Richard Durbin

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Judge Camela Theeler to the U.S. District Court for District of South Dakota. Judge Theeler's deep ties to South Dakota and her experience in the courtroom--as a litigator and on the bench--have prepared her to serve as a U.S. District Judge. After receiving her B.A. and J.D. from the University of South Dakota, Judge Theeler began her legal career in private practice before clerking for the judges of the First Judicial Circuit of the South Dakota Unified Judicial System. Thereafter, Judge Theeler returned to private practice, working on a range of cases, including personal injury/worker's compensation, business litigation, employment law, and criminal defense work. From 2012 to 2018, Judge Theeler served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Dakota, becoming deputy civil chief in 2016. Over the course of her legal career, Judge Theeler tried eight cases to verdict, judgment, or final decision. Since 2018, she has served as a circuit court judge for the State of South Dakota, located in the Second Judicial District. Judge Theeler has presided over 57 trials that have gone to verdict or judgment. Judge Theeler has the strong support from her home State Senators, Mr. Thune and Mr. Rounds. In addition, she was unanimously rated ``well qualified'' by the American Bar Association. I urge my colleagues to support Judge Theeler's nomination.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Duckworth), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin) and the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin) and the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, this week marks the 70th anniversary of one of the most important Supreme Court decisions of all time. It is part of our march toward justice. On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Brown v. Board of Education, unanimously--unanimously--declaring the racist legal doctrine of ``separate but equal'' unconstitutional. Today, we celebrate this historic anniversary and how far we have come as a country since the dark days of Jim Crow. Thankfully, we have made substantial progress in addressing racial disparities in education. However, significantly, systemic disparities do still exist today. More work needs to be done to promote racial equity and end discrimination inside and outside the classroom. When the Supreme Court announced its decision in 1954, the demographics of American school-aged children were significantly different than they are today. At that time, the school-aged population, according to The Century Foundation, was roughly 85 percent White, 12 percent Black, and less than 4 percent other races. Contrast that with today. America's school-aged population is much more diverse: 48 percent White, 27 percent Hispanic, 15 percent Black, 6 percent Asian, 1 percent American-Indian, and 4 percent multiracial. Yet, even with this increase--dramatic increase--in diversity, America's schools too often remain segregated by race. As of the 2018- 2019 school year, one in six public school students attended schools where more than 90 percent of their peers had the same racial background. Illinois has 3 of the country's top 11 most segregated urban school districts. This lack of racial diversity in our schools is caused in part by unfair, exclusionary zoning policies that keep low- income families out of schools in wealthier communities. Education can play a significant role in helping to close the wealth gap between families, but unfortunately, due to modern-day segregation, many Black and Brown students often cannot access the same high-quality education as their White peers. If you look at data from U.S. public schools going back to 1967, you will see that the segregation between Black and White students has increased by 64 percent since 1988 in the 100 largest school districts. While school segregation is not at pre-Brown v. Board of Education levels, it is still high and has been rising steadily since the late 1980s, and because where you go to school depends on your ZIP Code, students from poor neighborhoods in segregated cities are often trapped in underperforming schools. Dismantling segregation has become more difficult now than it would have been 70 or 80 years ago, but we cannot ignore the challenge. Unless we focus on desegregating America and its neighborhoods, Brown's promise of integrated education will remain an unattainable goal. The Brown decision was supposed to be the first step in a long march towards Americans' equality. It helped set the stage for challenges to other Jim Crow policies, such as barriers to fair housing, equal employment, voting rights, and public accommodations. Unfortunately, today, the forces of intolerance are working to turn back the clock. Just last year, the Supreme Court struck down decades of precedent by ruling that affirmative action policies at two universities were unconstitutional. The attack on affirmative