Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate 20220720

Of enable them to find strength in your presence. May they claim your promise that you will never leave or forsake them and that nothing can separate them from your love. Help them seek in every undertaking to know your will. We pray in your sacred name. Amen. The presiding officer please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The presiding officer the clerk will read a communication to the senate. The clerk washington, d. C. , july 20, 2022. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable ben ray lujan, a senator from the state of new mexico, to perform the duties of the chair. Signed patrick j. Leahy, president pro tempore. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. The clerk nomination, the judiciary, Gregory Brian williams, of delaware, to be United States district judge for the district of delaware. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the republican leader. Today. Mr. Mcconnell today with our country facing an economic crisis and an open southern border, our Democrat Friends are way back in 1958, the naacp fought alabamas attorney general all the way to the Supreme Court to defend the bedrock law of associational pricesy. Heres what privacy. Heres what Justice Harlan said back then. Availability in Group Association may in many circumstances be indispensable to freedom of association particularly where a group espouses dissident beliefs. As the majority opinion put it, this was, quote, hardly a novel perception, even back in 1958. And yet for most of my career ive had to push back against democrats repeated attempts to unlearn this fundamental constitutional lesson. I repeatedly americas right to join together and to voice their opinion. Prior to mccainfeingold, almost all money and candidates ran through party committees. I warned that placing restrictions on that bill was like putting a rock on jello. It wouldnt quash political speech, it would replace it. And the Supreme Court consistently reaffirmed that point in case after case upholding free speech. Our democratic colleagues obsession with political speech created the environment they now disapprove of. Its what drove support of mccainfeingold and its what spawned this political bill in 2010. Democrats want to pass a law that puts discourse in the hands of the mob. But needless to say they havent always been very concerned with compelling disclosure using laws on the books. Existing law already requires disclosure of donations to pacts and other outside groups with the intention of influencing federal elections, but even as our colleagues have introduced successive version of the disclose act, enterprising activist liberals have taken upon themselves to shame conservatives by kowting their private outing their provides constitution legally. It was practically administrative policies during the obamabiden i. R. S. And they never seemed to publicize the donor groups they happen to share. Somehow those organizations pursuing liberal causes is sacrosanct, but anybody else is a threat to democracy. Somehow working for outside groups is practically a prerequisite for a west wing job, but anything else is a oneway ticket to picketing on harassment. 64 years ago the Supreme Court said the link between freedom of association and the free speech was beyond debate. But todays Democratic Party wants to make sure the threat to associational privacy is every bit as real as real as it was in 1958. The stakes are so clear. Even liberal groups like the aclu have joined the naacp and Senate Republicans in continue to sound the alarm. Aclu, naacp, and Senate Republicans aligned sounding the alarm. Theyve been working together to fight statelevel Public Disclosure laws all the way to the Supreme Court. Last year the court sided with those advocates to strike down predatory disclosure practices out in california. Earlier this month the ninth circuit did the same to an unconstitutionally vague disclosure law out in montana. Meanwhile the federal judiciary itself is contending with particularly outrageous threats to the radical left to the privacy and security of the judges themselves. And their families. The same liberal group stoking mob intimidation outside the homes of Supreme Court justices are the ones most eager to put out private citizens political speech records. The same democrats who refuse to condemn naked threats against Public Officials earlier this summer once geant to expand the once again want to expand the federal governments power to private citizens. Thats not a trade the American People or their constitution can afford to make. Now on another matter. Right now washington democrats are frustrated by the pace of the radical green transformation they envision for our country. Theyre having trouble to get enough senators to agree to make reliable and most abundant forms of energy more expensive for working families. Energy prices are rising faster than at any point since 1980. Gallon is 60 more expensive than it was last summer, natural gas is up 40 in the same time frame. Washington democrats have surveyed the scene and decided its the perfect time to hike taxes on American Energy. Reviving a failed tax on the 1980s on Oil Refineries on exporters and increasing it nearly 60 . New sky high gas fees for families getting gas. Its an insane proposition, but there does seem to be an exception. If youre not among the 5 of americans who say inflation caused you Financial Hardship and you happen to have a spare 80 laying around, washington democrats want to give you a Green Energy Tax credit if you buy an american vehicle made with chinese supply chains. This is what washington democrats are trying do with their oneparty control of government and they hope that President Biden will declare a National Emergency to help them do it faster. Well, unfortunately for the far left, the president is occupied with a climate he could ka conundrum on his own. President biden brought his new radical climate doing ma whole hog. He said, i guarantee were going to end fossil fuel. Sure enough his first year in office was an allout assault on American Energy just like green activists drew it up. Day one, ban on new energy exploration, canceling a safe, efficient pipeline created to set to create new american jobs. And ghoulish regulations on the war on coal. Unlike the radical base that frustrated, their ideas arent moving faster, the Biden Administration appears that their assault on American Energy actually worked too quickly. Americans are seeing gas prices gubl on this president s watch. Skyhigh diesel is driving other prices up across the country and big majority a big majority of americans dont like what the president is doing about it. But rather than return to Domestic Energy dominance, the Biden Administration has begged other countries to take over americas share of the market for Reliable Energy that the president has abandoned. Theyve chosen places like venezuela over states like pennsylvania or texas or alaska. Then on a trip to oilrich saudi arabia, President Biden announced, quote, im doing all i can to increase oil supply for the United States of america. The president who hed, quote, end fossil fuels thinks that finding more energy for American Families means flying to the middle east and asking politely instead of unleashing our own production here at home. And, for the record, u. S. Producers extract oil and gas in a far, far more environmentally friendly manner than many of their competitors overseas. So if the priority is reducing our environmental impact, outsourcing seems more than a little bit shortsighted. So, mr. President , if the Biden Administration really is serious about helping American Consumers, then theyll stop waging war on american producers. If theyre serious, theyll call off democrats plan to have American Energy into extension. For families struggling to fill the gas tank and keep the lights on, i hope they get serious sometime soon. On yet another matter, yesterday, a day of a the house overwhelmingly passed a resolution welcoming finland and swedens application to join nato, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee discharged the treaty protocols required to ratify their accession without objection. Im grateful to Ranking Member risch, chairman menendez and our colleagues on the committee for taking this swift, bipartisan action. The senate is now one step closer to fulfilling its role in a historic process that will further strengthen the most successful military alliance the world has ever seen. Bringing those strong modern countries into nato will not just strengthen the alliance, it will make america more secure. I hope the democratic leader will waste no time, none in bringing these protocols before the full senate. Ive been a strong advocate for American Global leadership and our transatlantic partnerships throughout my career. Theyve made possible the unprecedented era of peace and prosperity americans have experienced in my lifetime. Nato is at its best when allies share the burden of our collective security. When we all have skin in the game. Nato allies recognized in 2014 after prodding by american president s from both parties that they needed to invest more in capabilities to keep pace with growing threats. During the previous administration, current Member States made progress toward the 2 pledge. Finland for its part already spends 2 of gd on defense g. D. P. On defense and speeden has the same target in its sights. For years both countries have participated actively in nato exercises, theyve cultivated professional fighting forces, investing in cutting edge interoperable technologies, built robust military industrial bases. This strong strong connections to our own. I know from my own conversation with the leaders of finland and sweden that they are sober about the threats we face, committed to building their own defense capabilities and serious about their responsibilities to contribute to our collective security. Together theyve set an example that many current treaty allies would do well to follow and with finland and sweden at the table, i look forward to important deliberations about the capabilities we need as an alliance and the steps we must urgently take to defend ourselves against growing threats from russia and china and other adversaries. So, mr. President , i know from my visits with our swedish and finish friends they hope a rapid accession to nato. Theyre ready to get to work alongside us as allies. With war raging on the european continent, i share their sense of urgency, and i urge the democratic leader to call up the necessary senate votes without further delay. But that cant be the senates last word on how america and our allies face down a dangerous world. We also need to take urgent action on the National Defense authorization act. Russia is laying siege to a sovereign neighbor. China is flexing a rapidly modernizing military. And reckless pariah states like iran and north korea are doubling down on developing dangerous weapons. It is past time, past time to take americas own defense requirements more seriously. Map i suggest the absence of a quorum i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call markable can, democrat is served the state of wisconsin, a member of the Appropriations Committee as well as education and labor. Thank you for joining us. You are also a member of the progressive caucus. Whats it like to be a progressive these days in the house of representatives . Guest we are working hard to try to get things done for the American People and i think the toughest part we have these days is where one Party Working towards getting things done. We dont get a lot of support from the republicans and that makes it more difficult to do the things i think we need to do the challenges facing us coming out of covid with inflation, trying to get things, childcare done for American Families. Those are things we need assistance on and i guess we dont always see from the other side of the aisle. Host as far as an agenda is her much an opportunity for your caucus between now and the end of the year when the summer break comes . Guest right now were in the middle of appropriations season as you mentioned i so on that committee and will be doing that this week and next week and then were into august break, and september we will be back and youre almost at the election. We have done a lot of things already if you think of this session from the American Rescue plan that put money into peoples pockets, shots and the peoples arms, past the infrastructure bill, million and a half jobs. Not a lot of notice but it made sure people are guaranteed sixday delivery which is believe it or not one of the top three organic issues people called my office about is the life of the postal service. We have done a lot and we will do a lot more. We are busy doing things that protect peoples freedoms, given the roe decision we tried to codify a womans ability to make her own decisions over her body. Yesterday we did that around Marriage Equality. We will do it around contraception but it shouldnt be went to codify what is already a a law especially soe cases represented but those who are the things were doing. Host as far as the vote yesterday what was it like to see 47 republicans joined on . Guest shocking it wasnt every republican. All of said is where codify current law around marriage which includes interracial couples and samesex couples and jeff that many people who want that out of touch with perhaps their constituents and maybe reality that they vote against it. I was more shocked that the extremism in the Republican Party carried on to they could even support current law around marriage. Host as far as debate over yesterday and leading up to it theres been an trepidation looking at what Justice Alito wrote about how far the decision could go to other areas and what Justice Thomas wrote. What your level of concern of what i dont those justices wrote . Guest a lot of concern for we know for decades the conservative movement is trying to stack the Supreme Court and they said they would try to overturn roe. People didnt believe it because its been settled law for half a century because everyone was wanted to be a Supreme Court justices said they would not overturn settled law. No surprise your point and stack a Supreme Court with extremists and now they have overturn settled law for half a century. When i look at what Clarence Thomas said about marriage and contraception he said he should be reviewed. I got