conversations regularly feature authors of nonfiction books on a wide variety of topics. and behind the scenes of the nonfiction book publishing industry. with insider interviews, industry updates and best seller's. and download the free, c-span now app or wherever you get your podcast. c-span.org/podcast. ♪♪ . >> c-span has been delivering unfiltered congressional coverage for 45 years. here is a highlight from a key moment. >> and although this city was the nation's capital for only a short time from the early days the eyes of the world has continued to be on new york. one year ago, this great center of history, enterprise and creativity suffered the gravest of cruelties and showed itself to be a place of valor and

generosity and grace. here, where so many innocent lives were suddenly taken, the world saw acts of kindness and heroism that will be remembered forever. >> c-span, powered by cable. >> and the senate gavelling in now to consider the nomination of a u.s. district court judge for utah. lawmakers are also working on two measures that would block biden administration policies. one would block a greenhouse gas emissions rule. the other would block a new standard for determining joint employer status in collective bargaining. live coverage of the senate here on c-span2. e senate will. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal and powerful god, don't hide from us.

don't stand so far away, for our nation and world need you. lord, bring peace where there is war. hope where there is despair and faith where there is cynicism. arise mighty god, for we put our trust in you. today we trust you to guide our senators. lord, warn them through their mistakes, encourage them with their successes, and enrich them through life's seasons of gladness and sadness. inspire them to be worthy of the honor of being your sons and

daughters as you give them a renewed sense of your providential presence. we pray in your powerful name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., april 10, 2024. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable peter f. welch,

a senator from the state of vermont, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patty murray, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, ann marie mciff allen, of utah, to be united states district judge for the district of utah.

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. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader.

mr. schumer: mr. president, former president trump reminded us just a few days ago that he, he is to blame for the grotesque reversal of women's personal freedom. he said it himself. he said he is, quote, proudly the person responsible for the annihilation of roe v. wade. let me repeat those words, because the american people need to hear it over and over again. donald trump said, quote, he's proudly the person responsible, unquote, for ending roe. and yesterday, we saw just another consequence of a post-roe america, the arizona supreme court upheld a civil war era law banning abortion almost entirely, without exception for rape or incest. the arizona supreme court designings goes -- decision goes as far to suggest doctors can be prosecuted for assisting in an abortion. all these regressive maga judges

on the supreme court, in some of the other federal courts, and in the state courts, all come from donald trump and he appointing maga judges and his goal to restrict women's freedoms and to have roe v. wade be annihilated. make no mistake about it, donald trump and maga republicans own the consequences of the arizona supreme court decision, and does anyone seriously doubt that should trump become president again he won't try to add more extreme jureists to the bench so he can continue his assault on women's reproductive freedoms? of course they will. if trump and maga republicans get into power, they would see to it that reproductive freedoms are curtailed even more, from the local level to the national level, even in his remarks the other day, where he's trying to cover unwhat he did, he

couldn't -- cover up what he did, he couldn't resist saying he is proudly the person responsible for the annihilation of roe v. wade. couldn't resist. because that's where he's at. we know that. don't dake it from me -- don't take it from me. house republicans included a national abortion ban in the republican study committee budget, and remember, the republican study committee includes a majority of house republicans and their leadership, and they came out for a national abortion ban. on ivf republicans tried to talk a good game about supporting access to reproductive services, but not one month ago, not one month ago republicans blocked legislation in this chamber that would have preserved ivf protections under federal law. while donald trump hopes feel forget it, he himself was on record supporting a national abortion ban when he was president. unsurprisingly, donald trump and maga republicans are now trying to hide their anti-abortion

records, because they know how dangerously out of step their views are with the public. but they can't help themselves, as the president's speech showed four days ago. again, he had to repeat he was the one responsible for the abolition of roe. make no mistake, that's what they'll do. and make no mistake, donald trump and maga republicans will have to answer to the american people for what they have done to fundamental liberties in this country, today, tomorrow, and in november. on impeachment, mr. president, as we enter the height of the spring season, there's a lot on the senate's agenda. we continue to confirm more judges and nominees. we must ensure fisa authorities are renewed during this work period. off the floor, we continue to work on a host of issues like lowering the cost of prescription drugs and increasing travel safety and

a.i. and so much more. as busy as we are, one issue the senate will soon have to address is the house vote to impeach homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas. as everyone knows, speaker johnson announced he's delaying transmitting the articles to the senate until sometime next week. our plan over here has not changed. the senate is ready to go, whenever the house is. we want to address this issue as expeditiously as possible. as i said yesterday, impeachment should never be used to settle policy disagreements. that sets an awful precedent. so, when the time comes for the senate to receive the articles of impeachment from the house, we'll be ready. in the mean time, we're going to keep working on legislation that matters to the american people and do it in a bipartisan way whenever we can. the american people demand, expect, and deserve nothing less. now, on the merger, proposed

merger of capital one and discover. earlier this week, i sent a letter to capital one and discover asking for more information about their plans for a multibillion-dollar merger. if history has taught us anything, it's that when big financial institutions get even bigger, it could have serious consequences for consumers and small bipses alike -- small businesses alike. higher interest rates, bigger fees, diminished competition -- these could all be at stake. my letter asked questions of both capital one and discover, that the american people deserve to have answered before this merger goes forward. we need to know about market shares in this industry. we need to know about potential increases in fees. we need to know if any workers will be laid off. we need to know how consumers are being made aware of this planned merger. capital one and discover are two of the largest credit card issuing institutions in america. if this merger continues as planned, the new company would

likely become the largest credit cardish you're in the -- c cardissuer in the united states of america with over 400 million customers. before these two merge, the american people deserve answers to these questions, to be sure they won't receive the short end of the stick. on the supplemental, not a generation ago, the thought of any american political party, much less the party of ronald reagan, spreading the gospel of russian propaganda was deemed unthinkable. but today, the apple has indeed fallen very far from the tree. today, a growing contingency within the hard right is corroding their party from within, turning the party of reagan, little by little, into a messaging arm of the kremlin. two months ago, former president donald trump, the presumptive nominee of the republican party, said he'd encourage russia to do

whatever the hell they want -- those are his words -- to the countries of nato. let me sigh that again. the things -- say that again. the things that come out of president trump are really frightening, about the future of america, if god forbid he gets back in power, which i hope and believe he won't. here's what he said, again -- donald trump, web he was the -- when he was the presum twitch dawk two months ago, donald trump, the presumptive presidential nominee of the republican party, said he'd encourage russia to, quote, do whatever the hell they want, unquote, to countries of nato. unbelievable. unbelievable. in the house of representatives, pro-putin radicals say we should reward russia's violent invasion with a peace treaty, instead of standing with ukraine, as they fight for their survival. sadly, we hear similar things every now and then from the fringes of this chamber. arguments that the war in ukraine is hopeless, that ukraine should cede its

sovereign territory, we should cut a deal with putin, as if he would be satisfied with any deal. these modern-day neville chamberlains ignore history. if you give an autocrat a little hand, le seek a country. if you give an autocrat a country, he'll seek to take a continent. the stakes of the war in ukraine could not be higher. it's not just a war between two nations, but a struggle between two conflict ideals, teen democracy and autocracy. as the greatest democracy in the history of the world, the united states has been called on to take a stand. i yield the floor, and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

call: >> thank you. pursuant to committee rules all members who wish to insert statement into the record may a by submitting them to the committee clerk electronically by 5 p.m. or after this hearing which is able to afford, 2024. without objection the hearing record will remain open 14 days

to allow statements and materials referenced during be submitted to the official hearing record. i would now like to turn to introduce our distinguished witnesses. our first witness is mr. mark who is president of cerebral institute, cerebral -- yeah, cerebral. sorry about that. located in skokie, illinois. our next witness is justin who is president and ceo of national association for the student financial aid administrators which is located in washington, d.c. third witness is ms. kim cook who is ceo national college attainment network located in washington, d.c. our final witness is rachel film

and who is the vice provost for admiral blair university of north carolina chapel hill which is located in chapel hill, north carolina. thank you so much. we thank the witnesses for being here today and for your testimony. pursuant to committee rules i would like to ask each to limit your oral presentation to five minutes summary of your written statement. also like to find the witnesses to be aware of the responsibility to provide accurate information to the subcommittee. i would like to start off with recognizing you. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i thank you for convening this hearing on examining the impact on students, families and schools and for inviting me to testify before the u.s. house subcommittee on higher education and workforce development this morning. my name is mark, here in 1996 i developed a prototype of an online trend for the lead to the fafsa be made available on the web. since then i provided public

comments on draft fafsa every year. i would a best-selling book about the fafsa. i've served as publisher of several consumer facing websites about financial aid. my mission is to deliver practical information advice and tools to student and the families so they can make smarter, more informed decisions about planning and paying for college. i am pleased to have the opportunity to share my insights with the committee today. the relic of the twin 12 for-25 fafsa is been plagued by delays, errors and communication failures. this is been a frustrating and possible process for students, families, colleges and scholarship providers. through the numerous myths in limitation deadlines, low delays, broken promises, clogged call centers and i.t. errors. there is been lack of transparency with the challenges and delays being portrayed in an overly optimistic fashion. the goal of fafsa simplification was to make it easier for students and their families to

