Floor Statements

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

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 when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, December 10; 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 McFarren nomination; further, that at 11:30 a.m., the Senate vote on confirmation of the Neary nomination, as provided under the order of December 4; further, that the Senate recess following the confirmation vote until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during Tuesday'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 that it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of Senator Cramer.

I yield the floor.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, first, today the Senate will continue doing what we have been doing all week, working to confirm as many of President Biden's well-qualified judicial nominees as possible.

Yesterday, we confirmed two more district court judges for the Northern District of New York--Anthony Brindisi, a proud son of Utica whom I worked with closely when he was a member of Congress, and Beth Coombe, a trailblazing prosecutor.

Later this morning, we will vote to confirm Sarah Davenport to be district court judge for the District of New Mexico. Following that, we will vote to advance the nominations of two more judges: Tiffany Johnson to be the district court judge for the Northern District of Georgia and Keli Neary to be district court judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

So of the five judges I filed cloture on Monday, we will have confirmed three by the end of today, and we will be very close to confirming the remaining two. While Democrats still hold the majority, we are going to do everything we can to confirm as many judges as we can.

Mr. President, now, on Senator Helmy, today we say thank you and farewell to another member of our caucus, the junior Senator from New Jersey, Senator George Helmy. Senator Helmy will resign this weekend to make way for our new colleague, Senator-elect Andy Kim, who we are all very excited to get to work with.

In a very short amount of time, Senator Helmy put his name on over 30 pieces of legislation, advocated for children's mental health, stood up for the well-being of the people of New Jersey, across America, and around the world. I would also be remiss if I didn't point out that Senator Helmy never hesitated to preside during pro forma sessions, a thankless but necessary job.

Senator Helmy's service will also be remembered for its historical significance. He was the first Senator from the Coptic Church. Senator Helmy's faith had an immediate and direct impact here in the Senate when he invited His Grace Bishop David of the Diocese of New York and New England to the Senate a few weeks ago to deliver the first ever Senate opening prayer by a member of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

So Senator Helmy, congratulations on a job well-done. You made New Jersey proud. We wish you and your family the best.

Mr. President, finally, I wish to pay tribute and say thank you to a colleague from across the aisle, Senator Mitt Romney, who delivered his farewell address yesterday. I enjoyed meeting Senator Romney's family, his sons and his wife, at his reception the other night and told him how much I respected him and how much we will miss him in the Senate.

On most issues, Senator Romney and I may have seemed like oil and water. But I have always appreciated him for his decency, his commitment to our country, and his willingness to work in good faith in a bipartisan way when the chance presented itself. And over the last 4 years, we found numerous ways to do just that.

Senator Romney was a good partner with me on COVID relief legislation, despite much opposition from the other side. And he helped build consensus on the infrastructure bill. He also remains a fierce defender of the Ukrainian people.

Finally, I will always appreciate that Senator Romney joined me, alongside Senators Rosen, Kelly, and Cassidy, on our mission to Israel in the aftermath of October 7. So thank you, Senator Romney, and I wish you and your family the best in a new chapter in your life.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today, the Senate will continue working to confirm more of President Biden's well-qualified judicial nominees.

On Monday, I filed cloture on five more district court judges. We will continue the process of confirming those judges later this morning. We will begin with votes on two district court judges for the Northern District of New York, Anthony Brindisi and Elizabeth Coombe.

Anthony Brindisi, I know well. He is a proud son of Utica, a former Member of Congress. I worked closely with him on many issues for Upstate New York, particularly his hometown of Utica, where my dad was raised, so I have a particular affinity to him.

Anthony Brindisi is a proud son of Utica. He is also an exceptionally qualified attorney whose legal acumen and deep care for the Mohawk Valley and all of Central New York will make him an excellent addition to the Northern District.

Beth Coombe has also been a trailblazing prosecutor for her entire career in Albany and Syracuse, the first woman to become Federal criminal chief for the Northern District. I am proud to see her ascend to the Federal bench.

After we vote on these judges, we will then vote to advance Sarah Davenport to be a district court judge for the District of New Mexico, and we will keep moving forward with the remaining judges as soon as possible.

Democrats have made confirming President Biden's well-qualified judges a top priority the last few years. It will remain a priority until our very last day in the majority.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that all postcloture time on the Coombe nomination be considered expired at 5:30 p.m.; further, that notwithstanding rule XXII, if cloture is invoked on the Davenport nomination, the confirmation vote occur at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the Republican leader on Thursday, December 5; further, that during Thursday's session of the Senate, at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the Republican leader, the Senate vote on the Johnson and Neary cloture motions in the order in which cloture was filed; further, that if cloture is invoked on any of the above nominations, all postcloture time be considered expired, the Senate vote on confirmation of the nominations at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the Republican leader no earlier than Monday, December 9; further, that the mandatory quorum calls for the above cloture motions be waived.

So, Madam President, one of our dearest and greatest Senators is giving her farewell speech. I look forward to hearing it.

Debbie, we love you. You have been a great Senator. We will miss you.

Mr. President, this morning, the Senate Democratic caucus held leadership elections for the 119th Congress.

I am grateful, I am honored, I am humbled that my colleagues have again unanimously elected me to serve as their Democratic leader.

To my Democratic colleagues: Thank you for this opportunity. Thank you for extending to me your trust.

