Richard Durbin

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand) and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, they say that baseball is the great American sport, and I am a fan. I love watching baseball games, especially the Cubs and the Cards and the White Sox in the region where I grew up. But possibly one of the greatest moments remembered in baseball actually didn't occur during a game; it occurred in 1939 when a baseball player by the name of Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees gave a famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium. Gehrig was an amazing baseball player. Naturally, he is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was indestructible. His nickname was the ``Iron Horse''--so durable, so dependable. He was always there. In April of that year, 1939, he had removed himself from the game, saying he couldn't play any longer. Then, just a few weeks later, he made his famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium. He was sick and suffering from a rare disease, known as ALS, but he stood up there in front of that microphone. We can still remember it in our mind's eye-- that black and white film--when he announced he was the luckiest man on Earth. He died 2 years later from ALS. The disease, because of his prominence and the public sentiment and profile, became known forever as Lou Gehrig's disease. It is still with us. It still is as virulent and deadly as it was in his time. I have come to know a number of people who have suffered from that disease. Recently, just a few months ago, my dear friend Gary LaPaille, who was the State chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party when I ran for the U.S. Senate and who was a strong supporter, passed away from ALS. A great friend of mine, Bill Brandt, who lives in the suburbs of Chicago, is now battling it. This morning, I had a visit in my office from Brian Wallach. Brian Wallach and his wife Sandra have been dealing with the diagnosis of more than 6 years ago, of ALS. Brian is still with us, thank goodness, because of his determination and the determination of his family. Brian is an unusual and extraordinary person. He was working in the Obama White House with Sandra when they decided to marry. He is an exceptional, talented individual, as is his wife Sandra, who served as my communications director for many years. When the diagnosis was handed down, it was a few days before they brought home their baby from the hospital--a little girl--6 years ago, but they were determined that Brian was going to see as much of her life as possible even though he had been diagnosed with ALS. So they created an organization known as I AM ALS and set out with an agenda to beat the disease. Brian has been an amazing fighter in dealing with that disease and in trying to find ways to cure himself but, basically, to cure others who might be diagnosed in the years to come. Their focus is on many different areas, but primarily it is on medical research. What they have achieved when it comes to medical research--just the two of them with their organization and many supporters across the United States-- is nothing short of remarkable. For example, after a 5-year period in which no new ALS drugs were approved, the FDA approved two new drugs over the past year, and there is another one that I understand was announced just a few days ago. They were pushing for research to find ways to treat ALS successfully. The reason I tell that story--and the fact that Brian was just in my office is fresh in my mind--is I hear the debate on the floor of the U.S. Senate about our Federal budget. Part of our Federal budget--an important part of our Federal budget--is the budget for the National Institutes of Health. This is the premier medical research Agency in the world--in the world. I am proud of the fact that it is in the United States and that every day it is responsible for dramatic breakthroughs against diseases and illnesses all across the spectrum and all across the United States and benefits to the world. Their discovery of new drugs for ALS is just one indication of the good work that they do. For instance, Collins was the head of the NIH for many years under Presidents of both political parties. He is so good--and I am glad he is still working with the Biden administration--he is so good that Presidents--conservative, moderate, liberal; all of them--wanted Francis Collins to head up the National Institutes of Health, which he did remarkably. He was part of the team that discovered the human genome, which literally changed overnight the way we approach medicine in the United States and around the world. I met with Dr. Collins a few years back and said: I would like to help you at the NIH. I think your work is one of the most important assignments in the Federal Government. What can I do? He said: Senator, if you could give me 5 percent real growth in NIH budgeting each year, my researchers will continue their inspiring work to find cures and find new drugs that will make a difference in the lives of millions of people. I set out to do that with the cooperation and help of Roy Blunt, a Republican; with Lamar Alexander, a Republican; and with Patty Murray, who has just been our North Star when it comes to medical research. We said: Let's try to achieve the goal of 5 percent real growth each year with the National Institutes of Health. We were lucky in the last 10 years to do it six or seven times. The question is, Will we be able to do it in next year's budget? Sadly, the budget proposed by the Republicans in the House of Representatives devastates the National Institutes of Health's budget-- at least a 20- to 25-percent cut in the amount of money on medical research. What impact does that have? Well, I can tell you it has a direct impact on lessening the number of grants that are awarded each year for medical research, but, secondarily, it sends a message to the researchers who are working so hard across the United States that they can't depend on us in Congress to fund their needed research in the years to come. That will discourage some, and some will walk away from a lot of research that could be very promising. And to do that in the name of helping America is just plain foolish. In fact, it is offensive. I would like to say to Speaker McCarthy and those who are endorsing his budget: Stop for a minute and consider the impact of what you are doing. There are people and families all across America who are counting on medical research for someone they love, and that research is coming through in remarkable ways, unprecedented around the world. To think that we would cut the medical research budget of the United States by 25 percent and to argue that that is in the best interest of our country is madness, and it is political selfishness. I would just plead with my friends on the other side of the aisle: At the end of this debate on the budget, don't let medical research be one of the casualties. There are so many important areas I can add to that list of things that are critical for the future of America, but I wanted to speak to medical research this morning because Brian Wallach was a visitor in my office, and he reminded me that the determination of Brian and his wife Sandra and many people just like them to push for medical research is literally making a difference so that Lou Gehrig's disease will one day be a disease of the past that we will have conquered.