The presiding officer the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Eternal god, who shall abide in your tabernacle . Who shall dwell in your holy hills . Youve given us the answers. Those who walk upright and work righteousness, who speak the truth in their hearts will abide in your presence. Today, prepare the men and woman of this body to dwell with you. Lord, give them the integrity to be true to their duties, always striving to please you. Fix their hearts on you, o god, that everything they think, say, and do will be under your lordship. Send your light and truth into this chamber as you guide our senators in these challenging times. We pray in your wonderful name. Amen. The presiding officer please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our 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. , may 16, 2024. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable raphael warnock, a senator from the state of georgia, to perform the duties of the chair. Signed patty murray, 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 the consideration of h. J. Res. 109, which the clerk will report. The clerk h. J. Res. 109, providing for the congressional disapproval chapter 8. Your professional capacity suggested to the present to invoke executive privilege. He invoke executive privilege. If protection both personally. Is that a conflict of interest . The Justice Department is a fundamental part of our. People depend on us to ensure that our investigations and prosecutions are conducted according to the facts, according to the law. We have gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that the kiddies get responses to their legitimate questions. But this is not one. To the contrary, this is one that would harm our ability in the future to successfully pursue sensitive investigations. Now, there had been a series f unprecedented and, frankly, unfounded attacks on the Justice Department. This request, this effort to use as an attempt to as a method is just the most recent here and effort to threaten, to define our investigations and the way in which there are contributions to an atmosphere that puts our agents and prosecutors at risk, these are wrong. Look, dorothy i can do is continue to do the right thing. I will protect this building and its people. You kind of answer that but i was wondering, like what the combined efforts to defund jacks method under texan vitamin station Officials Say about the broader effort to discredit you and to discredit the Justice Department and also how you manage that. How are you resisting that and what can you do about that as attorney general . We have to go by following the federal prince was a prosecution as a said we follow the facts and the law. We screened out outside inappropriate influences. Thats what were doing here. We are protecting our ability to continue to do high profile and sensitive investigations. And we will continue to do that. Mr. Attorney general, it now seems small, that the two federal cases will begin trial let alone finish trial this year. What does that say about the case of the confidence in this Justice Department . Look, special counsel brought both cases last year. Here probally requested speedy trial. The matter is that enhance of the judiciary and unlikely bill to expand any further. [inaudible]. Hello, everyone. Welcome senator stabenow, and its good to see all. We got some important meetings and business to do in a minute. But i do want to kick it off with one comment. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Now, first i want to thank you for your leadership. I know it may not look it but ive seen it for a while. Or i know i dont look like a been around a lot but never before have seen a nation as much of our military. In europe you train and equip ukrainian troops against russias onslaught. In africa you are working with our partners to take care of the battlefield. The indopacific your building an alliance with australia, philippines, japan and the republic of korea. And improving relationship with india as well. Putting our nation under strong position as possibly you can. In the middle east have stepped up to defend against a range of unprecedented attacks on u. S. Forces, israel and her partners across the region. I look forward to discussing, remarkable, look for discussig all these issues this afternoon. Next, i want to thank you for your commitment. I i know last year hasnt been easy. I know as you face a crisis abroad youve also face unprecedented chaos here at home. Im sure doesnt confuse it all. It does me, sometimes. And potential shutdowns, performance stunts that impact morale and readiness, too many military families. But you keep going and you keep showing every person most hard to serve, your made up of incredible men and women. And i know i said before but i mean it. I dont think theres any comparable counterargument. With the greatest fighting force worlds ever seen. Thats a fact. And ive had since i was a young senator. We have a lot of obligations, only one overwhelming obligation, repair those who stand in harms way with all they need and take care of them and a families. We made progress on this front as well. Im proud for the first time in nearly a decade rates of Sexual Assault and harassment are within activeduty forces are down, are down because of your leadership. And finally us is that a moment ago know ive asked a lot of you but in everyone in this room i have one more request, please pass along my deepest thanks to all the servicemen and women under your control. And under your charge. I really mean it. Right now all across the world where defending our nation. They are defended everyday, risking their own safety, the safety of their fellow citizen. This afternoon on the four to discussing the whole range of things and now i would like to help continue to support your needs and what a great force. I i want to thank you again for being here, and im going to ask the press delete so we get down to business. Thank you. [inaudible question] [inaudible question] thank you, everyone. Appreciate it. Mr. Schumer mr. President. