Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. 20240704

Online store. Browse our latest collection of cspan products, apparel, books, home decor and accessories. Theres something for every cspan fan and every purchase helps support our nonprofit operation. Shop now for anytime at cspan shop. Org. Now well take you live now to the u. S. Senate. A few judicial nominations on the agenda today, along with President Bidens nomination for chief counsel of the Internal Revenue service. Three vote series are planned and floor negotiations continue on Government Spending to avoid a partial Government Shutdown at midnight on friday. 20 of the federal government could close, if no deal is reached by friday, march 8th, the government would fully shut down. Speaker mike johnson is proposing the house and Senate Approve a shortterm spending bill that would shift both funding deadlines to about a week later. Well continue to bring the government funding story to you as the process unfolds. Right now we head live to the senate here on cspan2. Ficer senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. O god, our rock and redeem redeemer. By your will we came into being, and at your command, when the right hour is come, we shall one day leave this world. Do not be silent when we need to hear you speak. Let your spirit lead our senators today. May they increase in selfforgetfulness, in simplicity, in courage, and in trust, so that each day they will approach nearer to your likeness. Lord, help them to offer themselves afresh to be used in your service. Show them your ways and may they obey your precepts. Give wisdom to the perplexed, fresh vigor to the discouraged, and a clearer vision to all who seek your will. We pray in your mighty name. Amen. The presiding officer please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The presiding officer the clerk will read a communication to the senate. The clerk washington, d. C. , under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable peter welch, a senator from the state of vermont, to perform the duties of the chair. Signed patty murray, president pro tempore. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved, morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. The clerk nomination, the judiciary, julie simone sneed, of florida, to be United States district judge for the middle district of florida. Alleviate health risks, increases womens earnings, increases the probability women to attend college and boost local economies. Freedom turns out to have economic value. In planned parenthood versus values were actually part of the courts holding. The court said the ability of women to participate equally in the economic and social life of the nation has been facilitated by the ability to control their reproductive lives. Economists and researchers have since quantified the damage of state abortion restrictions to local and state economies. And the correlation is easy. The more extreme estates restrictions, the more its economy suffers. A new study estimates state abortion restrictions cost the National Economy on average 173 billion per year. In overturning roe and casey, a small rightwing majority of a captured Supreme Court inserted the government into the personal life of decisions of millions of women, moving that freedom never minding those consequences. This is a court with members on a mission. His freedom fell at their hands. Next maybe the freedom to take an abortion medication long proven safe and effective. Next get him the freedom to use contraception. Even in vitro fertilization is under the gun at the hands of rightwing extremists. I Republicanled Congress and the Second Trump Administration could mean a National Abortion ban. If reelected trump could abuse executive power to remove from markets or try to prevent abortion medications or even contraceptives from going through the federal mail. The republican effort to ban mail order medication could cause even larger economic damage than dobbs. Generations of women fought for the freedom to make their own personal decision. They fought and they won and the victories brought economic gains in which we all share. But now the extremes are trying to undo all of him leaving and women and girls in america with fewer rights than their grandmothers. Women and girls have lives with respecting and protecting, and no one should be forced to carry a pregnancy to term against their will. Stripping women of this freedom casts a long shadow over their lives, and over their families lives, and it casts a long shadow over our economy as well. Congress should safeguard access to abortion and contraception, and codify roe into law. This is something women should decide its just of the governments business i will never turn over to Ranking Member grassley. Good morning, mr. Chairman. Im sorry i missed the last three hearings. Couldnt be here. Its great to have you back and happy healthy enough to be back and participate in the hearing today. So bravo. Thank you. We are tacking, tackling a very serious topic this morning, abortion above all is a moral and legal issue. Abortion is not an issue that lends itself to being looked at solely through an economic lens. After all, life is priceless. Theres a reason this committee historically hasnt delved into this issue. Its not an issue easily distilled down to dollars and cents, typical of budget issues that this committee normally works on. In fact, it is rather dehumanizing. The Chinese Communists are the best example of this wind instituted the one child policy, targeting female babies to extermination. And they did this thinking it would help their economy. But look what happened. Now the chinese realize its backfiring and hurting the economy. I think right now we just saw statistics, they are no longer the largest population country in the world. Being supplanted by india. Look at western nations like our own. We are also realize we need more people to sustain the economy and protect social security. I guess thats one reason that we are the most emigrant welcoming nation by taking 1 Million People legally every year into our country. So yes, having and raising children has cost, but so does abortion on demand and the culture for last respect of life. That said, here we are. Im prolife, profamily, prowoman. These views are not in conflict. Worthy alternatives to abortion exists in all but the rarest of circumstances. Numerous programs at the federal, state and local levels are available to help women, children and families in need. To better assist families, congress should focus on reforms that increase coordination between all the federal programs we have. Congress should simplify access to these programs. They should reduce duplication from work or education and eliminate marriage penalties in our tax laws. For years ive been championing supporting moms and kids. Ive worked to support and approve our adoption and foster care systems. Ive long been a strong supporter of taxing cities and laws to promote adoption, reduce Financial Burdens associated with adopting a child. As then chairman of the taxwriting finance committee, now 20 years ago, i help shepherd the bipartisan tax relief package that include muchneeded update on the adoption tax credit. Additionally, im a member of the congressional, Congressional Coalition on adoption, and founder and cochair of Senate Caucus on foster youth, and ive worked for years to improve policies and support for those who open their hearts and homes to children in need. Im also an advocate of the maternal infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting program which asserts many mothers and children across iowa and other states. Its critical we support the most vulnerable in our society, and this program has been a successful tool to improve the livelihoods of atrisk families. This congress ive introduced the bipartisan healthy moms and babies with senator maggie hassan. The bill is culmination of my work as finance Committee Chairman where i submit ideas with senators, stakeholder including i will Healthcare Providers and advocates on ways to improve maternal child care. The public is debating many abortion issues following the Supreme Court dobbs decision. Today, this committee will hear from two witnesses who can tell us about types of programs supporting pregnant women and families. We will also hear from folks on our local communities stand up by their neighbors to let them know that they are not alone and you have options here thats the type of message anyone can get behind. Thank you, mr. Chairman, and thanks to witnesses, all of our witnesses for pairing today. Thank you, senator grassley. And again welcome back. Our first witness today is professor Caitlin Myers of middlebury college. Professor myers is an applied micro economist who uses statistical methodologies to measure the causal effect of reproductive policies on demographic, health and economic outcomes. Her work has been published in leading journals in economics and public policy. She maintains and distributes data on Abortion Access to researchers and the public through the Abortion Access dashboard and open science framework. Professor myers, thank you very much for being here. Next realtor from doctor leilah zahedispung. Dr. Zahedispung is a boardcertified ob gyn in maternalfetal medicine physician in colorado. She received her bachelors degree in biology and psychology from the university of georgia and her medical degree from emory university. She serves as a member of the reproductive h. E. L. P. Committee and a member of the Education Committee to the society for family planning. Leilah zahedispung, welcome. Then we will hear from ms. Allie phillips, a lifelong tennessean, a mother and an activist. She shared her heartbreaking abortion story online and Drew International attention. Turning her pain into fashion mrs. Phillips has dedicated time to speaking out and fighting back mrs. Phillips, we appreciate very much you taking the time to join us. And i will now turn to senator lee and Ranking Member grassley to introduce their witnesses. Between you two. I have the privilege of introducing and i went from story county iowa, ms. Tamara call, msn and rn. She is executive director of the obria Medical Clinic in ames, iowa, a fully licensed Community Care clinic. It provides professional medical Services Including consultations, well women care, pregnancy testing, ultrasound, Health Education referrals. Obria employs boardcertified ob gyn physicians, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, medical assistance and support staff. Ms. Call holds a bachelors degree in nursing at from university of kansas here im also pleased to welcome mr. Schumer mr. President. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Schumer now, mr. President , negotiators in both chambers continue working to ensure the government will not shut down at the end of the week. We continue to make very Good Progress on an agreement, and we are very close to getting it done. I met yesterday with President Biden, with speaker johnson, with leader mcconnell, and leader jeffries speaker jeffries. We all agree, a shutdown is a loser for the American People. In a shutdown, costs go up, safety would go down, and the American People would pay the price. Im hopeful that the four leaders can reach this agreement very soon so we can not only avoid a shutdown on friday, but get closer to finishing the appropriations process altogether. If our House Republican colleagues of goodwill want to avert a shutdown, if they want to govern responsibly, as they say they do, they must resist the centrifugal pull of the extreme hard right who want to burn everything down, who openly use the threat of a shutdown to push their extreme agenda. Theyre brazen about it. They are brazen. We know what the hard right has been pushing. They want to restrict womens reproductive freedoms. We saw the case in alabama. They want to rip apart gun safety laws and reward corporate pol polluters. Or else, they say, they want a shu shutdown. This is no way to govern. If our House Republican colleagues of goodwill want to do the right thing, they must accept a fundamental truth about divided government. Republicans cannot pass a bill without democratic support. It takes both sides working together and ignoring the extremes of the hard right to get anything done. Ive said this over and over again, directly to the speaker, even in my first conversation with him, the only way we will get things done is by bipartisanship, and im proud in our chamber, not just on the supplemental but in bill after bill after bill, we are working in a bipartisan way. Im proud of that record. The speaker should understand that. So, im hopeful that soon we will have an agreement for keeping the government open beyond fridays deadline. Well keep working very diligently today. And i ask my colleagues to stay flexible and be ready to act quickly when the time comes. On ukraine, mr. President , the meeting i had yesterday with President Biden and congressional leaders over ukraine was one of the most intense discussions ive ever had or witnessed in the oval office. Every single one of us yesterday understood the basic facts the situation in ukraine is getting increasingly dire. Russia has made a major advance by taking the city of av difb ca, which avdivka, which they did simply because ukraine was running short of ammo, longrange artillery and basic equipment. It wasnt the lack of will of the fighters or plan, they simply ran out of ammunition. Imagine being a brave soldier, fighting for freedom, fighting for your country, and