Floor Statements

Madam President, I rise to introduce the INVITE Act.

This legislation would require USCIS field offices to offer voter registration assistance at naturalization ceremonies to ensure that newly naturalized United States citizens are able to fully participate in our democratic process.

This legislation would designate USCIS field offices as voter registration agencies under the National Voter Registration Act and require them to support new citizens in registering to vote, including providing the registration application, offering assistance in completing the application, and returning the application to the State election official or agency.

It would significantly expand the agency's voter registration efforts to encompass all new United States citizens, not just those naturalized through USCIS administrative ceremonies.

USCIS policy currently only requires the agency to ensure that voter registration forms are distributed to new United States citizens at their naturalization ceremonies--not returned to the appropriate State election agency--and also fails to reach new United States citizens who are naturalized at judicial ceremonies or without a formal ceremony.

During the recent midterm elections, just 61 percent of all naturalized citizens were registered to vote, compared to 70 percent of native-born Americans, due in part to distinct obstacles, such as language barriers, that new citizens face.

The National Voter Registration Act has proven to be an effective tool for voter registration, with departments of motor vehicles accounting for almost 40 million new voter registration applications from 2018 to 2022.

USCIS, like the other agencies designated under the National Voter Registration Act, interacts with a significant population of eligible but unregistered voters. In 2022, the agency naturalized more than 900,000 new U.S. citizens.

New United States citizens deserve to be supported as they exercise their right to political participation, as guaranteed by our Constitution.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

I ask unanimous request that I am able to complete my remarks before the beginning of the vote.

Mr. President, colleagues, today we will have the opportunity to advance the nomination of Kirk Sherriff, President Biden's nominee to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. In doing so, we have a chance to confirm a well-qualified nominee and public servant to fill a vacancy on one of the busiest and most understaffed district courts in the Federal judiciary.

I rise to share a little bit more about what makes him so qualified to serve the Eastern District. Mr. Sherriff actually grew up in the Sacramento region within the district. He was raised for several periods of time by a single mother who worked hard to support her family, an experience he says profoundly shaped his appreciation for the opportunities made available in the United States of America.

Mr. Sherriff went on to earn his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his law degree from Harvard Law School.

He began his legal career working as an associate of White & Case, focused on arbitration and civil litigation.

He also clerked on the New Jersey Supreme Court for Chief Justice Deborah Poritz. But before long, he returned to California--he came home--to work in the district that would come to define his career.

Mr. Sherriff joined the civil division of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California. He spent 5 years litigating forest fire, civil fraud, and tort cases before moving on to the criminal division.

He worked his way up to serve as chief of the Fresno and Bakersfield offices of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District where he oversaw four Fresno unit chiefs, 20 attorneys, and the prosecution of crimes throughout the southern half of the district.

Now, in the course of his career, Mr. Sherriff has developed a reputation in the Fresno legal community for being fair, for being sharp, and incredibly hard-working--all characteristics in high demand at a court with an extraordinarily heavy caseload.

But in addition to that, Mr. Sherriff possesses a deep personal understanding of the needs of the many racially diverse and historically disadvantaged communities throughout the Central Valley. Because, for the last two decades, he has been there, serving the Eastern District and engaging in community outreach.

Colleagues, by confirming Mr. Sherriff's nomination, we will be confirming a nominee with a wealth of legal experience, with a fundamental understanding and respect for human dignity, and with deep roots in the community he serves and will continue to serve, and who will be filling a vacancy in one of the busiest courts in the country.

I urge all of my colleagues to join me in advancing and supporting Mr. Sherriff's confirmation.

I yield the floor.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Madam President, I missed a vote on December 18, 2023. Had I been present, I would have voted yea on rollcall vote No. 347 to confirm Martin O'Malley to serve as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration.

I congratulate Commissioner O'Malley on his confirmation, and I look forward to his strong leadership at the SSA.

Madam President, I rise to introduce the Emergency Vehicle and Community, EVAC, Planning Act. This legislation would strengthen communities to incorporate emergency evacuation routes in the transportation planning process.

Specifically, this bill would direct the Department of Transportation, DOT, in consultation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, to develop and publicly disseminate guidance and best practices for States, territories, Indian Tribes, and local governments to utilize to ensure necessary considerations are taken for evacuation routes during local planning.

