Floor Statements

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

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

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

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

I announce that the Senator from California (Ms. Butler), the Senator from Maryland (Mr. Cardin), and the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Coons) are necessarily absent.

Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Cotton), the Senator from Mississippi (Mrs. Hyde-Smith), the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Sullivan), the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis), and the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Vance).

I announce that the Senator from California (Ms. Butler), the Senator from Maryland (Mr. Cardin), the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Coons), the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin), and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, H.R. 9106, the Enhanced Presidential Security Act, passed the House of Representatives last week and is currently pending in the Senate. As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over the U.S. Secret Service, I would like to offer a few thoughts on this legislation, which I support.

The bill requires the Director of the Secret Service to follow the same standards for determining agent staffing levels for the President, Vice President, and major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates. The bill also directs the Secret Service to conduct an internal review of its protection authorities and submit to Congress a report that includes recommendations for improvements.

Since the first assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Homeland and Government Affairs Committee have received a classified briefing and held a joint hearing where we heard testimony from the Secret Service and the FBI. We have worked on a bipartisan basis to get to the bottom of how the Secret Service failed to protect former President Trump on July 13.

Following the awful events of July 13 in Butler, PA, the Secret Service elevated the posture of its protectees and bolstered protective details to ensure the highest levels of safety and security.

Specifically, former President Trump is receiving additional personnel and protective assets at levels comparable to that of the President of the United States.

Additionally, the Secret Service has dedicated available protective assets typically reserved for the President to the Vice President and both Vice Presidential candidates.

H.R. 9106 serves to capture in statute these efforts undertaken by the Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security to dedicate critical resources and personnel to mitigate the inherent risk in the protection of the President, Vice President, and other major Presidential candidates who seek our Nation's highest office in this heightened threat environment.

I am concerned that the bill does not address the recruitment and retention challenges that have been perennial problems for the Agency. With the Secret Service now providing the same protections to candidates that it does for the sitting President, the strains on available agents will become even more apparent. Congress must continue working to address these issues.

Mr. President, I was necessarily absent for rollcall vote No. 251, confirmation of the nomination of Michael Sfraga to be Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs. Had I been present for the vote, I would have voted yea.

Madam President, we are 1 week away from the deadline to fund the government.

It is an embarrassment that we return again and again to this precipice, realizing full well the disaster that shutting down the government creates for our Nation. Yet the House of Representatives goes through these contortions every time, ultimately, giving in to common sense and funding the government, at least temporarily.

I was relieved to hear last night that there is a bipartisan funding agreement reached finally after days of negotiations, one that maintains current funding through December 20 and avoids a government shutdown a month before the election.

Wouldn't it be great if the Senate and the House were to announce some dramatic, positive legislative measure on a bipartisan basis other than keeping the lights on in the Federal Government? That seems to be all they can achieve in the House of Representatives.

Thankfully, the agreement includes necessary provisions related to extending veterans' benefits, including one that enables the only joint DOD-VA facility in the country--one you know well--Lovell, located in North Chicago in our home State, to continue providing healthcare to servicemembers and veterans alike.

Imagine we were just hours away from the possibility of suspending basic lifesaving services at the Lovell institute for our veterans.

I am pleased this bipartisan negotiation led to an agreement free of poison pills and partisan cuts, but it should have been done a long time ago.

Unfortunately, many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle think funding the government is a partisan bargaining chip and not one of the most essential tasks in Congress.

Just last week, the House rejected Speaker Johnson's partisan government funding plan that would have pushed our job to fund the government until next March in 2025. A half-year delay was being proposed by the Republicans in the House.

It is no surprise that this unserious funding plan did not pass. Not only did the Democrats vote against it, but 14 Members of the Speakers's own party opposed it. He forced the vote anyway, wasting precious time on a proposal that even his own caucus question.

Now time is of the essence. If both sides and both Chambers continue to work in good faith, we can fund the government through December 20 with actions this week, before the September 30 deadline, but it will take cooperation from both Chambers. I hope we can find it.

Madam President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the passage of S. 4698, action on the Peters amendment No. 3292 be vitiated and amendment No. 3293 be considered and agreed to, and the remainder of the order be in status quo.

I announce that the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Brown), the Senator from Maryland (Mr. Cardin), the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Coons), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan), the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy), and the Senator from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) are necessarily absent.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the following law clerks and fellows to the Senate Judiciary Committee be granted floor privileges until September 28, 2024: Simone Montgomery, Isha Sharma, Kenneth Mok, and Charles Alldredge.

I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Carper) and the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Wyden) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Wyden) is necessarily absent.

Mr. President, I have served on the Senate Judiciary Committee for more than 20 years, including the most recent 3-and-a- half years as chair. I have come to know many of the dedicated professionals across our Nation who have devoted their careers to the law, the Constitution, and equal justice. Next month, one of those dedicated professionals, Jim Palmer, of Quincy, IL, will be celebrating his 50th year as a litigator.

A Quincy native, Jim is Illinois educated through and through--having earned his undergraduate degree from Quincy University and his law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. After graduating from law school, he served as a law clerk for the Fourth District Appellate Court in Springfield. And following that, Jim worked as an associate and then made his way to partner at a law firm, spending the rest of his career with his name on the door of that practice. His experience has spanned a wide range of legal issues, from estate planning to insurance defense to complex litigation. For much of his career, he has also concentrated on issues involving questions interpreting Federal statutes and the U.S. Constitution.

Throughout his life, Jim's commitment to the law also inspired him to give back to his community, Illinois, and the country. For nearly three decades, Jim served as a member of the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission of the Illinois Supreme Court. And in Adams County, IL, he tried criminal cases--serving as a part-time public defender representing indigent defendants and later as a part-time assistant State's attorney. In all of these endeavors, Jim used his knowledge of the law to help advance that ever-important goal of equal justice.

But if you don't take my word about how excellent of an attorney Jim is, his awards and recognition speak for themselves. He is a graduate of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, a recipient of the Liberty Bell Award from the Illinois State Bar Association, and a member of the Leading Lawyer Network, where he has been recognized as an outstanding defense counsel and general civil litigator in the State.

But more than just practicing law, Jim has taken it upon himself to teach the law. Since 1979, Jim has taught classes including criminal law, criminal procedure, and constitutional law at Quincy University, helping to mold the next generation of lawyers, judges, and legal scholars. He also lectures on a regular basis for the Pursuit of Learning in Society--POLIS--a program sponsored by Quincy University that allows retired adults to continue the lifelong journey of learning.

Jim, congratulations on 50 years of legal practice. Illinois' legal profession is stronger with you in it. I am lucky to call you a friend. To your wife Ann; your children Mark, Jennifer, and Christopher; and your grandchildren Luke, Eli, Dylan, and William Michael, you should be incredibly proud of Jim. I hope you all take time to be outside, travel, and maybe even pet some Newfoundland dogs in celebration of this momentous milestone.