Vote the presiding officer is there any senator in the chamber who wishes to vote or change his or her vote . Seeing none, the motion is agreed to. The yeas are 49 and the nays are 44. 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 thomas p. Barber of michigan to be an under secretary of the treasury, 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 thomas p. Barber of michigan to be under secretary of the treasury shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk should call the roll. Vote vote the presiding officer is any senator in the chamber who wishes to vote or change his or her vote . Seeing none, the ayes are 54. Nays 40. The motion is agreed to. 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 Brian Callanan of new jersey to be general counsel for the department of the treasury 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 Brian Callanan of new jersey to be general counsel of the department of treasury be brought to a close. Yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk shall call the roll. Vote vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote . Seeing none, the ayes are 55, the nays are 37. The motion is agreed to. The clerks shall report the nomination. The Clerk Department of the treasury, Brian Callanan of new jersey to be general counsel. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule 22, the postcloture time on the destro, mcintosh and callanan nominations expire at 11 00 a. M. On wednesday, september 18. And if the nominations are confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, the the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten mings each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. Res. 314 submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 314, honoring the centennial of the aerospace industrys association. The presiding officer is there objection proceeding to the measure . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 00 a. M. Wednesday, september 18. Further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed, and the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the destro nomination under the previous order. The presiding officer objection . Without objection, so ordered. Mr. Mcconnell so if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of our democratic colleagues. The presiding officer without objection. Ms. Stabenow mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from michigan. Ms. Stabenow thank you, mr. President i rise this evening with many of my democratic colleagues to speak about an issue thats on the mind of families all across our country, and i want to thank senator murphy for organizing this very important action this evening. You know, back to school always brings back such great memories of my own children, my son and daughter, and i remember them packing crayons and paper in their new backpacks and eagerly heading off to meet their new teachers and catch up with friends, to talk about what they did during the summer. Its always been such appear exciting time of year its always been such an exciting time of year for them. Unfortunately, its not the same now for their children, my grandchildren. I have two grandsons and a granddaughter that are now in school, and the first new question that was asked when buying their backpacks was, do you want a Bulletproof Backpack . Do you want a Bulletproof Backpack was one of the questions in buying their backpacks for school. I also think of two weeks ago when my youngest grandson, who was in school, started second great, and my daughter and i were talking about the fact that in addition to all of the excitement and the Energy Around starting school that there were changes, like a new front door and bulletproof windows and a new way to get into the school, walking in, having to stop and buzz and go through another door and all of the changes and the costs that have gone into reconfiguring the school so that you cant walk directly into classrooms, important its important for the school to do that, but im sure that what they would rather have been doing is adding more music and art classes and teachers and technology and other things for the children in that Elementary School rather than bulletproof windows and safety doors to stop a gunman from getting into the school. Americans have learned that whether its a school, a store, a church, a Country Music festival, a Movie Theater or even sitting on your front porch, no place is safe anymore. Thanks to this countrys epidemic of gun have, even a child playing gun violence, even a child playing football in their backyard or doing homework in their own home can become a target of a stray bullet. Last week Senate Democrats release add report that shows 100 americans are killed by guns every single day. 100 people every single day. Thats enough people to fill every desk in this chamber day after day after day. 100 People Killed by gun violence every single day. In fact, since the house passed the bipartisan background checks act, there have been an estimated 20,200 People Killed by gun violence. 12,322 suicides using a gun. And 808 children 808 children killed by firearms. Those are some of the numbers. But were not here tonight to just talk about numbers. Were talking about peoples lives. These people have names like judy and marie jo and richard and tyler. These six people were killed in 2016 when an uber driver went on a shooting spree across kalamazoo county, michigan. Two other people, abigail and tiana, were gravely wounded. Tiana watched the car coming toward here and saw the driver pull out a handgun. Tiana told her daughters to run and stood still to shield them. Once she knew they were safe, she tried to get away, too. The gunman pulled the trigger 15 times. Tiana was shot four times. Only when she laid on the ground and played dead did the bullets stop. Broken bodies, shattered families, grieving communities. This story is one that is repeated across this country every single day now, and it has to stop. The American People expect the senate to do its job and to take action to make their lives better and safer. Unfortunately, that isnt happening. And the American People are paying the price. 202 days ago 202 days ago the Democratic House passed the bipartisan background checks act. 202 days ago, which would require a background check for every gun sale. Something Pretty Simple and common sense. That could have stopped the shooter in west texas who killed seven innocent peopled and wounded another 25. It makes you wonder how many of the 301 Mass Shootings that have happened since january 1 could have been prevented and how many lives could have been saved. Requiring a background check for every gun purchase isnt controversial. In fact, its what americans are asking for. Its pretty common sense. You know, you come from rural michigan you know, i come from rural michigan. And in Northern Michigan and my whole family is involved in hunting and all of the Great Outdoor sports. And i have lived with legal, safety gun ownership my whole life. And no one in my family believes that someone should be able to buy a gun without getting a background check. Its just common sense. And thats why more than 90 of americans Want Congress to do just that, to pass universal background checks. And yet the bill sits on the Senate Republican leaders desk. Senator mcconnells desk waiting, waiting, waiting for action for 202 days. While Mitch Mcconnell and President Trump wait for approval from bigmoney special interests, americans are dying. Its time to act. You know, the beginning of school should be something that our young people look forward to, not fear. Next year students at a high school in michigan will attend a brandnew school in a brandnew building. It has all sorts of amenities. Ten science classes with labs. An art studio complete with pottery kilms. It will also feature curved hallways to