Vote the presiding officer on this vote, the yeas are 49, the nays are 44. Twothirds of the senators voting a quorum being present, not having voted in the affirmative, the joint resolution on reconsideration fails to pass over the veto of the president of the United States. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i move to executive session to consider calendar number 547. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayes appear to have it. T ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, department of housing and urban development, brian d. Montgomery of texas to be deputy. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report the motion. 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 d. Montgomery of texas to be deputy secretary of housing and urban development, signed by 17 senators as follows mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to legislative session. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to executive session and consider calendar number 339. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, department of homeland security, trey d. Edgar of california to be chief financial officer. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report the motion. 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 trey d. Edgar of california to be chief financial officer, department of homeland security, signed by 17 senators as follows mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum calls be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask the senate proceed to a period of legislative business for morning business, the senators be permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i have three requests for committees to meet during todays session of the senate. They have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. The presiding officer duly noted. The presiding officer the senator for maryland. Mr. Cardin thank you, mr. President. I rise today to highlight the heroes of my home state of maryland who are working on the front lines to fight covid19. On january 21, the centers for Disease Control and prevention announced the first confirmed case of covid19 in the United States. Since then, the number of confirmed covid19 cases in the United States have ballooned to over 1. 2 million cases and over 72,000 americans have died. The c. D. C. Has designated the baltimorewashington corridor as a hot spot. As cases continue to rise in the region. As of may 6, there have been 28,163 confirmed cases of covid19 and 1,290 confirmed deaths in the state of maryland. These are trying unprecedented times for all communities in america, and maryland is no different in this regard. Fred rodgers once said that in times of crisis, times like these, we should look for the helpers. So, mr. President , i would like to take this time to recognize some of the heroes who are helping communities in maryland. I am very proud of our state hospitals, distilleries, manufacturers, and biomedical and pharmaceutical companies that have come together to perform their own testing, manufacture personal protective equipment and hand sanitizers and are at the forefront of developing a vaccine. Maryland is home to some of the worlds premier academic medical systems, including the university of maryland medical system and Johns Hopkins university which have been critical in preparing our state for the pandemic. I am particularly proud of Johns HopkinsCoronavirus Tracking system which Public Health officials worldwide have come to rely on for uptodate accurate information. I applaud Johns Hopkins officials instead for creating a vital Public Health tool which has already proven itself critical to fighting this disease. As lord culvin stated so long ago, when you can measure what you are speaking about and express it in numbers, you know something about it, but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind. In the early days of the pandemic in maryland, our state officials, like officials in most states, were desperately searching for ways to increase our testing capacity. Johns hopkins developed its own coronavirus tests to help meet demand. The university has been especially helpful in marylands effort to combat the virus in Nursing Homes. Johns hopkins has closely cobb rated with local Nursing Homes to train their employees and test residents to protect our most vulnerable populations. I commend Johns Hopkins ingenuity which has been critical to efforts to identify those afflicted with covid19 and to prevent the spread of the virus. The university of maryland medical system has stepped up to lead efforts to address the devastating impact of covid19 in our states minority communities which is likely due to the Underlying Health care disparities. The university has assembled a team of Public Health experts to execute the proposed Maryland Health equity covid19 consortium. The consortium will be pretty to developing the strategies and to form our states response efforts to protect our communities of color who are more susceptible to covid19. Despite the immense burden marylands Small Businesses are facing, they have stepped up to help local hospitals, Nursing Homes, and other frontline workers. Sag a mother sagamore Spirits Distillery in baltimore is one. They have converted its distillery from coronet ethanol to making sanitizers. The distillery for maryland farmers. A company on the Eastern Shore