Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions submitted earlier today: S. Res. 560, S. Res. 561, S. Res. 562, S. Res. 563, S. Res. 564.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Con. Res. 29.

I further ask the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the upcoming adjournment of the Senate, the President of the Senate, the President pro tempore, and the majority and minority leaders be authorized to make appointments to commissions, committees, boards, conferences, or interparliamentary conferences authorized by law, by concurrent action of the two Houses, or by order of the Senate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn to then convene for pro forma sessions only, with no business being conducted, on the following dates and times and that following each pro forma session, the Senate adjourn until the next pro forma session: Friday, February 16, at 3:30 p.m.; Tuesday, February 20, at 9 a.m.; Friday, February 23, at 3 p.m.; further, that when the Senate adjourns on Friday, February 23, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Monday, February 26; that on Monday, 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 Senator Cardin be recognized to deliver Washington's Farewell Address, as provided under the previous order; and that following his remarks, morning business be closed; that following the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Becerra nomination; further, that the cloture motions filed during today's session ripen at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

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 Welch.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, today, the Senate gavels in on a Sunday to continue our work on the national security supplemental. In about an hour, we will take the next procedural vote--on cloture on the substitute amendment. I can't remember the last time the Senate was in session on Super Bowl Sunday, but as I have said all week long, we are going to keep working on this bill until the job is done.

Even though we are keeping the process moving on the floor, Democrats still hope we can reach an agreement with our Republican colleagues on a reasonable list of amendments. We are happy to have fair and reasonable amendment votes on the floor, so we will see if there is any possibility for speeding this process up. But at the same time, it is essential we finish the work on this bill.

It has been years, perhaps decades, that the Senate has taken up a stand-alone bill that so significantly impacts not just our national security, not just the security of our allies, but the very security of Western democracy and our ideals.

As we speak, Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine has rendered parts of Eastern Europe a war zone, the likes of which we have not seen in those regions since the Second World War. Ukraine is dangerously low on supplies, including ammo and air defenses. If America doesn't assist Ukraine, Putin is all too likely to succeed, as President Zelenskyy repeatedly has reminded us. The only right answer to this threat is for the Senate to face it down unflinchingly by passing this bill as soon as we can.

Again, Democrats are ready to work with the other side in the spirit of bipartisanship. I know many of my Republican colleagues are working in good faith to get this done. I thank them for their dedication, for their good work, and for doing the right thing by voting yes yesterday. Let us move forward.

I yield the floor.

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

Madam President, today, the Senate took the next significant step toward passing the national security supplemental by voting on cloture on the substitute 67 to 27. That is a strong signal that this bill has the support it needs to get through the Chamber.

Advancing this bill today was precisely the right thing to do. Our friends abroad are watching closely how we vote in the upcoming days. Ukrainian fighters are watching, and you can be sure Vladimir Putin is watching the Senate too.

So for the information of Senators, the Senate will be back in session tomorrow at noon to consider postcloture debate. We hope to be able to keep moving forward on this bill tomorrow. Members should expect a live quorum at noon.

Again, as I have already made clear, we will keep working on this bill until the job is done.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 12 noon on Monday, February 12; 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 Calendar No. 30, H.R. 815; further, that all time during adjournment, recess, morning business, and leader remarks count postcloture on the substitute amendment.

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

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

Now, Madam President, for the information of Senators, the Senate will gavel back into session tomorrow, Sunday, February 11, at noon. At around 1 o'clock, we will hold the cloture vote on the substitute amendment, which has the text of the supplemental. We still hope our Republican colleagues can work with us to reach an agreement on a reasonable list of amendments so we can speed this process up.

Again, as I have already made clear, we will keep working on this bill until the job is done.

Madam President, today, the Senate resumes consideration of the emergency national security supplemental package.

Last night, after we agreed to the motion to proceed, I laid down the substitute amendment, which has the text of the supplemental, and then I filed cloture on both the substitute and the underlying bill.

We are still hoping to reach an agreement with Republicans on a reasonable list of amendments so we can speed this process up. Democrats have always been willing to have a fair and reasonable amendment process on the floor, as we have shown on many occasions in the last 3 years; but if no further agreement is reached, the next vote is scheduled to take place tomorrow, Sunday, at approximately 1 p.m.

As I have said all week, we will keep working on this bill until the job is done.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 12 noon on Sunday, February 11; 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 Calendar No. 30,

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

Mr. President, I will be brief.

Yesterday, the Senate cleared the first major procedural hurdle to passing the national security supplemental. It was a good and very important first step. We now resume postcloture debate on the motion to proceed. If we don't reach a time agreement, we will hold the next vote on the motion to proceed at approximately 7 p.m. tonight, but I hope our Republican colleagues can work with us to reach an agreement on amendments so we can move this process along. Democrats are willing to consider reasonable and fair amendments here on the floor as we have shown on many occasions in the past 3 years. Nevertheless, the Senate will keep working on this bill until the job is done.

I yield the floor.

Recognition of the Minority Leader

Madam President, in a few moments, the Senate is going to take the next step toward passing the supplemental. Tonight's vote keeps the process of passing this emergency national security package moving forward on the Senate floor.

As I said, I hope our Republican colleagues can work with us to reach an agreement on amendments so we can move this bill more quickly. Democrats are willing to consider reasonable and fair amendments here on the floor as we have shown on many occasions in the past 3 years. Nevertheless, the Senate will keep working on this bill until the job is done.

I yield the floor.

Vote on Motion

Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Madam President, I call up substitute amendment No. 1388.

I ask unanimous consent to dispense with further reading of the amendment.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I have a cloture motion for the substitute amendment at the desk.

I have an amendment at the desk.

I ask to dispense with further reading of the amendment.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.

I ask to dispense with further reading of the amendment.

I have an amendment to the text proposed to be stricken at the desk.

I ask to dispense with further reading of the amendment.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I have a second-degree amendment to the text proposed to be stricken at the desk.

I ask to dispense with further reading of the amendment.

I move to commit H.R. 815 to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs with instructions to report back forthwith with an amendment.

I ask to dispense with further reading of the amendment.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I have an amendment to the instructions at the desk.

I ask to dispense with further reading of the amendment.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.

I ask to dispense with further reading of the amendment.

I have a cloture motion for the underlying bill at the desk.

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

Mr. President, I am glad the Senate took the next step tonight toward passing the supplemental.

The Senate will convene tomorrow at noon.

As I said, I hope our Republican colleagues can work with us to reach an agreement on amendments so that we can move this bill more quickly.

If no agreement is reached, under the rule, the next vote will be approximately 1 p.m. on Sunday.