file the fafsa, thereby limited it as a barrier to college access and success by low and moderate income students, first-generation college students, underrepresented students, and other at-risk students. the launch of the new forum has been a disaster in this regard. let's review how we got here. congress passed the fafsa simplification act in 2020 effective for the 2023-24 award you. when the u.s. to board of education said they couldn't implement the simplified fafsa as scheduled congress passed the fafsa supplication act technical corrections act on march 15, 2022, to delay to delay implementation until 2024-25. the contract for the simplified fafsa wasn't awarded to march of 2022, 50 months after passage of the fafsa simplification act. the u.s. department of education didn't launch the fafsa until december 30 of 2023, three months after the usual october 1

start date. the fafsa was open for only half an hour that day. problems prevented ministers and families from filing the new fafsa. 15 of these problems remain unresolved. when students and families call the federal student aid information center for help they spent hours on hold, calls and e-mail messages went unanswered. the u.s. department of education didn't initially estimate inflationary adjustments in the fafsa financial aid formulas as required by the fafsa simplification act despite being told about this problem in may of 2023. they didn't decide to fix problem it of january 2024 after voting middle income students would lose an average of about $1600 in financial aid, and i'm construed as an average of $4600. $4600. on january 302000 of 2024 the day colleges were supposed to start receiving process fafsa data the u.s. department of education announced another unprecedented six-week delay.

when processing begin in mid-march of 2024, applicants were not able to make corrections yielding high error rates. there were also airs that affect about a quarter of all fafsa such as errors in the calculation of dependent student assets and errors in tax data. applicants will of just a few weeks to make the most momentous decision of their lives. there are 2.8 million fewer fafsa filed this year as compared with the same time last year. a 15% drop over all. the drop in college enrollment may be worse than during the pandemic causing some colleges to close. several factors contributed to the fafsa fiasco. pride than just remove questions to solidify the fafsa, the is department of education decided to change everything everywhere all at once including an overall of the antiquated fafsa processing infrastructure. at the same time there was the restart of repayment for federal student loans, proposals for forgiveness and the new save

income payment driven play. there was inadequate testing of the new fafsa before launch. testing was an afterthought not part of the original development plan. more time, stuffy, funding and testing and greater prioritization of existing staff and funding might have helped. mr. chairman, i want again thank you and to committee for taking an interest in the development of the simplified fafsa, and for inviting me to share my thoughts on the matter. i would be happy to answer any question you have on this or any topics. >> thank you, mr. kantrowitz. prosciutto. our next witness will be mr. draeger. >> thank you, mr. chairman. distinguished member of the committee, i represent that represents the telcos and university career financial aid office and wanted to expect them a couple months to january 302000, 2024. that they will live in the collective trauma of most financial aid offices across the

country. that was a day that schools were expecting to receive roughly 3 million fafsa file from department of education. to be clear, to the students who have completed the fafsa up to the point it was anything but smooth sailing. they had gone through a form that was only available at certain times of the day and riddled with glitches, to put it mildly. but by january 302000, that was the day the department had told schools it would start receive fafsa files, schools are already months behind. they need this file so you can start to put together financial aid packages, things like pell grants and supplemental grants and scholarships of state grants and work-study. you can understand there were very anxious on the state get started. at that point in the process schools had started sending out early admissions. schools were in the coming weeks going to start sending a regular admissions. by that time students had

already started receiving admission decisions. what they didn't know and what they still don't know today is how they're going to pay for it. so you'll understand that on january 302000 as to anxiously waiting at their desks for those files, they were aghast when with instead received was a notice on the department of education that fafsa files would be delayed for another two months. now january 302000 wasn't the first day of bad news. but it was the straw that broke the camel's back and turn to throw out from hardship into a crisis. january 302000 communication, that can indication unfortunately fits a pattern that is been repeated throughout this launch and it is negatively impacting every school, every student and every family in your district. and what is a pattern? it's a last-minute communication from the department of education throwing schools and students and families into chaos.

it's drastic and far-reaching policy decisions making a 290-degree turns if not 180-degree directional changes. and it's bad news buried in celebratory publicity. and that is usually stuff that is reserved for press releases and that's fine. i come from a world of pr and communications. but stuff that is usually in press releases has now made its way into operational releases. and this isn't just a petty list of grievances. this really adds up to a crisis of credibility for the department of education. and that brings me to today. my written testimony lays out with painstaking detail where we are but i want to wrap up with really two points. overhauling the fafsa was a big deal. it was a big operational lift. it was necessary and it was important but maybe think i want to highlight most of all, it was congressionally mandated,

bipartisan. when congress gives any administration a legislative mandate, it should be the top priority of that administration. my second point is where in an awful place today. schools have all the fafsa information they need from the department of education. but the department estimates 20% of the files that schools have our riddled with errors. another 20% of the files on top of that on average don't have the numbers that the financial aid office state to calculate any awards. that means 40% of the fafsa files that schools have are not usable. to take the financial aid offers for students. that on average. some schools are higher. here's the hard truth i don't take any pleasure in being here to save yesterday. but when you have a crisis of credibility, schools don't trust, the more errors will not be found tomorrow, that the data

they have today is credible or that guidance will not change tomorrow. schools are stuck in paralysis. and because the department is purposely misleading anyone. but because they may not know where the next errors are to be found. i'm glad report the department's reporting more frequently, doing more webinars, throwing more resources at this and doesn't just last night there communications are more direct. i'm not to say that all hope is lost. the form is better. i can say because i seen it work. i hope we can salvage this year. i'm looking for to the conversation that follows these testimonies and thank you for holding this hearing. >> thank you. appreciate that. i would now like to recognize ms. cook. >> chairman collins, ranking member will select members of the subcommittee, thank you for the invitation to speak this morning. we prioritize support and completion because they don't live so with our vision.

that all students especially first-generation students,, students from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds and social income backgrounds have equitable opportunity to achieve social and economic mobility to higher education. we have long advocated for fafsa application and build a coalition across vector partner organizations to chanting it. completion of the fafsa is one of the best predictors of whether high school senior will go on to college. seems to complete the fafsa are 84% more likely to immediately enroll in post secondary education. our policy goes into sofi the form, improve early awareness and expand pell grant eligibility. encouraging increases in post secondary enrollment and completion and lowering errors and verification burden for applicants. the 2019 future act and 2020 fafsa amplification and part of a conference of form widely talked about as a simple fight

fafsa. according to the department of education 600,000 more students will become eligible for pell grants in 2025. we began the school year with high hopes for a better fafsa. instead, students and families and the advisors and counselors who support them have experienced fafsa technical malfunction, botched id account creation system that is many students from next status am still unable to contribute information to the form. a call center with hour-long waits, dropped calls to falling and incorrect information. and a painfully slow ramp up of applicant data transfers to waiting financial aid offices for a week reprocessing of up to 20% of applicants giving formula errors. hope initiative made including no functional for upwards of 20% distance indeed to make corrections, some resulting from known issues. and on the number of paper forms still have no timeline for processing. no data has been checked it on the status of renewal.

the delayed opening and processing and reprocessing of applications means most high school seniors have yet to receive an offer. they're being asked to commit by may 1. our greatest fear is people decide they can't. students have done all the right things, working hard for 12 years and navigating all the steps in their senior year of high school to continue to college. but they have no idea how or if they can afford those next steps on the post secondary path. the data for the client application -- unless something changes very quickly. about 30% 30% fewer fafsa ad submitted through march 22 at through the same date last year. more than 1 million more fafsa submissions are needed from high school seniors to match last year submission rate which we told to receive this year. submission gaps are exacerbated in high school serving large percentage of students from low income community and the schools with high minority enrollments.

we project we could reach the june 30-mile something with him 100,000-700,000 fewer fafsa completions this year. these numbers must serve as an early warning sign. the last time we saw such dramatically lower numbers within the height of the pandemic, notably brought on a crushing 6.8% drop in immediate college enrollment for the class of 2020 with significant decreases for black, latino and native american students. post secondary moment still has not fully recovered. it is too possible to inject moments -- despite the challenges, tireless, fears student advocates and the students and families they support have rolled the proverbial rock of them. despite persistent setbacks the remain committed to her students and the promise of better fafsa. we applied in appreciate states who adopted universal fafsa completions. we're grateful to the state aid programs and institutions that a delayed their enrollment dates and held back aid for those impacted by reprocessing.

