Floor Statements

Mr. President, colleagues, a little over a year ago during a FOX News townhall, Sean Hannity gave Donald Trump, then- candidate for President of the United States--the chance to assure the American people that he would not abuse power or become a dictator if he won a second term.

But instead of committing to the rule of law during that townhall, he answered defiantly saying ``Except for day 1.''

Well, it has been 9 days since he was sworn into office, and as then- candidate Trump promised, we are already seeing how hell-bent he is on pushing the limits of his power. We see a President unburdened by the rule of law after the Supreme Court handed him blanket immunity and a President with a blatant disregard to the guardrails put in place by the authors of our Constitution.

Over the last week and a half, here is what we have seen him do: He has declared an end to birthright citizenship in clear violation of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution; he has illegally fired 18 inspectors general--individuals, professionals we count on to hold departments and Agencies accountable; he has issued 1,500 pardons for the January 6 insurrectionists, including many who attacked law enforcement officers in an attempt to overthrow an election; and late Monday night, almost 48 hours ago, he set off an actual constitutional crisis.

The President ordered a sweeping freeze on ``all Federal financial assistance,'' pending a review by his political appointees who have passed his loyalty tests. Yes, those are documented.

Donald Trump has attempted to implement nothing less than a one-man Presidential government shutdown. But, thankfully, the American people would not stand for it. Communities in every corner of California and every corner of the country have raised alarm bells and filed lawsuits. They have not backed down.

President Trump's administration has backed down--at least for now-- because we are not naive enough to think that he is not going to try to do it again. The vague document released by Donald Trump's budget office threatened to withhold billions of dollars from social safety net programs, for example, all to lay the groundwork to pay for his big tax cuts for large corporations and billionaires--yes, like the billionaires he surrounded himself with during his inauguration.

Working families--again, not just across California, but across the country--knew immediately what the consequences and the impacts mean in real life. Preschools closed, lifesaving cancer treatments halted, meal programs for seniors threatened--I can go on and on with specific real- world examples. But here is another dynamic I ask you to take to heart. The billionaires who sat next to him and the billionaires who set to benefit from the tax breaks he is hoping to achieve, of course, they wouldn't have felt the impact of this at all.

As we stand here right now, we are told that he has rescinded the order in order to avoid a court battle because, of course, this was already challenged and tied up in court. But we know that the fight is far from over. In fact, the

White House Press Secretary threatened that his Executive order blocking Federal funding that he issued day one in office is still in effect: ``Remains in full force'' and ``will be rigorously implemented.''

Let's be clear about what President Trump has tried. He has tried to block hundreds of billions of dollars in aid to support families recovering from catastrophic fires in California. He has attempted to block aid to law enforcement agencies that we rely on to keep our communities safe. He is trying to block aid to children and families who depend on Federal childcare and nutrition programs. That is the reality of what is going on here.

And, sadly, for the most part, my Republican colleagues have obediently fallen in line. I have to believe you are getting the same phone calls that I am--countless calls from constituents and community groups and individuals searching for answers, searching for guidance, asking for our help because the way these orders and memos are written, nobody knew which specific programs were affected or for how long. The executive Agencies that were supposed to implement the order didn't even know how they were affected. And most glaringly, the White House itself changed its story every few hours on what was supposed to be affected by the Executive order that they themselves wrote.

So the Trump administration, through either their intent or their incompetence--or maybe both--and a disregard for the law sowed chaos, confusion, and fear amongst hard-working American families.

State Agencies and local governments, not just throughout California but, again, throughout the country, were blocked from accessing Medicaid and housing assistance grant portals. In case you thought folks were exaggerating, yes, that really happened. Colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I know you know about this.

The director of a grant-funded program with the district attorney's office in Los Angeles supporting victims of violent crime was concerned about the future of their work because of the uncertainty of Federal assistance. Funding for research on cures for childhood cancer was threatened. Local commuter rail officials in Sonoma raised concerns about their ability to continue service if outstanding Federal funding is frozen--service that workers need to get to work, to do their jobs, keep our economy going. The city of Vacaville was worrying about the potential impact to their housing authority and vouchers.

There is a housing affordability concern and homeless crisis in many parts of the country. This is not helping. Head Start grantees were frozen out of their Federal payment management system. And if those kids can't go to Head Start, their parents have a tougher time getting to work.

What are you doing?

Health centers in San Francisco met to assess their ability to provide services if grant funding and Medicare reimbursements were frozen. The Oakland Fire Department raised alarm bells about having to cut staff if an outstanding FEMA grant to support pay for 35 firefighters were paused.

The impacts are real, colleagues.

Mr. President, as you know, my home State of California has been devastated by historic fires these last few weeks. Fueled by wind gusts of up to 100 miles an hour, the Southern California fires burned more than 12,000 homes and businesses and more than 40,000 acres--nearly or approximately three times the size of Manhattan. And over two dozen Californians lost their lives.

Thanks to a swift major disaster declaration that President Biden issued in his final days, Federal Agencies like FEMA and the EPA have been instrumental in not just the response to the fires but in the early stages of recovery and rebuilding efforts.

But in his typical, vindictive, and reckless fashion, President Trump didn't stop to think about the actual impacts of a decision like this. His OMB order shamefully put our disaster relief at risk. The freeze would have delayed FEMA's public assistance programs supporting debris removal, meaning--look, if you delay the debris removal, you are delaying the rebuilding efforts. It threatens funding for emergency shelters as well as the grant money that supports hiring firefighters and firefighting equipment purchases.

