Floor Statements

Mr. President, I rise today to honor and congratulate Mr. Joe McDermott on his retirement following 22 years of public service. Joe retires from Washington's King County Council, where he has represented King County's eighth district and been an extraordinary asset to our State and the greater Seattle-King County region for his many years in both the Washington State Senate and House of Representatives.

Upon joining the State legislature in 2001, Joe marked the first time more than one openly gay legislator would serve in it. During his time, he contributed to unprecedented progress for the LGBTQ+ community through the addition of sexual orientation and gender identity to our State's antidiscrimination statutes and protections for transgender persons to our hate crime statutes, as well as recognition to domestic partnerships for same-sex couples. Joe's contributions have forever broadened the civil rights bill and paved the way to marriage equality.

Joe has also been a pivotal leader in safeguarding public safety. As a councilmember, Joe responded to the public health crisis of gun violence by recognizing the necessity of responsible firearm policy with the 2018 King County Gun Safety Action Plan. As

chair of the King County Board of Health, Joe established the first producer-paid Secure Medicine Return Program in Washington State and second in the Nation, addressing the opiate crisis and ensuring the safe disposal of unused medicines throughout King County. In just 5 years before the program became statewide and thanks to Joe's drive and commitment, 198 drop boxes were provided across the county, and over 115 tons of drugs destroyed.

As a sponsor of the original and 2021 renewal of Executive Dow Constantine's Best Starts for Kids Levy, Joe has played a momentous role in serving more than half a million King County children, youth, young adults, and families in partnership with 500 community-based organizations. He understands, as I do, that our young people are the future and our early investments in their lives will have growing returns for years to come.

The host of community-based proposals and progress throughout his career reflect Joe's extraordinary skills in developing compromise and recognizing individualized needs, even in the most difficult of circumstances. As a champion of the Health through Housing initiative to house 1,600 of the most challenged people facing homelessness and leader for support on long range hotel motel tax revenue allocation for affordable housing and public infrastructure, Joe has never wavered from the deep responsibility and value he holds for King County's low- income people.

Joe's work has been all-encompassing. From the expansion of the light rail service and the guarantee of its equitable fare enforcement, to the addition of new water taxis to meet higher passenger capacities, to the review and approval of King County's public participation in an arena proposal for NBA basketball and NHL hockey, the lengths to which Joe will provide for our communities seem endless.

It has been a great privilege to learn and collaborate with Joe over the last two decades, and it is my honor to thank him for his dedicated service to the people of King County, the State of Washington, and across the entire country. I wish him the very best during his well- earned retirement.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Mr. President, ever since Republicans succeeded in overturning Roe v. Wade and ripping abortion rights away from millions of women, they have been trying to hide how extreme their positions on abortion are and how devastating the fallout has been for families.

Even as each new day brings another horror driven by Republican extremists, like the dystopian bill put forward in South Carolina which proposed the death penalty for women who get an abortion, one of my colleagues even recently said that as President, he would ``literally sign the most conservative pro-life legislation.''

Let's not forget the terrifying lawsuit in Texas that is hanging over the entire country, where Republican extremists want to overrule the FDA's experts, undermine its authority to review and approve all manner of drugs, from chemotherapy to insulin, and take the abortion pill mifepristone away from patients all across the country, even in States like mine where abortion is still legal and even though we have 20 years of data showing this drug is safe and effective.

Yet, when the district judge issued a dangerous ruling that would rip this drug off the shelf, 69 congressional Republicans filed a brief calling for that ruling to go into effect and deny women in every single State access to this FDA-approved medication. The Supreme Court has stayed the decision for the time being, but this threat to women's ability to get this drug is as real as ever, and now 147 congressional Republicans--many Republicans who are in leadership, Republicans with oversight authority over the FDA--have filed a brief opposing our efforts to protect access to mifepristone and protect the FDA's authority.

And this extreme lawsuit is far from the only dangerous anti-abortion policy some congressional Republicans are pushing, as is the bill we are about to vote on today.

It has been incredibly infuriating for women to be told by Republicans that we are overreacting, fearmongering, even as we are being told by patients and providers about the nightmares they are now living in, about the impossible decisions they have had to make, and about the decisions--the deeply personal decisions--they have not been allowed to make that Republican politicians are, instead, now making for them.