action threatens not just opportunities in education but also equal access to employment and contracts for minorities. The decision rewinds the clock and recreates barriers to entry for young minority students looking to pursue a degree in higher education and advance beyond college. Quality education should be a right in our country, not a privilege. As a country, we still struggle to fulfill that promise. Public schools and many other elements of society remain separate and unequal, diminishing opportunities for millions. Congress must focus on enacting policies and using resources to provide every student--Black, White, Brown--with the tools they need to learn and thrive in America. We must advocate for all students of every race and every place to have these resources to learn without limits. As we celebrate 70 years since this historic decision, we honor the brave individuals who fought hard to bring it to reality. Those of us here today must honor their determination and sacrifice by continuing their mission for fairness. On this 70th anniversary, I urge my colleagues to continue working toward equality within our education system and society. It is long overdue for us to repair the broken systems that no longer serve our children, our grandchildren, and our country. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin) and the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Judge Sanket J. Bulsara to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Born in Bronx, NY, Judge Bulsara received his A.B., magna cum laude, from Harvard College and his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School. After graduating from law school, he clerked for Judge John G. Koeltl on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Judge Bulsara then began his legal career as an associate with Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP. He then spent a year working as the manager of planning and data analysis with the New York City Department of Education Division of Human Resources. From 2005 to 2015, Judge Bulsara worked in private practice at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP first as an associate and later as counsel, before becoming partner in 2012. While working at WilmerHale, he was seconded to serve as special assistant district attorney in the Kings County District Attorney's Office between 2007 and 2008. From 2015 to 2017, Bulsara worked as deputy general counsel for Appellate Litigation, Adjudication, and Enforcement at the SEC. In 2017, he became acting general counsel. Since 2017, Bulsara has served as a magistrate judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The American Bar Association unanimously rated Judge Bulsara as ``well qualified,'' and his nomination is strongly supported by his home State Senators, Mr. Schumer and Mrs. Gillibrand. With significant litigation and judicial experience, Judge Bulsara will serve the Eastern District of New York with distinction as a district judge. I am proud to support his nomination.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Eric Schulte to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota. Born in Sioux Falls, SD, Mr. Schulte received both his B.A. and his J.D. from the University of South Dakota. After clerking for the judges of the Second Judicial Circuit in Sioux Falls, Mr. Schulte joined Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz, and Smith, where he has spent his entire legal career--first as an associate and later as a partner. In his more than two decades at Davenport Evans, he has engaged in every aspect of litigation, from drafting pleadings and conducting written discovery, to trying 22 trials to verdict. In addition, Mr. Schulte has also argued before the South Dakota Supreme Court seven times. The American Bar Association unanimously rated Mr. Schulte ``well qualified'' to serve on the district court, and he has the strong support of Senators Thune and Rounds. Mr. Schulte's deep ties to the South Dakota legal community, combined with his courtroom experience, will make him well-positioned to serve on the Federal bench with distinction. I thank my colleagues for supporting his nomination.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I rise today to offer belated birthday wishes and heartfelt thanks to a man who has devoted more than five decades of his life to serving the people of Illinois. Neil Hartigan made history in 1972 when he became Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. He was just 34 years old, making him, at that time, the youngest person ever elected Lieutenant Governor of any State. In 1973, Time magazine named him as one of the ``Future 200 Leaders'' in the country. He was recruited to run by Illinois' then-Lieutenant Governor, an ambitious young man who planned to run for Governor and wanted Neil Hartigan as his running mate. That other man was Paul Simon, my political inspiration and the man whose Senate seat I now hold. Paul Simon