violent crime, crowded schools and spread disease. Mr. Pendlys racisms into place in todays america. And hes unqualified to manage be public lands at a time when we all should be working to make them for accessible to all america. People of color who have business before the bureau of Land Management, as many do every day, have every right to wonder, is the deck stacked against them . It shouldnt be that way. And, finally, a third reason that all of us should demand mrs position. He is a climatechange denier. The science of Climate Change that is happening and that is human caused is well established. We are years and years beyond any scientific argument on these points. Just open your eyes and look at the wildfires raging throughout the west, forcing people to evacuate their homes and making wide swaths of the west look like an apocalyptic scene from a hollywood movie. He makes it seem like unicorns, neither exist. His hostility to science comes as no surprise. Hes works for a president who just yesterday who made a belated visited to california, i dont think the science knows the cause of Climate Change. The president claims he knows, insisting, quote, it will start getting cooler. This president tries to undermine any institution that challenges his world view, whether its science, the press, our National Intelligence agencies or the courts. But while mr. Pendly and the president deny the reality of Climate Change, right now today in california and oregon, b. L. M. And other public lands are burning. While they put their heads in the sand on Climate Change, the families who have lost loved ones in this unprecedented fire season in that part of the country and the thousands who have lost homes dont have that luxury. In the view of william pendly, the president and his administration, the west is place to be plundered for Natural Resources and then left to burn. While pendly and the Trump Administration dont think that the b. L. M. Doesnt have a role to play in combating Climate Change, in fact, onequarter of all u. S. Carbon fuels extracted from public lands. Our public lands are a big part of the Climate Change problem. Instead of being a source of pollution, public lands must be an integral part of the climate solution. William pendlys vision for public lands is some terrible caricature that should be consigned to the history books where our public lands should be exploited, not preserved, where people of color are not seen, and where Climate Change does not exist. William pendly is an extremist and he was never going to be confirmed by the u. S. Senate. Its time hes shown the door. Mr. President , i now turn to my colleagues here who are with me on the floor. Im very proud to introduce my good friend and colleague, new mexicos junior, soon to be senior senator, senator martin heinrich. He led the Senate Democratic caucus in the letter to the president opposing mr. Pendlys nomination as b. L. M. Director and once his nomination was withdrawn, he urged the senate to remove mr. Pendly from his acting position. Senate heinrich, i would yield the floor to you. The presiding officer the senator from louisiana. Mr. Cassidy if i could interp late interp late. Hurricane sally threatens the gulf coast, including louisiana. I just spoke with the coast guard admiral in charge, the coast guard is ready should there be need. In the concern over sally and other issues, we must remember the aftermath of hurricane laura, which made landfall august 27 in camron, louisiana, as a category 45 hurricane. In terms of wind speed, this is 150 miles per hour. A more powerful storm than katrina, rita, gufstof, iec and others i kerch. It is in southwest louisiana, arkansas, and mississippi. 25 people died directly or indirectly because of hurricane laura and hundreds of thousands of lives upended. As of yesterday 145,000 people in louisiana have filed for assistance with fema. That is expected to grow roughly 2,800 people a day apply for assistance. Now, the sentiment at home is if you are without electricity as 99 of camron parish is without electricity, the fear is folks have forgotten about hurricane laura, that Recovery Efforts will be stalled and things will be ignored as attention turns to other issues, covid19, president ial race, et cetera. And anecdotally there is evidence that Public Opinion has slipped. Last week i spoke with the president of the American Red Cross who told me that donations were lagging well blow that below what the red cross hoped to receive to respond. I saw testimony, by the way, i flew from louisiana to washington, d. C. , yesterday and the jet was full of red cross volunteers. We are so appreciative. But i assure folks back home, just to say, that i did get a call from President Trump just as the hurricane hit. He assured me that whatever resources were needed, he would make sure they were there. As i told folks in louisiana, there was an audience of one paying attention, a very important audience, and that is the president. But in this speech i hope to continue to bring this hurricane and its aftermath to the attention of other fellow americans because fellow americans take care of ourselves, take care of each other. So im here to be a voice of the people of louisiana, share a story so that you may know what we are facing at home. Again, appreciative of the united way, American Red Cross, President Trump, and others for swiftly doing what all that they could do to help us through this recovery. But lets tell the story. Heres a wonderful picture from lake author, louisiana. She probabl doesnt like that i probably doesnt like that im showing this. Is this a Great American patriot and has a great louisiana name. If you look at this picture, there is the tree that has fallen over the guys house. Theres the fellow in the tree cutting down limbs. Here she is with a tree behind her and all the debris associated with it holding up an american flag. Now, her concern was that if we show this picture, we recognize that her husband, a veteran, is familiar with how destroyed flags should be destroyed damaged flags should be destroyed, but this has been fluttering during the hurricane and she just wanted to show it. Shes got a smile. This is one or two days after this devastating hurricane with all of this and the spirit of americans is that shes holding that flag and she is smiling. A Great American a Great American patriot but also shows the attitude of americans and the attitudes of people in louisiana. We are resilient in the face of adversity. But theres more than enough adversity to go around. Let me give you a couple of stories on our facebook page. Mike welcomes from lake charles gave our office a tour of his home. His metal roof completely ripped off, water through his house, the ceiling falling in, every single room extensive water damage. 20yearold Hannah Vincent shared that her childhood home was gone. The roof collapsed, flooded, a tree fell on their mothers bedroom. She had this semester off from school because of a lack of access and expenses she cannot cover even though she works. She told us its overwhelming. People say why even go back when your school is destroyed . I started a new career, and that had to come to an end because where i work is gone now. There are a through war stories like theirs. But amid the devastation, there is hope. I am inspired by those who rushed to help however they could. The cajun navy is an organization of volunteers who respond to disasters that deployed immediately and continue to help today delivering thousands of meals, clearing debris, helping people meet energy needs, assisting where they can. I recently wept to central louisiana to hand out supplies and meet with storm victims and volunteers. Met a woman named mandy. Mandy has been loading up trailers of donated groceries. She takes them to the rural parts of the state where folks cant access critical supplies in central and western louisiana. A Critical Service because folks on the backroads couldnt get out and there was a gas shortage in some stormaffected areas. While i do believe hurricane laura recovery needs more attention nationally, i am so thankful for the thousands of workers that came to rebuild the electrical grid, individual and churches and nonprofits who came to help. There is a facebook video from y. A. I. Pacs, a Nonprofit Organization in clarksville, tennessee. Came down to lake charles with portable showers and trailers of supplies. The lady in the video said they handed out so many meals, they lost count. I cannot say thank you enough to our fellow americans and those from louisiana who saw our need and answered the call to serve. Now i ask my colleagues to do the same. Local governments resources have been stretched to the limit because of covid19. Tax base destroyed. Damage assessments are still under way, but we will likely need a disaster supplemental from congress to continue the recovery. I ask my fellow senators to consider the plight of hurricane laura victims and support such a bill which should include california due to those terrible wildfires and perhaps those affected by sally. Our prayers are with all those as well. Local Government Resources have been stretched to the limit because of covid19 in louisiana, but i suspect in california and alabama and mississippi as well. In june, i introduced legislation to do away with the fema costshare for local governments for 2020 for this year given the strain on their budgets caused by covid. I urge my colleagues to pass this bill. And lastly, lets just reassure my constituents in louisiana they are not forgotten. The largest storm in our States History made news for about two days and hardly a mention after. Dont forget about hannah who lost her childhood home and her job. Or about mike who lost his house to the rain. And wind. And about the nearly 150,000 people asking for help. Americans are at our best when we help those in need. The time is now to extend that support once more. Thank you. I yield the floor. Mr. Heinrich mr. President , i want to start by thanking my colleague, senator udall, for organizing those of us to talk about the current acting director of the bureau of Land Management, and i say acting because this is an individual who wouldnt be able to be confirmed by this body. But i want to take a step back and walk through a little bit about why this is important. Mr. President , there was once a strong young man who rose up through new york city society. He led american soldiers into battle and went west to learn what it meant to truly work hard on americas western landscapes. This man took all of his harddriving spirit with him to the white house and put it to work delivering for the American People. He took on big trusts and