Floor Statements

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 117.

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

I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, November 15, be waived.

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

Mr. President, on another matter, today, with a heart full of gratitude, I join my colleagues in paying tribute to Laura Lytle, who is retiring today as the Daily Press Media Gallery Director.

Laura is precisely my kind of Senate staffer: It was through her good work that the press has been able for all these years to access the Senate and keep the American public informed about our work.

Laura joined the Sergeant at Arms in May of 1994 as an intern in the Press Gallery, taking on special projects to help the fine-tuned machinery of the Gallery to function properly. Over the years, she worked her way up the ladder and became the director of the Daily Press Media Gallery in June of 2013.

It was Laura who was responsible for credentialing reporters for daily newspapers, wire services, and online publications and has helped facilitate press interactions with Members.

Without Laura, that crucial bridge between this Chamber and the public that the press creates would not be possible. She has been the facilitator and gatekeeper, and we are all so thankful for her service.

Laura, we wish you the very best on the next step in our journey. We will miss you, and please know you always have a home here in the Senate.

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 immediate consideration Calendar No. 117, S. 106.

I further ask that the committee-reported substitute amendment be withdrawn; that the Baldwin substitute amendment, which is at the desk, be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that 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 the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration Calendar No. 191, S. 1510.

I ask unanimous consent that the Braun substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that 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 the Senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions: S. Res. 468, S. Res. 469, S. Res. 470, S. Res. 471.

I ask unanimous consent that 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.

Finally, 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, November 17 at 7:30 a.m.; Tuesday, November 21, at 10 a.m.; Friday, November 24, at 11 a.m.; further, that when the Senate adjourns on Friday, November 24, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Monday, November 27; 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 morning business be closed; that following the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Bryan nomination; further, that the cloture motions filed during today's session ripen at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, November 27.

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 my many Republican colleagues.

Madam President, tomorrow, for the second time since taking office, President Biden will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the APEC summit in San Francisco.

Above all, I look forward to President Biden pushing President Xi on something I raised during the bipartisan codel I led to China: cracking down on the sale of precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl.

When my Senate colleagues and I met with President Xi, we explained in stark detail how destructive the fentanyl crisis was here in America and that China had a responsibility to do its part to stop its trafficking. One step we strongly urged President Xi to take is for Chinese law enforcement to coordinate with the United States to enforce laws already on the books on the sale of precursor chemicals. I believe we have made progress on this issue, and I am very optimistic that good news will come from tomorrow's meeting regarding fentanyl when President Biden meets with President Xi.

If China stopped the sale of chemicals used to make fentanyl, it would not only save countless American lives but even benefit China, as it would go a long way to improving China's image in the minds of Americans.

So, just as we pushed President Xi on cracking down on fentanyl last month, I expect President Biden will urge him to do so tomorrow, and I think we may see real results. When we met with President Xi in person, we were pointed and specific with our questions and issues and found him to be responsive, and I hope President Biden will have the same sort of frank conversation tomorrow with President Xi.

Madam President, we have until Friday to avert another costly, unnecessary, and avoidable government shutdown. Time is a luxury that neither side has. If we are going to keep the lights on beyond this Friday, our Republican colleagues will have to work with Democrats in a bipartisan way to pass a clean extension without hard- right cuts and without poison pills.

So far, I am heartened--cautiously so--that Speaker Johnson is moving forward with a CR that omits precisely the sort of hard-right cuts that would have been nonstarters for Democrats. I certainly don't agree with everything the Speaker is proposing, and I can't imagine too many Senators would have taken the Speaker's approach in drafting this bill. But the proposal before

the House does two things Democrats have pushed for: It will avert a shutdown, and it will do so without making any terrible, hard-right cuts that the MAGA rightwing demands. It also eliminates the poison pills that so many MAGA Congress Members put in the bills.

We will see over the course of today how the House moves forward. Over the past few days, a significant portion of the Speaker's hard- right flank has torched his proposal precisely because it doesn't make cuts. I hope the Speaker does not yield to the demands of the hard right as we try to keep the government open. Instead, I hope the Speaker continues to recognize he will need Democratic votes in order to avoid a shutdown.

Madam President, on Senator Tuberville, today, the Senate Rules Committee will mark up a resolution allowing the Senate to quickly confirm the military promotions currently being blocked by Senator Tuberville. I will join the Rules Committee later today--I am a member of the committee; it is the only committee on which I serve--and vote in favor of this resolution. I will vote in favor of the Rules Committee's resolution.

For 9 months, Senator Tuberville has thumbed his nose at longstanding Senate custom and prevented the swift, bipartisan confirmations of hundreds of generals and flag officers. Each time Members from both sides have tried to reason with Senator Tuberville, he has only dug in further.

As a result of Senator Tuberville's holds, America's national security is now paying the price. Our military readiness is paying the price, and our military spouses and kids, who can't plan the next chapters in their lives even though they have served us for many, many years--they pay the price too.

Patience is wearing thin with Senator Tuberville on both sides of the aisle. I strongly support this resolution to overcome these military holds, and if it is reported out of committee today and if our Republican colleagues cannot soon convince Senator Tuberville to drop his holds, I will bring it to the floor for a vote.

I thank Chair Klobuchar and Chairman Reed for their good work on moving this important resolution.

Madam President, on the student debt CRA, as soon as today, Senate Republicans will force a vote on a cruel measure to eliminate President Biden's historic Student Loan Repayment Program and strip away a critical lifeline for millions and millions of borrowers. I strongly oppose this terrible Republican measure to deny American families a critical lifeline just 1 month after the pause on student loan payments ended.

My Republican colleagues talk a big game about helping working families, but with this student debt congressional resolution, they are actively trying to block relief that would immediately improve the lives of so many working Americans. The hypocrisy is glaring. Republicans are willing to give huge tax breaks to ultrawealthy billionaires and large corporations, but when it comes to helping working families, Republicans refuse to give them a break. They say that it costs too much money. But billionaire tax cuts don't? Give me a break.

Right now, there are over 5.5 million borrowers involved in President Biden's SAVE Plan, including nearly 300,000 in my home State of New York alone. So the worst thing we could do for these borrowers and these families right now is let this Republican CRA pass and strip away this critical lifeline.

I will strongly oppose this Republican CRA to overturn student debt relief, and Democrats will keep working to make sure relief reaches every borrower in need.

Madam President, on the Supreme Court, yesterday, for the first time, the U.S. Supreme Court announced the adoption of an ethical code of conduct for Justices. At a time when Americans' trust in the High Court is deeply, deeply shaken, the Supreme Court has taken an important step to lay down basic rules of the road for our Justices. Frankly, this should have happened a long time ago. Lower courts have long been required to embrace an ethical code of conduct, and there is no reason that the Supreme Court should not have done the same.

Now, while the Supreme Court's announcement was important, its lack of enforceability is a glaring omission. Justices, it seems, are left to their own devices in applying this code to themselves. Frankly, Americans could be excused if they are skeptical after everything they have read in the paper about Justices accepting lavish gifts and vacationing with ultrarich ideologues, some of whom bring cases before the Court.

Sheldon Whitehouse said it well. He said: It is as if they are agreeing to the rules of baseball but no umpires.

So, while the Justices' code of conduct is a necessary and important step, it cannot be the final word. The public's trust in our courts is a key feature of our democratic society, and there is a lot of work left to do before that trust is fully restored. Congress must--must-- continue its efforts to hold the judiciary accountable.