you no longer have the ammo. Without more aid from the United States, ukraine will lose. In fact, one american leader over there told me that he wouldnt be surprised if russian tanks were on the polish border if we didnt give any aid. What kind of legacy would that leave for the House Republicans who seem to want to stall that aid . Its not all of them, of course, but too many. Everyone in the room, with the exception of the speaker, agreed that Congress Must finish the work on the supplemental asap, because the future of ukraine and the west is at stake. Speaker johnson said he wants to continue to think it over. I was candid with the speaker that i hope he gives it careful thought, because the eyes of history are upon him. I said to the speaker, if youre the one stopping ukraine aid, then no matter what the consequences may be in the short term, you will regret your decision two years from now and could potentially regret it for the rest of your life, because this will be remembered as a turning point in america, for our strength, our credibility on the world stage, for our National Security. If we dont provide this aid, every year the United States could lose out to its enemies, the autocrats of the world, the putins, the xis, heads of north korea and iran. We could losous economically, militarily, diplomatly, politically, because of a shortsighted decision not to provide the muchneeded aid. The speaker has a legacydefining decision to make on ukraine. If he lets this bill move forward, he can go down as a fierce defender of americas core values, but if he shrinks from the importance of the moment, it will be the greatest gift putin, other autocrats and enemies of our country could possibly ask from the american congress. On the alabama ivf decision, after last weeks stunningly radical decision by the alabama Supreme Court jeopardizing ivf access, the United States has become an embarrassment to the world when it comes to reproductive freedom. Even sadder, mr. President , this didnt happen in a vacuum. The hard right maga Supreme Court decisions to overturn roe v. Wade opened the floodgates for republicans to force their antireproductive freedom, their antiwomen agenda down the throats of all americans. The decision by the alabama Supreme Court is as cruel as it is enraging. There are countless people today who have the joy of children because of ivf. But now families have to worry that this option could be taken away. Make no mistake, republicans own the consequences of the alabama Supreme Courts decision. Republicans know it. Thats why republicans are scrambling desperate to backpedal and try to sound reasonable and supportive of ivf all of a sudden, because they see what they have done. Republicans in alabama, even a conservative state like alabama, are now trying to save face by introducing legislation they claim will protect ivf providers. Even they know how the American People are reacting to this terrible decision. Even in alabama. Republicans in florida are now trying to save face by postponing the consideration of antiabortion legislation. This is the state that said no abortions after six weeks, when most women dont even know theyre pregnant. And by the way, the popularity of the governor has dramatically dropped after he passed that legis legislation, because floridians dont like it. Even republicans here in washington are trying to save face by putting off the introduction of National Abortion bans, because they recognize the mess theyve gotten themselves into. And of course, theyre not fooling anyone. Republicans are like the ars nist who set arsonist who set the house on fire, then said, why is it burning . Amazing. Con founding confounding, disturbing and sad. Left me be clear republicans spent decades calling for a National Abortion ban. Republicans spent decade packing our courts with hardright maga reactionary judges. So republicans deserve zero benefit of the doubt know that the of the doubt now that the consequences of their agenda are sinking in and even spreading. Republicans can do and say all they want to try and run away from the truth, but the American People are not buying it. Theyre not buying it today. They wont buy it tomorrow. They wont buy it come november. Democrats remain absolutely committed to doing everything, everything we can, to protect women, families, reproductive freedom. Now, on the brady bill anniversary, 30 years ago president clinton signed the brady bill into law, one of the most significant and effective pieces of Gun Legislation ever in american history. This legislation, of course, is near and dear to me. Back when i introduced the brady bill and carried it through the house and senate through the house, i wasnt a senator then, jumping ahead in my little history, back when i introduced the brady bill i was a house member representing brooklyn and queens. I knew firsthand the terrible toll of gun violence because the streets of my district and so many other districts were witness to it. I jumped at the opportunity to work alongside two brave and stalwart people, jim and sarah brady, two american heroes whose lives, of course, were forever changed by gun violence. To help write and pass the brady law. Looking back at the legacy the brady bill after three decades, theres no doubt it saved countless lives. Theres no way to count, because you dont know who didnt get the gun who would have, but its going to be a number with many, many zeros. And it paved the way for future gun safety legislation, like the bipartisan bill we passed two decades two years ago. The bipartisan gun safety legislation we passed in 2022, in fact, was the most significant and comprehensive action on gun safety since the brady bill. And just like its predecessors, it too is already saving lives. But, mr. President , it shouldnt take an assassination attempt against a president or a mass shooting among these innocent children in an Elementary School for elected leaders to make change happen. Gun violence is one of americas greatest ills, but it shouldnt have to be that way, and so our work, thinking of jim and sarah hovering over us, is far from over. Democrats remain committed to combating gun violence and making our communities safer. Well keep pushing. Well keep fighting. Well never let the grief of parents, kids, neighbors, teachers, all of those scarred by gun violence to recede to the back of our memories. Again, a salute to jim and sarah brady and what they have done for america. I yield the floor, and i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the clerk ms. Baldwin. Quorum call be able to do care and own community in a manner that is best for them with people they trust. I urge you to listen to the stories they told today by the people who provide an access abortion care. I hope these stories help you understand abortion care is not an isolated political issue and to see a profamily restriction on abortion care access harm all of us and the people that we love. Thank you for having me. Thank you very much, doctor. Mrs. Phillips, please proceed. Chairman whitehouse, Ranking Member grassley, members of the Senate Budget committee thank you for inviting me here today. My name is Allie Phillips and 11 clarksville tennessee. My husband brian works for Forklift Company and i run is what they care of our home. Together we raising my sixyearold daughter. Were not a wealthy family. We work hard to pay our bills on time each month. I spent the first over years of her life as a single mom working three jobs while also finishing up my bachelors degree. Brian adderly and i was so excited to learn that i was pregnant in the fall of 2022 and even more thrilled to find out we were having a little girl. My auntie rose. Everything was going perfectly until the date of my routine anatomy skin. At 19 weeks when my doctor told us they had some multiple concerning fetal issues, several days later as as a waiter tot with the fetal specialist i had no way of knowing that the next ten minutes to change my life forever. The fetal specialist came and took over the results and that list was extensive. Her kidneys, bladder and stomach were not functioning only two of the four chambers and heart were not working. There was no amniotic fluid protecting her, and she had a rare brain condition. Hargrove was a a month behind and she had no lung development. We were told that miley was not compatible with life. Completely broken, i asked, what do we do now . The doctor suggested i had to make options that i could terminate the pregnancy but due to tennessees ban on abortion i would have to travel out of state for the healthcare. My second option would be to continue my pregnancy, but risk in miscarriage, the stillbirth, giving birth for her to be put right into hospice care. And then the doctor warned that the longer i stay pregnant, the worse her condition would get and the more at risk my health would become. Knowing i had a daughter and family to live for, we made the difficult decision to seek an abortion. So instead of grieving this devastating news, my mother ad i began researching and calling clinics in states that allow abortions after 20 weeks. Many did not have open appointments for weeks, at the longer i i waited, the more extensive and expensive the procedure became. Ultimately, i found a clinic in newark city that could get me in the following week. Then i had to book flights, find the hotel, arrange Ground Transportation and childcare for adalie. We had to quickly forgot how to afford all of it. We didnt have thousands of dollars sitting in our bank account here i had to start a go fund me effort online to help cover the unexpected medical and travel costs. Without the help of strangers on the internet i would not have had the freedom to leave tennessee or to make my own medical decisions. Rights that my state denied me. Days later i arrived at a new york city clinic alone, due to security concerns only patients are allowed in. I was there for several hours when an ultrasound showed that my least heart was no longer beating. My lease sorry. Take your time. Distraught, i called brian my husband to tell them over the phone that are much wanted daughter was already gone, that the abortion scheduled for the following day would be done immediately. I went into surgery alone, and i sat in recovery alone. I grieved her loss alone in a city i have never been in, far away from the comfort of my home, my family and my friends. No one should be treated this way, not into the sea and not in the other 13 states that now criminalized abortion. This standard of care that ended in my situation. Two days later i flew back home to tennessee. I had to go back to my life like nothing ever happened. Ive never felt as small and is inconsequential or unsupported as i did then. I was so depressed that he couldnt go to work for another week after we got back and altogether brian and i lost three weeks of pay, which is rough for family that lives paycheck to paycheck. My parents found to help us pay our bills the following month so we didnt lose our home. We want to have another child, but we are terrified because tennessee still bans abortion and criminalizes doctors for providing essential health care for pregnant. Thank you for let me honor mileys memory by sharing her stories today. Millions lived under these laws just like tennessees and i know i was lucky to get the care i needed. Ed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell its been a month since the Biden Administration announced its de facto ban on new export permits for americas abundant stores of natural gas. One month since the president chose to ban growth in a critical sector of our economy with massive global consequences to a screeching halt. At the risk of understating things, the condemnations of President Bidens decision were swift and fullthroated. Its not hard to understand why. With the stroke of a pen, the president threatened the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of americans from texas to pennsylvania who produce and transport natural gas. From the outset, the administration tried to cast the freeze as an effort to look out for american consumers, but the facts tell a different story. By the Energy Departments own analysis, the United States has more than enough natural gas to meet both domestic and export demand. In fact, if the Biden Administration was really concerned about access to one of the nations most abundant, reliable, and Affordable Energy sources, theyd release their thanking galhold on stranglehold on energy and infrastructure. Millions of americans live near massive natural gas reserves but cant reap the benefits because the president is afraid of unsettling climate activists by investing in safe and Efficient Energy infrastructure. . Of the most scathing criticism of the president s decision have come from his own former democratic colleagues. As former senator Mary Landrieu of louisiana observed last month, the administrations socalled pause, pause on lng export permits was like throwing a match into a bail of hay. Americans allies already doubt our resolve to deter common adversaries. But now the world wonders why the Biden Administration just handed them a gift. Last week, just last week a german stateowned Energy Company confirmed that it would actually keep an lng supply contract with putin. But it gets worse. The company had a contract in hand to begin purchasing american lng instead until the administration announced its freeze last month. In other words, the president of the United States essentially told a nato ally to keep on enriching the dictator responsible for the first major land