we have joint effort by quickly stand up and raising an additional $1.3 billion in private commitment for digital media fafsa completion campaign. the education department college support strategy is needed help to underresourced institutions many folk enroll our students. we urge the biden administration to allow flexible use of those funds for community-based organizations, school districts and state agencies to continue to work. we appreciate next weeks fafsa week of action which the department is raising awareness and holding completion events. we remain committed to working with you for our students. the equity stakes here are monumental, as is a a potentil impact on postsecondary enrollment. i would have data any questions here for an individual follow-up. thank you again for this opportunity to thank you, ms. cook. last but not least would like to recognize ms. feldman. >> thank you, mr. chairman and members of the committee to thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. i am rachel selva, vice provost

several of universe of north carlotta at chapel hill and also member of nasfaa working group. at carolina and where the oldest and first public university with a mission to educate the leaders of tomorrow from every corner of our state and beyond. we are proud to be both need blind admission admit the fall semester financial need of every undergraduate. we provide an excellent education at an approval price for all. but to do that we rely totally on the generosity of our state and donors but especially on federal student aid and we cannot fulfill a promise without a working fafsa. it september 2020 with great optimism i testified before the said h.e.l.p. committee in favor of fafsa supplication and excited for the future. unfortunately the nsed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: last week, the

strongest and most successful military alliance in the history of the world marked an impressive milestone. 75 years ago, at the dawn of the cold war, with decades of superpower competition on the horizon, the founding members of the north atlantic treaty organization convened here in washington to formalize a commitment to collective security. in the years since, nato has grown from 12 to 32 allies. the transatlantic alliance has always required management. alliances always do. but as churchill observed, the only thing that is worse than fighting alongside allies is fighting without them. while we have experienced

periods of pronounced tension within the alliance, today is not one of them. nations on both sides of the atlantic have increasingly concluded that common threats are best met with shared resolve. most recently, of course, the alliance has been proud to welcome sweden and finland to our ranks with highly capable militaries and advanced economies. our newest allies were already taking their own defense seriously. and in the face of putin's brutal escalation in ukraine, they decided to share the burden of collective security. but russian aggression hasn't just expanded the nato alliance, it's also prompted long-time

allies to take their treaty obligations more seriously. just last week, the nor iwo jima -- the norwegian government confirmed it would meet the nato defense spending target this year and that it would nearly double its defense budget over the next 12. for a wealthy country like norway with one of the highest per capita gdp's in the world, this is a big deal and across the alliance, countries are expanding their defense industrial capacity. european allies have contracted to buy 600 cutting-edge american f-35 aircraft to add to their arsenals. on the whole, they've -- they're already meeting the 2% target

and nato members expect more individual members to reach it by the july summit here in washington. now, there's still work to be done. not every ally is taking its treaty obligations seriously enough and one of the most continuing concerning lags isn't even a european country, but it's our neighbor to the north. like america, canada is at once an atlantic, pacific, and arctic nation, and it's time for ottawa to take its obligations to nato, n norad and its own defense more seriously. that said, for european allies, the holiday from history really is over, and their greater investments in collective defense also include growing

contributions to ukraine's defense. in fact, 18 countries are making a relative larger contribution to helping ukraine resist russian aggression than the united states. of course this doesn't absolve america from playing a leading role. america's the glue that keeps the alliance together. we are a critical catalyst of allied contributions, nations all over the world look to washington for guidance. from before russian forces even advanced in february of 2022, i've urged the biden administration to quit its hand-wringing and hesitation over delivering ukraine the lethal tools is needed to defend itself. the president's unfounded fear of escalation deprived our friends of the advanced long-range capabilities they needed to make a more decisive stand against putin sooner.

an avoidable supply shortages continue to prevent ukraine from taking the fight to russia across the front lines. the conflict is at a critical moment, and is exactly the wrong time for folks on our side of the aisle to compound the shortsightedness of our commander in chief, which he has displayed from the outset of the conflict. the vast majority of armed conflicts end in negotiated settlements. but whenever and however this particular conflict is resolved, it is in america's interest that ukraine operate from a position of strength. our own security, the security of our closest allies, and most important trading partners, the credibility of america's

commitments, none of this interests are served by withholding assistance to ukraine or withholding urgent investments in the sort of industrial capacity and capabilities that both our friends and our armed forces need. starving ukraine of needed capabilities wasn't a smart way for the biden administration to avoid escalation, and neither is it a political master stroke by some of the administration's republican opponents. it is strategic and moral m malpractice. it risks condemning ukraine and undermning our own national interest. from europe to the middle east to the indo-pacific, the world is watching to see whether the united states still has the will to lead the west and preserve the international order responsible for our own prosperity for the better part of a century.

so i will continue to urge our house colleagues to take up and pass the national security supplemental without delay. now on a different matter. i've spoken before about the effort led by our clearings senator capito and senator cramer to block a coercive one size fits all mandate that would force states and localities to build infrastructure the way the bluest coastal states do. i'm glad our colleagues will have a chance to support this resolution. i'm grateful to our colleagues from west virginia and d.n.a. for their leadership -- from north dakota. president biden's big labor allies at the nlrb have issued a new rule that would expand the definition of an employer in a way that would make employers

liable for other business employees that they don't even directly oversee. noun as -- known as the joint employer rule, the new standard amounts to more regulatory red tape threatening the very existence of small businesses, especially those that follow the franchise model. small businesses are the lifeblood of the american dream, as many of our colleagues who own small businesses know, it requires a tremendous amount of hard work, long hours and sleepless nights to own and operate a business. the biden administration's regulatory state is already putting that dream out of reach for many hardworking americans. but this new labor rule would add even bigger headlines -- headaches and turn small business owners, including many in my home state of kentucky, into middle managers.

one such kentuckian wrote me a letter saying this rule would kill his small market organization. here's what he said. i implore you to stop them from killing many small businesses like mine. this government overreach has got to stop. we're no longer a country that supports small businesses. i've always been a proud supporter of small businesses in this country and i've spent years fighting the joint employer rule, and i'm glad to joint senator cassidy and senator manchin in leading the cra to block this rule. one federal court has already put this rule on ice as its appeals take their course. i would encourage each of our colleagues to join us in rejecting the radical nlrb's new rule.

i knots the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

quorum call:

>> what do programs like snap or wick have in common that could >> what do programs like snap or >> washington was wise to coordinate benefit eligibility to help students gather the resources they need. i'd also point out state aid

agencies and institutes have the ability to reach out to students using data to flag eligibility to coordinate the benefits. >> the fafsa delays demonstrate the impacts on peoples lives when the programs are too complex. this is an innovative way to work around this and the government should make it easier for eligible students to receive aid. what should we do to promote eligibility awareness and minimize barriers to receive the assistance they are eligible for. >> early awareness is key particular around student aid is key.

demonstrating what the eligibility for aid. >> i'd like to recognize my friend from pennsylvania. >> thank you so much. this year is usually a celebrate one. postsecondary programs look ahead with excitement for future education and pathway careers. this year, the biden administration injected anxiety into the process for millions of

the nation fill out or complete fafsa. one thing that struck me we haven't hear much about the errors the system is creating. they have been able to fill out the fafsa and had them rejected due to errors the department said they cannot solve. this is in addition to the applications that were admitted that were processed incorrectly. can you share more about the root cause of errors. what is causing them? what could the department done to correct them? >> these are averages. you will see different numbers at different schools.

some might be higher. 20% of the errors are pulling over wrong data elements from the irs. those are applications that will have to be reprocessed. that reprocessing will be on did different timelines. some are getting aid offers out only on the applications they know are correct. some schools are waiting. some are still deciding what they will do. what it ultimately means are delays for students. on top of the 20% are an additional 20% where the form, the data going to the school is not generating enough information for them to do anything. they don't have the numbers to calculate an aid offer. that's called a rejected icer. it might be because the student didn't sign the application or

parent didn't sign the application or authorization to bring over irs data. they signaled they only wanted loans. it's a host of reasons. the student or parent needs to make a correction. the functionality to make corrections have not been brought online. normally, that functionality exists out of the gate. neither a student or institution can make a correction as of this morning. those 40% are basically, as of today, at least, dead in the water until the department takes farther action. >> you answered my follow up question. the flustration the taxpayers have could be a contributing factor to process those tax returns.

a lot of flustrations we hear from taxpayers right now as well in addition to students an parents. as chairman of the house. i have to express my concern for families across the country not being able to access proper aid as a result of fafsa's formula. it counts their assets against them. these are not liquid assets. not sure what part they could sell and be in forming at the end of the day. it's an asset rich cash poor industry. they don't have their assets to do their jobs when determining eligibility when determining aid. i think, at this point, well, i'll try. mr. feldman you and your colleagues, have you encountered students aid that have been limited or eliminated because of the new policy.