of pokomoke city are producing sustainable face shields. By the end of this week, hardwire will have shipped out one million face shields to one Million Health care workers, First Responders, and others on the front line of the fight against covid19. The demand for hardwires face shields is so great that it has hired 115 new employees, providing muchneeded Economic Relief to communities on the Eastern Shore. In addition, marylands worldleading biomedical and pharmaceutical companies are working tirelessly to find the vaccine for covid19. A pharmaceutical and Life Sciences company which has facilities in gaithersburg and frederick have partnered with the university of oxford on a potential vaccine that has already entered phase one clinical trials. Emergent biosolutions in rockville is collaborating with Johnson Johnson on its lead covid19 vaccine candidate. Emergent biosuggses will be providing Contract Development and Manufacturing Services in maryland to support Johnson Johnsons recent announced commitment to supply one billion vaccines worldwide. I would be remiss if i did not also thank marylands Frontline Health care workers who risk their lives every day to care for those with covid19. These physicians, physicians assistants, nurses, lab technicians, e. M. T. Personnel and many others go to work day after day facing the unimaginable strain of caring for patients who are fighting this deadly virus and comforting their families. These examples are by no means exhausted. There are countless other health care providers, Law Enforcement agencies, nonprofits, Small Businesses, Higher Education institutions and individual marylanders pitching in to defeat covid19. Marylanders are stocking grocery shelves, driving buses, delivering groceries to elderly neighbors, hosting Virtual Events to keep families and Young Children entertained as they continue to practice social distancing, and they are making homemade face coverings for those who need them. I have seen my neighbors come together to make lunch packs for families in need. Mr. President , the reverend dr. Dr. Martin luther king jr. Said everybody can be great because anybody can serve. The covid19 pandemic is not testing our character. It is revealing it. I am so proud to represent all the great marylanders who are serving on the front lines, and i will continue working as hard as i can to ensure that we in congress are doing everything we can to support them as they lead the fight against covid19. Mr. President , i yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator for louisiana. Mr. Kennedy thank you, mr. President. Mr. Kennedy 3 trillion. As best i can tell, that is how much money the United States congress has appropriated let me amend that. Thats how much taxpayer Money Congress has appropriated to fight the coronavirus, and its aftermath. 3 trillion. Thats 12 zeros. 3 trillion is 3,000 billion dollars. These numbers take my breath away. We spent this money even though we dont have it. We dont even have 5 of it. We borrowed every penny. Our National Debt will now be approximating, maybe exceeding, 25 trillion. The last coronavirus bill that we passed, mr. President , as you know, was the cares act, but it was not the only bill. We passed a number of pieces of legislation to try to fight this this virus and the covid19 that it causes. And, mr. President , those bills were they hard for me to vote for. Not because not because i i i dont care about the American People. I do, of course. We all do. But because of the fact that it was just such a Staggering Amount of money. I i have spent my career in government more at the State Government level than the federal government level, but i have spent my career in government being cheap when it comes to taxpayer money. And it it bothers me, as it should bother all of us, that we spent money that we dont have. Ive ive driven all over washington, d. C. , and i i cant find the money tree. These are taxpayer dollars. But i voted for the bills, including, but not limited to, the cares act because it was clear we had to do something. We had to appropriate money to fight the virus. We had to appropriate money to help people and their businesses to recover economically from the impact of the virus. We dont know what works in the cares act and what doesnt work, and we wont know for a while. I suspect well look back and say, well this measure was a pretty smart thing to do and with hindsight but this measure fell a little bit short. But already many of my colleagues, and i say this with respect, have other bills to spend even more money primarily to help state and local government. Its its like a labor day mattress sale around here. The number of bills flying around. Someone wants to spend another 250 billion, somebody else wants to spend 500 billion and give it to state and local government. Speaker pelosi wants to spend 1 trillion. I think all of thats premature, mr. President. I suggest that we pause, one again we see what works, we see what has worked and see what hasnt worked. Also, it would seem to me, that any fairminded person would have to conclude that we should open once we open up government and see the Economic Impact well have additional information. And make no mistake about it, we are going to have to open up the economy again. I dont see any reason we cant both save lives and save jobs. But so i want to make it clear, mr. President , that every single one of these 3 trillion, as far as im concerned is a precious commodity because it comes from taxpayers. Now, the the discussion that many of my colleagues have been having about spending additional money on top of the 3 trillion, specially for state and local government, seems to seems to forget that weve already appropriated an enormous amount of money to state and local government. In my state, for example, ill just take louisiana. I think were, as a result of the cares act, were going to receive about 3. 