Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. 20240705

Syed and his nomination to be deputy administrator of the Small Business administration. Madam president , this republican obstruction has gone on long enough. I ask my colleagues from across the aisle to join me in supporting this important nominee. Dilawar syed is more than qualified to serve in this role at the Small Business administration. He is an entrepreneur and a job creator with decades of firsthand experience in business entrepreneurship and community engagement. He has experience working directly with Small Business owners and has led efforts to drive Economic Growth at the local, state, and federal levels. Simply put, at the sba, he would be an asset to our nations Small Businesses and would bring a critical voice to the agency which currently lacks a fully staffed leadership team. The sba has not had a senateconfirmed deputy administrator for more than five years. This is a critical mistake. This highlevel absence weakens the agency and inhibits the sbas ability to serve the millions of Small Business owners looking to the agency for resources, assistance, and capital to start and grow their businesses. Some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have launched unfair and baseless attacks against mr. Syed and have held up his nomination for years. They have even repeatedly showed up to vote on his nomination in the Small Business committee. These partisan attacks are simply efforts to undermine President Biden and his administration at the sba as well as their ability to successfully serve our Small Business nationwide. These republican attacks also unfairly disparage mr. Syed who is not only a successful Business Leader and Community Organizer but also importantly, a firstgeneration immigrant who fully exemplifies the american dream. With this unique and important background, mr. Syed would bring an influential new voice and perspective to help the sba improve outreach to immigrant communities that have been traditionally overlooked and underserved by the federal government. My friends on the other side of the aisle know the importance of filling this vacancy at the sba. Yet they have continued to play their partisan games. Ahead of this vote mr. Syeds nomination, i ask them to join me in supporting this eminently qualified nominee. Lets do our jobs and finally get this nominee confirmed. Thank you, mr. President. And i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from new hampshire. Mrs. Shaheen i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call this morning our nations syed to fill the long, vacant role of deputy administrator for the Small Business administration. After more than two years since President Biden first nominated mr. Syed, the Senate Committee on Small Business and entrepreneurship finally reported mr. Syeds nomination out of the Committee Earlier this year. Mr. Syed was nominated to fill the position that has been vacant for nearly five years. The vacancies cause harm to Small Business owners throughout our nation who depend on the sba to be fully staffed in order to access capital, crrting opportunities and Entrepreneurial Development training. In an entrepreneurial career spanning over two decades, mr. Syed has experienced starting businesses and advocating for inclusion entrepreneurship at the international, federal, and state level. He currently serves as the special representative for commercial and Business Affairs at the United States department of state where he advances trade, commercial, and economic policies through commercial advocacy. Prior to his position at the state department, mr. Syed was ceo of the Health Care Technology company and president of fresh works where he helped scale the software companys products to reach thousands of small and mediumsized businesses. Mr. Syed has also held a number of civic positions. In the Obama Administration he served as chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and pacific islanders, Economic Growth, and in california he chaired the California Entrepreneurship Task force under governor Gavin Newsoms office of business and economic development. With experience at the state department as special representative and leadership roles in business entrepreneurship and Public Service, he is very well positioned to help the sba meet the critical moments Small Businesses face across the nation. As our Small Businesses continue to recover from the pandemic while facing new challenges, it is essential that the sba is fully egypted to meet their equipped to meet their needs. During the pandemic the agency provided relief to millions of existing Small Businesses. Now record levels of new businesses are being created under the bidenharris administration. Sba has the unique opportunity to foster the continuation of the Small Business boom making sure that entrepreneurs have the resources, assistance, and capital that will create Economic Prosperity for communities across the country. While the sba has worked tirelessly to provide this assistance, the pandemic exposed a clear need for modernization, technical upgrades, new resources, and reforms at the sba. That is why we need a deputy administrator today more than ever. The skills and qualifications mr. Syed possesses are a perfect fit for sbas needs. He has broad support from dozens of Small Business organizations that understand the needs of entrepreneurs. They know that mr. Syed is an individual who will innocently continue to advocate for and support our Small Businesses. Allowing the position of deputy administrator to remain empty for so long is a great disservice to our nations Small Business owners. His confirmation process has been fraught with unacceptable delaying tactics, unfounded accusations, and unrelated controversies. Throughout it all, however mr. Syed has shown only patience and press veer rans. Im honored to stand here today finally to support his nomination for position of sba deputy administrator. Im confident that americas Small Businesses and communities they support will benefit from him in this role. I urge all my colleagues to support his confirmation. This is what our Small Business community needs. I would urge my colleagues to ratify his nomination. With that i would yield the floor. I would ask consent that we proceed with the vote immediately. 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 81, dilawar syed of california to be deputy administrator of the Small Business administration 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 dilawar syed of california to be deputy administrator of the Small Business administration shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote vote vote the presiding officer have all senators voted . Any senator wishing toe change his vote . The yeas are 54. The nays are 44. And the motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, Small Business administration. Dilawar syed of california to be deputy administrator. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senior senator from new mexico. Mr. Heinrich i ask unanimous consent that the vote on the confirmation of the syed nomination be at a time determined by the majority leader following consultation with the republican leader on thursday. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Heinrich i ask the senate resume consideration of the silfen nomination. The presiding officer without objection. The clerk will report. The clerk nomination, the judiciary, mollie molly r. Silfen of the district of columbia to be judge of the United States court of federal claims. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from nebraska. Mrs. Fischer thank you, madam president. According to the United States department of agricultures Economic Research service, 46 million americans live in rural areas. This includes 35 of the residents in my home state of nebraska. Often in the government we focus on the majority of americans living in urban population hubs. But we have just as much of an obligation to the millions of rural citizens in our country. Communications access is foundational to our quality of life, especially in rural areas where the closest neighbor can be many miles away. Thats what i want to focus on today. As a member of the Senate Commerce and agriculture committees, i have the privilege of regularly advancing Communications Policy that benefits all americans, including those in rural areas. Ive led multiple pieces of legislation to improve broadband mapping to benefit unserved rural areas, including the broadband funding map that the president signed into law as part of the bipartisan infrastructure package. It is vital that every last mile and acre of our country has access to reliable internet, mr. For telehealth appointments or to make use of the more efficient ag kill turl technologies. But broadband isnt the only type of communication Rural Communities rely on, especially for households without internet service. They rely on Television Programming to keep updated about the world around them. The wellbeing of Rural Americans and a robust media made up of diverse viewpoints, theyre important to me and theyre important to nebraskans throughout the state. And access to rural and agricultural programming, it benefits all