Floor Statements

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, on January 20, 2021, little girls worldwide watched in awe as the daughter of a mother from India and a father from Jamaica placed her hand on the Bible of the late civil rights icon and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and took the oath to serve in one of the highest offices in the land. At that moment, history was made, and Kamala Harris became the first woman in American history to serve as Vice President of the United States. During a time when America faced a pandemic, there was hope, and many saw the promise of what could be in Vice President Harris.

As I sat there as one of the lucky witnesses to see that historic moment on that cold winter's day, I couldn't help but smile and think of my former Senate colleague from California, who served with me on the Senate's Judiciary Committee. I served on that committee for more than two decades and had the honor to work with many brave colleagues on both sides of the table, but then-Senator Harris was exceptional, bringing a keen perspective and vast knowledge of issues.

During hearings, I always counted on her for intelligent, discerning questions, honed over the years as a prosecutor, effectively reaching the heart of each matter at hand. I remember how people would stick around to hear her ask questions. Because of her seniority situation, she was one of the last to ever ask in the committee. I know there were many witnesses who would have preferred that she would have asked no questions. She was that good.

Throughout her long and successful career as a civil servant, Vice President Harris has always focused on what is best for the American people. Whether fighting for working families, taking on special interests and winning, or working across the aisle to pass legislation and conducting critical national security investigations, Vice President Harris has worked in the service of every American, no matter their party.

Four years ago, she left the Senate as President Biden's Vice President and had a tall order on her hands--to bring this country back from a life-altering pandemic and reenergize the American economy. With our democracy's and Nation's soul at stake on the ballot during the 2020 election, Vice President Harris and President Biden ushered in a new era, embodying their campaign slogan: ``Our best days still lie ahead.''

Under their leadership, America has made significant progress. A little over 4 years ago, the term ``Infrastructure Week'' was a little more than a wish list and a punch line at worst. In 2021, the Biden- Harris administration, with Democrats' support in Congress, made the infamous ``Infrastructure Week'' a reality. We passed the bipartisan infrastructure law.

Since its enactment, the Biden-Harris administration has announced $568 billion in funding for more than 66,000 projects across all 50 States, territories, and Tribes. This funding has helped repair more than 196,000 miles of roads, updated 11,400 bridges, replaced more than 350,000 lead pipes, and created nearly 16 million jobs.

We were able to help millions of Americans head back to work. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, the economy is back on track after the world struggled with a deadly, life-threatening virus. America had one of the most robust job recoveries on record and the strongest economic recovery in the world, driving unemployment below 4 percent for 28 months--the longest stretch of low unemployment in more than 50 years.

We lowered healthcare and prescription drug costs, including a $2,000 cap on prescription drugs for seniors and people with disabilities, a $35-a-month cap on the cost of insulin, and new, lower prices for prescription drugs as part of Medicare.

Since the Supreme Court's decision to overrule Roe v. Wade, Vice President Harris has been an outspoken advocate for reproductive freedom.

Over the past 2 years, Republican lawmakers have picked up where the Supreme Court left off. In State after State, they have undermined and even eliminated reproductive health care for millions of Americans, with devastating consequences. But the Biden-Harris administration has been a steady, predictable, consistent beacon in what feels like a never-ending struggle.

With the Vice President's leadership, the administration has acted to protect access to reproductive health care, including through FDA- approved medication abortion, emergency medical care, and supporting the ability to travel for reproductive health care. On what would have been the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Vice President Kamala Harris launched a nationwide Fight for Reproductive Freedoms tour.

For as long as I have known her, she has always been a fighter, so I didn't hesitate when she called, asking for my support when she ran for President. I didn't hesitate to say yes. Now, I know the election outcome was not what we wanted or fought for, but believe me when I say she made a difference in the history of this Nation, and I could not be prouder of her strength and resolve during the campaign.

At a recent address at Howard University, Vice President Harris said something that will stay with me. She said:

The light of America's promise will always burn bright as

long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.

Madam Vice President, you have been and always will be the light of America's promise. You have given a voice to the voiceless, made those who felt invisible feel seen, and fought for those unable to fight for themselves.

