Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in recess subject to the call of the Chair.

Mr. President, this resolution concerns a lawsuit filed in Federal court in the District of Columbia against the Select Committee on Intelligence and Chairman Warner, that attempts to force the committee to release to the plaintiff the full report of the Committee's in-depth study of the CIA's terrorist detention and interrogation program. Plaintiff claims that he has a common law right, never before applied to Senate records, to review this committee document despite the report being classified and despite the committee having not chosen to release the report publicly and having submitted it to the Senate confidentially.

It is important to note that the committee has already released the lengthy executive summary and the findings and conclusions from the report, after a declassification review; so the public has been informed of the committee's work and the findings and conclusions of its study.

Plaintiff's attempt to force the Senate to release to him the full report not only contravenes the Senate's constitutional prerogative to decide which documents to keep confidential, but also interferes with the independence of the Senate in conducting its legislative and oversight duties. This resolution would authorize the Senate legal counsel to represent the Select Committee on Intelligence and Chairman Warner in order to seek dismissal of this suit.

Mr. President, this resolution concerns a lawsuit filed in Federal court in the District of Columbia against the Secretary of the Senate and her office and that seeks to force the Secretary to provide the plaintiff with a copy of the Senate security manual. That manual, which is for internal Senate use and is not publicly available, sets forth the procedures for handling classified national security information within the Senate. Plaintiff claims that he has a common law right, never before applied to Senate records, to review this Senate document despite the security manual being restricted to internal Senate distribution given the sensitivity of the procedures for protecting classified information maintained by the Senate.

Plaintiff's suit seeking to compel the production of this Senate document encroaches upon the Senate's constitutional prerogative to decide which documents to keep confidential and interferes with the independence of the Senate in establishing its own internal rules and guidelines for handling information necessary to carrying out its legislative and oversight responsibilities. This resolution would authorize the Senate legal counsel to represent the Secretary and her office in this case in order to seek dismissal of this suit.

Madam President, I begin this morning with some good news: Today, the Senate will pass a continuing resolution that will eliminate the possibility of a government shutdown tonight. The CR we are voting on will keep the government funded until December 3, provide funding to help process and resettle Afghan refugees, and finally deliver on critical disaster aid for Americans battered by the storms and wildfires this summer.

As part of today's agreement, we will hold a vote series starting at 10:30 this morning on three amendments offered by Senators Cotton, Marshall, and Braun. We will hold a vote on final passage soon thereafter, and I am confident the House will approve this measure later this afternoon and send it to the President's desk before funding runs out.

This is a good outcome, one I am happy we are getting done. With so many things to take care of here in Washington, the last thing the American people need is for the government to grind to a halt. But, of course, we have more work to do. Just as our Republican colleagues realize that a government shutdown would be catastrophic, they should realize that a default on the national debt would be even worse. I will have more to say on this later.

Nominations

Madam President, now on nominations, despite a week marked by Republican obstruction, the Senate is making great progress on our responsibility to confirm President Biden's nominees to his administration.

Last week, a handful of Members made a scene here on the Senate floor in a doomed effort to stymie a number of nominees critical to our national defense. I am glad to say that, over the course of the week, we have successfully confirmed these individuals despite these theatrics from that handful of Republicans Senators.

This Chamber will not allow anyone to hijack the confirmation process to score political points and to prevent these nominations from being approved. It will not happen. We will move forward. It will take a little more time, but we will get it done.

Today, the Senate will keep going. After passing the CR, we will turn to the nomination of Rohit Chopra to serve as the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Mr. Chopra is the right man to lead this Agency tasked with protecting Americans from predatory financial institutions. He is a veteran of the CFPB from the Obama years, where he specialized in protecting students from unscrupulous practices of student loan providers.

Under President Trump, who didn't give a hoot about the average person, the CFPB spent more time protecting the likes of payday lenders and for-profit colleges than American consumers. With Mr. Chopra's confirmation, the CFPB will return to fighting on the side of the American worker instead of big financial institutions. I look forward to his confirmation today.

After that, we will turn to the nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning to lead the Bureau of Land Management. Few Agencies are as important for protecting and promoting America's public lands. In the years to come, the BLM will play an even greater strategic role in our government's effort to fight climate change.

Ms. Stone-Manning is a familiar face here in the Senate. She served as a staffer for Senator Tester before moving to Montana to work for then-Governor Bullock. As head of Montana's environmental agency, she earned the reputation not only as a skilled policymaker but also as an honest broker, one who commanded the respect of conservationists and ranchers alike.

Of course, you would never guess that by listening to some of the histrionics coming from the other side. Unable to disqualify Ms. Stone- Manning on the merits, which is so obvious to just about anyone who studies it, some of our Republican colleagues have used her nomination to launch cheap, out-of-context attacks. Thankfully, no one is taking these attacks seriously.

Because of her exceptional qualifications, Tracy Stone-Manning has broad support of the Democratic caucus to lead the BLM, and I expect her nomination to be approved later today.

Finally, I am also pleased that today President Biden is announcing the nomination of another outstanding judge from my home State: Dale Ho to serve as district judge for the Southern District of New York.

Like so many of President Biden's judicial nominees, Mr. Ho is a prominent civil rights lawyer and voting rights expert. A graduate of Yale and Princeton, a veteran of the NAACP and the ACLU, Mr. Ho would bring an impressive resume to the judiciary. I am thrilled that President Biden has taken my advice to nominate Mr. Ho, and I look forward to working on his confirmation.