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Schumer mr. President , tomorrow, tomorrow will be 100 days since Senate Republicans blocked the strongest Border Security bill weve seen in a generation. The last two weeks i have come to the floor with my democratic colleagues calling on both sides to set partisanship aside and Work Together to fix the problems on our southern border. America is proudly a nation of immigrants. We always have been, we always will be. Most americans know our country is made stronger because of immigration, but they also know the current condition of the border of Border Security is simply not acceptable. Its a problem going back many years, going back many administrations. After decades of neglect, our Border Security needs an update. Our immigration rules need reform to provide more opportunity and fairness and humane treatment of those who seek opportunity in america, and the only way we fix the border long term is through bipartisan legislation. Let me say it again the only way we fix the border long term is through bipartisan legis legislation, like the one we had in the senate three months ago. The bipartisan border act was precisely the kind of proposal republicans and democrats have been trying to produce for years. It con taped the strongest contained the strongest Border Security conditions in a generation. It would have hired thousands of new border agents, invested in Cutting Edge Technology to stop the flow of fentanyl, and given the president new authorities to close the border. Now our bill wasnt perfect. Not every democrat supported this bill. But unlike other bills, it was designed to pass both chambers in divided government. If our bill was good enough to win the support of the actual Border Patrol agents, shouldnt it have been good enough to win the support of Senate Republicans . And speaking candidly when our bill was first released, Many Republican colleagues were surprised with how strong it was, even if only in private. Py dare say a significant percentage of the Republican Caucus would have supported it. If both chambers would have voted on our bill without outside interference, im confident it would have passed and reached the president s desk. But, as we all know, donald trump swooped in and told his maga supporters to kill the bill. In fact, he was proud to kill it. Quote, please blame it on me, unquote, he said. Those were trumps words after our bill went down. I certainly dont think elects very mart dont think its s very smart. Him to brag this. Donald trump treats this like a game. Most americans want to see the border fixed, regardless who does it. Democrats have not walked away from trying to get something done on the border. We want to work with our republican colleagues on Border Security, just as we showed we were serious when we worked with them earlier this year. But our republican colleagues must show they are ready to match their border rhetoric with real action. If republicans are going to call the border an emergency, they cant suddenly kick the can down the road and say he can say we can deal with this later and put up a partisan bill they know wont pass. Americans dont want just talk, talk, talk on the border. Americans want action. Americans want bipartisanship. Americans want to pass the Border Security bill like the one we released three months ago. I yield the floor, and note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the clerk ms. Baldwin. Quorum call mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the republican leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell twice in the last week, President Biden has suggested that inflation was 9 when he took office and claimed credit for bringing it down. The Washington Post gave him a rating of four pinocchios for that very tall tale. In reality, inflation in january of 2021 was 1. 4 . As of this month, prices have increased 20 since then. By one estimate listen to this the average u. S. Household has to spend an additional 1,074 every month to keep up the same standard of living they had when President Biden took office. The numbers dont lie and neither do the American People. They know nonsense when they hear it. A 32yearold engineer from nevada who voted for the president in 2020 told reporters hes frustrated with the way the white house frames the economy. Heres what he had to say. Its concerning to me when i keep seeing press come out of the white house where they keep saying the economy is good. Thats really weird. Because im paying more on taxes, more on groceries, more on housing, and more on fuel. So that doesnt feel good. Small Business Owners in particular have been hard hit by increased prices. They have smaller margins to absorb the increased costs for materials, labor, and other operating expense. And they risk losing customers every time they raise their prices. One Small Business owner in new york, fourthgeneration roofer, repo reported, weve increased more in the last four years than we did in ten. We dont have a choice. The owner of a small Printing Company in Washington State described painful price hikes as