Serving as Democratic leader has been one of the greatest honors of my time in public office, as has been representing the people of New York. It has allowed me to learn more from my colleagues than I could have possibly dreamed of when I first took this job. And after 4 years of the most productive and consequential years the Senate has had in decades, it has galvanized my faith in this Chamber's ability to get big things done for the country because, wow, we got a lot done, even in times of division, especially when bipartisanship prevails, as it did with so many of our bills. Most of the major bills we passed were done in a bipartisan way.

Anyone who thinks in this Chamber that we should abandon bipartisanship is making a huge mistake. Whether it is CHIPS and Science or infrastructure or gun safety or helping the veterans, gay marriage--you name it--we did it in a bipartisan way.

I pledge to dedicate every ounce of my strength and focus and wit-- however much I have of that--to keep serving as leader dutifully the years ahead to help our caucus better serve the American people.

I want to say, Mr. President, that I love my caucus. They are just such a beautiful group of people. We don't all agree--from different parts of the country, different ages and philosophies and backgrounds-- but every one of my caucus Members loves his or her country. Every one of them has made huge sacrifices to be here. And every one of them strives for unity, and it is one of the reasons we have been so successful in my last 4 years as majority leader, because our caucus has been great.

I sent a little message to every Member of my caucus on Thanksgiving Day that I am thankful for them. It is a great group.

Congratulations, of course, to my fellow Democrats elected to serve on our caucus's leadership, as well. You can't do it all alone, and I am glad to count

the Members of our leadership team--every Member of my caucus--as a friend, in addition to being your faithful colleague.

I would also like to thank our dear friend Senator Patty Murray, who for the last 2 years has served this Chamber and served the American people faithfully as President pro tempore of the Senate.

Everyone here knows no Senator can get through the day or even through the hour without incredible staff. I have an amazing staff led by Mike Lynch, who has been with me since I just about started leading our team in Washington, and Martin Brennan, who has also been with me since I just about started in New York. What an amazing group of dedicated people. I am blessed, truly blessed to have such a great staff. I thank them, each and every one for their dedication, their brilliance, their unflinching faith in our democracy.

I wish to thank all of the staff across the Senate who do our caucus's work. You are the unsung heroes of our democracy. Every one of our staffers labors hard. Just about everyone could go out and make more money, but they are dedicated to making this country a better place, to helping the working people of America. We are lucky and blessed to have such a great staff.

I want to send a particular thanks to the Senate floor staff. We weren't able to get this much done without them, particularly Gary Myrick and the miracle workers in the Cloakroom who make this Chamber come to life, as well as the members at the front desk. Thank you all.

We have more work to do in this Chamber before the year is out, and we will have to hit the ground running when 2025 arrives. The challenges of our country remain great. Our divisions still run very deep, but our task in this Chamber cannot and will not change. We are sent here to make life better for the American people. So thank you to all of my colleagues. Let the work continue.

Mr. President, we are bidding farewell today to two of our Members on the Democrat side who will give speeches of farewell.

Later this afternoon, our colleague from California, Senator Laphonza Butler, will deliver her farewell address here on the Senate floor. Before she speaks, I want to share a few words about her time in the Senate.

When our late colleague Senator Feinstein passed away over a little over a year ago, I remember wondering to myself how anyone could ever follow in Dianne's footsteps. To follow Dianne, I knew it would take someone really special, someone really smart, really honorable, someone who always stepped up to the plate. It would take someone like Laphonza Butler.

Senator Butler wasn't out looking for this job. She didn't campaign for it. But it came to her doorstep; and when asked to serve, she answered with great humility and a great sense of service and belief in America.

She followed her innate calling for service, which she learned while watching her mom work multiple jobs to keep their family above water. For the last year, she represented her beloved California--a huge complicated and beautiful State--admirably.

There is a general assumption around here that if you want to make a real difference in Washington, you have to spend years--sometimes people say even decades--learning the ropes and rising through the ranks. Well, Senator Butler sure turned that myth on its head. She proved that it isn't about how long you are here. It is about what you choose to do with the time you are here. And Senator Butler did a lot.

As a member of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Butler has helped advance and confirm one of the most well-qualified and diverse classes of judicial nominees in recent history.

She has been a champion for women and women's rights. She co-led legislation to restore the rights enshrined under Roe v. Wade.

She has done great work to bring our workforce up to speed in the age of artificial intelligence.

She has introduced legislation to provide more opportunity to farmers and small business owners, to help parents and families and caregivers address the mental health and substance abuse crisis, to increase civic participation among young voters, and so much more.

The bottom line is that Senator Butler did practically everything in her time in the Senate. She did it in only 1 year, and she was always ready to serve. When I had a tough job or even a job that wasn't very glamorous but would take some time and effort, Senator Butler always said yes. She wasn't one of these people just looking out for herself. She was looking out for the greater good in a beautiful way.

And, of course, as well, Senator Butler, much like her predecessor, was a historymaker, too. When she was sworn in a year ago, she became only the third Black woman in American history to serve in the Senate, the first openly lesbian Senator from California, and the first openly LGBTQ Senator of color.

And, finally, while I say reluctantly as a New Yorker, Senator Butler's year in the Senate concludes with one of the greatest accomplishments a Senator can achieve: one of her home State teams winning the World Series.

So, Senator Butler, thanks for all you have done. Thank you just for being you--such a decent, wonderful, honorable person. And the people of California and all of America are certainly proud of you and grateful for your service, too.