lost his 1972 bid for Governor by a razor thin vote. But Neil Hartigan won his race and, as Lieutenant Governor, became a champion for seniors. He pushed through the State legislature a bill that consolidated the State's numerous programs for the elderly into a single, cabinet-level department of aging. It was the first department of aging in the Nation, and it became a national model. His inspiration for that change were the mothers of his childhood friends in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood. As he often said, growing up in that enclave of mostly Irish and Jewish families, he didn't have just one mother; he had 50. Years later, when he was running for political office and knocking on doors in his old neighborhood, he saw these women again; they were now elderly, often lonely, and unsure of where to turn for help. In 1976, the last year of his term, he was elected chairman of the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors. The belief that the purpose of government is to make life better for others is a conviction that Neil inherited from his parents. His father David Hartigan was the youngest of 14 children in an Irish Catholic family on the South Side of Chicago. The family fell on hard times after David's father--Neil's grandfather--was badly injured in a work accident which left him unable to ever work again. David's mother supported the family on her small salary as a teacher. Neil says his dad worked ``every job under the sun'' to put himself through college and then law school. David Hartigan served two terms as Chicago's deputy city treasurer and briefly as city treasurer, before being twice elected alderman in the 49th Ward. When Neil was a senior at Georgetown University, his dad died at the age of 57. The cause was complications of diabetes, which had stolen most of his dad's eyesight and ravaged his body for years. Two things happened to change Neil's life when he returned to Chicago after graduating from Georgetown. Loyola University Chicago, offered him a scholarship to study law--a generosity he has repaid many times over by establishing a scholarship for third-year Loyola law students in his father's name. And the city of Chicago offered him a job. This was no cushy ``nepo baby'' position. It was physical labor, shoveling coal in the basement of the city board of health building. Neil didn't stay in the basement long. He soon became a trusted assistant to the city health commissioner. After he passed the bar, he became attorney for the board of health. He spent a year representing the board in Springfield. It was a short time, but he made a long list of friends, including Paul Simon. At the age of 27, he was hired by Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley as the mayor's administrative assistant. He became a rising star in Illinois Democratic politics, Chicago's chief lobbyist in Springfield, and later deputy mayor. He won his first political race in 1968, when he was elected Democratic committeeman for the 49th Ward, the same ward his father had led. In 1982, he was elected attorney general of Illinois. In his two terms as AG, he managed to get nearly 90 bills through the State legislature. One of his bills was the 1983 Illinois Violent Crime Victims Assistance Act, which uses fines paid by convicted individuals to fund shelters and services for survivors of domestic violence, survivors of child abuse, and other survivors of violent crime. He sued the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to recover benefits for 30,000 people with disabilities in Illinois whose Federal assistance had been cut off by the Reagan administration. His victory in that case became the basis for similar suits in other States. He persuaded the general assembly to override a Governor's veto and establish a plan to provide medical services for the indigent. Another bill he championed amended the State criminal code to hold corporate executives and directors accountable for their companies' criminal violations of the State's Environmental Protection Act. In 1990, he was the Democratic nominee for Governor, a race he lost narrowly to then-Secretary of State Jim Edgar. He left politics and government for a while after that, becoming chairman of the World Trade Center Illinois. In 2002, he was elected to the Illinois Appellate Court from the First District, which serves Cook County. One of his role models was his paternal uncle Matthew Hartigan, a longtime and respected judge on the city's South Side. He stepped down from the bench voluntarily in 2004. Earlier this month, this once Wiz Kid of Illinois politics turned 86. He has outlived two spouses, including his first wife and longtime political partner Marge. He and his third wife Mary Lou were married last year. He remains as interested as ever in politics and good government. I will close with a story Neil tells about an interview he had with Mayor Richard J. Daley when he was 27 and applying for the job as assistant to the mayor. Mayor Daley, then at the height of his power, asked simply: ``Neil, why do you want to be in government?'' Neil said he was later embarrassed by the simple sincerity of his answer. He replied, ``Frankly, Mayor, I consider it sort of like a religious calling. It's the next highest place after the church where you can help people.'' It was a belief inherited from his father and one that has guided Neil Hartigan's long life in public service. I am grateful for his service and proud to be his friend.