Floor Statements

Madam President, I ask for my colleagues' unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn, to convene for pro forma sessions only, with no business being conducted, on the following dates and times, which I now shall read: Friday, August 2, at 12 noon; Tuesday, August 6, at 9:30 a.m.; Friday, August 9, at 10 a.m.; Tuesday, August 13, at 9:15 a.m.; Friday, August 16, at 10 a.m.; Tuesday, August 20--bright and early--at 8 a.m.; Friday, August 23, at 11:45 a.m.; Tuesday, August 27, at 9 a.m.; Friday, August 30, at 11 a.m.; Tuesday, September 3, at 2 p.m.; and Thursday, September 5, at 12:45 p.m.; further, that when the Senate adjourns on Thursday, September 5, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Monday, September 9; that on that Monday, following a very reverential prayer and a very noble 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 Abelson nomination; and that cloture motions filed during today's session ripen at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, September 9.

Madam President, it gives me great pleasure to say that following the remarks of the extraordinary Senator from Texas, the senior Senator, that if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that after the remarks of Senator Cornyn, that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I wish to recognize Ellen Nissenbaum, senior adviser and senior member of the government affairs team at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, for her extraordinary leadership towards meeting the needs of people with low incomes.

On July 24, the Coalition on Human Needs will honor Ms. Nissenbaum with its 2024 Human Needs Hero award. For over 40 years, Ellen Nissenbaum has been a tireless and effective advocate, protecting and advancing Federal programs to improve health and reduce hunger and poverty.

In 1984, Ms. Nissenbaum testified on behalf of the formerly named Coalition on Block Grants and Human Needs before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, chaired then by Senator Jesse Helms, to oppose a bill allowing States to opt into a block grant to replace the Federal Food Stamp program. Then and now, she stood firmly for the responsibility of the Federal Government to ensure that the basic needs of Americans are met, wherever they live, protected from discrimination based on race, ethnicity, disability, or poverty.

Ms. Nissenbaum was part of the initial staff of seven at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities at its formation in 1984 and has been an essential leader in the decades since. She is a master of the complexities of the Federal budget process, providing respected and reliable information to Members of Congress and human needs advocates alike about the impact of Federal proposals on the health and well- being of people with low incomes.

Over the decades, Ms. Nissenbaum has educated Congress and human needs advocates about the need for strong Medicaid, SNAP, and low- income tax credit programs and has played a truly significant role in expanding benefits for those most in need. Millions of Americans, young and old alike, have been helped because of Ellen Nissenbaum's work. I am proud of the opportunities I have had to work with her to secure major advances in the child tax credit and to protect against efforts to reduce benefits in Medicaid, SNAP, and other programs.

Ms. Nissenbaum is a stellar educator of policymakers and advocates, speaking regularly to faith and civil rights groups and those advocating to improve health and reduce poverty, hunger, and inequality in this Nation. She has been a very effective member of the board of the Coalition on Human Needs for decades and is a regular speaker at its weekly meetings of advocates.

Members of Congress, the executive branch, and advocates alike all know that Ellen Nissenbaum's command of facts and analysis of policy options is utterly reliable. She is respected by all because of her rigorous, fact-based approach.

All of Ellen Nissenbaum's work is grounded in her devotion to reducing inequality. She recognizes that the growing concentration of wealth and income, unfairly undertaxed, prevents our Nation from making the investments needed to ensure that no one is denied health coverage or is too poor to afford nutritious food.

Over the years, Ms. Nissenbaum has addressed organizations representing diverse faiths, helping them to advocate effectively to demand a strong Federal role in reducing poverty. She has been a mainstay of the Coalition on Human Needs' strong efforts to lift up the needs of the poor, people of color, immigrants, children, the aging, and people with disabilities in Federal budget and tax decision-making. It is my honor and privilege to recognize Ellen Nissenbaum today for her unflagging commitment and effectiveness and to celebrate her receiving the Coalition on Human Needs' 2024 Human Needs Hero award.

Reserving the right to object, if the Senator would allow me just to not give my remarks on the floor but enter them into the Record, I am happy to give consent to that.

I am the junior Senator from New Jersey; I am used to being cut off.

Madam President, I rise today in support of the Right to

IVF Act, a package of bills that I was proud to introduce alongside my colleagues, Senator Duckworth and Senator Murray. This legislation does two key things: it establishes an enforceable nationwide right to fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization or IVF and it allows more people to access these critical, family building treatments at a lower cost by expanding insurance coverage.

I am especially proud that my bill, the Access to Fertility Treatment and Care Act, is included in this package. This bill makes fertility care, including IVF, more affordable by requiring employer-sponsored insurance plans and other public insurance plans to cover those treatments.

Millions of Americans who rely on fertility treatments and IVF to build their families face excessive out-of-pocket costs.

This would help Americans like Lindsay Gordon, a constituent of mine from Glassboro, NJ, realize her dream of starting a family. When Lindsay and her husband Daniel were diagnosed with male-factor infertility, IVF became the only option to have children. But even though they both worked for private corporations, neither Lindsay nor Daniel had insurance coverage for fertility treatment. So they drained their life savings and Lindsay actually took on a second job at night to afford IVF treatments, working over 18 hours a day for over a year. Heartbreakingly, Lindsay and Daniel suffered multiple miscarriages while going through the process to achieve a pregnancy. In all, their fertility journey cost them close to $100,000 in out-of-pocket healthcare costs. This is a staggering burden that can keep people from accessing these medical services.