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) and the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand) and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, for the past 2 years, we have made historic, steady progress to strengthen the American economy. Under President Biden's leadership, we have successfully navigated one challenge after another, from the COVID pandemic to Putin's invasion of Ukraine, to supply chain snarls and persistent inflation. While America's economy has remained resilient in the face of these challenges, it is not invincible. We received a reminder of that just a few days ago when financial regulators took swift action to prevent a catastrophe. Over the weekend, Federal regulators seized a major bank that was teetering on the brink of collapse, First Republic, and sold it to JPMorgan Chase. These actions not only protected First Republic's depositors, they could have saved our economy from potential recession. Why do I say that? Well, First Republic was the third major bank to fail in 2 months. In fact, it was the second largest bank failure since 2008. So think about what could have happened had regulators failed to contain the damage from First Republic's collapse. Today, we would be reading headlines about panicking investors, panicking depositors, and turmoil throughout the financial system. Thankfully, we avoided that outcome. It is because the Government had the good sense to step in and maintain confidence in the banking system. Now, Federal regulators stepped in to protect our economy when the crisis at hand was a bank with $229 billion in assets, but that $229 billion bank asset pales in comparison to a much larger undertaking we are facing in Washington today--the future of America's $23 trillion economy. Right now, in the U.S. House of Representatives, Speaker McCarthy is threatening our economy with the first-ever Federal debt default, the first time ever in our history. Let's put Speaker McCarthy's dangerous gamble in context. Just days ago, some of the smartest financial minds in the world were convinced that a $229 billion bank could be the difference between financial stability and financial calamity. Well, that $229 billion is a tiny fraction of the $23 trillion economy that Speaker McCarthy is gambling with. We are only weeks away from the deadline of June 1. That is when Secretary Yellen says America could default on our Federal debt. So every day the House Republicans refuse to perform the most basic responsibility of government--paying our bills--they are spreading uncertainty throughout the global economy. That uncertainty is dangerous and costly. Over the past few years, our Nation has emerged from the depths of a once-in-a-century pandemic; we have navigated one market disruption after another; and, today, we are finally moving in the right direction. But now, Speaker McCarthy, in the House, wants to throw all of that historic progress away. Why? To please the most radical members of his party. The debt ceiling proposal House Republicans passed last week is not a budget; it is a MAGA manifesto. It is a ransom note to the American people: Either suffer the disastrous consequences of debt default or face devastating cuts in services and programs that millions of Americans rely on every day. I just left a hearing in the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. Appearing before that committee was the National Institutes of Health. This is the premier medical research Agency in the world. Of the 500-plus new prescription drugs, they are responsible for almost all of them in basic research. Just this week, we had a dramatic announcement in Chicago by Northwestern University in its doing medical research. And I am going to try to say this properly as a liberal arts-trained lawyer when I get into medicine and science. But they have finally found a way to successfully breach the blood-brain barrier. What does it mean? We had two of our most famous Senators in modern times--Ted Kennedy and John McCain--both pass away because of glioblastoma--brain cancer. The Presiding Officer understands that personally more than any other Member of this body. We watched as they went through surgery, which was the only technique that could be used on this brain cancer, in an attempt to remove the tumor and all of the cancer cells. Well, naturally and unfortunately, that process is not as good as it should be. Tumor brain cells remained and, ultimately, took their lives. Well, now these doctors at Northwestern have found a way to breach this blood-brain barrier so that they can apply chemotherapy drugs to the brain directly. It is a dramatic development that could have applications as well when it comes to Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. That was discovered this week because of an NIH grant, a National Institutes of Health grant--millions of dollars to these researchers that could transform the way we treat brain cancer in America as well as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. So what does Speaker McCarthy want to do with the budget of this Agency, the National Institutes of Health? He wants to cut it by 20 to 25 percent. That is an outrage to think that we would forestall the research that could save lives and alleviate suffering across America and the fact that our leadership and the world of medical research would be jeopardized because of gamesmanship by Speaker McCarthy on the issue of the debt ceiling. His proposal for a budget--if you want to call it that--is a MAGA manifesto. They don't care. They are determined to preserve the Trump tax cuts at any expense. When you look at cutting 20 to 25 percent from medical research, it is true that they will go to the extreme. What would debt default look like? Well, it would wipe out also trillions of dollars in savings of families across America, and the 401(k)s would take a beating. It would kill millions of jobs and force businesses to grind to a halt, and it would send our economy into a recession. Does Speaker McCarthy believe that any of us were sent to Washington to achieve that goal? Defaulting would