americans. Farmers and ranchers in nebraska depend on this content for relevant news, information, and lifestyle programming. Were talking about everything from indwep t indepth reports on weather patterns, agribusiness news and commodity market swings, western sports, and a lot more. This programming delivers essential information to producers that directly impacts the way that they manage their operations and the way that they plan for the future. At the same time, americans on the coast and in major urban and suburban areas, well, they also benefit from programming that helps them understand major issues affecting the country that originate in the heartland. And we both know, madam president , that rural programming doesnt mean old reruns of green acres or with the beverly hillbillies. Rural and agricultural programmers are in a unique position to educate the public and what it means to be a family farmer or a rancher. On how producers are some of the best stewards of our Natural Resources and on what the future of agriculture and producing the food that we all need looks like. This is one reason that i was pleased as Ranking Member of the rules committee to recently approve our fd tv to be added to the Senate Tv Network. Fdtv is one of the preeminent sources of television in the country. Networks, they work hard to cover issues affecting the Agricultural Sector and Rural Communities. The senior senator from minnesota and i, we approved its edition to the Senate Tv Network because that unique perspective and that expertise is a must have here in washington where we all work on policies affecting Rural America every single day. And its not just tv programming that provides critical news and information to Rural Communities. Millions of americans use am radio to stay up to date on whats affecting them. In nebraska, well, we have a long history of farm broadcasters who help farmers and ranchers thrive. Today there are still over 40a. M. Stations that are based in my state. Unfortunately there are some who have lost sight of the fundamental role broadcast radio plays in Rural America. A number of automakers announced plans this year to remove a. M. Broadcast radio access from some of their vehicles. This would deal a blow to the millions who need a. M. Radio access in order to receive Emergency Alerts in remote areas, as well as to be aware of local news, whether conditions. A. M. Radio is not just a luxury. It is the backbone of our Emergency Alert system. It can be a question of lifeordeath life or death for people in natural disasters or severe storms. My colleagues and i, we are concerned about how this decision will affect the safety of americans, and thats why we introduced a bicameral, bipartisan bill to preserve a. M. Radio access despite some automakers efforts to get rid of it. Our bill, the a. M. For every vehicle act, would direct the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a rule that would require all Motor Vehicles to have access to a. M. Broadcast stations. The legislation, it is already having an impact. It recently spurred Ford Motor Company to reverse course and to restore access to a. M. Radio in its upcoming car models. But passing our bill, that is the only way to prevent other lawmakers from abandoning a. M. Radio, and it is against the best interest of the millions of people in rural areas where wireless warnings, they can be difficult to impossible to receive. The American People who travel to work and school on rural roads each day are relying on us to ensure that they dont lose access to local news, weather, Emergency Alerts, and Public Safety announcements from a. M. Radio. As members of the United States senate, we represent millions, millions of people in Rural Communities across the country. We cannot let rural voices be set aside why we prioritize other issues. Lets continue to appreciate rural tv and radio and advance legislation that supports the Critical Services that they provide. Thank you, madam president. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the junior senator from louisiana. Mr. Kennedy thank you, madam president. Madam president , i ask unanimous consent that the following privileges of my staff be granted or rather the following members of my staff be granted floor privileges until june 8, 2023. Ms. Maddie dibble, mr. Jack leer, and mr. Chris lee who are with me here today. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Kennedy thank you, madam president. Madam president , the United States and china should talk. The United States wants to, but the leadership of the Chinese Communist party, the ccp, does not. And frankly, the leadership of the ccp is acting like a sullen teenager. You can only be young once, madam president , but you can always be immature. Talking does not show weakness. It shows strength. It shows confidence. America is confident in refusing america is confident. In refusing to talk, the communist Chinese Party and its insecurities are loud. The United States, as you know, from recent media reports has tried to talk to china and weve had some success. Recently not that long ago, our National Security adviser and our commerce secretary met with their chinese counterparts. I understand they had good discussions. I had hoped that that might be a start, but i was wrong. The ccp proved me wrong. For instance, our defense secretary, the weekend before last i believe was at the annual singapore security conference. Our defense secretary asked to meet with Chinese Defense officials. Fairly routine request. The defense officials from china snubbed him. Further,jenniferosb20icap svc1d about this in the media, madam president , a chinese fighter jet flew within 400 jarreds yards of a United States reconnaissance plane flying above the South China Sea in international waters, in international waters. The u. S. Plane had to fly through the chinese fighters jet wake, which is very dangerous. It was an unmistakable attempt by the Chinese Communist party to intimidate. Further still, just this past weekend a Chinese Naval ship came within 150 yards of a u. S. Missile destroyer, yet another intentional and dangerous act. The u. S. Ship was in the Taiwan Strait along with a canadian warship. Both the u. S. Ship and the canadian ship had every right to be there. This was another unmistakable attempt by china to intimidate. Additionally, hardly a day goes by that the ccp doesnt release a statement denigrating the American People and accusing the United States of wanting to suppress and even destroy china. Now, let me be clear, madam president. The United States of america does not want to suppress china. The United States of america does not want to destroy china. All we want is for china to become and to act like a responsible member of a stable world order that follows International Rules and norms, and thats the world wants, too. All we want and all the world wants is for china to stop its aggression. All we want and all the world wants is for china to stop manipulating its currency. All we want and all the world wants is for china to leave taiwan alone. All we want and all the world wants is for china to end its attempt to militarize the South China Sea and the east china sea, which are international waters. All we want and all the world wants is for china to stop poisoning our children with fentanyl, stop it. All we want and all the world wants is for china to end its debttrapped diplomats through its belt and Road Initiative and other road schemes. All we apartment and all the world wants is for china to cease using its economic power to bully other sovereign countries, like australia, like lithuania. When those countries offer an opinion, the communist party of china doesnt like. All we want and all the world wants, madam president , is for china to tell us the truth the truth will how the covid virus started. Or at least work with us and other countries so we can find out. I could, of course, continue this list, madam president , but i wont. So let me repeat. The United States and china should talk. The advantages are and ought to be obvious. Why should we talk . To avoid military conflict. Thats a pretty good start. To avoid miscalculation. The more silence there is between us, the more beijing underestimates american strength. Why should we talk . To limit the risk of accidental confrontation. To pursue bilateral detente. Because our economies are interwoven. Because our economies are stronger together, if everyone plays by the rules. Why should we talk . To seek peace in ukraine. To develop a mutual plan for how we should respond to advancements in technology, like artificial intelligence, like quantum computing. To talk about space. To discuss fair trade policies for products that dont have National Security implications. Why should we talk . To prepare for the next pandemic. Just a thought. To develop cheaper and cleaner energy. To avoid nuclear war. To avoid destroyer the human race. To avoid destroying the human race. Look, if china does not want to talk, that would be a shame, but its hard to fix somebody who doesnt want to be fixed. It also would be chinas loss. It would be chinas loss not to talk. For years china has tried to portray itself to the world as mighty, as successful, as peace loving. And i hope