calls the next day, is my marriage is still going to be legal . Very much so we are concerned. Yes, we are paying more for gasoline. Theres a worldwide inflation coming out of covid or leased the worst part of covid but at the same time to want to lose your freedoms over making decisions for your body over her you love . Thats exactly what is at risk with the Supreme Court and this congress. Host as far as actual decision to make this vote what led up to it considering its likelihood are perhaps the lack of likelihood of it passing in the senate . Guest the problem is anything we pass goes to the senate and its like going to a black hole. I dont have the Webb Telescope deep enough to find some time for things go when they go to the senate. As long as they continue to abide by rules that were around at the time when people wore white wakes to work we will have some problems with any deal. In this case when you saw that 47 republicans i hope that would translate to enough senators who said im not going to stand against current marriages and law but then again this is an interesting time for the Republican Party to be normal. Host Justice Alito when he wrote about this he said in that first line or within his opinion that nothing in the opinion should be understood to cast down on precedence that do not concern abortion picky goes on from there. You dont take him at his word i take it . Guest i also took Justice Kavanaugh and other people when they got confirmed saying they wouldnt overturn settled law and i turned out that wasnt true, right . I have only been lied to by people who want to be Supreme Court justices and now i am trusting that when they say they wanted to go after roe or that ted cruz and others say they want to go after Marriage Equality even though it is settled law come with a halfMillion People involved in loving samesex marriages i am going to be watching out for everything because i dont trust that they wont go after those thinks. Host markable can our guest enjoyed ask them questions 2027488000 democrats, 2027488001 republicans and independents 2027488002. You can text as at 2027488003. A couple of questions to your position as an appropriate it. The National Defense authorization act is being debated and theres been effort by you and other members to pull back on the figure that is being touted. Can you explain whats going on . Guest its interesting, when i came to congress i thought was odd and ten years later i still think its odd we have no accountability when it comes to Pentagon Spending. Almost every other agency with audits, reviews. When it comes to the pentagon there are no audits. They dont follow audits and yet with amphibious vehicles that only sync. The most recent class of Aircraft Carrier has a design flaw and when the toilets get clogged to have to flash 400,000 with of assets down the drain in order to unclogged. We have with f35 system that has over 800 noted deficiencies in one year they fixed two of them. There is little accountability. I want to support the people who service and the troops and we have to do that but i do question when these military contractors are making an enormous profits. Theres almost no competition. In fact, in some cases they are buying the competition up and theyre the only better and with no recourse. They need a more serious financial review and i dont think theyre getting that. A number of us are very concerned and want to make sure were looking at it with more scrutiny. Host one of those amendments would cut the budget by 100 billion. The other 170 billion. Can you can you explain those . Guest the second was the increase above what was asked or so doesnt seem make sense to give in more than was requested and the other one that represents a little over 10 cut about 12 cut. What weve said is there so much waste in that Department Without this accountability that we think none of that money would go to any customer of the troops. That was part of the amendment we put forward. It is time we have the proper reviews about the fact the next ten largest spending countries on defense are equal to what we spend alone. We are very lopsided in her Pentagon Spending and width of the needs from healthcare to housing to education, and every time a put a dollar into some of those programs we are not investing in pandemics for the future. We are not investing in things like Cyber Attacks aggressively as we should. We are not investing Climate Change and all those three things are National Security threats. I think if we broaden the definition of defense to include things like covid most reasonable people would say covid was the biggest National Security threat of the last two years and his country, then we can spend money wiser but right now were not doing that. Host to what do you think this is been shared by vince going on between russia and ukraine and nato and the like . Guest thats interesting people ideas that rhetoric as one of the race wise way to keep the budget up but as you know we voted on that money separately from congress. That is separate funding outside of this funding thats in the ndaa. I supported that funny. I want to support the people of ukraine especially in these times watching what rush is doing but that is not related to the ndaa and people should be honest about that aspect. Host today the president of ukraine will address conquers, particularly probably calling for more support in ukraine. What you think about the address and Additional Support more than what were doing as far as that country is concerned . Guest we are doing the right approach. We dont want to send troops in and i think thats the right approach and not to send own troops in. However, we can provide a lot of support along with other nations because clearly rush is doing this unnecessary aggression trying to take turf back that they once had with the soviet union. We are doing the right thing in general theres been bipartisan support to do that but we will do what the first has to say today. Host mark paul can our guest. The first call from tampa, florida, will hear from beth. You are on. Go ahead. [inaudible] good morning good morning. I have a question for you, mr. Pocan. How do you feel about what our country looks like right now and how we are living in this country . How do you feel . I am almost 60 years old and ive never in my life felt as sad and depressed as i see what is going on now, the divide mr. Schumer are we in a quorum . I ask unanimous consent that the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer mr. President , before i begin, i want to Say Something about the house passed respect for marriage act, which would enshrine Marriage Equality into law, which i fully support. This legislation was so important. I was really impressed by how much bipartisan support it got in the house. It passed 267157. 47 republicans, about a quarter, a little less than a quarter of their caucus, maybe a fifth voted for the bill. The legislation is so important. I spoke to senator baldwin, who is one of the leaders of this legislation in the senate this morning, and she is talking to republicans to see where the support is. I want to bring this bill to the floor, and were working to get the necessary Senate Republican support to ensure it would pass. Now, on the chips. Last night the senate crossed a critical threshold to lower costs, increase manufacturing, strengthen supply chains and preserve american competitiveness. I want everyone to know the vote result, 6434. Thats a clear signal after a lot of hard work and a lot of compromise from both sides, the path is clear for the chips plus bill to reach final passage. This has been bipartisan work in the senate at its best. Just as we saw previously with bills ranging from gun safety to hate crimes to infrastructure to vawa and so much more. I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for voting in favor of moving forward on this critical bill. For all for the information of all, today i plan to file cloture on this legislation, which after last nights vote includes incentive for domestic microchip production, including itc. Support for our wireless communication supply chain, and the science package, which includes many of the provisions i authored in the endless frontier act in partnership with senator young two years ago and its been a struggle to get these two vital pieces of legislation moving forward and now they are. I hope we can get this legislation approved as soon as possible, because its clear it has enough support to pass this chamber. For all the many good things this bill does, the most important is that this legislation will help our country fight inflation in the long run. People are asking about inflation, as they should, this bill will help. Americas chip shortage, exacerbated by the pandemic, has sent tremors across the entire economy and caused prices for all sorts of electronic goods to go up and up and up, not only electronic goods, appliances and phones. With this bill, we can make america a chip producer once again, which will strengthen our National Security and generate another wave of American Economic activity for years to come. Thanks to last nights robust vote, we will also move forward on the science provisions that many of us have worked on very hard to pass into law. We will increase funding for the National Science foundation and invest billions to develop new tech hubs around the country in areas that havent had the benefit of new tech employment. And this will all help america lead the way in developing technologies of tomorrow. More dollars, many more dollars than ever before are going into the cuttingedge technologies, a. I. , advanced manufacturing, quantitying computing, 5g and so much more. When we invest in the science, we create new goodpaying jobs and assure america will be the leader in these new cutting issues. For the sake of lowering costs, for the sake of american jobs, and for the sake of our National Security interest, lets pass this bill as soon as we can, and that is my intention. Now on Prescription Drugs and health care. So, mr. President , another issue of inflation is the high cost of drugs. At every pharmacy counter and Doctors Office and Grocery Store and kitchen table, the issue that remains front of mind for American Families is the ccost of living. While were beginning to see relief as gas prices are falling, inflation continues to constrain families, not just in america, but around the world. And in one crucial area of life, high costs are simply unsustainable. The cost of health care and Prescription Drugs. The nexus of the high cost and the necessity of these drugs to keep us healthy and keep us living is pincher that pinches so much american in a very harmful way. This week the senate will present our case to the parliamentarian on a number of longsought reforms to our Nations Health care system that will lower costs for tens of millions of americans. Under our proposals, for the First Time Ever we will empower medicare to negotiate prices of Prescription Drugs in parts b and d, we will cap outofpocket expenses for Prescription Drugs at 2,000 a year, giving millions of americans, many of whom have Serious Health problems and need these drugs the support they desperately need so they can afford these drugs, 2,000 a year. Thats it. The day of seniors paying tens of thousands per year or foregoing medicine will soon be over and we will prevent Health Care Premiums from speaking for tens of millions of people. In addition, theres an inflation rider so that once the Company Announces the price of a new drug, they cant just double it and double it and double it year after year even after they have recouped their investment in the bill. Lowering costs of Prescription Drugs, capping outofpocket expenses, keeping premiums low, these are the Top Priorities for the American People. Ask any american on the street and its a near guarantee they will agree rising drug costs is a serious problem be so we have so we have to address the problem head on. We need to work on other issues. Our work on Climate Change is not done. We will work on President Bidens administration on Climate Change and protect our next generation. This is an existential threat to the globe and we will keep fighting. So in in the coming weeks, our caucus is going to be exceedingly busy as we finalize a reconciliation bill that will pass with the full support of our caucus. We still have a lot of work to do. Nobody says it will be simple or easy. Lowering the cost of health care and Prescription Drugs will make an enormous difference in the lives of the American People. Lets get it done, and give americans a muchneeded and longawaited break. Finally, on Tucker Carlson and fox news, last night, fox news host Tucker Carlson began his primetime show with another deranged rant on the Conspiracy Theory known as the great replacement. This racist theory, which asserts that a conspiracy exists to replace white americans with immigrants and people of color, motivated a white supremacist to gun down ten black americans at a Grocery Store in my home state of new york, in buffalo, just over two months ago. Heres what mr. Carlson said last night, among many deranged things. These are his words quote, sometime around 196 5our leaders stopped trying to make the United States a hospitable place for american citizens, their constituents, to have their own families. They just imported new people. Thats literally what happened. Can you believe someone said that on a national network, and the network does nothing with it . Does nothing about it . There is only one way to describe what mr. Carlson is doing, he is stoking racial resentment among his viewers. Its deranged. Its dangerous. Its racist. Not long ago, views like replacement theory were only found in the darkest places in disturbed minds. Now someone as prominent as carlson is spreading, night after night, to an audience that often tops three million viewers. And its not an isolated incident. According to one measure by the new york times, mr. Carlson has spewed rhetoric that echos replacement theory at least 400 times on his show since 2016. 