Lawmakers will be working on a bill to temporarily extend government funding through december 11th. Current funding runs out tonight at midnight eastern. We accept the final passage later today. Senators also starting to consider Donald TrumpsSupreme Court nominee, amy barrett. We expect lots of debate on the nomination as well. Now live to the senate floor on cspan2. Almighty god, we praise you with our whole hearts. We refuse to forget how you have led our nation in the past and trust you to guard our future. Lord, encourage our lawmakers to be a part of your solutions and not a part of the problems that confront our land. Give them the courage to carry on, knowing that nothing is too difficult for your sovereign might. May the light of your truth illumine their way, as they find in you a sure guide. Help them to commit their lives to goals that will cause justice to roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. We pray in your sacred name, amen. The president pro tempore please join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. Grassley mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley i ask for one minute in morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley last night, former Vice President biden said that President Trump, quote, hasnt lowered drug prices for anybody, end of quote. This is false, and i hope that the news media will call out mr. Biden for the lie. Among several other actions that President Trump launched an initiative to lower outofpocket costs for insulin for seniors through the part d Medicare Program. Also, President Trump recently signed an executive order that will launch several programs to lower drug costs and help seniors afford their medicines. More disingenuous than this claim from mr. Biden is that it was actually the Vice President s former democratic colleagues here in the senate who walked away from a negotiating table and killed any hope of passing legislation to lower Prescription Drug costs before the election. This was an effort by minority leader schumer and his democratic colleagues to hurt President Trump and Senate Republicans, and mr. Biden seems content to capitalize on his own partys obstructions. Now, ive come to expect electionyear partisan politics such as ive just described, but during a pandemic thats left hundreds of thousands dead and millions unemployed, its particularly egregious that democrats have decided its more important to hurt republicans than help americans. Im sorry to say, this is the truth of the matter. It would be up to democrats to make it right. Im not holding my breath, but i do hope voters hold accountable a party that failed in its basic duties to put people ahead of politics. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the majority leader of the senate. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell this week, the senators who are sitting down with judge Amy Coney Barrett are meeting an incredibly impressive jurist and highly qualified nominee. They are hearing from the professor whom former colleagues call, quote, mindblowingly intelligent, one of the most humble people youre going to meet, and the complete package. They are meeting a law school valedictorian, an awardwinning academic whom peers praise for her lucid, elegant prose, piercing legal analysis, and absolute dedication to the rule of law. And senators are meeting the distinguished circuit judge whom the liberal law professor noah feldman says is a brilliant and conscientious lawyer who is highly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court. Some of our democratic colleagues have decided they will refuse to meet with judge barrett. Several have volunteered that their votes will have nothing to do with her qualifications, as though that were something to be proud of. The democratic leader says, quote, its not her qualifications. The junior senator from delaware says this isnt about her qualifications. Certainly, every senator may define, advise, and consent how they wish, but i think its telling to see Senate Democrats openly affirming that judge barretts actual and judicial qualifications do not matter to them. Our friends on the left really do mistake the court as an unelected superlegislature. They are not interested in judge barretts legal qualifications because they think judges are there to dictate policy outcomes rather than following the facts and infection wherever they lead. Thats why weve gotten the same scare tactics for almost half a century. John paul stevens was going to end womens rights. David souter was going to send Vulnerable People into the dark ages. John roberts was going to declare war on Health Insurance. And now our democrat colleagues want americans to believe that judge barrett is a onewoman crusade is on a onewoman crusade to hurt americans with preexisting conditions. One senator has literally claimed the nominee would, quote, listen to this create a humanitarian catastrophe. The same old scare tactics. Totally predictable, and totally dishonest. These baseless attacks over health care are supposedly founded on a technical argument in a 4yearold scholarly article. Thenprofessor barrett analyzed the Supreme Courts ruling on one piece, one piece of obamacare. The unfair, unpopular, individual