Cory Booker

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. BOOKER. Case in point. I didn't necessarily expect to speak, but I found myself sitting there getting sad and angry that we are losing Mitt Romney, first of all, because we have--obviously, to the naked eye--so much in common: I am Black, and Mitt Romney is Black adjacent. Mitt Romney is a man of great personal net worth, and I am a man of great personal net girth. The reality is, the more I served with Mitt Romney, the more I found myself hoping to have more in common with him. I have watched somebody from this seat for years now give a master's class in what I believe America needs most. I ran for President because of this drive and this feeling that our Nation was becoming too tribalistic. I watched time and time again from this seat a person who put aside the desires for partisan adoration for a deeper conviction to stand up for our Nation. I watched a man not confuse tribal celebrity with leadership significance. I watched time and time again and saw it with my own eyes him being harassed in airports and being scorned for taking principled stands that he saw as the best way to try to hold our country together. I disagree with him, even though I see him now from one of his colleagues getting great approbation for a moment I remember when I was a mayor watching him run for President where he was asked what the great national security threat is, and he said Russia. At the time, many people made fun of him, and I now have been in classified briefings with him and other Senators where his wisdom in perceiving a threat was not only appreciated, but I literally saw in a classified briefing people applaud the insight of the man. But I disagree with him now. I disagree with him because, to me, the greatest threat to America, despite other comments that have been made here, including from one of my esteemed colleagues yesterday who said it was our national debt, I think the greatest threat to America is our inability to come together as a country, because when Americans are united, there is nothing we can't do. We can beat the Nazis. We can send someone to the Moon. But, indeed, the greatest calling of our country right now is to put more indivisible back into this one Nation under God. I have sat here for years now, and I have watched, perhaps, someone show with clarity of purpose that I have got to be what his faith and mine call for: Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are the people who stand in the breach. Blessed are the people who heal, who try to weave together the torn threads of our great Nation back into a mighty whole. This body is lesser, is lesser with this loss. When I heard the news that he wasn't running again, I wasn't happy for him and his family. And I know his values start with that core of faith and family, but I do worry about this body. I do worry about our Nation. The one thing that gives me hope is the light that he has shined into this place will endure. And perhaps many of us, as he departs, will try our best, despite the forces that pull us apart, to pick up the work that he has left behind to do more to affirm a principle that he clearly has kept centered in his eyes, as is in the center of the aisles of this great institution, which is those words from a dead language: ``e pluribus unum.'' Mitt Romney, thank you for being my friend. Thank you for being someone who has inspired me to be better. And thank you for being a great American patriot.

Mr. BOOKER. Did I miss that? The Senator from New Jersey.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Hear! Hear! (Applause.)

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. In my capacity as the Senator from New Jersey, I ask unanimous consent that, notwithstanding the order of September 25, 2024, I be recognized to ask consent to modify that order.

Mr. BOOKER. In my capacity as the Senator from New Jersey, I ask unanimous consent that, notwithstanding the order of September 25, 2024, that when the Senate adjourns today, it next convene at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, October 1, and not convene at 1 p.m. on Tuesday as previously ordered, and that all other provisions of the September 25 order remain in effect.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. I object.