400 times. This is not a oneoff what he just did last night. The more that maga radicals like carlson spread replacement theory, it is not out of question that racially motivated violence will further ignite the country. Fox news should be ashamed that theyre enabling these racist views and giving them an enormous platform on their network. Its dangerous and unamerican, for one of the biggest News Networks in the world to amplify conspiracy theories that are eerily similar to those cited by the buffalo shooter. I urge carlson to stop spreading replacement theory, or else risk seeing more tragedies like the one we saw in buffalo last month. I yield the floor, and i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Thune mr. President. Thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , are we in a quorum call. The presiding officer the senate is. The presiding officer i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Thune one of the most important bills we take up every year, is the National Defense authorization act, or ndaa. Legislation authorizing funding for our military wren and women men and women and defense of the country. The committee passed this less than a month ago. We have less than three weeks left in the fiscal year. This month were on a lastditch effort to pass some version of their build back better taxandspending spree in hopes, i have to assume, of eking out a few more votes in november. And apparently, the National Defense authorization act will just have to wait. Mr. President , as it does every year, this years ndaa authorizes funding for Critical Military priorities. The fiscal year 2023 ndaa continues the modernization efforts begun several years ago in the wake of the 2018 National Defense Strategy Commission report, which warned that our nations readiness had eroded to the point we might struggle to win a war against a major power, like russia or china. It authorizes funding to improve quality of life for our military members and their families. Which is not only something we owe these men and women who sacrifice so much for us, but is also essential for recruiting and retaining members of our allvolunteer force. It authorizes funding to enhance our nuclear deterrence, a key priority, with continued Nuclear Threats from traditional powers like russia and rogue states like iran and north korea. And it continues our strong support for ukraine. Mr. President , ukraine no longer dominates every fronts page, but for five months now ukraine has been fighting a heroic war against russian aggression. Thanks to support from allies in europe and our own country, ukraine is Still Holding out. In a war that many experts thought could see kiev fall within a matter of days, ukraine is approaching day 150 of resisting Vladimir Putins sovietstyle aggression. In fact, ukraine continues to strike painful blows against the Russian Military, which has now turned to iran for military support. Later today olena zelenska, wife of volodymyr zelenskyy, will be addressing congress. She and her husband have been have been a beacon for ukrainians during this brutal war. President zelenskyys iron determination, tireless leadership have inspired all those who love freedom. Ukraine is in many ways standing up for the whole free world right now. Sending the message that refreshs unprovoked aggression will not be allowed to stand. Least we and other free nations can do is ensure they have the resources needed to carry out the fight. Mr. President , russias war against ukraine reminds us that nations that value freedom and security must stand together. Finland and sweden are looking to stand with other free nations by joining the nato alliance. Vladimir putin has turned the historic positions of neutrality in sweden and finland into robust public support to join the alliance and both countries will strengthen the capabilities and geostrategic position of nato. Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations reported the treaty concerning their ascension to nato. I hope the senate and administration will approve finland in the membership. Mr. President , one priority for me in every National Defense authorization act is ensuring that the men and women of else worth air force base in south dakota have everything they need to successfully carry out their mission. Right now, my priority is ensuring that ellsworth remains a responsive and lethal component of Global Strike command, with the b1 bomber lemplegging the joint air turf leveraging the join airtosurface missile. As we look to the future, i am working to ensure that the base continues to receive full funding for the many support facilities needed for the b 21 Raider Mission at ellsworth. I work to assure full funding in last years ndaa, including a low observable coding restoration facility, a wash rack and maintenance hanger, expanded Flight Simulator facility and more. This years ndaa continues that work with additional funding for the low observable coding restoration facility, as well as for two additional construction projects, a weapons Generation Facility and a radiofrequency facility needed to ensure ellsworth can fully conduct the nuclear and stealth b21 missionings. Ive had the privilege of visiting the production site in palmdale, california. While heavily classified, the six planes under production are impressive feats of american engineering, and that were honored that south dakota will be the first state to host the mission. But its not just about the hard aware and cuttingedge system, mr. President. Our greatest asset is our people, including the pilots, the maintainers and all of the men and women who answered the call to serve. Thats why im focused on ensuring our men and women in uniform have not just the military support they need, but the support they need for their families. More military families will be moving into the ellsworth area with the arrival of the b21 mission. As many as 250 people per year, including 100 dependents. Im committed to ensuring that the infrastructure is in place to provide ample facilities for these families. To that end, i work to include in this years ndaa an extension of the authority for the secretary of defense to adjust basic allowance for housing rates if an installation is experiencing a sudden increase in the number of servicemembers assigned there. This will ensure that families at ellsworth and elsewhere have the resources needed to secure appropriate accommodations. Im also working to ensure that the Douglas School district is able to integrate and support the children and provide sufficient classroom space. This ndaa would provide 15 million in impact aid for schools experiencing forced structure changes, like the anticipated growth at ellsworth with the arrival of the mission. Im grateful to senator rounds for his assistance getting this through the Committee Markup and our states atlarge representative, congressman johnson, getting it included in the housepassed bill. This expanded program should be a good first step to help ensure Douglas School district is able to expand to meet the needs of new ellsworth families. Mr. President , the house of representatives to its credit voted on its version of the National Defense authorization act the other day, but unfortunately the house legislations total funding authorization is lower than the senate bills number. Thats a concern. Not only because we have a lot of priorities to fund, but because inflation is currently cutting into the militarys spending power. Inflation affects American Families and businesses, but it also has a serious effect on our nations security. As prices soar across the economy, the military is able to do less, with the dollars it has. And that can affect troop readiness and the militarys ability to keep up with needed programs and purchases, from weapons to vehicles to aircraft and ships. It is essential that the final house and senate bill include the senates topline funding number. Mr. President , in his 1793 annual message to congress, George Washington said, and i quote, there is a rank due to the United States among nations which will be withheld if not absolutely lost by the reputation of weakness. If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it. If we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war, end quote. In other words, mr. President , peace through strength. These words hold true in every age. The surest method of securing peace is ensuring we are prepared for war. As russias unprovoked attack on ukraine reminds us, there will be always nations who threaten peace and freedom. The surest way to prevent these powers from destroying freedom is to ensure that we present a powerful threat of our own. A credible deterrent that stops these nations and other bad actors from wanting to tangle with us. Theres no more certain way to invite war than to be unprepared to meet the bullies and the dictators of the world. The National Defense authorization act is one of the most essential pieces of legislation we take up each year because it helps ensure that our nation is equipped to defend itself and to deter aggression. Mr. President , i hope that the democrat leadership will consider deferring its taxandspending plans to take up this important National Security legislation in the near future. Mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from new hampshire. Mrs. Shaheen mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that in addition to myself, both senators grassley and carper be permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each before the scheduled vote. The presiding officer without objection. Mmrs. Shaheen thank you. I come to the floor today as the current chair of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on commerce, justice, science and related agencies, because i want to pay tribute to the clerk who has worked with me for the last six years, but who has been in Public Service here for the federal government for 27 years, including 26 years of service in the United States senate. And that is jean toll iceon, who is going to be retiring from the federal government. Jean is here with two other members of the staff of the cjs subcommittee, Blake Sheridan and michael bednarzik, and three members of our staff, aerial marshall, Janelle Deluca and chad crackmire, my chief of staff. Were here because we think its important and i especially think its important to recognize the people who make this body run. And its people like jean who have dedicated their whole careers to this institution who allow us to who mean that we can on occasion get things done that make a huge difference for the people of this country. And i know i speak for all the members of the Appropriations Committee and its staff when i say that jean will be sorely missed. Just last week as i looked at the breathtaking images captured from nasas james Webb Telescope, i thought about jean. Its next rage exaggeration to say those images exist because of her work on this subcommittee and they serve as a fitting cap stone for her distinguished career. And of course then i thought about other ways that jeans influence will endure. Ensuring millions of people will get access to broadband because of her work on the Infrastructure Investment and jobs act, and there were many late nights that she and other members of my staff and senator collins staff worked with the Commerce Department to try and ensure we could get those broadband sections done. And then also helping survivors of domestic violence, Sexual Assault and child abuse receive access to critical services. Because of jeans successful efforts to release more resources from the crime victims fund. In fact, every year ive been chair of commerce, justice, and science because of jeans efforts, we have maximized funding in the office of violence against women so that each year over year we have done better. Shes also been there to ensure that the next generation of stem innovators and leaders get record investments in the National Science foundation and nasa. And its really appropriate that were considering bipartisan chips innovation legislation on the floor this week which is jeans last in the senate because she played a central role drafting and negotiating this critical legislation that will bolster American Manufacturing and protect our National Security interests. And though jean will no longer be in the senate, her legacy is already felt everywhere and the American People are better for it. Jeans journey in the senate began as a staff assistant for senator Ernest Hollings of south carolina, her home state senator. She served on the staff of the Senate Committee on commerce, science, and transportation as Senior Adviser and deputy policy director for chairman dan inouye before serving as deputy policy director at the u. S. Department of commerce. And since 2010 she served on the cjs subcommittee from 2014 to 2017 she was the deputy staff director of the Senate Committee on appropriations for chair barbara muck i ask who i know if she were here would also be on the floor to sing jeans praises. Ive had the pleasure of having jean as my clerk since 2017 when i took over the cjs subcommittee as vice chair. And i think that words really cant capture jeans personality but i would be doing a disservice to this body if i didnt try to give a sense of why jean is one of the most effective staffers on capitol hill. And i think the first thing to know is that jean always gives you the truth whether you want to hear it or not. The second thing to know about her is that she always has a sense of humor, even when the going gets tough and all of us who have been here through tough challenges know that maintaining a sense of humor is absolutely critical. Her colleagues will remember her as incredibly knowledgeable, kind, and pragmatic. Because at heart jean is a problem solver. She understands that the u. S. Government is one of the most impressive institutions the world has ever seen. And she has dedicated her career to improving it. Jean is also the proud mom of her daughter pat who is a rising sophomore at Longwood University and is among other things a saxopsaxophonist in the schools stampede athletic pep band. Now that shes no longer doing appropriations bills, we hope shell have quality time to spend with pat, her husband pete and many family members and friends and maybe even a little more time for hockey and gardening, although if shes going to support hockey, she needs to support the bruins. Were not sure how much time we want to give her for that. But it gives me great joy to publicly thank jean for her extraordinary work for this committee, congratulations, jean. Thank you for your decades of service to our country and your commitment to the United States senate. Neither your expertise nor your good humor will soon be replaced but your work will not be forgotten any time soon. Thank you. Mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the presiding officer the senator from delaware. Mr. Carper