someday china is all of those things. China, for years, has tried to portray itself to the world as a gentle giant. For a while it worked. It worked until it didnt. The world now sees a different china. The world now sees a china that mismanaged covid. Its on the wrong side of the ukraine war. That is destroying hong kong, that militarized the south and east china seas. The world now sees a china that punishes its own people, the uighurs, and the good people of tibet. That denies even the most basic civil rights to its huang chinese majority, including the right to selfdetermine, including the right even to access an uncensored internet. The world sees a china that tries to bully other sovereign countries. The world now she is a china whose the world now sees a china whose population is shrinking, whose people are aging without a safety net for its elderly, whose young, collegeeducated children cant find a job, whose Housing Market is in turmoil. The world now sees a china whose debt is unmanageable, Whose Technology sector has been purposely, intentionally stunted by its own political leadership. The world now sees a china whose stateown entities are models of inefficiency and corruption and whose economy is slowing. Now, i know that is a cold dish of truth, but thats what the world sees. If china cares about the world and if the people of china care about how the world sees china and both do, china will reengage with the world, including the United States of america, not shirk from it. So i end, madam president , as i began the United States and china need to talk. The United States and china need to talk. Not just for the United States but also for china and for the world and, frankly, madam president , china has the most to gain, given the deterioration of its reputation. But its entirely up to china. America weve done our part, madam president. And the United States will continue to do its part. We want to talk. We are confident. But lately chinas insecurities are loud. Madam president , i suggest the absence of a quorum u madam president , i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call President Biden has chosen to staff with an alarming or radical personnel. In recent weeks, the president s nominees whove made the biggest headline haves been the ones so far outside the mainstream and Even Democratic Senate majority would not defend them. A victim against Sexual Assault or the Traffic Safety regulation. This week, the senate is considering another slate of nominations that are entirely unworthy of confirmation. President biden would like mr. Crane so serve as secretary and any american that enjoys making their own choices about which cars to drive or products to consume. Hasnt made extreme pollty as enough of a priority in the campaigns. In other words, Hillary Clinton who once brag that had were going to put a lot of coal miners and Coal Companies out of businesswas not radical enough. Not radical enough for david crane. Unfortunately, mr. Crane is not the only nominee on this weeks agenda with a reputation for wearing radical liberal sentences on his sleeves. The senate will vote on the bench for the Southern District of miami hes described hims as a wild eyed leftist. Let me say that again. President biden would like to selfidentify with a wide eyed leftist to rule on cases in the largest federal court in the country. This runs deep and a nominee thats publicly limited originalism is not a method of constitutional interpretation and can reliably lend itself to progressive outcomes. Imagine that. Following and applying our laws and constitution as they were written is not a one way ticket to left wing utopia. Not a bad idea for sidelining the institutions. Not the other way around. Public criticism and the legal and common order of police expressing their concerns about a particularly anticaught Justice Department nominee and calmed fop opposition a disgrace. Throughout his career, mr. Ho has been outspoken and denigrated basic mainstream efforts to ensure the integrity of american elections. He had overwhelming popular practices like voter id to be a vailed call for racial profiling. So, mr. President , let me make it absolutely clear, Senate Republicans will not participate in rubber stamping radical nominees. Mr. President. Majority leader. This morning our nations capitol and much of the northeast including almost the whole of my state, new york, woke up once again under a veil of smog. As we speak, wild fires of unnatural strength continue blazing in canada sending toxic smoke over the boarder and American Cities and today im sad to say, new york city that usually has good air quality, has some of the lowest air quality in the world thanks to the wild fires and the problem is even worse in up state new york. I urge every Single Digits american and canadian impacted by the smog to take precautions to stay safe, follow Public Safety guidelines in their communities they burn hotter and vigor. The warming is happening at a faster pace in countries with higher latitudes. None of this is coincidence. This smoke and fog over new york and the rest of northeast is a warning from nature we have a lot of work to do to reverse the destruction the impacts of a warming plant and im proud of the work that democrats did to move us in the right direction and employ my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to look up at the smog and recognize we must, we must do more. After the tragic derailment in East Palestine and several derailments in the last month, i call on the faa to launch on investigation to the safety practice of all class 1 freight railroads. I have good news, the fra has Just Announced that theyll heed my call and do a thorough investigation of Safety Practices within all class 1 freight railroads. They will investigate the culture of misconduct within the class 1 Rail Companies and issue a report on their findings, just as they did for norfolk southern. I thank them for their attention on this very critical issue. These assessments by the fra will be a good first step to identifying the problems in individual Rail Companies as well as endemic problems permeating across the industry. In the last five years alone, theres been over 26,000, 500 26,000 500 accidents and incidents and thousands of fatalities. Thats close to 10 a day. But instead of prioritizing no, its not close to 10 a day because its over the last five years, but its a lot. Okay. But instead of prioritizing safety, the Rail Industry has cut over 30,000 employees from the work force, roughly 20 . Instead of prioritizing safety, the Rail Industry has prioritized stock bye backs to yety stock shareholders and lobbied for luisening regular loosening regulations and billions in stock bye backs instead of money going to safety, instead of money going to higher the necessary employees to keep the rail safe so its clear, theres an alarming trend of the Rail Industry putting profits over people, which reinforces the need for a full audit of industry practice. So i hope that the Rail Companies will take heed of the fras acespedesment and make assessment and make changes needed to protect our communities. In the meantime, i want to thank my colleagues, senator brown and vance, as well as senators casey and fetterman for their work on the Bipartisan Railway Safety act. This legislation was reported at a Committee Last month and i look forward to working with colleagues on both sides to move it forward. Now on nominations. Later this morning, the senate will vote to confirm david crane to be the under secretary for infrastructure at the department of energy. A new role at department of infrastructure and with a very important mission, ensure our infrastructure, make sure the dollars translate to lower energy costs, new energy, new Clean Energy Manufacturing jobs, and a more Resilient Energy grid. Once con if i wered, mr. Crane will be especially important for overseaing programming that helt help americans Lower Energy Bills and one example hell lead implementation of 9 billion Consumer Rebate Program, to help americans better afford Energy Efficient appliances for their homes. Mr. Crane will manage the investments weve made to update americas electric grid after recent blackouts like the ones in texas is absolutely crucial. Mr. Crane is more than up to the job. He has a wealth of knowledge from the private sectors at former ceo at leading Energy Company and one of americas leading voices in the fight for clean energy. Test. Other members of the senate weighing in this morning. They will get to that reaction but i want to show you commissioner jay monahan yesterday was on cnbc along with the head of Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund who is a key part of this merger talking about the public response. What are your expectations for when the public learns about this, the players, the fans . Do you think they will respond positively and you are describing a scenario in which the majority of the economics and correct me if im wrong this entity they controlled off around the world and im curious as to what you think. Listen a lot of people have been reading about detention. I said previously we were going down our path and they were going down bears and today that tension goes away. The litigation is