Mr. BOOKER. I object. Madam President, the sharing of nonconsensual intimate images online is harmful and unacceptable. It is a serious problem that is affecting too many Americans. Many times, it is impacting our young people, and we need to do more to ensure that digital platforms are not used to harass and harm. We need ethical guardrails for emerging technologies including generative AI. This means laws that protect people from harassment and hold wrongdoers accountable, but do not have unintended criminal consequences. I had hoped the junior Senator from Texas would work with me rather than using Senate procedure to create the false appearance of partisanship. He used personal attacks and half truths to politicize the serious issue of online sexual harassment. I have and will continue to work with my colleagues to combat the issue of online sexual harassment. I look forward to finding solutions to address the proliferation of nonconsensual intimate images online. Online sexual harassment and so many other issues that impact Americans, from public safety to reproductive care to failing power grids, are urgent and it is our duty to address them. However, taking to the Senate floor with veiled threats is not how we should operate in this deliberative body. We are here to work together and to find solutions together.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I am rising right now to speak about the urgency to quickly confirm two bipartisan members to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Time is really of the essence as the term of two voting members, Judge Claria Horn Boom and Judge John Gleeson, will expire this Congress. For decades, the Senate has come together and confirmed all Commissioners to the Sentencing Commission by a voice vote and, on one occasion, two members by unanimous consent after they had been considered by the Judiciary Committee. This used to be just something easily done. There is no reason to depart from this incredible bipartisan precedent. We must confirm these two nominees today. Just as a reminder, Congress created the Sentencing Commission in 1984 as an independent Agency, housed in the judicial branch, to reduce sentencing disparities and to promote transparency and proportionality in sentencing. By statute, the Commission must have bipartisan representation amongst its members. It calls for our coming together. This mandate reflects the consensus-driven, evidence-based approach Congress has envisioned in making Federal criminal sentencing fairer and more balanced for the United States of America. The Sentencing Commission plays a critical role in our Federal legal system. It establishes sentencing policies and practices for Federal courts, and it promulgates and amends the sentencing guidelines, which serve as the cornerstone for every Federal judge when deciding a criminal sentence. It is deeply imperative that the Commission maintain a full slate of voting members to continue this profound work. Recent history has shown us what happens when the Commission is deprived of its full membership. From 2019 to 2022, the Commission lacked a voting quorum and could not update the sentencing guidelines in response to new Federal criminal statutes, including the big bipartisan work we did to get the First Step Act passed and signed by Donald Trump. Without direction on how to implement the new provisions and criminal penalties, circuit courts split over the proper interpretation of the guidelines, resulting in disparate sentences for people who are dependent solely on which circuit court they were tried in. In other words, there was no equal justice under the law. There wasn't fairness or proportionality. So, consistent with this Commission's mandate, these nominees have to and will need to continue to function in our bipartisan way--the vision. It is up to us to work in this bipartisan way. Therefore, I ask now to confirm two bipartisan members of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, Judge Claria Horn Boom and Judge Gleeson. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nominations en bloc: Calendar Nos. 602 and 603; that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc without intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. That word is difficult to say, but it seems like that happened quicker than even my saying that word. With something so important as this, I was hoping for more of an understanding of why this is being blocked. Again, perhaps one of the greatest marks of this institution, in my 10 years of experience, has been the times we have come together-- multiple times--to make our justice system more just. This seems, to me, to be obstructionist to the hopes that we can be a nation that ends this partisanship, that ends this unnecessary partisanship--excuse me--and that ends the sort of tribalism that is making this institution less operative. We all come here from various parts of our great Nation to get things done, and there seems to be this pattern in the United States of America of our finding less comity, less togetherness. I love what Martin Luther King said; that we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied with a garment of destiny, in that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. When it comes to the exercise of justice in our country, it is clear, by not having a bipartisan majority sitting on this body, that we create injustice, which, ultimately, hurts our democracy and our highest ideals. We started this day by pledging allegiance to that flag, where we said with ``liberty and justice for all.'' It pains me today, with the stopping of this unanimous consent, that we are not fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of that pledge. I yield the floor.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I want to take a moment. We just heard a speech that is special, not just because it is a maiden speech but because of the man who gave it. George Helmy is 1 of 2,004 Americans in the history of our country--hundreds of millions of people--who has ever been a U.S. Senator. I will tell you, he is different. He said it in his biography. He is the first-ever person of the Coptic faith to be here. That is a phenomenal accomplishment in and of itself to the growing diversity of a body known for its lack of diversity. But I will say what makes him truly special is that he has been a man behind the scenes that, for the Governor, Senators, and others, has made our State already such a better place. I have watched him do the work that others often take credit for, that has made him in my heart and through the millions of New Jerseyans he has touched--has already made him one of New Jersey's extraordinary public servants. I will note that he--in his time in the Senate--has staffers, as he pointed out, and many of them have taken an unusual assignment: to leave their jobs that they had to come take a temporary assignment to serve this country. For that, they have my tribute. If I can end by just saying one more thing that makes him special. He is throwing himself into this job as if every single day is precious. I dare say, there is not a Senator in this body who is taking each day like he is and trying to make it as meaningful as possible. In that sense, Jersey has a Senator that is incredibly hard-working. I want to tell you something. This morning, I woke up and saw a text message from him at 6 in the morning. The last time he annoyed me like that, he was my State director because that is how hard-working he was then. And when I woke up then and I got those early, early morning text messages, they were often about something that was vital, something that was important. This morning, that text message made me angry because here is the most junior Senator--100th in seniority--writing to me asking my advice on what to do about something that happened yesterday, in which 1 of our 100 colleagues in a hearing took on a witness who happened to be there to talk about working against hate--the chairman will know this-- attacked them with questions that were so painful to listen to. I went to the tape and heard a Muslim American being asked if they support Hamas, being asked if they support Hezbollah. It was offensive. And this Arab American, this U.S. Senator, at 6 in the morning, wanted to make sure that this was the first thing I read to talk to me about that. George Helmy is a colleague--equal vote, equal power--but his being an Arab American gives this body something that is needed, that I have seen in the women that are here, I have seen in the Latinos, the Asian Americans--people that have come from unusual pathways to be in this body to stretch its diversity and representation. They bring a different lived experience often and a deeper empathy and connection. We are in a moment in America where we are seeing rising hate, rising hate crimes, rising racial violence, rising religious violence. And every single one of us has an obligation to lose sleep over it, to struggle with it, to feel the pain of Americans like that witness in a Judiciary hearing, to feel the pain that they feel when they are being accused or questioned or attacked for who they are or how they pray. It may be only 73 days George Helmy is serving in the Senate, but this body needs him. It needs his conscience. It needs his heart. It needs his empathy. It needs his love. And I dare say, he will have a short time here, but I know the difference he makes here will endure. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, George.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Congratulations. (Applause, Senators rising.)