As we suffer from increasingly catastrophic natural disasters--from fires to hurricanes to flooding--efficient emergency evacuation routes can be the difference between life and death for our most vulnerable communities.

The 2018 Camp Fire tore through the town of Paradise, CA, incinerating roughly 19,000 homes, businesses, and other buildings. Eighty-five people perished. But one of the most horrifying aspects of this tragedy was that some of the victims were killed in their cars when flames overtook the backed-up traffic on the only road out of town.

We saw similar concerns in Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina, which resulted in efforts to improve evacuation route capacity, after nearly 100,000 residents were trapped inside the city of New Orleans.

And most recently in Lahaina, HI, a lack of evacuation routes contributed to making this the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. Press accounts detail the harrowing experience of people finding themselves caught in their cars, jammed together on narrow roads, surrounded by flames on three sides and the ocean on the fourth.

In the event of a natural disaster, people need to efficiently access evacuation routes that have been strategically designed to save lives and move people out of the area quickly.

Many cities, counties, and Tribal governments--especially those that are rural or low-income--that are the most vulnerable to disaster are also the least likely to have the resources and in-house expertise necessary to develop cornprehensive and efficient emergency evacuation routes.

I thank Senators Cassidy, Schatz, and Hirono for introducing this important legislation with me. I hope all of our colleagues will join us in supporting this bill to ensure communities are equipped with the guidelines and best practices necessary to bolster disaster preparedness and save lives.

Madam President, I rise to introduce the NEHRP Reauthorization Act of 2023. This bipartisan legislation would reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, NEHRP, and improve the Nation's earthquake preparedness.

This bill would reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, NEHRP, and authorize a total of $175.4 million per year from fiscal year 2024 to 2028 across the four Federal Agencies responsible for long-term earthquake risk reduction under NEHRP: the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, the National Science Foundation, NSF, and the United States Geological Survey, USGS.

Specifically, the NEHRP Reauthorization Act of 2023 would authorize $10.6 million for FEMA, $5.9 million for NIST, $58 million for NSF, and $100.9 million for USGS per year from fiscal year 2024 to 2028. This funding would support research, development, and implementation activities related to earthquake safety and risk reduction.

In California and across the Nation, earthquakes threaten lives, infrastructure, and communities. NEHRP allows vulnerable communities across the State to better prepare and respond to earthquakes through crucial tools like the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System Program and working to advance the scientific understanding of earthquakes.

I want to thank Senator Murkowski for introducing this important legislation with me in the Senate, and I hope all of our colleagues will join us in supporting this bipartisan bill to improve our nation's earthquake preparedness.

Madam President, I rise to introduce the Emergency Vehicle and Community, EVAC, Planning Act. This legislation would strengthen communities to incorporate emergency evacuation routes in the transportation planning process.

Specifically, this bill would direct the Department of Transportation, DOT, in consultation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, to develop and publicly disseminate guidance and best practices for States, territories, Indian Tribes, and local governments to utilize to ensure necessary considerations are taken for evacuation routes during local planning.

As we suffer from increasingly catastrophic natural disasters--from fires to hurricanes to flooding--efficient emergency evacuation routes can be the difference between life and death for our most vulnerable communities.

The 2018 Camp Fire tore through the town of Paradise, CA, incinerating roughly 19,000 homes, businesses, and other buildings. Eighty-five people perished. But one of the most horrifying aspects of this tragedy was that some of the victims were killed in their cars when flames overtook the backed-up traffic on the only road out of town.

We saw similar concerns in Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina, which resulted in efforts to improve evacuation route capacity, after nearly 100,000 residents were trapped inside the city of New Orleans.

And most recently in Lahaina, HI, a lack of evacuation routes contributed to making this the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. Press accounts detail the harrowing experience of people finding themselves caught in their cars, jammed together on narrow roads, surrounded by flames on three sides and the ocean on the fourth.

In the event of a natural disaster, people need to efficiently access evacuation routes that have been strategically designed to save lives and move people out of the area quickly.

Many cities, counties, and Tribal governments--especially those that are rural or low-income--that are the most vulnerable to disaster are also the least likely to have the resources and in-house expertise necessary to develop cornprehensive and efficient emergency evacuation routes.