dropped, we are now announced to the world on the half of this game we are coming together and its less about how people respond today and its all about how people respond in 10 years. When they see the impact we are having on this game together they will be a lot of smiles on peoples faces and a lot more people playing this game all over the world and if you are young player who wants to get to the high slope of the game today youll be more inspired than ever before. Pga tour jay monahan yesterday on cnbc. Getting your reaction this morning and showing you some interaction from up here on capitol hill from around the country. Heres interaction from the left and the right when it comes to news web sites from the right from breitbart the headline what about the morality pga that they are headline focusing on 9 11 families slamming the pga tour as so many shows after the liv golf merger. Senator Richard Blumenthal this week yesterday saudi sports is reprehensible this merger seems to betray the victims of human rights abuses 9 11 families and others and from senator chris murphy the democrat from connecticut saying its so pga officials were in my office just months ago talking about how the saudis human rights record should disqualify them from having a stake in a major american sport and i guess maybe their concerns werent really about human rights and plenty of reaction on the pages of todays newspapers to the Washington Post this morning that stated the pgas big surrender is the headline that he wrote in his column as an Athletic Organization the liv nothing suggested any interest in making golf better as a sport and this from the wall street journal today the money went again in golf. Thats from jason day this morning an Editorial Board of the wall street journal taking up this topic as well. Revenge of the saudi pariah is the headline. They went without this morning but the biggest winner may be the prime grants mohammad bin salman of saudi arabia whos been seeking to improve his reputation in the wake of the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 by saudi assassins. Mr. Biden promised isolated and ostracized Mohammed Bin Salman despite the rough middle east. They are using the oil funding Sovereign Wealth Fund to buy interest and influence in the west in 2021 and the Public Investment fund and the soccer club. Its invested in saudi luxury resorts to draw wealthy western tourists including golf courses where this subeleven tournament is played. Most are in the u. S. With three of Donald Trumps courses Public Investment fund has bankrolled the u. S. Luxury of vehicle manufactured lucid motor which is putting a factory in the Saudi Arabian kingdom. The pif revealed the spring they have invested to many top u. S. Venture Capital Private equity firms that from the pages of the wall street journal. We are asking you this morning your thoughts on this merger between the saudi backed subeleven golf in the pga tour two. 202 7480001 if you oppose the merger and we are taking your tax and comments on social media. If you want to send us a text as 20274880003 and we ask that you include your name and where you are from when you send us the text. We are having this conversation the first halfhour of washington journal. This topic the merger between the pga and the subeleven came up in the White House Briefing room yesterday. It was a National Security Council Spokesman john kirby who was asked about it and try to avoid answering a question about it. I want to to ask does the biden of have any concern with a major u. S. Sports leagues doing business with the saudi Investment Fund . Fund . We will let the saudi government speak to that. Is your response to the question on the golf means you have no position on the announced merger . I dont have anything to say about that. I have no comment on that. That was john kirby and the White House Briefing room yesterday but there could be more questions today in the White House Briefing room and certainly members of congress on capitol hill talking about this today asking you about it or for my ticket if you support the merger between pga tour and subeleven golf 202 7488000 and if you posted 202 7488001. We welcome your tweet and comment syntax as well. This is my and in Cleveland Ohio saying if the fda could turn a eye to to the atrocities of china why cant golf and the New York Times taking up this topic today focusing specifically on the frontrunner of the republican president ial former President Donald Trump headline of their story changes the game of golf towards the merger noting this merger increases the prospect of major tournaments continue to be played at trump golf courses noting last year to tournaments were played at the donald owned golf courses and this year subeleven brought to tournaments to courses including the Trump National golf course in virginia just outside of washington d. C. His bedminster resort in Trump National at doral in florida that story in todays New York Times. We want to hear from you. Marty is up first from Shreveport Louisiana on that line for those who support this merger. Good morning to you. Good morning. What do you think . Well we kind of leaned away from them until they got their act together. Im just going to stand back and watch. I think i heard a whiff of something long before this merger was talked about how money was being moved around and some of the players try to get money moved around and get something started so i just will plan on this one and see if there any investigations not at this location but the origin of the new golf in saudi. I would just hope that the world is looking at us and if we keep for the sake of money and thus i think it is and im going to watch and see what they are talking about. They are saying pages and anyone else listening about an event that took place that night in rhode island as the United States moved towards its revolutionary conflict with great britain. And the leadup to this was that rhode island was a shipping and a trading state and newport, in particular, was an extremely wealthy and active trading community, and the British Government very much wanted to tax all of that trading and the Rhode Islanders very much wanted not to be taxed. And so there was considerable back and forth between the colonists in rhode island and what was then the mother country. And when the obstructionist of the Rhode Islanders at a certain point, a new ship and a new captain were detailed to rhode island to do a better job of collecting taxes from the shipping traffic. The captain was named duddingston of her majestys royal navy, and he came in with a rather poor attitude about rhode island and behaved quite badly. He seized ships without much provocation. He would grab them and send them off to be sold for salvage, he would steal cargoes out of ships. He made himself extremely unpopular, to the point that the chief justice of rhode island said, excuse me, you dont get to do this. Under rhode island law, under colonial charter, if you want to operate under our waters, you have to declare yourself and share your commission with our governor. And the rather undiplomatic response of duddingston is if anyone tries to interfere with my operations, i will hang them. Things were not all that great between lieutenant dudingston and the ship were this one was the gaspee. She was an armed revenue cutter of fairly good size and it was her job to basically pull over ships, search their cargoes, seize their cargoes, demand taxes, if necessary, seize the vessel. One of his early seizures was a boat called the fortune, which was owned by Nathaniel Greene who was not particularly active in revolutionary matters until he had his fortune seized by lieutenant duddingston, after that he was involved by backing backing he ran the Southern Campaign of the revolution where the commanding british general said that damned greene is more dangerous than washington because he was so successful running the campaign. Much of it provoked by lieutenant duddingston and the seizure of the greene boat. On this occasion, a boat called the hannah, captained by Benjamin Lindsey was sailing, and the gaspee approached and signaled the hannah to be boarded and searched and the hannah refused. Captain lindsey kept sailing. So the gaspee gave chase and the two boats sailed, one after the other, with occasional gunfire from the decks of the gaspee north towards providence. Before you get to providence, there is a point that sticks out and where the river flows in, theres a there is a bank that sticks out into the bay. And captain lindsey, who knew the waters of narragansett bay, sailed over the point and kept going on his merry way up to providence. The gaspee was a bigger vessel. It drew more water and it ran into the sand bedroom in a sand in a falling tide. It was helpless. The hannah kept going up, when he got for the of providence, he met up with john brown, who set up brown university, and Abraham Whipple who had an interesting naval career and brown and whipple and others went to a tavern and people beat drums in the street to get attention and people gathered and a growd assembled and after a suitable refreshment filled in a number of long boats, five or six long boats and that night in the dark with muffled oars ran aground