gigantic corporations that had monopolized the American Economy and put a stranglehold on american workers. And despite coming from a wealthy new york city family, this man focused on delivering a square deal to working class americans. But perhaps his most important and Lasting Legacy was this after our countrys previous century of explosive growth across the north american continent, he saw clearly that we needed to rein in the pillaging of our forests, the draining of our wetlands, the destruction of americas wildlife, and the loss of irreplaceable cultural resources. He saw that we only had one chance left to protect the splendors of our uniquely American Landscapes for future generations. When donald trump looks up every once in a while from his Television Screen or from yet another tweet storm on his phone to the portrait of that Great American president , im sure he sometimes tells himself that he could be just like Teddy Roosevelt. Im sure he imagines that he is equally deserving of a place on mount rushmore, that if it werent for his bone spurs, that he could have been just as tough as teddy, charging up San Juan Hill or riding on horseback to the dakota badlands rather than jumping into a golf cart. These delusions of grandeur reached a new height last week when the president told a crowd in florida that he has been, quote, the number one environmental president since Teddy Roosevelt. I dont really need to tell you that this claim is just about as absurd as saying that he has done a great job protecting americans from the coronavirus. That has now led to the deaths of nearly 200,000 of our countrymen. Or his claims, frankly, that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for sending love letters to a nucleararmed despot in north korea, or making longterm peace in the middle east even more out of reach. But lets pause and take a look at what President Trumps record has actually been on the environment. And yes, i will acknowledge that President Trump has signed some great pieces of conservation legislation that many of us here in the senate worked hard to pass with vetoproof majorities. But since taking office, President Trump has also empowered an army of former oil, coal, and Timber Industry lobbyists to roll back nearly every protection of wildlife habitat, clean air, clean water that they could get their hands on. He has systematically attacked climate science, setting us up for worse and worse natural disasters like the fires that we are now experiencing across the west. Just one year into his presidency, donald trump did something no president in the last 100 years would have ever thought to do. He completely erased National Monument designation for treasured red rock landscapes in southern utahs bears ears, and by doing so, he also got key protections for cultural sites that tribal nations across the american southwest hold to be sacred. That egregious and, i believe, illegal action cut against the very heart of the Antiquities Act. This is the law that many president s over the last century used to protect so many of our National Monuments and national parks. The Antiquities Act was truly Teddy Roosevelts landmark conservation achievement during his presidency. Rather than carry on roosevelts legacy, President Trump used the Antiquities Act in a novel new way. He used it to unprotect two National Monuments bears ears and Grand Staircase escalante. Now over two million acres of the most paleontologically important sites in the entire southwest are open for uranium mining, a. T. V. Abuse and fossil fuel extraction. Just a few weeks ago in a similarly destructive act, President Trump opened up our nations marquis National Wildlife refuge in the arctic to Industrial Oil and gas drilling. It seemed that there are no landscapes that are too sacred to make a quick buck in this white house. And not even the cabin grounds of the porcupine caribou herd will have you spared. He is also now threatening to allow previously unthinkable proposals like uranium mining in the grand canyon. I dont think anyone in their right mind could call that a great record of conservation or environmentalism, not by any measure. And that takes us to why were here today. President trumps decision to put William Perry pendley in charge of the public lands that are the birthright of every american. We have a saying in new Mexico Mexico [speaking spanish] loosely translated, it means this. Tell me who you hang around with, and i will tell you who you are. I think it says a great deal that President Trump has chosen to hang around with William Perry pendley. For the last 30 years, mr. Pendley has been a driving force in a campaign fueled by antigovernment propaganda and propped up by special interests and extracted industry dollars to seize and sell off the American Peoples public lands. As an industrypaid lawyer and lobbyist, mr. Pendley has fought against hunting and fishing access laws and supported the elimination of protections for our National Monuments. In fact, he has championed the repeal of the very law that Teddy Roosevelt used to protect our grand canyon. He has filed numerous lawsuits in state and federal courts, seeking to deny access to public lands for sportsmen and attacking key protections for wildlife, clean air, and clean water. Now, President Trump has placed him in charge of the federal agency that manages so many of our public lands across the west. This is a man who is on record saying we should sell all b. L. M. Lands east of the mississippi. And President Trump handpicked this zealot to lead the Agency Responsible for stewarding those very same public lands. What would Teddy Roosevelt think William Perry pendleys beliefs hearken back to the era right before Teddy Roosevelts presidency when where barons, hardrock mining operators and Timber Companies were griffin free rein over our landscapes and our Natural Resources. By putting mr. Pendley in charge of the bureau of Land Management, President Trump is saying loud and clear that he wants to take us backward to those same failed and destructive policies of the past. I am proud that the entire Senate Democratic caucus joined a Broad Coalition of hunters, fishermen, wildlife advocates, Outdoor Recreation enthusiasts who all called on President Trump to withdraw mr. Pendleys nomination. Thanks to that widespread outcry from those of us who love our public lands, President Trump was forced to withdraw mr. Pendleys nomination last month, but forcing the Trump Administration to withdraw the pendley nomination was only half the battle. In fact, William Perry pendley is still sitting in his office today, leading the bureau of Land Management in his previous, quoteunquote, acting role. President trump has shown that he is willing to circumvent congress and skip the constitutionally required confirmation process for other key federal leadership posts by illegally placing people into unofficial and indefinite acting roles. Mr. Pendley has now been serving in one of these coloroutsidethelines acting posts for well over a year. As long as the Republican Senate majority refuses to act on its constitutional duty to hold this Administration Accountable on nominations like this, mr. Pendley and other Trump Officials in acting roles can and will continue to operate with impunity. Thats not right, and in this case, we are talking about someone whose whole career has been built on opposition to the very idea that public lands should remain in public hands. Mr. Pendleys role in the Trump Administration represents a direct attack on Teddy Roosevelts legacy for our environment. The mission of planned management should be focused on serving the American Public and safeguarding the values that deliver benefits to the American People. In these times, that means that work by the leaders of our Land Management agencies should be rooted in the conservation of our wildlife, our water, and our landscapes. Their mission should include expanding access to Outdoor Recreation and preserving biodiversity, restoring healthy carbonsequestering forests, and productive watershed. They should work alongside tribal nations and Rural Communities to protect cultural landscapes and promote sustainable economic development. Whereas Teddy Roosevelt or as Teddy Roosevelt put it more simply and much more artfully than i could all those years ago. Quote, here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders. Cherish the Natural Resources. Cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches, or its romance. End quote. Mr. President , the question before us here in the senate is whether we will stand by as those greedy interests take what is our american birthright. Or whether we will stand up for our sacred heritage. I choose to stand up. Mr. President , colleagues, i hope youll join us. The presiding officer the senator from west virginia. Mr. Manchin mr. President. Mr. President , as the Ranking Member on the committee of Natural Resources, i was especially pleased by President Trumps decision to withdraw the nomination of william peripendley to lead the bureau of Land Management. As i said, when the president nominated mr. Spently, he is the wrong person for the wrong job and the wrong place and he should not continue to lead the bureau. The job of the director of the bureau of land manage is a sacred public trust. The director of the b. L. M. Is one of the principal stewards of our public lands, as were here from our colleagues today. The bureau of Land Management manages 245 million acres of public land, more land than any other federal agency. The bureau was acquired is required by law to manage the lands committed to its care not only for the benefit of our own generation but for many generations to come. It must carefully balance the use of the land for grazing, timber production, mineral development, recreation, fish and wildlife and the protection of scientific and historic values of the lands. In addition to the 245 million acres of surface land the bureau manages, it also manages another 700 million acres of subsurface mineral rights. It manages over 63,000 oil and gas wells and over 300 coal leases, covering nearly half a million acres of coal lands. Which together contribute about 4 billion a year to the federal treasury. It manages another 55 million acres of timberlands and another 155 acres of grazing lands. It issues permits for wind, solar and Geothermal Energy development. In addition, more than ten years ago congress designated about 36 million acres of the lands managed by the bureau of National Conservation lands because of their outstanding cultural, ecological and scientific value. The Natural Conservation lands include 28 National Monuments covering nearly eight