It strains belief that Republicans actually think victims of rape or incest are not being affected by their policies and that women whose health--whose very lives--are in danger are not facing any barriers or are being denied the care they need, especially when we see news stories reported every day showing that that is not the case--stories that show women are being put in horrific, unthinkable situations, forced to travel absurd distances for care after they are raped, forced to wait and bleed and get sicker and sicker before they can get the care they desperately need.

But even if Republicans are ignoring the devastation State abortion bans are causing and are ignoring women who are speaking out every single day, what we are talking about today in this Senate is a bill congressional Republicans wrote themselves. It really puts an end, once and for all, to some Republicans' empty claims that they are being moderate in any way here. Victims of rape or women with medical complications are not being heard, because this bill, which Republicans wrote, which Republicans are coming to the floor advocating for, would cut veterans and their families off from care when their lives are in danger and would cut them off from care after rape or incest.

Make no mistake, that is what this debate is about today. That is what they are voting for. In arguing for this bill, they are also showing they know full well how extreme State bans actually are. After all, they cannot pretend that, on the one hand, State abortion bans have meaningful exemptions for women with life-threatening complications and for people who have been raped, including children, while also arguing, on the other hand, that this proposal defies State laws to allow the VA to provide care in those heartbreaking situations. Those arguments contradict each other. More importantly, those claims contradict the real, heartbreaking stories we are already hearing from women and doctors about how these bans are putting lives at risk.

Extreme abortion bans are causing healthcare crises all across the country, along with so many personal crises for families in facing incredibly difficult situations, which is why the VA care rule that President Biden put forward is so important and why the Democrats are standing so firm to keep it intact. Despite the rhetoric from my Republican colleagues, this rule that they are trying to overturn is a meaningful, modest step to protect our veterans. It simply allows the VA to provide abortion care to make sure that none of our veterans or their eligible dependents go without medical treatment when their lives are in danger or are forced to stay pregnant after rape or incest.

That is it. That is what Republicans are so upset about. They are upset that this administration has taken action to make sure women who have served our country in uniform can get the basic reproductive care they need when

their health is at risk or in cases of rape or incest. Those veterans fought to protect our rights, and now Republicans want to roll back theirs. These veterans put their lives on the line for us, and now Republicans who support this resolution want to tell them that when their lives are in danger, tough luck. Politics comes first. No one--no one--deserves that.

So I urge all of my colleagues to stand with our veterans, to stand with their families, and vote against this unthinkably cruel bill that seeks to force women veterans to stay pregnant even when their lives are at risk, even after rape or incest.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senators Tuberville and Schumer be permitted to complete their remarks prior to the rollcall vote.

Madam President, I rise today to recognize the life and legacy of disability rights activist, Judy Heumann. Today, I join so many touched by her advocacy in mourning her passing, remembering her life, and paying tribute to the contributions she made to the disability community.

Judy's activism began early in life. As a young child who contracted polio and used a wheelchair, she was denied the right to attend school in New York. Later in life, Judy was denied a teaching license after failing her medical exam due to ``paralysis of both lower

extremities.'' She sued the Board of Education and went on to be the first teacher in New York State to use a wheelchair.

Judy served in various capacities throughout multiple Presidential administrations and was instrumental in the passage of groundbreaking legislation including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act. She was the recipient of the Henry B. Betts Award, the Max Starkloff Lifetime Achievement Award, and was featured in numerous documentaries.

I had the honor of working with Judy throughout my time as ranking member and chair of the HELP Committee and seeing firsthand how committed she was to making our world more welcoming and accessible to everyone. Her tenacity was an inspiration to me, and I am grateful that I had the chance to learn from her and work alongside her to make this country more inclusive for all. Her work has improved the lives of so many across our country. She will be remembered fondly.

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

Mr. President, this past Sunday marked the 20-year anniversary of the war in Iraq. I could not be prouder of our servicemembers who bravely have served our Nation overseas. I am deeply grateful for their service and their sacrifice, and I am committed to making sure we live up to our obligations to each and every one of them.

As I have said many times, this is a war I never thought we should have started, and it is one we clearly should have ended long ago.

I come to the floor today to urge my colleagues to commemorate the anniversary of this war by officially ending this badly outdated war authorization at long last. I urge them to join me in taking the long- overdue step of reasserting Congress's authority in decisions about war and peace by voting to repeal the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for use of military force because when we send people to war, it should be a decision, not a status quo.

The decision about whether or not to go to war and put the servicemembers' lives at risk is the most serious and most consequential issue we can debate here in the U.S. Senate. American lives, American security, and America's future are all at stake when our country decides questions of war and peace.