>> thank you, unfortunately, because of the lack of data, we haven't been able to do analysis to see how the formula impacted our families. >> my time is about to expire. i'd like to say thank you. i was put-on my road with chester hours. great education and pickings down there as well. i yield. >> i'd like to recognize ranking member wilson. >> despite efforts to simplify the fafsa process, low income first generation students are still facing challenges. this is raising concerns about equitable access to federal aid. ms. cook, based on the fafsa

tracker. what do fafsa submission rates look like in historically low income communities right now? >> thank you, as i mentioned, about 30% fewer fafsas have been submitted this year compared to last year, however, those numbers are exacerbated in low income communities that lag 7% points behind their better resource peers and in schools with high minority enrollment that lag 6% be hind. >> can you share the specific challenges faced by low income and first generation students? how does it impact their access? >> many are challenged by lack of knowledge about federal student aid. the idea, the government will provide resources such as pell grants and subsidized loans.

we work hard to spread awareness about those. many underresource schools don't have proper ratios to support students or ability to call on community based partners. there are awareness issues for sure and complexity of the form and ability to collect the information presented a challenge we hope this year we'll turn the tide on. >> okay, i'm very concerned about the long-term impacts of the issue on college enrollment particularly for low income students and students of color. i have heard many stories were students experience an issue and lost confidence in the financial aid process and i'm worried, instead of seeking help they will instead opt out of college

entirely. are you concerned about enrollment as a result of the delays in fafsa. >> we absolutely share concerns. students have admission offers but no aid offers that show they can afford to pay for college. >> how can we at dress this psychological response to the issue. what can can we do? >> absolutely. we need to get the system back on track and aid offers flowing to students so they have the information that there are ways to afford college including pell grants and loans and aid. the village of people, the concentrate lores, access advisors that continue to message the students that they

belong. >> i'm extremely concerned but i do have confidence that things will get better next year. any time something is new or rollout the department of education, i'm sure they are working on these things and next year it will be different. i'm extremely concerned about the class of 2024. >> thank you, mr. president. >> mr. president, despite president biden begging bureaucrats to return to work, government buildings remain largely abandoned in washington d.c. is a ghost town. agencies have misterrously disappeared without a trace.

the white house was left in the dark when they banished for days. i'm hearing from folks in iowa that tried calling federal agencies for help but didn't hear boo. an nonprofit called my office upset about the administration. prior to the pandemic the response timeoc for social security office was just a few daysay at most. now it takes weeks and even months to get a call back. some of the folks the nonprofit

severed have gone without benefits as a result of unreturned phone calls. providing support is also being delayed. the agency is the executive director and communication quote is having an impact on the clientsur ability to provide quality service. that, quote, they are running us out of business. end quote. the social security administration is nearly empty with just 7% of the office space being used. they are. severing iowans in need. they support and the support they provide is being threatened by the social security

administration unresponsiveness i called on the agency inspector general to investigate. folks, well, that seemed to do the trick. the phone finally started ri it's once again working with the agency. to make sure my iowans are taken care of. another iowan tells me the former colleague describe working from home-like being on vacation. very little work was assigned and all they had to do was be available by phone. according toor another whistle-blower that contacted me

it's difficult to get in touch with co-workers. here are some direct quotes from this particular whistle-blower, on occasions i have gone to usca head quarters in washington d.c. it resembles a ghost town. another quote. as a supervisor, i can tell you full-time remote work and extensive telework are negatively effecting productivity efficiency. yet, another quote remote work and tell a work employees are often unreachable. they do not respond to simple e-mail questions for hours. mr. president, when i question the u.s.d.a. secretary about the

claims, he pushed back insisting his staff are required to be in the office a majority of the week. yes,or according to the nonpartisan government accountabilityou office nearly % of the office space in u.s.d.a. head quarters is sitting idol and unused. folks,f if the u.s.d.a. staff ae not showing up to work in washington we should put them out to pasture by relocating the department to iowa. with the spring planting season upon us i know farmers and ranchers could use a helping hand from those in the field. tilling the dirt and pulling the

weeds. growing up on a farm, i can tell yout that's what we in iowa call working from home. in washington, working from home means having a field day. that's why i asked the u.s.d.a. inspector general to investigate and track down the location of ghost employees. i have heard similar stories from folks working from other federal agent becies. like the employee that hasn't seen their manager in weeks. as well as other iowans experiencing the same flustering lack of responsiveness. folks. enough is enough. it's time for washington to get back to work andwo i need your

help to make that happen. the bureaucrats might not be showing up or interested in answering your call but i am. if you try to get in touch with a a government agency and keep getting ghosted, who are you going to call? right there, folks. right there. 202-224-3254. or if you are working in a government b building all alone. pick up the phone and call. i want to hear from you and other government whistle-blowers. together, we can be ghosbusters and make washington work again by getting the bureaucrats back to

their old stance. thank you, mr. president. i yield back. >> mr. president.

>> senator for north carolina. >> mr. president. it's been more then six months since hamas committed acts of evil against innocent civilians. it was the worst attack since the holocaust. tragically the attack included the k murder and kidnapping of u.s. citizens. the hostages held in gaza the terror continues. hostages are deprived of food, water, anded medicine. abuse andnd torture by terroris. think about the pain an uncertainty. the fear that gripped the family for 180 days. this is personal for americans but important to those of us in north carolina. one of the fellow students is among those still being held. keith seagal.

being a hostage demand straight. we declare it from leaders and allies. we should look at who we can be with on our side. the state of qatar hosted leadders. they claimed they were exercising leverage on hamas. they stated afterwards they don't have leverage and promoting a seize fire regardless of the release of the hostages.ve qatarfi has leverage over hamas. they have thee ability to expel the terrorist. if they don't engage in reasonable na negotiationations in fact last monitor bipartisan group said quote, if hamas

refuseson reasonable negotiation there is no reason to host the political office or any of it's members after multiple fair offers hamas refused to accept any deal or show flexibility on terms. the truth is, hamas is not interested inn releasing the hostages and qatar seems uninterested in doing so. it's time we hold nations accountable for their dithering and stalling. this 2022 qatar has enjoyed major nonally status. this is what qatar must continuously earn. failure to take action is looking like support for a foreign terrorist designation

this is not acceptable for a ally. i introduced the bill to require the secretary of state to certify four things. one, whether it's in the national interest of the united statests for cue far to maintain it's designation. two, whether qatar excerpted the leverage to secure the release of the hostages from gaza. qatar doesn't like international terrorist or foreign terrorist organizes including hamas. four, qatar has expelled or agreed to extradite any individuals baring responsibility for the attack on october 7th, 2023. the secretary of state can't

make this in good faith. they will derm nate the designation of the stately as a major ally. i don't introduce this bill lightly. it's not where i started with this relationship and where we are today as a result of repeated warnings that members ofn congress gave to qatar to continue to hamas. since october 7th i have engaged privately with qatar. i even thanked them including for the november hostage deal that included the reloose of someat u.s. citizens. i have been clear with immediatation and the hostage crisis moving forward. they u expect them to use all

leverage tohe secure the release when taken hostage. i told the qataries that time is up and the united states will be watching. the we have been watching closely. the time for talking is over and time for action is now. with don't see action qatar must face consequences. securing the freedom of fellow americans. this chamber can speak with one voice ince solidarity and insure the families where he are doing everything to bring their loved ones home. as ineg the legislature session and notwithstanding rule 22. the senate move to immediate consideration which is w at the

desk.he the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to are considered maid and laid upon the table. >> is there objection? >> senator from connecticut. >> reserving the right to reject, iti agree with the senar from north carolina that our priority as a nation and as a senate should been negotiated wh the release of the hostages that hamas currently holds. the surist way to guarantee those hostages never get released is to pass this resolution. i get it. we may not like the fact that we have to be negotiating with a terrorist organize. we might not like the fact that someone in the region has to be

theon conduit of the talks. we don't live-in fantasy but reality. without qatar playing a role as they t historically have to tryo unwind crisis in the middle east. more broadly and specifically between israel and hamas there is no existing alternative. if youos don't want the hostages released, pass this resolution. farther, with great respect for my colleague. i think the resolution is fundamentally dangerous when it comes to protecting broader u.s. interest in the region.

we have 10,000 americans based in qatar. that air base a i lows the united states to reject power and our interest throughout the region. you think you can pass a resolution down grading the status with qatar without there being an impact on the base and personnel there. our ability to use that base as a means to protect our interest around the region. qatar is the third largest customer of u.s. defense systems in the world. there are a lot of american jobs at stake when it comes to our relationship with qatar. over andat over again they respd when america the is in crisis. they have more then 70,000 afghans during the evacuation of

our forces and afghan allies. no one else in the world would doth that. they said, yes, because the united states asked them. they are imperfect fect alleys. the regime on human and worker rights. they are a critical ally. qatar hosts hamas that's a w terrorist organizes. i understand why some might brisk at that notion. playing host to hamas. qatar plays host they requested

too do that. we need the ability to talk to hamas. qatar played a contributing role in negotiations to get a seize in 2014, 2019, and 2021. we were able to talk to hamas through theirgh presence in qatar. yes, qatar has been a conduit to send money to hamas. many brussels at that as well. sending money to the organize inside gaza. qatar did that at israel's request. israel approved in a security cabinet meeting whereby qatar, through their relationship with

hamas would send money into gaza, quote, in coordination with efforts to maintain calm in villages in the south and present humanitarian disaster in gaza. that was the israeli position. so, i understand the discomfort of an ally having a relationship with hamas. at the request of the united states and israel and vital to protecting our ability to get hostages out. you want to make sure they never leave then cutoff qatar's role as an intermediatory. fundamentally harm the u.s. intraffic signal in the region and shutdown our air base. eliminate the ability to help us. we were in need as we evacuated

afghanistan and down grade employees. for those reasons i object ject.r: >> the senator from northg carolina. >> i thank my colleague from connecticut. that was beautiful and articulate. it wast a a beautiful articulan to support my bill. this week some of the hostage's families are meeting withhe leaders from all branches of government.e i'm deeply moved by the straight andil resilience they show in te space. an unspeakable evil. i let them know not only are levels working to bring their loved ones home safely. sometimes that mean being

direct. t making allies uncomfortable. the truth is friends are honest with one another. this isme about u.s. citizens. they won't be ableat to pass ths because of the objection. it's my hope to work through the process to move across the finish line. while w qatar has done less then expected. egypt stepped in to fill the void. let thed bill, let it be a tool to move the hostage negotiation forward and secure the release of all the hostages being held in gaza. i yield the floor.