There is a happy ending to their family building journey: Lindsay and Daniel were ultimately blessed with a baby boy. But no family should have to struggle so much to build the family of their dreams.

There is overwhelming support for the Right to IVF Act: it has 46 cosponsors in the Senate. By supporting this legislation, we make clear to Lindsay and Daniel Gordon and to the American people that being rich or poor should not dictate whether you get to start or grow a family.

Supporting this bill also sends the message that radical courts and legislators should not dictate whether someone has access to reproductive health care.

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, we have seen a full- scale assault on the rights of women to make their own reproductive health care decisions. We have seen increased attempts by State governments to exercise control over women's bodies, including by criminalizing expectant mothers. And we have seen confusion and uncertainty amongst medical providers, who are trying to uphold the oath they swore to care for their patients.

The Court's radical decision to overturn Roe opened the floodgates on attacks beyond abortion to other types of reproductive health. The Alabama Supreme Court made a medically and scientifically unfounded decision that a frozen embryo should be treated as the legal equivalent of an existent child or a fetus gestating in a uterus. IVF treatment immediately halted across Alabama following this ruling, illustrating how fragile access to these services are without a federal enforceable right to IVF.

I firmly believe that everyone everywhere deserves to have access to high quality, comprehensive healthcare. Healthcare includes reproductive services, fertility care, and abortion. I am not alone in this belief. Most American adults agree with me that these rights must be protected.

I know there are people across this country, in red States and blues States alike, making deeply personal reproductive healthcare decisions. These decisions should not be more difficult because of the assault on reproductive freedom. I look forward to continuing to fight to protect your fundamental freedoms and to increase access to reproductive healthcare for every American.

I yield to the Senator.

Madam President, I stand here as a Senator of New Jersey, but I think I am going to be representing all 100 Senators when I mark this distinctive moment when the Senate will soon go into recess, and we will end a week in the Senate that is not a typical week. It is a week that happens once or twice every year where we say goodbye to a class of pages.

And the truth of the matter is, it is a time that is emotional. I have been to a handful of graduations. And even though the pages are spending not even half a year here, the bonds that you experience here, the friendships that you make, the fact that you are participating in something so much larger than any one American is pretty significant.

You will have many graduations, I imagine, from high school, from college, some of you from graduate school, some of you from medical school--none of you from clown college, I think, because you lack senses of humor.

But the reality is, this is a meaningful departure, a meaningful graduation. And every year, I try to come down to the floor and express my ire at the class. This one particularly has raised my dander--and it is hard to do because I am bald. But this time something different happened because of the extraordinary people who work in this institution, not the Senators but the parliamentary staff. They made the mistake of telling me that in past years, there were poetry competitions. And I figured that since this class--probably worse than any others--lacked the ability to share with me any jokes, we decided to rekindle this moment that maybe we could have a poetry competition.

Now, I was handed, about 3 weeks ago, this very formal-looking envelope that says, ``From the President of the United States,'' which it is not--it is actually from pages--an envelope with poetry in it.

Forgive the alliteration, Madam President, but a pathetic paucity of pages participated--just a small handful. There was a smattering of page participation. It was very disappointing to me. But I had a chance to review the 10 or dozen or so poems.

And given the poetic wisdom that I have gleaned in my years of education in one poetry class in grade school, I have deigned who the winners are.

And now I would like to read the bronze medal--this is an Olympic year, after all--the silver medal, and the gold medal shining winner. And what do you win? Nothing. I mean, actually, you win the distinction before your peers of having your poem read as the gold medal poem and entered into the Congressional Record forever, for eternity.

And so, first, I will do the third-place poem. These were all extraordinary entrants. Everybody who participated is a winner--yada, yada, yada, yada. OK.

I hope you got that, ``yada, yada, yada.'' OK. All right.

This first one was the third-place finisher. And here we go.

Division

Scrolling through your phone,

You don't see the friendship between Senators Booker and

Britt--

Sidebar. The only reason this one got into third place is because it actually named my name. You do get awards in this place for being obsequious, sycophantic, and more. Going back to the top--

Scrolling through your phone,

You don't see the friendship between Senators Booker and

Britt,

Not if you are at home,

But only if you sit where we sit.

Seen as division,

But united as one.

While ideas do bring collision,

We still stand under the same sun.

Watch them argue on the news,

See them as friends on the floor.

Even when it seems win or lose,

Their debates do not mean war.

The only way to realize, is if you see it with your own

eyes.

(Poem by Kathryn Murchison.)

That was actually really good. Bronze medal. Yes, we can have applause in the Chamber, which is not technically allowed.

I didn't see anything. Raise your hand if that is yours.

It was tremendous.

All right. Names will officially be read into the Record later. But I am going to go to No. 2.

O Capitol, Our Capitol

Here the Capitol lies

The Titan of the city

Standing to bridge divides

With many a committee

Busts and paintings they loom

And stairs trodden by masses

With halls that have seen history bloom

So quickly it all passes

Ideas come in and out

Always a deadline due

Change some bring about

But from what I know is true

The path we choose to follow

Will lead us to t'morrow

(Poem by Miriam Tsegay and Mira Murphy.)

Raise your hand if that was yours, by the way.

Oh, my gosh. Oh.

Why did you raise your hand then?

It was a collaboration. I don't know if that is fair. Not only is this page class not funny, but they cheat.