send interest rates soaring, making costly credit cards and mortgages even more expensive. It is a nonstarter, but so is accepting any of the destructive cuts that I have described. Their MAGA manifesto would cause needless suffering all across America. It would hurt virtually everybody in this Nation except the top 1 percent, which would have their Trump tax cuts preserved. To start, this Republican bill would decimate funding for America's veterans--eliminating 80,000 jobs in the Veterans Health Administration--and threaten housing and food security for them as well. This proposal would also wipe out 30,000 law enforcement and Border Patrol jobs. Next week, we have got a watershed event occurring on the border. I am sure the Presiding Officer is aware of it as he represents the State of New Mexico. The question is, What is going to happen when we eliminate title 42? Are we going to have an onslaught of thousands of people seeking asylum in this country, and are we ready for them? I have heard many Members of the Senate from the other side of the aisle suggest they are unhappy with the situation. I am, too, but we need to respond to it in an orderly, direct fashion. Defunding Border Patrol agents is a ridiculous outcome, and to think that Speaker McCarthy would defund Border Patrol agents in this country at this moment in history is just nonsensical. I would just say that, when it comes to the defunding of the police and Border Patrol agents, it is a bad idea even if it comes from the Republican Speaker. If this proposal became law, I might add--the proposal by Speaker McCarthy for his budget--we would also cut 1 million senior citizens' Meals on Wheels. What does this program do? For many of our elderly citizens, particularly those who are in a compromised medical state, this is the only social contact they have each day--perhaps with the mailman as well. That is it. To eliminate this Meals on Wheels in order to preserve the tax cuts from the Trump administration is just unfair. Let me tell you what the cuts would mean in my State of Illinois. The Republican proposal would force 13,000 children in our State to lose childcare and preschool. It would strip food assistance from 55,000 women, infants, and children. Does that make any sense at all? It would threaten the medical care for more than 186,000 veterans in Illinois, and 50,000 seniors would lose their Meals on Wheels in my State. Yesterday, my office heard from the Greater Chicago Food Depository-- a food bank that is one of the best. It provides meals to seniors and families. Here is what one of their staff members said: These proposed cuts are coming at a time when the need we're seeing in the community is as high as it was during the beginning days of COVID. Families are really struggling. These are the families who Speaker McCarthy would abandon with his MAGA manifesto. And for what purpose is he doing this? I will tell you--to keep tax cuts for the wealthiest people and the most profitable corporations in place--another windfall for the well-off. We can and should debate our spending practices for the year to come, but this is not it. This is not the place to do it, and this is not the time to do it with the debt ceiling looming. Right now, we have one responsibility--to maintain the reputation of the United States of America in upholding the full faith and credit of standing behind our debts and making our payments. That is our constitutional duty. The path forward is clear. We need a clean bill for the debt ceiling, and then we can debate the issue of the budget and appropriations. I yield the floor.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) 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. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Judge LaShonda Hunt to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Born in Mississippi and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Judge Hunt received her bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. After working as a staff attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Judge Hunt clerked for Judge William J. Hibbler on the Northern District of Illinois. Immediately following her clerkship, Judge Hunt worked for 2 years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois. In 2010, she returned to this role and served for another 5 years. As a Federal prosecutor, she handled cases involving employment discrimination, civil rights violations, healthcare fraud, and more. After leaving the U.S. Attorney's Office, Judge Hunt worked for the State of Illinois in the Department of Corrections and the Department of Central Management Services. In 2017, the Seventh Circuit appointed Judge Hunt to serve as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. She has presided over approximately 22,000 bankruptcy cases and adversary proceedings, about 75 of which have gone to verdict or judgement. The American Bar Association rated Judge Hunt ``well qualified,'' and she received a strong bipartisan vote in committee. Given her extensive experience, dedication to public service and deep knowledge of the Northern District of Illinois, Senator Duckworth and I strongly support Judge Hunt. I am honored to vote for her confirmation, and I urge my colleagues join me.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, yesterday the Senate confirmed Judge Wesley Hsu to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Born in St. Louis, MO, Judge Hsu received both his bachelor's degree and J.D. from Yale University. Judge Hsu began his career in private practice as an associate and contract attorney at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, where he worked on a range of intellectual property matters. After working in private practice, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the same district to which he is now nominated. In this role, he gained significant litigation experience in both criminal and civil proceedings. During his time at the Department of Justice, Judge Hsu successfully prosecuted a defendant who trafficked computer networking equipment, which the Department named as one of its most significant intellectual property operations to date. In 2017, Judge Hsu was appointed as a Superior Court Judge for the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Since his appointment, he has presided over more than 200 criminal and civil cases that have gone to verdict or judgment. The American Bar Association rated Judge Hsu unanimously ``well qualified,'' and he has the strong support of Senators Feinstein and Padilla. Judge Hsu's deep ties to the California legal community, combined with his significant courtroom experience, will make him an excellent addition to the Federal bench. I thank my colleagues for confirming his nomination.