war in europe since 1945. And to make matters worse, its increasingly clear that President Bidens decision had another adversarys fingerprints all over it. Leftwing activists have been in the drivers seat of the president s Energy Policy since day one. That much is not news. But his top Climate Advisers taking private meetings with influencers on a chineseowned social media platform or the campaign to ban lng permits being driven by a private Foundation Invested heavily in chinese funds, that is news. So, mr. President , lng exports are one of the only areas of u. S. China trade in which the prc is relying on the United States. Beijing would be all too happy for an excuse to buy less u. S. Energy and more of what President Bidens Energy Secretary called, quote, the dirtiest form of natural gas on earth, russian lng. Well, it appears that President Biden has given our top strategic adversary precisely such an excuse. Its hard to understand the president s decision as anything other than a compulsive, shortsighted grab for more fleeting praise from his activist base. Clearly it makes no strategic or economic sense. As one expert analyst and Deputy National security adviser under the Previous Administration put it, our partners and allies are baffled and our adversaries are pleased. Thats never a good formula. Now, on another matter, three days ago a member of harvards Antisemitism Task force stepped down over concerns that the university would not actually implement the groups recommendations. Unfortunately, if recent events are any indication, this professors concerns about the unchecked wave of hate on campus are well founded. A few weeks ago, multiple harvard student groups circulated a blatantly antisemitic cartoon of mohammad ali and the former egyptian president bearing a star of david with a dollar sign. True to form a sternly worded letter. Not to be outdone on this backslide into hate, flyers were found on columbias campus depicting an israeli flag in the shape of a skunk. And a columbia law Student Senate rejected a proposal by a fellow student seeking to form a club to combat antisemitism. By now, its also painfully clear that the moral failures of campus administrators go well beyond weak responses to student behavior. Rutgers recently hosted an event with a professor who described the events of october 7 as awesome scenes witnessed by millions of jubilant arabs. And City University of new york tried to schedule a panel titled globalize the intifada. As the glaring moral rot on College Campuses invites scrutiny, even further evidence of decline has emerged. Not only are some of the nations most elite institutions breeding grounds for the worlds oldest form of hate, theyre also infested with academic misconduct. Last month harvards chief diversity officer was found to have copied her husbands work extensively without citation. And perhaps even more shockingly, a top neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School was found to have falsified data in 21 different papers. Profoundly unserious behavior at a university that professes world leading academic caliber. So its no surprise to see donors continue to vote with their checkbooks. Another prominent billionaire and long time donor to harvard announced last month that he would end his support. He says until harvard got back on the right track and focused on educating future leaders, he said im not interested in supporting the institution. For their part, American Families are right to reconsider whether an Ivy League Diploma is worth the cost or for that matter the hate. The Biden Administration isnt making it any easier for students or parents to make informed decisions. Beginning with the failure to launch last fall, the department of education was slow to post the free application for federal student aid online. Now months behind schedule, perspective students and parents are stuck with incomplete information on the cost of attending college. While the department is slowing down and muddying the Financial Aid process, they are simultaneously speeding up their student loan socialism scheme rollout. Its almost as though the Biden Administration wants more young people to incur excessive debt so that they can turn around and force taxpayers to foot an even larger bill to bail them out. Not only has the Supreme Court ruled President Biden Student Loans socialism unconstitutional, it is also profoundly bad policy. And it wont help American Families struggling to afford college. Keeping billions of dollars on Student Loan Debt on heaping billions of dollars on Student Loan Debt will basic responsibilities. So perhaps perhaps its time the government followed the lead of parents and Business Leaders and stopped providing taxpayer subsidies to institutions that have clearly lost their grip on reality. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the clerk ms. Baldwin. The risks of continuing that pregnancy far outweigh the benefit of continuing it for many families. Because of the risk of pregnancy itself. Pregnancy is not a benign condition. We already know we are one of the few industrialized countries that has a worsening, and increasing Maternal Mortality causes country and abortion care is very Necessary Health care in order to provide the standard of care. Not to mention the same procedure that is used in dnc for abortion care, also used for miscarriage management. During my time in tennessee accounts of the way that the law was written, as catholic pregnancies treating ectopic pregnancies which are dangerous and lifethreatening because the implant outside of the uterus, technically an abortion in the state of tennessee. So you have providers who were deferring care that was lifesaving because of their fear of criminalization. When someones water breaks early the standard of care is to end the pregnancy because of the risks to that pregnant person. And we have evidence across the country, including in places like texas sap continue a pregnancy where the water is broken you increase the likelihood of maternal morbidity and mortality fivefold. Senator grassley. I will start with mrs. Call. Your clinic provides postabortion care. Could you tell us a little bit about the care for these women . And include the type of medical complications and hurdles that abortion and these women can experience. Yes, thank you, senator grassley. So when a woman initially comes to our clinic, one thing that we prepared them for is what the abortion procedure will entail. We give them factual information on that, and we let them know what the i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Thune mr. President , America Needs farmers and ranchers, we need the men and women, and often entire families, who are willing to do the hard work to feed our country and the world. Places like my home state of south dakota, farming and ranching are just part of our way of life. But this important work involves a great deal of risk. Few jobs, for example, as are subject to the whims of the whether and the market. For hundreds of Years Congress has passed a farm bill with programs and policies that mitigate risks and help them to keep going through the tough times. And with a 2018 farm bill expiring last year, Congress Needs to take up this important task once again. While im glad Congress Passed an extension of critical farm bill programs, a temporary extension is no substitution for a full updated bill. Mr. President , ive been able to help craft four farm bills during my time in congress, and for me the process always begins and ends with farmers and ranchers. In addition to my regular discussions with farmers and ranchers, as i traveled around my state, i held a number of roundtable discussions across south dakota focused on the next farm bill to receive direct input from our states agricultural producers, most of our priorities from the farm bill come from the conversations i had. One thing i consistently hear from farmers and ranchers is the importance of the farm safety net. Crop insurance, commodity and Livestock Programs play a Critical Role in helping producers manage risks in their operations. Crop insurance is the cornerstone of this safety net and we need to strengthen it whenever possible in the next farm bill. While Crop Insurance has historically supported row crop production, we have improved and expanded Insurance Options for livestock producers, the commodity programs need to be improved so that they sufficiently mitigate producers losses. Livestock programs like the Emergency Assistance for Livestock Program need to be modified to improve the assistance that they provide and make them workable for producers. So one of my Top Priorities for the next farm bill is improving commodity and Livestock Program so they provide the support farmers and ranchers need during tough times. Mr. President , like i said, while im glad we extended key provisions of the 2018 farm bill through this growing season, we are overdue for a full updated multiyear farm bill. And republicans on the Agriculture Committee are ready to get to drafting a bill. Im disappointed, however, that some of my democrat colleagues dont seem to share our sense of urgency. The Biden Administration and Congressional Democrats have put funding their climate and nutrition priorities ahead of helping farmers and ranchers, which has stalled what has traditionally wbeen, mr. President , a bipartisan farm bill process. With an expected 1. 5 billion price tax for the farm bill thanks to the biden snap thrifty food update which is expected to cost more than a quarter of a trillion dollars over the next ten years, there needs to be give and take whendoms to the components of the farm bill. Since the last farm bill passed in 2018, farmers and ranchers have faced challenges, inflation has driven up farm expenses by 100 billion since the last farm bill. The usda is forecasting a decrease since last years drought. Farm increase costs are expected to stay at record highs. The Biden Administration failure to promote trade and new mode access opportunities will continue to negatively impact farmers and ranchers and their bottom lines. This year, the United States is on track to post a record high agriculture trade deficit. And recent disruptions to shipping in the middle east could have impacts on Global Markets that negatively affect American Farmers and ranches. Our focus, mr. President , needs to be on helping farmers deal with these challenges. Simply put, we need to put more tax reform more farm in the farm bill, and we need to get moving now. Americas farmers and ranchers cant afford more unnecessary delays or partisan exercises. Its time to get the farm bill done and done right. Mr. President , i yield the floor. And i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the clerk ms. Baldwin. If someone cannot afford to get the healthcare they need, what do the think to happen when she for threat that child . How will she make ends meet . Republicans antiabortion extremism doesnt just mean forcing women to stay pregnant. Ultimately, it often means women forced out of the workforce and the two Financial Hardship with no support to speak of. Here we are where republicans want women to stay pregnant but they do want to address the childcare crisis. They want to force women to stay pregnant but today House Republicans want to not fully fund wick. Republicans want to force women to give birth but they dont want bombs to their paid leave so they can recover from childbirth and spend time with her newborn. So its pretty clear that republicans want to force women to stay pregnant but will not lift a finger to help new parents. I want you to know that democrats are working hard to help make sure women are people to decide when and how they start a family, and would actually support those programs that family stay. That is a pretty big difference to me, mr. Chairman. Mrs. Phillips, i want to start with you. Thank you again for sharing your story. I know a challenging that and want to make it clear that you are not alone. There are literally hundreds of women out there, probably thousands, for facing the same choices you do. And that story is not alone. Everyone needs to understand that. Can you talk to this committee again about the financial barriers that are out there for women who seek abortions such as you had to do through no want in your your life, but because thats what happened to you and when you were forested to go out of state all alone. Forced. Thank you so much for the question and the opportunity to continue to speak on my story. I will start by addressing the committee by saying pregnancy isnt a onesizefitsall situation. Every pregnancy is different. Every reason to need an aa abortion is different. But my abortion. What my fellow witness explained did not amy to my situation. This was a [inaudible] pregnancy, and unfortunately for us, it wasnt in the cards for us to bring that baby into this world. And as a low income family, as you spoke i was a single mom for the first three years of my daughter cans to wife. I took two weeks off of wife when she was born unpaid and had to gose back because i didnt he any other option e. Mr. Cornyn i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Cornyn mr. President , tomorrow President Biden will do something hes done only once before in his term as president of the United States. Hell travel to the u. S. Mexico border, to brownsville, texas, in an attempt to address his biggest political liability. Since the president took office three years ago, u. S. Customs and Border Protection has logged more than 7. 