No, no, no. Collaboration is important. It is important.

All right. This is the winning poem. The Gallery is full of media--at least one person--to the tens of people watching on CSPAN at home.

No title for this one. It doesn't need it. It is the winning poem.

My country `tis of thee.

My parents' eyes gleamed with a dream.

Red, white, and blue stretched from sea to sea.

They were told ``work hard but don't run out of steam.''

Late dinners to unpredictable shifts.

Staying with my grandma felt like living in a world away.

It was almost too good to notice the reality of it.

Little did I know, it was like this every single day.

Years later, I'm in a world stuffed with suits, speeches,

and words that inspire.

They call me a patriot, a daughter of immigrants that walks

through the Brumidi Corridor.

Oh how my future came to transpire.

The beat of pride and uncertainty trails behind in an

uproar.

I trace the center of my palm before I lift my hand to my

chest.

Good morning, America, another day awaits for your glorious

unrest.

(Poem by Alina Hussain.)

Raise that hand. Be proud.

So, pages, this is my final farewell. I want you to know that it has been a privilege to serve with each and every one of you. They separate you on the sides of the dais, but truly you all were united in your commitment to serve this institution.

It has been an honor to serve with each and every one of you. It has been brief. But, I tell you, you guys have been gifts to us.

I asked for more, though, and you failed me. I am really shocked that you could not step up, that you are the bottom of all the page classes, in my 11 years, in humor, but you are going to be remembered by me at the top of commitment and service.

And so in honor of that and this new tradition, which I didn't know about, I want to shock you all. I am not sure if this has ever been done on the Senate floor before, but in honor of this class of pages and your paucity of poetry participation, I--the junior Senator from New Jersey--have written you a poem.

Fasten your seatbelts. Let me show the poetic pages how it is done.

But I need somebody to help me out here.

Om, I saw your hand go up first. Om, you should take this spot.

Madam President, without objection, I would like the page to stand next to me during my poetic verses.

Thank you very much.

Om, stand here. Not too close to me, Om.

When I signal to you, do what I signal. There is one moment in this whole thing, don't mess it up. All right.

This may be the first embarrassing poem a U.S. Senator has written and recited on the Senate floor. This is history, people. Here we go.

Pages!

Young wise, future sages, you have all had access passes to

the Senate's back stages.

Look at you, hanging out on the Senate floor. You do more

than just bring us water or open our doors.

You bring life to this August body; You bring the average

age down in this place from 90.

You remind us of our virile past; a testimony to the truth

that youth and hair go so darned fast.

You were told to stay silent. Though, on some days, perhaps

you wanted to scream, because you went without sleep and,

thus, were denied your chance to your own sweet American

dream.

And yet you witnessed the sausage-making of American truth,

debates, partisanship and perhaps--believe it or not--one or

two Senators acting a little uncouth.

Foreign leader visits and State of the Union speeches, only

to have to get up the next morning and pay attention to

whatever your teacher teaches.

God, you Pages! Out of your comfortable home cages.

You jumped into this experience despite all better wisdom

and a host of warnings:

You signed up for really late nights and some too many

early mornings.

What were you thinking?

You are clearly too young to have been drinking.

(Laughter.)

And yet, with a full-time job and a relentless academic

course load, you came; you saw; you conquered with a pace

that never slowed.

You may think what you do perhaps didn't make a difference

at all, but that is ridiculous because, at this end of the

historic Washington Mall, Pages sit humbly in the well of the

Senate, but their contributions stand tall.

Every day, I walk through those doors, to your smiles and

kind spirit in this Chamber so round. Good days or bad days,

you still gave me a solid pound or a smile or an earnest nod

of your head. You should know you subtly remind every single

Senator of what for this country is truly ahead.

Yes, a divided floor--Republican and Democrat, left and

right--but you all unify us because, in you, we see that

America's future is bright.

And you scramble to us after every speech, Please, may I

have a copy, you beseech.

But in the very gesture of us handing you our own words,

something more than symbolic occurs.

We hand tradition; we hand history; we hand off to a

courier that is you.

We both stand on the stage of history, but briefly, someday

soon, it will be over; for here, in the Senate, we all are

just passing through.

At the doors, hurried Senators literally pass you, but in

the span of time, who is actually going to pass who? For you

all, each of you, will experience tomorrows that we never do.

You are leaving here, my new young friends. This is now a

beginning and not an end.

You came here as individuals from all over the country. Now

you are tight-knit. You witnessed history here, but now it is

time for you to separate again and make it.

This Nation needs each and every one of you. It needs your

artistry; it needs your compassion; it needs your genius; it

needs your love.

This country needs your grit. It needs your struggle. It

needs your firm belief in what is possible. And, when this

Nation gets stuck, it needs your shove.

We handed you our best speeches, our best words, and you

took them all. But, soon, our time will have been past, and

it is up to you to make America a more perfect union, with

liberty and justice for all.

So my last piece of advice--and, yes, this is an insulting

poke--you guys really need to learn some much better jokes.

The truth--and this is the truth, and I am sorry it is not

yet sunny--you guys are awful and not that funny.

In fact, you are like cold, wet, soggy cereal. You have

given me no good jokes. It has all just been awful material.

So if this poem is going to have a final epitaph, it would

be to give you this: Give the world everything you have, but

never take yourself too seriously. Always remember to laugh.

(Applause.)

