Floor Statements

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 277, submitted earlier today.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 278 submitted earlier today.

Madam President, I know of no further debate on the measure.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the preamble be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Madam President, I understand there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Madam President, I now ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Madam President, finally, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3 p.m., Monday, June 21; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; further, that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Fonzone nomination; finally, that the cloture motions filed during today's session of the Senate ripen at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

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, Senators are moving forward this week on two major legislative initiatives: infrastructure and voting rights.

Bipartisan infrastructure talks continue in our Senate committees and among our Members.

Remember, discussions about infrastructure, both physical and human, are proceeding along two tracks. The first track is bipartisan, and I understand there has been some progress. The second track pulls in elements of President Biden's American Jobs and Families Plan and will be considered by the Senate even if it does not have bipartisan support.

Today, we are going to start moving the trains down the second track. I will convene a meeting with all the Members of the majority party on the Senate Budget Committee to begin the important work of producing a budget resolution for the Senate to consider. This is something we have planned for quite a while, but we are moving forward today after having individual discussions which I have had with many members of the Budget Committee.

It is a diverse committee. Senator Sanders is the Chair. Senators Warner and Kaine are on it as well.

There are many items to discuss, but one subject is not up to debate. I will instruct members to ensure that any budget resolution puts the United States on track to reduce carbon pollution at a scale commensurate with the climate crisis. We need significant reductions in emissions through clean energy and electric vehicles, as well as funding to help manufacturers and farmers be a part of the solution in fighting climate change.

The American Families Plan, as well, is essential to the forthcoming budget resolution and must be robustly funded.

The Senate will also vote on major voting rights legislation before the end of June.

Yesterday, the Democratic caucus hosted a group of Democratic lawmakers from Texas who led the dramatic walkout to prevent the Texas Republican legislators from passing one of the most draconian voting laws in our country. It was a powerful meeting. We heard moving testimony from five different lawmakers about the vicious, nasty, even bigoted attacks against voting rights in their State.

The actions taken were totally partisan, just like those in all the other legislatures. So the idea that this can have some kind of bipartisan solution befuddles me, because every action taken in the legislature is done just with Republican State Senators, Republican assembly members, with no Democratic participation or input. In fact, the Texas legislators told us they were deliberately excluded from certain meetings and conference committee hearings.

Speaking for our caucus, we were all taken by the courage of the Texas legislators, their fortitude, and, most importantly, by their mission to defend the right of every American to be able to access the ballot, not just in Texas but across the country. These lawmakers in one State put everything on the line to protect voting rights in their State. The Senate should put everything on the line to protect voting rights in this country.

Now, tomorrow, Senate Democrats will hold another special caucus meeting to continue discussing the best path forward to achieve voting rights legislation.

Mr. President, 2 days ago, the Biden administration became the first administration since the beginning of the Iraq war to support repealing the authorization for the use of military force in Iraq, passed in 2002 and now in effect for 19 years.

The Iraq war has been over for nearly a decade. An authorization passed in 2002 is no longer necessary in 2021. It has been nearly 10 years since this particular authorization has been cited as a primary justification for military operations. It no longer serves a vital purpose in our fight against violent extremists in the Middle East.

So I strongly and fully support repealing the 2002 authorization for the use of military force in Iraq. This is the first time I am formally announcing my support for repeal.

I want to be clear. In no way will America abandon our relationship with Iraq and its people as they rebuild their country after years of war in our shared fight against ISIS, but there are very good reasons to repeal the specific legal authority.

For example, it will eliminate the danger of a future administration reaching back into the legal dustbin to use it as a justification for military adventurism. At the beginning of last year, we saw that danger become frightfully real when President Trump ordered an airstrike against an Iranian target in Iraq without transparency, without proper notification to Congress, and without a clear strategy. President Trump cited the 2002 AUMF as partial justification, ex-post facto--a claim that legal scholars and foreign policy experts resoundingly rejected. There is no good reason to allow this legal authority to persist in case another reckless Commander in Chief tries the same trick in the future.

Tomorrow, the House of Representatives will vote on whether to formally repeal the authorization. Next week, Chairman Menendez and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will mark up a resolution led by Senators Young and Kaine which will repeal the Iraq war AUMF. It is my intention, as majority leader, to bring this matter to a floor vote this year, and we will discuss the precise timing with Chairman Menendez

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

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 understand there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

I now ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 248.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to consideration of S. Res. 273, submitted earlier today.

I know of no further debate on the resolution.

I ask unanimous consent that the preamble be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m., Thursday, June 17; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be

reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; further, that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Beaudreau nomination, postcloture; further, that the cloture time on the Beaudreau nomination expire at 11:30 a.m.; that the Senate recess following the cloture vote on the Tien nomination until 1:45 p.m.; that if cloture is invoked on the Tien nomination, all postcloture debate time be expired at 1:45 p.m.; finally, that if any of the nominations are confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's actions.

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, a few weeks ago, toward the end of the legislative session in Texas, Texas Democrats in the statehouse staged a dramatic walkout, denying a quorum and preventing the Texas Republican majority from passing one of the most restrictive voting laws in this country.

Texas Republicans could come back and reconsider the law in a special session, but the extraordinary measures taken by the State Democrats reflect the extraordinary damage of the voting law.

Texas Republicans were on the verge of passing several alarming restrictions: reducing polling hours, eliminating drive-through voting and 24-hour voting centers. The proposed law would have made it easier for a judge to overturn an election and push back the start of Sunday voting--a measure that seemed designed to interfere with voting drives held by Black churches.

Texas already has some of the strictest voting procedures in the country. The additional effort, in the wake of Donald Trump's Big Lie, directly targets all the ways poorer, younger, non-White, and typically Democratic voters cast their ballots.

Of course, Texas is only the most recent flashpoint in the nationwide effort by Republican legislators to contract Americans' right to vote, as you well know, Mr. President.

The tide of Republican voter suppression laws is a direct assault on our democracy and could disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans

Today, I am proud to say, at the Democratic caucus lunch we will host the group of Texas Democrats who bravely fought the voter suppression law in their State. The topic of our discussion will be about how to come together to protect voting rights not just in Texas but across the country.

Next week, the Senate will consider major voting rights legislation. Congress must take action to defend our democracy.