Do you think these fires were devastating? We have all seen the images on television. Some of you may have an appreciation for the scale of the communities impacted. Let me remind us, folks, we are in the middle of winter. Summer is just a few months away. The risk and the threat will continue to grow, and we are going to delay the hiring of firefighters and the purchasing of firefighting equipment?

After threatening to withhold Federal aid for disaster victims in California as leverage to pass other elements of an unpopular agenda, this was just another slap in the face to the thousands of Americans who lost everything and are now counting on our collective support.

Just yesterday, after Federal firefighters returned home from working 24-hour shifts to battle unprecedented fires in dangerous, life- threatening conditions and after risking their own lives to protect our communities, Federal firefighters received a message from President Trump. You would think that maybe--just maybe--it was a message, saying ``Thank you for your service. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your time away from your family to help fellow Americans in need,'' but it was not. The message Federal firefighters received after being gone for weeks--24-hour shifts, protecting lives--the message they received was a request for their resignation. That is right. President Trump offered them a buyout.

It was not just to them; he offered this to all career Federal employees who are not beholden to his loyalty tests without having the clear authority or funding to do so. We have seen this before from President Trump and his co-President, Elon Musk.

I think it is important to share with everybody tonight, especially to Federal employees who are watching: Anybody who received this offer and thinks that maybe this is an offer that is too good to be true, that maybe I should jump at it, let me assure you this offer is too good to be true because there is no Federal funding to pay people who do not show up to work.

Our Federal firefighters saw this attempted buy-off for what it was, and I want to read for you, colleagues, some of the messages--just a few of them--that I have received.

From one brave firefighter:

It's hard to put into words just how disrespectful this

feels to any civil servant but especially to someone who's

given so much--sacrificing precious time away from family,

risking everything for the greater good.

Another message reads as follows:

Today I returned home after a two-week fire assignment in

California. . . . A slew of executive orders over this last

week have put myself and a lot of others on edge. I am

worried for my livelihood and my future. A purge of federal

Wildland firefighters will have catastrophic outcomes. Our

fire seasons are only getting longer, neighborhoods continue

to expand well into wild landscapes. We cannot control when a

fire will choose to wreak havoc on a community, but we will

show up. We want to show up.

Colleagues, tomorrow, as some of the members of the Budget Committee have recognized, we have an opportunity to show these brave Federal workers that we hear them and that we are fighting for them and that we will continue to fight for them.

The Senate Budget Committee will meet to vote on the nomination of Russell Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget.

By the way, this is the very office that is the source of much of the chaos over the past 48 hours. During his previous tenure with OMB, Vought tried on numerous occasions to withhold and slow the distribution of congressionally appropriated disaster relief and foreign aid based on political motives. During his confirmation hearing last week in the Budget Committee, he continued to hedge on answers that he would not politicize government assistance. He refused at every opportunity to fully commit to following the law when it comes to the distribution of Federal funding.

To any of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have worked hard to secure funding for their constituents back home and who don't want to see the money that families in their States are counting on recklessly withheld, we must vote no on this nominee.

Here is where we stand at the moment: President Trump may have

backed down for now thanks in part to so many of my Democratic colleagues who have spoken out against these outrageous abuses of power that will hurt our constituents, but the chaos over the last 48 hours is only a sign of things to come throughout this administration that has just begun.

I would like to speak to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for just a moment.

Yes, you all won the majority in this November's election. I respect that. I am not an election denier. But for those of you who just won your campaign, who were just elected, and who just joined the Senate-- actually, I think, to everybody, whether you were elected now, 2 years ago, or 4 years ago, I will ask you this: When you ran for the Senate, for the privilege to serve in this body, did you run on a platform of cutting veterans' housing assistance? Did you reach out to voters who are now your constituents and say ``Vote for me, and I will cut school lunch programs''? Did you suggest during the courses of your campaigns that, if elected, you would cut disaster relief?

As a colleague, I ask you this: Are you more loyal to your oath of office, to your constituents, and the Constitution or are you more loyal to a wannabe dictator--Trump? Are you just going to stand down silently while he tramples all over your independent constitutional authority and then race to either Mar-a-Lago or to the White House for a picture and for him to thank you? Your silence over the last 48 hours is deafening.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Amendment Act of 2025, which would allow the Bureau of Reclamation's Lower Colorado River Multispecies Conservation Program (LCR MSCP) account to collect interest.

In 2005, the LCR MSCP was developed through a collaborative partnership with State leaders, local stakeholders, and the Federal Government with the purpose of balancing the Lower Basin Colorado River system operations and water uses with conservation of native species and their habitats.

Covering approximately 400 miles of the lower Colorado River, the LCR MSCP is a 50-year plan to create at least 8,132 acres of new habitat and restore habitat that has become degraded in order to recover 27 species, including 7 listed under the Endangered Species Act. To date, the program has already succeeded in stocking thousands of native fish and increasing numbers of breeding migratory birds within 5,000 acres of new riparian habitat.

The Federal Government and water utility customers in Arizona, California, and Nevada each contribute funding to support program implementation.

This legislation would amend the law that created the LCR MSCP to allow for its account to collect interest.

Although the program has a budget of $626 million for its 50-year term, its value is eroded over time by inflation that results in higher costs to implement projects. In the current interest rate environment, the lack of reinvestment can cost the LCR MSCP millions annually that could be used to fund future program work.

This bicameral, bipartisan bill has previously received supportive testimony from the Bureau of Reclamation and passed through the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources by voice vote last Congress.

I would like to thank Congressman Ken Calvert for introducing this bill in the House of Representatives, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Amendment Act of 2025 as quickly as possible.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the bipartisan Improving Atmospheric River Forecasts Act. This bill would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish a new program to improve prediction of these important storm systems.