5 billion, and im very grateful for every single penny. This congress appropriated 287 million for Public Schools in louisiana, 190 million for universities, 623 million for hospitals. We have received extra medicaid payments and additionally louisianans have received 1. 803 billion for state and local government. You add it all up and thats about 3. 5 billion thats already been appropriated just to louisiana. Some states got more, some states got less. So the point im trying to make, mr. President , is that we need to recognize the fact that weve already done a lot for State Government. Weve already done a lot for our cities, and i i i have i happily voted for the bill. I had some reluctance for reasons i explained, just the breathtaking amount of money. Now, this doesnt mean this doesnt mean that our states and local governments are not going to have to sacrifice. We certainly asked the American People to sacrifice, we certainly asked the American Business community to sacrifice, and i think State Government and and local government are going to have to share in that sacrifice. They are going to have to scrub their budget, and thats just a fact. As far as im concerned the federal government needs to do the same thing. Theres not a Single Member of this body that believes that every single penny we spend on the federal budget is absolutely necessary. I have a bill, mr. President , that i think may well make it unnecessary to appropriate new money for our state and local governments. I have a bill, mr. President , that i think may well moot the entire issue. We made one mistake we probably made others, but in my judgment i know we made one in the cares act when we we put restrictions on the amount of money that we gave to state and local government. Now i understand why we did it and at the time i supported it. We do not want to bail out states, for example, that have been mismanaged. If if a state decides to give generous Retirement Benefits at an early retirement age to its state employees, as far as im concerned, thats the states business. But also as far as im concerned the people of louisiana shouldnt have to pay for that what, in my opinion, is mismanagement. And i think a number of my colleagues in the senate share that sentiment. But in hindsight, ill take louisiana as an example, we put up we received, rather 1. 8 billion. There is a requirement in the legislation that says that 1. 8 billion is can only be used to defray the expenses of of coronavirus expended by State Governments by the state of louisiana and by our cities. And thats what the statute says. And its the statute passed by congress that controls. Now, the department of treasury is im not sure what they issued, but they issued something. They didnt go through the a. P. A. , that says, well, the states, louisiana, for example, has great flexibility to spend that 1. 8 billion that we received in louisiana that went to state and local government. They can spend it on First Responders and policemen and school teachers, and i appreciate the department of treasury issuing that, whatever it was that issue. Theres just one problem, the statute doesnt say and the United States treasury does not have the authority, nor should it, to change a bill passed by the United States congress. So im grateful to secretary mnuchin to try to help here, but i dont believe what hes doing is legal. And it gives me great pause that that State Government and our cities might act on a directive from the treasury that could change two weeks from now. I think the only way to address this issue is is through a statute passed by congress. Heres what my bill would do. My bill would not appropriate any new money. Let me say that again. My bill would not appropriate any new money. My bill would say with respect to the 150 billion that this congress unanimously in the senate has already appropriated to help State Governments and local governments, thats the 1. 8 billion that im referring to that louisiana received, my bill would just say they can use that money for operating expenses. They cant use it my bill would specifically prohibit it to bail out mismanaged retirement systems. They cant use it to bail out any retirement systems, mismanaged or otherwise. But they can use that money with this small change to the cares act to fill any the holes in their budget as a result of any revenue shortfalls. My state, for example, mr. President , were very heavily reliant on the sales tax and on the personal income tax. I think that this measure may well moot the issue of having to to appropriate brandnew money for states and local governments. The governors i talked to, mr. President , tell me, kennedy, we really appreciate the money you sent to state and local government, theres just one problem, our hands are tied. Our problem today is not enough money to fight the virus. Our problem today is how do we fill a hole as a result of