It has been a true honor to work and serve next to her over these years. I thank her for her service to this country. We are all the better for it.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, last week, on the floor, I thanked five of my colleagues in the Senate who will be leaving at the end of this Congress. Today, I would like to thank three more.

If you read any profile on Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, there is a good chance you will see the word ``rumpled'' in the description of his presentation before the Senate. A rumpled suit has become his trademark. In

fact, George Will once wrote that Sherrod ``radiates rumpledness, even in a well-pressed suit.''

Such characterizations have never seemed to bother Sherrod because, you see, he didn't come here to be a clothes horse or pose for GQ. He wouldn't know what to do with a custom-made, clean-pressed suit every day at work.

Sherrod Brown has spent 50 years in public office--50--including the last 18 years in the Senate. He is the kind of person who comes to the Senate ready to fight for people who don't have lawyers and lobbyists to speak for them.

Sherrod grew up in Mansfield, OH, a town hit hard and early by the decline in American manufacturing. His family was comfortably middle class, but many of his friends and seatmates in school weren't so lucky. When a factory in the town closed, his friends' families struggled and worried. Sherrod has spent his life trying to make those families, and others like them, in a position to get a fair shake.

It is a noble kind of service to feel the burdens of others and to work to ease their load, even when you don't need help yourself. Sherrod's solidarity with others who needed help was evident when, for years, he even refused to take congressional health benefits until we passed the Affordable Care Act, which made them available to almost every American. He didn't think it was right to accept that benefit as long as tens of millions of Americans were unable to obtain quality, affordable healthcare.

Sherrod has spent his life working for an economy and government that cares about the working class and invests in towns, factories, healthcare, and the potential of working families. He has fought for fair trade deals and opposed trade agreements that he thought shortchanged American workers, even when his opposition put him at odds with the President of his own party.

He insisted that the historic bipartisan infrastructure bill include a ``Buy America'' requirement, and he helped save the pensions of 1.5 million union members and retirees, with the so-called Butch Lewis Act, which I was proud to join him on.

Today, two huge new Intel computer chip factories are being built in Ohio in New Albany because Sherrod Brown helped pass the Chips and Science Act.

As a long-time member and, since 2021, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, he has worked to prevent the kinds of Wall Street recklessness and greed that crashed the global economy in 2008. He has fought for affordable housing and consumer protection, and against predatory lending and exorbitant junk fees. He has worked to hold executives of failed banks accountable and to make sure that AI and technology advances help consumers and aren't misused to rig the system in favor of the wealthy.

He worked so hard and was so gratified by the child tax credit. I think it was one of his proudest achievements, and he said as much.

In 2002, in the House, he voted against the Iraq war. I did, too, in the Senate. There weren't many of us at the time, and it wasn't a popular stand, but it was the right thing to do, and Sherrod knew it.

I am going to miss his gravelly, Tom Waits voice in this Chamber. I am going to miss the many stories he brought back about his wonderful wife Connie. She is a great writer and has been recognized beyond the United States in many places around the world for her insight and her writing. I wish the best to both of them. Their work here may be finished for the time being, but they have left a positive mark on America.

Mr. President, the big man from Big Sky Country, Jon Tester--before his election to the Senate, 18 years ago, Senator Jon Tester had never lived more than 2 hours away from his family's wheat farm in Big Sandy, MT, the same farm his grandparents homesteaded more than a century ago.

Jon started his campaign for the U.S. Senate traveling across the State on a farm tractor-trailer. And with his seven fingers, Roger Maris flattop, and scuffed size-12 cowboy boots, he has cut a singular figure in the Halls of Congress. He is a prairie pragmatist and a defender of programs that many rural Americans depend upon, such as market fairness for family cattle ranchers and rural community development efforts.

Jon voted for the Affordable Care Act because it was right and because it is a lifeline to rural hospitals, to farmers, ranchers, small business owners, and others who need affordable, accessible healthcare coverage.

He has been a strong voice for Native Americans. Growing up, Jon played ``Taps'' at the funerals of World War II veterans. It taught him, at an early age, that many veterans continue to pay a price for their service for the rest of their lives.

He gave a speech on the floor of the Senate, just a day or two ago. He pointed to that moment in the funeral service for former Senator Dan Inouye, a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, where, in Hawaii, Jon was called on to play ``Taps'' for Senator Inouye. He said it was one of his proudest moments, and I am sure that is true.

