Floor Statements

Mr. President, and there is much more to do here in Congress right now that will demand exactly the kind of bipartisanship Americans have made clear they want. In a little over a week, the Federal Government will shut down if Congress does not come together to pass a bipartisan extension of funding.

Today, I am taking the first procedural step for the Senate to move forward on a legislative vehicle we can use next week to pass a temporary extension to avoid a government shutdown. Over the next few days, Democrats will continue talking to Republicans about finding a path forward and avoiding a shutdown that both sides support, and I earnestly hope we can reach agreement sooner rather than later.

No matter how negotiations evolve over the next week, one thing is not going to change: The only way--the only way--let me say it a third time--the only way we avoid a shutdown is with bipartisan cooperation, just as it was true in September, and it will be true in the future.

I implore Speaker Johnson and our House Republican colleagues to learn

from the fiasco of a month ago: Hard-right proposals, hard-right slashing cuts, hard-right poison pills that have zero support from Democrats will only make a shutdown more likely. I hope they don't go down that path in the week to come.

Mr. President, now on nominations, earlier this week, I am proud to say--really proud to say--that the Senate majority confirmed the hundredth woman to the Federal bench since President Biden took office, and I am equally proud to say it was the 150th judge overall.

Today, the Senate will hit two more significant milestones. After we confirm Monica Almadani and Brandy McMillion today, this Senate majority will have confirmed 50 Black judges and 100 people of color to the bench. Democrats are making our courts look more like America. This majority has confirmed more women, more Black people, more people of color to the bench than any full first term of any previous President. That is a record to be proud of.

Under President Trump, just 16 percent of judicial nominees were people of color. Under President Biden and this Senate majority, 100 of the now more than 150 judges have been people of color.

And yesterday, the Senate confirmed Ramon Reyes as a district judge for the Eastern District of New York. Judge Reyes is now the only male Federal judge of Puerto Rican descent and the second Hispanic man to ever sit on the Eastern District. Judge Reyes is a truly outstanding jurist who will be an excellent addition to the Eastern District. I was proud to recommend his nomination to President Biden and even prouder to see him confirmed yesterday.

Mr. President, on our AI Insight Forum, yesterday, the Senate held our fifth and sixth bipartisan AI Insight Forums. Both AI Insight Forums were a huge success. We learned a lot; we had a lot of good discussions; we all left with a better understanding of the ways AI is already reshaping our world.

Our Elections and Democracy AI Insight Forum was especially informative. It is the area that requires the most immediate action because the 2024 elections are fast approaching, and we know there have already been--and always have been--bad actors trying to jaundice our elections. But we agreed, we agreed in the forum, that AI will be a dramatic force multiplier for the spread of disinformation.

We also agreed that government can't alone act to create guardrails to protect our elections in the age of AI. I was proud to see three major companies in the room during the AI Insight Forum--Meta, Microsoft, and Google--come out and say they supported legislation to create these guardrails.

We also agreed that we need to act quickly to secure our democracy in the age of AI because time is of the essence ahead of next year's elections. It may be the thing we have to do first when it comes to legislating and creating guardrails in AI.

Mr. President, on the Supreme Court, the American people are experiencing a severe crisis of confidence in the integrity of the highest Court in all the land. Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee is taking an important step to restore confidence in the Supreme Court by voting to authorize subpoenas to Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo, who have used their immense power to gain undisclosed access--undisclosed access--to Supreme Court Justices.

I support Chairman Durbin and the Judiciary Committee's decision to authorize these subpoenas because Americans are sick of reading in the paper that rich MAGA extremists are using their yachts and jets and gifts to pal around with the Supreme Court and doing so largely in secret. These previous undisclosed reports of lavish gifts suggest there is a two-tiered system of justice, and that needs to be fixed.

Americans know there is something shady going on when ultrawealthy MAGA extremists can basically buy face time with the Justices, who then turn around and overturn Roe v. Wade, gut affirmative action, block student debt relief, and green-light discrimination against LGBTQ Americans. The same millionaires--billionaires--who are giving gifts and giving trips to these Justices are the very same people pushing a whole lot of this agenda with the Supreme Court, and, whoa, lo and behold, the Supreme Court does it.

The bottom line is, at the very least, the appearance of this kind of impropriety needs to stop, and Americans need to learn more. And the Senate is well within its right to look under the hood to ensure we can increase transparency, which these subpoenas would do.

I support the Judiciary Committee's vote to authorize these subpoenas, and I thank Chairman Durbin and my Democratic colleagues on the committee for their work.