reduce a shooters sight lines. Theshatterproof glass and wing walls that will provide places for students to hide in classrooms. Its great that the School District is investing in the safety of its students, but its also heartbreaking that they have to do so. Students in fruit port and across michigan should be focused on next weeks math test or tomorrow nights football game, not where they can duck and take cover in their school. Its time for in earthquake its time for america to stop failing their young people. Majority leader mcconnell, what are you waiting for . I yield the floor. Mr. Durbin mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from illinois. Mr. Durbin mr. President , i want to thank my colleague from michigan and those who have joined together on the democratic side to speak out on the issue of gun safety this afternoon and this evening. I guess one of the real blessings in life is to have a grandchild, and ive got some good ones, six really good once. And one of them is a little girl who has just entered the third grade in a Public School in brooklyn, new york. She is sea a sweetheart, and i she is sea a sweetheart, and i love her to pieces. But she came home to tell her mom and dad last year when she was in second great that they just had a drill in her classroom, and they told her what to do if someone showed up in the hallway or outside with a gun hide under the desks, stay away from the windows. To think that that little 7yearold girl had to receive that kind of warning in America Today breaks my heart. Why . Does anyone really honestly believe that when the Second Amendment to the constitution was written, they envisioned the fear that would go through the minds of children who, after connecticut, worry that some shooter will come in with a semiautomatic weapon and kill dozens of kids in one moment . Thats the reality of gun violence today. Thats one of the realities. And its one that just breaks my heart as a father and grandfather. Over the past few weeks, our nation has been rocked by Mass Shootings in el paso and dayton and odessa, texas. 38 victims dead, dozens more injured. According to the gun violence archive, so far this year there have been 300 Mass Shootings that means shootings where more than four people were shot in one event. This is in addition to the daily toll of gun homicides, suicides, and accidents that kill nearly 40,000 americans a year. Every week i see the grim statistics of People Killed and wounded by gunfire in my home state of illinois. Just this past weekend just this past weekend in chicago, eight people were killed, 19 more injured by gunfire. Gun violence is an epidemic in america. It affects communities large and small. Ive met countless people whove lost loved ones or have been traumatized by gun violence. Millions of americans now live in fear that when they send their kids or grandkids off to school, when they go to a Movie Theater, a concert, church, even when they sit on their front porch they could be shot. This is unacceptable. America is better than this. There are many people in this great nation who are doing all they can to try to reduce the rep of shootings. The epidemic of shootings. Law enforcement, parents, teachers, the medical community and public officials. But what are we doing in the United States senate . The answer is nothing. Nothing. There is no single reform that can prevent every shooting, but we know there are big gaps in our gun laws that make it easy for felons, abusers, and mentally unstable people to get their hands on guns. Closing these holes and loopholes in the background check system would significantly reduce shootings and save lives. It is estimated that 22 of gun sales nationwide currently occur without a background check. Now, i know the critics say, great, senator, youre going to have better background checks. The people who want thats guns arent going to go through that process. It turns out last year 100,000 of them were ignorant to try. They were caught in the act. They had been disqualified under federal law, yet they made that try. Why would we ever let them successfully buy a firearm in without a real background check, they will. The gun show and internet loopholes are the problems that haunt us today. They enable unlicensed sellers to make sales without even checking on the background of the buyer. According to news reports, the gunman in odessa shooting bought his gun through a private sale with into background check because he previously failed a check. Clearly there is a gap if the law that needs to be closed. Polling consistently shows that 90 of americans support closing these gaps in the background check system. How many other issues do 90 of americans agree on . One this politically fraught to have that kind of number for democrats, republicans, and independents . The people of america are trying to tell the senators to do something and yet senator mcconnell refuses. Even the conservative republican Lieutenant Governor of texas has caused for closing these gaps in the background check system. I hope the senators from Lieutenant Governor patricks state are listening. The house of representatives has listened and done something. The bipartisan house background check bill, h. R. 8, passed the house 240190 on a bipartisan roll call on february 27. Here we are over 200 days later, and the senate, which does virtually nothing every single day, the senate through senator mcconnells leadership, refuses to even consider this bill. Senate republicans refuse to even consider the bipartisan housepassed gun safety legislation that americans of both Political Parties overwhelmingly support. In fact, they are avoiding taking up any bills at all. Week after week after week, we vote on nomination after nomination after nomination. We hardly ever debate. We hardly ever vote on legislation to address the needs the American People say are the primary concerns in their minds. While Republican Leadership in the senate these days doesnt seem to like to vote, they do like to tweet, so perhaps we shouldnt have been surprised when one of our republican colleagues, the junior senator from texas, responded to a recent mass shooting by tweeting criticism of gun laws in the city of chicago. There seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding by this senator and some other republicans who believe that despite what the maps show us, that chicago is actually an island. Well, its not. They team to think that there is no way that people could actually drive 20 minutes into northwest indiana, go to a gun show, buy a truckload of guns, and sell them in the alleyways of the city of chicago at night. It happens. And its the reason why a state law cant solve the problem. Chicagos mayor, my friend, lori lightfoot, pointed out the obvious to the junior senator from texas. 60 of illegal firearms recovered in chicago come from out of state. Thats why we need a federal background check reform bill like the one that passed the house. Mayor lightfoot is right, and she graciously invited senator cruz, our colleague, to actually come visit chicago to see its not an island. Its connected to other states, and to see what the city is doing trying to work to reduce the scourge of gun violence and how republican senators, if they really want to help, can help by passing legislation for true background checks. I hope that the senator from texas accepts the invitation. Its a great town. Wed like to show it to him. Another area in which this donothing senate has fallen short is when it comes to Public Safety threats posed by violent White Supremacists. I have introduced the domestic terrorist prevention act. Its the only legislation pending in the senate to address white supremacist violence. The gunman in the august 3 mass shooting in el paso posted a white supremacist manifesto before he shot and killed 22 people and injured 24 others at a walmart. Unfortun