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, we all answer calls to serve in different ways. For me, that has meant representing the great State of Illinois in the U.S. Senate. But on May 8, 1974, a young priest answered the call to serve by receiving his ordination as a priest. Father Cletus Kiley could not have known the impact he would make on Chicago, and on people across the Nation, on that day in 1974. But as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of his ordination as a priest, it is clear that his dedication to spiritual and social well-being has been nothing short of remarkable. Father Kiley was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, and he found spiritual and education homes in several of the Catholic schools in the city. Following his seminary education, Father Kiley earned a master's degree in applied spirituality from the University of San Francisco and a doctorate in ministry from the University of St. Mary of the Lake. He developed an affinity for languages--becoming fluent in Spanish, Italian, and French--which helped broaden his impact and touch the lives of even more communities. Much of Father Kiley's time as a young priest was spent in Chicago. He served as an associate pastor of Epiphany Parish and, later, as pastor of St. Agnes of Bohemia. During the first chapter of his life in Chicago, he also took on the roles of associate dean of Mundelein Seminary's formation team, director of the Archdiocese of Chicago's Department of Personnel Services, rector of Niles College Seminary, and a member of the College of Consultors for the Archdiocese of Chicago. It is safe to say Father Kiley's legacy in Chicago will not soon be forgotten. After decades spent serving the spiritual needs of the people of Chicago, Father Kiley's call to service took him to Washington, DC-- where, in 1997, his affinity for politics and passion for helping people led him to work as the executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat for Priestly Life and Ministry and as assistant to the General Secretary for Child and Youth Protection. Father Kiley excelled in these roles. And, shortly thereafter, he was named president and CEO of the Faith & Politics Institute and served as a senior fellow at the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America. In both roles, he was able to apply his deep faith to his interest in policy. But Father Kiley's call to serve extended far beyond the realm of religion. In 2010, with the permission of the Archdiocese of Chicago and Cardinal Francis George, Father Kiley became the director of immigration policy for UNITE HERE International Union, where he championed issues of immigration, workers' rights, and economic justice. In this role, Father Kiley began organizing a new generation of priests dedicated to furthering the mission of the labor movement. And, in 2012, he founded the Priest-Labor Initiative with a group of bishops, priests, and scholars committed to supporting to worker justice. To Father Kiley, the compatibility of his faith and the labor movement was obvious: Catholic social values taught him about the dignity of work that underpinned the fight for workers' rights. His faith informed his advocacy work, and his advocacy work strengthened his faith. In 2015, Father Kiley received a call from Chicago's Cardinal Blase Cupich. He wanted Father Kiley to return to Chicago. And, as Father Kiley put it, ``You don't say no to your Cardinal.'' So, after nearly two decades advancing spiritual and social well-being in our Nation's Capital, Father Kiley returned home to Chicago to begin another chapter in his long career as a priest. Today, Father Kiley continues his work with the Archdiocese of Chicago as special adviser and delegate for labor in the office of the cardinal. Because of his deep spiritual, social, and moral convictions, and because of his vast knowledge of Chicago, language, theology, and politics, Father Kiley's counsel is widely sought after. So it is hardly surprising that Father Kiley also serves as the Chaplain of the Chicago Federation of Labor, an adviser to UNITE HERE, a mentor to the leadership team of UNITE HERE Local 1, and a board member of Misericordia and UNITE HERE Health. Father Kiley has been a tremendous advocate, adviser, and friend to so many leaders and working people. I thank him for all he has done in Chicago and beyond to make our country a more just, equitable, and empathetic place.