I thank Senators Cassidy, Schatz, and Hirono for introducing this important legislation with me. I hope all of our colleagues will join us in supporting this bill to ensure communities are equipped with the guidelines and best practices necessary to bolster disaster preparedness and save lives.

Madam President, I rise to introduce the NEHRP Reauthorization Act of 2023. This bipartisan legislation would reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, NEHRP, and improve the Nation's earthquake preparedness.

This bill would reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, NEHRP, and authorize a total of $175.4 million per year from fiscal year 2024 to 2028 across the four Federal Agencies responsible for long-term earthquake risk reduction under NEHRP: the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, the National Science Foundation, NSF, and the United States Geological Survey, USGS.

Specifically, the NEHRP Reauthorization Act of 2023 would authorize $10.6 million for FEMA, $5.9 million for NIST, $58 million for NSF, and $100.9 million for USGS per year from fiscal year 2024 to 2028. This funding would support research, development, and implementation activities related to earthquake safety and risk reduction.

In California and across the Nation, earthquakes threaten lives, infrastructure, and communities. NEHRP allows vulnerable communities across the State to better prepare and respond to earthquakes through crucial tools like the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System Program and working to advance the scientific understanding of earthquakes.

I want to thank Senator Murkowski for introducing this important legislation with me in the Senate, and I hope all of our colleagues will join us in supporting this bipartisan bill to improve our nation's earthquake preparedness.

Madam President, I rise to introduce the bipartisan Local 9-8-8 Response Act. This legislation would boost our continued efforts to improve access to and accuracy of mental health crisis response through the 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Lifeline.

In an effort to ensure a quick response by a mental health professional for those in crisis, this legislation requires calls and messages to the lifeline to be routed by the call center geographically nearest to the caller rather than by area code. This eliminates an unnecessary handoff, while still protecting user privacy, so users can receive the care they need as quickly and safely as possible.

This bill also requires carriers to allow calls and texts to the 9-8- 8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline even if the plan is inactive or the carrier is experiencing service interruptions or failures, just as is done currently with 9-1-1 calls. Further, this bill requires multiline systems like hotel and office phones to support the direct dialing of 9-8-8 rather than requiring a caller to dial 9 or another number before dialing 9-8-8.

Significant progress has been made in increasing access to quality mental health care in America. The 9-8-8 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline has been critical for supporting Americans in crisis. However, the current system routes you to a call center based on your area code rather than where you are actually calling from. This is a huge problem if a call center needs to send a mental health response team to help a caller that might be thousands of miles away in another city.

I would like to thank Senator Tillis for introducing this important legislation with me. I would also like to thank Congressman Cardenas for leading this legislation in the House of Representatives, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact the Local 9-8-8 Response Act as soon as possible.

Madam President, I rise to introduce the bipartisan Local 9-8-8 Response Act. This legislation would boost our continued efforts to improve access to and accuracy of mental health crisis response through the 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Lifeline.

In an effort to ensure a quick response by a mental health professional for those in crisis, this legislation requires calls and messages to the lifeline to be routed by the call center geographically nearest to the caller rather than by area code. This eliminates an unnecessary handoff, while still protecting user privacy, so users can receive the care they need as quickly and safely as possible.

This bill also requires carriers to allow calls and texts to the 9-8- 8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline even if the plan is inactive or the carrier is experiencing service interruptions or failures, just as is done currently with 9-1-1 calls. Further, this bill requires multiline systems like hotel and office phones to support the direct dialing of 9-8-8 rather than requiring a caller to dial 9 or another number before dialing 9-8-8.

Significant progress has been made in increasing access to quality mental health care in America. The 9-8-8 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline has been critical for supporting Americans in crisis. However, the current system routes you to a call center based on your area code rather than where you are actually calling from. This is a huge problem if a call center needs to send a mental health response team to help a caller that might be thousands of miles away in another city.

I would like to thank Senator Tillis for introducing this important legislation with me. I would also like to thank Congressman Cardenas for leading this legislation in the House of Representatives, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact the Local 9-8-8 Response Act as soon as possible.

Madam President, I rise to speak in support of the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Supportive Services Expansion Act and the Accelerating Small Business Growth Act, which I reintroduced today.

The unprecedented investments provided by the bipartisan infrastructure law offers a major opportunity to leverage Federal resources to help develop women-owned, minority-owned, and disadvantaged businesses.