When I think of the giants of the Senate, like Dan Inouye, I think about those like Jon Tester who, in his own way, showed his courage time and again.

As chair of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, Jon Tester has worked to strengthen VA healthcare and protect disability benefits for all veterans. He pushed the Senate to pass the historic PACT Act to provide healthcare for veterans who were sickened by exposure to burn pits and other toxins and the survivor benefits for their spouses and young children. As of last week, the VA has approved more than 1.3 million claims under the PACT Act, including more than 51,000 veterans in my State of Illinois.

By the way, you likely have been hearing about self-professed ``efficiency experts'' combing through the Federal budget. Some of them have even called for the elimination of the Veterans Health Administration. They are wrong. They should listen to Jon Tester, a patriot, who it has been an honor to work with and count as a friend.

And you can't close with Jon without mentioning Shar. His wife Shar has been his partner in life and in politics and in every step they have taken together. It is a wonderful, loving, caring, inspiring couple. I am going to miss their physical presence, but their memories will live on in the Senate.

Tribute to Robert P. Casey, Jr.

Mr. President, it was the evening of January 28, 2017, in the early days of the first Trump administration. Airports in Chicago and throughout the Nation were filled with people protesting the administration's early ban on travelers from majority-Muslim nations. Among more than 100 protesters at the Philadelphia International Airport, one man stood out. Dressed in a tuxedo and tails, he had just attended a black-tie function when he heard about President Trump's decision. That man was Senator Bob Casey. He went directly to the airport.

As we all know, Senator Casey isn't usually so flashy as to wear a tux, but his principles guide him in everything he does. Bob Casey is one of the most decent people I have ever served in Congress with. He is a bridge builder. He is committed to creating dialogue and finding common ground. He is the only--the only--Pennsylvania Democrat ever to serve three terms in the U.S. Senate.

He has been a strong voice for working families struggling to get by. He has a great family himself with Terese. Poor mothers and children, coal miners at risk, and others finally had an advocate here standing up for them in the U.S. Senate.

As chair of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, he has protected Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. He helped lower seniors' cost for prescription drugs--a promise that was made years ago and finally kept, thanks to Bob Casey. He has targeted scam artists who prey on seniors.

Bob's father was a popular, two-term Pennsylvania Governor. And while Robert Casey, Sr., may have embedded the Casey name in Pennsylvania political life, Robert Casey, Jr., through his decades of service, has added new honor to that name.

Madam President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Noel Wise to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Born in Cherry Hill, NJ, Judge Wise earned her B.S. at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1989; her J.D., cum laude, from Nova Southeastern University Law School in 1993; and her J.S.M. from Stanford Law School in 2002. After graduating from law school, Wise served as a law clerk to Justice Harry Lee Anstead on Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeals.

Between 1994 and 2002, Judge Wise served in various roles at the Department of Justice, including as a trial attorney in the environmental enforcement section from 1999 to 2002 and the environmental crimes section from 1998-1999; on detail as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1997 to 1998; and as an honors trial attorney from 1994 to 1997.

From 2002 to 2004, Judge Wise worked as of counsel at Stoel Rives, LLP, advising clients on civil and criminal environmental law, land use, energy, and grand jury inquisitions. She also litigated and settled civil and criminal cases in State and Federal court. From 2004 to 2006, Judge Wise worked first as in-house counsel and later as the acting director/manager renewable power generation at Pacific Gas and Electric Company, PG&E. Before her judicial service, Wise ran her own law firm--Wise Gleicher--from 2006 to 2014.

Since 2014, she has served as a judge on the Superior Court of California in Alameda County. During this decade of service, she has held several additional roles in the California judiciary, including working as a judge and supervising judge in the family law division; being a panel judge and supervising judge in the appellate division; and holding those same roles in the State's civil division.

Judge Wise has issued at least 10,000 written decisions that are substantive orders or appealable judgments. In addition, she has conducted approximately 500 settlement conferences, presided over thousands of hearings, and issued approximately 290 decisions while serving on the appellate division.