When we first deliberated on whether to take action in Iraq, I wanted to know with absolute confidence we had done our due diligence before moving forward with the weighty decision to send our men and women into a dangerous conflict. That is why all those years ago I came to the floor to debate the very resolution that gave President Bush the authority he wanted to wage war in Iraq. I wanted to know what our goals were, what our plan was, what a victory and an exit strategy looked like, and what evidence we had that this was necessary.

I will tell you, after hearing all the sides on whether to engage our military, one thing I still was not hearing was clear answers. I determined I could not support sending our men and women into harm's way on an ill-defined mission--a mission which ultimately cost us dearly in lives most importantly but also in dollars and in our standing around the world.

Twenty years later, the mission in Iraq is over. Our troops have returned home, and Iraq's Government has evolved into a diplomatic partner. But those outdated legal authorizations remain on the books, leaving an open-ended basis for Presidents to misuse our military power for political gain.

We have already seen how leaders can use them as a free pass to recklessly push for the misuse of military force. Just 3 years ago, without consulting Congress, former President Trump ordered missile strikes in Iraq against an Iranian military leader, which, among many things, jeopardized our relationships with key allies, risked the safety of U.S. servicemembers and civilians, and brought us perilously close to war. That is not how this should work. That is not how the Constitution says it should work. Our servicemembers deserve better than that.

When and whether to engage in war is a choice that explicitly belongs to Congress and to the American people. If we don't assert that power, we risk leaving behind a dangerous precedent for the future. That is why I am voting to repeal these authorizations. Taking this step will make sure we are doing our part here in Congress to give questions of war the full consideration they deserve and make sure we are exhausting every diplomatic avenue before jumping into a full-blown war effort and putting servicemembers in harm's way. I saw the scars, physical and mental, that veterans like my dad took home from World War II, that veterans like my peers took home from Vietnam, and that veterans today have taken home from Iraq.

This is one of the most important votes we can make, so let's act like it. Let's ensure every decision made to authorize the use of military force is responsible, is appropriate, and is constitutional.

I hope that by repealing these outdated AUMFs, we will return to a place where Congress and, by extension, the American people can have a serious debate and ultimately decide whether or not we go to war. It is long past time for Congress to reassert its authority and oversight responsibility here.

I urge my colleagues to join me and Senators Kaine and Young in getting this done.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 15 minutes as in morning business.

Mr. President, there are so many challenges facing us as a nation today, as we all know, but there is one overriding concern that I have. If we want our country to thrive and grow and be strong and be a democracy far into the future so we can solve the problems and challenges we face, then we must protect our democracy.

Democracy. It is the core principle of America, the idea that we are a country where we can debate and can have free speech and where our voices matter. Americans must be able to trust and believe that all of us here, no matter our opinions or our beliefs, have a shared view that our democracy is sacred, that we understand what that means, and that we have a responsibility as leaders to preserve it; a democracy where we make decisions, we use our voices, we debate, we vote, but we never use brute force to get what we want. If we allow brute force to win the day, that would be the end of our democracy.

Look, we agree and we disagree. We use our words to debate policy. We are passionate about what we believe in. But we also understand that not everything is debatable, that there is a reality in our world that we must understand and acknowledge and learn from so we can move forward as a country and make sure we never repeat the mistakes of the past. And I am talking about what happened on January 6, 2021.

On that day, an attempt was made to overthrow an election, to use brute force and violence to change the outcome. We must agree as a country that using brute force to overturn this democracy is something we can never allow. In fact, if we want to solve any of those challenges in front of us, we need to have a strong democracy--period.

That is why I have to speak out today about what is happening with the release of the January 6 tapes and the total misuse by a FOX News personality to distort and change the truth of what happened that day.

As my colleagues know, I was here during the worst of the January 6 insurrection, and when I say ``here,'' I mean here in the Capitol Building. I didn't happen to be on the floor when most Senators were evacuated; instead, I had to lock down in a room feet from here. I heard the crashes as those insurrectionists stormed this building. I heard their explicit calls for violence. I heard them banging on my door, trying to get in, trying to get me so they could do harm. I know firsthand that January 6 was a dark, violent chapter in our Nation's history. So imagine my shock and my anger to hear a prime time FOX News host trying to downplay this horrific event, trying to say this was just people on a sightseeing tour.