senator from texas. >> mr. president, last month the u.s. district court resisted democrats latest attempt to intimidate the federal judiciary. this started when majority leader schumer change the way they are handled in that court. they are unhappy with the judges that handed down rulings he doesn't agree with.

forget that h the left has been more then happy to file lawsuits in courts they believe will be friendly toen their arguments. set that aside for a moment. they seek toor avoid more losses in the courtroom. the chief judge should ignore federal law. ignore the law that established which court has jurisdiction and venue over a given case. as the senator sees it this change? would prevent judges nominated by them to hear as many high profile cases. well,aj majority leader might bs forgiven for is naivete and

misunderstanding of what controlled venue and jurisdiction is underat the law. you want to step farther. there is a clear threat. northern district didn't comply wither demands he said, congress will continue more prescriptive requirements. do what they want and if you don't we'll do it for you. for some reasonew they believe e should be the one to decide how cases are assigned in the northern district of texas. late last night, the chief judge david wrote the leader a letter reminding him of something the reader knew that assignment of

cases is not governed by politics but by existing wall. a federal statue that congress passedes gives the courts the authority to decide how to assign cases for a given district. surprisely there is no requirement the chief judge when deciding how to decide cases within the district. there is a thing called separation of power. over what they have forgotten about. as the chief justice noted. they met to discuss the topic reach consist as you say.

the chief judge wasn't swayed by the leaders threat. that wasn't theas end of the they recommended the district courts randomly assign certain cases seek to invalidate federal law. inds other words did conference has gotten into the act ignorinr laws and establish which courts have jurisdiction and venue over a given case. well,d that provoked another telling o reaction on the part f my colleagues. majority leader rejoiced they

would produce maga right plaintiff's to get a right judge. how insulting is that. these are life tenured judges nominated by a president and confirmed by the united states senate. a judge that's taken an outto upholdit the laws to reach a predetermined result. well, i know that's politics but not the way laws are support to be. interpreted or applied by the courts. thank goodness we have an independent judiciary in the country. making us unique in the world amongon democracies.

politicians get caught up with their desires. well, majority with the chairman choked the leaders position and noted that changes the way cases are assign he said will help restore the public truth in our straights and democracy. what's undermining the public's trust in our court system and undermineds our democracy are the baseless attacks on judges. assuming they are republican judges or democratic judges or maga right judges, whatever that means. they were appointed by president trump. also a confirmed by the united states senate.

the irony of calling a mag ga judge and talking about importance of public trust and the judiciary is pretty rich. i'd like to commend the chief judge and the judges of the northern district of texas and political f pressure. i commend them for doing what they know is right for the district and the people that live and litigate within the district. this was without a doubt the rightri decision for multiple reasons. as a practical matter they preferred case assignments and likely subject litigants tonight mares. texas is a lot bigger than new york. take the northern district of texas. it's one of the largest in the country. stretches over 100 out of 54

counties. it would be the ninth largest state.t senator shoe mer had his way filedt in one division and could be hurt by any division within the northern district. the woman challenging the state's abortion laws in fort worth would have to travel to have that case did sided. this would create a lot of burdens on litigants texas and american citizens. it would create a burden and would be expensive both

partytions would have to overcome for no real purpose. we know cases decided by district judges birth certificate cut courts and appellate courts and the united states supreme court. most of the leaders political pressure on the northern district would harmes access to justice no time and money to pay lawyersto in order to do so. the more fundamentalist issue is the constitutional one under the law. only congress has the power to pass venue changes. that's where a a case is heard. not thecourts.

if they want to change the way the venue laws are applied. not quiet trying to intimidate the judges in that division. over the t last years colleagues launched eye takes against the judiciary. five o col lookings threatened e supreme court will be

restructured the senator from new york threatened two supreme courtea justices by name if they didn't rule the way he wanted them to rule in a case involving abortion. he said, i quote. i want to tell you. you have released the whirlwind and pay the price. know what het you if you go forward with the awful did significances. how shameful on the part of the majority leader. standing on the steps of the supreme court and threatening the justices in a particular

way. a few months after president biden tookoc office. they introduced s a bill that would allow him to pack the supreme court with four knew liberal justices. the senator for oregon advocated for the biden administration to ignore a court order because he didn't agree with it. he actually said that the biden administration should ignore the ruling of a federal judge. 15 recked slashing the budget and implement a new code of ethics that had our democratic

colleagues stamp of approval. more recently, called justice. the theme is always the same. it's about control. it about politics, it's about outcomes, not justice in the rule of law. the message is deliver the wins we want and oppose a code of ethicsio provide for their independent they can't be

intimidate or forced to retire and we can't cut their pay for the same reason. if they want justices to fall in line move smartly and follow ors independent judiciary is essential to our democracy and the rule of law. it is the crown jewels of our government, of our constitution. the courts cannot and must not be subjected to pressure campaigns from anyone, politicians, political activists, or anybody else. the federal judiciary certainly is not subservient to congress. it is a separate and coequal branch of the government.

coequal. our founder deliberately designed a system of checks and balances to prevent any one branch from forcing the other two to bend to its will, but that's exactly what our democratic colleagues are trying to do, and it's wrong. it's unconstitutional, and it must be stopped. today's democratic party is trying to blur the lines between the legislative and judiciary branches of our government in order to secure partisan wins. and there's a reason why their efforts haven't had much success. their proposals are unpopular, they're unwarranted, and they are flat-out unconstitutional. i'm glad the northern district of texas did not cave to senator schumer's demand for the judicial conference's ill-conceived guidance.

democrats have made clear that they'll do whatever it takes to secure partisan wins in the courts. they ought to try passing laws here in congress with an opening to make an opportunity for everybody to participate in the process, but the problem is when they lose legislative battles, they simply rely on the courts to get the wins that they ultimately want. but the american people can rest assured that republicans will continue to defend america's independent judiciary and fight these attacks, no matter what form they may take. mr. president, i yield the floor, and i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: and i can unanimous consent i be able to speak for up to seven minutes.

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: thank you. mr. president, inflation numbers came out this morning, and it won't surprise anyone to discover that it was yet another month of inflated, elevated inflation. par for the course for the biden administration. inflation not only remained well above the federal government's targeted inflation rate for yet another month, it actually ticked up in march to 3.5%. not exactly a hopeful trend. it's been a rough few years for the american people under president biden, mr. president, thanks in large part to the president and congressional democrats' decision to push forward with their american rescue plan spending spree, despite, i might add, warnings even from liberal economists that it ran the risk of setting off inflation. but now the entire biden administration has been one long inflation crisis. today a typical family is paying $1,000 per month to maintain the

same standard of living it enjoyed when president biden took office. now, think about that for just a moment. today a typical family is paying $1,000 more per month, $12,000 more per year to maintain the same standard of living it enjoyed when president biden took office. if, of course, these families even have that money available. there's no question that there are families out there -- a lot, i suspect -- whose standard of living has diminished since president biden took office because they simply don't have the money to maintain the same living standard with the elevated prices in the biden economy. the list of price hikes in the biden economy is long. groceries are up 21% since president biden took office. energy prices are up 38%. gas prices are up 47% and are on

the rise. the cost of shelter is up 20%. car repairs and maintenance are up 30%. and, mr. president, the list goes on. i mentioned the increase in grocery prices. the cost of food now takes up a larger share of americans' disposable income than it has in 30 years. a recent bloomberg article noted, and i quote, nationally, seven in ten consumers say they are extremely concerned about the cost of groceries. 42% said they were worried about buying food, compared to 26% at the onset of the pandemic. that's a pretty grim statistic, mr. president. and it is not the only one. on the home buying front, one recent article reported, the income needed to comfort bring afford a home is up 80% since

2020, end quote. let me just repeat that. the income needed to comfort bring afford a home is up 80% since 2020. 80%, mr. president. and i don't need to tell anyone that incomes have not risen 80% over the same period. president biden likes to talk about giving americans a little bit of breathing room. well, mr. president, americans have lost their breathing room in the biden economy. they've seen their disposable income dry up. they've had a down- -- they've had to downgrade their standard of living. they've had to turn to savings accounts and credit cards to make ends meet. and it's no wonder in a nearly half of voters say their personal financial situation is getting worse or that 55% of americans say they worry a great

deal about inflation or that 58% of voters say the economy is on the wrong track. and, mr. president, the sad thing is that president biden has apparently learned nothing from his inflation crisis. he is still set on the same kind of massive government spending that helped plunge us into this inflation crisis in the first place. the budget he released last month is full of massive new spending programs accompanied by a staggering $5 trillion in tax hikes. tax hikes that would unquestionably have their own damaging effects, like discouraging job creation and driving up energy prices for hardworking americans. president biden's first term in office has been characterized by economic misery for americans. and if the president gets his way, a second term would likely be characterized by economic misery as well. mr. president, it's been 36

months of elevated inflation in the biden economy. 36 months. and the end is still not in sight. it's starting to look like it won't be as long -- it won't be as long as president biden still in office. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: i have 12 requests for committees to meet during today's session. senate, with the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. the question occurs on the nomination. mr. whitehouse: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll.

vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

the clerk: mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt.

the clerk: mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper.

the clerk: mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines.

ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper.

the clerk: ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan.

the clerk: ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio.

mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. the clerk: mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville.

mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young.

the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- baldwin, barrasso, blackburn, britt, butler, collins, coons, cotton, daines, durbin, ernst, gillibrand, hickenlooper, lujan, moran, mullin, murkowski, murray, padilla, rounds, sanders, schatz, scott of florida, stabenow, sullivan, tester, thune, tillis, warner, welch, whitehouse, and young. no senators voted in the negative.

vote:# the clerk: mr. reed, aye. the clerk: mr. cornyn, aye.

the clerk: mr. heinrich, aye.

the clerk: mr. hoeven, aye. ms. sinema, aye.

mr. casey, aye.

the clerk: ms. hirono, aye.

the clerk: mr. kaine, aye.

the clerk: ms. duckworth, aye. mr. hagerty, aye.

the clerk: mrs. shaheen, aye.

ms. rosen, aye. the clerk: mr. merkley, aye. ms. warren, aye. mr. romney, aye. mr. graham, aye.

mr. bennet, aye. mr. carper, aye.

the clerk: ms. smith, aye. the clerk: mr. brown, aye.

the clerk: mr. booker, aye. mr. mendendez, aye. mrs. hyde-smith, aye. mr. risch, aye. mr. lankford, aye.

the clerk: mr. manchin, aye. the clerk: ms. hassan, aye.

the clerk: mr. warnock, aye.

the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye.

the clerk: mrs. capito, aye. mr. wicker, aye.

the clerk: mr. marshall, aye. ms. lummis, aye.

the clerk: mr. cardin, aye.

the clerk: mr. rubio, aye. mr. grassley, aye. mr. wyden, aye.

the clerk: mr. fetterman, aye. mr. van hollen, aye.

the clerk: mr. peters, aye. mr. ossoff, aye.

the clerk: mr. boozman, aye.

the clerk: mr. cramer, aye. mr. lee, aye.

mrs. fischer, aye. mr. paul, aye. mr. cassidy, aye.

vote: the clerk: mr. crapo, aye. mr. ricketts, aye.

mr. murphy, aye.

the clerk: mr. braun, aye. mr. kelly, aye.

the clerk: mr. cruz, aye. the clerk: mr. vance, aye.

the clerk: mr. tuberville, aye.

the clerk: mr. johnson, aye. the clerk: mr. markey, aye.

the clerk: mr. king, aye. mr. kennedy, aye.

the clerk: mr. scott of south carolina, aye. the clerk: mr. budd, aye.

the clerk: ms. cortez-masto, aye.

the clerk: mr. mcconnell, aye.

vote:

the clerk: mr. hawley, aye.

the clerk: ms. cantwell, aye.

the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye.

the clerk: mr. schumer, aye.

the clerk: mr. schmitt, aye.

the presiding officer: the yeas -- on this vote the yeas are 100. the nays are zero. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. under the previous order, the senate will resume legislative session and proceed to the consideration of s.j. res. 61

which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 359, s.j. res. 61, joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, united states code and so forth. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. welch: madam president, it's been more than six months since hamas' horrific attack on october 7 that killed 1200 innocent israelis and led to the capture of 240 hostages. around 130 people are still being held hostage and an

estimated 100 are alive and remain in captivity in absolutely horrific conditions. the cruelty that has been and continues to be inflicted on them is horrendous. obtaining their freedom becomes a more urgent priority every day. but in the past six months, israel's indiscriminate bombing has obliterated most of gaza's infrastructure, nothing has been spared. and more than 33,000 palestinians have been killed and another 7,000 are believed to be buried beneath the rubble. and among the dead are hundreds of aid workers and health workers. nearly two million people have been displaced. aid trucks are lined up for miles in egypt waiting to get into gaza. while the bombs and shells keep exploding.

the magnitude of this calamity is staggering. now six months into this war, prime minister benjamin netanyahu has announced that a date has been set for an invasion of rafah. rafah today is jammed with an estimated one million desperate destitute palestinians who were ordered by the israeli military to leave their homes in the north, homes that have since been demolished, and who are now sheltering under plastic with the few possessions they could carry and not nearly enough food. and last week, less than a month after jose andres briefed me and other senators on the daunting challenges his remarkable organization, the world central kitchen, faces in getting food to desperate families in gaza, israeli missiles destroyed three of their vehicles and killed

seven of they are aid -- of their aid workers. the description and coordinates of the world central kitchen vehicles that were targeted had been shared with the israeli military. there was nothing about those vehicles or the people in them that could reasonable have been confused with hamas. the vehicles were far apart, they were labeled as world central kitchen vehicles, each was targeted and destroyed separately. the deadly attacks on aid and health workers in gaza has become shockingly common. world central kitchen and other humanitarian organizations, which so many people depended on, have had to suspend operations in gaza. this incident and the killings of other workers must be thoroughly investigated.

calling it a mistake begs the question -- we need no know what happened and why. this attack and prime minister netanyahu's plans to invade the very place his government told palestinians to go is the latest evidence is the way the netanyahu government is conducting this war is terribly wrong. it's yet another tragic reason why a cease-fire is immediately needed. madam president, our priority must be to secure a cease-fire, to free the hostages, and get adequate food, water, and medical care to the gazan population before more innocent people die needlessly. this was affirmed unanimously in the resolution recently adopted by the u.n. security council. but rather than acknowledge israel's responsibility to implement that resolution and secure a cease-fire, prime

minister netanyahu criticized the united states for allowing it to pass. he said, the u.s. abstention harms both the war effort and the effort to release hostages. madam president, i could not disagree more. after six months of relentless bombing, the war in gaza has been a disaster. it has been a disaster not only for the palestinian people but for israel, for the united states, for the hostages, and for the cause of peace and security in the middle east. last week families of the hostages were among the tens of thousands of israeli protesters calling for netanyahu to resign. madam president, we need to ask ourselves, what could possibly need to happen before the united states finally stops financing a

war strategy that has so disproportionately killed civilians, used food as a weapon, made gaza unlivable, and that has no realistic vision of a peaceful future for either palestinians or israelis? i believe that the time has already come. israel does not need more bombs for gaza. the united states should stop paying for this. what mr. netanyahu consistently fails to acknowledge is that the american people are paying for this war, a war that most americans do not support. it is their tax dollars that have purchased the bombs, tanks, artillery shells, machine guns and ammunition that have been used by israel in what has become a war not just against hamas but a war against the palestinian people. overwhelmingly, vermonters who have contacted me, like a

substantial majority of the american people, are absolutely horrified about what is happening in gaza. in all the years he has served as prime minister, mr. netanyahu has never articulated a vision for an end to the israeli-palestinian conflict. to the contrary, he's been on a mission, which he has confirmed publicly, to destroy any possibility of a future palestinian state while preserving israel as a jewish state. those goals are fundamentally incompatible if israel is to remain a democracy, and we support the jewish democratic state of israel. yet on march 22, the netanyahu government announced the largest seizure of land in the west bank since 1993. madam president, nothing can excuse the brutality of hamas. we all know that.

which for years has squandered precious resources that could have been used to improve the impoverished lives of the people of gaza. but just as hamas' atrasties and d. atrocities and the iranians and others who abet them should be universally condemned, so must we recognize that there is a long history to this conflict. for years the united states, republican and democratic administrations and this congress, has unconditionally supported increasingly extreme right-wing governments led by mr. netanyahu, even though he has consistently acted in ways that are directly contrary to our policies, our palestinians, and our national interest. in the west bank in the proliferate three years a -- in the past three years alone,

israeli land seizures, demolition listings of -- demolitions of homes and violence against palestinians have soared in violation of international law enforcement but rather than hold the netanyahu government accountable, u.s. government officials keep repeating the same tired refrain that such actions, quote, are an obstacle to peace and nothing changed. despite evidence of human rights violations by israeli soldiers, the leahy law has never been applied to israel, not by this administration or any of its predecessors. and meanwhile, congress has continued to approve billions of dollars unconditionally for the netanyahu government. madam president, i've spoken many times about the humanitarian crisis in gaza. month after month as gaza was being destroyed, i and others have called for greater access for aid trucks and the protection of civilians and aid

workers. i've called for an indefinite cease-fire. president biden has called for a cease-fire. vice president harris has called for a cease-fire, and so has the u.n. security council. and prime minister netanyahu has ignored it all. the humanitarian crisis has grown steadily worse, and the war is far from being won. netanyahu's strategy in gaza is reminiscent of that famous quote of an unnamed u.s. major in vietnam who said, it became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it. that's what's happening to gaza. it won't work here, as it didn't work there. nobody -- nobody disputes israel's right to go after the perpetrators of the october 7 massacre, but that atrocity and that security failure did not provide license for israel to go to war against an entire