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate, without delay, consideration of Calendar No. 417, S. 4235.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. I yield the floor.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, I have two requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged of S. Res. 752, the Committee on Foreign Relations be discharged of S. Res. 753, and the Senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions: S. Res. 752, S. Res. 753, S. Res. 797, S. Res. 798, S. Res. 799, S. Res. 800, S. Res. 801, and S. Res. 802.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, I ask for my colleagues' unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn, to convene for pro forma sessions only, with no business being conducted, on the following dates and times, which I now shall read: Friday, August 2, at 12 noon; Tuesday, August 6, at 9:30 a.m.; Friday, August 9, at 10 a.m.; Tuesday, August 13, at 9:15 a.m.; Friday, August 16, at 10 a.m.; Tuesday, August 20--bright and early--at 8 a.m.; Friday, August 23, at 11:45 a.m.; Tuesday, August 27, at 9 a.m.; Friday, August 30, at 11 a.m.; Tuesday, September 3, at 2 p.m.; and Thursday, September 5, at 12:45 p.m.; further, that when the Senate adjourns on Thursday, September 5, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Monday, September 9; that on that Monday, following a very reverential prayer and a very noble pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that following the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Abelson nomination; and that cloture motions filed during today's session ripen at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, September 9.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs be discharged and the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 3938.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nominations en bloc: Calendar Nos. 764 and 765, and all nominations on the Secretary's desk in the Coast Guard, that the nominations be confirmed en bloc; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent for the privileges of the floor to be granted to my summer law clerks Alicia Cantrell and Kuangye Wang until the end of the day.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the upcoming adjournment of the Senate, the President of the Senate--I think that is you--the President pro tempore, and the majority and minority leaders be authorized to make appointments to Commissions, committees, Boards, conferences, or interparliamentary conferences authorized by law, by concurrent action of the two Houses or by order of the United States Senate.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nomination: Calendar No. 594, Dafna Hochman Rand, of Maryland, to be Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, before I start, it is an unfortunate position speaking after the Senator from Alaska. I want to thank him formally for his ``Alaskan of the Week.'' I am very far away in New Jersey, but I do enjoy that I often get to preside when he speaks about the extraordinary Americans. I know they are Alaskans, but they are extraordinary Americans. I have appreciated that on a regular basis. I do not understand why the Gallery is not full of journalists, but your colleagues do recognize the wonders of the people of your great State, and I want to thank you for that, in all seriousness.