Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,

and Pensions be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 861.

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.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 872.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to; that the Murray amendment at the desk to the preamble be agreed to; that the preamble, as amended, be agreed to; and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 875.

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 with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions: S. Res. 896, S. Res. 897, S. Res. 898, S. Res. 899, and S. Res. 900.

Mr. President, in this criminal case pending in Federal district court in the District of Columbia and arising out of the events of January 6, 2021, the prosecution has requested testimony from a Senate witness.

In this case, brought against Stephanie Baez, trial is expected to commence on December 3, 2024, and the prosecution has requested testimony from Daniel Schwager, formerly counsel to the Secretary of the Senate, concerning his knowledge and observations of the process, including use of the electoral ballots and other documents during the proceeding, and constitutional and legal bases for Congress's counting of the Electoral College votes. Senate Secretary Berry would like to cooperate with this request by providing relevant testimony in this trial from Mr. Schwager.

In keeping with the rules and practices of the Senate, this resolution would authorize the production of relevant testimony from Mr. Schwager, with representation by the Senate legal counsel.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned under the provisions of S. Res. 872 until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, November 20; 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 Pennell nomination postcloture; further, that notwithstanding rule XXII, all time on the Pennell nomination be considered expired at 11 a.m.; further, that if cloture is invoked on the Ali nomination and upon disposition of the nomination, notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate proceed to legislative session and Senator Sanders or his designee be recognized to make a motion to discharge S.J. Res. 111 from the Foreign Relations Committee; that there be up 2 hours for debate, equally divided between opponents and proponents, on the motion to discharge and that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate vote in relation to the motion to discharge; further, that if the motion to discharge S.J. Res. 111 is not agreed to, Senator Sanders or his designee be recognized to make a motion to discharge S.J. Res. 113 and that if the motion is made, the Senate vote in relation to the motion to discharge; further, that if the motion to discharge S.J. Res. 113 is not agreed to, Senator Sanders or his designee be recognized to make a motion to discharge S.J. Res. 115 and that if the motion is made, the Senate vote in relation to the motion to discharge; that there be up to 2 minutes for debate, equally divided, prior to each vote with respect to a motion to discharge; further, that if the motion to discharge S.J. Res. 115 is not agreed to and if the requisite 16 signatures have been filed at the desk, Senator Paul or his designee be recognized to make a motion to proceed to the consideration of S.J. Res. 117; that there be up to 1 hour for debate, equally divided, on the motion and that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate vote in relation to the motion to proceed; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during Wednesday'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.

Madam President, the Senate gavels in this week with a lot to do. Off the floor, we will keep working on government funding, the NDAA, and try to move the ball forward on the farm bill and helping communities battered by disaster.

On the floor, the Senate will focus this week on confirming more of President Biden's judicial nominees. The majority will keep working to confirm as many of President Biden's judicial nominees as we can before the end of the year. That will be one of the Senate's top priorities.

We will begin today by voting on the confirmation of Embry Kidd to serve as circuit court judge for the 11th Circuit. Judge Kidd boasts an impressive legal resume and is exceptionally qualified to serve on the Federal bench. I am confident he will make a great addition to the 11th Circuit. If confirmed, Judge Kidd would be the 45th circuit court judge and the 216th Federal judge confirmed to a lifetime appointment under President Biden and this Senate Democratic majority.

The judges we have confirmed represent perhaps the widest range of backgrounds and experiences ever seen under any President. We have more judges that worked as defenders, legal aid attorneys, civil rights lawyers, Federal prosecutors, voting rights lawyers, and more women and people of color than we have ever had under one administration.

After we vote today, we will keep going. Tonight, I will file on additional judges whom we will move forward on the floor this week. We also have several more nominees coming out of the Judiciary Committee on Thursday, and we will work quickly to move them out of this Chamber and onto the bench.

So let me repeat: The Senate is going to keep prioritizing judicial and administrative confirmations this week, this month, and for the rest of the year.

Now, on disaster aid, in addition to confirming more judges and administrative officials, the Senate also has much to do on the legislative side. We must keep the government open after December 20. We must pass the annual Defense authorization bill, the NDAA, just as we have done for over six decades. We hope to keep making progress on the farm bill. I see the Senator from Michigan here, and she is working diligently on that.

But today I want to focus on disaster aid, something both Democrats and Republicans have long supported and which impacts people in every State of the country. Earlier today, the OMB, the Office of Management and Budget, released a letter addressed to Congress calling for swift action on disaster aid, along with a detailed breakdown of where that money is needed.

Right now, a host of Federal programs from various Agencies are running critically low on the funding they need to function. In some cases like the SBA, Small Business Administration, funding has already dried up. Without congressional action, the Federal Government may not be ready to respond to the next wave of disasters when they strike.

Many of the programs in need of replenishing focus on the long-term elements of disaster recovery. When disaster strikes, obviously, the first priority is getting people out of danger, providing for their needs. But then homes need to be rebuilt. Schools need to be reopened. Farmers need help recovering their losses from ruined crops. Roads and bridges and railways need funding for repairs. Businesses need loans to get back on their feet. All of these priorities are running critically low on Federal dollars.

A month ago, Speaker Johnson said getting disaster aid would be his priority upon Congress's return this month. I hope the Speaker honors that commitment and works with Democrats to get disaster aid done as soon as we can. We should not kick the can down the road nor withhold vital resources the Federal Government needs to properly help recovering communities.

It is a longstanding tradition that when any community is hit by disaster in this great country, we all rally together to help our fellow Americans. With just a few exceptions, this has almost always been nonpartisan. That is how it should be on issues like this that impact communities of all kinds and in all places.

We must work together to get disaster aid done as soon as possible so that we will be ready the next time disaster strikes.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Can I have the attention of all the Members?

I am asking unanimous consent that any remaining rollcall votes this evening be 10 minutes each.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 539.

I give a sufficient second.

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

We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of Executive Calendar No. 539, Amir H. Ali, of the District of Columbia, to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia.

Charles E. Schumer, Richard J. Durbin, Alex Padilla, Tina

Smith, Elizabeth Warren, Raphael G. Warnock, Gary C.

Peters, Tim Kaine, Richard Blumenthal, Jack Reed,

Sheldon Whitehouse, Peter Welch, Mark R. Warner,

Christopher A. Coons, Tammy Duckworth, Benjamin L.

Cardin, Debbie Stabenow.

Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Vote on Motion

Before we call the roll, we are going to cut the vote off--no matter who is here--in 12 minutes.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 601.