President Biden set an ambitious goal of increasing the share of Federal contracts going to small, disadvantaged businesses by 50 percent by 2025, which would translate to an additional $100 billion for these businesses.

Established in 1970, the Federal Highway Administration's Disadvantaged

Business Enterprise Supportive Services Program already provides training, assistance, and services to minority- and women-owned businesses to help them develop into self-sufficient organizations that viably compete for federally assisted highway project contracts. Unfortunately, Congress has not allowed this program to keep up with the needs of our underserved businesses.

The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Supportive Services Expansion Act would increase this program's annual funding cap for the first time in 50 years from $10 million to $25 million. Additionally, the bill would create similar programs at the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Transit Administration.

Local, regional, and State agencies have also been leaders in developing innovative programs to prioritize disadvantaged businesses, invest in efforts to create equitable competition, and promote diverse economic development initiatives.

The Accelerating Small Business Growth Act would create a new grant program to help transportation agencies across our Nation carry out these innovative programs to help underserved businesses grow and achieve proficiency to compete on an equal basis for contracts and subcontracts in federally funded transportation projects. Agencies that receive funding through this grant program would be required to submit reports to the Department of Transportation evaluating the effectiveness of their activities, which would help inform future Federal procurement policymaking.

I want to thank Representatives Pete Aguilar and Jimmy Gomez for coleading these bills with me, and I hope our colleagues will join us in support of this legislation to help minority-owned, women-owned, and disadvantaged businesses compete for contracts to develop and build Federal infrastructure projects funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law.

Madam President, I rise to speak in support of the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Supportive Services Expansion Act and the Accelerating Small Business Growth Act, which I reintroduced today.

The unprecedented investments provided by the bipartisan infrastructure law offers a major opportunity to leverage Federal resources to help develop women-owned, minority-owned, and disadvantaged businesses.

President Biden set an ambitious goal of increasing the share of Federal contracts going to small, disadvantaged businesses by 50 percent by 2025, which would translate to an additional $100 billion for these businesses.

Established in 1970, the Federal Highway Administration's Disadvantaged

Business Enterprise Supportive Services Program already provides training, assistance, and services to minority- and women-owned businesses to help them develop into self-sufficient organizations that viably compete for federally assisted highway project contracts. Unfortunately, Congress has not allowed this program to keep up with the needs of our underserved businesses.

The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Supportive Services Expansion Act would increase this program's annual funding cap for the first time in 50 years from $10 million to $25 million. Additionally, the bill would create similar programs at the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Transit Administration.

Local, regional, and State agencies have also been leaders in developing innovative programs to prioritize disadvantaged businesses, invest in efforts to create equitable competition, and promote diverse economic development initiatives.

The Accelerating Small Business Growth Act would create a new grant program to help transportation agencies across our Nation carry out these innovative programs to help underserved businesses grow and achieve proficiency to compete on an equal basis for contracts and subcontracts in federally funded transportation projects. Agencies that receive funding through this grant program would be required to submit reports to the Department of Transportation evaluating the effectiveness of their activities, which would help inform future Federal procurement policymaking.

I want to thank Representatives Pete Aguilar and Jimmy Gomez for coleading these bills with me, and I hope our colleagues will join us in support of this legislation to help minority-owned, women-owned, and disadvantaged businesses compete for contracts to develop and build Federal infrastructure projects funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law.

Madam President, I rise today to congratulate Bruce Saito, director of the California Conservation Corps--CCC--on a decades-long career spent protecting California's environment, building a climate workforce of the future, and introducing generations of Californians to the conservation movement.

Today, the CCC is the oldest and largest conservation corps in the country and stands as a hallmark of California's commitment to the environment. But in 1977, just 1 year into its nascent mission, a young Bruce Saito signed up to serve with the organization as a supervisor and instructor, initiating what would become nearly a half-century of service protecting the beautiful State he grew up in.

From the beginning, Bruce worked diligently, earning promotions to become the director of the Los Angeles Urban Center and conservationist supervisor at the CCC Camarillo Center. In 1986, he left the CCC to help found the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, where he would serve for three decades transforming the nonprofit into one of the largest in the country. Thanks to Bruce, over 100,000 trees have been planted in and around Los Angeles, and parks around the city have thrived.