This is truly, truly an honor. You guys are really, really special. I know I speak on behalf of the Senators: You will be missed, but all of us are looking forward to witnessing your rise, your contributions, and the light you are going to bring to a world that still has too much darkness.

Madam President, I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent today, on the floor of the U.S. Senate, that the Senate itself proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 712, submitted earlier today.

I ask consent from all of my colleagues--otherwise known as unanimous consent--that this resolution be agreed to, that the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid plain upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask again for the consent of all of my colleagues, unanimous consent, that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn to then convene for pro forma sessions only, with no business being conducted, on the following days and times: Friday, May 24, at 10 a.m.; Tuesday, May 28, at 10:30 a.m.; and Friday, May 31, at 4:30 p.m.; further, that when the Senate adjourns on Friday, May 31, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Monday, June 3; that on Monday, following the prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for both 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 Hanson nomination; and, further, that the cloture motions filed during today's session ripen at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

Mr. President, it is a privilege to say that if there is no further business to come before the U.S. Senate, I would like to ask humbly to you, sir, that the U.S. Senate stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. President, I rise today to speak about an exceptional American, Adeel Mangi, who is a nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He is eminently, extraordinarily, very impressively qualified.

He has degrees from Oxford University and Harvard Law School. For over 20 years, he has been a highly respected complex litigation attorney in one of our country's premier law firms, where he has become a star, a star in the legal profession as one of the very best trial attorneys in our country.

Beyond finding success after success professionally for his clients, he has spent countless hours providing pro bono services for causes fundamental to our American ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice.

The support of Adeel Mangi has inspired, for his nomination, incredible support. It has seen support across the ideological spectrum and speaks to the character and integrity of the man. Dozens of prominent State and national organizations, ranging from civil rights groups, law enforcement associations, anti-hate groups, professional legal groups, all have endorsed his nomination, including so many from New Jersey and of course the New Jersey State and Federal bar associations. Mr. Mangi has received the highest possible rating for judicial nominees from the American Bar Association.

A bipartisan--bipartisan--group of former State attorneys general have written in support of his nomination, writing:

It is our collective judgment that Mr. Mangi is eminently

qualified to sit on the Court. Mr. Mangi's legal career has

been exemplary of a commitment to the rule of law and

upholding constitutional principles.

Folks from the left, folks from the right, law enforcement, civil rights groups, and more--he has not only earned this nomination from the President of the United States, but his qualifications from that have been celebrated by groups all across our political spectrum and people in charge of our public safety in New Jersey.

Despite all of this though, what is outrageous to me, disappointing, and disheartening is that he is facing unimaginable attacks, not on anything that he has said or written, not on any of the cases that he has successfully tried, but he is facing attacks on his character.

And these attacks are recalling some of the darkest chapters of our Nation's history. The attacks on him are unwarranted. They are untruthful. They have no basis in fact. And, sadly, they smack of bigotry.

They intend to exploit people's fears. They intend to exploit people's fears of his faith. They are attacks on his character and his reputation, attempts to smear, attempts at fear.

I was blown away when the Republican leader came to the floor today and said something I never imagined I would hear on this floor about a man of such character.

He said that Mr. Mangi has ``anti-Semitic affiliations.'' Now, I know how people here feel when someone calls someone else racist or a bigot or makes accusations of hate, but the Republican leader said he has ``anti-Semitic affiliations.''

He said Mr. Mangi ``has repeatedly chosen . . . to mingle with supporters of terrorists and cop killers.''

That is a staggering charge, and yet it is the pattern that we have seen against Mr. Mangi--attacks not on his writings, not on his legal work, not on anything he has said, one quote that has come from his mouth. They are making an accusation that he mingles with supporters of terrorism, people who want to threaten the lives of Americans.

This is a continuation of what he faced in his confirmation hearing.

I read to you the interrogation that was given to him by the junior Senator

from Texas. When asked if he would condemn an event by the Center for Security and Race at Rutgers Law, which had an event with a panelist who had been convicted once before of terrorism--an attempt to make an association, a trial of his character based on no association--Mr. Mangi responded: I never heard of this event prior to today. It was never brought to the advisory board, which met once a year to discuss.

You see, he was on the advisory board of this organization at Rutgers Law that met once a year to evaluate scholarly writings to be included in an academic journal.

And so Senator Cruz read a 2021 letter from the Center for Security, Race and Rights at Rutgers Law School related to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Mr. Mangi, again, explained that he had never seen the letter before. He was continuing to press that the letter--and repeatedly interrupted as Mr. Mangi tried to answer again and again.

Mr. Mangi: ``Senator, I said this earlier, but let me repeat it because I think it is critical.''

He is interrupted by Senator Cruz and asked a question that had never been asked before to any nominee--ever--before the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Cruz: ``Do you condemn the atrocities of Hamas terrorists?''

Mr. Mangi immediately, ``Yes. That was what I wanted to address.''

Mr. Cruz: ``Is there any indication of those atrocities?''

Again, a question never asked before.

``Senator, I will repeat myself,'' Mr. Mangi says.

Interrupting him, ``I am going to ask you again, is there any justification for those [horrors]?''

Mr. Mangi: ``This was going to be my next sentence, Senator, which is I have no patience, none, for any attempts to justify or defend those events. Senator, I don't think anyone feels more strongly than me.''

And the Senator asked him whether he supported the 9/11 attacks--a question posed to no other American before our committee--the attacks of 2001.