population, killing tens of thousands of defenseless people, targeting aid workers, preventing lifesaving aid from getting to the victims, all while the hostages remain trapped under ground, not knowing if they will survive another day. this is not the israel the american people have supported and defended, with my support, with $300 billion since its founding 75 years ago, far more aid than we've provided to any other country. h hayhoe say an -- jose andres said israel is better. you cannot save the country by bombing every village in gaza. you cannot starve the people of gaza. madam president, i recognize that the prime minister makes his own decisions, and it is for

the israeli people to hold him accountable. but he is not shall and in my view has never been a credible partner for the united states. combating ruthless terrorists like hamas is a challenge we face, israel faces, the world faces, but this war is not making any of us safer from terrorism. it is creating the next generation of terrorists. with an invasion of rafah looming, the biden administration has warned mr. netanyahu that unless there is a credible plan to relocate the palestinians who are trapped there, such an invasion would cause unacceptable civilian losses. that, however, does not appear to have dissuaded prime minister net knelt. -- prime minister netanyahu. world opinion has shifted sharply against israel and the

united states. the administration, while calling for a cease-fire and more humanitarian aid, is simultaneously sending more bombs and ammunition to israel. it's an inconsistency that is not sustainable. it's long past time for the u.s. to adopt a consistent policy, to stop financing a war strategy that was deeply flawed from the very beginning, a strategy of unending death and destruction without any plan for what comes next. instead of prolonging this catastrophe, let's use our influence and our resources to advance a consistent policy for the middle east, a policy that has to be grounded in the recognition that the people of israel will never be secure without upholding the inherent rights and dignity of the palestinian people as well. madam president, after six

months of war, the situation regrettably in gaza is worse than ever. hamas is not defeated, nor do the experts that i have spoken to believe it can be. gaza is all but destroyed. two million palestinians lack the basic necessities of life and have nothing to return to. we need to change course. the hostages need to come home. the killing needs to stop. the war must end. madam president, i yield back.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. shatt-al-arab i ask unanimous consent that the -- sc -- mr. schatz: i ask unanimous consent that the following fellows be granted floor privileges -- nico. fairbaron, and ashley nagle. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schatz: madam president, it has been more than five months since the president i think submitted a domestic supplemental appropriations request to congress and among other things it called for funding recovery efforts in communities across the country struck by disasters, including lahaina maui. every one of these affected communities in florida, in california, in vermont, in mississippi, in alabama, in arkansas, in alaska, in south dakota, in georgia, illinois, indiana, and tennessee need help. each one of them is in the middle of a long and difficult

process of rebuilding and getting back on its feet. recovering from a disaster whether natural or man-made, it is hard, it is time half intensive and it is incredibly expensive. surveying the damage in the immediate days and hours following the event, undertaking the complex and often many dangerous process of debris removal, rebuilding homes and roads and schools and other essential infrastructure that were destroyed. providing financial assistance to people, families, and small business owners who lost their jobs and live layhoods overnight -- livelihoods overnight. it takes months and years and tremendous effort from thousands of people to return those communities to anything close to normal. today another community is unfortunately confronting the colossal task of rebuilding, this time in baltimore in the wake of the tragic collapse of

the francis scott key bridge. our thoughts go to the families of the victims who were lost that day. their losses break our hearts. as baltimore recovers, we stand ready to support all the communities and businesses that relied on that bridge and the port of baltimore every day to get around and move goods through. as the chair of the senate appropriations subcommittee on transportation, i'm committed to doing everything i can to help pass the necessary funding to rebuild. and as we do that, we also have a responsibility to support every other community that has been devastated by a disaster. baggage r because we are all in this together. no state or county, big or small, red or blue can shelter

the burden alone. when the disaster is so big, so catastrophic for any one state to handle, it falls on the federal government to step up and help. it is central to the promise of the federal government. we can argue about the size and the scope of the federal government all we like, which programs to fund, what levels to fund them at. but even the most libertarian among us can agree that helping our fellow americans when they are in a crisis, when they've lost everything, when they are desperate for support, helping them is patriotic and essential to our roles in the congress. it's why funding disaster recovery has historically been bipartisan, because people on both sides of the aisle have recognized rightly that disasters do not discriminate between red and blue and purple areas. accidents don't pick and choose their victims. every community that has had the

misfortune of being struck by a disaster needs and deserves help. maui is just one example of what these communities are facing. eight months on from the devastating fires, the needs remain enormous. thousands of people are still living out of hotels and vacation rentals, unable to rebuild their lives. roads and water systems have yet to be repaired. small businesses and their employees continue to struggle without tourism. for lahaina to recover, thousands of homes will need to be rebuilt. critical infrastructure will need to be restored. businesses will need to get up and running again. so congress needs to step up and help. that includes providing funding for the community development block grant disaster recovery, or cdbgdr program, as the supplemental request calls for.

cdbgdr funding has long been a lifeline for families and businesses recovering after disasters. maui and many other communities nationwide are waiting on this aid. it has been nearly six months since the president called on congress to help communities recover from their disasters. we've waited a long time, and we can't wait much longer. the disasters keep piling up, and with them the urgent needs of the survivors. people need help. and so as we need to pass this supplemental and make sure all the survivors are getting the relief that they need, this is not each against all. we are truly all in this together. every community that has been hurt by a natural disaster deserves help, and congress must provide it. i yield the floor. # i suggest the absence of a

quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll the clerk: ms. baldwin. quorum call:

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mrs. capito: thank you, madam president. i rise today -- the presiding officer: senator, we are in a quorum call. mrs. capito: i ask that we vitiate the quorum call, please. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. capito: thank you. madam president, i rise today because we really are at an historic time for this chamber. soon the house of representatives is expected to send over articles of impeachment against a cabinet officer for only the second time in our nation's history. this is not routine business.

instead this is a very serious moment. on february 13, the house agreed to articles of impeachment against department of homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas for, quote, willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law, end of quote. and, quote, breach of public trust, end of quote. this chamber will soon have a constitutional duty to uphold. and i firmly believe that the senate, the u.s. senate must conduct a full impeachment inquiry trial for mr. mayorkas. it requires a vote of two thirds of the senate present before the federal officer is convicted. that's a pretty high standard for a constitutional process. for every impeachment in our history, the senate has held some form of a trial. unless the federal officer has

resigned prior to the trial. this time it should be no different. under president biden and secretary mayorkas, there have been more than 9.2 million illegal crossings along our country's southern borders. or to put it another way, the average monthly encounters have increased 400% almost under the biden-mayorkas dhs. the record illegal crossings in this past february of 189,922 marks the seventh consecutive month of the highest number of encounters that these months have ever seen. and on top of this, there have been 36 straight months with higher encounters at the southern border than any other month under the trump administration. these numbers are just shocking.

i've spoken on this before, it's just amazing to me that the president and secretary mayorkas haven't tried to change this at all. unfortunately the statistics have become a regular occurrence under the leadership of secretary mayorkas, and he bears the responsibility for the worst border crisis of our nation's history. let me be clear, as i said earlier, this crisis did not happen by accident. we have seen the biden-mayorkas dhs fail to uphold the law and secure our borders starting on day one of this administration. this broad and willful effort by the biden administration to open our borders began by ending successful trump-era policies that brought all those numbers down, like contracts to build the border wall. the remain in mexico policy, also known as migrant protection protocols or mpp, and safe third

country agreements. again, the numbers don't lie, and they certainly do not provide the administration with any cover. unlike the cover the administration gives daily by turning their back to the cartels who are making billions of dollars with human smuggling, drug trafficking, operations as long as this crisis continues. furthermore, we've seen secretary mayorkas abuse the parole process. expanding the program more than any other prior administration, which has led to more than three million immigrants coming into our country who would otherwise have been inadmissible. parole is supposed to be granted on a one-by-one, case-by-case basis. but under secretary mayorkas's leadership, dhs has created categorical parole programs to give entry to migrants from many

south american and caribbean countries with minimal vetting. as the crisis has developed throughout president biden's three years in office, nearly half of the migrants encountered at our southern border are coming from countries outside of mexico, guatemala, honduras, el salvador. the immigration crisis on our southern border is more multifaceted than ever. and why is that? because it's been allowed to keep fomenting. and the open border policies for the biden-mayorkas dhs has allowed all of this to happen. we truly have no idea who is entering our country illegally. we have apprehended 336 individuals on the terror watch list that have illegally crossed our southern border during this administration, but these are just the individuals that we know of. to put this into perspective, only 14 terror suspects were apprehended between the ports of

entry during the trump administration. 14 over four years, 336 in this administration. not knowing who's in our country is a national security crisis, at a time of heightened national security this is a chance we should not be willing to take. we've also seen the biden-mayorkas dhs abuse the asylum process, expanding eligibility to admit a record number of of asylum seekers which has led to creating decades-long delays and backlogs in our immigration courts. this ensures that anyone who enters our country and passes the very low screening standard will be here for years without any fear of deportation. this policy allowed the alleged killer of laken riley, a nursing student in georgia who was brutally and senselessly murdered, to enter and has remained in this country, even though he was apprehended by our law enforcement on at least one

