Approaching, certainly one of the most sacred days in our nation throughout the year. And this weeks alaskan of the week, sharon long, its a day that is a particularly profound day. Sharon long is a gold star mother, lives in anchorage, and she remembers her son grant frazer every day of the year. But for her and her family and for so many people who knew grant, who served with grant, memorial day is a day when his memory is particularly honored. Mr. President , before i get into sharon longs story as well as the remarkable story of her son grant, let me talk a little bit about whats going on in alaska right now, as we and our country continue to face the challenges of this pandemic. Were doing pretty we will in our state medically, certainly. Things could of course change quickly. But the number of people infected by the virus is very slow. Businesses are starting to reopen. Life by no means is back to normal. And theres much that were going to need to do to recover from this virus an
Vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote . If not, the yeas are 65, the nays are 28. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to legislative session. The presiding officer question is on the motion. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 655. The presiding officer question is on the motion. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, department of defense, victor g. Mercado of california to be an assistant secretary. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report the cloture motion.
Was less risky than digging it up and hauling it to anotr state somewhere. Reporter but theres another issue weighing heavily as well. Money. Its estimated that removing the soil could cost more than 130 million and the developer reportedly considers that a deal breaker. It may cost so much that no developer would show up toundertake it and it would sit there the way it is for another decade. Reporter but it could be worth billions. And the city has asked for a 5 2 Million Dollar Community Benefits payment to help fund city programs and services. The Community Benefit agreement are not, you know, they are not necessarily a pay off for doing something that is less than you know less than desirable. Reporter but those opposing the deal say it feels that way. And once the property is sealed and homes are built, they say the toxic soil will sit there slowly leaching into the bay and ground water. What are we going to do then . What will we do . U how will we correct that problem . So now i
Vote vote the presiding officer any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or to change their vote . If not the yeas are 89. The nays are 1. The nomination is confirmed. Under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senates action. Mr. Sullivan mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from alaska. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , every week ive been coming down on the floor for over, gosh, almost going on two years now trying to talk about what makes my state and the great state of alaska such an amazing place to live. Gorgeous untouched mountains, glaciers, the wildlife. Ive got some live webcams in my office for people who want to see those
Welcome to al jazeera america. Im richell richelle carey. Lawmakers to bring the stalemate to an end. Well get more from Mike Viqueira at the white house. Basically we are at the shouting stage now. As a matter of fact, there were several dozen protestors on the Capitol Steps today, coupling defunding, put people back to work pass the spending bill, thats what they were shouting. The president , the speaker of the house, both engaged in a Public Relations war, trying to get the public to put pressure on the other to cave, to essentially come to the negotiating table and make a deal. The president says he will not negotiate with the threat of a shut down or with a gun to his head. The president and joe biden left the white house, stopped at a swimp shop that is giving Sandwich Shop that was giving 10 discount to furloughed workers. The problem is right now this establishment is providing a 10 discount to all federal workers who are on furlough. And that, i think, is an indication of how