2 million migrant encounters at the southern border. By that, we mean people who showed up at the border and, by and large, have simply been released into the interior based on an initial claim of asylum, which is yet to be put in front of an immigration judge, and it may be along as, in places like new york, ten years in the future before they ever get in front of an immigration judge. Or, as we have seen tragically here most recently, these migrants will be paroled or simply released into the interior of the country, even without a claim of asylum, given a work permit, and stay here indefinitely. 7. 2 million is higher than the total number of migrants who came across the southern border under president obama, who served eight years, and President Trump, who siefbed who served four years. So the Biden Administration has done in three years what it took 12 years for the two Previous Administrations to accomplish. Weve experienced more illegal immigration in the last three years than in the last 12. The American People have become increasingly concerned at the southern border because they see with their own eyes that this is a humanitarian crisis and its a Public Safety crisis. And they overwhelmingly, and quite appropriately, blame Biden Administration policies and the president himself. They see that his policies and his rhetoric, rather than deter illegal immigration, have actually encouraged it. Let me say that again. They understand that the policies of this administration and the rhetoric thats been used are the driving force behind americas most serious border crisis in history. But, as usual, the president refuses to accept any responsibility. Hes tried to blame everybody but himself. Hes blamed congressional dysfunction. Hes blamed maga republicans. Hes blamed anybody and everybody that he can possibly think of, rather than accept responsibility himself. Not only that, he has at different times claimed that he lacks the tools to fix this crisis. At different times hes claimed his hands are tied unless Congress Passes new laws. The problem with that story line, that narrative, is the facts simply dont support it. For one, the suggestion that only congress can fix the crisis implies that congress created the crisis. I would point out the same laws that were in effect during president Trumps Administration are still in effect during President Bidens administration, with far different outcomes. As each of our colleagues knows, congress has struggled to pass any immigration laws in recent years, and certainly it has not passed any that would cause the dramatic surge in immigration that we began the day that President Biden took office. The president was dealt exactly the same hand as his recent predecessors. The only difference is he used these authorities entirely diffe differently, and sent an entirely different message. As ive spoken before on the floor, the Border Patrol, which are the experts on Border Security, tell me that there are two main drivers of illegal immigration. One is push factors, they call it poverty, violence, a desire for a better life and we understand that. America is a nation of immigrants, of legal immigrants. But theres also the pull factors, like a magnet, encouraging people to make the dangerous journey to our border. Even in the form of unaccompanied children, designed to exploit gaps in Biden Administration policies and permanently reside in the United States. Earlier this week, i was surprised by a New York Times article that acknowledged the fundamental hypocrisy behind President Bidens efforts to shift the blame once again. This is a quote from february 26 excuse me, 2024, the New York Timesdavid leonhardt is the columnist. He said, in part, he said biden is the president , after all, and a president has significant authority to shape immigration policy even without new legislation. Biden himself has been aggressive about using this authority albeit to loosen immigration policy rather than tighten it. So the current phenomenon, this crisis, humanitarian and Public Safety crisis, is as a result of President Bidens own policies. Its not the laws that are broken or inadequate. Its his about to actually enforce the law, and his active encouragement for people to come to the border because they know they will successfully be able to stay in the United States. I mentioned before a trip that several of us, colleagues on a bipartisan basis, went to yuma, arizona, a little, sleepy Agricultural Community in southwest arizona, right across the border from mexico. The Border Patrol chief said welcome to the yuma sector. Last year, we welcomed people from 140plus countries. Not mexico, not central america, but from 140plus countries that speak more than 200 languages. Senator kelly, the our colleague from arizona, pointed out that there was an airport in northern mexico, in mexicali, which is a fairly large city in northern mexico, and apparently what happens is people fly into mexicali and literally uber over to the Border Patrol and declare amnesty. Well, declare asylum is the right word. Well, i know the president will have a hard time with his second driveby of the americanmexico border during his term of presidency. The goal is to try to shift the blame once again. As this journalist wrote, President Biden is the president. He wanted to be president. He got elected president. He ought to do the job that president s do, which is to enforce the laws. Thats what the executive branch of government does. Congress passes laws, the Judicial Branch decides disputes about those laws as applied to given facts, but it is the president and the executive branch, the department of justice, department of Homeland Security that are responsible under our Constitutional Order for actually enforcing the law. And what if President Biden what has President Biden done with that authority . He has loosened immigration policy rather than tighten it. This is what ive been saying for three years, and even now i cant tell you how surprised and believed i am to see this stated in the New York Times. But President Biden could listen to mayor adams, the mayor of new york city. He said in has been a disaster for new york. You hear the similar complaints from people like the mayor of washington, d. C. , the mayor of chicago. These are selfstyled sanctuary cities that you think would welcome these migrants, but theyve been overwhelmed. What about 7. 2 million that have shown up on our backdoor step in texas . Its hard to have much sympathy for the mayors of new york and chicago and washington, d. C. When theyve dealt with just a fraction of the numbers that we have had to deal with in texas, without any help from the federal government. And the federal government has been actively undermining efforts by the state of texas to reduce illegal immigration. During his first few days in office, President Biden signed a raft of executive orders related to immigration and Border Security. He halted construction of the border wall. He dismantled the agreement we had with mexico that migrants could remain in mexico while they waited for their asylum claim to be adjudicated. But he ripped that up too. He entered into an Asylum Agreement with northern triangle countries. And even issued a 100day pause on deportations. So, even if he were here even if you were here illegally, you knew at least for 100 days, and very likely for the rest of your life, that you would not be deported, because of President Bidens policies. These are just a few examples of the executive orders President Biden issued within days of taking office. In the three years since, he and other leaders in the administration have gone to grit lengths to Great Lengths to roll out the welcome mat. One of the most egregious examples is the administrations widespread use of parole. Parole, in this context, means a temporary entry for foreigners under rare and dire circumstances. It was never meant to be used categorically or in a blanket fashion as the Biden Administration has done. Its meant to be used on a casebycase basis, in extreme ca cases, someone experiencing a medical emergency at a port of entry, somebody donating a kidney or serving as a witness in a trial. It was meant to be used on a casebycase basis, which by nature gives the administration a good amount of discretion. But to provide some comparison, during the two Previous Administrations an average of 5,600 migrants were paroled into the United States each year. 5,600. Once President Biden took office, that number skyrocketed. The Biden Administration has used parole to facilitate catch and release at the border at an unprecedented pace. But its use of parole extends beyond illegal crossings at the southern border. The Biden Administration announced a new program which allows individuals from four countries, cuba, haiti, venezuela, to enter and remain in the United States all under the guise of parole. You dont need to claim asylum if you can make it to the border, if you pay the smugglers enough money to get you there, you know youre going to be able to stay here. This program that the Biden Administration set up intentionally and with great deliberation provides two years of legal status and Work Authorization to 30,000, 30,000 migrants from these four countries each month. Thats 360,000 a year. The Biden Administration rolled out the welcome mat. Give them a work permit. Say you can stay knowing that they probably will be able do stay indefinitely. In total the Biden Administration has used this casebycase Parole Authority to grant parole to 1. 6 million migrants in less than two years. 1. 6 million. As President Biden has shown repeatedly, if you give him an inch, he will take a mile. Another example of gratuitous discretion came from secretary mayorkas whos been impeached by the house of representatives. Secretary mayorkas issued a final directive for Immigration Enforcement priorities in the fall of 2021. This really should be called instead of Immigration Enforcement priorities, it should be immigration nonenforcement priorities. That would be more accurate title. But under this guidance, one headline summed it up summed up the contents rather succinctly. It said u. S. Will no longer deport Illegal Immigrants based on undocumented status alone. Were not going to deport people who are illegally entering the country . What kind of message does that send . But the memo went on to explicitly discourage ice officers. Ice is immigration and Customs Enforcement, that once you get past the border, ice is the ones responsible for repatriating or returning people who are here illegally. This memo explicitly discouraged ice officers from arresting or removing Illegal Immigrants unless theyd been convicted of a serious crime. It defies all common sense to ask Law Enforcement officers who take an oath to uphold the constitution and laws of the United States, it makes no sense to tell them at the same time to turn a blind eye when you encounter people who are here illegally. Just because the Biden Administration doesnt want to enforce the law. Secretary mayorkas went further. He laid out mitigating factors that should be considered before arresting or removing Illegal Immigrants, including their age, how long theyve been in the United States, and the impact the removal would have on their family. An in even in the case of an alien convicted of a very serious offense like murder, like rape, receipt and possession of child pornography. Ice would have to consider these mitigating factors before they could take action and remove that person. The realityofthe situation reality of the situation no matter how inconvenient it may be for our democratic colleagues is that by entering the United States illegally, these migrants are breaking the law. Theres nothing wrong with prioritizing the removal of the most dangerous criminals. Previous administrations have prioritized certain categories of Illegal Immigrants, like those suspected of terrorism or those who could be a threat to National Security or Public Safety. But there is a difference between prioritizing certain groups for removal and exempting entire categories from enforcement. Given everything weve witnessed over the last three years, President Biden has no right, no right to claim that his hands are tied when it comes to addressing the border crisis by executive action. From day one President Biden made clear that he was willing to use executive action. As david lanhardt notes here. But he did it to loosen illegal immigration, make it easier, not harder. Hes used executive action to remove border wall construction, the remain in mexico policy, halt deportations, excluding broad classes of migrants from removal parole more than 1. 