mandate penalty which we have since zeroed out. The constitutional arguments over whether that terrible idea was a penalty or a tax are now moot. Because whatever you want to call it, republicans in congress zeroed it out three years ago. Working americans are no longer penalized by that democrat policy. Americans with preexisting conditions are still protected, and that specific legal question is moot. Our democratic colleagues are grasping at straws. Now they want judge barrett to promise to recuse herself from whole categories of cases. Of course that is ridiculous. Its hard to think of anyone in the country over whom a president has less leverage, less leverage than a judge with a lifetime appointment. Nobody suggested Justice Sotomayor or Justice Kagan needed to categorically sit on the sidelines until president obama had left office. This is just a backdoor attempt to impugn judge barretts integrity. If senators believe this nominee is committed to impartial justice in every case, if they believe she will mean her oath when she takes it, they should vote to confirm her. If they dont, they should vote no. But only one of these arguments has any basis in judge barretts resume, her reputation, and the praise that has been showered on her, but jurisprudence, even by famous liberal lawyers. Judge barrett has already stated in writing to the senate that she has given nobody at the white house any hints or any assurances about any kinds of cases, real or hypothetical. It is only Senate Democrats who are trying to extract promises and precommitments. It is only democrats who are trying to undermine Judicial Independence. Last night on national television, former Vice President biden refused to rule out, refused to rule out the radical notion of packing the court, packing the Supreme Court. He ducked the question. In washington, when you duck the question, you know what the answer is. Thats exactly what they are up to. Thats exactly what they intend to do. Last year, our colleague, senator harris, said explicitly that she was open to it. Another way of saying thats what they intend to do. Numerous of our colleagues have refused to rule out this radical institutions shattering step, and now Senate Democrats are trying to make judge barrett precommit, precommit to handle hypothetical issues the way they want. More disrespect for Judicial Independence. Judge barrett understands the judges only loyalties must be to our laws and our constitution. She understands our system would collapse if judges do not leave politics aside. If the Democratic Party feels differently, if democrats have decided that Judicial Independence is simply an inconvenience to their radical agenda, it just shows how little weight we should afford their criticisms of this outstanding nominee. Now, on a related matter, if Senate Democrats were half as concerned as they say about American Families health care, they would not have filibustered a multihundred billiondollar proposal for more Coronavirus Relief just a few weeks ago. A Senate Minority that was focused on americas help would have led us find more tests, treatments, and vaccine developments like republicans tried to do just a few weeks ago. A Senate Minority that was prioritizing wellness would have let us spend more than 100 billion to make schools safe for students like republicans tried to do just a few weeks ago. A Senate Minority that sought to protect citizens with preexisting conditions would have let us reaffirm Legal Protections for those americans like republicans had in our bill just a few weeks ago. A Senate Minority that was serious about economic recovery would have let us fund a second round of Paycheck Protection Program and continue the expanded unemployment checks like republicans tried to do just a few weeks ago. The senate voted on all of this three weeks ago. Three weeks ago, every single senator cast a vote on preexisting conditions, money for testing, money for vaccines, money for safe schools, money for Small Businesses, and money for unemployed workers, just three weeks ago. 52 republicans voted to pass all these policies. And every single democrat who showed up voted to filibuster is dead. The democratic leader and the speaker of the house were determined that American Families should not see another dime before the election. This week, Speaker Pelosi is finally caving to months of pressure from her fellow democrats who argue that her stonewalling is hurting our country. House democrats are trying to save face by introducing yet another multitrilliondollar farleft wish list with virtually all the same noncovidrelated poison pills as their last unserious bill. Speaker pelosis latest offering still does not include a single cent of new money for the Paycheck Protection Program to help Small Businesses that are going under. It does nothing to help schools, universities, doctors, nurses, or employers avoid frivolous lawsuits. But the house did find, did find room to provide special treatment to the marijuana industry. Their bill mentions the word cannabis more times than the words job or jobs. They still want to send taxpayerfunded stimulus checks to people in our country illegally. They still want to hand a massively expensive tax cut to millionaires