Mr. President, now on Liz Moynihan, this week, New York lost one of its talented figures, one of its brightest minds, one of its most radiant spirits--Liz Moynihan--who passed away Tuesday evening. I had the immense joy of knowing her for many, many wonderful years, the partner to my old mentor, Senator Moynihan, here in the Senate.

Senator Moynihan may have been the one in the spotlight, but everyone knew there would be no Daniel without a Liz, who was not just a lifelong partner but also his top adviser, his best advocate, and, arguably, the best political strategist. To borrow a phrase attributed to another powerful New York woman, ``behind every great man is a greater woman.'' And that was certainly true for Liz.

Liz Moynihan was someone always who preferred to operate outside the limelight but was always able to command the attention of Presidents, Senators, ambassadors, and mayors, and even archeologists, having discovered on her own the gardens of the Mughal Emperor Babur, while living in India.

In short, Liz Moynihan was a virtuoso in so many ways. She never held office herself. Yet she made the careers of so many--most of all, her husband's--possible. May she rest in peace after a wonderful, full, and rich life, dedicated to making this country better.

My condolences to my dear friend Laura and all of the Moynihan family and everyone whose lives she touched over the years.

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

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 30,

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

I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call for the cloture motion filed today, November 9, be waived.

I yield the floor.

Today, Senators from both sides of the aisle will take the next step in

keeping our elections secure--this time from the powerful changes wrought by artificial intelligence, AI.

This morning, I will join with colleagues from both sides and with experts from across the country for our AI Insight Forum on elections and democracy. It is one of the most important forums that we will hold this year, because of all the ways AI will shape our lives, and few are as immediate and stark as the impact it could have on elections.

This is the problem we now face: If left unchecked, AI has the potential to erode our democracy from within and from abroad.

Political ads have already been released this year using AI-generated images and text-to-voice converters to depict certain candidates in a negative light. Uncensored chatbots can already be deployed in a massive scale to target millions of individual voters for political persuasion. And, unfortunately, once damaging information is sent to 100 million homes, it is hard--and at times impossible--to put the genie back in the bottle.

If we don't enact the right guardrails soon, we could soon live in a world where political campaigns regularly deploy totally fabricated yet totally believable images and footage of Democratic or Republican candidates, distorting their statements and greatly harming their election chances.

Protecting our elections from AI's risks isn't just an issue for Democrats or just Republicans. Everyone--everyone--will be affected. Time is of the essence, as Americans prepare to go to the polls in 2024. So I encourage all my colleagues to come to this AI forum this morning.

Mr. President, another election night in America, another win for women's choice, another win for democracy, another win for the Democratic agenda of jobs, infrastructure, and lowering costs for the middle class.

Another terrible defeat for the MAGA agenda. Americans don't want hard-right extremists to govern this country. At stake last night was a woman's right to choose in Ohio, the Governorship in Kentucky, cannabis reform in Ohio, control of the legislature in Virginia, State Supreme Court seats, and so much more.

In almost every major election, Democratic candidates and Democratic issues prevailed. This continued and strengthened the trend of Democratic victories last year. There is no possible takeaway from last night other than this: Americans fiercely oppose MAGA extremism, fiercely oppose total abortion bans, and want bipartisan leaders who can put America's needs first.

After last night's results, I have a message to my Republican colleagues: When the MAGA agenda can't win in deep red Kentucky or in Ohio or help you in Virginia, it is time to recognize MAGA extremism is the wrong answer, not just for the country, but even for the GOP.

I hope Republicans in Congress see that after last night, extremism must be rejected and bipartisanship embraced. Time will tell if House Republicans choose the right path.

I want to say one more thing about the results in Ohio. With strong support, the people of Ohio have voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Americans think it is long past time to enact cannabis reform. So here in the Senate, I will continue to work with colleagues on both sides and my good friend Senator Brown to keep moving on bipartisan cannabis legislation as soon as we can.

Last night shows just how precious and vital and sacrosanct our system of elections is. It shows how much work we have to do to preserve democracy so that it can survive in the 21st century.

Mr. President, now on global issues and challenges. The global community is facing a great number of challenges these days: Israel and Hamas are at war, with Iran itching to join the fray; Russian aggression in Ukraine challenges the stability of the Western alliance; the Chinese government threatens Taiwan's independence.

