Floor Statements

Madam President, in a few minutes, Senator Klobuchar, chair of the Rules Committee, will ask for a unanimous consent request on two bills: the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act and the AI Transparency in Elections Act.

I want to thank Senator Klobuchar for her leadership on these bills and for her committee's bipartisan work to protect our elections from the potential harms of AI. Both of these bills, the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act and the AI Transparency in Elections Act, have bipartisan support, so the Senate should support them and pass them without delay.

Madam President, we are less than 100 days out from the first national elections ever held in the age of AI. We all know AI has many incredible benefits, but alongside those benefits come great risks; and the risks of AI for our elections could be severe. If we are not careful, if we fail to install proper guardrails, AI could jaundice and even totally discredit our entire election system as we know it.

Misinformation is already a serious problem in our elections, but AI makes it easier than ever to generate and spread it. It is easier than ever to create deepfakes of candidates. AI already has been used in robocalls to impersonate President Biden for the purposes of misleading voters during the primary. Once that information is out, it is hard-- often impossible--to put the genie back in the bottle. Well, we have a chance today to pass precisely the kind of guardrails that would protect our elections from the risks of AI.

We have a chance today to make sure that our democracy is not atrophied or harmed, discredited, because of these kinds of misleading ads. These bipartisan bills would ban the use of materially misleading AI-generated deepfakes that depict Federal candidates and require disclaimers any time political ads use AI in a substantial way.

Most Americans, I think, would overwhelmingly agree that these are reasonable guardrails and they give voters peace of mind that AI isn't being used against them during election season without their knowledge. These bills have broad support. Democrats support these bills. Republicans support these bills. Over 40 current and former election officials and national security experts support these bills. Everyone recognizes the need to get something done. We are in a new world with AI. It can do a lot of good things, but it can cause some harms; and our job is to maximize the benefits but decrease the harms. One of the harms could be these deepfakes in elections, and we must do something about it.

A few months ago, I worked with the Senate's bipartisan AI working group, which I created a year ago with Senators Heinrich and Young and Rounds to publish the first ever roadmap for AI policy. Our roadmap detailed a swath of proposals the Senate should consider to fortify our democracy in the age of AI. I am very glad to see that some of the good ideas we called for in our AI policy roadmap are reflected in these two bills.

So I, again, greatly thank Senator Klobuchar for championing these bills, for coming to our AI forums and hearing what had to be said and then beginning to take action to make sure the abuses don't occur.

I look forward to working further with Senator Klobuchar, the Rules Committee, other chairs in committees to regulate AI before it is too late.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I am proud to say, today, the Senate keeps its promise to every parent who has lost a child because of the risks of social media. Today, after a lot of hard

work and a lot of twists and turns, we will pass KOSA and COPPA. KOSA and COPPA will be perhaps the most important updates to Federal laws protecting kids on the internet in decades, and it is a very good first step.

This was truly a bipartisan effort from the start here in the Senate. I am proud of the way both sides of the aisle came together on an issue affecting so many kids and so many families across America. The House should take note and follow the Senate's example by passing KOSA and COPPA when they return. After the Senate passes KOSA and COPPA today with a strong bipartisan vote, the House should do the same when they return in September. These bills have real bipartisan momentum. So we should seize the opportunity to send them to the President's desk.

As we all know, social media has many benefits, but we also know about the many risks social media can pose, especially to our kids. Too many kids experience relentless promotion of suicide or substance abuse material. Too many kids have their personal data collected and then used nefariously. With studies showing that kids today spend more time on social media than ever before, now is the moment to pass KOSA, pass COPPA, and instill guardrails that protect kids from these risks.

We have heard from so many parents whose kids, sadly, took their own lives--their own lives--because of what happened to them on social media. To their everlasting credit, these parents, instead of cursing the darkness, lit a candle. They turned their grief into grace--an amazing thing--and worked doggedly to help get this bill over the finish line so that what happened to their kids--their kids will never come back--but so that what happened to their kids doesn't happen to any others. I thank these brave parents and families for sharing their heart-wrenching stories.

And I thank my colleagues Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn, Markey and Cassidy, Durbin and Klobuchar, Chair Cantwell, and so many others for championing these bills.

Mr. President, well, today is a momentous day. The Senate keeps its promise to every parent who has lost a child because of the risks of social media.

Today, after a lot of hard work, twists and turns, the Senate is passing two vital pieces of legislation with a strong bipartisan vote: the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, and the Children and Teens' Online Prevention Act, or COPPA.

By passing KOSA and COPPA, we are one step closer to the most important update in decades to Federal laws protecting kids on the internet.

Once we act, the House should pass these bills as soon as they can.

This is such an important piece of legislation, and I say to my colleagues who have worked hard--Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn, Markey and Cassidy, Durbin, Klobuchar, Chair Cantwell, and others-- thank you.

But thank you, above all, to the parents who advocated so tirelessly for these bills. I have sat with them. I have heard the terrible stories--children, teenagers, perfectly normal. Some algorithm captures them online by accident, and they end up committing suicide shortly thereafter. I have heard those stories. Can you imagine being a parent and living with that?

So we have to do something. And these parents have turned their grief into grace. These parents are the reason that we succeeded today. Today the Senate tells the parents: We hear you. We are taking action.