I have taken constituents on a tour of the Capitol. I am sure the Presiding Officer has. I think we all know that you don't bring gas masks on a tour. You don't bring pepper spray on a tour. You do not bring bats or knives or tasers. They actually had zip-tie handcuffs in their possession.

Tourists don't leave broken glass in the windows. They don't leave the blood of our Capitol Police officers on the floor. Tourists don't leave with stolen documents and laptops. They don't smear feces on the wall, and they don't put up gallows outside.

For FOX News to let Tucker Carlson try and paper over this by showing a few minutes of footage--which, by the way, to be clear, even that footage is showing people who walked past gates, barricades, blaring alarms, and police lines, in total disregard of the law, to go somewhere it is abundantly clear that they should not. But to show that footage and pretend that it shows the full story, while ignoring the reality of the footage of offices being ransacked, equipment being stolen, windows broken, ignoring the footage of White supremacists parading these halls with Confederate flags and zip-tie handcuffs, ignoring the footage of Capitol Police being swarmed and beaten and battered--officers suffered cracked ribs and severe brain injuries. One officer lost an eye. Other officers took their lives in the aftermath. To try and paper over all of this as a ``sightseeing tour''--there just aren't words that do my anger justice, and the ones that get close are simply not suitable for this Senate floor.

I am glad some Republican Senators have joined Democrats in calling out how dangerous and disingenuous this kind of coverage--or, perhaps more appropriately, coverup--is. But, honestly, there is a lot more that needs to be said about how we got here. New documents from the Dominion lawsuit made clear FOX News knowingly let hosts spread lies about the election and let them inflame the public with baseless conspiracies.

I think my colleagues and reporters who cover me know I am not one to criticize the media lightly. I do not cry foul or bias or fake news at coverage that I don't like. We live in a country with free speech and free press--thank goodness. We have many different points of view, and that all informs a robust debate in our democracy so people can effect change with their voices and their votes, not violence.

But there is a basic premise that debate rests on, a basic responsibility inherent in these important rights: honesty. For our democracy to work, for our great debates to guide it effectively, the people who inform our public--the free press that we so rightly cherish and protect--need honest brokers.

Let me be clear. When I say ``honest,'' I am not saying reporters have to be utterly objective or neutral or impersonal. I am not even saying they have to be 100 percent right all the time. No one is. But they have to tell the truth. They have to at least try to tell the truth. They owe that to the people whom they cover and the viewers who trust them. That shouldn't be too much to ask. Truly, it is the barest of minimums. It is the lowest bar.

Yet, as the Dominion lawsuit is showing, FOX News has been utterly failing to meet it. In fact, they have been actively pushing lies and disinformation in the most cynical way possible.

The depositions and discovery have shown plain as day, FOX News personalities were spreading dangerous lies, promoting shameless liars, and what is more, FOX knew it. We aren't talking about a difference of an opinion or an honest mistake. We are talking about fraud in prime time.

They repeatedly brought on Sidney Powell to spout baseless conspiracies about Dominion voting machines. All the while, Tucker Carlson told his producer that Powell was lying. He told his colleague Laura Ingraham that Powell was lying. Ingraham's producer texted a FOX executive that he had told her the Dominion conspiracy was ``BS.'' Ingraham herself said Powell was a ``complete nut.'' Senior Vice President Shah said Powell was ``clearly full of it.'' Lou Dobbs' producer told him it was ``complete BS,'' only for the show to have Powell on 3 days later.

I mean, the list of people at FOX News who knew President Biden fairly won that election and knew these fraud claims were baseless goes on and on, and, in fact, it goes straight to the top.

Rupert Murdoch, owner of FOX News, called Rudy Giuliani's lies about the election ``really crazy stuff.'' Yet, as he admitted under oath, FOX News hosts

endorsed those conspiracies, and he let it happen, even though he could have done more to step in and stop it.

Instead of putting the Big Lie under scrutiny, FOX put it in prime time. And when reporters with the network tried to be accurate, tried to tell the truth, tried to set straight the lies their own network was spreading, they were reprimanded.

Carlson, who told his colleagues Powell is lying, called for a FOX reporter to be fired for fact-checking a tweet about the Dominion conspiracy. Shah, the senior vice president who said Powell was full of it, labeled an anchor a ``brand threat'' for cutting away from an accurate Trump White House press conference. Another reporter was scolded for fact-checking the Powell-Giuliani press conference, which leaders at FOX acknowledged was rife with dangerous conspiracies.