the shortfalls in our sales tax . And thats what my bill would do, mr. President. And for that reason i ask unanimous consent that the committee on appropriations be discharged from further consideration of s. 3608, thats my bill, mr. President , and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. I further ask, mr. President , that the kennedy substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read for a third time and passed, than the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer is there objection . A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator for florida. Mr. Scott mr. President , reserving the right to object. I clearly appreciate my colleagues remarks. State, local, and tribal governments across our great country are working tirelessly during this difficult time and have received federal funding through the cares act, specifically directed to aid in their effort to keep families safe. While i understand the spirit of my colleagues proposal, i am very concerned that removing the important limitations related to the appropriate uses of the Coronavirus Relief fund in the cares act would siphon resources away for the Coronavirus Response efforts that desperately need these resources. Further, im unfortunately hearing that some states and localities would simply like to use federal dollars to back fill their decades of fiscal mismanagement. Hardworking american taxpayers should not be on the hook to bail out poorly run states or to fund areas of state budget expenses thats have nothing to do with coronavirus. We see states like california, illinois, and new york with big budgets, high taxes, and tons of debt. Contrast it with states like florida where we made the hard fiscal decisions to pay off debt and live within our means. Floridians should not be punished and back bill budgets of these states. I have a result of what happened i just picked out three states of their fiscal mismanagement. From 2005 to 2016, you can see florida gained significant population while these poorly managed states lost populations. In florida, we watched our budgets, didnt keep borrowing more money, we lived within our means. We look at our debt, its 27 billion, and you look at california 155 billion, and new york 145 billion. Look at the personal income taxes and look at their attitude towards business. These are the three worst states for business. The Tax Foundation shows how poorly they do with their tax policy. So if you look at whats happened, people have left these states and moved their income to florida and other lowertaxed states and more businessoperatorred states. So i am completely opposed businessoriented states. So i am completely opposed to bailing out these states. Now, the difficulty in my colleagues proposal is its very difficult how you decide what is going to be used for one expense in a state budget or another expense in a state budget. And let not forget, this years federal budget deficit will be the largest in the history of our nation. The largest in the history of our nation, in excess of the accumulating deficits for the first 200 years of our countrys existence. And as my colleague said, we will end the year with in excess of 25 trillion worth of federal debt. More than ever, i think my colleague will agree with me, we have to be focused and very careful with our taxpayer dollars. I am very supportive of continuing to get needed resources to the communities and First Responders in need. That is why when the Senate Passed the cares act, we wisely placed limitations on how this money could be spent. We need to maintain those guardrails to ensure that the country can continue on the path to recovery. For these reasons, mr. President , i object. The presiding officer objection is heard. But its also been a time when people across the country have given so much to their communities, to their states, to their neighbors, and as you know, mr. President , we ra great we are a great nation. We are a kind nation. We are a proud nation, and we are a resilient nation. This pandemic has been testing the character of our country and i believe that we are passing the test as americans. I believe that because i see it everywhere. I certainly see it in my state, the great state of alaska. People passing out food, doing what they can for the elderly, tending to those in need. Were seeing this all across our nation. We see millions of our fellow citizens, people that we all have the privilege of representing here in the United States senate, stepping up with purpose and resolve. And we see a greater appreciation for the dignity and the value of our workers who are on the front lines of helping us get through this pandemic. Now, mr. President , i was recently home in my state. The rule in alaska is that if you travel from the outside, when you get to alaska, you have a very strict 14day quarantine. So i was quarantined with my wife and three daughters hunkered down in anchorage, but i was also able to still appreciate so much of what happens happening and so many of our fellow citizens, especially front frontline workers helping alaska power through this crisis. So many of them working day in and day out to make sure that our Grocery Stores are stocked, that goods are transported, buildings are maintained and Telecommunications Systems are running, that our airplanes are flying, that our hospitals are open, our Health Care Workers can get