are we in a quorum call . The presiding officer the senate is. Mr. Carper i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Carper i rise in honor of Greg Williams to serve in the District Court for the district of delaware, we believe one of the most important District Courts in our nation. What makes it an essential part of the American Economy and what makes Greg Williams an exceptional nominee to serve, in the words of the american Bar Association, they deem him well qualified for to be federal judge. I want to share some background in the process that we use in delaware, mr. President , for making recommendizations to the federal bench to the president. A few years ago my friend, my wingman, senator chris coons, had the opportunity to make recommendations to the white house for two vacancies on the same court. There was at the time a president of a Different Party and the majority here was on the other side, not on this side at that time. Our process was simple then. It was straightforward. Barred heavily from the process i used while serving as governor of delaware for eight years. Throughout the eight years when i was privileged to serve as governor, we relied on a Judicial Nominating Commission and charged them with a simple task. Basically this was it. Find the most qualified individuals regardless of Political Party, make recommendations to the governor for appointments to delawares many important state courts, including our state court and court of chancery. We used a similar process for federal District Court vacancies. This process served delaware well during the eight years and i believe that the process that senator coons and i use now serves our nation well, too, regardless of which Political Party controls the white house or the senate. It has yielded yet another extraordinary nominee. That nominee is Greg Williams, a partner at Fox Rothschild, former president of the gather state Bar Association and President Biden nominated to serve as the next judge on the u. S. District court for delaware. Greg is more than a lawyer, much more. Hes a father, a husband, a son, and a brother. In fact, he is the youngest brother in his family of five with four older sisters and i know they help to keep him on the straight and narrow much like my oldest sister did with me. Greg has been married to his High School Sweetheart trina for 27 years. Together theyve raised two children in delaware that any one of us would be proud to call our own. Villanova law graduate, he has worked for Fox Rothschild for the past 28 years. Through commitment to excellence, in 2003, gregg became the first African American attorney to have been hired as an associate and then being named as a partner at fox rothchild. Greg learned that in part as a member of the u. S. Army reserve where he served from 1986 to 1994, part of those years when i was his commander in chief, as governor of the state of delaware. After law school, greg embarked on a successful legal career that that is earn the him the respect and admiration of delawares legal community. Greg has particular expertise in intellectual property and business litigation, which make him particularly wellsuited for the delaware District Court. More than his professional qualifications, though, greg is the personification of the golden rule, which calls on us to treat one another the way we want to be treated. As a result, hes also the personification of judicial temperament in that courtroom and any courtroom for that matter. Like senator coons and me and many of our colleagues, greg is a person of deep faith. He understands personally the words golden rule and what they mean. And if confirmed, i believe hell use that rule to guide him on the bench. Mr. President , let me close by saying this. Weve all probably heard a saying thats often used in terms of relationship to and undersized boxer, someone who punches above their weight. The Delaware Court handles an array related to intellectual law and Bankruptcy Law and other Specialized Business cases that are critical to the functioning of our national economy. Like our small state, this court punches above its weight. Our nominee Greg Williams has a strong workthic that is necessary for this ethic that is necessary for this court to function as one of the most important District Courts in our land. I consider it a privilege to give him my strongest possible endorsement. I encourage my colleagues to join senator coons and me today in supporting his nomination on the senate floor. And with that, i dont see i dont know that our colleague here comes senator coons. He is a here to speak on behalf of this nominee as well s im just say this. We have judicial nominees come before us often in this body. In some cases, the folks who are from the state where that nominee hails, they know them, have at least a passing knowledge of them right now, have maybe met them. Weve known Greg Williams for almost a quarter of a century s he is not just one of the finest lawyers in our state, he is one of the finest human beings in our state. It is an honor for me to join senator coons in putting his name suggesting his name to the president. Im grateful to the president for actually submitting that name to the United States senate for our consideration. And with that, mr. President , im going to yield the floor i see now senator cassidy is here. I dont know if he also the opportunity no, hes going to wait for a while. Im going to just stop right here. Senator coons stopped just briefly. I think hell be right back on the floor and hopefully hell be able to pick up where i left off. Ill do the handoff to my colleague from delaware. Mr. President , thank you so much. Mr. Coons thank you. I ask unanimous consent for one minute of floor time to speak to the pending nomination. The presiding officer the senator from delaware. And, without objection. Mr. Coons thank you, mr. President. Id like to thank my colleague and senior senator, my friend, senator tom carper, who allows me to be his wingman here on the floor the senate and in our home state of delaware. I wanted to speak briefly to the outstanding qualifications of the nominee that will be before us in a moment, Greg Williams of delaware. As a member of the delaware bar, as a member of the judiciary committee, ive joined my senior senator, friend, and colleague in advancing this nomination, both suggesting to the white house strongly that he would be and excellent next member of the important federal bench in delaware and that he would represent our nation well and contribute to our federal judiciary, which is globally the Gold Standard for its capability, its independence, and its integrity. Greg has practiced for decades in delaware. He is one of the best respected, leading complex commercial litigators and an experienced intellectual property litigator. The Delaware Court is one of the best courts in our country because of the unique place in corporate law, because of the quality and competence of our bench. We handle and enormous number of patent cases, a significant number of corporate cases. I dont know if my colleague mentioned one of the top topofthecases about to come to delaware. The twitter case ends up in a chancery court. Our federal District Courts and bankruptcy courts handle significant litigation. Greg is someone who also as a family man, as a person of faith and outstanding leader in our community, as the past president of the Bar Association, as the past chamber of the Judicial Nominating Commission on behalf of our governor, he has served is our community. He brings his heart, his values, his intellect and his skill to his service episcopal and every day. Im honored to and his service each and every day. Im honored to bring this nominee to the floor. Thank you, mr. President. With that, i yield and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Grassley i ask that the calling of the quorum be suspend. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley im hearing a lot of news reports and if theyre correct, it sound like the Majority Party has a very partisan bill that they want to call a drug pricing bill. Im also told that this is moving along because it looks like the parliamentarian is currently reviewing that proposed legislation to see if it fits into the process of reconciliation. If the Majority Party passes this partisan bill, it will be bad policy for patients and taxpayers. But that doesnt mean we dont have answers to the problems that theyre trying to solve. But, first of all, let me say what the Senate Proposed the senateproposed legislation, what we know about it, would do. It would put taxpayers at risk for more spending. It would fail to enact any bipartisan accountability of big pharma and powerful middlemen that we call pharmacy benefit managers, or pbms, for short. Yes, a bipartisan bill limiting pharmaceutical increases is possible, and their bill has been developed in secret with no markup or open debate. Now, mr. President , this partisan bill and this process is a far cry from bipartisan drug pricing ideas that ive developed over the past few years. In the past 12 months alone, ive passed five bipartisan drug pricing bills out of committee that will lower prices and create more competition and hold big pharma and pbms accountable. In addition, i have a comprehensive bill to lower Prescription Drug prices that could pass the senate with at least 60 votes. My bill is bipartisan, its been negotiated, and its comprehensive. The bill is called the Prescription Drug pricing act. Its also known as grassleywyden. But i want to be fair to wyden. Im not sure that he would claim that he negotiated that bill, but i still like the bipartisan part of it. The senate should act today on this bipartisan bill to lower drug prices because this is what grassleywyden would do. It would lower costs for seniors by 72 billion. It would save the taxpayers 95 billion. Those are cbo figures. It establishes an outofpocket cap, eliminates the doughnut hole, and it redesigns Medicare Part d that needs some redesigning after 19 years. This legislation will hold big pharma and powerful pbms accountable. Now, too often cheaper alternatives like generics are available, but big pharma and these middlemen have an incentive to push the patient into highercost drugs. And patients pay the cost. My bill ends that incentive and is very proconsumer. A third point i want to make, it ends taxpayer subsidies to big pharma. It does it by capping annual price increases of Medicare Part b and d drugs at inflation. In other words, Drug Companies cant raise prices two or three times a year 5 to 10 . Once a year at no more than cpii the Kaiser Foundation tuesday found that half of the drugs in Medicare Part d and b increased higher than inflation over a period of time that kaiser studdie covered. Over 00 drugs during over 600 drugs during the study increased 7. 5 or more. Another point of the bill, it establishes accountability and transparency. There are 25 major provisions to my bill to reform how the pharmaceutical industry operates. Accountability in my bill includes, one, ending clawbacks that drive up costs at pharmacy counters for the patient. Second, ending spread pricing in medicaid contracts that drive up taxpayers costs. Three, requires sunshine on powerful pbm financial audits so that the public knows the true net cost of a drug. Everything with pbms is opaque. You dont know what goes on between the manufacturer and the consumer. And, four and lastly, requires sunshine on excessive drug price increases and sunshine on the launch price of a new highcost drug. Big pharma and powerful middle men benefit from the Current System that we have today, and, at the same time, patients and taxpayers suffer. My bills bipartisan reform will change all of that. Finally, the bill is bipartisan. Those democrats get tired of me talking about a bipartisan bill when theyre in the secrecy of their rooms drawing up their own bill. We have 11 republicans supported this bill in the finance Committee Markup or are cosponsors of the bill. 13 democrats supported this bill in markup. It was debated and negotiated in public, but dont take my word for it. Take it from some of my democratic colleagues. A few months ago the senior senator from delaware said this quote senator grassley did, i thought, a masterful job in drafting a bill with broad bipartisan support end of quote. And the chairman of the finance committee and senior senator from oregon and hes probably going to hate me for saying this, but im going to quote him. Big pharma was relentless in fighting what senator grassley is talking about and has been for two years, end of quote. My bill will save seniors money, save taxpayers money, hold big pharma and powerful middle men accountable, and enact necessary reform and sunshine. Plus, it has bipartisan support. So, mr. President , we can lower drug prices without having to resort to this partisan reconciliation process. The grassley Prescription Drug pricing reduction act is a solution. Its a part of a bipartisan, transparent process. Compare that to the secrecy of the democrat reconciliation process. I yield the floor. The presiding officer 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 989, Gregory Brian williams of delaware to be United States district judge for the district of delaware. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. The question is, is it the sense of the senate is that debate on the nomination of Gregory Brian williams of delaware to be United States district judge for the district of delaware shall shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote the presiding officer the yeas are 52, the nays are 43, and the motion is agreed to. Mr. Cardin mr. President. The presiding officer the presiding officer the senator from maryland. Mr. Cardin thank you, mr. President. I rise to talk about the dark anniversary on the near horizon. There have been five full months of the senseless war russias dictator, Vladimir Putin, has released on ukraine, a peaceloving democracy that has never threatened russia or any of its neighbors. It will be 150 days russias army destroying homes, hospitals, museums, and churches, displacing almost 13 Million People and unleashing chaos and havoc on the world. The blockage of the southern ports of ukraine has interrupted the vital supply of ukrainian Food Supplies to a hungry world, racking pain and havoc on countries in the middle east, africa and south asia. A Food Security crisis has been worsened by russias violent assault. As the Senate Foreign Relations Committee examined earlier today in a hearing where Samantha Power and linda thomas greenfield testified. They spoke about the u. S. Role in trying to avert this additional global tragedy resulting from russias aggression and the task ahead. Who could forget the horrors and shock in the eyes of the ukrainian children or the ukrainian women who had to be carried from a maternity war after the russians struck their hospital with a cruise missile. This is an every day reality for ukrainians, unspeakable, cruel military assaults, they demonstrate the indommible will to fight for their land and freedom. They do not give up and are an inspiration for the rest of the world. When mr. Putin started the attack, he expected to seize the capital in 3 days, now it is almost day 150 as russia has had heavy losses, while towns have been flattened and occupied, in most of the country, the russian invaders barely advanced. In towns and cities the russians occupy, they have met heavy resistance and citizens who do not want to be a part of putin evil empire, despite efforts to indoctrinate ukrainian children, russian speakers are learning ukrainian and we have positive relations with the people of ukraine and russia before the invasion has been completely destroyed. Independent analysts have described the ongoing violence as a genocide in ukraine and there is a growing body of evidence that it is sadly true. In may of 2022, studies conducted by the new Alliance Institute for human rights concluded that russia bears state responsibility for breaches of article 2 and article 3 of the genocide convention. The report pointed to a pattern of Russian Forces tarting ukrainian civilians with evidence of mass executions and torturing civilians in occupied regions. The report included evidence of deliberative attacks on shelters, evacuation routes and Sexual Violence and the forceful deportation of ukrainians to russia. On july 14, the United States and 44 other nations signed a criminal Court Declaration to investigate over 20,000 reports 20,000 reports of war crimes committed by russia and ukraine in ukraine since the beginning of the war. Make no mistake about it, Vladimir Putin has caused the suffering and pain in pursuit of his ambition to rebuild the russian empire. He has said it to himself on multiple occasions, he is hell bent on destroying the postworld war ii world order that has brought prosperity and peace to our allies in europe and to russia at this point too. Therefore its not an exaggeration to say that the ukrainians are not fighting for just their land and freedom, which as americans we should cherish and appreciate but for the core of the very other side of the aisle if destroyed will marginalize our allies and threaten the United States. With this in mind, we must remember that supporting ukraine is not charity. It is in our core National Security interest to provide ukrainians with the arms, financing and moral support to defeat russia. If ukraine falls it will lead to the segregation of the ukrainian people and destruction of the culture and language and bring a russia to the border of our nato allies that we are committed to protect with our proops with our troops and weapons. It is a moral imperative to support ukrainians in this war, but it is also a core National Security necessity for us to do this. Ukraine is fighting this war on multiple fronts, on land at sea and in the air. Security of the black sea region is a critical aspct of this war aspect of this war that has not received enough attention. As recent reporting suggests, the ability of the ukrainian vessels to navigate the black sea is necessary for global Food Security, thats where ukraine exports its agricultural products. Russia has been blocking the vessels, and exposes vulnerable to food scarcity and malnutrition and poverty and leading to unnecessary and preventible deaths. The ugliness of the putin regime has no limit. It is in this context that the u. S. Commission on security and cooperation of europe that i chair conducted a field hearing on the black sea security on july 1. I want to thank my friend senator wicker for chairing that hearing. It brought together key decisionmakers from the black sea states to how best to address russias illegal blockade of ukrainian ports. We were joined by senators shaheen and romney in supporting s. 4509, it would declare the policy of the United States to deter the threat of russia in the black sea region and defend the freedom of navigation in the black sea to prevent further Armed Conflict in europe. The bill further requires that the National Security Council Shall deliver to congress that outlines current policy options to black sea countries in the border region, it would include a breakdown of funding, including military assistance, economic assistance, including assistance for Food Security, countering russias disinformation and propaganda, energy diversification, increasing access to Global Capital markets, plan for helping the United States allies in the region to accelerate their transition from legacy Russian Military equipment and promote nato inner operate ability. I call on my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation. Tragically this war is turning into a mar marathon and it is important that we do not lose our focus in supporting our ukrainian partners. I want to urge those in this chamber and all fellow americans to stay the course and continue to support ukraine for as long as it takes. Mr. President , my final point today is that we should say the name of what russia is doing, the atrocities they are committing. Russia is committing genocide in ukraine. Russia is trying to vis rate not just not just the people, they are trying to eliminate the ukrainian language, history, and culture. That is genocide. That is why i am joining senator risch, along with senators graham, blumenthal, shaheen and portman in introducing a resolution that would condemn the Russian Federation from committing genocide against the ukrainian people, call on our allies to undertake measures to prevent further acts of russian genocide and support tribunals to hold russia political leaders and other military personnel to prevent war crimes and genocide. We must stand shoulder to shoulder with the ukrainians to lighten their load and hasten their victory. We must be prepared for the reconstruction of ukraine that will follow the conclusion of this war. And, yes, we must pursue accountability for those responsible for the genocide under way in ukraine by the Russian Federation. Mr. President , i would ask unanimous consent that the full text of the resolution be printed along with the remarks of the black law security bill. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Cardin with that, mr. President , i would suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call dont get a lot of support from republicans and that makes it more difficult to do the things that we need to do the challenges facing us coming out of covid with inflation, trying to get things like child care done for American Families. Those are all things we need assistance on and against we dont always see it from the other side. Host as far as an agenda is there much an opportunity for your is between now and the end of the year in the summer break comes . Guest right now were in the middle of appropriations season. We are doing that this weekend and next weekend and in september we will be back and almost at the election. Weve done a lot of things already. If you think of it this session for American Rescue plan, put money into peoples pockets, shot in the peoples arms, pass the infrastructure bill, have done pollster reform. Not a lot of notice but it make sure people are guaranteed sixday delivery which is believed or not one of the top three organic issues people, office about is the life of the postal service. We have done a lot and will do a lot more. Right now were busy doing things that protect peoples freedoms, given the roe decision to try to codify womens ability to make her own decisions over her body. Yesterday we did that around Marriage Equality. We will do it around contraception but it shouldnt be we have to codify whats already law especially in some cases for half a century but those of the things were doing. Host what was it like to see 47 republicans join on . Guest shocking it wasnt every republican. All it said was where codifying current law around marriage include interracial couples and samesex couples. You had that many people who are that out of touch with their constituents and may be reality that the vote against it. I was more shocked that the extremism in the Republican Party carried on that they could even support current law around marriage. Host as far as of the debate over yesterday and leading up to it theres been an trepidation looking at what Justice Alito wrote about how far the decision could go to other areas and what Justice Thomas wrote. What your level of concern on those fronts of what either of those justices wrote . Guest a lot of concern. We know for decades conservative movement is trying to stack the Supreme Court and the said it going to try to overturn roe. People didnt believe it because it is been settled law for half a century because everyone who is wanted to be a Supreme Court justices said they would not overturn settled law. No surprise your point and stack a Supreme Court with extremists and now theyve overturn settled law for half a century. When you look at what Clarence Thomas said about marriage and contraception he said he should be reviewed. I got calls the very next day is my marriage still going to be legal. Very much where concern and yes, we are paying more for gasoline. Theres a worldwide inflation coming out of covid or at least the worst part of covid bite at the same time you want to lose your freedoms or making these decisions for your body over your love . Thats exactly whats at risk with the Supreme Court and this congress. Host as far as of the decision to make this vote what led up to it considering its likelihood or perhaps the lack of likelihood of it passing in the senate . Guest the problem is anything we passed has to go through the senate and its like going into a black hole. I dont have the Webb Telescope deep enough to find where things go when they go to the senate. As long as they continue to abide by rules that were around at the time when people wore white weeks to work we will have some problems with any bill. In this case when you saw that 47 republicans i hope that would translate to another eno set a not going to stand against current marriages in law but again this is an interesting time for the Republican Party to be normal. Host one more bit. Went Justice Alito wrote about this he said in that first line or within his opinion nothing independent anything it should be understood to cast doubt on precedence that did not concern abortion. He goes on from there, you dont take him at his word i take it . Guest i also took Justice Kavanaugh and others saying they would overturn settled law and i turned out that wasnt true. I have already been like to buy some people who wanted to be Supreme Court justices and now i am trusting when he said he wanted to go after roe or that ted cruz and others say they want to go after Marriage Equality even though it is settled law, with happening people involved in loving samesex marriages im going to be watching out for everything because i dont trust they wont go after those things. Host mark pau cant i guess you want asking questions, 2027488000 for democrats. 2027488001 for republicans and independents 2027488002. You can text as at 2027488003. A couple of questions to position as an appropriator. The National Defense authorization act is being debated and theres been some effort by you and others to pull back on the figure that is being touted for can explain whats going on . Guest its interesting, when i came to congress i thought was odd and ten years later i still think it is odd we have no accountability what comes to Pentagon Spending. Every other agents with audits, regular reviews. When it comes to the pentagon there are no audits. They dont follow audits and yet we have amphibious vehicles that only sync. The most recent class of Aircraft Carrier has a design flaw and when the toilets get clogged they have to flush 400,000 worth of assets down the drain in order to unclog them. Flushing money down the drain. We havent f35 system that is not 1. 