6 million migrants in the United States and so much more. So this is a crisis of President Bidens making. This is a manmade disaster. And that man is president of the United States. If the president believed that he had this much latitude to loosen immigration policy, he shouldnt feel constrained by congress when it comes to tightening immigration policy. It would be good politics for him. I pointed out that this is a Major Political liability for the president going into an election. He can fix it just like he broke it. Executive actions have been used in the past to address migration surges and with a great deal of success. Back in 2005, thendhs secretary Michael Chertoff testified before the Senate Judiciary committee that i serve on and spoke about the departments response to a surge of migrants if brazil from brazil. All of a sudden a bunch of migrants from brazil showed up at the border. But what did they do . What did the Bush Administration do . They used their existing authorities to expand the use of expedited removal which allows agents to quickly remove migrants who have no legal basis to remain in the United States. And as secretary chertoff noted, word spread fast. After 30 days the number of brazilians dropped by more than 50 . After 60 days it dropped more than 90 . President biden could do precisely the same thing, but he wont do it. President biden has the exact same authority to replicate that effort today. He could expand expedited removal, send a clear message that our southern border is no longer an open corridor. But as mr. Lanhardt points out, all the messages hes sending is if you come, you can stay. What more powerful magnet, what more powerful pull factor for illegal immigration can you imagine . And as ive pointed out time and time again, its not just about illegal immigration. Its about the drugs. Because the cartels have figured out if you flood the border with people, you can overwhelm the Border Patrol. Many of them will have to leave the front lines, process paperwork, provide transportation, food, shelter, clothing to migrants in order to treat them humanely while theyre here. But theyre not on the border. And last year alone, 108,000 americans died from drugs that come across that border. 71,000 of them from fentanyl. Synthetic opioid pressed into counterfeitlooking pills that high schoolage children are taking across the country thinking theyre taking something relatively innocuous but in fact it kills them. Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for young people between the age of 18 and 45. We know where it comes from. It comes across that border. Its manufactured in mexico from precursors shipped in from china. But that is part of the disaster that the Biden Administration open border policies have wrought. 108,000 dead Americans Last year alone. Well, news reports are that President Biden could announce new executive actions on his trip to the border tomorrow. Im eager to see whether he will reverse course and issue an executive order that will actually tighten the border, will actually do his duty of securing the border, or whether these are measures more designed to loosen immigration policy. Of course, i expect that the American People being very smart will understand why President Biden has chosen this time to do to take this trip. Second driveby of the border since hes been president. Its all about the election in november. And he understands that this is a gaping political liability, and hes trying to plug that. And not only is he trying to plug that hole, hes also trying to blame others for his failures. And mr. President , that will not work. The American People being very smart and perceptive, they can see through that smoke screen. Mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. 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 executive calendar number 472, julie simone sneed of florida to be United States district judge for the middle district of florida signed by 17 senators. 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 julie simone sneed of florida to be the United States district judge for the middle district of florida shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote the clerk ms. Baldwin. Mr. Barrasso. Mr. Bennet. Mrs. Blackburn. Mr. Blumenthal. Mr. Booker. Mr. Boozman. Mr. Braun. Mrs. Britt. Mr. Brown. Mr. Budd. Ms. Butler. Ms. Cantwell. Mrs. Capito. Mr. Cardin. Mr. Carper. Mr. Casey. Mr. Cassidy. Vote the clerk mr. Crapo. Mr. Cruz. Mr. Daines. Ms. Duckworth. Mr. Durbin. Ms. Ernst. Mr. Fetterman. Mrs. Fischer. Mrs. Gillibrand. Mr. Graham. Mr. Grassley. Mr. Hagerty. Ms. Hassan. Mr. Hawley. Mr. Heinrich. Mr. Hickenlooper. Ms. Hirono. Mr. Hoeven. The clerk mrs. Hydesmith. Mr. Johnson. Mr. Kaine. Mr. Kelly. Mr. Kennedy. Mr. King. Ms. Klobuchar. Mr. Lankford. Mr. Lee. Mr. Lujan. Ms. Lummis. Mr. Manchin. Mr. Markey. Mr. Marshall. Mr. Mcconnell. Mr. Menendez. The clerk mr. Moran. Mr. Mullin. Ms. Murkowski. Mr. Murphy. Mrs. Murray. Mr. Ossoff. Mr. Padilla. Mr. Paul. Mr. Peters. Mr. Reed. Mr. Ricketts. Mr. Risch. Mr. Romney. Ms. Rosen. Mr. Rounds. Mr. Rubio. Mr. Sanders. Mr. Schatz. Mr. Schmitt. Mr. Schumer. Mr. Scott of florida. Mr. Scott of south carolina. Mrs. Shaheen. Ms. Sinema. Ms. Smith. Ms. Stabenow. Mr. Sullivan. Mr. Tester. Mr. Thune. Mr. Tillis. Mr. Tuberville. Mr. Van hollen. Mr. Vance. Mr. Warner. Mr. Warnock. Ms. Warren. Mr. Welch. Mr. Whitehouse. Mr. Wicker. Mr. Wyden. Mr. Young. The clerk mr. Ricketts, no. Mrs. Shaheen ms. Hassan, aye. Mr. Merkley, aye. The clerk mr. Casey, aye. The clerk mr. Kennedy, no. Mr. Heinrich, aye. The clerk mr. Lujan, aye. The clerk ms. Sinema, aye. Senators voting in the affirmative casey, hassan, heinrich, hickenlooper, lujan, menendez, merkley, rosen, schatz, scott of florida, sinema. Senators voting in the negative cassidy, cornyn, cotton, cramer, grassley, kennedy, mullin, paul, ricketts, wicker. Mr. Scott of south carolina, no. Mrs. Hydesmith, no. Mr. Fetterman, aye. The clerk mrs. Fischer, no. The clerk mr. Romney, no. Mr. Peters, aye. The clerk mrs. Murray, aye. The clerk mr. Tuberville, no. Mr. Johnson, no. Ms. Stabenow, aye. Vote the clerk mr. Braun, no. Enclose ms. Ernst, no. The clerk ms. Ernst, no. Mrs. Blackburn, no. The clerk mr. Reed, aye. Mrs. Britt, no. The clerk mr. Rounds, no. The clerk ms. Cantwell, aye. Ms. Collins, aye. Mr. Daines, no. Mr. Young, no. Mr. Padilla, aye. The clerk mr. Tester, aye. Mr. Booker, aye. The clerk ms. Hirono, aye. The clerk mr. Barrasso, no. The clerk mr. Rubio, aye. Ms. Lummis, no. Mr. Lankford, no. Mr. Schumer, aye. Mr. Coons, aye. Mr. Marshall, no. The clerk mr. Durbin, aye. Mr. Sanders, aye. Mr. Brown, aye. Mr. Ossoff, aye. Mr. Graham, aye. Mrs. Capito, no. Mr. Manchin, aye. Mr. Kelly, aye. Mr. Wyden, aye. Mr. Kaine, aye. The clerk mr. Welch, aye. Mr. Hagerty, no. The clerk mr. Bennet, aye. The clerk mr. Crapo, no. Mr. Lee, no. The clerk mr. Van hollen, aye, mr. King, aye. Mr. Hawley, no. The clerk mr. Cruz, no. The clerk mr. Sullivan, no. The clerk mr. Markey, aye. Mrs. Gillibrand, aye. Mr. Blumenthal, aye. Mr. Vance, no. Mr. Boozman, no. The clerk ms. Baldwin, aye. The clerk ms. Duckworth, aye. The clerk mr. Cardin, aye. Mr. Risch, no. The clerk mr. Murphy, aye. Mr. Budd, no. The clerk mr. Moran, no. The clerk ms. Butler, aye. The clerk mr. Warnock, aye. The clerk mr. Whitehouse, aye. Vote the clerk mr. Hoeven, no. Ms. Warren, aye. The clerk mr. Schmitt, no. The clerk mr. Warner, aye. The clerk mrs. Shaheen, aye. Mr. Carper, aye. Ms. Cortez masto, aye. The clerk mr. Thune, no. Ranchers. Vote the clerk mr. Mcconnell, no. Ms. Murkowski, aye. The presiding officer the yeas are 54, the nays are 43. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the republican leader. Mr. Mcconnell as some of you may know, this has been a particularly time for my family. We tragically lost elaines younger Sister Angela just a few weeks ago. When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, theres a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process. Perhaps it is gods way of reminding you of your own lifes journey to prioritize the impact of the world that we will all inevitably leave behind. I turned 82 last week. The end of my contributions are closer than id prefer. My career in the United States senate began amidst the reagan revolution. The truth is, when i got here i was just happy if anybody remembered my name. President reagan called me mitch odonald. Close enough, i thought. My wife elaine and i got married on president reagans birthday, february 6. Its probably hot the not the most romantic thing to admit, but reagan meant a lot to both of us. For 31 years elaine has been the love of my life and im eternally grateful to have her by my side. I think back to my first days in the senate with deep appreciation for the time that helped shape my view of the world. Im unconflicted about the goodwyn oush country and the good with isin with our country with in our country. Thats why i worked so hard to get the National Security package passed earlier this month. Believe me, i know the politics within my party at this particular moment in time. I have many faults. M misunderstanding politics is not one of them. That said, i believe more strongly than ever that americas Global Leadership is essential to preserving the shinning city on a hill that Ronald Reagan discussed. For as long as i draw breath on this earth, i will defend americas exceptionalism. When i was thinking about when i would deliver some news to the senate, i always imagined a moment when i had total clarity and peace about the sunset of my work. A moment when im certain i have helped preserve the ideals i so strongly believe. That day arrived today. My goals when i was narrowly elected to the senate in 1984 were fairly modest. Do a good job for the people of kentucky, and convince them by doing so they might rehire me for a second term. That was it. That was the plan. If you would have told me 40 years later that i would stand before you as the longestserving Senate Leader in american history, frankly, i would have thought you lost your mind. I have the honor of representing kentucky and the senate longer than anyone else in our states history. I just never could have imagined never could have imagined that happening when i arrived here in 1984 at 42. Im filled with heartfelt gratitude and humility for the opportunity. But now its 2024. Im now 82. As acleastcs tells us, theres a time for every season and a time for every purpose under hech. So serve kentucky has been an honor of my life, and to lead my republican colleagues has been the highest privilege. But one of lifes most under appreciated talents is to know when its time to move on to lifes next chapter. So i stand before you today, mr. President , and my colleagues to say this will be my last term as republican leader of the senate. Im not going anywhere any time soon. However, i will complete my job my colleagues have given me until we select a new leader in november and they take the helm next january. Ill finish the job the people of kentucky hired me to do as well. Albeit from a different seat, and im actually looking forward to that. So its time for me to think about another season. I love the senate. Its been my life. There may be more distinguished members of this body throughout our history, but i doubt there were any with any more admiration for the senate. After all this time, i still get a thrill walking into the capitol and especially on this venerable floor knowing that we, each of us, have the honor to represent our states and do the important work of our country. But father time remains undefeated. Im no longer the young man sitting in the back hoping colleagues would remember my name. Its time for the next generation of leadership. As henry clay said in this very body in 1850, the constitution of the United States was not made merely for the generation that then existed but for posterity, unlimited, undefined, endless, perpetual posterity. So as time rolls on, there will be a new cuss stowedian cuss soedian custodian next year, i intend to turn it over to a republican majority leader, i have full confidence in choosinghad my replacement and choosing my replacement and lead our country forward. There will be other times to reminisce. Im immensely proud of some roles i have had for the American People. Today is not the day to discuss that, because as i said earlier, im not going anywhere any time soon. There are many challenges we must meet to deliver for the American People, and each will have my full effort and attention. I still have enough gas in my tank to thoroughly disappoint my critics and i intend to do so with all the enthusiasm with which theyve become accustomed. So to my colleagues, thank you for entrusting me with our success. Its been an honor to work with each of you. There will be plenty of time to express my gratitude in greater detail as i sprint towards the finish line which is now in sight. I yield the floor. Co ms. Collins mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from marin. Ms. Collins mr. President from maine. Ms. Collins mr. President , i just want to very briefly recognize my good friend the republican leader for his Extraordinary Service not only to our caucus but more important to the senate as an institution and to our country. His tenure as leader will be remembered not just for its historic longevity, but also for his unparalleled devotion to this Great Institution which he has always defended. I also admired the leader for por to do the right thing asnt for our country and for our world. There will be plenty of time for all of us to honor him in more detail as time goes on, but i felt compelled to speak today to thank him to thank him for devoting his life to Public Service for all the right reasons, to improve the lives of the People Living in our great country. Thank you, mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from alabama. Mr. Tuberville mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that jacob walker, here, my intern, have privileges today, march 1. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Tuberville thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i do solemnly swear or affirm that i will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that i will bear true faith panned allegiance to the and allegiance to the same. That i take this okbligation freely, without any mental purpose of evasion, and that i will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which im about to enter, so help me god. Mr. President , thats the oath we all take once we come become senators of the United States. Mr. President , just imagine that you are allison and john phi phillips. Last thursday afternoon, you get a phone call from Law Enforcement in athens, georgia. The voice on the other end of the phone says that your daughter has been murdered by an illegal immigrant. I cannot imagine what that feels like. I cannot even begin to understand the shock and sadness and anger. Lakin riley was a Nursing Student at augusta, georgia, this past year. Wednesday morning, she went out for a jog on campus of the university of georgia. She never came back. Police found her body in the woods a few hours later, around noontime. She was covered with blood and injuries from head to toe. An autopsy found she died of Blunt Force Trauma to the head. The charging documents in this case say that her skull was disf disfigured. This was a brutal murder of an innocent young woman, lakin riley was just 22 years old. She had her whole life ahead of her. She had a bright future. Now that future will never be realized. I spent 40 years of my life on College Campuses. I dedicated my life to coaching young adults. But i wasnt just a coach, i was also a mentor. Theres nothing more heartbreaking than losing a promising young person like laken riley. I want to offer my condolences to the laken family. Our number one commodity in this country is our young people. Lakens death is even more heartbreaking because it could have been prevented, and should have been prevented. On friday night, Police Arrested and charged Jose Antonio Ibarra with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, and hindering a 911 call. Jose ibarra is an illegal immigrant from venezuela. In other words, he should never have been in this country in the first place. This brutal and horrific murder would have been prevented if joe biden and democrats had done their job by enforcing the law. Jose ibarra crossed the southern border in el paso in september of 2022, a year and a half ago. He was paroled into our country, and ill talk about parole here in just a minute. His social media accounts show that he went from el paso to sa and a city. That means that illegals who commit crimes will not be turned over to the Immigration Police when their jail time is up. This is an open invitation by new york city to criminals. Is we have a lot of these sanctuary cities in our country today. According to ice, Immigration Police, he was arrested just five months ago in new york, charged with acting in a manner to injury a child and for driving without a license, specifically he was arrested for allegedly endangering a 5yearold child. Five months ago. Athens police call the murder of laken riley a crime of opportunity. In other words, this was essentially a random act of violence. It could have been anyones daughter. She did absolutely nothing wrong. So my question is, where are georgias senators today . What are georgias senators doing to secure the border, to protect more people like laken riley . Where is their a trial on articles of impeachment against secretary of Homeland Security mayorkas, a guy thats in charge of our border. Georgia senators, how are they going to vote when the trial comes up . Are they going to vote for secretary mayorkas, since hes been impeached in the house, because he is the one that let this killer in . Are senators from border states, like california and arizona, going to save mayorkas job, the job that he has refused to do for the last three and a half years . Well find out, and find out soon. In the house, every democrat fell in line and voted, and voted to save mayorkas job just a few weeks ago. Every single democrat. And the guy hasnt done his job in three and a half years. Every single House Democrat endorsed the job that secretary mayorkas is doing. That includes five democrats from the state of georgia, where laken riley was killed. In a separate vote, 150 House Democrats voted against deporting illegals who had been convicted of drunk driving. 150, all democrats, voted against deporting illegals if they got caught drunk driving. That includes all five of georgias democrats in the house. This is todays democratic party, and i go back to the oath that we all took to protect domestic and foreign, to protect. Are Senate Democrats going to put their political careers on the line by continuing to support the least popular president in modern history, who has not done his job at the border . Well soon find out. Are they going to stand beside somebody thats broken the law . If laken riley were my daughter, if laken riley were my daughter, secretary mayorkas would have a lot more to worry about than a pending impeachment trial. Hed need to go into hiding. Its an embarrassment to this country of how these people are Holding People accountable under the law. I would do everything in my power to ensure he never forgot her name and that his inactionland inaction led to her death. Blood is on his hands. I cannot possibly understand what this family is going through today. But for open borders, all the open border crowd, she is just collateral damage, just somebody else been murdered, wont be talked about it again. Dont worry about it. All we care about is votes of the all we care about is power. To democrats and this administration, laken riley is just another sacrifice on the altar of woke ideology. The blame for this crime lies with this administration and with the Democratic Senate majority. Democrats run washington right now. The buck stops with them. They uphold the laws. Democrats coulde stopped this if they would have secured the border. If they had done their job. But they have utterly refused for the last three and a half years. In fact, this administration has done exactly the opposite. This is globalism. This is putting the interest of other countries ahead of our own country, our own people, our own citizens. Joe biden has effect ill raced our southern border. We dont have a border. And has invited the world in with no oversight or plan to figure out who is here and why. Ive been talkingabout this issue since i was talking about this issue since i was elected three years ago. Nearly every republican has been talking about it in both the house and the senate. I havent seen georgia senator on the floor sounding the alarm, not one time. I havent seen california senators giving speeches about the border and why is it open. Because theyre being overrun. I havent seen arizona senators down here giving speeches on the border. Youve got to help us. Lets close the border. I havent seen that. Im not sure ive seen one democratic senator on this floor in the last three and a half years talking about the open borders that we have, not one. This is the biggest problem facing our country by far. President biden says its climate change. Youve got to be kidding me. Democrats dont want to talk about this. Republicans have tried to fix the problem. I introduced the border safety and security act which would close the border until the federal government regained control of operations along the southern border. I sponsored legislation like h. R. 2 which is the best Border Security bill that weve had. Ive offered more than 50 border amendments to the recentlypassed National Security supplemental bill. Any one of them which would have helped fix the border crisis. Democrats have blocked me and the republicans at every turn. They are the majority of the senate and they control the floor. I understand that. A few weeks ago we almost took up a socalled border bill from senator schumer and senator murphy. They worked on it for months. For months they worked on it. Embarrassing. It was more of a border gi giveaway, a border giveaway than a border bill. This would have not stopped the deaths of these young people. It would have not stop and prevented the death of laken riley. Unbelievably, the senator, the senior senator from california actually opposed it for being too conservative. The people of california are suffering because of a wide open border just like all the people across our country. Ill just mention a few starting in california. Last may an illegal alien named carlos dom mingus stabbed three people in davis, california. Two of them died. David bro and a student named kareem najim. A third person stabbed survived named kimberly gilroy. The alleged attacker in this case came here in 2009 as an accompanied minor. He just had his preliminary hearing in court this past week. Where is the outrage from the california senators about the death and the stabbings of these people. Lets talk about arizona. Last year a young man named harley sellers was killed by a drunk driver in fountain hills, arizona. The alleged drunk driver who killed him, his name jalaro ortez cruz. He is an illegal alien who had previously been deported in 2013. It is a felony to reenter this country after being deported. A lot of people dont realize that but it is. We dont go by many laws anyway. Harley sellers was 29 years old. He was engaged to be married in just for months two months. That wedding will never happen. Harley sellers left behind two young children, including one a 1yearold baby named carter. Carpenter will never know his dad. This was a crime that could have and should have been prevented. Where are the senators from arizona . Where is their outrage . The silence is deafening. Part of the blame for this crime falls on this city here in washington, d. C. This city should be blamed because we make the laws and we push the laws. Just a couple of weeks ago in texas, a 16yearold girl named Elizabeth Madonna was killed in her own bedroom. A couple of weeks ago. A grand jury has now charged an illegal alien in the case. Hes charged with breaking into the home and then beating her to death and stabbing her. This is happening all across our border. But its not just limited to the border. Every state in our country now is a border state. Just last night people arrested and charged, an illegal alien just a few miles from this building, just a few miles. Its about a 30minute drive from the United States senate. Police alleged that an illegal alien named nelson traho was among a group of gang members who shot at another group of gang members. Police say it was all about a drug dispute. Caught in the middle of the cross fire was a mom and her 2yearold son. That 2yearold jeremy has died. He didnt have a say about the border. Nelson had previously been arrested twice for alleged theft. The guy that shot this kid right here, twice had been arrested. He was subject to deportation order from a judge in new jersey but he was released from custody several times, even though Immigration Police filed a disclaimer. He was never sent back. Nelson should not and should have not been in this country. He should never have been here in the first place. He should have been deported when he was caught the first and second time. Like the judge says, this crime could have and should have been prevented. But it was not prevented. Because of joe bidens open border. Just this week an illegal alien was arrested in louisiana for allegedly raping a 14yearold girl. He also allegedly stabbed someone in the face during an Armed Robbery a few weeks before. A month ago an illegal alien pled guilty in court to stabbing a man to death in boozman, montana in 2022. Just yesterday in my home state of alabama, albertville, Police Arrested two illegal aliens for alleged Child Exploitation. This goes on and on and on. I could have been up here all day. Americans are dying due to our open borders at the southern and northern border. And theyre dying every single day. Who cares . Were worried about a budget here. Were worried about sending 60 billion to ukraine. Were not worried about the citizens of the United States. People are going to wake up and when they do, theres going to be a huge change around here and i hope it happens. Americans are dying due to open borders every single day when it comes to drugs. 100,000 americans die every year because of drug overdose. Youd think that would be something that people would talk about. Nobody cares. Nobody cares. Thats 300 americans a day dying from fentanyl. 