This bill would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish a new program within the National Weather Service to improve atmospheric river forecasts. This includes better data acquisition, like new radar systems that can track the heart of atmospheric rivers hours before storms hit. It also includes implementing a quantitative scale for events on a scale of 1 to 5 to better inform emergency managers and the public about the severity of incoming AR events. The bill also requires the Agency to report back to Congress on the plans for the program and anticipated costs.

As Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Marty Ralph said, ``Atmospheric rivers are the hurricanes of the west coast.'' Why then are we not treating them with the same attention in forecasting? Like the National Hurricane Center in Florida, the West Coast needs a central hub for atmospheric river data acquisition, modeling, prediction, and dissemination.

This bill will take a pivotal first step in bringing atmospheric rivers to the same forecasting sophistication as hurricanes by establishing a new program

at NOAA to coordinate these efforts and create accurate, effective, and actionable predictions to minimize loss of life and property.

These steps are especially necessary under a changing climate. As temperatures increase, water bands in atmospheric rivers widen and storms increase in duration. By 2090, NOAA predicts that atmospheric river caused flood damages may increase to between $2.3 and $3.2 billion in annual impact.

I want to thank Senator Murkowski for introducing this important legislation with me in the Senate. I hope all of our colleagues will join us in supporting this bipartisan bill to improve our Nation's resilience to atmospheric river events.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Amendment Act of 2025, which would allow the Bureau of Reclamation's Lower Colorado River Multispecies Conservation Program (LCR MSCP) account to collect interest.

In 2005, the LCR MSCP was developed through a collaborative partnership with State leaders, local stakeholders, and the Federal Government with the purpose of balancing the Lower Basin Colorado River system operations and water uses with conservation of native species and their habitats.

Covering approximately 400 miles of the lower Colorado River, the LCR MSCP is a 50-year plan to create at least 8,132 acres of new habitat and restore habitat that has become degraded in order to recover 27 species, including 7 listed under the Endangered Species Act. To date, the program has already succeeded in stocking thousands of native fish and increasing numbers of breeding migratory birds within 5,000 acres of new riparian habitat.

The Federal Government and water utility customers in Arizona, California, and Nevada each contribute funding to support program implementation.

This legislation would amend the law that created the LCR MSCP to allow for its account to collect interest.

Although the program has a budget of $626 million for its 50-year term, its value is eroded over time by inflation that results in higher costs to implement projects. In the current interest rate environment, the lack of reinvestment can cost the LCR MSCP millions annually that could be used to fund future program work.

This bicameral, bipartisan bill has previously received supportive testimony from the Bureau of Reclamation and passed through the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources by voice vote last Congress.

I would like to thank Congressman Ken Calvert for introducing this bill in the House of Representatives, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Amendment Act of 2025 as quickly as possible.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the bipartisan Improving Atmospheric River Forecasts Act. This bill would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish a new program to improve prediction of these important storm systems.

This bill would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish a new program within the National Weather Service to improve atmospheric river forecasts. This includes better data acquisition, like new radar systems that can track the heart of atmospheric rivers hours before storms hit. It also includes implementing a quantitative scale for events on a scale of 1 to 5 to better inform emergency managers and the public about the severity of incoming AR events. The bill also requires the Agency to report back to Congress on the plans for the program and anticipated costs.

As Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Marty Ralph said, ``Atmospheric rivers are the hurricanes of the west coast.'' Why then are we not treating them with the same attention in forecasting? Like the National Hurricane Center in Florida, the West Coast needs a central hub for atmospheric river data acquisition, modeling, prediction, and dissemination.

This bill will take a pivotal first step in bringing atmospheric rivers to the same forecasting sophistication as hurricanes by establishing a new program

at NOAA to coordinate these efforts and create accurate, effective, and actionable predictions to minimize loss of life and property.

These steps are especially necessary under a changing climate. As temperatures increase, water bands in atmospheric rivers widen and storms increase in duration. By 2090, NOAA predicts that atmospheric river caused flood damages may increase to between $2.3 and $3.2 billion in annual impact.

I want to thank Senator Murkowski for introducing this important legislation with me in the Senate. I hope all of our colleagues will join us in supporting this bipartisan bill to improve our Nation's resilience to atmospheric river events.

Mr. President, colleagues, I rise today to address the nomination of Governor Kristi Noem to serve as the next Secretary of Homeland Security.

I think we will all agree that there are very few jobs more important to the safety and security of American lives than that of Secretary of Homeland Security.

Created in 2002 in the wake of the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the DHS Secretary and the Offices and Agencies under its purview are responsible for some critical things, including our national security, working to protect us against terrorism. DHS implements our Nation's immigration policy. DHS directs disaster responses to States and Territories across the country. And, of course, they are responsible for cyber security and election security.

It is a role that I believe requires complete and total commitment to the safety of the American people above all else--above politics, above personal ambition, and above loyalty to one man or movement--because for whomever is Secretary, American lives are literally on the line.

Unfortunately, in the months and years prior to Governor Noem's nomination, and certainly over the course of her nomination process, it has become clear to me that she is not fit for the job. Time and again, she has demonstrated her loyalty lies more with President Trump than it does with the American people, and it is my belief that, when pressed, we cannot count on a potential Secretary Noem to make decisions that are in the best interest of the people and of the values that we hold as a nation over doing the President's bidding.

So, today, I want to take a few minutes to explain my thinking--both to the nominee and to the Nation--about why I believe she is unfit to lead a Department of this importance.