care, and that our teachers, our extraordinary teachers, are finding creative ways to teach our kids. The lirs goes on and on the list goes on and on. Its happening in every state across the nation. So last week i decided to give an imprompt ewe speech in our backyard. It wasnt on the senate floor, the way we usually do it today. I was highlighting these workers, many of them part of the teamsters, 595, led by thirdgeneration teamster gary dixon. I want to stay thank you to them again. We talk about a lot of those who are telecommunitying, thats great, but a lot of people cant do that, really are national workers, essential workers on the front lines keeping our economies and our supply lines open, moving, robust. But now that im back in d. C. And the senate is open again, finally open again and the business of the senate is continuing so does our alaskan of the week series from the floor of the u. S. Senate. One of my favorite times of the week where i get to focus on a special alaskan. I think the presiding officer likes it a lot too or a group of alaskans that have made alaska such a great unique place. So i had intended, as i mentioned, on my alaskan of the week speech here coming back to focus on more of these frontline workers who are doing so much in our state, so much in our country to get us through this pandemic. However, mr. President , some really interesting, i think exciting news on monday in our state broke. Its big news borne of a tragic situation, and for that reason i thought we would have a different focus of our alaskan of the week. So the alaskan of the week this week is an intrepid alaska reporter, kyle hopkins, who led coverage in our local paper, the Anchorage Daily News, that earned him the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Probably the most prestigious award in all american journalism, the prize of prizes. Kyle hopkins, alaska reporter, won that on monday. He won it for a 17story series called lawless. About the Public Safety crisis in rural alaska and the horrendous issue of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence in our state. As we all know, we are confronting a pandemic in our country. I live in a great state, but we have a lot of challenges, social challenges, just like a lot of states. Were confronting this pandemic right now nationally. My states been confronting an epidemic of Domestic Violence, sexual abuse that has been going on for years, decades, generations. Kyles series combined dogged reporting, meticulous Fact Checking with the utmost sensitivity that a subject like that requires. Not an easy task at all. It was, according to the Pulitzer Committee, rivetting Public Service reporting, but, mr. President , it was so much more than that, and i will tell you it was very, very important to the state of alaska. So let me tell you a little bit about our alaskan of the week, kyle hopkins, and what made him very qualified to write this series and why its had such an impact and i believe beginning maybe i should say i hope beginning to change to bring changes to our Public Safety system, and most importantly, the unfortunate culture that we have in our state that spawns this kind of abuse and violence. Kyle was born in beautiful sitka alaska, thats in southeast alaska. His father was a teacher and came to california came from california to teach the children of logging camp workers at a time when the southeast part of our state had a very vital timber industry. The family moved back to california after a few years but then back to alaska again and then away and then back again. Sitka, skagway, two small towns, one village, all in alaskas beautifully gorgeous southeast. For kyle it provided the backdrop of a magical childhood, spruce trees, aquatic tidal base inns, fish to catch, towering to the totem poles. In high school it was all about basketball for him. Traveling for tournaments in alaska is a unique experience, requiring trips on small bush planes. For kyle he remembers seeing the planes and the ferries. Quote, i remember thinking i was lucky to see and do these things. Even as a young man he knew these things. He went to the university of fairbanks for college, searching for a subject that allowed him to read a lot and he had an advisor who recommended a journalism class. The rest is history. During college he had a host of internships across the state in journalism covering business, politics, sports, and crime, all the usual beats and some of our best journalism and medium journalism establishment, the daily news minder before moving to anchorage and working for a weekly newspaper and then moving to work at channel 2, our big tv station in alaska, and now where he is with the Anchorage Daily News. Through all of his reporting, a few things constantly struck him. One, were a very big state, but how few people even in alaska had ever been to a village in our state. They didnt know the challenges and the beauty of what we call rural alaska, the soul of alaska. More than 200 villages dot our state, most which are not connected by any roads or infrastructure, and he was always struck and increasingly disturbed by the challenge that i mentioned at the outset of my remarks. Hes very these very high rates of Sexual Violence that we have in alaska. Depending on how you measure it, at least three times the National Average three times the National Average. Just like so many of us in alaska, he assumed