300 a day. Thats like a commercial airliner crashing every day. Nobody cares. This bill doesnt care. Everybody is worried about their next election, getting reelected. Thats our problem here. They dont do whats right. The d. A. Tells us drugs that were brought here over our southern border are absolutely destroying the young people in this country. So joe biden, our president , is going to the southern border tomorrow. Hallelujah. This will be only i want you to think about this. This is a guy thats been up here for 50 years. I dont know why. I dont know why anyone would want to be up here 50 years and what goes on here. Been up here 50 years as senator, Vice President , and the president. This is the only second time hes been to the bored every. Border. You ask him why . Well, we dont have border policies. Hell, man, youve been here forever. What did you do when you were in office . He did zero. His first time at the border was last january after 50 years in politics. And hes trying to run for reelection again . Good luck. He went to el paso. Border patrol cleared the streets of all illegal camps and immigrants. There was nobody there. He didnt talk to any Illegal Immigrants. He didnt go to the Border Patrol station. He just took his picture, walked around, put his sunglasses on, had a relaxing day, not worrying about the border, not worrying about whats coming across the border. He just went down there and had his picture taken. Now the media is saying hes going to brownsville, texas, tomorrow to get his picture taken. Yesterday 12 illegals come across at the border there. You know we have another president , former President Trump. Hes also going to the border tomorrow. Hes been down there many times. Hes going to eagle pass, texas. Yesterday there were over 500 that came across the border there. No matter what you think about President Trump, he actually cares. One of joe bidens executive orders was to let asylum officers give out asylum at the border. Without ever going to a judge. In other words, when you come into this country, youre supposed to be given a time and a date to go see a judge to see whether you get to say here or not. But in the last three and a half years, weve been giving asylum at the border, giving them a piece of paper that has a destination that youre going to, put on an airplane and flying somewhere across the country and finding out what you can do to make a living and where you can go. I know. I was on a plane not too long ago with a plane load from mcallen, texas, of illegals that were put on there, on this plane going to cities all over the country. I was on there with them. Im watching them come on. Im thinking, you know, it took me 45 minutes to go through tsa. I got patted down. All my stuff was scanned. They brought them up straight to the plane, opened up the door, and let them get on. Its absolutely why do we need tsa . Thats another point. Meanwhile, as were giving out all this asylum, joe biden has taken 94 executive actions against Immigration Enforcement since hes been in office. In other words, 94 times he said okay, we dont need this at the border. Thats my law. That stands. I dont 94 times. Meanwhile, hes saying we cant do anything to fix the border. If you want to fix the border, mr. President , just take those 94 executive actions and put them back somewhere on the shelf and let the Law Enforcement do their job. One of these executive actions was the abuse of the parole system. I said i was going to Say Something about this. This is how jose ibarra who killed laken riley got into this country. Joe biden paroled him into the country meaning he was arrested when he got to the border by Homeland Security and then released. Federal laws say that parole is supposed to be used only on a casebycase basis. Why are by the migrant, and it should be by the immigrant, and it should be by a casebycase basis. They just waived him on through they just waved him on through. Theyre not looking at the background of these people. Theyre coming right through the front door, laughing at us, and going on. Joe biden is paroling massive numbers of people into this country. We better wake up. This is illegal. But joe biden is doing it anyway. And now laken riley is dead. People will forget about her, except for her parents and her friends. Well go on to some other tragedy down the road. But we had better wake up. We had better wake up. We need to bring back the remaininmexico policy. We have to bring it back. We need more asylum officers s joe biden has just turned our Border Patrol and our asylum officers into walmart greeters at the border. Again, ive been down there several times. These people ned help. Hes going to go down there and say, oh, we need a lot more help down there. We dont need anymore walmart greer greeters. We need a border. We need to go back to the policies of President Trump. President trumps policies worked and the reason joe biden changed them is because he wanted to do exactly opposite what trump was doing. He didnt want to give him any credit. Joe biden has the exact same laws on the books that President Trump had. But the difference is day and night. Laken rileys death and the death of every other american caused rests with President Biden and secretary mayorkas. I hope they cant sleep at night because this could have been prevented. We need to go back to the policies that work, stop playing these games, stop playing politics, otherwise this will keep happening. Were here and we took an oath of office to say were going to watch over the citizens of this country. If we dont do something, more americans will die, more americans like laken riley. More americans will be forever scarred. We have to do something. We cant forget about this. And every time we have somebody thats lost their life in this country because of an illegal alien, im coming back up here and im going to rub it in the faces of the democratic party, secretary mayorkas, senator schumer and joe biden. 100 their fault. As some of you may know, this has been a por my family. We tragically lost elaines younger Sister Angela just a few weeks ago. When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, theres a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process. Perhaps it is gods way of reminding you of your own lifes journey to reprioritize the impact of the world that we will all inevitably leave behind. I turned 82 last week. The end of my contributions are closer than id prefer. My career in the United States senate began amidst the reagan revolution. The truth is, when i got here, i was just happy if anybody remembered my name. President reagan called me mitch odonnell. Close enough, i thought. My life my wife elaine and i got married on president reagans birthday, february 6th, cans probably not the most romantic thing to admit, but reagan meant a lot to both of us. In 31 years, e haven has been the love of elaine has been the lo of my life, and im eternally grateful to have her by my side. I thank god i think back to myfirst days in the senate with deep appreciation for the time that helped shape my view of the world. Im unconflicted about the good within our country and the irreplaceable role we play as the leader of the free world. Its why i worked so hard to get the National Security package passed earlier this month. Believe me, i know the politics within my if party at this particular moment in time. I have many [inaudible] politics is not one of them. That said, i believe more if strongly than ever that americas Global Leadership is essential to preserving the shining city on a hill that Ronald Reagan discussed. As long as im drawing breath on this earth, ill defend american exception ifal aism exceptionalism. So as ive been thinking about when i would deliver some news to the senate, i always a imagined a moment when id have total clarity and peace about the sunset of my work. A moment when im certain i have helped preserve the ideals i so strongly believed. That days arrived today. My goals when i was marrowly elected to the senate narrowly elected to the senate were fairly modest; do a good job for the people of kentucky and convince them that by doing so, they might rehire me for a second term. That was it. That was the plan. If you would have told me 40 years later that i would stand before you as the longest serving Senate Leader in american history, i would have told you youd lost your mind. I have the honor of representing kentucky in the senate longer than anyone else in our state s history. I just never could have imagined, never could have imagined that happening when i arrived here in 1984 at 42. Im filled with heartfelt if gratitude and knew humility for the opportunity. But now its 2024. Im now 82. Ecclesiastes tells us to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose. Under heaven. To serve kentucky in the senate has been the honor of my life. To lead my republican colleagues has been the highest privilege. But one of lifes most underappreciated talents is to know when its time to move on to to lifes next chapter. So i stand before you today, mr. President and my colleagues, to say thisll be my last term as a republican leader of the senate. Im not going anywhere anytime soon. However, ill complete my job my colleagues have given me until we select a new leader in november and they take the helm next january. Ill finish the job the people of kentucky hired me to do as well. Albeit from a different seat. And im actually looking forward to that. So its time for me to think about another season. I love the senate. Maybe more distinguished members of this body throughout our history, but i doubt there were any with any more admiration for the senate. After all this time, i still get a thrill walking in to the capitol and especially on this venerable floor knowing that we, each of us, have the honor to represent our states and do the important work of our country. But father time remains undefeated. Im no longer the young man sitting in the back hoping colleagues would remember my if name my name. Its time for the next generation of leadership. [inaudible] in this very body in 18520 constitution of the United States 18520 the constitution was not made merely for the generation that then existed, but for posterity, unlimited, undefined, endless, perpetual posterity. So time rolls on. Therell be a new custodian of this Great Institution next year with. It wont surprise you to know i intend to turn this job over to a republican majority leader [laughter] i have full confidence in my conference to choose my replacement and lead our country forward. Therell be other times to reminisce. Im immensely proud of the accomplishments ive played some role in obtaining for the American People. Today is not the day to discuss all of that because, as i said earlier, im not going anywhere anytime soon. There are many challenges we must meet to deliver for the American People, and and each will have my full effort and attention. I still have enough gas in my tank to thoroughly disappoint my critics [laughter] and i intend to do so with all the a enthusiasm with which theyve become accustomed. [laughter] so to my colleagues, thank you for entrusting me with our success. Its been an honor to work with each of you. Therell be plenty of time the express my gratitude in greater detail as i sprint towards finish line which is now in sight. I yield the floor. [applause] a senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from tennessee. Mrs. Blackburn thank you, madam president. Are we in a quorum call . The presiding officer we are not. Mrs. Blackburn thank you, madam president. Earlier this month House Republicans impeached secretary Alejandro Mayorkas because the Homeland Security secretary refused to carry out his constitutional duty of securing the homeland. More than nine million Illegal Immigrants, including 1. 7 known gotaways, have entered our country under the Biden Administration. Now this number is larger than the population of 39 states. At the same time hundreds of individuals on the terrorist watch list have been caught on the southern border, including 58 since the start of fiscal year 2024. Just in january there were more than 176,000 illegal crossings along the southern border. Now this is the worst january on record. Yet, under secretary mayorkas and President Biden, immigration and Customs Enforcement deported just 142,000 people in all of 2023. That is less than 5 of illegal crossing. There is no doubt that this administration has abused both our asylum and our parole systems. But unlike asylum, which is youve got parole which is granted by dhs for different reasons, and President Biden has abused his Parole Authority to usher in millions of migrants who are unknown to us and who received both Public Benefits and Work Authorizations. One thing is clear, the parole system is just another way for the Biden Administration to circumvent Congressional Authority and make Illegal Immigrants legal. Over the course of four president s go back and look at the years from 1983 to 2003 the average yearly total for all paroles was no more than 150,000. And on average, the obama and trump administrations paroled just 5,600 migrants per year. There is a contrast here. In 2022, joe biden paroled nearly 800,000 migrants into the country. And in fiscal year 2023, the Biden Administration paroled approximately 1. 2 million migrants. That is more than 200 times the number that president obama and President Trump paroled into this country. This administration is abusing the parole system and that authority. This administrations open border agenda is already having tragic consequences. Last week an illegal immigrant in georgia was arrested for allegedly murdering laken riley, a 22yearold Nursing Student, while she went for a jog on the university of georgia campus. The suspect should never have been allowed to set foot in america. Yet, the Biden Administration paroled him. They paroled him into this country after he illegally crossed our border in 2022. There is no doubt that secretary mayorkas has breached the public trust by making illegal immigration legal. But according to recent reports, majority leader schumer is looking for any way he can to prevent a senate trial when the house transmits the articles of impeachment on secretary mayorkas to this chamber. By tabling the articles of impeachment, democrats would be abandoning our core constitutional duty to hold an impeachment trial. The American People suffer through this administrations border crisis every single day, and they deserve an open debate about whether secretary mayorkas, who has done so much to cause this National Security and humanitarian catastrophe, is fit to hold a public office. Based on everything we have seen over the last three years, secretary mayorkas is not fit for office. And if this chamber upholds its constitutional duty, i will vote to convict him. Madam president , i ask unanimous consent that the next portion of my remarks be placed separately in the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mrs. Blackburn thank you, madam president. Late last month the Senate Judiciary Committee Held a hearing with the ceos of five Big Tech Companies meta, tiktok, x, snap, and discord. We did it for a simple reason. Big tech needs to be held accountable for putting profit over childrens safety. When our children are online on these platforms, they are the product. With addictive ago rhythms, endless scrolls, endless push notifications, social media sites are keeping teenagers on their platforms for an average of 8. 