Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 1033.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER. Finally, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call for the cloture motion filed today, September 8, be waived.

Mr. SCHUMER. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the Republican leader, the Senate proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 1096, David Pekoske to be Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration; that there be 10 minutes equally divided in the usual form on the nomination; that upon the use or yielding back of the time, the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; that any statements related to the nomination be printed in the Record; and that the President be immediately notified Senate's action and the Senate resume legislative session.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, today, we take a solemn and somber pause. A few minutes ago, we learned the sad news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning Monarch in British history. I join with Leader McConnell, with my Senate colleagues, and with all Americans to offer deepest sympathies and prayers to the royal family and to the people of the United Kingdom. I never had the honor of meeting Her Majesty the Queen myself, but I admired much about her until the very end. It is hard to fathom that today we have to say goodbye because, after all, most Americans--to say nothing of the British people--have never lived in a world without Her Majesty the Queen. It is a marvel to think that in the same year of Her Majesty's coronation, Harry Truman was in the White House. The world was still coming out of the shadow of the Second World War, entering a bold, uncertain, unchartered future. In her time, she came to know 15 different Prime Ministers, 14 U.S. Presidents, traveled to well over 100 countries, and made over 200 official state visits. She was the first British Monarch ever to address a joint session of Congress. And thanks to her, the special relationship between the United States and the UK gained even more special significance. Her reign saw the dawn of the atomic age, the age of the internet, the fall of the Soviet Union, an unprecedented global pandemic. She didn't just witness the great turns of history; she helped shape them over the seven decades--seven decades--of her reign. And every step of the way, she was precisely the kind of leader the moment demanded. In times of hardship, she was both strong and comforting. In times of joy, she was gracious and dignified. She was a rock, the living embodiment of the virtues that lie at the core of the nation she so proudly led. I dare say we will never see a leader quite like her for as long as we live. So, today, we join the people of the UK and the royal family in mourning the loss of Her Majesty the Queen. May she rest in peace.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all postcloture time on the Mendoza nomination be considered expired; that the Senate vote on the confirmation of the nomination at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, September 12; and that following the disposition of the Mendoza nomination, the Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Freeman nomination.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nominations en bloc: Calendar Nos. 727, 858, 1110, 1134; that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc without intervening action or debate; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 478, S. 1198.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute be agreed to.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3 p.m. on Monday, September 12; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Montecalvo nomination; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during Monday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order, following the remarks of Senator McConnell.

Mr. SCHUMER. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 8656, which was received from the House and is at the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, our democracy cannot hope to hang together for very long without a trusted, balanced, and fairminded Judiciary. As we have seen in stark and frightful ways in recent months, the men and women who preside from the bench hold immense power over our Nation's destiny and over our people's liberties. When it comes to nominating people to the bench, it is imperative that we get it right. So, today, the Senate will continue its duty to advance President Biden's highly qualified, highly diverse, and highly accomplished judicial nominees. We will begin this afternoon by voting on the confirmation of Judge John Lee to serve as circuit judge for the Seventh Circuit. If confirmed, Judge Lee will make history as the first Asian American ever to preside on the Seventh Circuit, joining the proud company of other Biden nominees who are making our courts more reflective of our country. I expect Judge Lee to receive bipartisan support and his record certainly merits it. He has already been confirmed by this Chamber when appointed to serve as district judge roughly a decade ago. Over the course of his tenure, Judge Lee has authored over 800 opinions, while being reversed only 11 times. Later today, the Senate will vote to advance the nomination of another outstanding individual, Andre Mathis, to serve as circuit judge for the Sixth Circuit. Mr. Mathis would be the first Black man confirmed to the Sixth Circuit in nearly a quarter of a century and the first to hail from Tennessee. Growing up, Mr. Mathis knew what it was like to go days without food, water, or heating, and yet, despite immense adversity, he was the first in his family to attend college and graduate from law school with honors. He spent over 15 years in private practice and has an extensive pro bono record. If confirmed, I am confident Mr. Mathis would make an