to the gaspee. They challenged the Lieutenant General to surrender his vessel and when he refused, they boarded it. During the altercation, lieutenant duddingston was shot. Im pleased to report that he was not killed. He recovered from his wounds, retired ultimately from Naval Service back to scotland, raised many children and but the injury that he received, i believe was the first blood spilled between the colonies and great britain. After they seize the vessel the Rhode Islanders bounds up the crew, road them ashore. Theres a pub up the street and a little monument that you can see that recognizes the evening that they were rode ashore, jun. And then they went back out to the stranded gaspee and set her afire. Now it had cannon and cannons use powder and powder is kept in a magazine. So when the fire got to the powder magazine, this happened. The gaspee was blown to smither reasons and was blown apart and that was the end of her predatory behavior in narragansett bay. Up in massachusetts, more than a year later, a number of massachusetts colonists went on board a british ship, and they pushed tea bags off of the boat into Boston Harbor, which im sure was a very brave and wonderful thing to do. From Rhode Islands perspective, we outsmarted the british. Weve got the boat stuck. We seized the boat. We captured the entire crew, and then we blew it up. More than a year before the tea bag incident in Boston Harbor. I think were entitled to some credit for that. But massachusetts produced adamss, who became president s, they produced harvard, which wrote histories. And the story of the Boston Tea Party is now known to you guys know the story . Yeah, every page head nods. They know the Boston Tea Party story. I dont know what rhode island has to do to get out of the shadow of the Boston Tea Party, but we blew the damn boat up, and i think thats pretty good. The final of the story is that king george was furious about this. He took this as an enormous insult to his kingdom, to his crown, and to himself. And so he decreed that all of the insurgents, who had rode down in those boats, were to be caught and were to be hanged. And a bounty was put for information leading to the identification of the Rhode Islanders who participated in the gaspee raid. I will say with some pride that no credible testimony ever emerged. The trials never took place. The nuces hung empty, and rhode island, against all of that pressure and with the allure of these bribes and bounties from the king refused to give up their secrets. So very strong story in many regards, and we now have created a brandnew license plate. Its not out on cars yet, i dont believe. This one says sample. Theres the rhode island license plate, with the gaspee days, 1772 logo, and the exploding gaspee on it, and i cant wait to get one and to drive it up to massachusetts and park it near Boston Harbor and have some tea. With that, i yield the floor. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mrs. Capito madam president. The presiding officer the senator from West Virginia. Mrs. Capito thank you, madam president. The presiding officer we are in a quorum call. Mrs. Capito madam president , i ask that we vitiate the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mrs. Capito thank you. I rise to bring attention to the issues americans are facing at home, and the problems i see and hear from my constituents in West Virginia. Im sure you hair many of the same you hear many of the same in your home state. I raise the question why the senate is not bringing some of the solutions to the floor. As you know, madam president , im a lifelong West Virginian, i care deeply about and understand the concern of our residents and the difficulties that our families are facing. Our families, veterans, Small Business owners, our manufacturers, Law Enforcement and communities. Theyre struggling. What theyre struggling with. I was initially inspired to get involved in Public Service when i saw these local issues arising, and many of those i tried to help face in my own Home Community of charleston, West Virginia. Later, as that passion in me sort of grew, i decided to try to seek a bigger platform in the house of representatives, and now here in this esteemed body, the United States senate. As public servants, it is our responsibility to not only put forth but to take action on issues that americans are facing. We can do that to improve the lives of those we serve, but it seems to me that it pains me that so many of the legislative sliewptions that we have solutions we have come to work to craft, some of which are bipartisan, collect dust on the majority leaders desk. In fact, that to me is very unacceptable. Lets start with the issue that touches so many lives, the issue of addiction. Our country is in a deep and continued battle with an addiction crisis. Its something ive raised multiple times on this senate floor, and something im committed to curbing and stopping. With the Data Available from the cdcs latest report on Drug Overdose defendants, it is obvious that fentanyl, our clear and common enemy, is fueling the highest overdose rates we have seen for individuals between 25 and 44. Cdc provisional data, released may 17, also revealed that more than 100,000 americans, 100,000 americans died from Drug Overdoses in 2022, becoming the most deadly year on record, and many of those, and some of those i think us in the Chamber Tonight might know at least one or two people, at least families, that are affected. My colleagues and i have introduced legislation that will further coordinate efforts to disrupt the distribution of fentanyl, to block efforts to ship illicit drugs into the United States, and improve Law Enforcement training to crack down on Drug Trafficking tactics. In a crisis, this deadly and urgent, time is of the essence. These bills deserve the time to be considered. Yet, despite these alarming statistics and Commonsense Solutions that weve put forward, the majority leader has refused to take any of these bills up on the senate floor. Regarding Law Enforcement, over the weekend, we had one of the saddest things happen in our state of West Virginia a West Virginia state troorp was tragically killed trooper was tragically killed in the line of duty. Our hearts are broken with the loss of Sergeant Cory maynard. He was only 37 years old. He had a wife and two children. It is a very tragic, tragic story. Our brave Law Enforcement officers defend communities across our states, from crime, and work incredibly hard to help keep our cities and towns safe. They are the first to answer the call. They continuously, continuously show courage and heroism. There must be swift penalties in place for criminals who target our officers and resources must be available to ensure their safety. I joined several of my colleagues last month to introduce several pieces of legislation that support Law Enforcement officers and increase their safety. But ill say it again the majority leader has yet to take up any of the legislation that we have offered. Additionally, residents across my state and the entire country are still reeling with elevated costs of all things, from housing, energy, food, and everyday essential items. And as our economy continues to prove its weakness under President Biden, the hardearned dollars of hardworking americans do not stretch as far as they need to. In may, the student for supply the institute for supply managements industrial pmi showed our manufacturing sectors are shrinking. We hear all about we got to make more here. Guess what or manufacturing sectors are shrinking. Extended pressure on manufacturing output and prices for goods has been caused by higher Interest Rates, increased cost of living, and complete economic uncertainty. And this further restricts our ability to make things in this country. Thats why i have introduced the American Investment and manufacturing act. It is a bill that would reinstate a muchneeded measure that allows industries affected by sustained high Interest Rates to grow, to increase jobs and wages, and contribute to the u. S. Economy. It is past time that this body stand with american manufacturing, our Small Business owners, and the employers and employees that keep this great country running. My colleagues and i continue to put Forward Solutions that invest in an alloftheabove energy plan, innovative ways to utilize everything from conventional, renewable, and Nuclear Energy resources to build back our energy independence. Solutions that rein Government Spending. That attack of causes is a true causes of fraud, waste, and abuse that will saddle future generations with insurmountable debt. Solutions that provide proper resources to our veterans, those that have served our country and put their life on the line for our freedom deserve our utmost respect and support. What makes this all the more frustrating is that the senate has proven our ability to legislate in a bipartisan way. Weve done so on multiple fronts in recent memory on issues like infrastructure, american competitiveness, and just last week as we acted to raise the debt ceiling and avoid economic catastrophe. There is no reason why this body should be hamstrung on addressing the biggest needs of our country and improving the lives of our residents in the areas