Let's be clear. This was the No. 1 cable news outlet in America stifling the truth. This is so dangerous, and we cannot--we absolutely cannot--accept this.

Let's not forget the nature of those lies. They weren't just small white lies or debatable points. These were wild, sprawling conspiracies which were repeatedly debunked, including by FOX's own fact checkers and which were actually designed to disrupt the peaceful transition of power, designed to undermine the cornerstone of our democracy, the public's faith in our free and fair elections.

And they did.

On January 6, a violent mob, spurred by the lies that FOX spread, stormed this Capitol. And, now, as I detailed earlier, FOX hosts are lying about that. FOX News is discoloring our past when we should be learning from it--when we should be learning from it.

It is important to consider the scope of those lies as well. This wasn't one anchor saying something dubious and network executives looking the other way. FOX engaged in a top-down, deliberate, and coordinated effort to push out lies to its viewers. We cannot ignore that.

Tucker Carlson can selectively edit as much footage as he wants, but I refuse to let him succeed in rewriting history and lying to the American people about the January 6 insurrection.

America has already seen what Tucker Carlson failed to show: windows being smashed in, officers being pushed and beaten and battered and pepper-sprayed, the floor of the House and Senate overrun by White supremacists in tactical gear, a gallows on the Hill, a mob chanting ``Hang Mike Pence.''

I was here with one locked door between me and the violent mob shouting ``Kill the infidels.'' And when the dust settled, I walked with my colleagues through the halls, littered with broken glass, the offices that had been ransacked, and I stood here with my colleagues to cast a vote insurrectionists had stormed the building to stop. I will never forget that. Who could?

And I will never forget, and I will never let our country forget it, either, despite what FOX News has done and is doing to try and rewrite this chapter of our Nation's history.

This is not how legitimate news organizations behave. How are viewers supposed to trust them? How am I supposed to trust that they will represent my positions fairly?

Now, I will say, there are reporters at FOX who are committed to the basic principles of objective journalism and the truth, and I respect them. And many reporters at local FOX affiliates are doing their best to report the honest truth to viewers in my home State of Washington and around the country. But do you know what? Even if I trust them to try and work in good faith, how do I trust they will not get overruled by the same executives who oversaw this election disinformation operation?

I think it is important to say, and it is also worth noting, that the lies about the election and insurrection may be the most egregious and dangerous examples right now, but there are many other ways the dishonesty at FOX News is poisoning the debate for important conversations and debate.

How are we supposed to debate climate change when half the conversation is fact-free denialism? How are we supposed to discuss public health when deadly vaccine misinformation is given one of the world's biggest megaphones?

Here is the honest truth. Public figures and other media outlets need to grapple with this: Tucker Carlson is determined to make sure FOX News is not news at all.

FOX is a political vehicle for Rupert Murdoch and his rightwing causes. It is a political entity that will gladly push disinformation and lies if it means profits and political gain. Let's just call it what it is.

So until FOX does a complete 180 to fix this, until Tucker Carlson apologizes and issues a comprehensive correction, until Mr. Murdoch and his executives stop with the lies and election conspiracy theories-- and, by the way, they will have to give a real reason if they want us to believe them--until that happens, we should not pretend that Murdoch and Carlson are going to allow FOX News to be news at all. I certainly won't. And I don't say this lightly, but I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

The essence of our democracy is at stake, because what I was reminded, on January 6, is that democracy doesn't happen just because we have it. Our democracy is only as strong as our commitment to it. We have to work for it. We have to make sure that it remains with us, and that is why I am on the floor speaking out today, because I will fight for our democracy.

I yield the floor.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Madam President, I rise with my colleagues today to continue to fight for women in every part of our country to once again be able to make their own healthcare decisions because ever since Republicans succeeded in their decades-long effort to overturn Roe v. Wade and drag our country back a half a century and rip away the right to abortion for women across the country, we have heard one horror story after another: women left suffering, waiting for the care that they need; doctors worried that they could face jail time for doing what is best for their patients; abortion providers who are overwhelmed by patients who are having to wait weeks for limited appointments and travel hundreds of miles for care.

Republicans have ushered in a crisis. It is a nightmare for women, for patients, and for doctors alike. And make no mistake, it is a choice extreme Republicans have made.

They fought for decades to overturn Roe. They passed the dangerous abortion bans that are causing this pain for women and families, and they are choosing to continue their nonstop efforts to strip women of control over their own bodies. Every day, extreme Republican politicians come out with some new awful idea to make women's lives worse.