To begin with, leading DHS is so much more than about providing fodder for FOX News. In recent weeks, the people in my home State of California have seen just how vital this Department and its Agencies can be. As of today, multiple wildfires across Southern California have burnt over 55,000 acres. They have destroyed more than 16,000 structures, and they have taken the lives of at least 28 Californians.

Even as firefighters continue to fight massive blazes like the Palisades and the Eaton fires that have raged for weeks, red flag conditions persist, and new fires continue to ignite. Northwest of Los Angeles, for example, the Hughes fire grew to more than 10,000 acres in just 2 days.

But while the fight still rages on, we know that, in the months and years to come, Los Angeles will rebuild. But we are going to need the rest of the country to support Los Angeles in its recovery, just as Los Angeles has always been there for the rest of the country.

This is now Los Angeles's time of need, and we are going to need all of you. We are going to need Federal disaster aid, and it will require a nonpartisan effort from FEMA.

Whether it is wildfires in Los Angeles; hurricanes in Florida, Louisiana, the Carolinas; or ice storms in Texas, Mother Nature does not distinguish between red States and blue States, and neither should our disaster response efforts. Yet, even as we speak, President Trump is floating reckless ideas like eliminating FEMA, suggesting that States take care of their own problems.

President Trump wants to impose conditions on aid to California while thousands of families have lost their homes and businesses. In a situation like this, when lives are on the line, we need a DHS Secretary who will do right for all Americans. We need a DHS Secretary who will speak truth to power. But based on her testimony before this

body, I don't believe Governor Noem is capable or willing to do that.

So, yes, Southern California has a long road back to rebuilding our communities, and, as I said, we are going to need all hands on deck, which brings me to my next point.

Immigrants in Los Angeles will, no doubt, be critical in the rebuilding of our communities. Over 40 percent of construction workers in California are immigrants. But more than that, our national economy relies on immigrants too.

Let me remind folks that during President Trump's first term, his administration--the Trump administration--designated workers in the healthcare, food and agriculture, education, public works, and other sectors as essential workers during the pandemic. And those sectors include millions of immigrants, both documented and undocumented. That is right, colleagues. Undocumented immigrants are and have been, for a long time, a critical part of our healthcare workforce, of our hospital industry, of our tourism sector, of our transportation systems. And they make up around 42 percent of our agricultural workforce. Think about that the next time you are in the produce section of your grocery store.

If tomorrow President Trump could snap his fingers and deport all undocumented immigrants from this country, as he has threatened to do, our annual GDP would drop by 6.8 percent.

So let's be clear. Do the math. Mass deportations would lead to mass inflation. Businesses would shutter. Crops would rot in the fields. Prices would rise for all Americans.

Even in the face of political headwinds, we need a DHS Secretary who will tell the truth--and not just to the President but to the American people--tell the truth about how the vast majority of undocumented immigrants are not violent criminals but they are critical to our economy.

Instead, during her confirmation hearing, Governor Noem repeatedly made false claims about undocumented immigrants. Under oath, she repeated lies that misrepresent noncitizens as security threats. She even denied the well-documented existence of family separations that occurred during the first Trump administration.

We can agree or disagree on policy, but don't lie about the facts. Because if a nominee can so easily lie about a verifiable fact just to curry favor with President Trump, how can we trust him or her to tell the truth to the American people during a crisis?

And between a potential Secretary Noem, a Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, and the Border Czar Tom Homan all competing for President Trump's attention with hard-line immigration enforcements, the Department of Homeland Security will suffer.

Other Agencies and responsibilities within the Department will falter. Roles like critical investigations into theft or into child exploitation would take a back seat to their political priorities, areas like cyber security and election security--agencies like CISA, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which is a critical resource in an age of misinformation and disinformation and attacks on our elections. And I speak from experience. You may recall that I served as California Secretary of State, the chief elections officer for California, prior to me coming to the Senate.

But rather than rise to the occasion, to meet the real threats that we are confronting, Governor Noem has stated that she wants to downsize CISA and cut back on our election security efforts, and I don't take those threats lightly.

So from national security to immigration to disaster response to election security, we face serious challenges, colleagues. Not one of those challenges will be solved by prioritizing loyalty to one man over loyalty to our country and to our Constitution.

So given her clear, unwavering allegiance to one man over country, for her willingness to push falsehoods over facts, I will oppose her confirmation and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Camille Calimlim Touton as she concludes her distinguished public service as the 24th Commissioner of the United States Bureau of Reclamation.

Born in Quezon City, Philippines, as the daughter of a U.S. Air Force airman, Camille Calimlim Touton and her family eventually settled down in Nevada. There, she would go on to earn her bachelor of arts and her bachelor of science from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, before moving east to earn her master's in public policy from George Mason University.

Throughout her public service career, whether learning from my friend and colleague Congresswoman Grace Napolitano on the House Natural Resources Committee, working on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, or at the Bureau of Reclamation, Commissioner Touton has served the American people with great distinction.

Since she was sworn in as Commissioner on December 15, 2021, Commissioner Touton has improved the Bureau of Reclamation's reputation across the West and around the world by effectively leading the Bureau's 6,000 employees during an unprecedented time of drought and aridification. By rolling up her sleeves and working with partners to address some of the most challenging issues of the American West, Commissioner Touton leaves behind a proud legacy of service to the American people.

At the helm of Reclamation during the implementation of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, Commissioner Touton worked to drastically increase water conservation and infrastructure improvements and help make communities more resilient to climate change impacts. Under her leadership, Reclamation made use of these generational investments to provide more than $1.4 billion to improve drinking water for rural and disadvantaged Americans who have waited decades for access to clean, affordable water and worked to improve the lives of countless families in the American West.

