Floor Statements

As for a little housekeeping after that history, I ask unanimous consent that I be recognized to speak, followed by Senators Hagerty and Kaine, prior to the recess; further, that all postcloture time be considered expired at 2:15 p.m.; and further, that following the confirmation vote on the AliKhan nomination, the Senate recess for the all-Senators briefing until 4:30 p.m.

Mr. President, I have the happy duty of asking unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nominations en bloc--it is a lot of numbers, so I will read them slowly for the sake of being transcribed--Calendar Nos. 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 110, 111, 112, 113, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 180, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 199, 200, 201, 203, 204, 205, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 248, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 289, 290, 291, 293, 294, 295, 296, 325, 326, 327, 330, 331, 332, 336, 337, 339, 340, 342, 344, 345, 346, 347, 348, 349, 350, 351, 382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 387, 388, 389, 390, 391, 392, 417, 418, 419, 420, 421, 422--excepting Col. David D. Berkland, Col. Benjamin R. Jonsson, COL John W. Sannes, COL Andrew O. Saslav, CAPT Brian J. Anderson, Brig. Gen. Scott A. Cain, Brig. Gen. Paul D. Moga, and BG Lawrence G. Ferguson; that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc without intervening action or debate, that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Now, Mr. President, today, hundreds--hundreds--of military families across the country can breathe a sigh of relief. The Senate has now unanimously confirmed hundreds

of military nominations that were held up for 10 months by a single person: the Senator from Alabama. Thank God, these military officers will now get the promotions they so rightfully earned.

I am happy that, after so much unnecessary delay by one Senator, we have finally moved forward and given these men and women the promotions they deserve. And we will work to confirm the rest of the nominees that were on hold very soon.

While today's confirmations are good news, these holds should never have happened in the first place. Unfortunately, resolving this impasse took too long, risking our national security and throwing the lives of so many military families into discombobulation. I am glad that pointless and gravely damaging ordeal has finally, finally ended.

Now, let this incident be a warning: No one--no one--should attempt this in the Senate again. The senior Senator from Alabama has nothing to show for his 10 months of delay--no law is changing in any way-- except for the damage he did to our military readiness and the pain he caused to military families. If every Senator did what Senator Tuberville tried to do and held up military confirmations because of this or that partisan issue, no matter how deeply felt, it would grind the Senate to a halt. It would be a catastrophe for our military. Holding up military nominations was an unsuccessful and risky strategy in this instance and should never, ever happen again.

I want to thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle who spoke out in defense of our military families. I want to thank, particularly, Senator Reed, the chair of the Armed Services Committee; Senator Klobuchar, the chair of the Rules Committee; and I really want to thank Senators Ernst and Sullivan for their courage in helping break the logjam after so, so many months. For all those who played a part in bringing this impasse to an end, thank you. Thank you. It took patience. It took resolve. But we have emerged on the right side of where we should be.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 352.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call for the cloture motion filed today, December 5, be waived.

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

Madam President, I have two 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:

Finally, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 6; 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 upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Rayes nomination; further, that the cloture motions filed during yesterday's session ripen at 12:30 p.m.; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during Wednesday's session, that 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.

Madam President, now, on the supplemental, America's national security is on the line around the world--in Europe, in the Middle East, and in the Indo-Pacific. Autocrats and radical extremists are waging war against democracy, against our values, against our way of life.

Before the year is out, it is important for the Senate to pass an emergency national security supplemental package providing aid to Ukraine, to Israel; humanitarian aid to innocent civilians in Gaza; and deterrence against adversaries in the Indo-Pacific. Both parties understand the consequences will be severe if we fail. Just this morning, OMB Director Shalanda Young warned congressional leaders that absent action from Congress, funding to help Ukraine will run out by the end of the year.

Alarmingly, process on the national security package has been on ice for weeks--not because Republicans objected to Israel aid or aid to Ukraine or humanitarian aid to innocent civilians in Gaza or the Indo- Pacific but because Republicans have injected partisan and extreme immigration measures into the debate.

Let me repeat that. The holdup on the security supplemental has not been over Ukraine or Israel or the Indo-Pacific but over Republicans' decision to inject hard-right immigration measures into the debate.

Democrats agree immigration should be debated and addressed. But if Republicans want to raise the issue of immigration right now, the onus is on them to present us with bipartisan ideas. Democrats have spent weeks--weeks--engaging in good faith on this issue. In fact, the President's supplemental proposal puts money directly toward vetting asylum claims, reducing court backlogs, and stopping fentanyl, which is exactly what our Republican colleagues say they want.