In a more general note on this issue, I am proud that the Senate is not only increasing the demographic diversity on the bench--more women, more people of color, and more individuals from immigrant families--but also its occupational diversity as well--voting rights experts, civil rights lawyers, public defenders, and more. This is how we work to strengthen not only diversity in our judiciary but the trust that it represent all Americans.

Debt Limit

Madam President, finally, on the debt limit, just as our Republican colleagues realized a government shutdown would be catastrophic, they should realize that a default on the national debt would be even worse.

Throughout American history, the Federal Government has consistently paid its debt on time. The unbroken promise is what made the United States the leading economy in the world for so long, benefiting countless millions of families. So when we talk about extending the debt limit, that is what is at stake.

All week long, Senate Democrats presented our Republican colleagues with reasonable proposals to prevent a default from happening. We offered to hold a simple majority vote so Democrats could fix the debt ceiling ourselves. They rejected that offer.

We are not even asking Republicans to vote yes, even though we know they should, but, instead, just to get out of the way; just get out of the way, and let us keep the faith and credit in America's finances intact. Unfortunately, Republicans spent the week solidifying themselves as the party of default; the party that says America doesn't pay its bills; the party that would send our economy into unknown and dangerous territory.

On Monday, Republicans unanimously blocked a measure that would have funded the government and raised the debt ceiling.

On Tuesday, the Republican leader blocked the proposal to raise the debt ceiling with only Democratic votes--exactly what Republicans insisted they wanted from the start.

By Wednesday, it was clear that Republicans were committed not only to voting in favor of default but even preventing Democrats from solving this risk crisis on our own.

Every day that Republicans continue their cynical obstruction, they risk causing irreparable harm to the economy. The last time Republicans played games with the full faith and credit of the United States, our sovereign debt was downgraded. This time around, the consequences for American families could be far worse.

Despite Republicans' intransigence, the facts have not changed. We must raise the debt ceiling. We cannot allow America to default.

Yesterday, the House approved legislation providing for a clean debt limit extension until the end of 2022. At the appropriate time, I will move to proceed to its consideration, which could come as early as next week.

By now, we are not asking Republicans to vote with us to solve the debt limit crisis they have created. If they want to oppose this measure and bring

us closer to financial disaster, they can write their names in the history books as the Senators who let the country default for the first time ever. But Republicans need to get out of the way so Senate Democrats can address the issue quickly and without needlessly endangering the stability of our economy.

We cannot afford the risk of a drawn-out, unpredictable process sought by the minority, which could very well actually cause a default, no. The way to resolve this crisis is much more simple. Either Republicans snap out of their insane position and work with Democrats or they get out of the way while we solve the problem ourselves.

Unanimous Consent Agreement

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the previously scheduled votes begin at 11:05 a.m. and that all provisions of the previous order remain in effect.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, first, let me thank Senator Leahy on the Appropriations Committee, as well as Senator Shelby and all those who worked diligently and hard to put this continuing resolution together.

This vote says we are keeping the government open. At this time--at any time, it is a very, very bad thing to let the government shut down but at this time in particular when there is so much going on in the country. And it is a glimmer of hope as we go through many, many other activities.

I would say this: Just as the CR is so important and requires bipartisan cooperation, I wish my colleagues on the other side of the aisle saw the debt ceiling as equally important and equally requiring bipartisan cooperation. They don't, and we are willing to move forward on debt ceiling ourselves. But for this moment, this is one of the larger problems, the biggest problem that has faced us in the last while, making sure the government stays open, and now we can be sure it will.

So I thank all of my colleagues who worked so hard on this issue.

I yield back time on both sides.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote on confirmation of the Meyer nomination occur at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, October 4, and that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

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

Mr. President, it is my understanding the Senate has received a message from the House of Representatives to accompany S. 1301.

I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate the message to accompany S. 1301, and I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I thank my colleague.

Mr. President, so a few moments ago, the Senate voted to proceed to go into the House message on the debt ceiling suspension until December of 2022. For the information of all, this vote will only require a majority threshold and is a necessary procedural step before cloture can be filed on the House-passed legislation.

Now, despite Republicans' twisted logic for wanting the debt limit to be addressed while actively blocking that from happening, the basic facts have not changed. The debt must be addressed; it will be addressed; and America cannot default.

We Democrats are not asking Republicans to vote with us. If they want to vote to stop checks from going to veterans and payments to Social Security recipients, they can do so. But what we are saying is simply the Republicans ought to get out of the way so Democrats can suspend the debt limit.

That is what Republicans have asked for. Leader McConnell talked about that idea repeatedly on the floor over the last several weeks, and it is the best way to avoid financial catastrophe without endangering the American people.

Mr. President, I move that the Senate concur in the House amendment.

Mr. President, I move that the Senate concur in the House amendment to S. 1301 with an amendment.

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

I have an amendment at the desk.

I move to refer S. 1301 to the Committee on Finance, with instructions to report back forthwith with an amendment.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I have an amendment to the instructions at the desk.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 336.

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

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

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 253.

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

Finally, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, September 30, be waived.

I ask unanimous consent that the cloture motions filed during today's session ripen at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, October 5.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nominations en bloc: Calendar Nos. 350 and 351; 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 with no intervening action or debate; that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the Record; and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider Calendar No. 243, Melanie Anne Egorin, of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, and that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate.

I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all without intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to the nomination; that any statements related to the nomination be printed in the Record; and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.