In 2015, Bruce would return to his roots when Governor Jerry Brown appointed him to serve as director of the CCC, where he served until October 31, 2023. In his time working there, Bruce has helped countless young Californians, giving young people valuable skills that in turn launched many of their careers and ignited lifelong passions for conservation.

California is a leader in the fight against the climate crisis--not just in the United States, but around the world. But that ethos of environmentalism, the culture of care for the community, wasn't always inevitable. California remains the environmental envy of the Nation because of people like Bruce, who not only had the passion to protect our earth but the willingness to bring others along with him.

And it is because of people like Bruce that our children's generation has a chance to know the same beauty of the land around us that we grew up with.

All of California wishes Bruce well in his much-deserved retirement, and we thank him for his decades of service.

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

Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate a historic milestone for this body and for our country. Last week, as many people know, we confirmed the 150th Federal judge nominated by President Biden and the 100th woman nominated to the Federal Bench, all in just the first 3 years of the Biden Presidency.

More women have been confirmed to the Federal Bench under President Biden than under any President in the history of our country in their first term. It is a testament to the seriousness with which President Biden and Senate Democrats have taken to not only our role in strengthening the Federal judiciary with highly qualified candidates, but to do so while building the Federal Bench to better reflect the diverse nation that it serves.

Today, I want to take a moment to recognize three women recently confirmed by the Senate who I am confident will now serve with distinction.

First, last week, the Senate confirmed Judge Kenly Kiya Kato to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Judge Kato was born and raised in Los Angeles. She earned her undergraduate degree from UCLA and her J.D. from Harvard Law School.

One of her earliest jobs out of law school was in the Central District Federal Public Defender's Office, where she represented hundreds of clients at the district and circuit court level, helping to realize the constitutional right to counsel regardless of income.

After nearly two decades of work in California, in 2014, she was appointed to be Federal magistrate judge.

As the daughter of Japanese-Americans who were interned during World War II, Judge Kato understands personally the importance of equal justice under the law. Time and again, she has demonstrated her commitment to equal justice as a magistrate judge--a commitment I am confident she will now continue on the U.S. District Court for the Central District.

Last week, we also confirmed Monica Ramirez Almadani to the U.S. District Court for the Central District. Born in Los Angeles as the proud daughter of immigrants from Mexico, Ms. Ramirez Almadani is a product of the Los Angeles Unified School District. She went on to earn her A.B. from Harvard University and her J.D. from Stanford Law School.

From the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project to the Immigrants Rights Clinic at the U.C. Irvine School of Law, from the California Department of Justice to the U.S. Department of Justice, throughout her career, she has gathered extensive experience across a wide spectrum of civil and criminal law.

Since 2021, she served as president and CEO of Public Counsel, the largest provider of pro bono legal services in the country.

Whether defending low-income immigrant clients or in her capacity representing the U.S. Government at the Department of Justice, she has consistently demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the rule of law.

And now I am confident that she will serve the people of the Central District of the U.S. District Court with distinction.

Finally, I celebrate Monday's confirmation of Judge Ana de Alba to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The daughter of immigrants from Mexico, Judge de Alba grew up in a family of farmworkers. A first-generation high school graduate, she went on to earn her bachelor's degree and her J.D. from the University of California Berkeley.

After graduating, she built a successful career in private practice in the Central Valley where she focused on complex commercial litigation and maintains a robust pro bono practice. She also went on to establish a workers' rights clinic for low-wage workers to learn their rights and to seek legal advice.

In 2018, Judge de Alba was appointed to serve as a superior court judge for Fresno County, where she served until 2022.

I was proud to come to the floor in June of last year to urge my colleagues to confirm her nomination to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, which we did on a bipartisan basis.

In the time since then, Judge de Alba has more than proven herself to be a qualified jurist, and she is exactly the public servant Americans deserve on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mr. President, every Member of this body accepts a considerable responsibility when we enter office to advise and ultimately recommend to the President nominees who will make up our Federal judiciary. As a former ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, no one took that responsibility more seriously than our late colleague Senator Feinstein. I had the great fortune of working alongside Senator Feinstein to recommend to President Biden some of the nominees that we confirmed this past week. And today, these three women, these nominees that round out the 150th confirmation of the Biden Presidency, are just as much her accomplishments as they are ours.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.