and billionaires in places like new york city and san francisco. A pet priority of the speaker and the democratic leader that would do nothing to help working families through this pandemic. All of these farleft pumpkins pumpkins poison pills are still in their recycled bill. They have no intention of making bipartisan law for American Families, but there are few changes from the last bill. So get this, mr. President. Now that supporting Law Enforcement has become less than fashionable on the for left listen to this democrats have actually taken out, taken out hundreds of millions of dollars for hiring and assisting police officers. Let me say that again. In this latest version, there were at least some changes. Now that supporting Law Enforcement has become less than fashionable on the far left, democrats have actually taken out hundreds of millions of dollars for hiring and assisting police officers. Their socalled sequel to the heroes act has decided that cops are not heroes after all. Partially cops are not heroes after all. House democrats couldnt miss a chance to defund the police. The latest bill from the speaker is no more serious than any of their political stunts going back months. If they continue to refuse to get serious, then American Families will continue to hurt. Less nan month ago less than a month agency, every single senator voted on providing hundreds of billions of dollars for families and kids and for preexisting conditions. 52 republicans voted to advance all of these things but every single democrat who showed up voted to block them. The American People are still hurting. Layoffs are still mounting. Families still need more help. And the health care fight needs more resources. One side voted to supply all that help. The other side decided to block it. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer now, mr. President , last night President Trump delivered one of the most disgraceful performances at a president ial debate that anyone has ever seen. And i dont mean that from a political perspective. I mean it from a human perspective. One can become inured to the president s tendency meltdown when confronted with his facts. His brazen lack of selfawareness, his stunning lack of regard for others. But it was maddening to watch the president last night angry and small, unable to show a scintilla of respect, unable to follow even the most basic rules of human civility or decorum, unwilling to constrain a stream of obvious falsehoods and rightwing vile. Shakespeare summed up in macbeth trumps performance last night a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Yes, President Trumps debate performance was, in the words of macbeth, a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. In an hour and a half that felt like a lifetime, the president managed to insult Vice President bidens deceased son and smear a living one, please a fringe White Supremacist Group and capped the night off by yet again casting doubt on our own elections, tarnishing our own democracy. Those were just his worst moments. The rest of the debate saw the president heap lie upon lie, lies big and small and every size in between. This president and truth dont intersect at all. Still, one moment stands out. As to condemn white groups like the proud boys, called hardcore white sprex sifts by the antidefamation league, President Trump demurred and then said proud boys, stand back and stand by. Stand back and stand by. President obama once wondered rhetorically how hard is it to say that nazis are bad . Apparently for President Trump, its beyond his capacity. In a national debate, he not only refused to condemn a farright group of violent White Supremacists, he told them to stand by. As much of the country was in despair last night at the president s juvenile behavior, one group was celebrating the proud boys. Thats who was celebrating President Trumps debate performance. White supremacists within minutes of the president s comments the proud boys were online rejoicing at the tacit endoorsment of their violent tactics by the president himself. They made logos out of the president s remarks stand back and stand by. I just want to ask my republican colleagues how are you not embarrassed that President Trump represents your party . How can you possibly, possibly support anyone who behaves this way . Are you watching the same person that we are . Are you listening . Are you not embarrassed that millions of americans watch President Trump and think, now thats what the Republican Party stands for now . Cant express sympathy for the families of 200,000 americans that died from coved, cant go 30 seconds without interrupting someone when hes not speaking, cant refrain from attacking someones family and pretending not to know a persons deceased son. Cant honor the military, defend democracy, respect elections or tell the truth. Cant even make it through the debate without emboldening White Supremacists. How are you, my senate colleagues, not deeply, utterly, personally embarrassed that donald trump is a republican . How are we not all embarrassed that someone who behaves the way President Trump did last night is our president . I know i am. How about you . Again, this president is just amazing, and his speech la