Floor Statements

I ask unanimous consent that the cloture motion with respect to the Ho nomination be withdrawn and the cloture vote on the Syed nomination occur at 2:30 p.m. today; further, that the Senate recess following the confirmation vote on the Crane nomination until 2:15 to allow for the weekly caucus meetings.

I yield the floor.

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nominations en bloc: Calendar Nos. 76, 128, and 216; 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 that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions: S. Res. 239, S. Res. 240, and S. Res. 241.

I know of no further debate on the resolutions en bloc.

I ask unanimous consent that the preambles be agreed to and that 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 stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 8; 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 following the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Silfen nomination; further, that at 11:30 a.m., notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate vote on confirmation of the Syed nomination, followed by the cloture vote on the Silfen nomination, and that if cloture is invoked on the Silfen nomination, all postcloture time be considered expired at 1:45 p.m.; finally, that if nominations are confirmed during Thursday's session, 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 unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. President, now on nominations, after voting to avoid default last week,

the Senate will focus this week on advancing more of President Biden's key administrative and judicial nominees.

Later today, the Senate will vote to advance the nomination of David Crane to be Under Secretary for Infrastructure at the Department of Energy.

The Under Secretary for Infrastructure is a new role at the DOE, created by the Biden administration and charged with implementing the historic clean energy investments made in our bipartisan infrastructure law.

Once confirmed, Mr. Crane's job will be ensuring our infrastructure dollars translate to lower energy costs, new clean energy manufacturing jobs, and a more resilient energy grid.

Mr. Crane received bipartisan support in the ENR Committee, and I expect that bipartisan support to carry on to the floor.

Also, the Senate will advance the nomination of Dilawar Syed to serve as second in command at the SBA, the Small Business Administration. Mr. Syed is the definition of a highly qualified nominee. His nomination is supported by a broad range of business stakeholders, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and he will have the crucial task of helping tens of millions of small businesses get the resources they need to grow their operations.

The SBA has not had a Senate-confirmed Deputy for more than 5 years, and Mr. Syed is one of the longest pending nominees in the Senate. So I am exceedingly pleased this qualified nominee is now moving forward. If confirmed, Mr. Syed will also add to the diversity of President Biden's administration by serving as the highest ranking Muslim official in the administration.

Finally, this week, we will begin considering the nomination of Dale Ho to serve as a district judge for the Southern District of New York.

It is shaping up to be another busy week in the Senate, and I thank my colleagues for their good work.

Mr. President, this morning, I released a ``Dear Colleague,'' alongside Senators Heinrich, Rounds, and Young, announcing three Senators-only briefings on artificial intelligence taking place starting in the next few weeks. These bipartisan briefings will culminate in the first-ever classified all-Senate briefing on AI's impact on national security. In fact, all three briefings are the first all-Senators briefings on AI. The briefings will be led by some of the top minds in AI and will help Senators develop much needed expertise on defining the technological shift of this century.

I urge all my colleagues to attend these briefings because it won't be long before we see AI's dramatic changes in the workplace, in the classroom, in our living rooms, and in virtually every corner of our lives. It is already starting to happen. We must be ready.

These all-Senate briefings are important because elected representatives in the 21st century cannot ignore AI any more than we can ignore national security, job creation, or our civil liberties. AI will permanently impact all these things and more.

The first briefing in the next few weeks will focus on the state of artificial intelligence today. The second briefing will focus on where this technology is headed in the future and how America can stay at the forefront of innovation. The third, our first-ever classified briefing on AI, will focus on how our adversaries will use AI against us, while detailing how defense and intelligence agencies will use this technology to keep Americans safe.

We will share more details on dates, times, and speakers in the coming days, and again, I urge every Senator, Democrat and Republican, to attend all three briefings.

I thank Senators Heinrich, Rounds, and Young for cosponsoring these briefings with me.

The Senate and all leaders have an obligation to deepen our expertise in AI because if we do our jobs correctly, we can ensure AI becomes a remarkable force for human prosperity, while mitigating its very real potential risks.

I look forward to attending these briefings and again thank Senators Rounds, Heinrich, and Young for joining me in this important announcement.

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

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 166.

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, June 6, be waived.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the consideration of the following nomination: Calendar No. 165, Craig Anderson for U.S. Marshal for the district of Montana for the term of 4 years, that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

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.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 7; 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 following the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Crane nomination postcloture; further, that all time be considered expired at 11:30 a.m. and 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.