In 2022, when prolonged drought led to historically low water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead, Commissioner Touton pressed the States and Tribes who rely on the Colorado River to find a compromise that would protect water supply throughout the basin. Her leadership was instrumental in achieving a historic, consensus-based proposal to conserve more than 3 million acre-feet of water and protect the system. To this day, 7 States and 30 Tribes have continued to engage on a longer-term agreement that will serve the 40 million people who call the Colorado River Basin home.

Commissioner Touton delivered outside of the Colorado River Basin as well, including with a South-of-Delta drought plan in 2024 that is benefiting water users, addressing their drinking water needs, protecting Wildlife Refuges, and improving the future resilience of the San Joaquin Valley.

An invaluable resource to Members of Congress, a trusted partner to water agencies and stakeholders in the West, a dedicated public servant to constituents, and a beloved boss, Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton has made a tremendous difference for the present and future quality of life for millions of Americans.

Today, I want to thank not only Commissioner Touton for her service, but also wish her and her husband Matt and their three daughters Lexi, Ella, and Sophie success and happiness in the future as they move back west--and back home--to Nevada.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, as you and everybody here knows, a little bit over a week ago, fires broke out in Los Angeles County. And some of you have reached out in the time since to offer your support, to offer your assistance, and even offer condolences for those who have perished in this significant disaster. And I want to thank you for your initial outreach.

My colleague Senator Schiff and I have come to the floor today to provide you all a little bit of an update and to lay a foundation on some of the key issues that we are going to need to work together on as we move forward.

And let me begin by just taking a step back for a second and acknowledging that, even before the winds increased last week, we knew that the risk of a potential large fire was high. In the midst of a historically dry season in Southern California, forecasters predicted hurricane-force winds, along with little to no humidity--essentially, a dry hurricane condition, if you can imagine that. Californians know that when there is a red flag warning, conditions are ripe for large- scale fires. But what came next, what actually materialized, would become the worst natural disaster in the history of Los Angeles: 100- mile-per-hour winds carrying burning embers from home to home, multiple simultaneous fires burning more than 12,000 structures and more than 40,000 acres.

And to give you a sense of the area I am talking about, I am talking about nearly three times the size of Manhattan. At least two dozen people have lost their lives, with more expected as search and rescue crews continue to comb through the devastation.

And over the course of the last week, I have had the opportunity to visit command posts and meet with firefighters, had the opportunity to distribute meals to many of the victims and to see, to tour, to visit the destruction firsthand. Yes, there are survivors, people impacted from communities like the Pacific Palisades--some with names and faces that you will recognize from television and the entertainment industry. But I assure you there are also a lot of other faces and families that you won't recognize from the working-class and diverse communities throughout Los Angeles County.

It is people like a woman in Altadena who was 9 months pregnant when the Eaton fire burned down not just her home but the new nursery that she had prepared. And it is the 66-year-old man who stayed to try to protect the home that had been in his family for five decades but who was found dead with a garden hose in his hand. You can imagine his last moments. It is one of the reasons why I have been saying over and over that every house you see is really a home, and every home represents a family--a family who now mourns maybe the loss of a relative, maybe the loss of their home, or loss of irreplaceable items like family photo albums or a wedding dress or baby pictures or a loved one's red, white, and blue military burial flag.

But through the destruction, we have also seen some signs of hope, like the firefighter in the Pacific Palisades who offered to go back and save two dogs trapped while the neighborhood was still burning or a 14-year-old Avery who saw the devastation that hit her community and created a charity, Altadena Girls, to provide beauty products and clothes to her friends so that they could feel like themselves again while coping with this disaster.

Every day we hear stories like this, even in the midst of a disaster, people coming to each other's aid.

But even as I stand here today--as we stand here today--the fires are still burning, and the fight continues. Our hearts go out to all the impacted families, and they also go out to the heroic firefighters and other first responders working tirelessly through multiday shifts to put out these fires--not only the brave State and local firefighters, but I want to acknowledge the Federal firefighters too. To the State and local officials working day and night to protect our State and our communities, thank you. And I also want to acknowledge Governor Newsom for his steady hand during this time.

And we are so grateful to our neighboring States who continue to send resources. And, no, not just States that are considered blue States like Oregon and Washington, but States that many people refer to as red States like South Dakota and Wyoming and Montana and Florida, who continue to send resources with no strings attached, no conditions. This is what we do for each other. There is a reason it is called mutual aid.

And I also want to thank every one of my colleagues who, in 2023, helped me

to secure seven C-130 air tankers for California. They were surplus military aircraft that California received and paid to retrofit, the first of which is already on the scene fighting these fires as we speak.

But soon there will come a time when we need to more than just support our response to these disasters; we will need support for our recovery. And we expect Congress to support California just as Congress has been there for States across the country in their times of crisis, with no conditions and no strings attached. Because a recovery isn't just a California fight. We are truly in this together as Americans. Whether it is wildfires across the Western United States or tornados in the Midwest, ice storms in Texas, or hurricanes in the Southeast, Mother Nature does not distinguish between red States and blue States and neither should our disaster response efforts or our recovery efforts. That is why, when tragedy struck just a few months ago from hurricanes Milton and Helene, Democrats didn't demand aid be attached to some Democratic wish list of priorities. Not for a second did we think of attaching strings.

So when I hear about political jabs and insults on social media while my home State is burning, it is not distracting. It is certainly not entertaining. It is offensive, and it is dangerous. Because let's be clear, in times of crisis, California has always been there for the rest of our country. And now we expect our country to be here for California.