where they need it the most. I understand that floor time is a precious commodity, especially knowing that we have to take up action on several mustpass pieces of legislation. We have to pass 12 Appropriations Bills out of this body. We have to pass the farm bill, and we have to pass faa reauthorization and perhaps most significantly, a bill that under this democrat leader has never gotten so a fair amount of its time or consideration, the National Defense authorization act. The American People want to see this place work for them. They want to see action on issues that impact them every single day. I encourage the majority leader to heed the concerns of our constituents and join in our efforts to provide the answers American Families and communities are desperately looking for. Until then my republican colleagues and i will continue to put forward the answers that the American People deserve. With that i yield the floor. Mr. Lankford madam president. The presiding officer the senator from oklahoma. Mr. Lankford is the senate in a quorum call . The presiding officer we are not. Mr. Lankford madam president , the white house and the department of Homeland Security released a press release yesterday to talk about whats happening on the border currently, especially on our southwest land border. I wanted to read just one line from the press release that was put out by Homeland Security yesterday where they state in their press release, the administrations plan is working as intended. The administrations plan is working as intended. Now, what they were referencing was whats happening on the southwest border and the number of people that are crossing our border that are quote, unquote, being encountered at the border. Thats the new term from the Homeland Security, the number of people that cross our border illegally. Theyre encountered. In the past those individuals and what i mean in the past, i mean in the past two years, those individuals crossed our southern border, asked for asylum because they were told by the cartels what to say. The cartels would say to each individual as they crossed and pay the fee to the cartel, tell them youre afraid in your country. They would cross the border. They would say the words im afraid in my country. They would be given an asylum hearing date in the future. That date is anywhere depending on where they go in the country between three years and seven years in the future. And theyre told they can go anywhere in the United States they want to travel during that time period. Now, thats what it used to be. The administration take forward and said we have a whole new plan. Our new plan post title 42, that sts end of the pandemic restrixes, our new restrictions, our new plan is were going for tell people theres a rebuttal presumption that you dont qualify so dont come. So heres whats happened. Now you cross the border and theres two ways you can cross the border. This is the new plan. You can either fill out the paperwork before you come or when you cross, well fill out the paperwork for you. If we fill out the paperwork for you, it will take longer for you to come into the country and cross the border or you can fill out the paperwork before. What is that called . Its called cbp one. Its an app that now you can download from anywhere in the world. Fill out your paperwork ahead of time. When you cross theyll quickly expedite you into the country for your asylum hearing anywhere between three and seven years in the future. Or if you cross between ports of entry, then its going to take you probably another eight hours or so for them to gather all the get all the paperwork filled out for you and then youll still be released into the country and have a hearing three to seven years in the future. What does the administration mean when they said the administrations plan is working as intended . Theyve now split up the numbers and theyve announced look, our numbers are less than 4,000 people now that are crossing the border illegally. It was just 10,000 people two weeks ago. Of course they did what they didnt say was the week before that, it walls right at 5,000. But what theyre not saying is theyve actually taken if you fill out on the app ahead of time, they dont count those numbers anymore. Heres whats happening. We have the same number of people illegally crossing our border this week than we had three weeks ago. Than we had three weeks before that. The administration now has just split up the numbers how theyre counted. If you fill out the app in advance, that we fill it out for you when you cross the border, those are now two sets of border but theyre the same exact people that are crossing into the country except when i was at the border just two weeks ago and asked how well all of this is working, i asked a very simple question. What are you noticing thats different now than whats different before . The response from cbp was well, its the same. People are still moving in. Theyre allowed to be able to come into the country. Between ports of entry or at ports of entry. Thats the same. But whats changed is a dramatic increase in the number of nonspanish speakers that are coming. And the first words i had from several different individuals that i spoke with, both from nongovernmental organizations and from our federal Law Enforcement when i was there last was we are worried for our National Security. In fact, federal Law Enforcement used the exact term. We have militaryage single adult men coming into our country from nonspanish speaking nations in the middle east, in west africa, from russia, and from china now. And much in much higher numbers than we had before. Just to set the context of whats happening now while the administration is saying the plan is working as intended, heres whats happened. In the first two weeks of the end of title 42, weve had a thousand men from mauritania, west africa, come across our border, a thousand. Exactly none of them we have criminal Background Information on. None of them. So far this year let me just compare two years ago to this year. So far this year, this year is not over, if i look at mauritania, we had 90 people two years ago from mauritania. So far this year, 4,300. So far this year. And, by the way, that doesnt include the main number that i was just saying thats a thousand more. So were well in excess of 5,000 in year so far from mauritania a from iran, its gone from 62 to almost 300. If i with aens to say from syria, where if i want to say from syria, where weve no Background Information, we have had 2,000 people come insofar from syria. From pakistan weve had over 500. From somalia, weve had over 1,600. From china, weve had right at 10,000 people in year. In i go back two years from china, it was 4506789 yet there is a huge shift thats actually occurring of middle eastern men, from russia and china that are accelerating across our southern border because right now apparently, the administrations plan is working as intended and we have thousands of people that are still crossing our border. Ive heard even some recent reporting in the news on this that the numbers are way down, the numbers are way down but apparently the press doesnt take the time to look and see that the numbers have been split out into two different categories. The numbers are not down. In fact, the numbers right now would average somewhere around 450,000 a month right now. The highest, the highest month during the peak of the immigration surge under the Obama Administration, the highest month that happened during that time period when there was chaos and cameras that were focused on the southwest border, the highest month was 69,000. The administration is now saying our plan is working when there is 150,000 a month coming across the border. Its not working. Its fudging the numbers. Its trying to tell the American People, look away. Its trying to say, were doing a whole new set of enforcement on the border when really whats happening is people are being released into the country, same as theyve always been released in the country for the last two years. The difference is theyre told, hey, if you show up for your hearing three years from now, we may be more strict to you. But at the border theyre moving through just the same, being waved through. Now, i bring this up to this body to ask a simple question have we learned nothing from 9 11 . Thousands of americans died because a group of individuals overstayed their visas here in the United States, no one went to check on them, no one went to track on it, and just ignored the realities of what could be there. We have a huge National Security risk. God forbid we have a huge terrorist attack again. Just because we want to tell everyone the plan is working as intended. Look away. The numbers are down. When we literally have people coming in from all over the world that may be coming to work here or may be coming in for nefarious reasons. We dont know. We dont know if these folks are fleeing poverty or fleeing justice because we have no criminal history on these individuals coming in from around the world, none. In fact, as frightening as it may seem, right now the current policy happening at the southwest border is if someone shows up without any identification or with a photocopy of an i. D. That they say is