million acres, over it 60 wilderness areas covering nearly 10 million acres, and nearly 3,000 miles of wild and Scenic Rivers and nearly 6,000 miles of historic and scenic trails. Nearly 50 years ago Congress Declared that the public Lands Management by the bureau of Land Management should be retained in federal ownership and managed to preserve and protect them without permanent impairment of the productivity of the land and equality of the environment. And quality of the environment. That in a nut is shell is the job of the director of the bureau of Land Management, to be a good and faithful steward of the peoples lands so that we might pass them on to our children and our chins children in at least as good a condition as we inherit them, if not better. Mr. Pendley is not the right person for this job. He spent most of his adult life arguing against the principles upon which our federal Land Management policy is based. He has called for the sale of the public lands that the b. L. M. Is responsible for retaining and managing. He has called for the repeal of the Antiquities Act upon which our National Monuments were founded. He has denigrated the National Environmental policy act, the endangered species act, and the clean waters arctic the bedrock environmental laws that the bureau must operate under. He cannot be a good steward of the Public Domain if he does not believe the public should have domain, and he rejects the laws designed to preserve and protect them. His extreme views and inflammatory rhetoric do not stop at the public lands. He had denied the existence of Climate Change, comparing it to a unicorn and those who acknowledge it as kooks. He said that the black lives Matter Movement is based on a lie. He has said that the undocumented immigrants are like a cancer. Mr. Pendley was nominated for the office once before, people might not realize. President reagan nominated him to be the assistant secretary for energy and minerals in 1983. While his nomination was pending, he was being investigated by the department of the interiors Inspector General and the department of justice for possibly violating conflict of interest rules. The senate returned his nomination to the president and he was not confirmed. The General Accounting Office later found that the interior department sold the coal leases in the powder river basin at roughly 100 million less than their estimated fair market value. The belowmarket sales were made possible by a change in i had abouting procedures approved by mr. Pendley on that same day that he had dinner with the coal industry lawyers. The Inspector General referred the matter to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution. Mr. Pendley heft the department shortly afterwards. For all of these reasons, i think mr. Pendley is the wrong person to lead the bureau of Land Management today. He is still there in the position and having the authority to run the b. L. M. He should not be there a minute longer. The president was right to withdraw his nomination. Withdrawing his nomination doesnt solve the problem and we know that. It is outrageous that he continues to exercise the authority of the director, despite having been nominated and withdrawn. For a cause. Although the legality of his role is a matter pending in the courts right now, mr. Pendley is still in effect running the bureau of Land Management and continuing to make decisions, negatively impacting millions of acres of public lands of significant importance to millions of americans all without the proper vetting and approval of the senate. That is simply wrong. And i believe on both sides of the aisle we know wrong when we see it. He should resign or secretary bernhardt should remove him or the president should step in and remove him. Withdrawing his nomination was a step in the right direction. For all the reasons ive outlined today, William Pendley is not qualified to be managing to be managing our nations treasured public lands in any capacity. So i would ask President Trump to kindly and respectfully step in and remove the person that is not justified that does not justify the office that he is holding right mind the decisions he is making for all of us in our generation and generations to come. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from nevada. Ms. Rosen nevadas public lands are a source of pride and beauty. They are so much more. They are a source of economic strength for our Outdoor Industries and they help support our communities and states economy. Each year tens of thousands of visitors come to nevada to see and experience our majestic public lands and our monuments firsthand. We must keep our states public rands open and accessible for nevadans, for visitors to our state, and for future generations. And that is why we are passionate about he can prosecuting and preserving our states natural wonders. Public lands make up a big part of the our state. In fact, over 80 of our land is managed by the federal government and well over 60 of our land of nevada, close to 48 million acres, is managed by the bureau of Land Management. I stand here today before you because our nations public lands are in danger, not just from the threat of Climate Change or from Deadly Wildfires which are raging across our nations western states as we speak, but also from an unconfirmed and unaccountable acting head of the bureau of Land Management, mr. William perry pendley. And it is well past time for his to go. Allow me to explain just how dangerous mr. Pendley is for our public lands and for nevada. In the past, nevada has been able to strike a balance between the protection of our public lands and the need for development. That is how things should be. But mr. Pendley does not respect this balance. When it comes to our public lands, mr. Pendley has a long and documented history of working to destroy our national treasures. Some of the highlights of mr. Pendleys disturbing antipublic land actions and sentiments include this working on behalf of private interests to roll back critical public Land Protections during his tenure at a law firm. Advocating for the repeal of the Antiquities Act, a landmark law signed by president Teddy Roosevelt that protects our public lands and gives the president the power to designate National Monuments. And fighting to drill on sacred native American Lands while move to concurring these while mocking these same native americans religious beliefs. This is a man put in charge of onethird 6 our nations public lands, who has referred to the National Environmental policy act, our nato nations bedrock environmental law, as a terrible burden. Who has written that the Founding Fathers intended all lands owned by the federal government to be sold. Who has aggressively pushed oil and gas leasing on our public lands. And who views Climate Change as junk science. Mr. Pendley holds shocking and extremist views and has consistently worked to dismantle the very lands he is in charge of protecting. The Administration Knows just how bad pendley is, which is why it has withdrawn his nomination to serve as director of the b. L. M. His nomination would never pass the senate. However, it is unacceptable that mr. Pendley continues to run the bureau of Land Management as acting b. L. M. Director. This bureaucratic loophole allows mr. Pendley is indefinitely serve as the de facto head of the b. L. M. Without a confirmation hearing before the American People. And in direct defiance of the senates constitutional responsibility to advise and consent to executive nominations. My office has heard from thousands of nevadans about the importance of our public lands our to raise their concerns about mr. Pendley, and with good reason. As i said before, the bureau of Land Management oversees 67 of nevada and if mr. Pendley sells off our states public land, nevadans will be the ones paying the price. I share the concerns of my constituents. Mr. Pendley was unfit to be confirmed as director and he is unfit to exercise the authority of the director without being confirmed. For these reasons, this summer i joined my Senate Colleagues in asking secretary bernhardt to remove mr. Bendly from his unconfirmed position immediately. I stand here today to reiterate mr. Pendley must step down or be removed. I call on the president to nominate a qualified director through the standard confirmation process, one who understands the balance of conservation and development, as respect for the job that they would hold because nevadans cant afford to find out if mr. Pendley will put twothirds of our state on the chopping block. Thank you, mr. President. I now yield the floor to my colleague from colorado, senator michael bennet. Mr. Bennet thank you. Mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from colorado. Mr. Bennet thank you. I appreciate very much my colleague from nevada t let me say, welcome back, mr. President. To my colleague from new mexico, the senior senator from new mexico, senator udall, thank you for organizing us today. This is i know a matter thats very ecclesiastes to your heart thats very close to your heart. Thanks to your leadership, weve worked really hard to not have public lands be a partisan issue in the senate and i think that reflects the way it is out west where our public lands really are the foundation of our economy and who we are. They make us who we are. They are a cultural touchstone for all of us in the west. Instead of comprehending this, President Trump, as he has done in so many other areas, has pursued a public lands agenda that is way outside the mainstream of conventional american thought. Few decisions better capture how extreme that position is and how his agenda is than his decision to hire William Perry pendley to lead the bureau of Land Management. As weve heard today, mr. President , mr. Pendley doesnt even believe in the idea of public lands. Hes argued that the Founding Fathers intended for all federal lands to be sold. Think about what that have meant, mr. President , if we had sold off the public lands of the United States. Theyre the envy of the world. They are the envy of the world. And all the work that Teddy Roosevelt and others have done to make sure that our generation would be able to benefit would have been lost if pendleys constitutional interpretation had control. Asking someone like that to manage our public lands, including 8. 