Mr. DURBIN

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

Mr. DURBIN

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

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) and the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the National Institutes of Health here in the Washington, DC, area is the leading health research Agency in the world--in the world. And we are very proud of that fact. One of the leaders of the NIH, through Presidents of both political parties, was Dr. Francis Collins, who still is part of the Biden administration. But as head of NIH, he really brought the research capacity of that Agency to a historic high. I visited him about 6 years ago and said: What can I do as a Member of the Senate to help you when it comes to medical research? He said: Well, the researchers that we count on to come through with the breakthroughs in medical research are never sure what Congress is going to do. Are you going to fund us this year as much money as last year or are you going to cut our budgets? Some of the researchers give up even on promising projects because they are uncertain about the future. He said: The best thing you can do, Senator, is to get 5 percent real growth in the spending at the National Institutes of Health year in and year out. I said: Dr. Collins, I will take you up on that. I came back here to the Senate and discovered that the person I needed to win to my point of view on this was Republican Senator Roy Blunt from Missouri. He chaired the Appropriations subcommittee, which funded that Agency. So I went to Roy, and I said: Here is what Dr. Collins said. We all respect him. For a man who discovered the human genome, we should respect him. He thinks 5 percent real growth can make a difference. Roy Blunt, Republican, said: I need to have Lamar Alexander and another Republican Senator on my side, and you need to make sure Patty Murray is on your side. I said: I am sure she is, but I will double check. So we put together a team of four of us--two Democrats, two Republicans--and we did it--5 percent real growth in the budget of NIH--about 6 years ago. The response was positive across the Nation. Researchers said: If this is going to be the future, we are going to stick with our research to see what we can find to help people alleviate suffering. So our team put together an effort that raised the annual budget of the National Institutes of Health from $30 billion to $40 billion. It was a bipartisan effort and a good effort. Luckily, some of the research that they had undertaken was of practical value to families across America during the coronavirus epidemic. So we felt pretty good about it.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today the Senate will vote to confirm Orelia Merchant to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Ms. Merchant received her B.S. from Dillard University, an M.A. from the College of William and Mary, and her J.D. from Tulane University Law School. She began her legal career as assistant regional counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Ms. Merchant then served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Louisiana before transferring to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. She spent 17 years in the civil division of the U.S. Attorney's Office, handling matters involving asset forfeiture and various forms of fraud including environmental, healthcare, and mortgage fraud. Since 2019, Ms. Merchant has worked in the New York Attorney General's Office as chief deputy Attorney General for State counsel. In this role, she manages 250 attorneys and oversees more than 8,000 active cases, including prosecution and defense actions in State and Federal court on behalf of State officials, the State legislature, and State agencies. Nearly the entirety of Ms. Merchant's practice has involved litigation and the vast majority of her experience has been in Federal court. She is a seasoned litigator whose expertise will be an asset to the Eastern District of New York. The American Bar Association has rated Ms. Merchant as ``qualified,'' and she has the strong support of Senators Schumer and Gillibrand. I will be supporting her nomination, and I urge my colleagues to do so as well.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) and the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

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

Mr. DURBIN

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