If Speaker Johnson or any Member of Congress, for that matter, is worried about the Federal debt, let me assure you: California has already paid the bill. California, as you may know, is the largest economy of any State in the nation. We are the single largest contributor of tax revenue to the Federal Treasury by far. In 2022 alone, California paid $83 billion more to the Federal Government than it received.

So from additional disaster assistance funding to a serious conversation about disaster insurance that I am eager to continue, we are going to need everyone onboard.

And to my Republican colleagues who may be wondering whether the policy should change about no strings attached, let me remind you that this is also a fundamental matter of decency as Americans. It is the same decency that my colleague Senator Scott from Florida and my colleague Senator Tillis from North Carolina have shown in their public comments this last week or that several of my California House Republican colleagues have shown by supporting our State's major disaster declaration request. They know, as we should all remember, that this is about our unity as a nation. So, yes, California will need you for the long haul.

And to President-elect Trump, I, too, invite you to tour Altadena and the Pacific Palisades, which, by the way, is about 30 miles from your golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes. Come meet the first responders. Come meet the families that have been affected by these fires.

And, finally, I want to speak to the people of California because it is, indeed, a long road ahead. And there will be more challenges to overcome as we continue the search and rescue phase of this, as we go into the environmental remediation and debris removal, and eventually the rebuilding of homes and businesses. It is a long road, and there will be challenges to overcome indeed.

But I promise you this: There will be a day when the fires are put out, when the homes and entire communities are rebuilt better and more resilient than they have been before and the Sun will shine and the kids will smile.

Together--together--we are going to get through this.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 5509 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; that the bill be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 936, submitted earlier today.

I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Madam President, as we conclude the final week of the 118th Congress, and we bring to a close the historic--truly historic-- Biden-Harris administration, we look back on the biggest accomplishments of this body.

Now, serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee alongside my partners over the years, Senators Dianne Feinstein, Senator Laphonza Butler, and as of last week, Senator Adam Schiff, I am particularly proud to have played a role in the confirmation of a nearly record number of President Biden's Federal judicial nominees.

Today, I want to ask for your support on the final two nominees that are awaiting confirmation by this body.

So first let me introduce to you Judge Serena Murillo, President Biden's nominee to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the proud daughter of a waitress and a Mexican- American farmworker who went back to school to become a teacher.

Judge Murillo was born in Pomona, CA. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of California-San Diego and earned her law degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. And after a year in private practice, Judge Murillo joined the District Attorney's Office in Los Angeles where she served as a prosecutor for the next 7 years.

In the District Attorney's Office, she served as both a trial and appellate attorney, and throughout her time there, she tried 68 cases to verdict. Now, since 2015, Judge Murillo has served as a judge on the Los Angeles Superior Court and was even appointed justice pro tem on the California Court of Appeals, Second Appellate District, from 2018 to 2019.

Her deep experience across the whole spectrum of criminal and civil law, and her reputation for thoughtfulness, fairmindedness, courtesy, and hard work on the bench will make her a tremendous district judge if she earns this body's support. On her behalf and on behalf of the people of California, I ask for your ``aye'' vote for this nomination.

Nomination of Benjamin J. Cheeks

Madam President, now this week, we will also consider the nomination of Judge Benjamin Cheeks to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Judge Cheeks was born in Albany, GA, and raised by a single mother who worked multiple jobs to provide for him and his siblings.

Recognizing that education was the key to a better future, he worked hard and earned a full scholarship to attend the University of Miami, and he went on to earn his law degree from American University, Washington College of Law.

After law school, Judge Cheeks served as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan for 7 years. And then the light went off, and he made his way to California where he served as assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California.

Three years later, he started his own criminal defense practice serving on a panel to represent defendants who could not afford private attorneys. And earlier this year, Judge Cheeks was unanimously selected by members of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District to serve as a magistrate judge. That says a lot. And it says a lot about the qualifications, the values, the approach, and the great service he will provide as a district judge with your support.

So two more-than-qualified, more-than-ready-to-serve nominees awaiting our confirmation. I ask you, colleagues, for your support.

Tribute to Tony Cardenas

Madam President and colleagues, I rise today to congratulate and to thank Congressman Tony Cardenas as he prepares to retire after 12 distinguished years of service in the U.S.

House of Representatives and 28 years in public service overall.

Since his time in the House, he has been a tremendous, aggressive, effective, and passionate member of the California delegation in particular, and one of the true stars of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

He is my fellow ``tiger'' from San Fernando High School. He was my first boss in politics, and, more recently--to the thrill of our wives--my roommate here in Washington. For many decades now, Tony has been a cherished friend and truly a brother in politics and in life.

Tony Cardenas is a champion for the San Fernando Valley and has been for nearly three decades, and Tony's story and legacy deserves to be celebrated and remembered. And that is why I choose to make these remarks today, so that they are a permanent record; yes, even here in the U.S. Senate.

Now, he was raised just a few blocks from where I grew up in the proud working-class community of Pacoima. Antonio ``Tony'' Cardenas was born on March 31, 1963, the youngest of 11 children born to Andres and Maria Cardenas.

And, yes, Tony is just a few years ahead of me, but our stories followed similar paths. Tony's parents and my father are from the same State of Jalisco in Mexico, and they immigrated to the United States in search of a better life--in pursuit of the American dream, Colleagues, that you know I fight so hard to defend.

We both attended Telfair Elementary School and went on to attend San Fernando high school. And when it came time to attend college, despite discouragement from some of our teachers, we both went on to college and earned engineering degrees.