5 trillion that has dollars that has over 800 noted deficiencies. In one year they fix two of them. Theres a little accountability. I want to support the People Service who are the troops and we have to do that but i do question when his military contractors are making enormous profits theres almost no competition. In fact, in some cases they are buying competition up and theyre the only one and we have no recourse. They need a more the presiding officer were in a quorum call. Mr. Wyden i ask unanimous consent to vacate the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Wyden mr. President , our economy is as resilient as any in the world, and at the same time we know that its important to always look to modernize key economic policies, particularly as it relates to fundamental questions of research and development and also production and manufacturing in order to create highskill, highwage jobs from sea to shining sea. Now, i come from a state thats a leader in technological innovation, not just for our country but for the world. Oregonians know how important it is town vest and make sure is to invest and make sure the u. S. Stays at the forfront of technologically breakthroughs. The reality is when it comes to chips, weve got some important work to do. So i want to take a few minutes to describe why its so essential for the congress to get this legislation done now. First of all, our bill is going to bring down costs for consumers and businesses. Everybody knows there are chips in laptops, phones and cars but there are also chips in refing raters refrigerators, even vacuum cleaners as we saw at starkses recently. From the time you put your head on the pill pick your head off the pillow until you go to bed, youre interacting with chips. Thats what makes it such an economic nightmare when the pandemic hit and the supply of semiconductors got cut short. Prices for a host of important goods went into the stratosphere. Some products werent available at all. Factories in america went dark because they couldnt get component parts. Anybody who has had to buy a car in the last few years probably can tell you a horror story about the buying process. This legislation is going to go a long way to increasing the production and manufacturing of chips in this country and bringing down consumer costs and addressing the shortages by increasing the supply here in america. That leads to my second point, investing in domestic chip production is going to create a huge, huge number of goodpaying jobs. Oregonians know well that the jobs that these chip makers can become an economic fuel for a whole region of the country. We need to guarantee that investment happens here in america instead of overseas. Third, the bill is going to help shore up our National Security and our economic security. With respect to the economy, when there arent enough chips to keep our factories running and our shelves stocked, workers and the American Economic system suffers. And when the vast majority of chips are produced in just a few sites overseas, theres a big risk that the United States wont be able to get its hands on the chips needed to keep the American People safe in a conflict. Mr. President , i am a member of the Senate Select committee on intelligence. I cant get involved in classified matters that i have access to, but i want everybody in the senate to know, this is a toptier National Security issue. So producing more chips here at home means that our economy will be more resilient for the days ahead, and our country will be safer and more secure. One last comment in this short statement the Senate Passed a larger version of this bill in the last year and it included a trade package that senator crapo and i, our colleague from idaho, worked together on. It focused on cracking down on chinas worst trade abuses, including the horrendous practice of forced labor. It included proposals that went after authoritarian censorship overseas, a growing danger of freedom of speech here in america. I also sought to update the system for job training and worker support, so key to our workers having access to highskill, highwage jobs. That trade package is not included in this slimmeddown version of the chips legislation. I can promise, however, as chairman of the finance committee, we will keep working on these issues, cracking down on trade cheats, fighting for investment and jobs in america is at the top of the priority list for the finance committee. I look forward to continuing our work on those issues in the weeks and months ahead. This legislation, mr. President , is long overdue. It is a serious, fresh commitment to innovation in america. Im proud that i was able to lead the effort in the Senate Finance committee to focus on producing and manufacturing more semiconductors in america. Its hugely important for my state, which really does research and development for the entire country, but its also for all americans, every single day. Because from the time you get up in the morning until the time you go to bed at night, youre using these chips. And this is, in my view, the first step of many that we have to take to promote more innovation and the path to creating highskill wage highskill and highwage jobs in america. Lets take the first step with this important legislation. Pass this bill. I urge my colleagues to vote for it later when we get to the final vote. And, mr. President , i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Will the senator please withhold his request. Mr. Wyden i withhold. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from wyoming. Mr. Barrasso thank you it mr. President. Mr. President , i come to the floor today to talk about the economic crisis that this nation is facing and all as a result of the actions of the democrats and joe biden. Right now joe biden is on his way to massachusetts. Hes expected to announce while he is there even more restrictions on American Energy. One new england senator has lobbied him to, quote, go executive beast mode. Senator the senator might forget that we still have a constitution. The Supreme Court just ruled that the president cant do that. The constitution says Congress Writes the laws and its up to the president to enforce them. Id also remind that senator that joe biden just got back from a trip to the middle east. Thats where he went to beg the saudis to produce and to sell us more oil. Joe biden doesnt need to fly around the world to solve the Energy Crisis that he created. The solution is right here at home in america. We have some of the Largest Energy reserves in the world. We have the best energy workers. We have the highest standards. Yet joe biden wont let go of his stranglehold on American Energy. Joe biden would rather send our money and more and more money to the middle east than let us use the energy we have sitting right here in the ground in the United States. Joe biden has created the worst Energy Crisis for our country in the last 40 years 40, 40 years. Gas prices today, in my home state in wyoming and all across the country, are more than 2 higher than they were the day joe biden took office. The spot price of natural gas has tripled under joe biden, and that means even higher prices are on the way. Now, natural gas powers half of the homes in america. And the price of that natural gas has tripled under joe biden. Last year joe Bidens Energy policies cost the average American Family more than 1,000. Last year. This year its going to be a lot higher than that. Higher energy costs are driving up the cost of everything, almost everything, because energy is such a vital part of our nations economy. Higher energy costs have led to the worst inflation crisis in 40 years. The worst inflation in 40 years. Under joe biden, inflation has hit record highs. In the previous administration, inflation was nearly nonexistent. But for 15 months in a row now, prices have gone up and not just have prices gone up, theyve gone up faster and faster than wages have gone up. With every passing month, working families can afford less than they could the month before. This is joe bidens america. This is what he brought and the democrats who supported him in position and policy after each one after another. This year, the average family will pay 1 100 a week will pay 1 see a week more will pay 100 a more. 100 a week adds up very quickly. As a result, people are spending their savings because theyre not making enough to keep up. Theyre falling behind. Theyre borrowing money just to get by. The savings rate in the country has plummeted to the lowest level since the Great Recession of 2009. Credit card debts are at an alltime high because people cant afford things. Theyre putting things on their credit cards a. Personal debt is sat an alltime high. Consumer confidence, on the other hand, is at an alltime low. Thank you, joe biden and democrats. Working families are being pushed to the breaking point. Thats what we have here in america today. All told, it is a summer of strain and stress and suffering for American Families. Its all happening because of a dereliction of duty by the president of the United States and the democrats in this very body. The American People just wasp to be able to actually have just want to be able to actual lay have enough money in their walt to fill their tank with gas. Go to the Grocery Store and buy a full weeks worth of groceries and have enough left over at the end of the month to be able to pay their bills. Yet under joe biden and the democrats, who are in charge of both the house and the senate, this is becoming nearly impossible in america today. Democrats call this the cost of the liberal world order, the liberal world order. Look what its getting us. Believe it or not, that is actually what the white house has said. Thats their official policy on the cost of inflation and the cost of energy being so high. Tough, suck it it up. Liberal world order. Were here now. I dont care what it cost you or what pain and suggest we put and suffering we put onto the families of this country. Meaningwhile, as the country is going to talk about his Climate Emergency in massachusetts, baby formula is still out of stock in stores all across america. For 15 months theres been nothing but bad news coming from this administration and the democrats for the working families in this country. Last week working families got a onetwo punch of even bad news. First they found out that once again inflation is at another 40year high. They also found out its not going away anytime soon. On thursday, we found out that whats called whole sail inflation, which is the whale sale inflation which is the whole sail inflation is even worse for the inflation for consumers. These are the people who build our homes, grow our food, keep the lights on. Gough while higher costs for them even higher costs are coming for all the rest of American Families. Because if inflation is higher for producers today, inflation for consumers tomorrow will be higher than it is today. It means theres no light at the end of the tunnel. But thats not what joe biden is telling us. He is continuing to say inflation is transitory, pay no attention to the fact that you cant pay your bills, you cant buy enough food to feed your family and you cant fill your car with gasolines. Tough. Pay no attention. He said on thursday that the Inflation Numbers were out of date. Hes out of date. Joe biden is essentially saying inflation peaked before the 4th of july. Thats what he told the American People. Remember the last time joe biden said inflation peaked . That was last year. In december he said it peaked. Whats happened over the last seven months to this country and to families . It is now july. And inflation is broken new records, three more times in the last six months. Is he clueless . Does he believe what hes saying . And whos surrounding him at the white house . Joe biden was wrong in december. Hes wrong now. Hes been wrong every step of the way. And yet democrats blindly follow him right over the cliff. First he created the inflation crisis. Then he denied it existed. Oh, then he said it was transitory. I think it was a year ago yesterday he said it was transitory. Then at one point the white house even said inflation was a good thing. Not good for the families, not good for the men and women who go to work every day. Oh, then biden decided to just, oh, lets just start blaming everyone but ourselves. At every step joe biden has told the public things that were simply not true. Joe biden keeps trying to downplay the pain and the sufferings going on all across the country. In fact one year ago yesterday joe biden said inflation would be temporary. He was wrong much the democrats running washington right now are completely out of touch. I mean completely out of touch. Touch with the American People as members of this body say, yeah, joe, go to boston. Declare a Climate Emergency, declare a crisis. There are a lot of crises in america today. Climate is not one of them. There is an inflation crisis, a border crisis, a crime crisis, a crisis in the white house of competence and of credibility. But, no. Joe biden has other things on his mind. Only 1 of americans list that as a key item in their lives. Only only 3 of democrats. Everybody is focused on inflation. Joe biden is going to boston to talk about climate. We have today in this party, in this country with a Democratic Party government of the elites, by the elites, for the elites. The Democrat Party has completely forgotten about the working men and women of america. For more proof of that what are the democrats talking about . More reckless taxing, more reckless spending. When did the inflation crisis start . Right after the democrats passed their last spending bill of march of last year when they put 2 trillion on americas credit card. Partyline vote. Massive government spending. Bailed out bankrupt blue states. 2 trillion. Triggered inflation. Triggered a nightmare, a nightmare that has been robbing the American People. 100 bill every single week since then. The democrats spent the second half of last year trying to pass an even bigger, more reckless spending bill. Here they are again trying it once again. It was reckless then. It is reckless now. And the president s poll numbers continue to plummet because the American People say youre focused on the wrong thing. Youre ignoring our needs. Youre abandon ago the people. Youve abandoned them, and thats why so few people think the country shedded in the right direction is headed in the right direction. And so many people are looking for a change. Democrats dont seem to care. They know theyre about to face the voters in november and can see the handwriting on the wall, and they can hear the clock ticking. The reason why inflation is outofcontrol at 40year record highs is because of the massive spending combined with the attacks by this administration and the democrats in this body on American Energy. Thats whats causing the price of everything from gas to groceries to hit one record high after another. The democrats have spent us into recordhigh inflation. Now it seems that they want to tax us into a recession. Its the last thing the American People now need, is more spending, more taxes, more debt. What we need is more American Energy. The way to get out of this crisis is to stop the reckless spending and increase the supply of American Energy. We dont need to look halfway around the world for energy. We have it right here in this country. Its time for the president of the United States to stop begging, and its time to start exploring for the energy right here in america. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from delaware. Mr. Carper mr. President , ive had the privilege of serving with senator barrasso for any number of years. We were the coleads on the environment and Public Works Committee and actually found Common Ground on a whole lot of issues and disagreed on a number of them as well. But on a personal level, we have, i think, a very good friendship and have had it for a number of years, good collaboration on environment and public works. I disagreed with almost everything he said, almost everything he said. And im not a disagreeable person, but i always look for Common Ground, and im sorry to say i didnt hear a whole lot from him today to do that. The suggestion that somehow we shouldnt be concerned about Climate Change, the Climate Crisis has visited our planet, a couple of points i would share with all of us. The United Kingdom this was in the news yesterday, the day before, monday or tuesday of this week. The United Kingdom broke its record for the highest recorded temperature multiple times on monday, reaching 104. 