The United States is uniquely positioned and, I would argue, needed to play a role in ensuring the peaceful existence of the people of Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, and Taiwan. I believe that most Members of this body would agree with me. However, some Members on the other side of the aisle--not all--seem to prefer that the United States sit on the sidelines or, in other words, put their heads in the sand as we face these global battles.

Some Members on the other side of the aisle seem to prefer that Putin, Xi, and Hamas pursue their ambitions unthwarted.

I state right here and now that I do not agree with those Republican colleagues. I believe that the United States of America must make a stand against totalitarianism and terrorism. I would hope that everyone would agree with me. But here in the Senate, it seems that some of my Republican colleagues are siding with Putin and placing unrealistic conditions on aid to Ukraine.

But we are not giving up. We are going to keep pushing, and we will succeed. Whether it is aid to Israel or aid to Ukraine or aid for Taiwan or humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza or keeping the government open or avoiding default, Republicans must shun doing the thing that some hard-right Republicans want them to do: take issues that, on their own, have strong bipartisan support and inject them with toxic provisions that make it impossible to get anything done. That is what happened last week with the House Israel bill. It is what is happening this week with a Senate GOP immigration proposal.

At a moment when the world is in crisis, when our friends abroad need our help, when our troops face increased attacks in Iraq and Syria, and with a government shutdown looming over us, this moment calls for bipartisanship. This moment calls for Republicans and Democrats to be realistic and clear-eyed about what we can pass through both Chambers on immigration, border, and all other issues.

Israel, Ukraine, civilians in Gaza, the Indo-Pacific, all of these things have bipartisan support in both Chambers. All of them deal with our national security. None of them should be turned into bargaining chips for hard-right policies. We must win on all of them.

Now, it has been over a month since Israel endured the deadliest terrorist attack in her entire history. There are still over 250 hostages held by Hamas, including American hostages and women and children. We promised to send Israel aid as soon as we could, and we will work hard--hopefully, in a bipartisan way--to get this done.

In the last 2 days, I have spoken with senior officials in the Israeli government--including President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Gallant, Minister Gantz, and Opposition Leader Lapid--and reiterated that the United States has Israel's back in this dark hour. I made clear that 1 month after Hamas' attack, America's commitment to Israel and to the Israeli people is ironclad, and America will always be Israel's strongest ally. I assured them that I am doing everything to pass the President's assistance package ASAP.

In my conversations, I stressed to Israeli leaders that as Israel works to radically reduce the threat of Hamas, which they must do, they also have a responsibility to protect innocent Palestinian civilian life. We know this is not easy, but it must be done. We must likewise work together to send critical humanitarian aid to innocent civilians in Gaza who have nothing to do with Hamas.

I also strongly urged the Israeli government to quickly clamp down on settler violence against and displacement of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. Violence and displacement against these Palestinian civilians are not just wrong, it risks spreading the current crisis beyond Gaza at a time when Israel and America are working hard to deter other actors from taking advantage of the situation. In the long run, it also makes it much harder to achieve a two-state solution, which I support and which the vast majority of Americans support, and which Hamas does not.

We also talked about my meetings with the families of the hostages. I shared how I was moved by the stories of families of hostages held by Hamas whom I met in Israel and in the United States, and I discussed the need to locate and secure the release of all hostages held by Hamas through all means possible.

Finally, I encouraged Israeli leaders to do all they can to support the Senate's comprehensive packnage, including robust humanitarian assistance for Gaza, so that innocent civilians, who have nothing to do with Hamas, can get the food, water, and necessities they need.

At every point during my conversation with Israeli leaders, one idea remained constant: We will stand strong with Israel. We will support Israel's right to defend themselves, and we will work hard to pass emergency assistance for Israel and Ukraine and humanitarian assistance for Gaza and the Indo-Pacific as soon as we can.

Mr. President, it is my honor to recognize an outstanding Senate Stationery Room employee, Dale Montgomery, who is retiring today after more than 50 years of service to the U.S. Senate.

For Dale, working in the Senate was more than just a calling; it is in his blood. Dale's father worked in the Senate Library for 35 years, and his grandfather worked with the Architect of the Capitol dating back to 1914. So, when the opportunity arose to follow in his family's footsteps, Dale couldn't refuse. Without ever even filling out an application, Dale accepted a job where he would spend the next half- century of his life.

Dale's first day in the Stationery Room was in 1973, in a different world and a very different Senate. He rose through the ranks, starting in the warehouse doing deliveries before moving to the Stationery Store as a clerk and then as a sales associate. No matter the title he held, Dale approached each task with a great level of care and attention to detail. His contributions to the day-to-day operations of the Senate are truly immeasurable.