Mr. DURBIN

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

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, on a different subject, I want to speak on President Biden's recent decision to withhold certain offensive U.S. weapons from Israel that might be used in an assault on Rafah. I support President Biden. It is not, as some have characterized, a failure to support Israel in a dangerous region after a genuinely horrific Hamas attack--and October 7 was such an attack. It is instead a warning from one of the most pro- Israeli U.S. Presidents to an ally that a full-scale assault on Rafah could not only add to the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza but undermine any long-term stability in the region. Let me also remind those critics that President Biden recently helped coordinate, with the use of American forces, a dramatic defense of Israel against an Iranian assault. Anyone who doubts Joe Biden's commitment to Israel is misguided. But he has reached his limit with Prime Minister Netanyahu and his response in Gaza and focus on his own political survival more than anything else. His blunders protecting civilians and allowing the flow of aid were noted in the national security memo reported to Congress last week. Let me elaborate. Last week, several of us met with the Jordanian King, Abdullah II--a deeply thoughtful leader who knows the region well. He is a key ally of the United States, and he has made peace with Israel. He, like Middle East expert Tom Friedman, argued that simply leveling Gaza and furthering the humanitarian crisis without a long-term strategy for peace is no strategy at all for Israel. A path forward can only happen with the support of Arab nations in the region. President Biden has been urging Prime Minister Netanyahu to offer this broader vision, one that likely includes normalization with Saudi Arabia and eventual peace with a Palestinian State--a vision that could be undermined with a massive assault on Rafah. As Tom Friedman posed to Netanyahu in a recent column, ``What do you want more--Rafah or Riyadh? Do you want to mount a full-scale invasion of Rafah to try to finish off Hamas--if that is even possible--without offering any Israeli exit strategy from Gaza or any political horizon for a two-state solution with non-Hamas-led Palestinians?'' Shortly after the horrific attack on October 7, I warned our Israeli friends to learn from our mistakes made in the fog of rage and pain after September 11. You do not want ill-thought occupation of Gaza to become your Fallujah, and, as also learned in Iraq, one needs the trust of the local civilian population to help counter terrorist groups. We were speculating recently on how many innocent civilians have been killed in Gaza in an effort to eliminate Hamas. The number is staggering. This is another reason President Biden reached his limit with Netanyahu. The devastating civilian toll in Gaza is not only a moral and humanitarian problem; it is a strategic failure. More than 40 years ago, an American President was furious about the photos of civilians killed by Israeli shelling in Lebanon. That President then called Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, dressed him down sharply, and told him the excessive assault had to end. Over the course of this President's term, he used the power of U.S. weapons sales, including delaying or withholding certain warplanes and arms, to influence Israeli war policy as well as to criticize Israeli actions in the region at the U.N. Security Council. That President was Ronald Reagan. Reagan wrote in his diary about the difficult call with Begin: I was angry. . . . I told him it had to stop or our entire future relationship was endangered. So I urge those who are resistant and vocal about President Biden's actions to reflect on Ronald Reagan's similar moves to help our Israeli allies from making strategic, tragic mistakes four decades ago or reflect on the words of former Mossad Chief Meir Dagan, who before his death concluded that Israel over the years ``achieved a long string of impressive tactical successes but also disastrous strategic failures.'' I have long supported a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians. In fact, out of the devastating Yom Kippur War came an unimaginable yet lasting peace between Egypt and Israel. It can happen. So with the right leaders on both sides, it can be done, and we have a responsibility in the United States for a renewed push on all sides towards this goal--one in which Israeli and Palestinian children can once and forever live in safety, peace, and dignity. I yield the floor.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, last week, we learned the most recent winners of the Pulitzer Prize. I am pleased that among this year's winners is a friend of mine who made it his life's work to help bring democracy and freedom to his home country of Russia: Vladimir Kara- Murza. This is a photograph of him in Moscow at an earlier time. Vladimir Putin's government has tried to kill this man repeatedly, to silence him in the uniquely Vladimir Putin way--poison him--but each time, Vladimir survived and continued his work, including writing a regular column for the Washington Post about the need for change in Russia. While he and his family became residents of the United States, he insisted on maintaining his home in Russia. Two years ago, he came to see me before returning to Russia. I will never forget asking Vladimir about his decision to return. He was unequivocal. He felt he had to return. His aspirations were simple. He believed in a better future for Russia, one in which Russians could live in a free and prosperous society and be at peace with their neighbors. Unsurprisingly, shortly after he returned to Russia after visiting with me, Vladimir Putin had him arrested and jailed. But Kara-Murza has remained steadfast in his opposition to Putin. He continues his writings from Putin's gulag--deeply thoughtful pieces that offer a different vision of Russia's future. For example, the titles of recent pieces he has written include ``Even from a Russian prison, I can see Putin's weakness'' and ``I am proud to have spoken out against Putin's crimes in Ukraine.'' It was this powerful writing that won him international recognition and a Pulitzer Prize. I want to congratulate him and to thank his family for their courage on receiving this prestigious award. Most importantly, I want to remind him that what he is doing is not ignored, nor forgotten. To Vladimir Putin, I say: Your folly in Ukraine and domestic repression cannot hide the light of Kara-Murza's moving words.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