death by a thousand paper cuts. He went on to say people are tired of price increases. We are tired of price increases. Thats that. The American People are tired of price increases. Theyre tired of lies about it. And its safe to say theyre tired of bidenomics. On another matter, this week putin is in beijing tending to what russia and china have called a friendship without limits. But last week it was president xi who took to the road and notably his warmest welcome was in budapest, hungary. The visit from prcs leader came as more of our european nato allies are waking up not only to the harsh reality of russian aggression but also to the linked threats facing western security and prosperity to the urgent requirements of defense production and to the particular challenge the prc poses as a systemic rival. But hungary . Not so much. Victor orbins government has cultivated the prc as its top trading partner outside the e. U. Its given beijing sweeping Law Enforcement authorities to hunt dissidents on hungarian soil. It was the first european country to join beijings belt and Road Initiative which other european governments, for example, like Prime Minister maloneys in italy have wisely decided to leave. And hungary has doubled down on huawei after the previous u. S. Administration went to Great Lengths to encourage europe hungary has let the prc Communications Giant bake Chinese Technology into the countrys 5g expansion. Even as other european nations are paying vast sums to extract huawei from their communications infrastructure, hungary is now home to huaweis european Regional Logistics hub, a variable gateway to the west. And last week Prime Minister orbins government signed 19 more agreements with the prc from transportation infrastructure to potential nuclear cooperation. A joint statement described the two countries relationship as, quote, an all weather comprehensive strategic partnership. Thats between hungary and the prc. But the details of chinas growing influence in budapest that raise red flags for anyone serious about strategic competition with china. From across the atlantic, theres good reason to appreciate a government willing to question things like shortsighted Climate Change policy or swim upstream in defense of conservative values. But here in washington, were obliged to evaluate whether allies and partners share our interests. Not just our values. And whatever their pluck in dealing with e. U. Bureaucrats in brussels, hungarys leaders have cozied up to americas greatest strategic adversary. Now, its one thing that a latterday walter durantee who shields for putin on twitter might also admire the only nato member whose lead er to pay obeisance to the russian dictator. But hungarys willingness to serve as chinas door mat to europe, that part is tougher to square with the position of folks in washington for whom singular focus on china has recently become an article of faith. The democratic partys increasing willingness to abandon israel cries out in frequent and heavy doses of reality and harsh criticism. Unfortunately so does this increasingly muddled logic on the threats facing the west, russia, and china. Nato, a government that fauvens over a fawns over a russian neo soviet imperialist, a european nation that rolls out the red carpet for greater coercion and espionage from a communist regime, this isnt where america should be taking our Foreign Policy cues. How about sending a high profile diplomat and trade mission to tehran . Hungarys voluntary legitization of the worlds most active state sponsor of terrorism. I dont think conserve difference conservatives have any time for those who suck up to iran. Maybe aligning with autocrats is in hungarys interest, but lets return from budapest and discuss whats in americas interest. America has an interest in strong allies who are willing to pull more of the weight of collective defense in the face of threats from russia, iran, and china. And we could have welcomed two more such allies in our ranks much sooner, if not for orbans obstruction of sweden and finlands access to nato. Not only do these countries have a robust defense and capable militaries, they also each have companies that offer safer alternatives to chinese 5g technology. And while many of us in washington were urging the e. U. Was doing more to share the burden hungary stands at the crossroads of three powers bent on undermining our security and prosperity. And the orban government is modeling what not to do in the face of these challenges. My message to americas european allies has been the same no matter their politics or their culture. Russia, china, iran, and north korea are working together to undermine us and we need to move faster to rebuild the hard power we need to deter and defeat aggression and hold one another accountable to share the burden of collected defense. Theres plenty of work left to do on this front. Now, one final matter. Earlier this week, i discussed the growing problems of bbs, bb derangement syndrome, there is a more object knocks just objnoxious form of it. This has been ing b incubating n College Campuses and making news at harvard. This is unfortunate but at this point it shouldnt surprise anyone. Remember cambridge, massachusetts, was ground zero for the current wave of antisemitism, not to be outdone by their rival to the south princeton, harvard leaders have announced their own sort of amnesty for the hamas radicals who have intimidated students in recent months. The interim president of harvard and the dean will be meeting with the crimson red guards, quote, to hear their perspective on academic matters rela