Dale quickly became one of the Senate community's most beloved members. His affable nature and affinity for music attracted friends and strangers alike, people from all around the country. Dale was a sought-after DJ and

was known to make an appearance at Senator Ford's Kentucky Derby parties. It didn't matter where, when, or how you met Dale, he was sure to leave a lasting impression.

The mark of a good employee is a steadfast commitment to the work. The mark of a good friend is a steadfast presence for each other. To everyone he encountered over the last 50 years, Dale was both--and so much more.

On behalf of the entire Senate community, we thank Dale for his years of dedicated service, and we wish him and his family the best in retirement.

Mr. President, in the next 2 weeks, Congress must work together to avoid another pointless, damaging, unnecessary government shutdown. We also must work together to defend America's national security around the world by standing with Israel, standing with Ukraine, and increasing our defenses in the Indo-Pacific. And we must provide critical humanitarian assistance, including to civilians in Gaza, who have nothing to do with Hamas, who need food and water and shelter.

None of this will be easy to do. None of this is guaranteed to happen. The outcome of the next 2 weeks will hang on the same thing I have emphasized all year long--bipartisan cooperation.

If Republicans are willing to work with Democrats in good faith on issues where there is real overlap--and there are many--then we can move forward on the things we must accomplish. But if Republicans inject partisanship into otherwise bipartisan priorities, that is only going to make it harder to avoid a shutdown, pass Israel aid, pass Ukraine aid, pass humanitarian aid for Gaza, and all our other priorities.

Yesterday, a group of Senate Republicans released a proposal for border security that they want in exchange for Ukraine funding, and they know full well what they came up with is a total nonstarter. Instead of putting together commonsense border policies that can pass in divided government, Senate Republicans basically copied and pasted large chunks of the House's radical H.R. 2 bill, and that is their asking price for helping Ukraine.

Making Ukraine funding conditional on the hard-right border policies that can't ever pass Congress is a huge mistake by our Republican colleagues. By tying Ukraine to the border, Republicans are sadly making it harder--much harder--for us to help Ukraine in their fight against Putin. It sends a terrible signal to both our friends and adversaries. It will be a moment that history will remember, if Ukraine aid is tied to this.

Large segments of both parties in the Senate support Ukraine. Large segments of both parties in the Senate

support Ukraine. So why on Earth do some Republicans want to torpedo it by tying this H.R. 2 anchor to Ukraine funding? This move is only going to endanger Ukraine assistance in the long run.

If Senate Republicans' open bid for border is an amalgamation of hard right policies, then, sadly, the two parties are far apart, and we have a lot of work to do to bridge the divide.

Now, I want to be clear, I would like to bridge the divide. Our caucus would like to see some kind of commonsense border policies done, and the President would like to get something done, as his supplemental proposal shows. If we can come together in a bipartisan fashion to stop the flow of fentanyl and give our frontline officers the resources and tools they need to do their jobs and stop fentanyl, all while staying true to our values, that is what we should be doing.

So, today, we are going to keep working with our Republican colleagues to see if there is a chance for compromise, but Republicans need to actually work with us on realistic border policies, even if it is not everything they want. You can't get just a few Republicans who are pretty much on the hard-right side of their party to say: Here is what we want. Take it or leave it.

That won't work. Senate Republicans should not repeat the mistake of the House GOP when they tried to push H.R. 2. Their H.R. 2 bill is going nowhere, and this Senate GOP proposal is very close to H.R. 2.

I have always been clear that I am ready to have open, good-faith, bipartisan negotiations. I was one of the authors of the Senate's comprehensive immigration bill from 2013. It was led by John McCain and me. I know what it is like to have a hard conversation about these issues. I know through firsthand experience this topic is not easy, but, nevertheless, I am willing to have conversations about the border again if Republicans are willing to meet us halfway.

We have so many shared bipartisan priorities to protect our Nation, our national security. I hope partisanship doesn't tarnish our shared purpose. I hope we can work in the coming days to bridge the gap.

Again, when Republicans willingly inject partisanship into issues that could have some bipartisan overlap, they make it extremely hard to get anything done. I urge my Republican colleagues to stop using the same approach again and again of taking bipartisan issues and injecting them with corrosive partisan measures that help sink them.

Mr. President, in a few moments, the Senate will confirm Julia Kobick as district judge for the District of Massachusetts.