that some day the adults, the people in charge, would do something about it. Until he realized at a certain point in his life that he was an adult and he had two children, two girls with his wife rebecca palsa, another intrepid reporter in alaska. And he wanted to make alaska a better place, not only for his girls but for all other children across our state, a state that he knows and loves. So the time was right to tackle this issue, and the time was right for another reason. Throughout the state there was more there was a more open discussion about this dark issue, this black mark on alaska, the issue of Sexual Assault. Brave women had started coming forward to tell their stories. A statewide initiative that i was part of called choose respect was launched over a decade ago. Trying to address cultural changes. And then the Metoo Movement came and more and more people were beginning to share their stories of trauma and abuse and to have the courage to do it because it takes courage. Kyle not only captured many of those voices, he also began to dig into the larger issues of general generational trauma and an issue that is so important in our state, the lack of Law Enforcement in so many places, in so many small villages across alaska. He did it all the while by capturing the complexities of a multitiered Public Safety system in alaska, working with propublica, he traveled throughout the state, dove through reams of documents, talked to dozens of survivors, perpetrators, police officers, lawyers, you name it. Let me try to capture the breadth and depth and heartache of his 17part series told by just a few headlines. These are some of the headlines of his of the stories in the Anchorage Daily News. One, discussing alaskas history of Sexual Violence is one step towards seeking solutions. Another headline, lawless, one in three alaska villages have no police local police. Another headline, dozens of convicted criminals have been hired as cops in rural alaska. Sometimes they are the only applicants. Another headline, she leapt from a van on the keyline peninsula to escape her rapist and then she waited 18 years for the arrest to happen. You get the picture, mr. President. Let me summarize the opening to one of the stories. A firstperson piece headlined, quote, why were investigating Sexual Violence in alaska. And it tells alaskans why this series is delving into this very, very difficult topic. Its a story, a horrible story, of a very young girl in one of our villages, vanished from the playground, found later sexually abused, murdered, and it rips your heart out. These are the kind of stories that ive certainly heard about and tried to address in my time in Public Service in alaska. These are the stories that haunt us as alaskans. They haunted countless alaskans, of course, survivors, victims, their families, leaders, good citizens, good people. They are difficult and Shocking Stories to tell, but they need to be told. They must be told. And thats what kyle hopkins did. And thats why he earned the Pulitzer Prize. And these are the kind of stories that attorney general barr confronted when he came to alaska last may. His first trip to any state in the current after he was confirmed as our new attorney general. Before his confirmation hearing, senator murkowski and i had both invited him to come to alaska. We talked to him in detail about these challenges, and then we did something that i think mattered, and, again, it gives a sense of why this series was so important. We started sending the attorney general some of kyl hopkins stories in this 17part series. The ones that he had written at this time. So the attorney general knew before he even got there some of the challenges because of this reporting. So he came to our state. Attorney general barr actually came to our state for almost five days, a long visit, to hear from survivors, Law Enforcement, lawyers, meeting dozens of alaskans throughout the state who have worked on these issues, some without a voice, without help from the federal government, many tribal members. It was a really important trip. He was given a beautiful kusbuck as a gift. When he left, he took a piece of alaska with him in his heart. I am a convinced of that. I talked with him about alaska yesterday on the phone in this very series and this very series. He still wears the kusbuck, by the way. He says it makes him look trim. Shortly is after returning to d. C. , he began to focus with the department of justice on some of these big issues, declaring a Public Safety emergency in rural alaska and starting to free up significant resources to improve Public Safety in our states rural communities. So the funding helps, and its already being put to good use. But, mr. President , this is a story not just about money. As a matter of fact, thats not even the important issue. The important issue is culture. We desperately need a cultural change on these issues in alaska that have been going on for way too long, and thats another reason why kyls work is so important, because you cant change the culture if you dont know how broken it is. Will it work . Does he think things will change . I wouldnt presume to know, he said, when my team caught up with him on use this day, a day after the Pulitzer Prize was announced, already hard at work on another story, by the way. I hope things change, he said. Thats one of the goals of a series like this, but if nothing