Mr. Mangi: ``Senator, I don't think anyone feels more strongly about what happened on 9/11 than someone who was there, who saw with my own eyes the smoke billowing from the towers.''

What American is asked such questions? What American has to defend their condemnation for the 9/11 attacks? What American has to declare that they don't support terrorism? What American? Adeel Mangi, who happens to be a Muslim American.

This is disgusting. This reeks of sort of old-style attacks to appeal to fear in order to smear someone's character based upon who they are, based upon their faith.

And an accusation by our Republican leader that Mr. Mangi somehow mingles with supporters of terrorists and cop killers, while the Anti- Defamation League--the preeminent American organization that fights against anti-Semitism, the preeminent organization that investigates anti-Semitism, the preeminent organization that time and time again condemns anti-Semitism--sprang to Mr. Mangi's defense.

I quote from their letter:

Mr. Mangi was subjected to aggressive questioning unrelated

to his professional expertise or qualifications. Rather, he

was forced to provide responses to a wide range of inquiries

regarding his views on global strategic considerations in a

manner that inappropriately politicized these issues and

raised serious questions regarding pretext and bias.

Just as associating Jewish Americans with certain views or

beliefs regarding Israeli government actions would be deemed

antisemitic, berating the first American Muslim federal

appellate judicial nominee with endless questions that appear

to have been motivated by bias towards his religion is

profoundly wrong.

The ADL then called on Senators to offer Mr. Mangi a fair vote, based on his qualifications, his fitness for the job, his legal acumen, his sense of fairness.

But the ADL wasn't alone in responding to these attacks on his character. As the Republican leader said, ``mingling with supporters of terrorists and cop killers,'' ``anti-Semitic affiliations,'' Jewish groups jumped to his defense. The American Jewish Committee, the National Council for Jewish Women, a coalition of 15 Jewish organizations, representing more than a million Jewish Americans, have also voiced their condemnation of this line of attack and their support for Mr. Mangi.

In Mr. Mangi's hearings, my colleagues asked the unbelievable that any American would be insulted to be asked: Was there any justification for 9/11?

Was there any justification for 9/11?

Never before asked to any other appellate nominee, but a Muslim American has to endure such questioning. This is unique and insidious to be directed to the first Muslim ever nominated by a President.

And yet, even so, Mr. Mangi sat there in that hearing with grace and dignity and unequivocally affirmed his patriotism, unequivocally affirmed his condemnation of terrorism. With dignity and grace and a calm voice, he rejected anti-Semitism outright. He said there is no justification for terrorist attacks like 9/11; there is no justification for the horrors of October 7; and he reaffirmed his belief in the right for Israel to exist. This is all on the record.

Mr. Mangi has faced accusations that tried to smear his character, to whip up fear against him, to turn him into something he is not. But this isn't the only angle of unfounded attack. Mr. Mangi is said to be--and I quote again--``he is said to be mingling with cop killers.'' ``Mingling with cop killers''--the absurdity of that statement, the falsity of it is extraordinary. It is extraordinary in the face of all the law enforcement groups in my State that support him. It is extraordinary in the face of all the legal leaders and the law enforcement leaders in my State who support him.

And where does this accusation even come from? What could possibly fuel such an accusation? It is because he served on an advisory board for a nonprofit called the Alliance of Families For Justice. What does this organization do? It supports formerly incarcerated individuals and their families through reentry services, legal support, and political advocacy. That is the organization.

And how did he get affiliated with this organization? Well, as a pro bono case, he chose to represent the family of an inmate in New York State prison, a man who had disabilities, mental disabilities, who was murdered by correctional officers. And as is a tradition in our legal system, he provided that family not with criminal support but in a civil case. And he won that civil case. Not only did he win that civil case showing it was a wrongful death, but he won the biggest settlement for the family.

Pastor Julia Ramsay-Nobles sent a letter to the Senate about this case. It captures the truth about Mr. Mangi's work with the Alliance For Families of Justice. It says:

Dear Chairman Durbin and Ranking Member Graham:

My name is Julia Ramsay-Nobles. I am a Pastor who lives in

upstate New York. I recently learned that my attorney, Adeel

A. Mangi, has been nominated to serve as a Circuit Judge for

the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. I

was so happy and proud to hear the news. I wanted to send you

a letter to help you know Adeel as I know him.

In April of 2015, I received the worst possible news: my

brother, Karl Taylor, who was incarcerated in an upstate New

York prison, had died. Karl suffered from serious mental

health challenges. The prison officials told me that he was

``code blue,'' but did not explain what that meant. I could

not get any answers. I felt so powerless and helpless.

Several months later, a community group introduced me to

Adeel and his team of lawyers . . . While I was hopeful--I

never give up hope--I also felt skeptical. Why would these

people care about what happened to my brother? Would they

care about me?

Over the following five years, I came to know Adeel as a

man of integrity and an extraordinary lawyer. He and his team

spent five years investigating my brother's death and holding

the powerful to account. They delivered the answers that I

was seeking, horrific as they were. While we are from very

different backgrounds, we formed a close bond that I cherish

to this day.

A Christian pastor, a Muslim lawyer, working together for American justice. And that affiliation with this organization focused on helping families of incarcerated people, an advisory board that he sat on that never had a meeting, where he just agreed to accept cases, that is the affiliation which has earned him to be called by one of the most powerful people in our country ``someone who mingles with supporters of cop killers.''