excellent circuit court judge. Confirming judges will continue to be a very top priority for the Senate in the days and weeks and months to come. Last night, I filed cloture on two additional circuit nominees which Members can expect to begin voting on as soon as Thursday. Now, I want to take a moment--a moment--to emphasize how far Senate Democrats have come in keeping our promise to bring balance back to the Federal bench, which under President Trump skewed dramatically to the hard right. To date, Senate Democrats have confirmed 76 Federal judges, far more than the number confirmed at this point in President Trump's Presidency. In fact, we have confirmed more judges than either President Trump or President Obama did this far into their administrations. In a dramatic break from the past, 75 percent of these nominees have been women, half of them women of color. That is a figure, I dare say, that has never been seen before when it comes to judicial nominees. We are going to continue prioritizing judges moving forward. We cannot let the judiciary succumb to the hard right because, as we have seen, the consequences are devastating to the American people.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, September 6, be waived.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar No. 1043.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I would like to welcome you and all of my colleagues back from the August work period. I hope everyone had the chance to travel across their States, meet with their constituents, listen to their concerns, and share all the major accomplishments the Senate secured over the last few months. Indeed, the Senate gavels back into session after a season of immense productivity. When Democrats assumed the majority in 2021, I promised we would leave no stone unturned in tackling the biggest challenges facing our country. Twenty months later, Democrats have delivered on our promises. We promised to lower costs for the American people in the wake of crippling inflation; so we passed the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce energy costs, reduce healthcare costs, and expand tax breaks for working and middle Americans. We also promised to take on Big Pharma and lower prescription drug costs, so we passed historic legislation to lower insulin costs for seniors on Medicare, cap out-of-pocket expenses, and empowered Medicare to finally be able to negotiate drug prices--this for the first time ever; long sought after by many Congresses; accomplished by this one. We promised to take on entrenched oil interests and get tough on climate change, and so we passed the largest clean energy package ever--by a long margin, by the way. Thanks to our work, Americans will see their energy bills go down, their savings go up, all while we create millions of new, good-paying jobs and finally dealt with climate change in a very significant and real way. We also promised to bring manufacturing jobs back to America and get tough on adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party, so we passed the CHIPS and Science Act, the largest investment in manufacturing jobs and science research since the aftermath of World War II. Of course, we promised to take on the NRA, as the Presiding Officer well knows, and protect our kids from gun violence, so we passed the first gun safety bill since the Brady law 30 years ago, which I was proud to author when I was a Member of Congress. Now, none of these accomplishments were easy. They demanded immense patience and persistence above all. But for anyone who thought Washington was broken and couldn't do big things, this Democratic majority has shown that real change is possible. The results speak for themselves. Jobs across the country remain up. Americans are going back to work. Our supply chains are healing. In fact, freight rates on ocean trade channels have dropped by 60 percent since January. As gas prices continue their 2-month drop, we are seeing evidence that inflation might be starting to ease up. Of course, the work isn't done. As we begin this short work period, we have several high-priority items that demand our immediate attention. Before this work period concludes, the Senate must come together to pass a continuing resolution to extend government funding beyond the September 30 deadline. Last week, the administration sent us a request for a number of funding items they would like us to work on--aid to Ukraine, pandemic relief, and other items. This process, of course, needs to be bipartisan. Democrats are going to work in good faith to avoid even a hint of a shutdown, and it is my expectation that our Republican colleagues will do the same. We will also work this month to confirm even more of President Biden's judicial nominees. Later today, the Senate is scheduled to vote to advance the nomination of Judge John Lee to serve as a circuit court judge for the Seventh Circuit. If confirmed, Judge Lee would make history as the first Asian-American judge to sit on the Seventh Circuit, joining the proud company of other Biden nominees who are making our courts fairer and more representative of our great country. A graduate of Harvard and Harvard Law School, Judge Lee was unanimously confirmed by this Chamber a decade ago to serve as a district judge. In his time on the bench, he has proven himself to be impartial, fairminded, and committed to the rule of law. Judge Lee will be the first of many judicial nominees whom we will advance this month and beyond because now more than ever, the Senate must make judicial confirmations a top priority. We have a lot of work to do in the Senate to keep improving the lives of the American people, so in the coming weeks, let us continue with the same vigor, the same determination, the same persistence that has made this one of the most productive Senate sessions the Senate has seen in a long, long time.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 986.