theirs, its being accepted as real. They can literally come in and say, im from mauritania or somalia or syria or iran or china or russia and this is my name. And they have no i. D. Were writing down, creating for them a new i. D. Card thats an american i. D. Card and handing them a new identity and saying, show up at your hearing three years from now in the future, travel anywhere you want in the country. You can use this card to fly or to travel or to show as i. D. When we literally have no idea if thats what their name is or thats the country theyre from. That is the plan that is working as intended right now on our southwest border. I think its a huge National Security vulinitial. Vulferment. We need to talk about owe h. Asylum. We need to talk about how to define the National Security risk for the United States. This body needs to have a real conversation about what Legal Immigration looks like and what were going to say to the world about ilLegal Immigration. If any of these individuals were to travel into canada right now, the canadians already have a clear law dealing with asylum. These folks would not be accepted into canada because it would violate their basic asylum rules and how they handle it. But theyre being literally waved into our country with no idea, with no criminal with no i. D. , with no criminal background check and released into the country under the promise that theyll show up for a hearing three years in the future. Can someone explain to me why thats logical . If she is same folks moved into germany and said they bant to claim they want to claim asylum, germany would put them in a humanitarian center where they would stay, they wouldnt be released into germany. Germany would never do that. They would stay in in that one humanitarian area while they were processed through their asylum claim and if they didnt qualify for asylum, they would be sent back to their original country, and thats usually within two to three months. We are instead handing them a brandnew i. D. , which we have no idea is their real name, releasing them into the country and saying, we hope you show up three to seven years from now at your hearing. Can somebody tell me thats wise . Im note asking for something crazy or for something that quite frankly the rest of the world doesnt already do. But for some reason this body has locked upped to talk about what locked up to talk about what everyone sees as obvious and we refuse to even debate the issues of asylum and National Security. This is not cause stick and hard. This is reasonable, where most americans are. But were not even talking about it on the floor right now. But we should. Because it matters the National Security of our country is counting on us having adult conversations. I encourage us to get start on this sooner rather than later for the sake of our future as a nation. With that, i yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call and more resilient in g. Grid. Once confirmed this will be especially important for overseeing programs that help americans lower their energy bills. To take one example he believed the implementation with the nine billiondollar Consumer Rebate Program to help americans better afford energyefficient appliances for their homes. Mr. Crane will also manage the investments we have made to update americas electric grid for chapter recent blackouts like the ones in texas is absolutely crucial. Mr. Crane is more than up to the job. He is a wealth of knowledge from the private sector and the ceo of the leading Energy Company one of americas leading voices in the fight for clean energy. He received strong bipartisan support and i expect that to continue here on the floor. I yield the floor. For someone who campaigned as a moderate and promised to present by and has chosen to staff his administration with a roster, a roster of alarming and radical or unqualified personnel. In recent weeks, the president s nominees who have made the biggest headlines have been the ones so far outside the mainstream that even a Democratic Senate majority would not confirm him. Like the Appeals Court nominee independent against the teenage victim of Sexual Assault, or the Traffic Safety nominee whose yearold passion turned out to be extreme environmental regulations. This week, the senate is considering yet another slate of radical nominations that are entirely unworthy of confirmation. First, the nomination of david crane, a selfdescribed climate activist max, President Biden elected him to serve as undersecretary for infrastructure at the department of energy. Mr. Cranes nomination is bad news for kentucky, for coal country and for any american who enjoys making their own choices about which cars to drive, which products to consume and how to earn a living. This nominee has been outspoken by the socalled green train to force a massive chunk of the worlds economy in eight years, eight years and they use their influence to compel society quote to follow even observed the democratic president ial nominee havent made extreme Climate Policy enough of a priority in their campaigns. In other words Hillary Clinton who once bragged quote we are going to put a lot of coalminers unquote of the business its not radical enough, not radical enough. So we are talking about an unabashed, topdown social crime. As we have learned over the past two years thats exactly what the biden of ordered and accused the American Energy policy of the radical left. Unfortunately, mr. Crane is not the only nominee on this weeks agenda with a reputation for wearing his radical liberal on his sleeve and nominated the Southern District of new york. Mr. Howe has described himself, listen to this as quote a wildeyed leftist and let me say that again President Biden selfidentified wildeyed to rule on cases argued in federal court in the country. His legal record indicates that this radical sympathy runs very deep. This is a nominee who has publicly lamented quote originalism is not a method of constitutional interpretation. Lends itself to progressive outcomes. Imagine that. It turns out following and applying our laws and our constitution as they were written is not a oneway ticket to leftwing utopia. And by the way that should be an argument for the radical left sidelining their bad ideas and not an argument for sidelining the constitution. Somebody who wants a lifetime appointment as an impartial judge must be committed to putting putting the rule of law ahead of personal policy and not the other way around. But he has not landed his represent to the Legal Proceedings to underpin the judiciary. During the Obama Administration he ruled against the eternal order of police for expressing their concerns about a particularly antiJustice Department nominee and they called it the proposition a disgrace. He has also taken to attacking members of the Judiciary Committee on twitter and press his career mr. Fareholm drive has been outspoken, outspoken on denigrated mainstream efforts to ensure the antipathy of american elections. He likened overwhelmingly popular practices like voter i. D. Requirements to be a very thinlyveiled call for racial profiling. So, mr. President let me be absolutely clear. Senate republicans who will not participate in rubberstamping the radical nominees i would urge our colleagues to reject each of these unfit nominations this week. And the upcoming National Defense authorization act we are joined by Deputy Editor of the military times. Welcome back. Thank you. First issued military spending we saw late last week that it almost every of negotiations over the debt limit. Remind viewers what happened and how that deal could eventually passed the senate and be signed into law . The negotiation was allowing a 3 increase in defense spending for fiscal 2024. This has been one of the key fight if theres going to be a cut to Government Spending were Government Spending will be held flat and should defense be exempt from that and they are quite a few republicans and centrist democrats who say we just cant afford to pull back on defense spending. Even that number is that 3 increase has come under fire because it doesnt keep up with inflation so National Security has always been an area where congress has loved to annex money in reluctant to pull back so with the debt limit deal with the a number we felt like that was settled in the government had the budget information but the lastminute innocent senate there was a fight over whether there would be a defense supplemental with more money being put into defense next year. There isnt a deal right now and theres conversational senate floor with signals from leader schumer that hed maybe be receptive to the idea. Yesterday we heard from the House Speaker saying hes not interested in the supplemental and wants to make sure the defense spending dollar figure is what they negotiated the debt limit to. Its not as settled as we thought it might be and it will be interesting to see up in the next few months what the deal once. The number 886 billion the number negotiated the highest Defense Budget in u. S. History the largest in the world. Coming back to supplemental can you explain what supplemental is and why does he get to be counted outside the normal budgeting process . Thats essentially all it is saying we need extra money