Here in Congress, Senate Republicans introduced a national abortion ban last year. This Congress, one of the first bills the Republican House voted on was a Federal abortion ban. In just the few months since Roe was overturned, extreme abortion bans have gone into effect in 14 of our States, stripping over 20 million women of reproductive age of the ability to get abortion care in their own State.

And, by the way, transgender and nonbinary patients who already face so many challenges getting the healthcare they need in this country are being harmed by these bans as well. We are talking about truly cruel bans that set bounties for information about anyone who gets an abortion or helps provide one and bans that even lack exceptions for rape or incest or the life and well-being of the mom.

Republican bans have tripled the average travel time for patients to get the abortion care they need since Roe was overturned. And they have been especially challenging for communities that already face barriers for the care they need: patients with tight budgets who cannot afford to pay for travel and lodging hundreds of miles away from where they live; Black women who already suffer much higher maternal mortality rates; patients in rural and Tribal areas who aren't close to providers to begin with; and patients with disabilities, to just name a few.

Now they are going further, seeking to pass new bans to try to get around State court rulings and laws to get around the fact that their own constituents backed the right to abortion in statewide votes just last year. When extreme Republicans can't convince the American people to get on board with their extreme agenda, they have shown that they will try to force it on women across the country with threats and intimidation and outrageous lawsuits.

Extreme Republican attorneys general, for example, are suing the Biden administration because they told pharmacists they can't discriminate against pregnant patients and because they made it clear when a woman's life is at stake, doctors are required to provide lifesaving abortion care. And, of course, there is the extreme Republican lawsuit that seeks to take away an important abortion medication for patients nationwide--nationwide--effectively creating a nationwide ban on the most common way patients get an abortion. Twenty- two Republican attorneys general and, by the way, 67 Republicans right here in Congress have filed a brief supporting that lawsuit, supporting overriding experts at FDA to take a safe, effective abortion medication away from women nationwide, to take it away from my constituents in Washington State.

People across the country have already made it crystal clear they will not stand for Republicans' extreme agenda. In fact, last November, abortion rights won in every single place they were on the ballot-- every single place they were on the ballot.

Democrats won't stand for Republican attacks either. We are committed right here to being a firewall in the Senate against the House Republicans' extreme attacks on abortion. We refuse to accept a future where our daughters and granddaughters have fewer rights than we did.

We refuse to accept that any patient's right to control their own body depends on a State that they live in or the money in their bank account. That is why today Democrats are reintroducing the Women's Health Protection Act because the Dobbs decision was not the beginning of this fight, and it was not the end--far from it. We have to restore Roe for women in every corner of our country, and that is exactly what this bill does. It follows the Constitution and nearly half a century of precedent and gives patients the right to get an abortion and doctors the right to provide that care no matter where they are in America.

Some Republicans want us to just get used to women being forced to stay pregnant, no matter their circumstance, no matter what it means for their health or their family or their hope for the future. Some Republicans are hoping that this will all become normal.

Well, I have got news for them. Never, never will that happen. We will not be quiet. We will not give up. We are going to keep coming back as many times as it takes to end this chaos and return control of women's bodies to women. I promise, every single time we have to come back to this floor to lay bare the horrors of these extreme abortion bans they are inflicting on women and patients in this country, we will get louder.

So I urge all my Republican colleagues, start listening to the American people, start acknowledging the pain that these abortion bans are causing. Let's pass this critical bill to make things right.

I can't say that I expect them to listen to us, but I can guarantee you, if they don't, we will be back.

I yield the floor.

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

Madam President, I will be honest. Based on the arguments I have been hearing, I am not sure everyone who is opposing the Biden administration's ESG rule has actually read the policy. Some of the arguments for the resolution overturning this rule simply don't add up. In fact, they are a contradiction. ESG investing is simply the practice of taking into account the environmental, social, and governance practices of companies that you invest in.

For instance, just as a hypothetical, if you are against investing in so-called ``woke'' causes, you are actually laying out your own ESG criteria. Here is the thing: The Biden administration rule would allow that. They would allow that because--and this is an important point, I think, folks are missing--the Biden rule is fundamentally neutral on how ESG factors are taken into consideration, so long as the investment fund is meeting its fiduciary obligations to its beneficiaries.

I am not sure anyone gets that because the fact of the matter is that some of the same people who are railing against this rule and against ESG investing have advocated for positions that essentially are ESG investing.