The American Bar Association unanimously rated Judge Wise as ``well qualified,'' and her nomination is strongly supported by her home State Senators, Mr. Padilla and Ms. Butler.

Judge Wise's judicial experience, coupled with her experience in public service and private practice, have prepared her to serve the Northern District of California honorably as a district judge.

I am proud to support her nomination.

Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Keli Marie Neary to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. She is an accomplished litigator who has devoted her entire legal career to public service in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

After receiving her undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and her law degree from Widener University Commonwealth Law School, Ms. Neary clerked on the 41st Judicial District of Pennsylvania for Perry and Juniata Counties.

Following her clerkship, Ms. Neary served as an assistant counsel in the Governor's Office of General Counsel, assigned to the Pennsylvania State Police's Office of Chief Counsel. She specialized in enforcement of the Gaming Act, personnel litigation, contract interpretation, and firearms-related due process hearings.

Since 2012, Ms. Neary has worked at the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General (OAG), currently serving as the executive deputy attorney general for the civil law division. At the OAG, she represents and defends a broad array of different government agencies, officials, and employees in matters before State and Federal courts and defends constitutional challenges to Pennsylvania statutes and regulations.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Neary has tried 13 cases to verdict. She has also participated in the briefing of hundreds of trial and appellate matters in State and Federal courts and argued numerous motions and injunctions.

Ms. Neary has the strong support of her home State Senators, Mr. Casey and Mr. Fetterman. In addition, she was unanimously rated ``qualified'' by the American Bar Association.

I urge my colleagues to support Ms. Neary's nomination.

I announce that the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey) and the Senator from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) are necessarily absent.

Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Born in Tucson, AZ, Judge Valenzuela earned her B.A. at the University of Arizona in 1991 and her J.D. at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law in 1995. After graduating from law school, she worked as special assistant to Vice Chair Cruz Reynoso on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights from 1995 to 1998.

Between 1998 and 2000, Judge Valenzuela served as a trial attorney in the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. From 2000 to 2006, she served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

After that, Judge Valenzuela worked at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, first as the western regional counsel in 2006 and then as the national vice president and director of litigation from 2006 to 2011.

Between 2011 and 2016, Judge Valenzuela served as the Criminal Justice Act supervising attorney on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Since 2016, Judge Valenzuela has served as a judge on the State Bar Court of California. She served as the supervising judge of that court from 2020 to 2022.

The American Bar Association rated Judge Valenzuela as ``qualified,'' and her nomination is strongly supported by her home State Senators, Mr. Padilla and Ms. Butler.

Judge Valenzuela's substantial litigation background and service on the State Bar Court of California have prepared her to serve as a district judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. I am proud to support her nomination.

I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin) and the Senator from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) are necessarily absent.

Madam President, periodically, I have come to the Senate floor to raise the issue of political prisoners languishing in jails around the world. You would wonder why I do this. Well, it came to my attention that there are some real miscarriages of justice in terms of these political prisoners, and it also came to my attention that when I make a speech on the floor, sometimes people hear it and it makes a difference.

Thanks to the good work of Chris Homan, my chief staffer on this project, we have been party to and assisting in many releases of prisoners around the world. Some have come to visit me in my office here at the Capitol, saying they were languishing in prison and nobody even knew they were alive and that I gave a speech and I talked to the Ambassador and, the next thing you know, they are home.

So on the off chance that good fortune will come through again, I am going to make this effort this evening and am joined by Senator Welch of Vermont.

There are journalists, activists, opposition candidates, and everyday citizens who are too often victims of petty, repressive regimes for simply trying to exercise basic democratic freedoms we take for granted in this country. Over the years, many of those eventually released have come to see me here in DC. Without fail, they say that their jailers cruelly tried to make them think they were forgotten and shared how sustaining it was to know voices around the world kept attention on their plight. So I will raise a few more cases today, and I am glad to be joined by my friend, the junior Senator from Vermont Senator Welch, who is also taking up this effort.

I would like to first start with the country of Eritrea--an abysmal human rights record in that country. It has the nickname, the distinction, of being the North Korea of Africa. Eritrea has been ruled, since its independence three decades ago, by President Afwerki, whose regime has a well-documented history of arresting or forcibly disappearing thousands of political prisoners into secret detention centers known for appalling conditions, usually without any charges, trial, or sentencing.