I am so glad that we have a broad bipartisan vote here. It shows the Chamber can work on something important; that no one let partisanship get in the way of passing this important legislation.

But this is a historic moment. This is a moment when the Senate has said: There have been horrible abuses. We must end them, and we will.

I yield the floor.

I ask unanimous consent that the scheduled vote occur immediately.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Madam President, I have eight requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions: S. Res. 780, S. Res. 781, S. Res. 782, and S. Res. 783.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to; the preambles, where applicable, be agreed to; and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.

Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

I now ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 11 a.m. on Wednesday, July 31; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that following the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Vacca nomination; further, that the cloture motions filed during yesterday's session ripen at 11:30 a.m.; that if cloture is invoked on the Vacca nomination, all time be considered expired at 2:30 p.m. and that if cloture is invoked on the Saporito nomination, all time be considered expired at 5:30 p.m.; further, that if any nominations are confirmed during Wednesday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of Senator Sanders.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, before the Senate adjourned last week, we took a major step forward to ensure our kids' online safety by advancing KOSA-COPPA with strong bipartisan support--a vote of 86 to 1.

Thanks to both sides working together, the Senate is on track to pass KOSA and COPPA tomorrow. These bills are perhaps the most important updates in decades to Federal laws that protect kids on the internet and a good first step.

After the Senate passes KOSA and COPPA tomorrow with a strong bipartisan vote, the House should do the same when they return in September. The bipartisan momentum behind these bills is real, and we should seize this opportunity to make a law.

While social media has many benefits, it also, as we know, has many risks. KOSA and COPPA will install guardrails that protect kids from these risks.

Too many kids experience relentless online bullying. Too many kids have their personal data collected and then used nefariously. And sadly--sadly--too many families have lost kids because of what happened to them on social media.

I have met with many of the families whose children took their own lives. We felt the pain of loss together. We have cried together. What they have gone through is impossible to imagine--losing a child and in this way.

But these families, to their everlasting credit, instead of cursing the darkness, they lit a candle. They turned their grief into grace by working so hard to make sure this doesn't happen to other kids, what happened to theirs.

I thank all of the families who advocate to get kids' online safety over the finish line. Their efforts will pay off tomorrow.

I also want to thank colleagues who have relentlessly championed these bills: Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn, Markey and Cassidy, Durbin and Klobuchar, Chair Cantwell, and others.

Getting to this point wasn't easy; that is for sure. It has been a long and winding and difficult road. But after tomorrow, I am very proud that it will have all been worth it.

Madam President, now on SCOTUS, the Supreme Court of the United States, no democracy can hope to survive if it can't ensure accountability. That is a hallmark of democracy--and American democracy, in particular. This was the stern warning handed down to us by the Framers of the Constitution. Accountability is how power is checked, how consent of the governed is secured, and how trust between the people and their institutions is preserved.

Later today, President Biden will speak at the LBJ Presidential Library on the need for accountability for the U.S. Supreme Court, where it is desperately needed. The President published an op-ed in the Washington Post outlining his ideas and will expand on them this evening.

I believe the President is right to say aloud what many Americans already think: The Supreme Court is a morass. I am particularly pleased President Biden called for undoing the damage of the Court's recent immunity decision. I think Congress should pursue the idea through legislation, and I am working with my colleagues on the best way to proceed.

A few years ago, the Supreme Court was easily the most trusted institution in government, but today confidence in the Court is at an alltime low. For over a year, Americans have learned how some Justices have accepted millions of dollars in lavish gifts from rightwing benefactors that, at the same time, had business before the Court. They were funding these groups to pursue their rightwing agenda before the Court. And all of this happened in total secrecy and possibly-- possibly--in violation of the law.

And at the same time, the MAGA Justices have rammed through a flurry of hard-right decisions, reversing decades of precedent--they almost seem to ignore it from time to time, when they want to--on reproductive freedoms, on affirmative action, on gerrymandering, administrative law, and so much more. These decisions on choice and so many other issues are way out of the mainstream.

And 1 month ago, the MAGA Justices ruled that the President of the United States is, in essence, above the law when it comes to his ``official acts.'' The conservative majority's ruling was the very antithesis of the kind of accountability our Framers envisioned. The MAGA Court more or less echoed Richard Nixon's infamous view that ``when the President does it, that means it is not illegal.''

These fringe rulings and ethical scandals are not the signs of a healthy Supreme Court. They are the signs of a Court run amok.

The good news is that the Constitution provides a remedy to the Supreme Court's current morass: Congress has the authority to exercise strong checks on the judiciary through legislation, and Congress has the authority to speak on constitutional issues. The Constitution is clear: The Supreme Court does not get the final word.

An option I am seriously considering is drawing up legislation clarifying that the President is not immune from violations of Federal law.

One of the Justices recently claimed there is no provision in the Constitution that gives Congress authority to regulate the courts. I respectfully suggest that this Justice reread the Constitution because it is plain as day that Congress is well within its rights to conduct oversight.

Accountability shouldn't be a dirty word when we talk about the Supreme Court. Americans across the ideological spectrum agree that checks and balances are necessary for a system to thrive, and they agree those checks should apply to the Supreme Court just

as they apply to other branches of government.

It is no wonder the Court's positive ratings are at an alltime low. If they can't straighten it out themselves, Congress should.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 710.