When Republicans push for legislation to protect local and State governments that divest from companies based on their policies toward Israel, that is a form of ESG investing. It is also worth noting, if you manage a retirement plan for a faith-based organization and you want to make sure you are investing in accordance with your client's faith, that, too, would be ESG investing. When we call for divesting from foreign adversaries due to human rights and national security concerns, again, we are actually talking about ESG investing.

If anyone wants to argue that that is different, that it is a matter of national security, I will note there is no question that climate change is also a really serious national security issue, but that is, honesty, beside the point here.

Let me say it again: The rule we are talking about is neutral-- neutral--on whether a fiduciary is considering these factors from a particular perspective. This rule is not about saying the left's or the right's taking on a given environmental, social, or governance issue is correct. It is about acknowledging that these factors are reasonable for asset managers to consider. It is about risk mitigation to safeguard retirement plan savers' nest eggs. It is about letting asset managers do their jobs without the government getting in the way. That shouldn't be controversial. It, actually, should be common sense.

I mean, think about it. When it comes to environmental factors, shouldn't financial advisers have the freedom to consider environmental practices when climate disasters cost trillions of dollars a year?

Shouldn't they have the freedom to take into account whether a company is adopting sustainable practices that reduce its costs and consumption or if it is moving to clean energy so that it makes it less reliant on foreign oil?

When it comes to social factors, we live in a diverse nation. That is part of what makes our country so vibrant and so strong. Shouldn't financial advisers have the freedom to consider whether companies are doing the most to tap into that strength?

Shouldn't they have the freedom to account for whether companies are well situated to serve and speak to the broadest range of people or to grow by reaching communities that are currently underrepresented in their customer base?

When it comes to how companies are governed, we are facing workforce shortages today. Companies are having huge challenges in finding and retaining workers. So shouldn't financial advisers have the freedom to consider how well companies are paying their workers or how seriously they take safety and issues like workplace harassment or what sort of benefits they might provide to retain workers, like childcare, paid leave, or more?

These are concrete factors that have huge implications for companies' bottom lines. So why wouldn't we give advisers the freedom to consider them?

Why do Republicans want to tie their hands and meddle in the free market by reversing this balanced, neutral rule?

Despite the misunderstandings and misrepresentations and despite how badly some of my colleagues seem to be missing the point, at the end of the day, this is actually pretty simple. Financial security is about planning for the future, and you can't plan for the future if you aren't allowed to consider the environmental or social or governance factors that are shaping it.

So I urge my colleagues, today, to join me in voting against this resolution.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, consistent with Standing Rule XXVI, I ask unanimous consent that the rules of procedure of the Committee on Appropriations for the 118th Congress be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to speak as in morning business and that Senator Bennet be allowed to conclude his remarks before the vote today.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to continue to raise the alarm about how Republicans' extreme, ongoing attacks on reproductive rights are putting women's lives at risk, are trampling the will of the American people, who supported the right to abortion, by the way, everywhere it was on the ballot last November, and are even undermining care for patients in States like mine, which have strong abortion protections.

In fact, right now, a truly extreme lawsuit, which some far-right Republicans in Congress just filed a brief supporting, is seeking to overturn the FDA's longstanding approval of a safe and effective medication used in abortion care. This suit could cause chaos nationwide and rip abortion medication away from patients in every single State, potentially even from my constituents in Washington State.

I have been clear that the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year was not the end of the fight to protect reproductive rights. Unfortunately, it was just the starting gun for even more extreme attacks from far- right Republicans. We have already seen 14 extreme State abortion bans go into effect--from bans that set bounties for information about anyone who gets an

abortion or helps to provide one to bans that even lack exceptions for rape and incest and the life and well-being of moms. Some States are even passing new bans to try and get around State courts that block their first ones or laws to get around the fact that their own constituents backed the right to abortion in a statewide vote last year.

Here in Congress, we saw Senate Republicans introduce a national abortion ban last year, and it was one of the first things the Republican House voted on this year. We are still seeing new, appalling proposals from extreme Republicans across the country.

While Republicans here in Congress blocked our bill to make sure doctors cannot be jailed for providing an abortion, Republican State legislators have drafted bills to make sure women can be prosecuted for getting an abortion.

While Republicans in Congress blocked our bill to protect the right to travel across State lines for an abortion, State lawmakers have bills to stop employers from helping employees travel for an abortion.