In September 2001, Eritrea banned all independent media and arbitrarily arrested journalists for any criticism of the government. Let me highlight a few who have been jailed for more than two decades-- two decades: Dawit Isaak, an award-winning Swedish-Eritrean journalist; Amanuel Asrat, a distinguished poet and publisher; Seyoum Tsehaye, a war journalist and television executive; and, finally, Temesgen Gebreyesus, an actor and journalist. All are depicted on this sign.

They remain imprisoned, along with thousands of Eritreans, under unimaginable conditions, with no end in sight. I urge President Afwerki: End this madness. Free these political prisoners. It would be an important step toward establishing your reputation in the world and ending international sanctions and Eritrea's isolation.

Next, Saudi Arabia, a country with which we have shared many interests and also in which unacceptable political repression continues to complicate our relationship.

I have long advocated for the case of writer Raif Badawi--over in this corner--who, in 2022, was at last released after spending 10 years in a Saudi prison for the crime of exercising his right to free speech. Yet, to this day, he remains subject to a cruel travel ban, preventing him from reuniting with his family in Canada.

Waleed Abu al-Khair, a women's rights activist, and Salma al-Shehab are other such prisoners. Waleed has been in prison since 2014 for his human rights work, and in 2022, Salma was given an outrageous 34-year prison sentence for this. Let me tell you what her crime was. Ready? She used Twitter. That was it. Enough--34 years; throw away the key.

For too long, the Saudi Crown Prince has silenced dissidents and pro- democracy activists while claiming to embrace reform. Such reform should include allowing Raif to unite with his family in Canada as well as unconditionally releasing Waleed, Salma, and countless other political prisoners without delay.

Next, the Asian country of Tajikistan, which wants to increase security and economic cooperation with the United States. As I have long said, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, especially for opposition parties, remains critical for countries that want a closer relationship with the United States.

As such, I urged the release of human rights lawyer Buzurgmehr Yorov, who is serving 28 years in prison for simply representing Tajikistan's legal opposition in court.

Lastly, I want to focus on the nation of Vietnam, with whom, amid China's bullying in the region, the United States has built a remarkably good reputation over the years. Yet Vietnam remains at the bottom of World Press Freedom Index. In 2024, Vietnam ranked 174th out of 180 nations. The Vietnamese Government continues to heavily restrict free speech, with too many journalists and human rights defenders facing harassment, detention, and harsh prison sentences under so- called anti-state propaganda laws.

This includes people like Pham Chi Dung, one of the most popular writers on Voice of America's Vietnamese service, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2021--he helped create the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam--and Pham Doan Trang, considered one of the most prominent Vietnamese dissidents, who so far has served 4 years of a 9-year prison sentence. Just this year, she was awarded PEN America's Barbey Freedom to Write Award, adding to an already long list of awards from several governments and press freedom groups.

In 2020, just before her arrest, she wrote very movingly--and I want to quote her:

I don't want freedom for just myself; that's too easy. I

want something greater: freedom for Vietnam.

That is an amazing show of courage. I have seen the same from so many other political prisoners around the world, willing to go to prison for their freedom.

Before I turn the floor over to Senator Welch, I want to remind these brave individuals in Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Vietnam that you are not forgotten. We will continue to advocate for your well- being and release and speak your names to the world. And when you are free, please come visit me here at the Capitol. I will be waiting to shake your hand.

Madam President, I yield the floor.

I want to thank my colleague Senator Welch from Vermont. He is a great partner in this effort. His heart is in the same place mine is.

One of the things that just struck me that some of the prisoners said to me when they came home and made it to the United States, to my office--one of them said: You don't realize that your mentioning my name on the floor of the U.S. Senate could have saved my life.

Many of the jailers and oppressive governments that have these people imprisoned beat them, torture them, starve them, and believe no one knows or no one cares. But if all of a sudden the name of that prisoner becomes conversation at the Embassy or at the

State Department or even in some of the halls of leadership of governments around the Nation, they think twice before they hurt them or kill them.

It is hard to imagine that our simple speech on the floor could have that impact, but it has. I thank you for joining me in this effort. I hope our colleagues will join us as well.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, tomorrow the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on President-elect Trump's planned mass deportation of undocumented immigrants in the United States.