4 degrees farenheit. In Great Britain, for the most part they dont have air conditioning. Record temperatures 104. 4 degrees just on monday alone. Their airport runways in Great Britain are melting. Thats right, melting because its so hot. The railways in the United States are buckling from the heat with riders warned to stay home, to stay home. Over 1,100 people died in spain and portugal just in the last week from heatrelated issues, causes. Wildfires in france have forced 30,000 people thats about as many people as we have in dover, delaware, our state capital 30,000 people to evacuate. Organizers plan to pour tens of thousands of liters of water on to the Tour De France route, a huge bicycle competition, to prevent the road from melting in the heat. More than 40 Million People in the United States are under extreme heat warnings across the great plains in california. Around 60 million americans will likely see temperatures at or above 100 degrees not this year, not this month. This week. Nearly 60 of california is dealing with excessive drought while 20 of texas is 5 worse than last week, experiences exceptional drought, the most extreme level on the drought scale. And firefighters this week are currently battling 89 thats right 89 large fires in 12 states in the United States. Thats just off the news pages of two days ago. Mr. President , amid calls to lower the price of gasoline, i rise to speak on the news this week regarding Climate Change. There is no doubt were living in unprecedented times as a nation and as a planet, after an unprecedented pandemic ground our Global Economy to a halt, americans have been struggling to return to normal. As we saw in the news earlier this year, unprecedented supply chain issues from the pandemic along with Vladimir Putins unprovoked invasion of the ukraine have caused gas prices to rise until this month, until this month. We know this in turn has fueled inflation and put economic strain on families and Small Businesses across our country. President biden has responded to this challenge with unprecedented action, rallying our Global Partners and releasing record amounts of oil from our Strategic Petroleum reserve. The result has garnered less attention from the media. Over the past 34 days, gasoline prices have declined by more than a half dollar per gallon. Ill say that again. Over the past 34 days gasoline prices have declined by more than 50 cents per gallon, the fast of the decline in over a decade. More than 20,000 gas stations across our country are now offering gas for under 4 per gallon, leading economists expecting the decline in gas prices to continue, maybe accelerate. Our nation is on track for historic prepandemic levels of production by 2023. In addition our nation is on track to surpass our historic prepandemic levels of Oil Production by 2023 next year. Still these are shortterm solutions that leave americans susceptible to higher gas prices. Why . It is the Global Market that largely determines gasoline prices. That means as long as our economy runs mostly on fossil fuels, Energy Prices will continue to be vulnerable to the forces outside our nation. We cannot drill our way out of this problem. And in the long run, the best way to ensure that American Families have access to lower prices at the pump is by reducing our dependence on foreign oil and on fossil fuels. I want to say that again. In the long run, the best way we can ensure that American Families have access to lower prices at the pump is by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Doing so just isnt critical for protecting americans from high energy costs. Its necessary for addressing the existential threat of Climate Change. Make no mistake, the Climate Crisis is here. Its here, its in europe, its in asia, its in south america, its in africa. It is all over the world. We see it in the form of unprecedented heat waves affecting and impacting millions of people across europe as i suggested, and our country too. We see Climate Change in the form of unprecedented drought driving wildfires across the western u. S. That are bigger than my state. Currently firefighters are battling 89 large fires in 12 states, and its only expected to get worse. According to the National Oceanic and atmospheric administration, the decadelong megadrought in the American West is not just existing, its intensifying and expanding east, worsening the threat of additional wildfires. And we see Climate Change in the form of rising sea levels that produce waves able to wipe out weddings in hawaii just last weekend. This event is a reallife consequence of what experts have already told us. Sea levels are rising faster than they have in more than 3,000 years and are expected to rise by an additional foot by 2050. We know this firsthand in delaware. Delaware is the first state. Delaware is a state, the lowestlying state in america is delaware. Our state is sinking. The seas around us are rising. Down in louisiana, a big state, in another part of the country, in louisiana they are expected Sea Level Rise as well. In the state of louisiana, you know what . Every 100 minutes, every 100 minutes they lose a piece of land to the sea the size of a football field in louisiana. Ill say that again. Every 100 minutes in louisiana, they lose a piece of land the size of a football field. Every 100 minutes. And we see Climate Change in the form of Sea Level Rises in, all up and down the east coast, down to florida, the gulf coast, east coast, west coast, everywhere. The extreme weather is costing us. According to an analysis of data from noaa, and the Global Reinsurance program, Severe Weather cost more than 12 billion, billion with a b, Property Damage in the United States. that is an average that is an average of about 1 the 199 per household. We continue to see the destruction that accompanies Climate Change happen on a global scale as well, threatening the Critical Infrastructure we rely on for international trade. This week they mentioned the recordbreaking temperatures ive just seen in england and europe and germany and other places. Most tragic of all, these climateinduced events are putting peoples lives at risk. Extreme heat is the leading cause of weatherrelated deaths in our country. According to noaa, the 12 most costly weather related events alone resulted in the deaths of nearly 700 people. Addressing this crisis is the challenge of our time. It is directly tied to the prices we pay at the pump and nearly every facet of our lives. Instead of l doubling down on policies that continue to fail, American Consumers and the planet, as some of our colleagues have been advocating for today, we should focus our attention on passing legislation that accelerates our transition to a Clean Energy Future and leaves no Community Behind in the process. It is our ticket to a Brighter Future and one without recordbreaking heat waves, high gas prices, and unprecedented devastation. Let me close with apologies to steven sills. Steven sills, great songwriter, singer, buffalo springfield, iconic group. Long ago he wrote a song which has these words. It starts Something Like this theres something happening here. Just what it is aint exactly clear. Thats his words, the opening line from his, the great, one of the great songs of all time. With apologies to steven stills, there is something happening here, and it is exactly clear what is causing it. Its a Climate Crisis. We have way too much carbon in the air. Were producing more, and thats the bad news. Heres the good news we can do something about it. We can do something about it. And part of it is ill just close with this 30 of our Carbon Emissions in this nation come from our cars, trucks and vans. 30 . More and more were seeing auto makers build cars, trucks and vans not to run on gas and diesel but on electric. Were beginning to install thousands of charging stations all over the country to help provide an opportunity for people to charge their batteries and also to buy hydrogen, when we switch to hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles. Those expansions and those investments will put literally hundreds of thousands of americans, probably more than that, to work across the country in every corner of the country to enable us to reduce Carbon Emissions from our mobile fleets. We have the opportunity to, instead of just burning coal and to some extent natural gas, we have the opportunity to the create energy, clean energy from advanced nuclear. Im a navy guy, 27 years in the navy. When we started we didnt do Nuclear Energy in the navy for 50 years. You have know how many people have died in the navy from exposure to radio active materials . Zero. 50, 50 years, perfect record. And were now, at the beginning of new development and new exploration and in pursuit of Nuclear Energy using Small Modular Nuclear reactors. A lot safer than the ones weve been building for years. Were in a position now to have, literally from maine down to maryland, offshore wind that creates enormous amounts of carbonfree electricity that we can use to charge our cars, trucks, and vans. Actually put a lot of people to work building those windmills and doing good things for our planet. The Climate Crisis is here. The question is what do we do about it. And there is an opportunity to meet it head on. Its not like you got to eat your broccoli. No, no, no. This is something we can do and we could actually not just do good things for our planet, but help us avert greater disaster in the days going forward. We can actually create a lot of economic opportunity, a lot of jobs, and we can do that. We can do both. We need to do that. We need to do that. With that, mr. President , i yield the floor to my friend from texas. I think ill sit here and hear what he has to say. Thank you. Thank you, mr. President. Mr. Cornyn mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from texas. Mr. Cornyn mr. President , my friend, the senator from delaware, while hes on the floor, in texas we are known for oil and Gas Production, but the truth is, and what i think we really should be known for, is for an alloftheabove Energy Policy. We produce more electricity from Wind Turbines than any other state in the country, and thats a surprise to a number of people. But one reason for an alloftheabove Energy Policy is that during the current hot spell were experiencing in texas i think weve had over 33 days of over 100degree temperatures in my hometown of austin, texas its hot. Someone would say, well, of course, its hot. Its just in texas. Whats happened, weve seen this phenomenon where the wind is not producing nearly as much electricity because its not blowing as hard as it might otherwise do. So, again, i think if we can encourage an alloftheabove Energy Policy, then different segments of the Energy Picture can fill in at different times and satisfy our overall need. I thought while my friend was speaking on that topic, i would just mention that interesting lesson that weve learned here recently in texas. Mr. President , last night, the Senate Moved Forward on the chips act as colleagues have heard me talk about this before, this was actually filed in 2020. Senator warner, the senior senator from virginia, a democrat, and i, a republican from texas, introduced this bill more than two years ago. The main concern was that our supply of microcircuits that run everything from our cell phones to our laptop to f35 joint strike fighters, we demended depended on a vulnerable supply chain from asia for those advanced semiconductors. The United States produces zero percent of the advanced semiconductors we need here in america. And anybody who has tried to buy a car lately, or even a washing machine or laptop or desktop computer, knows that the supply chains of semiconductors, and thus these products, are severely constrained because our economy has taken off postcovid19, but the supply chains cant keep up with them, and particularly the supply of these semiconductors. So, thats why this bill is so important. Over the last several days ive worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to craft a dramatically slimmeddown version of the competitiveness bill we passed here in the senate last summer. The final text of the bill was not released before the procedural vote last night, which was the point of frustration for a number of colleagues, and i can certainly understand. Here they are, asked to vote on a procedural vehicle to get on this bill, and they dont know exactly what the bill is going to look like. And that was the reason some of them decided to vote no, against the motion to proceed. I completely understand that. But our colleagues will have time to review this bill in the coming days, and i hope that support for this legislation will continue to grow. After all, its a matter of our economic and National Security. The Global Semiconductor shortage has claimed a lot of attention over the last couple of years because of the impact its had on consumers, but these arent existential threats. These are inconveniences because of these constrained supply chains. If, for example, there was another pandemic or a natural disaster, or if, heaven forbid, the peoples republic of china decided to forcibly unify with taiwan, this could potentially block access to all of the advanced semiconductors that we need in america. And this would be a dramatic negative effect. First of all, it would create almost instantaneously a recession here in america. Thousands of people would be put out of work. But what i want to focus on is the National Security consequences. When we send our troops on any mission, by air, land, sea, or cyber, we need the very best equipment and technology available. And now more than ever, this technology cannot function without semiconductors, without these chips. Just one example is look at the javelin missiles were sending over to ukraine to defeat the Russian Federation invasion. Each one of these javelin missiles that the ukrainians are using to such good effect requires more than 200 semiconductors, in just one javelin missile. So far, weve sent 5,500 of them to ukraine. But its not just these big items that need chips. Its things like the helmets that our Fighter Pilots use to fly and navigate, Communications Devices like radio sets to call in reinforcements to save american lives, smart handheld cameras that attach to our troops gear that see around corners to keep them out of harms way, and even advanced body armor uses semiconductors. If we ever needed to deploy the full force of the United States military and ramp up production to replenish our supplies, we would need an astronomical number of semiconductor chips. Thats why bringing that manufacturing capacity back on shore, back home to america is so important. This has been a big bipartisan priority, as i said, for the last couple of years, and this isnt the first time that semiconductors have been regarded as a matter of National Security. Interestingly, in the 1980s, it was a big priority item for president reagan. At that time, our country was up against the soviet unions expansive military forces. President reagan knew that maintaining our edge would be a result of smarter military systems, not just bigger ones or more of them. As two National Security and Foreign Policy experts from the university of texas put it, reagan didnt merely outspend the soviets. He sought to outinnovate them as well. He pushed to maintain our Competitive Edge in chips, thereby helping us lead in the advanced weapons and air frames that they enable. But this isnt just about what happens tomorrow or in six months from now. Were talking about safeguarding the developments that will underpin our National Security in ten, 20, or 30 years. Thats why so many people from diverse political viewpoints support this effort. As we all remember, the chips for america act received broad bipartisan support when we first voted on it. It was adopted as an amendment to the annual Defense Authorization bill by a vote of 964. 