3 million acres in colorado, is like asking somebody to be secretary of education who doesnt believe in public education. And given the track record of this administration, i guess its not that surprising that he put somebody . Charge of public lands in charge of public land whose actually believe theyre illegal. Mr. Pendley is by far the most extreme antipublic land nominee in my lifetime. And youve heard the senator from new mexico talk about his attacks on people of color. You youve heard about the fact that he doesnt believe in Climate Change. Pendley ideology on climate, on so many other issues doesnt look anything like the consensus weve worked so hard to try to establish in colorado, and i think fundamentally his extreme ideology does not perceive the economic reality in colorado or new mexico or nevada or arizona or montana, were public lands sustain local businesses and Climate Change is undermining our farmers and ranchers. And since the b. L. M. Moved to colorado, sort of, weve had a front row seat to this extremist agenda. This spring pendley signed off on a Resource Management plan that opened up the North Fork Valley of the gunnison, one of our most beautiful agricultural values in colorado, to more oil and gas development. Local leaders worry that his plan failed to protect the regions watershed and will threaten the areas agricultural and outdoor economy. Instead of listening to colorado, mr. Pendley signed off on a plan, as he so often does, written in washington by a bunch of special interests here who want to plunder our land out there. As senators, we have a constitutional responsibility, mr. President , to ensure that the people entrusted with leading our federal agencies are at a minimum qualified for the positions they hold. And i would hope are within the mainstream of conventional american political ideology. But weve not been allowed to do that in this case. Mr. Pendley was nominated by the president to lead the b. L. M. , and the response was so negative that i have to imagine there were senators on the other side of the aisle who said, senator mcconnell, please dont make us take this vote. Please. Ive got a tough election coming up. Dont make me take this vote, mr. President. Im scared to take this vote. And as a result, they withdrew his nomination because it couldnt pass the senate. Is how this is supposed to work . You can always put it on the floor and see whether it will support it. In this case the response was so negative, they withdrew the nomination. That happens regularly. Whats incredibly unusual in this case is they left him in his job. So having demonstrated that there was no public support in the senate, the senate unwilling to take a vote for fear of how unpopular it would be in the western United States, they said, well, you can be the acting b. L. M. Director. That is a disgrace. I dont know how anybody in this chamber could call themselves committed to the United States constitution if a president can nominate somebody, see that the votes arent there, withdraw it, and make him the acting director of the agency. Thats the work of a dictator, not the president of the United States. Every now and then youd expect the leader of this body to stand up for the prerogatives of this body, to stand up for the separation of powers and for the rule of law, particularly if you call yourself a constitutional conservative. We have a choice to make to do nothing or do our jobs. The American People want us to do our jobs. Theyre sick of the dysfunction here. And from the perspective of colorado, the decision on mr. Pendley is simple. Someone who spent his entire career opposed to the very idea of public lands is unfit to lead a Land Management agency, period. Mr. President , he should do the right thing if the president wont. Step down immediately and allow somebody to take on the responsibility that actually understands how important it is to preserve the legacy our parents and grandparents created for us so we can preserve it for the next generation of americans and the generation after that. With that, mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from new mexico. Mr. Udall thank you. Thank you, mr. President. And i very much appreciate the eloquent words of senator bennet of colorado. Not only does senator bennet speak with eloquence, but he matches it with deeds and with action. He has a major piece of legislation before the senate to try to protect public lands in his state of colorado. So we very much appreciate senator bennet, your activism there. And id also like to thank senators heinrich, manchin, and rosen for so eloquently talking about why William Pendley is unfit to continue as the de facto b. L. M. Director. Mr. Bennet mr. President , if i could just ask . Mr. Udall yes, please. Mr. Bennet the senator from new mexico is so kind to refer to colorado Outdoor Recreation economy act. Just a reminder, at the heart of that bill which is 400,000 acres of public lands in colorado, 70,000 of which is a wilderness area to protect our watershed which is the camp hale National Historic land, the first National Historic landscape designation in the history of the United States, and it memorializes the incredible work of our veterans who came to camp hale to train, to fight in the mountains of northern italy, pushed the nazis out of northern italy, and that wasnt even enough for them. Then they came back and they started our entire Outdoor Recreation industry. Our ski resort was the same generation of people. And thats an exact perfect example. Im so glad senator udall brought it up, perfect example of why we need to preserve our public lands. With that, ill turn it back over to senator udall. Mr. Udall thanks, senator bennet, once again. Thank you for that good work youre doing that. Just a couple of words in closing, talking about the career employee scientists, people that work at the b. L. M. , the men and women who work at the b. L. M. Are Public Servants dedicated to the mission of the agency. They deserve a leader who values them and respects them and carries out that mission, not an extremist who doesnt even believe that public lands should exist. Mr. Pendleys hostility to our public lands resulted his nomination as b. L. M. Director being pulled by the president. If hes not fit to be confirmed as b. L. M. Director by the senate, hes not fit to exercise the authority of director and should be immediately relieved of that authority. Mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the clerk should call the roll. Quorum call the presiding officer the senator from utah. A senator i ask consent to vitiate the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Romney i ask consent that the 5 15 vote start at this time. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Under the previous order, the question is on the holcomb nomination. Is there a sufficient second . There appears to be. The clerk should call the roll. Vote vote vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote . If not, the yeas are 83, the nays are 12. The nomination is confirmed. Under the previous order, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the president will be immediately notified of the senates actions. Mr. Alexander madam president . The presiding officer the senator from tennessee. Mr. Alexander i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the provisions of rule 22, the postcloture time with respect to the robinson nomination expire at 11 30 a. M. Tomorrow. Following disposition of the robinson nomination, the senate vote on the motions to invoke cloture on the dugan and mcglynn knocks, in that order. If cloture is up voked, the postcloture time expire at 3 30 p. M. Tomorrow and the senate vote on confirmation of the nominations in that order. Finally, if any of the nominations are confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Alexander madam president . The presiding officer senators should take your conversations off the floor. The senator from tennessee. Mr. Alexander thank you, madam president. This morning in the education committee, we had a really interesting discussion on Intercollegiate Athletics. Specifically, on the proposals that are appearing in various states to pay student athletes for their name, image and likeness. This is the jurisdiction of the Commerce Committee, and senator wicker and his committee are considering whether there should be any congressional action. But we were looking at the impact of the proposal to pay student athletes on the tradition of the intercollegiate student athlete in our country. And heres my own view. If student athletes are paid by commercial interests for their name, image and likeness that money ought to go to benefit all of the student athletes at that institution. In other words, if the quarterback of the university of the tennessee is paid 500,000 by the local auto dealer to advertise the auto dealer, that money ought not go to him, it ought to go for the benefit of all the student athletes at the university of tennessee, including the womens sports, the mens sports, the minor sports. Students should be on the payroll and treats as hired hands in my opinion. I dont see a good ending to allow a few students to be paid bid commercial interests while most of their teammates are not. If Young Athletes want to be part of a team, enjoy the undergraduate experience, learn from coaches who are among the best teachers in the country and be paid a full scholarship that helps them earn a degree worth 1 million during their lifetime thats according to the College Boards estimates those earnings of that student should benefit all student athletes at the institution, and if the student athlete prefers to keep the money, then that student athlete should become a professional athlete. We had a bipartisan discussion this morning. 