But instead of meeting us in the middle, Republicans have tripled down on extremist policies that seem dictated by Donald Trump and Stephen Miller, like indefinite detention of asylum seekers and sweeping powers to shut down the immigration system.

Democrats want to be reasonable on immigration. We are willing to make concessions, but we will not keep going in circles if Republicans aren't interested in even meeting us halfway.

Now, just because both sides can't reach an agreement does not mean that we can't get something done. But it must be broadly bipartisan. Neither side can dictate what can be in the bill, which is what many of our Republican colleagues seem to want.

The two parties don't disagree seriously on Israel or Ukraine aid or humanitarian assistance to Gaza or the Indo-Pacific. We should, therefore, work toward passing these areas where we have bipartisan agreement.

The world is watching what we do in Congress these coming weeks. You can bet Vladimir Putin is watching, Hamas is watching, Iran, President Xi, North Korea. All our adversaries are watching closely.

If Congress fails to defend democracy in its hour of need--all because of border policies inspired by Donald Trump and Stephen Miller--the judgment of history will be harsh indeed.

Madam President, last week, America lost a towering figure of the 20th century: former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Through her life, her work, and her legacy, Justice O'Connor forever changed the nature of the Supreme Court. She was the first woman to ever hold the solemn title of ``Justice.''

And with every case she oversaw and every opinion she authored, Justice O'Connor carried out her historic role with integrity and distinction. She moved our country forward in so many ways: protecting women's rights, protecting clean air, protecting voting rights, and fighting discrimination.

I can't help but reflect on her calm and steady presence on the Court, even in the most tumultuous of times and in the most divisive of cases. That presence was so needed during her tenure, and she will be sorely missed.

Our thoughts are with Justice O'Connor's family and loved ones.

Madam President, now, on NDAA, Democrats have committed to working with Republicans to pass the annual Defense authorization bill through Congress before the end of the year.

Four months ago, the Senate passed our own version of the NDAA with strong bipartisan support. Our bipartisan NDAA made a critical downpayment to rein in the Chinese Government on fentanyl trafficking, the purchase of U.S. farmlands, outbound investments, and more.

We also passed critical parts of AUKUS, one of the most important tools we have for outcompeting the Chinese Government. We must include all of AUKUS in the final agreement.

But, right now, a number of House Republicans--who like to talk a big game on China--are actually sabotaging some of the best tough-on- Chinese-Government accomplishments we have passed in the NDAA. Instead of standing up to the Chinese government, House Republicans seem to be doing their bidding.

For one, House Republican leadership is dangerously close to killing a bipartisan measure to disrupt elicit opioid supply chains--many of which began in China--and punish those who facilitate fentanyl trafficking. This measure, the FEND Act, was adopted with strong bipartisan support in the Senate. It has been championed by the leadership of both the Banking and Armed Services Committees.

Holding the Chinese Government accountable for the fentanyl crisis is the definition of a legislative layup, but House Republicans are trying to kill this bill if they don't get their way on unrelated measures. Instead of making the layup, they are throwing up an air ball.

Incredibly, there is more. Earlier this summer, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a measure limiting the free flow of U.S. investment into China for sensitive advanced technologies like semiconductors, AI, and more. It would codify elements of an Executive order that President Biden issued in August on outbound investments.

What is more commonsense than stopping U.S. dollars from helping Chinese companies beat us on chips and AI and quantum computing?

Yet, once again, House Republicans, with the apparent blessing of their leadership, are blocking the bipartisan measure.

So House Republicans will talk a good game on fighting the Chinese Government but oppose measures to hold that government accountable for the fentanyl crisis, which is so afflicting America. House Republicans will howl that President Biden is not tough enough on China but refuse to codify restrictions on outbound investments that President Biden already issued.

There are only two words to describe House Republicans' record when it comes to China: cynical and hypocritical. We have a chance--a chance--to pass real, bipartisan reforms to help us outcompete the Chinese Government, but House Republicans are going out of their way-- out of their way--to kill these wins.

Finally, on UAPs, while it is not related to China, House Republicans are also attempting to kill another commonsense, bipartisan measure passed by the Senate, which I was proud to cosponsor with Senator Rounds as the lead sponsor, to increase transparency around what the government does and does not know about unidentified aerial phenomena.

Unidentified aerial phenomena generate intense curiosity for many Americans, and the risk for confusion and misinformation is high if the government isn't willing to be transparent.

The measure I championed with Senator Rounds would create a board, just like we did with the JFK assassination records, to work through the declassification of many government records on UAPs. This model has been a terrific success for decades. It should be used again with UAPs, but, once again, House Republicans are ready to kill this bipartisan provision.

Now, we are going to get the NDAA done this year, just like we have for more than six decades, but there is still some more work to do.

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

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 317.