Right next door to my home State, there is a bill in Idaho that could lead to parents and grandparents being charged with human trafficking for helping minors travel out of State so they can get an abortion. That is appalling.

Republican politicians have investigated a doctor for providing care to a child who was raped. They have proposed funding to jail people for abortions. They have talked about using existing child endangerment laws to prosecute women who use abortion pills. They have made it harder for patients to get birth control and even the treatments they need for life-threatening illnesses, like cancer.

There are Republican attorneys general suing, right now, because the Biden administration told pharmacists they can't discriminate against pregnant patients and because the administration reminded care providers that, when a woman's life is at stake, they are required by Federal law to provide the necessary care, and that includes abortion.

Then there is the case I mentioned earlier, whereby a far-right group is trying, right now, to ban mifepristone, an important abortion medication, nationwide, and I mean all across the country, including in my home State of Washington and in every other State that has strong protections for abortion. There are 22 Republican attorneys general and 67 Republicans right here in Congress who have filed briefs in support of that outlandish lawsuit.

Now, let's be clear about what is going on here. In this lawsuit, these far-right extremists are asking one district judge to overrule the FDA's experts and rulemaking authority in order to undermine healthcare for patients nationwide by declaring a drug that was approved over 20 years ago as unsafe.

Let's set the record straight right now because there has been so much misinformation on this, including from Republican Members of Congress.

Mifepristone is safe, and it is effective for ending a pregnancy during the first 10 weeks. The FDA determined that decades ago. The science is done. The results are in. They have been for over 20 years. Mifepristone is safe. This lawsuit is not about science; it is about ideology. It is not about protecting women; it is about controlling their bodies.

The reality of what extreme Republicans have already caused with their abhorrent bans is a nightmare. Because of Republican bans, women facing miscarriages have already been unable to get the care they need for days on end. They have already been left bleeding, getting sicker and sicker, and pleading for help. Doctors are already being forced to compromise medical care, leave patients in pain, and even forgo providing lifesaving care because they fear far-right politicians will jail them for doing their job. Abortion providers in States like mine are already overworked, overbooked, and overwhelmed with patients who have had to wait weeks and travel hundreds of miles to get an abortion because of Republican bans. This lawsuit will make things much worse.

Mifepristone is used in over half of the abortions. Taking that drug away would mean fewer options for women, longer waits for people who are seeking care, stress for patients and providers, and chaos for a healthcare system that Republicans have already put in crisis.

It is cruel and utterly unnecessary. There is no reason for this.

You don't have to take my word for this, by the way. Listen to doctors and patients, and listen to women, because that is exactly what I have been doing.

I am not going to stop. I am going to continue to make sure their stories are being heard, especially when they are hard stories to hear, because we will not be quiet. I am going to continue to be their voice and vote here in the Senate, and I am going to keep putting a spotlight on their concerns and on the threats to their health, like these extreme abortion bans and ideology abortion lawsuits. I am going to be here, raising the alarm, fighting to pass commonsense legislation to protect our rights, being a firewall against extreme Republican attacks against abortion, and working, meanwhile, to build the support we need to restore Roe once and for all.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the memberships on the twelve subcommittees of the Committee on Appropriations for the 118th Congress be printed in the Record. I thank my vice chair on the committee, Senator Collins, for her leadership and cooperation with me in making these important assignments.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the Lieutenants

Peggy Dente and Lyndsay Evans of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island for making history on February 12, 2023, as part of the first-ever all- women flyover at the Super Bowl pregame, commemorating 50 years of women serving in the U.S. Navy.

Both of these extraordinary women represent the best of what Washington State--and our Nation--has to offer. Not only do the two share over a decade of friendship, they also bring with them a keen sense of duty and deep commitment to excellence in aviation.

In 1973, eight women broke new ground by being selected for naval aviation training for the first time in our Nation's history. Five decades later, we are seeing more women and girls express interest in taking to the skies through service and leadership at every level of naval aviation. In performing their first ever flyover, Dente and Evans have quite literally proven that with women at the helm, the sky is the limit.

I know breaking into a field dominated by men isn't easy, when I first got to the Senate, there wasn't even a women's bathroom off the Senate floor. But every day, women like Lieutenants Dente and Evans are setting an example for young girls that with hard work, they can follow their dreams and achieve their goals.

I offer my sincere thanks to the lieutenants for their service to our country and my congratulations for proudly representing Washington State on the national stage. I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating this tremendous accomplishment.