96 to thank senator murray, the senator from washington state, the ranking democrat on our committee. Our committee always has diverse views but we always have good civil discussions, we had excellent witnesses from the university of wisconsin, from utah state university. We had a representative of the Players Association as well, and we had the track and field coach from the ohio state university. Who has been coach of the year in the big ten for four years. And they all had a point of view on this question. The question is whether the tradition of an intercollegiate student athlete is worth preserving . And if so, how dough do it . Specifically, what would the impact do on that tradition if states pass laws allowing commercial interests to pay student athletes for the use of their name, image or likeness . Now, ive had two experiences that helped me form my own opinion. Heres the first one p. In 1960, during my sophomore year in college, i was exercising at Vanderbilt University on the universitys cinder track. A man watching me had in his right hand a stop watch. He introduced himself as track coach herk ali and asked me my name. Did you run track in high school . No, we didnt have it in high school. Why dont you run 100 yards . So i did. 10 p. 1 seconds. Thats good. I have boys on my 400 40yard relay team. Why dont you join. So i joined running the mile area lay, the 440 yard relay and the dash. My job was to carry the baton from the first fast boy to the third fast boy. The next year our team set a School Record in the 40 440 yard relay. That record will never be broken. We sometimes practice with some really speedy athletes. They were students from what we call then tennessee a. I before town. This was before desegregation. These were olympians. They included will rue did do rudolf. Our sender track made it hard to establish fast times, scraping together teams of nonscholarship athletes, he produced several southeastern track champions. Coach alis enthusiasm that day gave me an experience that millions of Young Americans have had, that of being an intercollegiate student athlete. Some of those athletes are good enough to earn scholarships. Senator richard r burr is one. Hes on our committee. He had a football scholarship at wake forest university. My experience at vanderbilt taught me a number of lessons including this one, when running on a relay team, be sure to choose teammates who can run faster than you can. Thats not a bad recipe for being an effective United States senator either. Now as the College Football season gets underway, even amidst covid19, were reminded of how important these games are to student athletes, to their institutions, and to millions of spectators. The fascinating, the fascinating with sporting competition is nothing new, according to the Knight Commission which said in its 1991 report the following, quote, the appealing of competitive games is boundless. In ancient times men of war laid down their weapons to complete in the owe limb compete in the olympic games. Today people around the globe put aside daily cares to follow the fortunes of their teams in the world cup. In the United States the super bowl, world series, College Football, the ncaa basketball tournament command the attention of millions. Sports have helped break down bigotry and prejudice in america. On the International Scene they helped integrate east and west, capitalism and socialism. The passion from sport is universally shared across times and continents, so said the Knight Commission 30 years ago. But concern with problems in sports are also nothing new. The Knight Commission was established in 1989 to address scandals in College Sports that were, quote, shaking public confidence, not just of bigtime collegiate athletics, but the whole institution of Higher Education. And well before that in 1949 the Carnegie Foundation put out a report that said recruiting had become corrupt. Professionals had replaced amateurs. Education was being neglected. And commercialism. Partially in response to president Teddy Roosevelts criticism, the ncaa had been formed to deal with corruption. My second experience forming my opinion on todays hearing was my participation and membership in that Knight Commission at the time i was president of the university of tennessee. Our Commission Recommendation was that University President s take charge of College Athletics and the huge amount of Television Money it attracted and restore the academic and financial integrity of the programs. As a result, over the next several years academic standards became more stringent, Financial Support for student athletes increased, College President s asserted more responsibility for financial integrity. Now what is especially relevant to todays hearing was that despite todays problems surrounding Intercollegiate Athletics and the problems then, the Knight Commission strongly endorsed keeping the student athlete tradition. What it said is worth repeating also, quote, we reject the argument, the Knight Commission said, that the only realistic solution to the problem is to drop the student athlete concept, put athletes on the payroll and reduce or even eliminate their responsibilities as students. Such a scheme has nothing to do with education said the Knight Commission. The purpose for which colleges and universities exist. Scholarship athletes are already paid in the most meaningful way possible, with a free education. The idea of Intercollegiate Athletics is that teams represent their institutions. As true members of the student body, not as hired hands. Surely american Higher Education has the ability to devise a better solution to the problems of Intercollegiate Athletics than making professionals out of the players, which is no solution at all, but rather an unacceptable surrender to despair. Well, i hope those words from the Knight Commission 30 years ago will guide how congress deals with the newest issue threatening the concept of student athletes, and that is allowing commercial interests to pay athletes for use of their name, likeness, and image. Already four states have enacted laws sanctioning statements. The chairman of the Commerce Committee is considering whether there ought to be action. Our purpose is to look on the student athlete. Who are the student athletes today . It wouldnt make much sense to talk about this if we didnt say who and what were talking about, so here it is. 20 million undergraduates in about 6,000 colleges and universities exist in the United States today. Nearly 1,00 of those 6,000 colleges and universities belong to the ncaa. Morning 460,000 more than 4600,000 young men and women participate in sports each year and about one quarter of one million contests. About 300 of those institutions play football and basketball at the highest level. Fewer than 2 of athletes, student athletes go on to play professional sports according to the ncaa. This means were talking about approximately 9,000 College Student athletes who compete in a few sports out of the more than 460,000 College Athletes across 24 sports. So the current controversy is about an even smaller percentage of those 9,000 students who play football, baseball, or men or Womens Basketball and whose skills or the institutions for which they play make them attractive targets for recruiting offers that will combine their scholarship dollars with endorsement money. For example, an exceptional quarterback pitcher, or running back might be offered a 500,000 a year endorsement by a car dealer in the same town as a college with a bigtime football, basketball, or even baseball program. As the Knight Commission report said, student athletes already are paid in the most meaningful way with a free education. Athletic scholarships are limited to tuition and fees, room and board, required courserelated books. But this can add up to a lot of money. 115,000 a year estimates the university of tennessee per student athlete, including room, board, student stipends, academic support, meals, sports medicine, training, travel, and expenses. And student athletes can also combine other sources of Financial Aid including federal, state needbased aid to help pay for the full cost of attendance. These include pell grants, for example, which could be 6,300 a year. Supplemental education opportunity grants, work study, state grants based on need, using federal calculations such as the tennessee hope scholarship or the g. I. Bill. About 92,000 or 20 of the student athletes receive a pell grant also. According to the college board, the value of a fouryear degree, undergraduate degree, is 1 million over a lifetime. And according to the ncaa, 88 of division 1 student athletes will earn a fouryear degree. So the question at hand is should congress act or should varying state laws govern payments for name, image, and likeness of student athletes . Is a patchwork set of regulations worth the confusion it will cause with unrestrained boosters, creative agents, the impact on title 9 on men and women programs, on a coachs effort . And most of all, on the tradition of the student athlete. Thats the commerce commissions job, and we heard some interesting testimony this morning. Based on my experience as a student athlete, as a member of the Knight Commission, as a University President , i offered these suggestions. The Knight Commission is correct to say that student athletes shouldnt be on the payroll, they shouldnt be treated as hired hands. Two, congress should act, but in a limited way, as limited as possible to authorize an independent entity save from litigation to write rules governed for the use of name, image and likeness. Congress should use aggressive oversights of that Committee Rather than write the rules ourselves. Three, that governing entity ought to be the ncaa. I know, i know the ncaa is controversial, but if its not doing its job, the president s who are supposed to be in charge of it should reform it. Giving the job to a new entity would take forever. Giving it to an existing entity like the federal trade commission without exer tease or any responsibility expertise or responsibility for Higher Education would make no sense. As to the rules that i would hope the ncaa would write, heres what i believe should be the overriding principle. Money paid to student athletes for their name, image, and likeness should benefit all student athletes in that institution. Following this principle would allow the earnings to be used for additional academic support, further study or degrees, more Health Insurance options, more support for injured players and other needs. It would avoid the awkwardness of a center who earns nothing snapping a ball from a quarterback who earns from a local auto dealer. It avoids abuse that comes from agents. It avoids consequences to others teams and a institution because of impact on title 9 or the impact on existing student Data Available to athletes. Such a principle would preserve the right of any athlete to earn money for the use of his or her image, name, or likeness. It simply says if you elect to be a student athlete, your earnings should benefit all student athletes at your institution. If you want to keep the money and be employed, go become a professional. This system would create the same kind of choices that today ncaa rules for College Baseball require. A High School Student must stay three years if he chooses to participate in a College Baseball program. Take vanderbilts baseball vanderbilt program. David price, sonny gray, major league fans, very successful athletes, all were drafted by Major League Baseball teams while they were in high school. They could have earned a lot of money going directly into professional baseball. Instead they chose a vanderbilt education, three years of College Experience and the opportunity to be taught by coach tim corbin, a great teacher. If price, gray, and swanson had been permitted to sell their name, image and likeness while at vanderbilt under the principle im suggesting, their earnings would have been used for the benefit of all of vanderbilts sports teams, men and women. Applying such a principle to all Intercollegiate Athletics might cause a few talented athletes to join professional leagues immediately after high school. That is their right. But if that young athlete prefers the College Experience, the expert coaching and teaching, the free education, the other academic support, the undergraduate degree that can earn 1 million over a lifetime, then their earnings ought to benefit all the student athletes at the institution. And while the ncaa is making new rules, id suggest it ought to assign most of the new Television Revenue that comes to institutions, let it go to institutions and used for academic support for student athletes rather than continue to encourage inordinately high salaries for some coaches. As i said at the beginning, madam president , i dont see a good ending to allowing a few student athletes to be paid by commercial interests while most of their teammates are not. If they want to be part of a team, enjoy the undergraduate experience, learn from coaches who are great teachers, be paid a full scholarship that could help them earn 1 million during their lifetimes, their earnings should benefit all the student athletes. If they prefer to keep the money for themselves, let them become professionals. I thank the president. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse thank you, madam president. May i begin by asking the record to reflect how much im going to miss the senator from tennessee when hes gone at the end of this year. Its nice to be on the floor with him. But im here for the 271st time to call this chambers attention to climbing and to two reports on this defining issue of our generation. As i speak, wildfires are devouring the American West and consuming american lives. And east of salem, oregon, two people dead in a scorched vehicle. In butte county, california, three dead, overrun by a fastmoving fire. In ashland, a 1yearold boy. In malden, washington, almost the entire town burned down. Half a million oregonians evacuated due to fire. Thats one out of ten people in the entire state. Over the weekend, oregons Emergency Management director said they are preparing for a, quote, mass fatality event. Paradise, california, suffered apocalyptic destruction in the 2018 campfire, and its once again under fire warnings, this time the north complex fire which has stunned firefighters with its rapid growth and ferocity. We cannot avoid it, madam president. Climbing is here. Plenty of factors contribute to individual wildfires, but climbing is now always among them. Last fall, i went out to the National Center for Atmospheric Research in colorado and met leading wildfire researcher daniel swain. As dr. Swain puts it, climbing has not just made the extreme heat waves that coincide with fires worse. The bigger effect is the more subtle, longterm warming. That couple of degrees of average warming over decades, its lurking in the background, sucking extra moisture out of the vegetation and the soil. The new normal the smoke and ash and orange skies and constant nervefraying vigilance. Climate changes impact through the west land crushing economic blows. The 2018 campfire that burned camp fire that burned paradise cost 16. 7 billion. Noaa says natural disasters, both hurricanes and wildfires, both highly climate related, inflicted 91 billion worth of damage that year, 2018. And over the past 40 years, 241 climate and weatherrelated disasters have cost americans 1. 6 trillion. So the first report that i want to talk about warns its not just whats lost in floods and flames. As climate risk worsens, the harder it is for communities to rebuild, for bankers to write mortgages, for owners to find insurers willing to continue writing policies and paying out claims. That risk spreads beyond burned or flooded land and runs through the rest of the economy. Climate risk becomes what economists call systemic risk. So one of our leading regulatory agencies, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, has done a report on risk. Think of the 2008 financial crisis. That Home Mortgage problem spread far beyond mortgage lenders into a brutal global recession. Millions of people who had no connection to a bad mortgage lost their jobs, lost their homes, or lost their retirement savings. Many are still recovering from that collapse. Now think even worse. The Stanford Business schools corporations and Society Initiative believes and im quoting here the Financial Risks from climbing are systemic. There is that economic word again. That these risks are, quote, singular in nature, and that i quote Global Economic losses from climbing could reach 23 trillion. Three or four times the scale of the 2008 financial crisis. Those of us who were here for the 2008 financial crisis dont want to see that happen again, and we certainly dont want to see it happen in a three or four times scale. So senator schatz and i have been calling for financial regulators to do a better job accounting for these risks. In may, we wrote to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission subcommittee on climaterelated market risk. We had two simple requests. One, recommend a carbon price. And two, urge our financial regulators to include Climate Risks in their core market risk assessments and supervisory practices. Well, the cftc subcommittee report is out, and im happy to report they did both. They write, and i quote, Financial Markets will only be able to Channel Resources efficiently to activities that reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions if an economywide price on carbon is in place at a level that reflects the true social cost of those emissions. Thats actually kind of economics 101, but its good to hear them say it. And they went on to say and im quoting again climbing poses a major risk to the stability of the u. S. Financial system and to its ability to sustain the American Economy. U. S. Financial regulators must recognize that climbing poses serious emerging risks to the u. S. Financial system, and they should move urgently and decisively to measure, understand, and address these risks. And what if we dont . Well, the cftc report goes on. Failing to act would lead to what they called disorderly reprising of assets. Thats commonly known as a crash. With cascading effects through the economy. So put simply, do nothing and trigger financial chaos far and wide. Just like 2008, except probably worse. The cftc report calls for Corporate America to tell the truth about climaterelated risks to their business models. Investors need to know the truth for the free market to operate. The subcommittee writes that we must require disclosure by corporations of information on material climaterelated Financial Risks to ensure that Climate Risks are measured and managed effectively. That is a key point. We have seen exxon, for instance, down play Climate Risks to investors, shareholders, and the general public. That mischief will stop if financial regulators require an honest accounting of climaterelated risks. So the cftc report is a big deal, but it requires congress to act. America is among the few industrialized nations worst prepared for wideranging reductions in Greenhouse Gas emissions. Regulators will not be enough. Congress must act. And thats where another report comes in. Senate democrats special report on the climate crisis. Under chairman schatz leadership, we recently released a road map for fixing that problem. We proposed a plan to cut emissions across our economy, to get on course to limit warming to 1. 5 degrees celsius, to create a host of new wellpaying jobs and clean energy and other emerging technologies, and to remedy the burdens of pollution across all sectors of the economy, including those usually overlooked. Now, we know we have a battle ahead. The fossil fuel industry runs a covert operation that has blocked progress in congress. This covert op is extremely well funded and has reached its roots deeply into our politics. We need to tear up those roots. This is how. First, our report tells the dark story of that covert op, the story of the fossil fuel industry apparatus built to obscure the industrys hands behind phony front groups. The story of capture and control of corporate trade associations, the story of lies marketed by flashy p. R. Firms. And the story of brute force political spending and threats to blockade climate progress. Those tactics were a test run for the fossil fuel industry by big tobacco. Manufacture false science and flex your political muscle against anyone who dares challenge you. That bullying worked pretty well. And then when the Supreme Court handed down Citizens United, the fossil fuel industry supercharged its Covert Campaign with dark money. Almost immediately turning the ability to spend Unlimited Money in politics into spending unlimited dark money in politics. Then the bullying worked really well. Citizens united was a climate watershed. After that decision unleashed its fearful weaponry, not one republican in this body joined any comprehensive bill to reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions. The senate heartbeat of bipartisan climate activity before Citizens United, which i remember and experienced in 2007 and 2008 and 2009, had all flatlined under the super charged political pressure unleashed by fossil fuel interests with Citizens United behind them. Our Senate Report tells the full rotten story because thats step one in fighting covert influence. Follow the money. Show the American People how corporate interests pay to block progress on climate. Show the coopted trade associations and the phony front groups. Let the American People see the scheme and they are less likely to fall for it. And second is cleaning it up, fully exposing and ending Citizens United dark money and the fossil fuel scheme will take reform. Bold transparency measures like the disclose act are needed and our report calls for that. Then we need to wake up the socalled good guys in Corporate America. They need to see the mischief a few bad actors have perpetrated right under their noses. They need to see how the fossil fuel industry commandeered their corporate trade associations. Like the u. S. Chamber of commerce, which is one of the two most obstructive organizations against climate action. Why would the u. S. Chamber of commerce, with its wide corporate membership, be one of the two most obstructive organizations against climate action, unless the fossil fuel industry had coopted it right under their noses . And the socalled good guys need to examine how their own lobbyists and their own trade associations and their own political operatives are doing on climate, because with very few and very rare exceptions, the answer is that they are doing nothing on climate, not lifting a finger in congress. Just last week, the giant Tech Companies came in through their trade group technet with a 13page list of all of their lobbying priorities. 