That is a lie. It is a lie. It is smearing the character of an American who

stood up for the powerless. It is a lie, an attack on a man because of who he is.

Never before has a judicial nominee before the Judiciary Committee been asked to renounce terror, never before has a nominee before the Judiciary Committee been accused of such baseless attacks.

This is the world's most deliberative body, but we have not brought the world's most deliberative body to the point where we are not evaluating the character or the fitness of a supremely well-qualified nominee to serve in our judiciary. But what has this room become now? A place where ad hominem, salacious attacks that have no basis in fact, in fact, twist the truth, which is: This is a man who stands up for our shared values and our shared ideals, who stands for the honor of our flag and country. It is character assassination. It is guilt by association. It is a cancer on our society.

We deserve better. Mr. Mangi deserves better. This is a man whose parents left their home country, yearning for a better future. They worked hard to put him through the best schools they could. They came to the United States because they believed in this Nation; they believed in our ideals. They had hope for the future that America would bring. They are proud Americans.

He studied at Harvard Law School to pursue a legal career to uphold the ideals of justice that we swear to, the ideals of liberty and justice for all. He reached the heights of his profession. And because at the heights of his profession, he made a decision to serve his country, he is before us as a nominee by the President of the United States, the first Muslim-American nominee to the Federal Appeals Court. This should be a great American story. It should be something we celebrate. And yet he is attacked not because of what he has written, not because of what he has said, not because of cases he has taken, not because of an interview, not because of a college law school or grad school paper. He is being attacked by made-up charges that have been debunked time and time again by the facts.

And how would any of us feel if we were applying for a position to serve our country--be it on the bench, be it in the military, be it in administration--and be subjected to this type of attack and accusation?

Think about what they are going through now as a family. When you Google ``Adeel Mangi,'' when his children do or his grandchildren do, do you know what comes up? The Washington Times article which published an image that superimposed the green Hamas flag onto his face. When his children or grandchildren Google him, what will come up? The Judicial Crisis Network, a rightwing front group dedicated to attacking President Biden's judicial nominees. They have spent tens of thousands of dollars running an ad calling him ``Anti-Semite Adeel,'' complete with video of planes crashing into the Twin Towers on 9/11.

It pains me to repeat those words into this historical record, but there is no other way to express how debasingly low groups have gone to attack him. It is grotesque.

When Muslim Americans or any American that has their faith that might be different looks to the highest deliberative body in the land and what did they do when the first Muslim tried to reach for the appeals court to serve as a judge? What happened to him? This is the story that will be told. This is toxic. This is dangerous. This is cancerous.

The attacks recall some of the darkest chapters of our history. It speaks back to the time when loyal Americans were sent to internment camps, not because of their beliefs, loyal Americans were sent to internment camps not because of things they said or they wrote; loyal Americans were sent to internment camps just because they were Japanese. It goes back to the dark chapters of our country, the Red Scare that led to the blacklisting, the persecution, the loss of jobs, the loss of reputation because of the Red Scare that was spread.

There was a courageous Republican who stood on this floor during that time of the Red Scare, a courageous Republican. I want to read Margaret Chase Smith's words, perhaps to wake up the echoes of this body of how horrible and dark this moment is to maybe cast some light.

Margaret Chase Smith, in the time of the Red Scare, spoke from this floor:

I think that it is high time that we remembered that we

have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution. I think it

is high time that we remembered that the Constitution, as

amended, speaks not only of the freedom of speech but also of

trial by jury instead of trial by accusation.

Whether it be a criminal prosecution in court or a

character prosecution [here] in the Senate, there is little

practical distinction when the life of a person has been

ruined.

Margaret Chase Smith continues:

Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in

making character assassinations are all too frequently those

who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic

principles of Americanism.

The exercise of [our] rights should not cost one single

American . . . his reputation or his right to a livelihood

nor should he be in danger of losing his reputation or

livelihood merely because [of what happens to be his beliefs

or, I add, his faith.]

As a warning to a Republican leader that accuses a good American of mingling with supporters of terrorists and cop killers, of saying that he has anti-Semitic affiliations, I read these final words of Margaret Chase Smith:

I do not want to see the Republican party ride to political

victory on the Four Horseman of Calumny--Fear, Ignorance,

Bigotry, and Smear.

I doubt if the Republican party could, simply because I don't believe the American people will uphold any political party that puts political exploitation above national interest.

Adeel Mangi is a great American. Adeel Mangi has served his nation. Adeel Mangi has risen to the top of his profession. Adeel Mangi has dared to represent the poor against the powerful. Adeel Mangi has become the first in our country's history to be nominated by a President of the United States to the highest court--to the highest appeals court.

What has he been greeted with? A fair evaluation of his character? A fair evaluation of his body of work? A fair evaluation of his writings? A fair evaluation of his speeches? A fair evaluation of his temperament? No. He has been accused of mingling with terrorists and cop killers. He has been accused of being anti-Semitic. Why? Is it because he is Muslim?