occasion, he still was here. this will ever serve as a reminder that secretary mayorkas's catch and release policies have allowed the catastrophe at our southern border to impact every single community. when our already overwhelmed border patrol agents are faced with thousands of encounters per day of migrants claiming asylum, we know that some border crossings are able to slip through. these are the people who don't want to be caught, and they are the individuals we need to worry about the most. but don't just take my word for it. in a recent interview, border patrol chief jason owens referred to the situation at the southern border as a national security threat and that the 140,000 known gotaways are what's keeping, he says, keeping me up at night. this is something that all of us should be concerned about and the ripple effect that this causes in communities far away

from our southern border. additionally, the drugs flowing across our border are responsible for fueling the addiction epidemic that has devastated communities across this country, but particularly in my home state of west virginia. in west virginia alone, it is estimated that during the year 2023, 1,327 residents died at the hands of illegal drugs. that's the highest per capita of any other state. at the national level, the numbers are just startling, an all time high of 223,000 pounds of fentanyl coming across the southern border in fiscal year 2023. that amount of fentanyl is enough to kill nearly 6 million people. however, what is even more troubling is that cbp officials

are estimating they're only able to seize between 5% and 10% of all the fentanyl that has been smuggled through the southern border. with the border patrol staff that has been stretched unfathomably thin with very little support from this administration, there's no telling the amount of drugs that are getting through undetected. so regarding the matter that will soon be before the senate, the impeachment articles against secretary mayorkas make serious allegations and detail the crisis we have all seen unfolding for more than three years. it is unconscionable for senator schumer to dismiss these charges without allowing the senate to hear the evidence. doing so would deny this body from upholding our constitutional duty to hear a case and decide whether or not secretary mayorkas should be convicted or acquitted. the decision to take up these articles of impeachment lies

with senator schumer and the senate democrats. they must do the right thing and conduct a full trial. with that, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. moran: madam president, thank you. i appreciate what i heard from the senator from west virginia,

senator capito. i'm pleased to follow her as we address the issue of the crisis at our southern border. i want to highlight something i heard her say and reiterate myself. this is a national security threat. there's many reasons to care about what's going on at our borders, and certainly you can take a look at the issue of sovereignty and the nation -- the nature of our country. we need to enforce our laws. fentanyl and drugs, human trafficking, but sometimes overlooked is the reality of what a security threat a border like we have between the united states and mexico, but really all of our borders, they create a threat to the safety and well-being of the american people, the citizens of our country. and, yes, we have to deal with the growing drug and crime emergency. it's exacerbated -- i'm -- i've

been talking to a number of police officers in kansas and there's no question what they see in kansas, the challenges are exacerbated by the lack of security, lack of law enforcement at our boards and see the -- borders, and see the consequences of that activity of human trafficking and drugs. it's important for us to talk about all the things dr -- all of the things -- focus on all of the things. it is our duty to make sure that americans are safe. i was on the senate floor several weeks ago highlighting something i think is important. the passage of the supplemental, and this is a consequence to the people of ukraine and the people of israel and the middle east about the safety and security of other countries in the south pacific. but i highlighted then and would

highlight now the passage of that emergency supplemental has a consequence -- a negative consequence if it's not passed on the safety and security of the american people. and so when i was here to highlight the importance of that legislation and the need to proceed, i also highlighted the consequences of ignoring our border. i want to say once again, our border is a national security issue. so when we focus on the things about national security, sometimes we forget this dangerous circumstance that has been created. i have been to the border a number of times. on my last visit, i saw chinese nationals trying to come into our country illegally, that itself should cause us to have great concern. under smo senator mayorkas, the

have been terror watch list people apprehended. 336 have been apprehended from that terrorist watch list, and that doesn't include the ones we have not caught. it suggests to us, to me and i hope to us, that there is a real serious issue about our national security as a result of our country's failures, this administration's failures on the border. in fy-23, the year ago fiscal year, in that year alone men and women of the united states customs and border protection had approximately 2.5 million encounters along that southern border. these historic levels of crossings at the southern border have put a tremendous strain on our immigration system and seriously compromised our national security. not every immigrant is a

criminal, but the sheer number of migrants at the border enables those with evil and malicious intentions to enter our country could harm americans. this is not -- often through the assistance of criminal organizations, the current lack of enforcement of laws, this administration has created these conditions and has done really if not nothing from persuading migrants from that border. migrants know that this administration has resisted hardening infrastructure border and they have a good chance of remaining in the united states if they get across the border. all of those factors lead us to where we are today. last fall i questioned secretary mayorkas. we had a joint appropriations

committee. the hearing was on our national security and the topic was the supplemental i referenced in my remarks several weeks ago on the senate floor. and when i asked secretary mayorkas if he was willing to work on areas of immigration reform where there is bipartisan consensus, certain issues i believe in regard to border security would receive 60 votes on the senate floor and signed into law, the secretary told me he wanted comprehensive reform. i've been in this body, the senate, i've been in the house before then, we talked about immigration changes, border security, those two things go hand in hand in my view and we know where this insistence where we have comprehensive immigration reform ends. no evidence in my time in the senate, no evidence in my time in the house that if we have to do everything, the evidence is that we do nothing, and that's what i told the secretary.

i would tell him that again if you're unwilling to work with us to find the things that we can agree on, then nothing is going to happen to protect our borders and our immigration system remains so flawed. there is value, of course, in comprehensive reform, things that deal with all issues, top to bottom to ensure the needs of safety for american people and the importance of that to our economy. but, again, my experience and my time in congress is that if we keep waiting for comprehensive reform, the result is nothing. we do nothing. secretary mayorkas has an obligation to use the tools congress has already provided to enforce legislation that is already passed. waiting for comprehensive reform is an excuse from the secretary and for the president, president biden, to do nothing. mayorkas' inaction on the border

and his leniency in enforcing the law has created the ayes see today. -- the crisis we see today. we keep waiting to see the tipping point. that has passed. we have lost thousands to fentanyl, and our borders have been exploited by our enemies. my point is america is in jeopardy in many ways. we face many challenges around the globe and our enemies are aligned to do us harm. one of the places we cannot look the other way is our intoerdz and -- intoerdz appeared border security. the biden administration has made it clear over the last three years securing our border is not a priority. it's not at priority of theirs. and now it's up to the senate to hold the administration accountable for those failures,

the failures at our southern border, again, that affect our national security, the number one priority of the federal government. every state is a border state and the american people deserve a secure border. madam president, i yield the floor. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. wicker: in our nation's 248-year history -- the house of representatives has impeached officials in 21 cases. reflecting the grave constitutional power -- mr. hagerty: rendering such trial moot. this includes two partisan democratic people of the former presidents, one in which it was controlled -- shattering norms has become a defining theme for democrats this year. why are my democratic colleagues

so eager to shishg their constitutional -- shirk their constitutional duties? i can think of no better example than the secretary's decision to willfully and knowingly succeed his parole authority. that law permits the secretary to grant parole but only on a case-by-case basis, temporarily, and for urgent humanitarian reasons for significant public bechlt for example, when -- benefit. for example when a person is in need of urgent medical care or a person needs to attend a family member's funeral. he has created a new taxpayer funded program to allow aliens from numerous countries to be flown into the united states. he has abused his case by case

parole authority. he is flying 30,000 illegal aliens per month directly into the united states for resettlement. this is a blatant violation of the law and abuse of the parole law. two weeks ago, every single democrat voted against my legislation to defund this. they see the absurdity of flying in tens of thousands of illegal aliens right in the midst of an illegal immigration crisis. so instead partisan so-called back checkers have been quibbling over which flights or airports are being used. this is an attempt to distract from the problem of this taxpayer funded program which is that it is illegal and absurd. i understand why democrats want to cover it up though.

it's the same reason they don't want to consider these people articles. similarly, the secretary terminated contracts for border wall construction and refused to expand funds that congress appropriated for this specific purpose. secretary mayorkas's impoundment of funds is a clear attempt to you -- usurp congress to build a wall. the secretary replaced the pension mandates enacted in the law with unlawful mass catch and release policies that encourage illegal immigration. the law requires that illegal aliens are detained until they are deported unless they are clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be allowed in the united states. instead of complying with this requirement, the secretary has released millions of illegal aliens into american communities. we've seen the devastating effects of the biden

administration's illegal border policies. we've heard from americans whose lives and property are being destroyed by droves of illegal aliens coming into the united states every day. we heard from border patrol agents who want nothing more than to secure the border but whose hands have been tied by the mayorkas-led department of homeland security. the american people have seen the chaotic images at the border. they witnessed the effects of illegal immigration in their communities, including drug overdoses, violent crime and the national security threat from unknown bad actors from all over the world coming across our open borders. 249 people on the terrorist watch list have been encountered at the southern border last year alone. since october, a record number of chinese nationals, 22,000, in

fact, have been encountered by our border patrol, in all over 10 million illegal aliens across the border under this secretary's watch. the collapse of our southern border and the devastating consequences it has created for our nation is the greatest national security risk we face as a nation. the house of representatives took the extraordinary step of impeaching a government official for his role in this. and, yet, senate democrats want to completely ignore all of this. they don't want you to hear about it. they want to sweep it under the rug in an election year. the secretary's alleged violations of law warrant a trial before the senate. it warrants basic diligence in examining the evidence and every senator should go on record regarding the charges. i've cosponsored resolutions by several colleagues establishing people procedures in line with