Floor Statements

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 4389 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask 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.

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:

Madam President, finally, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 12 noon on Thursday, April 18; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 365, H.R. 7888.

Madam President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I move that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. President, right now, the world is in desperate need of American leadership. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iran's attack on Israel, and the Chinese Government's encroachments on the South Pacific threaten world peace, threaten America's prosperity, and threaten the very future of western democracy.

That is why, 2 months ago, the Senate passed a bipartisan national security supplemental with aid for Ukraine, for Israel, for the South Pacific, and for humanitarian assistance. We have called on the House of Representatives repeatedly to move our bill because the fastest way--the surest way--for Congress to get desperately needed aid to our allies is for House Republicans to put the supplemental on the floor. It would pass. That was true 2 months ago. It is still true today.

Yesterday evening, Speaker Johnson laid out a process for House consideration of the supplemental that would break it up into separate parts. I am reserving judgment on what will come out of the House until we see more about the substance of the proposal and the process by which the proposal will proceed. Hopefully, we will get details of the Speaker's proposal later today.

Again, time is of the essence.

Israel was attacked for the first time in its history directly by Iran. The people of Ukraine are now in all-out desperation. In fact, last week, the head of the U.S. European Command testified before the House Armed Services Committee that Russia's Army is now 15 percent larger than it was at the start of the war, and in a matter of weeks, Russia will outgun Ukraine by 10 to 1--10 to 1. That is not a very good prospect for Ukraine's survival. And anyone who thinks that the war in Ukraine will stay in Ukraine, remember the warning of Japanese Prime Minister Kishida:

Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow.

Around the world, civilians caught in the crossfires of war await desperately needed humanitarian assistance.

So the time for delay is over. Democrats have shown repeatedly our willingness to compromise to get important things done; and I will remind everyone of what I said from the beginning of this Congress: The only way to get things done is in a bipartisan way.

Again, we await to see more details of the Speaker's proposal. I urge him to

keep working in a bipartisan way to ensure this vital aid gets to our friends abroad as quickly as possible.

Mr. President, now on Senate business, last night, I moved to place the House-passed FISA reauthorization bill on the legislative calendar. The Senate must pass FISA reauthorization by the April 19 deadline, just a few days away. We don't have much time to act.

To keep the process on FISA moving today, I will file cloture on the motion to proceed to the House-passed bill. Democrats and Republicans are going to have to work together to meet the April 19 deadline. If we don't cooperate, FISA will expire. So we must be ready to cooperate.

Mr. President, on another matter, this afternoon, we expect the House will deliver the Articles of Impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. I urge all my colleagues to be in their seats when the articles are presented later today.

Once we receive the articles, the Senate will convene on Wednesday as a Court of Impeachment, and Senators will be sworn in as jurors. Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray will preside.

As I have said repeatedly, we want to address this issue as expeditiously as possible. Impeachment should never be used to settle a policy disagreement.

Let me say that again. Impeachment should never be used to settle a policy disagreement.

Talk about awful precedence? This would set an awful precedent for Congress. Every time there is a policy disagreement in the House, they send it over here and tie the Senate in knots to do an impeachment trial? That is absurd. That is an abuse of the process. That is more chaos.

Nevertheless, when the House is ready to send us the articles, the Senate will act.

Mr. President, now on chips, yesterday, the Biden administration announced a preliminary deal with Samsung to provide over $6 billion in funding from Chips and Science to build a new semiconductor manufacturing and research center in Texas. The administration's deal with Samsung supports over $40 billion of investment that is expected to create over 17,000 new construction jobs and over 4,000 new manufacturing jobs--all made possible by Chips and Science.

Thanks to the investments made in Chips and Science, I am proud to say that the United States is well on its way to our goal of producing 20 percent of the world's leading-edge chips by the end of the decade.

The Chips and Science investment is bringing manufacturing back to America, is shoring up our supply chains to prevent the kinds of chip shortages that raised prices during the pandemic, and is creating good- paying jobs to grow the middle class.

Now, we still have a lot of work to do, but these announcements are proof that the Democratic agenda is delivering real results for the American people and for our economy.

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

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 365,

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in recess until 2:10 p.m.

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Madam President, for the information of all Senators, under impeachment rules, Senators will be sworn in as jurors tomorrow at 1 p.m.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, as in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 638 submitted earlier today.

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

Mr. President, today, I am very proud that the Senate just passed Leader McConnell's and my resolution calling for Ryan Corbett's immediate and unconditional release.

By passing this resolution today, the Senate sends a resounding message that it is time to bring Ryan home. This weekend is Ryan's birthday. We are all thinking about him because it has now been 609 days since Ryan, a New York native, was unjustly detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan during a routine business trip.

I met with Ryan's beautiful family this week, and I told them the Senate is standing with them and has their back. I promised them that as long as Ryan is held by the Taliban, I will never stop fighting to bring him back home and unite him with Anna, his children, and his family as quickly as possible.

Again, I thank Leader McConnell for joining me in this legislation.