I heard a speech against him reading all the groups that stand against him. I read some of the supporters: the AFL-CIO; the SEIU; the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey; the Asian Pacific American Lawyers of New Jersey; the Capital Area Muslim Bar Association; Muslim American Judicial Advisory Council; Muslim Bar Association of New York; New Jersey Muslim Lawyer's Association; National LGBTQ+ Bar Association; New Jersey State Bar Association; South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey; South Asian Bar Association of North America; former attorneys general, Republican and Democrat, and U.S. attorneys, Republican and Democrat, of New Jersey; a group of New Jersey sheriffs; Hispanic American Law Enforcement Association; New Jersey Asian American Law Enforcement Officers Association; LGBTQ Law Enforcement Liaison of New Jersey; Muslim American Law Enforcement Association; the National Black State Troopers Coalition; NOBLE of New Jersey; NOBLE, Region 1; the National Organization of Black Women in Law Enforcement; the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists; the American Jewish Committee; the Anti-Defamation League; the Alliance for Jewish Renewal; Bend the Arc; Jewish Action; Carolina Jews for Justice; Jewish Community Action; Jewish Democratic Council of America; Jewish Women International; National Council of Jewish Women; New York Jewish Agenda; Society for Humanistic Judaism; T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights; the Shalom Center; the Workers Circle; Zioness; Alliance for Justice; the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; the National Women's Law Center; the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; the NAACP of Hunterdon County; People for the American Way; American Indivisible; Muslim Advocates; Muslims for Progressive Values; the Republican-appointed Honorable Timothy K. Lewis, former judge, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania; members of New Jersey's local leadership; former colleagues from a joint defense group;

Partners of Jewish Faith; the letter I read from Pastor Julia Ramsay- Nobles; and the list goes on.

Mr. President, I beg your indulgence because this is one of the sadder days I have had in the U.S. Senate. I believe in this place. I believe in these values. But I see this moment that we are about to take a step to break a barrier in this country. Even the State of Israel has had Muslims on their supreme court. But as soon as we try to elevate a Muslim man to our court of appeals, he gets attacked by the words of the Republican leader for ``mingling with terrorists and cop killers,'' for being an anti-Semite, denounced by Jewish groups, but yet those charges will forever be a part of this Record, that this deliberative body made those allegations against this man.

Yes, I am sad, and yes, this is personal because my parents told me as a little boy, when I was the first one just to go to grade school, my brother and I, the first Black children to cross the threshold and go to a school--my parents told me: Stand proudly, and pledge allegiance to that flag because this country stands for you even though your skin color is different. This country's values are your values even though you go to a different church in town; that, yes, you may face discrimination by people who are cultivating in their baseness of values, but don't stop believing in love and community and peace and justice. That will light your way--good people from all backgrounds. You may be the only Black boy in your class, but it is an American classroom, and this country stands for justice and liberty and peace.

Those values and that faith and that hope have driven me every single day to try to make this Nation better and more real. And then 10 years into my Senate career, I sit proudly as our President does something never done before--to nominate a Muslim for the court of appeals. And I see what happens to him. I see him slandered and maligned, dragged through the mud and accused of the most heinous things, having to defend his beliefs, having to say over and over again that he condemns 9/11.

So I want to take this moment to say this is a great American. No matter what happens to his nomination, this is a great American who should be proud of his work. We should celebrate him whether we vote for him or not. We should cherish a moment like this that makes history.

For all of those children in our country who have parents like mine who say ``You may be different. You may look different. You may pray different. Your family may come from a different corner of the globe. But this is still the country for you,'' I tell those children ``Don't give up even though this ugly example hangs in the air. Don't give up even though this man has been trashed and smeared and maligned. Don't give up on this country.'' Do you know why? Because Adeel Mangi has not given up.

You can write him down in history with your bitter, twisted lies, but no matter what you do to guys like him or me or everyone who loves this country, we will rise. Nothing you can do will ever, ever impinge the character of this great American. Nothing you can do will ever dim his love for this Nation.

This is a sad time in the U.S. Senate. More people should be on this floor condemning what is happening to this man.

But, today, I say ``God bless America'' because our truth, no matter what others do to it, I promise you, will go marching on.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, reserving the right to object, I want to thank the Presiding Officer, and I also want to thank my friend Senator Lindsey Graham, who has been a partner on so many things involving criminal justice, on so many good things involving safety, has been a partner on, obviously, many things, and foreign policy as well.

I want to object to the request by the Senator from South Carolina to pass the SHIELD Act by unanimous consent. But I really want to start by saying that I know we are talking about a deeply vital issue today that we must address as the U.S. Senate.

I believe that the Senator from South Carolina and I have a common goal, and we see eye to eye. Anytime a person's privacy or bodily autonomy is violated, we have a duty to address the harm that they have experienced and seek solution so that we prevent the same thing from happening to others. He and I have talked about this in the committee multiple times.

Congress must act when there are people who exploit others or harass them or set out to exact some twisted revenge on them by sharing nonconsensual images. They should be held accountable for the serious, emotional, psychological, and professional harm it can cause to victims. I believe this is what the sponsors of the SHIELD Act intend to do.

But the bill offered today stands to have unintended consequences that I have discussed in committee and that need to be addressed. Many of these issues were addressed in committee in our markup of the bill. Senator Klobuchar, who leads this bill, has been working with me to correct those problems. We are working diligently and in good faith to address these issues so that this Congress can pass a bill to vindicate the victims. When we were in committee, I spoke and asked for the opportunity to do that work, and I am hoping that we continue to have that now.

It is our obligation to get this right, and I am grateful to the Senator from Minnesota and her staff who are working with me to make sure we do so. Thus, I object.

As in legislative session and notwithstanding rule----

Oh, thank you very much. I was doing what I was told. Forgive me.