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

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, one of our important responsibilities in Congress is to protect American consumers. But allies of Big Business and Wall Street, who always fear threats to their bottom lines, have been working overtime to convince consumers that a bill that I have introduced with Senator Marshall, the Credit Card Competition Act, will do more harm than good. Their latest tactic, they are recruiting allies from the airline industry. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby recently said that our bill would ``kill rewards programs.'' Let me be very clear. This is false. Moreover, this past July, Forbes published an article saying that compared to other nations, airline rewards programs in the United States have made it more challenging to earn and redeem miles. Because while the airline industry is trying to argue that my bill would stifle competition and their loyalty programs, it is actually their own questionable practices that threaten American consumers' ability to redeem rewards. Let me explain. The airline industry knows how much consumers value rewards programs that over 100 million Americans participate in. These programs originated as a way to reward true frequent flyers for their loyalty and patronage. And, today, millions of Americans participate. But these programs have evolved to include cobranded credit cards that focus on dollars spent using those cards. The Presiding Officer and I spend a big part of our lives on airplanes. I don't know about your experience, but I will tell you what mine is: As soon as they have us in our seats buckled in, they start advertising their credit cards. I have seen times when the flight attendants walk up and down the aisles passing out brochures for people to consider enlisting in their credit card program. And then as you are leaving the plane, they are once again passing them out. They seem to focus as much on credit cards as they do on safety in these airplanes. You have to ask yourself why. It turns out there is one basic reason for it. Airlines make more money off the cobranded credit cards they issue than they do from aviation programs. At the same time, they are showing troubling reports that airlines use their loyalty programs to engage in abusive, unfair, and sometimes deceptive practices. Airlines incentivize Americans to purchase goods and services, obtain certain credit cards, and spend as much money as they can on the cards in exchange for promised rewards. And all the while, they retain the right to strip consumers of these rewards or alter the terms of these programs at will. For example, there are troubling reports that airlines may be devaluing the miles that you accumulate making it harder for consumers to ever achieve promised rewards. At certain times, the cost of purchasing points from airlines' websites may be up to three times the value of the points at redemption. This is a rip-off with wings. We must do more to protect American consumers. In October, I wrote to the Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. I expressed my concern about these unfair practices, and in March, he replied. I was pleased to read that DOT's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection is using its authority to initiate a review of airlines' rewards programs. DOT has been meeting with major U.S. airlines to get more information on exactly how these frequent flyer programs work. Secretary Buttigieg shared with me that DOT has the necessary authority to investigate these programs and take enforcement action where appropriate. The Secretary also announced a joint hearing with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. That is good news for consumers. That meeting took place this morning to discuss airline credit cards and frequent flyer programs with industry representatives, labor leaders, and consumers. These are important steps forward in the conversation, and I thank Secretary Buttigieg for showing this initiative. Just last week, I had a chance to raise the issue directly with him at an open hearing during the Senate's Appropriations Subcommittee. Once again, I was glad to hear the Department of Transportation also is concerned with airline shady practices and seeks to protect Americans. This week, the Senate has been considering the FAA reauthorization bill. I support a provision, which made the final bill, that would create a Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary for the Department of Transportation's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection. I think it is important to put someone in this post to have better oversight of frequent flyer programs for the consumers of America. We should pass the reauthorization bill as quickly as possible to ensure there is no lapse in resources for our Nation's airports, air traffic controllers, aviation industry, and all the passengers. Employed by the credit card and airline industries, critics have accused me of jeopardizing Americans' airline rewards with my idea of competition among credit cards. This isn't true. Modern-day airlines have become credit card companies that also happen to own airplanes. It is their deceptive practices that threaten Americans' ability to redeem rewards that they have earned. I am committed to holding both industries accountable for exploiting hard-working consumers to further line their own pockets. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the Senate has begun a crucial task: consideration of a bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA's authorization expired on September 30, and Congress has since passed three short-term extensions--the latest of which will expire on May 10. For weeks, the House and Senate have been engaged in negotiations to work through differences in the long-term extension bill. Last week, negotiators released a compromise bill. Here in the Senate, my colleague Senator Duckworth had an important role in authoring the bill. She is a former Blackhawk helicopter pilot and an Iraq War veteran. I can think of no better person to lead this effort than her. The compromise bill addresses several pressing issues for our national aviation system. One priority I advocated for, which was included, is increased funding for the Airport Improvement Program. This program provides grants to airports for planning and development projects, through both entitlement and competitive awards. More than 80 airports in Illinois receive funding through this program, and the awards have had a significant effect on enhancing the safety and efficiency of our State's airports. Just last spring, Quincy Regional Airport was awarded a $14 million competitive AIP grant for its runway reconstruction project. I was pleased to see that the bill will increase annual AIP funding from $3.3 billion to $4 billion. I also supported the inclusion of a new grant program to help airports dispose of and replace a type of harmful ``forever chemicals,'' called PFAS, found in firefighting foam. Exposure to these chemicals has been linked to cancer and other serious health effects--and now, efforts to combat exposure at airports thankfully will have a dedicated funding stream. Another crucial issue the bill addresses is the air traffic controller shortage. My office has heard from air traffic controllers in Illinois whose towers have long been understaffed. Air traffic controllers work 10-hour days up to 6 days per week, in one of the most stressful and exhausting jobs in America. Their work is critical to the safety of our national aviation system--and we owe it to them to provide relief and better working conditions. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I am glad our fiscal year 2024 transportation appropriations bill increased FAA funding to hire 1,800 new controllers and improve training facilities. This FAA reauthorization bill builds upon this by requiring the FAA to improve staffing standards and set maximum hiring targets. I advocated for a provision in the Senate FAA bill that would have established another FAA training academy. Unfortunately, this was not included. But the bill directs the FAA to develop a plan to expand its training capacity and submit it to the Commerce Committee. I hope we continue this discussion. As commercial travel has returned to pre-pandemic levels, the aviation industry has sounded alarms that the demand for aviation professionals may soon exceed supply. That is why another priority of mine has been to expand funding for Aviation Workforce Development grants. The bill authorizes $60 million annually to invest in three grant programs to recruit and prepare aviation professionals and pilots. In Illinois, the aviation industry is an economic engine, generating more than $95 billion in economic activity across 500,000 jobs. We need to continue our investments in its future leaders. My other priorities have been focused on consumer protections. In October, I wrote to Secretary Buttigieg and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Chopra about troubling reports that airlines are engaging in unfair, abusive, and deceptive practices related to their loyalty programs. I worry that airlines are making it harder to redeem rewards. I supported a provision, secured by my colleague Senator Markey of Massachusetts, in the Senate FAA bill that would have required airline frequent flyer programs to provide at least 90 days' notice before reducing or devaluing rewards. This was not included in the final bill; however, Senator Markey and I are introducing an amendment that would restore this provision. The bill does include some other consumer protections, including the creation of create Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary position at the Department of Transportation's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection. I have also been focused on ensuring Illinois communities have adequate air service. I have heard from constituents in my hometown of Springfield that the current flights to and from Chicago offered by American Airlines do not reflect demand. The Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield is neither a hub airport nor an Essential Air Service community. This places it in a gray area for Federal resources to ensure air service. I requested language that would have directed DOT, in coordination with the FAA, to study ways to improve existing Federal programs--and explore new ones--to help communities like this retain sufficient flight service and schedules that reflect demand. This was not included in the final bill, but I have introduced an amendment with Senator Grassley to add this study to the bill. I am also pleased to see the FAA bill would allow DOT to impose penalties for Essential Air Service providers that try to terminate or reduce service to these communities. I will continue advocating for these priorities throughout the Senate process. And I urge my colleagues to swiftly pass the FAA reauthorization bill to prevent a lapse in resources for our aviation system, those who operate it, and all who fly.