chaplains, at least but if nothing changes, at least people will know of the injustices in our system. And if its going to continue if were going to allow this to continue, it should be with our knowledge. Thats his quote. This is my place, kyle added, talking about alaska. It is an awesome place. And i dont want to live any other place. Things are wrong, and it shouldnt be for the next generation, for my girls or other girls. If theres something we should do about it and can do about it, we should do it. Thats his quote. And, of course, mr. President , hes right. We should do it. And many of us in alaska really really, thousands of us in alaska are committed to this cause and have been committed to this cause for a long time. And i believe kyles work is is going to help a lot in that regard. So i want to thank the Anchorage Daily News for supporting this series, to all the staff who worked on the series, to the owners, the binkleys, thanks to the bull Pulitzer Committee for recognizing the importance of this series. Thank you, kyle, for your hard work and determination. Congratulations again, on winning the Pulitzer Prize and probably even more prestigious than winning the Pulitzer Prize for the United States, congratulations on being our alaskan of the week. Requestings i yield the floor. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of all nominations on the secretarys desk for the coast guard, that the nominations be confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the Senate ForeignRelations Committee be discharged from further consideration of p. N. 1709 and the senate proceed to consideration of that nomination. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection, the clerk will report. The clerk brett giroir of texas to be United States of the executive board of the world health organization. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the senate vote on the nomination with no intervening action or debate, that if confirmed the motions 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. The question is on the nomination. All in favor say aye. All opposed, no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nomination is confirmed. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. Res. 565 submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 565, recognizing the heritage, culture, and contributions of american indiana, alaska native and native hawaiian women in the United States. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding to the measure . Without objection, the senate will proceed. Mr. Mcconnell i know of no further debate on the measure. The presiding officer is there further debate on the measure . If not, all in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The resolution is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the preamble be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the appointments at the desk appear separately in the record as if if made by the chair. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its Business Today it adjourn until 3 00 p. M. , monday, may 11. Further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour 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 and morning business be closed. Further, following leader remarks the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the montgomery nomination. Finally i ask that notwithstanding rule 22, the cloture vote on the montgomery nomination occur at 5 30 p. M. On monday. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order. The presiding officer the senate is adjourned until 3 00 on mon the senate gavelling out. They failed to override president trumps veto of a war powers resolution that would have limited u. S. Military action toward iran without congressional approval. Senators also spoke about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic today. Follow live Senate Coverage here on cspan 2. With the federal government at work in d. C. And throughout the country, use the congressional directory for Contact Information for members of congress, governors and federal agencies. Order your copy online today at cspan store. Org. Sunday night on book tv, an author talks about growing up in the idaho mountains with survivalist parents, in her book educated, a memoir. I think my mother did a decent job of homeschooling. By the time i came along, she had seven kids, there was a farm, there wasnt a lot of homeschooling go on. I never took an exam. There was never anything like a lecture. Then at 10 00 p. M. Eastern, former u. S. Surgeon general with his book together, on the impact of loneliness on health. Many experiences to talking with friends on the phone but finding myself just mindlessly scrolling through my email or through my social media feed or googling a question that came up, and i dont need to do that. Its just so accessible. It is right there. I fall into it. But it does dilute the quality of our conversation because we cannot multitask. What we do when we think were multitasking, were actually task switching between one thing and another very rapidly. This is why i think that its so important for us to ask the question now, how do we strengthen not only the quantity of time we have with people but perhaps even more importantly the quality of time. Watch book tv, this weekend on cspan 2. During todays senate session, a number of senators came to the floor to talk about the ong