5 hours a day. It is a disaster for the Mental Health of young americans. But the more time minors spend on these platforms, the more data big tech can collect, allowing them to rake in billions of dollars in revenue. Discords 2022 revenue, the latest available, was 445 million. X, their revenue for 2023 is estimated to be 3. 4 billion. Snap, their 2023 revenue, 4. 6 billion. 2023 revenue for bytedance, tiktoks Chinese Communist partyaffiliated owner, 110 billion. And metas 2023 revenue was 134. 9 billion. At the same time Big Tech Companies turned a blind eye to how their platforms are exposing minors to harmful content, drug dualers and predators. But when provided the opportunity to explain themselves, the ceos continue to make excuses for their platforms failure to protect our Children Online on their platforms. During this hearing, metas Mark Zuckerberg said he would absolutely work with lawmakers to address these problems, but for years meta and other big tech platforms have funded an army of lawyers and lobbyists who have fought us on this issue every single day in every single possible way. Many of these groups argue that the free market can solve this problem, but even though the free market is an incredible force for good, it cant stop meta from putting a lifetime, teenage lifetime value of 270 per teenager who is on their site during their teenage years. Still zuckerberg claimed that meta is, and i quote, on the side of parents everywhere, working hard to raise their kids. End quote. And he wants everyone who uses their services to have safe and positive experiences, end quote. Yet, when questioned about this issue, and it is a vast Pedophile Network. Thats not how i termed it. Its how the wall street journal termed it in a report. So i questioned him about how this vast Pedophile Network was allowed to grow on instagram, including content showing teenagers for sale to older men. The tech ceo was unable to explain how this content does not violate metas terms of service and their community standard. Now, madam president , we would think that building out what the wall street journal called a vast Pedophile Network and having postings showing teenagers for sale to older men would indeed violate Community Standards or terms of service. But he could not answer that question. Instead he insisted that his company is not perfect, his choice of words. Ive got to tell you, that is a huge understatement. Just last month newly released unfortunately documents internal documents reeved that meta executives refused to take action after learning their aloe rhythms connected children to potential child predators. According to documents revealed by the new Mexico Attorney general against meta, meta executives refused to act even though they knew about this and knew that 100,000 minors were receiving sexually abusive content from adults on their platform every single day. Think about those numbers. And last week the wall street journal reported that last year meta employees warned executives that facebook and instagrams paid Subscription Service enabled Child Exploitation by likely pedophiles, but the company pushed ahead with this feature anyway, even though they knew it was endangering children. These are stunning revelations. They corroborate the testimony from Facebook Whistleblower arturo beyhar, who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee Last november. Behar is a former engineering director at facebook. He told us that meta executives knew that millions of teens face bullying, eating disorder content, solicitation of lethal drugs, and Sexual Exploitation on their platforms while they are using those platforms. But rather than raise the alarm that that he is platforms were endangering children, Company Executives withheld this damaging information from congressional oversight, rolled back safety tools, and dismantled bejar. For childrens safety. In other words, they chose to make the problem worse instead of fixing it. Why did they do that . Because when our children are on their platforms, our children are the product. Theyre the product. They mean money. Remember that 270 per teen amount that they subscribe . Thats a value. So to parents, think about this next time your child is on insta graham instagram. Meta sees them as a 270 profit profit. They put the profit before the kids. Now, unfortunately this isnt just limited to facebook and meta. Across the board weve seen social media platforms, including snapchat and parttiktok become a place where they sell drugs. We heard from countless families from across the country who have seen their children die from suicide after facing relentless bullying on social media and weve seen digital platforms become havens for sex traffickers and child predators who use social media to prey on the most vulnerable among us. For years Big Tech Companies have made empty promises about how they will address the rampant abuse, the malicious content, criminal activity on their platforms. But you know what . Nothing has changed. Big tech has proven they cant police themselves. They wont act. So its imperative that Congress Step in. Over the last three years senator blumenthal and i have crafted the bipartisan kids Online Safety act, which would provide parents and children with the tools, safeguards, and transparency they need to protect against these online harms. This legislation, which has reached a total of 64 cosponsors, includes crucial provisions to hold Big Tech Companies accountable. Mandatory audits to ensure that platforms are mitigating harms to children. New tools for parents to identify harmful behavior and report abuse directly to these social media platforms. New controls for families to support their children, including to optout of algo algorithmic recommendations. Perhaps most importantly, the legislation would create a duty of care for Online Platforms to prevent and mitigate specific dangers to minors, including the promotion of suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, and Sexual Exploitation. Without real and enforceable reform, social Media Companies will only continue to Pay Lip Service to the issue of protecting children while continuing to put profits above their safety. Yes, they need that 270 per kid. Thats what our children are worth to them. Madam president , now is the time to bring about some real change. Now is the time. It is past time to hold big tech accountable. We have to make certain, we have to ensure our children can be free to be children again. I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call negotiators in both chambers continue working to ensure the government will not shut down at the end of the week. We continue to make very Good Progress on an agreement, and we are very close to the getting it done. I met yesterday with President Biden, with speaker johnson, with leader mcconnell and leader jeffreys, speaker jeffreys, and we all agreed agree a shutdown agreed a shutdown is a loser for the American People n. A shutdown costs would go up, safety would go down, and the American People would pay the price. Im hopeful that the four leaders can reach this agreement very soon so we cannot only avoid a shutdown, but get closer to finishing the appropriations process altogether. If our House Republican colleagues of goodwill want to avert a shutdown, if they want to govern responsibly as they say they do, they must resist the centrifugal pull of the extreme hard right who want to bufferin everything down burn everything down, openly use the threat of a shutdown to push their extreme agenda. Theyre brazen about it, they are brazen. We know what the hard right has been pushing. They want to restrict womens reproductive freedoms. We saw the case in alabama. They want to rip apart gun safety laws and reward corporate polluters or else they say they want a shutdown. This is no way to govern. If our House Republican colleagues of goodwill want to do the right thing, they must accept a fundamental truth about divided government, republicans cannot pass a bill without democratic support. It takes both sides working together and ignoring the extremes of the hard right to get anything done. Ive said this over and over again directly to the speaker and even in my first conversation with him, the only way we will get things done is by bipartisanship. And im proud of our chamber not just on the supplemental, but in bill after bill after bill we are working in a bipartisan way. Im proud of that record. The house should the speaker should understand that. So im hopeful that soon we will have an agreement for keeping the government open beyond fridays deadline, well keep working very diligently today, and i ask my colleagues to stay flexible and be ready to act quickly when the time comes. On ukraine, mr. President , the meeting i had yesterday with President Biden and congressional leaders over ukraine was one of the most intense discussions ive ever had or witnessed the oval office. Every single one of us yesterday understood the basic facts. The situation in ukraine is getting increasingly dire. Russia has made a major advance by taking a city which they did simply because with ukraine was running short of ammo and long range artillery and basic equipment. It wasnt the lack of will of the fighters, it wasnt the lack of plan, it was they simply ran out of ammunition. Imagine being a brave soldier fighting for freedom, fighting for your country, and you no longer have the ammo. Without more aid from the United States, ukraine will lose. In fact, one american leader over there told me that he wouldnt be surprised if tank, russian tanks were on the polish border if we didnt give any aid. What kind of legacy would that leave for the House Republicans who seem to want to stall that aid its not all of them, of course, but too many. Everyone in the room, with the exception of the speaker, agreed that Congress Must finish the work on the supplemental asap because the future of ukraine and the west is at stake. Speaker johnson said he wants to continue to think it over. I was candid with the speaker that i hope he gives it careful thought because the eyes of history are upon him. I said to the speaker if youre the one stopping ukraine with aid, then no matter what thing consequences may be in the short term, you will regret your decision two years from now and could potentially regret it for the rest of your life. Because this will be remembered as a turning point in america for our strength, our credibility on the world stage, for our National Security. If we dont provide this aid, every year the United States could lose out to its enemies, the autocrats of the world, the putins, the xi, the heads of north korea and iran, we can lose out economically, militarily, diplomatically, politically because of a short sight ised decision not to provide shortsighted decision not to provide the muchneeded aid. The speaker has a legacydefining decision to make on ukraine. If he lets this bill move forward, he can go with down as a fierce defender of americas core values. But if he shrinks from the importance of the moment, it will be the greatest gift putin, other autocrats and enemies of our country could possibly ask from the american congress. On the alabama i e v decision, ivf decision, after last weeks stunningly radical decision by the alabama Supreme Court jeopardizing ivf access, the United States has become an embarrassment to the world. Finish when it comes to reproductive freedom. Even sadder, mr. President , this didnt happen in a vacuum. The hard right maga Supreme Court decisions to overturn roe v. Wade opened the floodgates for republicans to force their antie productive freedom, their antiwomen agenda down the throats of all americans. The decision by the alabama a Supreme Court is as cruel as it is enraging. There were countless there are countless people today who have the joy of children because of ivf. But now families have to worry that this option could be taken away. Make no mistake, republicans own the consequences of the alabama Supreme Courts decision. Republicans know it. Thats why republicans are scrambling, desperate to back pedal and try to sound reasonable and supportive of ivf all of a sudden. Because they see what they have done. Republicans in alabama, even a conservative state like alabama, are now trying to save face by introducing legislation they claim will protect ivf providers. Even they know how the American People are reacting to this terrible decision. Even in alabama. Republicans in florida are now trying to save face by postponing the consideration of antiabortion legislation. This is the state that said no abortions after a six weeks. Most women dont even know theyre pregnant. And, by the way, the popularity of the governor has dramatically dropped after he passed that legislation, because floridians dont like i. Dont like it. Even republicans here in washington are trying to save face by putting off the introduction of National Abortion bans. Because they recognize the mess theyve gotten themselves into. And, of course, theyre not fooling anyone. Republicans are like the arsonist who set the house on fire and then said, why is it burning . Amazing. Confounding. Perturbing and sad