13 pages, and not a mention of climate. Google, apple, microsoft, facebook, the big tech barons. A lot of big talk. They never even mentioned climate in their Shopping List for congress. Everyone needs to understand the two faces of Corporate America. And to imagine how quickly congress would act if powerful trade associations like the chamber became actual advocates for serious Climate Policies or if the big interests in Congress Like big ad or big tech or wall street or the Insurance Industry actually took an interest in something more than their own special interest programs and tax benefits. What if climate had been on big techs list of priorities . Perhaps even on page 1 of 13. That change would change the game. Madam president , a 16th centurial chemist by the name of paris elsis is credited with the phrase sola dosis fatin, latin for the dose makes the poison. The dose makes the poison. The idea that everything from a nerve agent to the water reneed to drink to survive can be lethal if delivered in sufficient dosage. Right now in the American West had toxins in the climate wildfire smoke waft in such high concentrations that our typical Measurement Systems fail. The dosage is literally off the charts. And in our earths atmosphere, the dosage of Carbon Dioxide is way outside the range of human experience, putting all of mankind into uncharted territory to face unprecedented dangers. And Citizens United unleashed toxic doses of money, unprecedented doses of virulent dark money into our american political atmosphere. So our democracy is poisoned, stunned by secret fossil fuel money and threats and consequently failing to listen to plain warnings, like those of the commodities futures trade committee. Wed better act before the poisons overpower us, and wed better get the dosages back to safe and normal levels. One good start would be to wake up to the reality of Climate Change. I yield the floor. A senator madam president . The presiding officer the senator from alabama. Mr. Jones madam president , you know one of the great privileges that ive enjoyed as a United States senator and a member of the Senate Armed Services committee has been the opportunity to get to know and support our men and women in uniform. And ive been proud to represent the people of the great state of alabama, a state where patriotism runs deep and for whom service is a way of life. Madam president , colonel scott grant, United States air force, is a perfect example. Colonel grant retired this summer, and since i was not able to attend his Retirement Ceremony this past saturday, i decided i would say here what i wanted to say there in the hangar in birmingham, alabama, where he has spent the last few years of his career. Colonel grant retired as the commander of the 117th air refueling wing, Alabama Air National guard, sumter smith joint National Guard base in birmingham, alabama. The 117th was the First Military installation that i visited after my election in 2017 and swearing in in january of 2018. And i can tell you at that first visit, colonel grant set a pretty high bar for the future visits i would have to the many other military installations in alabama, and we have quite a few. He set a high bar for those that i would meet later because of his dedication to his unit, to his mission, and to the men and women he commanded. It was immediately apparent of his dedication and professionalism, and it has guided his every decision in all our interactions over the next two and a half years. Scotts unwavering commitment to excellence earned him the respect of all of those who served with him. It is his genuine love for the men and women who served under his command, who earned his affection. In other words, colonel scots grant had and has his priorities in order, and everyone who knew him and met him would see that immediately could see that immediately. In 2019, the 117th omaha trophy. The omaha trophy is one of the most prestigious awards in the military. It was the first thyme that an air National Guard unit had received this prestigious award. Then stratcom commander general john hyten said the omaha trophy represents the best of the best in units executing strategic deterrence. The 117th won in the area of strategic aircraft, in their Many Missions around the world protecting america. It was an award that the unit and colonel grant so richly deserved. I was really honored to be present at that award ceremony, and i can remember as Brigadier General stevenson said, to put it simply, the 117th air refueling wing was the most outstanding in their Nuclear Operational readiness inspection and their dedication to the mission itself. Pass a traditional guard unit but with a total force, they have a. Accomplished unique tasks in an innovative way that we absolutely need to meet future challenges that stratcom faces. True to form, in his acceptance speech, scott gave the credit to the men and women in his command. With 7,000 military flight hours, scotts deployments have spanned the globe and his awards and decorations are almost too numerous to listing. To be to list. Heres just a few. The Defense Meritorious Service medal, the Meritorious Service medal with two oak leaf clusters. Air medal with seven oak leaf clusters. Aerial Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the air force Outstanding Unit aword with a valor, and two oak leaf clusters. Combat readiness medal with 10 oak leaf clusters. The southwest asia Service Medal with three bronze starks the Kosovo Campaign star with one brans star, the staph Afghanistan Campaign medal, the Iraq Campaign medal with one star one brans star, the humanitarian Service Medal, the Alabama National emergency Service Medal, the Service Medal with one device. The alabama special Service Medal and the list just goes on and on. We could be here all night, madam president. But ill to p there. But ill stop there and just say that the colonel grant has been described as a pilots pilot, one for whom you learn something every time you fly with him. So its good news for the air force. The good news, bad news stories. The bad news is retirement from the 117th. But the good news in his retirement, colonel grant is going to continue training airmen on the kc135 simple laters in oklahoma. Scott, you have served our country with honor and distinction and youre a credit to the state of alabama and the United States of america. And it is my great honor to call you a friend. Thank you. Congratulations on an outstanding career. Best wishes for clear skies. And although i was did not serve in the military, i salute you, sir. Madam president , just a few weeks ago, alabama lost one of its most distinguished and dedicated citizens, and i lost a great friend. Robert eddington of mobile, alabama, died peacefully with his beloved wife of 58 years, patricia, at his side. I rise today to honor the life and legacy of this patriot, this public servant, this devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend. Robert was born in mobile on november 18, 1929. And mobile remained in his blood until the day he died. The son of a local judge, robert earned his undergraduate degree at Rhodes College but came back home for his law degree at the university of alabama. He served our nation in the military and while on active duty with the u. S. Navy from 1951 to 1955. During his active military career as Navy Operations officer, robert was awarded the korean Service Medal with two battle stars, the china Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, and the korean president ial unit citation. Robert truly loved his service to this country and the u. S. Navy, prompting him to remain with the navy active reserve until 1980 when he retired as commander. Robert eddington was one of mobiles most prominent lawyers and Community Leaders for over 60 years. He served three terms in the alabama legislature, first as a state representative from 19620 to 1970, and then in the state senate from 1970 to 1974. As a member of the alabama legislature, he played a pivotal role in establishing the university of South Alabama and the universitys college of medicine. He actively furthered development of bush shop state community college, one of alabamas great historically black colleges and universities of which i am so proud. The National Trust for Historic Preservation in washington, d. C. , presented him with their National Award for his role in establishing the Alabama Historical commission. But his love for the navy continued on prominent display, even as a legislator, offering the legislation that created the u. S. S. Alabama Battleship Commission, bringing the u. S. S. Alabama home to mobile following her retirement from active duty. He served on that commission from 1963 to 1972 and served as its chairman. But his passion for the battleship and all this stands for never wavered and he was once again appointed to the Battleship Commission in the year 2000. In addition, robert served as the alabama president and National Director of the navy league of the United States, where he supported port visits of navy vessels for important occasions that included some just fun owe cautions like the mardi gras in mobile. Back in his hometown of mobile, robert was an active member of the mobile bar association, where at one time he served as the director of the bars volunteer lawyers program. He was a member of the mobile kiwanis club and mobile american legion, a consult to guatemala for 20 years. Robert organizationed mobiles first trade mission to central america, earning him the u. S. Department of commerces achievement award. In 2007, roberts dedication to the community and the city of mobile was recognized and when he received the award as mobilian of the year. In 2008, the following year, he was named the Rhodes College alumnus of the year and in 2012 he received the distinguished honor of being named the mobile area veteran of the year. I think roberts great accomplishments of all of those weve talked about and listed, though, he would tell you that his greatest honor was marrying the lover 6 his life, patricia, in 1962 and having son sherrod, daughter virginia, and a granddaughter courtney. With all that robert was involved in, he was first and foremost a family man. Ive been blessed, madam president , to have robert and Pat Eddington as great and dear friends for many, many years. Together we have toiled in the vineyards of alabama politics for longer than we can all remember. Robert at one time even had his eyes on the u. S. Senate seat at one point. But as devoted as robert was to the democratic party, he was also a man committed to the greater good, to working with anyone to make mobile, alabama, make the state of alabama, make america a better place for everyone. Leaving a legacy of dedication and commitment to love of god, love of country, love of community, and love of family that is an extraordinary example for others to follow. Our world, especially in todays climate, needs more robert eddingtons. Madam president , 57 years ago today a bomb exploded outside a church in birmingham, alabama. The bomb was placed under neath the steps that led to the sanctuary of the 16th street baptist church. Four young girls were killed in that blast. Addi mae collins, cynthia wesley, Denise Mcnair and carrol robinson. Killed p senselessly simply because of the color of their skin. It was a tough time in america, it was a tough time in alabama. And im not going to recount all of what happened at that time. Many of you have heard me speak on it before because it was in 2001 and 2002 that we put the final two perpetrators into prison. What i have spoken about this summer, though, was how 1963 and 2020 seem to align. 