96 of the United States senate supported the bill. Since it became law a year and a half ago, weve heard from a range of voices and stakeholders that dont typically align. For example, former ustr, u. S. Trade representative, ambassador robert lighthighser who served in the trump administration, has been a vocal advocate for chips funding. At a Senate Finance Committee Meeting two years ago, he said semiconductors are a key part of our economy, as well as the future of american security. Biden officials have shared this same sentiment. The secretaries of defense and commerce recently sent a letter to congress urging swift passage of this chips funding, saying its, quote, an imperative to our National Security. Closed quote. Countless organizations, experts, businesses and Industry Groups have expressed the same point of view. Some of the most respected men and women in the National Security world wrote a letter to congress urging quick action on this funding. That group included a former secretary of defense, former cia director, and former director of national intelligence. Weve also heard from the National Governors association and the u. S. Conference of mayors, which represents state and local leaders across the country. Weve heard from groups that represent automakers, the defense industry, consumer electronics, and Telecommunications Companies as well. Last month a group of more than 120 tech ceos sent a letter to congressional leaders urging quick action on this legislation. It is rare, especially today, to have such a broad consensus from so many different perspectives on a single issue. Advocating one priority. But thats how important this legislation is. Im optimistic about where we are at the moment, after two long years of getting here, and im glad Speaker Pelosi has said the house will take up the senate bill as early as next week. The bottom line, mr. President , is theres a lot at stake here, and i hope we can deliver a major win for our National Security in the coming days. I yield the floor. Mr. Marshall mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from kansas. Mr. Marshall thank you, mr. President. Well, summers in full swing, and all across the if midwest people are preparing for lake vacations, for family barbecues, but new to this years agenda theyre also preparing for biden blackouts. The shocking new Inflation Numbers show americans are already paying 42 more for energy than this time last year, but now, due to this white house policies we may not be able to generate enough electricity to meet demand. Now, let us not forget that under Republican Leadership we had a nation completely in control of our energy security. We were the Global Leader in energy production, and we were a net exporter of oil products. However, under democrat leadership we are making plans for the lights to go out, and i hope everybody has their candles ready to go at home. But it isnt this administrations fault, of course. Just ask them. Just ask him. No, this white house states they are powerless to the whims of a Global Marketplace. Dont bother asking them to own the consequences of their actions. Did President Biden actually believe cancels the keystone xl pipeline on his first day in office would not have negative effects on the Global Energy markets . Think about it. The United States, the Largest Oil Producer in the world, stopping the transport, the importing of nearly a Million Barrels a day, over 5 of our supply. Who could have ever predicted decreasing supply could impact the cost at the pump . And who could have predicted the halting all leasing on federal lands would Impact Global supply . I even asked the interior secretary this policy made it more difficult for Oil Companies to drill, and she couldnt give me an answer. She didnt care. This administration doesnt care about the cost of gas at the pump. That is, until they get it high enough to make driving electric cars more comparable. Dont even think about implying that john kerry, bidens climate envoy, at cup 26 would cause private companies to take coalpowered plants offline and eliminate base load without a plan going forward. After all, he said in glasgow, and i quote, by 2030 in the United States we wont have coal. We will not have any coal plants. I end quotes. Well, we may not have coal, but we will have blackouts. It was joe biden on the campaign trail, his own words, im sure you all remember, he said, and i quote, kido, i want you to just take a look. I want you to look into my eyes. I guarantee you, were going to end fossil fuels. And we wonder why americans want to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into this Energy Sector to drill new oil. This president declared war on American Energy and every american is paying the price at the gas pump and this president wonders out loud why Companies Wont invest in exploration. He continues to create uncertainty. It doesnt have to be this way. Republicans have been sounding the alarm on the negative impacts on this president s spoals since President Biden took they seem stupefied. Theyve resort to outright lies. In fact, they repeat these lies over and over hoping america will eventually fall for them. They repeatedly claim they have not been interfering with American Energy production and now deceivingly spout they support the industry theyve been vilifying for years. Its clear we need more production. Why else would we have gone overseas to saudi arabia to beg for more oil . Why is the white house reaching out to dictators like venezuela instead of supporting american production in places like my home state of kansas . When i asked the secretary of energy in committee about the price of gas, she said that she drives an electric vehicle. She laughed and found it hillarious when asking about increasing Oil Production in america. This explains the pain of the American People laughing as they ride away in their fancy electric vehicles. I hope those of us forced to experience a biden blackout are able to get through it. It might prove a mild inconvenience for many, but with the seasonal heat waves across the state of kansas, across this nation, it could lead to complications. It is well past time for the president to stop the climate extremism. Stop the antiamerican policies devastating our communities and stop looking overseas to fix problems that we have the answers to right here in america. Thank you, mr. President. And i yield back. The Biden Administration adopt really seem to be listening, so i am here to make their voices heard. Let me read some letters we received from constituents, kind of like sending us heres laurie from jamestown, louisiana. Dear mr. Cassidy, is there any relief in sight for gas prices . We had affordable gas up the trump administration. Theres no reason we should have these prices now if the oil and Gas Production in the United States was in full force. Why would we ever depend on other countries for anything when weve already been Energy Independent just a short time ago . Families and our families in our country are suffering. Next letter, ga went lynn from prairie ville, dear senator cassidy, please do whatever it takes to get american oil and gas used as resources. I am a divorced, 60yearold woman on a limited income. Gas has gone up. Electricity has gone up. Groceries have gone up. Medical expenses have gone up. Insurance has gone up drastically. And my pay has not kept up at hole. Heres donna from singer, dear senator cassidy, i just wanted to voice my opinion of how it makes no sense that our government will not renew oil leases off the coast of louisiana. There is no reason to be held hostage by countries who do not care about our sovereignty. This is phillip from deruyter, please help with these high gas and food prices. I am retired and on a fixed income, and these higher gas prices and food prices are starting to hurt me and my wife. Heres gregory from new eye beeria new iberia, this is not about party affiliation. Were coming into a bad crisis. Both parties need to come together and talk about drilling. We have all the resources we need to start drilling again. And i know youre trying. I see it on the news. Please keep trying. Heres laura from vinton, i want to express my concern for us, louisiana citizens. Gas prices are rising every day. Food prices are rising every day also. Its coming down to having to choose between to get gas or get groceries. Something needs to be done. U. S. Citizens are suffering daily. Please help us americans. Heres darrell from mornings port, as your constituent, i urge you to publicly call for and vote in favor of the immediate and permanent expansion of domestic oil and Gas Production. No more Green New Deal nonsense. Energy dependence is driving higher gas and diesel prices that are causing skyrocketing gas and food prices. We cant rely on jaren or vens on iran or venezuela. We need to produce our own energy here in america and now. Lastly, karen from gretna asks why are we importing any oil . Energy independence is a vital importance to us and our National Security. Louisiana was a leader in Domestic Energy production. It is shocking to see how quickly our country has changed. Please continue to work on our behalf to force our government to reinstate the Energy Independence policies that were in effect during the trump administration. Speak loudly for us. Speak loudly for us. Speak loudly for us. What these letters make clear is that americans are hurting. That is why ive called for operation warp speed to lower the prices at the pump, to unleash American Energy, and to regain our Energy Independence. President biden needs to stop prioritizing farleft climate activists over the families sitting at the dinner table asking what they have to give up next in order to make ends meet. President biden, as one of my constituents says, needs to go where real people live. With that, i yield. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from missouri. Mr. Blunt mr. President , that whole concept of going where real people live is an important one, and when people are facing higher utility bills every month and a bigger bill every time they fill up their gas tank, it doesnt take long for them to figure out that policy decisions somewhere have changed something, and something that really dramatically affects their quality of life. Then it didnt take long to figure out that those policy decisions in washington are the decisions that have made that kind of difference. When a blackout causes the lights to go out, your refrigerator to stop working, the impact of Energy Policy becomes pretty tangible, and you understand pretty quickly that this is impacting you. Thats the prospect that a lot of americans are facing this summer. Its not theoretical, but too many places its happening and happening over and over again. In late may, the north American Electric Reliability Corporation released a report that said nearly twothirds of the United States could experience blackouts this summer as a result of lee riebility reliability challenges of the electric grid. Now, that group is a nonprofit Regulatory Authority that monitors the grid in the United States and canada and some of northern mexico. They could see this coming, and americans can now see this happening. They said that it was sobering. They said that it was an understatement really in many ways to see it any other way. The understatement that is in particular in the report said that in the west and the midwest there was a heightened risk of reliability challenges and energy shortfalls. This report on the electric grid cited several reasons for heightened risks people are facing. One of them is that there is simply too little electric generating capacity in the middle of the country where i live following the closure of older base load generators. You cant make these decisions about Energy Policy without having a replacement in mind and not expect to see bad things happen to families, to individuals, to our economy, and thats what were seeing now. Earlier this year, the Energy Information administration projected 85 of the generators closing this year would be coalfired power plants. So if you close these plants and dont have a replacement in line, look what happens. Maybe we should ask germany what happened when they shut down one of their Major Energy Sources without a replacement, and before you know it they were dependent on a source of energy and a kind of energy and a country to get that energy from that didnt work out at all. From day one, the administrations advanced policies to restrict the production of affordable and reliable American Energy. Weve gone from a net exporter of energy to an importer. In fact, even a pleading importer of energy in an unbelievably short period of time. Electric prices in that period of time have gone up nearly 20 . Gasoline prices have more than doubled. If youre at the gas pump and you fill up your tank, whatever youre paying, cut that in half. Thats what you would have paid under the policies just a couple of years ago. Now youre paying 107 more than you were paying then. The push to rapid transition to renewable energy