I have great news: The Senate is about to confirm the 100th woman and the 150th judge overall to the Federal bench since we took the majority.

One judge at a time, this Democratic majority is making the Federal bench look more like America, and that is why the confirmation of the 100th woman to the court is so important. It is not only double the amount confirmed by President Trump in all his 4 years, it is also considerably more women than any full first term of any President. In fact, two-thirds--two-thirds--of all the judges we have confirmed under President Biden are women, and we have confirmed more women of color to the bench than any other President's entire time in office.

These hundred women are historic taken together, but they also include many who are historic in their own right. They include, of course, the first Black woman confirmed to the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson. They include the first Muslim-American woman on the Federal bench. They include the first Navajo Federal judge, and much more. We are getting the bench to look like America. It has been long overdue, but it is happening and happening in large steps under this Senate Democratic majority.

Now, I want to let America know we are proud to have reached this historic milestone, but we are not slowing down. Confirming more women on the bench is long, long overdue. The Senate, which has made strides more than any year to make that a reality, will continue to keep working to confirm more judicial nominations in the weeks and months to come.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, for months--for months--over 300 general and flag officer nominations have been indefinitely delayed because of the holds of the senior Senator from Alabama, and the consequences are mounting.

As war continues in the Middle East, the Senator's holds have prevented the swift confirmation of the commander of the Navy's 5th Fleet and the deputy commander of the U.S. Central Command, both vital for our operations in that region of the world. The Senator continues his holds even as U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria have been attacked two dozen times in the last 2 weeks.

At one point this summer, the Senator's holds meant that for the first time ever--ever--all three branches of the military operated simultaneously without confirmed leadership. And now the U.S. Marine Corps is suddenly without a leader due to illness, but because of the Senator's holds, there is no No. 2 in place to step in.

And it will get much worse for our military if the Senator continues his recklessness. The Pentagon says that by the end of this year, up to three-quarters--of the generals and admirals in the Defense Department will be affected by Senator Tuberville's holds.

Let me say that again. The Pentagon recently estimated that by the end of this year, up to three-quarters of the generals and admirals in the Defense Department will be affected by Senator Tuberville's reckless, reckless holds.

Patience is wearing thin on both sides of the aisle over the Senator's antics. Last night, a group of our Republican colleagues tried to confirm many of our military nominees by consent. For 4 hours, late into the evening, our colleagues moved from one nominee to the other, and the Senator from Alabama brazenly stood there and objected to each one.

Democrats and Republicans alike have tried to reason with the Senator from Alabama, offering him one solution for compromise after the other, but every step he has refused to cooperate.

So 2 days ago, Chairman Reed of the Senate Armed Services Committee introduced a resolution that will allow the Senate to quickly confirm the

nominees currently being blocked by the Senator from Alabama. This resolution was referred to the Rules Committee, and, when the time comes, I will bring it to the floor of the Senate for consideration. If we can't solve this problem another way, we will all have to vote to move these nominees forward.

We will work with our Republican colleagues in good faith to move this resolution forward because most of us want these holds on our military leaders to come to an end quickly. Our military deserves better. Our servicemembers deserve better. Their spouses and their kids and their entire families deserve better. These holds must not continue. We will work to move this resolution, and I hope to see bipartisan support so we can finally get these hundreds of nominees appointed to their posts.

In the meantime, the Senate will move forward on three critical senior military nominees here on the floor. We will vote to confirm the nomination of Lieutenant General Mahoney to be the second in command at the U.S. Marine Corps. As I mentioned, Lieutenant General Mahoney's confirmation has become a top priority for the Senate after the Commandant of the Marines, Gen. Eric Smith, was unexpectedly hospitalized after a serious medical emergency. We pray for the General's recovery and for his family.

We will also vote to confirm ADM Lisa Franchetti to be the next Chief of Naval Operations. Admiral Franchetti's confirmation will mark a significant milestone in our military's history. Once confirmed, Admiral Franchetti will be the first woman ever to lead the U.S. Navy.

I am proud to say she is a Rochester, NY, native, and a graduate of Pittsford Mendon High School.

Admiral Franchetti is an exceptional leader with a distinguished career serving our Nation. I am confident she has the experience, the skills, and the vision to succeed as the U.S. Navy's top officer.

Finally, we will vote to confirm the nomination of Gen. David Allvin to be Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force.

Both parties must work together--work together--to ensure that our military is fully staffed and fully equipped to defend the American people at any time, but particularly at this time of crisis, and that begins by confirming these vital nominations today.

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