Yet it is in part because of Tony and his passion and commitment to community that I left what could have been a very promising and fruitful career in engineering to pursue public service. When Tony first set out to make a difference and run for the State Assembly in 1996, he actually took a chance on me asking me to be his campaign manager. When he asked, I couldn't help but be honest. I looked at him, and I said: Tony, I don't know the first thing about running campaigns. I think he was equally honest because he looked right back at me and said: Well, I don't know the first thing about running for office. But you know me; I know you. We are smart. We are committed. We are hard- working. We will figure this out together. And I think we kind of did.

I was pretty young at the time, like, literally, fresh out of college. But he took a leap of faith on me, and I took a leap of faith on him. Like many, many young people--right?--you are cynical about politicians and about government. But I knew who Tony was as a person. I knew his values. I knew his work ethic. I knew his moral compass, aside from having so much in common growing up. And I knew just how committed he was to our community and to making change.

See, Tony had previously left engineering and entered real estate. He had his own very successful real estate company. He could have moved on to live anywhere else and been tremendously successful in the private sector, but he chose to leave that and enter public service to improve the quality of life of the folks that we grew up with.

And from his very first election to the State Assembly--and he was an underdog candidate, trust me, but he was successful--to the times when he and I worked together on the Los Angeles City Council to the last few years when we served together here in the Halls of Congress, I have been blessed not just because of his mentorship, not just because of his friendship, but to just have a front row seat to his public service career.

I have seen him, and I have been inspired by him and his fights for justice and opportunities for at-risk youth; him leading the charge in our Nation's clean energy transition--again, something that started years ago in prior offices but has continued here at the national level through his work in Congress; and his advocacy for better access to mental health care. He has done so much in a number of policy areas.

But what I admire most is sort of the through line in his narrative and in his career that he has never shied away from a righteous fight. The most righteous fights, as you know, are often the most hard battles to fight. Tony never shied away from that, and he won a heck of a lot more often than he didn't because it was the right thing to do.

And I also appreciate and reflect on his public service and the way he has gone about carving out a path for others to follow. When I mentioned his first run for the State legislature in 1996, I take you back to a time where, even in the State of California, there were not nearly as many Latinos in positions of power at the Federal or State or even the local level. But through the power of his example, he has opened the door for so many others--including me--to dream of running for office, to think of running for office, to actually run for office, to win the opportunity and to serve well. Yes, colleagues, entire generations of young Latino leaders now see running for office and having a say in the decisions that affect our communities as the norm, not the exception. And it is, in part--large part--because of the trailblazing legacy of Tony Cardenas.

And I would be remiss if I didn't take a moment to thank his wife Norma, and his four children--Vanessa, Cristian, Andres, and Alina--and the entire Cardenas family for sharing him with us for all these years.

And while next month Tony will officially step away from his work in the U.S. House of Representatives, I have no doubt that his service to others is not coming to an end. It will continue. I look forward to continuing to fight alongside him for many, many years to come.

I yield the floor.

(The PRESIDENT pro tempore assumed the Chair.)

(Mr. KAINE assumed the Chair.)

Mr. President, earlier this month, Jorge Ramos stepped down after nearly four decades as anchor of Univision's primetime show, ``Noticiero Univision.'' While his impact doesn't end here, I rise today to celebrate his nearly half century as an icon of Spanish-language news.

Jorge Gilberto Ramos Avalos was born on March 16, 1958, in Mexico City. He earned his degree in communication from Ibero-American University before getting his start as a journalist for Televisa in Mexico. But in those early days, a career as an independent voice in Mexican media was far from guaranteed.

After an early report by Ramos covering the Mexican Presidency was censored, Ramos made the difficult decisions to resign from his position, pack his bags, and even sell his red ``vochito''--or Volkswagen--and head for Los Angeles.

But that dedication to journalistic integrity would serve him well. It guided him first to a local KMEX station and soon after to a position with what would later become Univision, a Spanish-language broadcaster with a growing audience in the United States.

In 1986, Ramos became a co-anchor of Univision's primetime show, broadcasting the nightly news to millions of Spanish-speaking Americans and immigrants. In 2007, he debuted his Sunday morning political show, ``Al Punto,'' which he would host for the next 17 years.

Over the course of his career, Ramos became one of Latino America's most trusted sources of news, interviewing U.S. Presidents and other world leaders, covering wars and conflicts, and winning 10 Emmys for his reporting. In a changing United States of America, as a Mexican immigrant and eventually U.S. citizen, Jorge Ramos spoke to a growing Latino population who deserved equal access to quality news of the country around them.

On a personal note, as the proud son of immigrants from Mexico, I can hardly remember a time before Jorge Ramos seemed ever-present on our airwaves. But I remember the sight of a younger Jorge Ramos before the iconic silver hair, the stories he broke, and the trust he built with an audience who relied on him.

Today, we thank Jorge for his unwavering commitment to informing his audience, for holding our public leaders accountable, and for demanding greater access and resources for Spanish speakers.

While this marks the end of his time at Univision, as Jorge has said, ``real journalists never retire.'' We eagerly await what comes next.

Madam President, I rise to speak in support of the Clean Commute for Kids Act of 2024, which I introduced today.

Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, I still recall the diesel exhaust that my classmates and I inhaled each day on our way to school. Unfortunately, this is still a reality for nearly 25 million American children who ride more than 400,000 diesel-powered buses to school. These vehicles expose our children to harmful pollutants that impact not just their health but also their academic performance.