Millions--some 13 million--of undocumented immigrants live in this country, and many have been here for a decade or longer. These immigrants have become our Nation's healthcare workers, teachers, farm workers, entrepreneurs, police--you name it. And many of them grew up alongside our own kids, with the same hopes and dreams of their first job, getting a driver's license, and a college acceptance letter.

Twelve years ago, in response to a bipartisan request from myself and the late Senator from Indiana, Richard Lugar, President Barack Obama established the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, known as DACA. DACA was a program where, if you were brought to this country under the age of 18 as a child and you had lived here, you had an opportunity to apply for a 2-year period of grace and not be fearful of deportation, through the DACA Program.

More than 830,000 young people came forward to sign up for DACA, all of whom were brought here as children, some as young as a few months old, and they became known as the Dreamers.

The DREAM Act, the legislation which would have made this law and made it unnecessary for an Executive order, was a bill I introduced 23 years ago. You have to be patient in the U.S. Senate, but 23 years is a long, long time--long for me to sponsor but even longer for those affected by it.

These young Dreamers, part of our country, with DACA and otherwise, earned $27.9 billion and contributed $2.1 billion to Social Security and Medicare in the year 2022. They are a big part of America and a big part of our economy.

One of those DACA recipients I am going to highlight today. This gentleman's name is Foday Turay. He is currently a prosecutor, a husband, and a father; and he is going to testify before our Judiciary Committee tomorrow.

Foday is the 148th Dreamer whose story I have shared on the Senate floor. He came to the United States from Sierra Leone when he was 7 years old, after his grandmother became ill and died.

Foday didn't know he was undocumented until much later in life. He decided to apply for a driver's license, and they said: You are not a citizen; you can't apply. He was devastated. He had dreamed of going to law school and becoming an attorney. And now everything seemed utterly impossible because of his citizenship status.

But Foday never wavered in his faith and hope to make it in America. He said the day DACA was announced was the best day of his life.

Thanks to Barack Obama's DACA, Foday attended college and then Penn State Dickinson Law School, where he received his Juris Doctorate degree.

He works full time as a prosecutor for the district attorney's office in Philadelphia. He protects his community from violent crimes, and he helps crime victims navigate a complex legal system.

Growing up in the United States since he was 7 years old, Foday has put down deep roots. He met and married his wife, who is a U.S. citizen. And he is a proud homeowner and father to a beautiful 18- month-old baby boy.

DACA allowed Foday to pursue his dreams of becoming a lawyer, husband, father, but his life is still in limbo.

Why? Consider what happened to DACA the last time President-elect Trump was in office. In 2017, President Trump shut down the program. Thankfully, the Supreme Court blocked his effort, but he also encouraged MAGA Republicans to file lawsuits against DACA, endangering the program's future.

I was listening closely--as many Americans were--yesterday to the interview of President-elect Trump on ``Meet the Press.'' President- elect Trump stated in an interview yesterday that he now wants to ``work something out'' to protect Dreamers. My ears perked up. After 23 years, I am ready. Then, he went on to say that Democrats have made it a very, very difficult thing to do.

I just want to say to President-elect Trump--and I have said it to his face, and I will say it again: Anytime, anywhere, let's sit down; let's start talking about these hundreds of thousands of young people who are doing their best to lead a good life and to help America, who just want a chance for a future.

I am ready and willing to negotiate in good faith with my Republican colleagues in the Senate, too, and the President-elect to finally provide Dreamers with a pathway to citizenship, which they deserve.

But there is reason to be skeptical, if not cynical. Last term, President-elect Trump walked away from four different bipartisan compromises with Democrats to solve the DACA crisis. Democrats were willing to provide billions of dollars at one point for President Trump's unpopular border wall in exchange for a bipartisan Dream Act. But we just couldn't seem to reach a positive answer.

I am not giving up on this quest, because I am not going to give up on these DACA students.

Madam President, you know them, too. You have met them in your State. We all have. They are wonderful people, waiting patiently, hoping the day will come when they get a chance to prove their commitment to this country.