but we are going to put it into the budget. We have seen this for a number of different things. Some covid spending was there afghanistan to war on terror and that was considered outside and the logic behind it is if we have a target for defense spending as a whole we dont want that to eat into all the things that are in there the military pay raise recapitalization and buying new equipment so when youre looking at these ceilings that were set under the debt limit deal the idea is if you have Something Like ukraine and this is one of the flashpoints and we will talk about it a little more, several billion dollars for that. If you put that into the Defense Budget is that segue from pilots training of purchases of other defense equipment . If you have outside it doesnt count. You are doing some fun accounting but its not like that money just disappears. It is charged against the country. You bring up the train. Its all the money that is, the Defense Budget for ukraine, i shouldnt say of the Defense Budget all the money thats gone to ukraine come through supplementals . They are somebodys come through in the majority of that im trying to remember the last number was that somewhere around 100 billion most of that has been from supplementals. The concern is if there is another supplemental and that theres not that option on the table for the coming years that money will be put into the Defense Budget. If you spend 10 billion to ukraine next year if that comes out at the Defense Budget does that mean we have to cut 10 billion from readiness accounts for health care accounts or whatever else it would be . The number according to senator sinema and john kennedy and their oped in tuesdays usa today, 113 billion in aid that at this point for ukraine. They are calling for a special instructor general to oversee this funding harkening back to the special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction appointed in 2008 oversaw a lot of that spending. Can you take us back to see gara guesses guesses what it was her virtu and how that impacted the pentagon and how much scrutiny that was given to the pentagon when he came to afghanistan spending and what that would mean for ukraine . That scrutiny still happenings. A lot of this is money thats not accounted for and not necessarily money gets that money that sent out into afghanistan and given to the afghan National Security forces in various projects and. We dont know if it was something that was successful and we dont know if its a project that helped the community or ended up benefiting the taliban or another outside group so with the numbers in ukraine is the same concerns, where exactly is this money going and can we say this equipment is going to the right people and being used by our allies rather than sitting in a warehouse somewhere or even worse potentially falling into enemy hands, some group that would use it improperly. Again with that amount of money theres a lot of worry on capitol hill now with isnt being. Properly and are regetting our bang for our buck and are regrowing to come back later with the expected general saying 50 billion of that didnt help us at all. The headline and peace reduce and fraud senator sinema and john kennedy writing that. The next 20 minutes we are talking about Pentagon Spending by the Defense Authorization act phone phone lines 202 7488001 for republicans, democrats is to a 27488000 and independents 2027048 what is the one i want on this year still . The first thing is getting it done so the debt limit conversation this is push the entire timeline on capitol hill back by a month. Everything was supposed to be started about this time last month and we are starting to see the details starting next week so the House Armed Services committee will have their normal markups and authorization bill this is the guidelines for the financial priorities and the military policy priorities for the year year. The few appropriations get the money that the senate will start to do theres a following week. The big things that i will be looking for, well see how that will be included in their feeling youll see two very different visions on that one from credit saying we need more bonuses and flexibility and more policy issues to entice folks and on the republican side it will be is there too much diversity equality training and too much focus on extremism and things of that sort are doing me to pull that back to stop making the military look bad. On the personal side those will be big issues and we think the pay raise will be a generous one for next year because of inflation over the last figures and the president s budget matches roughly the same spending level at the present outline so thats the baseline and will be looking to see just where lawmakers are and are they going to want a few more shifts and a few more planes were readiness more training issues . Theres a pretty sizable number in their for the Pacific Defense initiative. This is money directly related to china and bolstering allies in the area in the region and trying to make sure it counters the chinese threat that we have heard republicans in the house that they want more for that. We will get to see over the next few weeks what the tweak and changes are. Is there a big system like in the past talking about a 10 or f35. Its not the system and its still the f35s and they are some of those but the one of the big concerns has been this funding level doesnt pay for enough ships. The total number. The total number of ships. The total number of ships has been a major concern among lawmakers and they say i believe theres nine or 10 new ships on the president s budget and they went to see more money invested there. The ships are all longterm builds. We are talking about 10 years down the road starting to plan these and build them and they can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Submit are we talking carriers . They are talking about carriers. They are talking about new submarines so just to get into that procurement plan they have got to start now they want to increase the numbers down the road and the feeling is the bite administration released the republican side of the bite of hasnt done enough. And it is usual at this topic when you come on we get calls. John from virginia republican. You were on with leo shane. Hi i love cspan and im a firsttime caller. I also appreciate leader shane supporting the military. I do have concerns we have a long way and the constitution as far as a standing army. Youve got the National Guard members, the leaks of classified documents and when it comes to the National Debt and he brought up the f35. They are as a fiscal conservative im very concerned with the 150 billion that has been shown to be through corporate greed with all these major corporations getting so much funding from the government about pentagon has failed to even be able to complete an audit letter loan passing it. So mr. Shane can you help hold some of my fellow fiscal conservatives or least thats what they say accountable as far as the money that goes to the military industry . I always love to hear from the vets and will have to come back and talk about the effects on the vets issues another time. Look this has been one of the major issues of recent years of how to control motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and that the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. The question is on the nominations en bloc. All in favor say aye. All opposed say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed tn bloc. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session, be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the appointment at the desk appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer mr. President , i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the follow senate resolutions, senate res 239, senate res 240, senate res. , 241. The presiding officer without objection, the senate will proceed to the resolutions en bloc. Mr. Schumer i know of no further debate of the resolutions en bloc. The presiding officer if theres no further debate, the question is on the res resolutions en bloc. All those in favor say aye. All opposed say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. Resolutions are agreed to en bloc. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent that the preambles be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer finally, mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its Business Today it stand adjourned until 10 0 00 a. M. , thursday, june 8, that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date. And the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. And morning business be closed. That upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate resume consideration of the silfen nomination. Further, that 11 30 a. M. , notwithstanding rule 22, the senate vote on the confirmation of the syed nomination, followed by the cloture vote on silfen nomination. If cloture is invoked on the silfen nomination, all postcloture time expire at 1 40 p. M. If any nominations are confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer if theres no further business to come before the senate, i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order. The pres