As we continue our efforts to combat climate change and build more sustainable infrastructure, we must simultaneously prioritize reducing children's exposure to these harmful emissions by accelerating the deployment of zero-emission buses.

That is why I am reintroducing the Clean Commute for Kids Act, which builds on the successful Clean School Bus Program that I was proud to champion as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law. This program is already delivering impactful results, having awarded nearly $3 billion to fund the replacement of approximately 8,700 diesel buses across the country, with many more on the way.

This legislation offers improvements to streamline the process for school districts to apply for the program, promotes good-paying schoolbus manufacturing jobs, and authorizes an additional $22 billion to further support the replacement of aging diesel buses with zero- emission fleets. By doing so, we can continue to cut greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and safeguard the health of our children for generations to come.

As we know, investing in zero-emission schoolbuses is not just about reducing pollution--it is about investing in our children, their health, and their future. I am grateful to Senator Warnock for co- leading this effort with me in the Senate, and I thank my good friend Representative Cardenas for championing this legislation in the House before his retirement.

Madam President, I rise to speak in support of the Clean Commute for Kids Act of 2024, which I introduced today.

Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, I still recall the diesel exhaust that my classmates and I inhaled each day on our way to school. Unfortunately, this is still a reality for nearly 25 million American children who ride more than 400,000 diesel-powered buses to school. These vehicles expose our children to harmful pollutants that impact not just their health but also their academic performance.

As we continue our efforts to combat climate change and build more sustainable infrastructure, we must simultaneously prioritize reducing children's exposure to these harmful emissions by accelerating the deployment of zero-emission buses.

That is why I am reintroducing the Clean Commute for Kids Act, which builds on the successful Clean School Bus Program that I was proud to champion as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law. This program is already delivering impactful results, having awarded nearly $3 billion to fund the replacement of approximately 8,700 diesel buses across the country, with many more on the way.

This legislation offers improvements to streamline the process for school districts to apply for the program, promotes good-paying schoolbus manufacturing jobs, and authorizes an additional $22 billion to further support the replacement of aging diesel buses with zero- emission fleets. By doing so, we can continue to cut greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and safeguard the health of our children for generations to come.

As we know, investing in zero-emission schoolbuses is not just about reducing pollution--it is about investing in our children, their health, and their future. I am grateful to Senator Warnock for co- leading this effort with me in the Senate, and I thank my good friend Representative Cardenas for championing this legislation in the House before his retirement.

Mr. President, it has been nearly 4 years since I was first sworn in to serve here in the Senate. Since then, as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I have had the privilege of working alongside my colleagues to provide advice and consent on President Biden's judicial nominees. Over the course of the 4 years, we have confirmed some of the most qualified, extraordinary public servants ever to be nominated to the Federal bench.

As of this week, that has meant that 233 new Federal judges are serving in the Federal judiciary, including 33 in my home State of California. So I rise today to celebrate the three most recently confirmed Federal district court judges in my home State.

In the last week, with your support, we confirmed Judge Anne Hwang to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Judge Hwang earned her bachelor's degree from Cornell University and her law degree from the University of Southern California Law School.

After beginning her career as a litigation associate at Irell & Manella in Los Angeles, Judge Hwang went on to serve for 12 years in the Federal Public Defender's Office in Los Angeles--the largest public defender's office in the Nation. During her time there, she rose through the ranks, from deputy public defender to chief deputy public defender, and she gained extensive trial experience. In 2018, she was appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Informed by the invaluable experience that came from serving as a public defender, Judge Hwang now brings an important perspective to the Federal bench.

Next, earlier this week, we confirmed Judge Cynthia Valenzuela also to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Judge Valenzuela earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona before earning her law degree at the UCLA School of Law.

After graduation, she served as special assistant on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and later as a trial attorney with the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division Voting Rights Section. Eventually, she returned to Los Angeles to work in the U.S. Attorney's Office as a prosecutor in the Criminal Division.

In 2006, she became national vice president of litigation at MALDEF-- you are familiar, Mr. President--the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

She left 5 years later to become a supervising attorney for the California Central District Criminal Justice Act panel.

Finally, in 2016, Judge Valenzuela was appointed to serve as a judge on the California State Bar Court, handling attorney regulatory and discipline cases.

Throughout her confirmation process, Judge Valenzuela has been praised by her current and former colleagues for her tireless work on behalf of victims, for her intelligence, for her integrity, and for her dedication to fair and impartial application of the law.

Her academic credentials and her legal qualifications and experience will make her yet another outstanding Federal judge for the Central District.

Finally, also earlier this week, we had the honor of confirming Judge Noel Wise, President Biden's nominee to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Judge Wise earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and her law degree from Nova Southeastern University Law School and her master of the science of law degree from Stanford Law School.

Judge Wise first clerked on the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal before joining the U.S. Department of Justice as a trial attorney in the Natural Resources Division, where she also spent a year detailed to the Assistant U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California.

She then worked in private practice for several years before cofounding the firm Wise Gleicher in 2006, where she litigated at the trial and appellate level in both State and Federal courts.

For the past decade, Judge Wise has served on the Alameda County Superior Court, including as supervising judge since 2019 and as judge pro tem for the California Second District Court of Appeal for a time.

Judge Wise's wealth of experience in State and Federal courts, in civil and criminal litigation, in public and private practice, make her more than prepared to now serve on the Northern District.

On behalf of the State of California, I want to thank my colleagues for helping confirm these three outstanding Federal judges and for continuing to prioritize judicial confirmations here in the days to come.

Mr. President, as if in legislative session, notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 510, S. 4000.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time.

I know of no further debate on the bill.

I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.