Anytime you defer to me, Senator, to give me a chance to speak to you, that is one of my higher honors in the U.S. Senate. Thank you very much.

Mr. President, I appreciate the Presiding Officer, my dear friend, and I think he and I are very aware of this. If you ask the average person who knows about their Federal Government how many people are in the U.S. Senate, their answer is going to be 100, and they would be wrong. There are 100 Senators, but as the Presiding Officer and I both know, there are thousands of people who work in the U.S. Capitol for the U.S. Senate. This is a larger body of people who are critical to keeping this institution running.

There are amazing folks who work here in the U.S. Senate. If you take the time to talk to them, you will hear stories that make you feel proud to be an American--from literally the people who are keeping the pipes under this place functional, who keep this place and its history and its heritage preserved. There are people on staffs who make sure the floor runs smoothly so Senators can present bills and ideas. This is an extraordinary collection of Americans who takes part in what is a hallowed and civic institution.

But, perhaps, when people look at the floor, there are two Senators here, but there are probably 30 or so people on the floor right now, not to mention those working in the cloakrooms. But often, when people turn on their TVs and happen to catch it on C-SPAN--hi, Mom, who watches a lot--the folks they probably most overlook are the people I think bring an energy, an excitement, and an enthusiasm to this place, and those are the pages.

Now, I can't even get my mind around, when I meet these young people, taking a year--or, excuse me, a semester--off of your normal track--all your extracurricular activities, from all of your friends--traveling from all over the country and coming here, not just to work a full-time job amidst these hallowed halls, but also to hold a full-time schedule of classes.

I look at these teenagers, and I feel this utter sense of just sympathy for them because they are grinding in ways that a lot of Senators don't do. Think about this. They work on the floor of the Senate, which is a demanding job, doing critical work. Then they go home and study. Then they wake up sometimes at 5 o'clock in the morning to take classes in things that I am not sure if every Senator can still pass--calculus, for crying out loud. They do their academic work, and they do their service for their country. So it takes a special breed to do something so irrational with their teenage years.

I get a chance every time--all of us Senators get a chance--to engage with them and meet them, and I just want to take this moment, on the last day that they are here, to just say some things particularly about this class.

Mr. President, this class is the most awful group of joke tellers I have ever met.

(Laughter.)

I mean, their jokes are so particularly bad that I have never used it to describe such a page class. They are not just bad; they are painfully pathetic. Their jokes are pugilistic and pugnacious. Their jokes are pukeworthy. Yes, this is the first time in American history that word has ever been used on the Senate floor--``pukeworthy.'' The truth of the matter is they have a gene in their bodies that prevents them from having good senses of humor, and I make that clear: They need to work on this, or they may not make it in life.

But I will say something about this class that I think that the Presiding Officer may have noticed and definitely a lot of the staff who serves on the floor. I was literally struck, when I came in on the first day and started engaging with them, as I often do, that there was something special about this class, because it is the value I most admire in anybody that I meet. In this class, whether they are pages who serve on that side of the aisle or on this side of the aisle, I found them immediately to have this important superpower for coping in life, and that is that this page class is kind. They really are good people. I have to say that that is how I will remember this class. I will try desperately to forget their bad jokes. I will always, though, remember their kindness.

I want to tell this page class that you brought something special to this floor; that you all contributed more than you probably realize; that you, in your humility, probably underestimate the impact you bring to this place. I know you are going to have special memories here. In fact, it is amazing, as I feel sometimes just as a Senator, that we all had a chance in our service together in the Senate to be on the frontlines of history, to witness some of the greatest debates of humanity right now. You heard one from the Presiding Officer, who just spoke, and who spoke to issues that go to the heart of what this country is about, what this country stands for, what this country will do. That was a privilege that you were a part of.

But, to me, what I think is important about the role that you have played in the short period of time that you have been here is the fact that I think you remind a lot of us who are two and three and four times your age that, when you still come in here, despite how tired you are, and still have that look of wonder about this place, you help us to remember what a privilege it is to be here.

So I just want this class to know that it has been my privilege, as one Senator, who, I believe, probably speaks for most--that it was a privilege to serve with you in the United States of America.

I hope you remember that the highest calling of citizenship is service; that this is not your last time that you answer that call whether it is in your communities, your neighborhoods, whether it is to your States or to this Nation. I hope that you always aspire to show your patriotism not by what you say but by what you do.

And, dear God, don't let a harsh world--a world that can be mean-- ever stop you from being as kind as you were on the day that I first met you.

I love that story about the man who goes up to a young person and says: What do you want to be when you grow up?

And the confident young person looked at them and simply said: I want to be kind.

I think you guys already have achieved one of the greatest callings for people, which is to be good to one another. In fact, I look at our political climate in America, and it is often not a good demonstration of that high human virtue. So I want to thank you for your kindness. I forgive you for your bad jokes, but most of all, I hope that you will not change that spirit that resides in your hearts.

Thank you for your service here to the U.S. Senate. What an honor it has been to be with you.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I have five requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Madam President, I beseech you and ask for unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 527, which is at the desk.

Madam President, 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 also ask the incredible Senator presiding for unanimous consent that the senior Senator from Montana be authorized to sign duly enrolled bills or joint resolutions from January 18, 2024, through January 22, 2024.

Madam President, finally, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Monday, January 22; 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; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Koos nomination; further, that the cloture motions filed during today's session ripen at 5:30 p.m.