Just this year, President-elect Trump demanded congressional Republicans to reject a border deal that was bipartisan. And I thought it was a good bill. When the bill finally came to a vote, the vast majority of Republicans voted against it.

So President Trump has in his power the ability to bring around many Republicans on the issue of immigration. I hope DACA and the Dreamers become the exception to some of the rhetoric we have heard.

The President-elect has pledged to pursue mass deportation on day one. He has threatened to use the military for that purpose. He has announced the appointment of some hardliners in his Cabinet.

We can all agree that any undocumented immigrant found guilty of a serious crime should not be allowed to stay here. I am a Democrat, and I just said that. And I think I speak for my caucus. Virtually all of them agree with what I just said. If you are a danger to this country, we don't want you here, and we don't want you to find entry into our country to lay some claim to citizenship. That is very basic.

But the last time the President-elect was in office, it wasn't just criminals who were deported. We saw parents separated from their children, causing permanent trauma. Amazingly, sadly, some of those kids have never been reunited with their families.

We saw meatpacking plants and other workplaces raided. This was a raid not targeted to criminals or even those without citizenship status. At some of these raids, we saw U.S. citizens detained for hours.

We saw Dreamers like Foday deported, immigrants who were pillars of their community.

So once again I come to the floor and say: Would America really be better off with an outstanding public servant like Foday gone from this country? I think not.

Would our county be better if we lost farmworkers who have contributed to America for decades or if the military was used to round up hard-working immigrants with no serious criminal backgrounds? The answer is, over and over again, a resounding no.

Most Americans agree. Nearly 65 percent of Americans, regardless of party, support a pathway to citizenship for longtime undocumented immigrants. And a majority oppose the use of military to conduct mass deportations.

At tomorrow's hearing, we will examine the need to protect taxpaying, hard-working Americans like Foday, and we will discuss the cruelty and chaos that will inevitably result in mass deportation without some thought.

Immigrants like Foday deserve stability and certainty, not fear. I stand ready to work on a bipartisan basis to protect families like Foday's and provide them with the security that they deserve.

I am not sure if you were in the Senate when we considered comprehensive immigration reform. It was a bipartisan effort. We brought it to the floor, and the bill passed with 68 votes. And what it basically said, if you are undocumented in America, we want to hold you accountable. You have got to come forward and identify yourself, where you live, where you work to our government so that there is a record of who you are and where you are.

As I said earlier, if you have a serious crime that you committed or committed once you are here, you are ineligible, as far as I am concerned. If you are a danger to this country, we don't want you; and you should know better than to try to become a citizen of America.

But the vast overwhelming majority of people we are talking about don't have criminal records. They go about their lives every day, and we don't know the difference. They are the same people who are in the nursing home taking care of your mom. They are at the daycare center taking care of baby boys and baby girls every single day. We see them at banks. We see them at grocery stores. They are everywhere. They sit next to us in church, and they are undocumented.

Should they be deported from the United States simply because of this? I think not. I think the reality is that they can make a great contribution to this country. I think the starting point for our conversation on this subject should be that comprehensive immigration bill that we passed on the floor.

I stand ready to work with President Trump and any Member of either party who in good faith wants to solve this problem.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Tiffany Johnson to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Ms. Johnson's impressive career in public service, combined with her Federal court experience, will make her an excellent addition to the Federal bench.

After earning her B.A. from Princeton University and her J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law, Ms. Johnson began her career in private practice as an associate at Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs, LLP, where she focused on a wide range of complex commercial litigation.

In 2017, Ms. Johnson transitioned to public service, joining the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia as an assistant U.S. attorney. In that role, she has litigated both civil and criminal cases in all stages of proceedings, from conducting fact and expert depositions in civil matters, to prosecuting white-collar and public corruption crimes.

Ms. Johnson has the strong support of her home State Senators, Mr. Ossoff and Mr. Warnock. In addition, she was rated ``well qualified'' by the American Bar Association.

I urge my colleagues to support Ms. Johnson's nomination.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the scheduled rollcall vote start immediately.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan), and the Senator from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) are necessarily absent.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the following staffers in Senator Jon Tester's office be granted floor privileges until December 10, 2024: Eli Cousin, Brittany Adams, and Elizabeth Hague.