1963 in birmingham started off with police brutality, where peaceful demonstrators that were simply trying to get civil rights for african American People in this country were accosted with fire hoses and dogs set upon them by the Police Commissioner bull connor. People took notice. People took notice when George Wallace stood at the schoolhouse door in june of 1963. People took notice when medgar evers was killed that same night. People took notice when Martin Luther king stood on the mall in washington, d. C. And said he had a dream. He had a dream that one day we would all live in peace and harmony together. The dream of hope at that time. But it was about a month later when that bomb exploded. It destroyed the dream for so many people. But at the same time that bomb woke the conscience of america. The horrors of jim crow and segregation came home to roost, came home to the Television Sets across this country, and people stood up and made their voices known, and said enough is enough, not just to birmingham and the south, but enough is enough in this country. We have got to make the changes. It woke that conscience of this country, but it also woke the conscience of a president who began work on a Civil Rights Act. It woke the conscience of a congress who later passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964. The conscience was aroused again in 1965 when our friend john lewis was beaten at the Edmund Pettus bridge. The similarities between that and today are striking, and we cannot overlook the historic moment that we are in today, where once again our conscience is getting the best of us, where we see the images of george floyd and Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery and jacob blake, but we also see something else. We see the images of violence. We see looting. We see the images of two Police Officers in los angeles who were brutally, brutally attacked while just sitting in their car. What were seeing is really something that america is not about, and it is incumbent upon us all to do something about it, to stand together, to have the discussion, to have the dialogue, to have the frank discussions about what we know is going on in Law Enforcement, but also the violence that we see in the streets. And its got to stop. We have got to make sure that we talk to each other, to have these dialogues. Ive talked about this before, and i wont go on and on tonight, but it is weighing heavy on everyone in this country. I know it. You know it. It is weighing on everyone, and everyone in this country as we approach the election, it weighs heavier and heavier, and unfortunately it gets into political discussions and partisan divides on both sides of the aisle, and we cannot let that happen. We have to come together. We have to do what john lewis talked about and make sure that love conquers hate, however we can do it. And in that regard, madam president , i want to display this photograph. It was taken at the morning of the bombing in birmingham. It is of an incredible stained glass window in the church. And if you look closely, you will see that the most significant damage is the face of christ that was blown out. That picture had such emotional impact on people in birmingham and around the world, and to this day when people see it, it has an emotional impact, because it is as if god is simply, cannot look at what his children are doing to his children. We need to remember our faith, folks. We need to remember who we are as a country. We need to remember an image like this, no matter what faith you might believe or even if you dont have a faith, you need to remember this photograph, where this stained glass window, the image of christ cannot bear to see whats going on. I would suspect that in todays world that image may be replicated somewhere beyond what we can touch. Thank you, madam president. I yield the floor. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from kansas. Mr. Moran madam president , thank you very much. Earlier today at the white house, President Trump hosted israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Foreign Ministers from the United Arab Emirates and bahrain to sign the abraham accords. These historic agreements began the process of normalizing relationships between the two gulf countries and the jewish state. After seven decades of isolation in the region, the abraham accord signify israels existence is finally being accepted by arab countries, opening new prospects for greater Economic Security and cultural cooperation that will benefit all. Those in the region and all of us around the world. I commend President Trump, secretary pompeo and many others in this administration for facilitating this historic agreement and advancing the cause of peace and prosperity in the region. This came to many of us as a surprise, but its a welcome surprise. Im very pleased in this development. Over the past several years the president and secretary have cultivated relationships in jerusalem and abu dhabi. And for longer that israel has negotiated on important matters behind closed doors, capitalizing on a changing middle east, President Trump and his administration helped shepherd these relationships into the open. Todays signing is just the beginning for three countries and the region as a whole. More work obviously is to be done, and no agreement can be easily accomplished, but my hope is that more arab countries will follow the path of publicly recognizing israel. 18 arab states have yet to make this move, preventing relationships that can benefit the entire region. Israels right to exist is unquestionable, and to refuse to recognize this is to deny reality. I along with so many other members of this chamber have worked to ensure israels security and prosperity with more days like today, we can hope for a region that is secure and prosperous as well for all. Madam president , thank you. I use this opportunity to commend this accomplishment, and i hope that we are able to bring more peace and stability to this region and to the rest of the world. I yield the floor. Mr. Moran madam president , i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Moran madam president , i understand that there is a bill at the desk and i ask for its first reading. The presiding officer the clerk will report the bill for the first time. The clerk s. 4582, a bill to extend temporarily Daylight Saving time and for other purposes. Mr. Moran i now ask, madam president , for a second reading and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provision of rule 14, i object to my own request. The presiding officer objection having been heard, the bill will receive its second reading on the next legislative day. Mr. Moran madam president , i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to immediate consideration of h. Con. Res. 92 which was received from the house. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk h. Con. Res. 92 authorizing the printing of a revised and updated version of the house document entitled women in congress 1917 through 2006. The presiding officer without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Moran now, madam president , i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Moran madam president , another request for unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of s. Res. 696 submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 696, designating september 4, 2020, as national polycystic kid ni disease awareness day and raising understanding of the disease. The presiding officer without objection the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Moran i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Moran finally, madam president mr. Moran finally, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes Business Today it adjourn until 10 a. M. , wednesday, september 16, following the journal of proceedings, the morning hour deemed expired. Finally, following leaders remarks, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the robinson nomination under the previous order. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Moran if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. The presiding officer the Senate Stands adjourned until Senate Stands adjourned until u. S. Senate is out for the day. Today lawmakers will bounce several nominations including confirming mark and john holcomb to be judges for the Central District of california. When the sun returns, watch live coverage here on cspan2. With ongoing Global Pandemic in any schools shifting to online learning, cspan competitions continues to provide students platform to engage in a national conversation. Middle and High School Students to produce a documentary. Exporting the issues they must what the president and in congress to in 2021. The constitutional american citizen including those as shown in the eighth amendment. It is our issues of equality. When you are give the opportunity to become informed voters and engaged citizens, results happen. This is democracy. From an equity and legal documents and four children who were born here. [inaudible]. This year were a warning money for cash prizes including grand prize of 5000. Its a bit video for competition rules, and more information to get started. And alive to florida with biden president ial campaign is holding an event mark hispanic heritage month. It should be getting underway shortly. This is live coverage on cspan2