Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate consider the following nomination: Calendar No. 650, Martha Williams, of Montana, to be Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; 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 with no intervening action or debate; that any statements related to the nomination be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate resume legislative session.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, just a word, this was a very significant resolution that we passed. It was led by Senator Shaheen and Portman and sends a very strong message to Mr. Putin that the U.S. Senate, Democrats and Republicans of all different ideologies, are united in defending Ukraine in the ways that the administration sees fit.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. SCHUMER. I know of no further debate on the resolution.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to recess subject to the call of the Chair.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nominations: Calendar Nos. 114, 744 to 759, and that all nominations on the Secretary's desk in the Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps; 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. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations en bloc: Executive Calendar Nos. 590, 605, 710, 711, 712, 713, 723, 724, and PN 790; that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc without intervening action or debate; the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 273, H.R. 3076.

Mr. SCHUMER. Finally, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, February 17, be waived.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I withdraw the motion to proceed.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. 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 for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, it has been a busy and productive work period in the Senate. First, the good news is that we have kept the government open. It took some work, especially when the Senate rules lend themselves to delay and obstruction. Still, I thank Senators Leahy and Shelby, as well as Leader McConnell, for helping us get this done. To have allowed the government to close would have caused undue hardship for millions of blameless Americans. We have gotten other things done, too, in this work period. We passed forced arbitration reform, made progress to fix our post office, and confirmed more of the President's nominees.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for votes be as follows--Lee, Cruz, and Braun--and that upon the disposition of the Braun amendment, the Senate vote on the passage of the bill, with all other provisions of the previous order remaining in effect.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Finally, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:30 a.m., on Thursday, February 17; that following the prayer and the 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 resume consideration of the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 267, H.R. 6617, the continuing resolution; that at 1 p.m., the cloture motion ripen.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I thank the majority whip. Thank you for your good work as chair of the Judiciary and for your talk on this issue. I thank my colleague from Minnesota, who has been passionate about getting this done as well. I rise today to join with my Democratic colleagues in support of these U.S. attorneys and marshals who have singlehandedly been delayed for weeks by one Senator, the junior Senator from Arkansas. For decades--decades--Democrats and Republicans have regularly cooperated to swiftly confirm the many, many individuals selected by each President to serve in their administration. Regardless of the party in the White House, both sides have long agreed that a President deserves to have his or her administration in place quickly. That doesn't mean we don't disagree, but it does mean that when nominees are held up, opposed, or blocked, it is for a legitimate purpose, not for leverage and partisan games to score political points at the expense of public safety. Most of us still believe in that principle but, sadly, not all of us. On the other side of the aisle, a small group of obstructionist Republicans has spent the last year hijacking the rules of the Senate to place an unprecedented number of holds on hundreds--hundreds--of Presidential appointees. Let me repeat. This isn't about a few nominees here and there; we are talking about hundreds of nominees. In this case, my colleague from Arkansas is holding back six U.S. attorneys and two U.S. marshals--vital roles in preserving public safety. The level of partisan obstruction is a new low for the Senate. When President Trump was in office, every single U.S. attorney and U.S. marshal--every single one--was confirmed by this Chamber with unanimous consent. Yes, we had deep, deep problems with the Trump Department of Justice, but never did we demand a rollcall vote just to confirm nominees like these. In fact, the last time the Senate had to hold a rollcall vote--listen to this--the last time the Senate had to hold a rollcall vote to confirm a U.S. attorney was a half a century ago--nearly half a century ago--in 1975, and it is not hard to see why. U.S. attorneys and marshals aren't political positions. Their job is literally to keep Americans safe. They are Federal prosecutors, and they are Federal law enforcement. If my Republican colleagues on the other side truly care about public safety, why are they obstructing the appointments of individuals whose jobs would precisely be to maintain public safety in the first place? It is ``Alice in Wonderland'' logic. Now, this isn't just about breaking precedent. Right now, communities across the country still don't have their U.S. attorneys on the job because of obstruction here in the Senate. Districts in Georgia, Ohio, Nevada, Minnesota, Michigan, and Illinois are all still waiting for U.S. attorneys. Sadly, the families who live in these communities shouldn't have to pay the price for what a very small number of Republicans are doing here, but, sadly, that is what is happening. It is a textbook example of why Americans are frustrated with the Senate and are frustrated with their government. On the other hand, I want to thank my Democratic colleagues for advocating on behalf of the U.S. attorneys and marshals. I thank my friend Senator Durbin, chairman of the Judiciary, for speaking passionately. I thank Senator Klobuchar for coming to the floor to speak. I thank Senators Rosen and Cortez Masto and Duckworth and Brown, who have also spoken. One way or another, these nominees will be confirmed by the Senate. Republican obstructionists can try to delay, but they cannot stop these individuals from ultimately going through. If the holds on these nominees are not dropped, I will be filing cloture on them, and we will schedule votes to advance them until the job is finished. If that means more late nights, then more late nights are coming. If it means vote series with six or seven or eight votes in a row, then that is what we will do. Most of us don't want to go down that road, and we don't have to. The overwhelming majority of Democrats and Republicans want to preserve the decades of precedent and comity that has enabled us to work together on nominees. So let me say for one last time, delaying the appointment of U.S. attorneys and U.S. marshals over cheap partisan games ultimately makes Americans less safe and weakens law enforcement. I urge my Republican colleague to drop his obstruction or else he can explain to his colleagues why we have to schedule a dizzyingly large number of rollcall votes just to push these nominees through. I thank my colleagues for their work and yield to Senator Durbin.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, over the last 12 months, the economy has rebounded at levels that we have not seen in decades--a 5.7-percent GDP growth rate and 6.6 million new jobs. This is the fastest our economy has grown since, perhaps, 1984, and the new jobs we added to the economy were the most ever for a President's first year. After former President Trump botched our national response to COVID, America is now on the right track under President Biden, but we face serious challenges that demand action from Congress. The cost of living has come up for families across the country and around the world. The destruction unleashed by COVID has decimated supply chains, strained the labor supply, and the effects of a global pandemic that began 2 years ago still reverberate today. These challenges demand action, and Democrats remain laser-focused on lowering costs for American families. Yesterday, our caucus met for our weekly lunch, where we held a spirited, enthusiastic discussion about ideas from our Members of how we can lower costs and take action to do so. We talked about how we can continue working to lower childcare costs, prescription drug costs, the costs of semiconductors, which is a huge driver of price increases across a wide variety of products, and things as basic and vital as the cost of food and meat. Lowering costs will continue to be a caucuswide effort. We are not going to agree on everything, but we are all on the same page in that we need to tackle the issue head on. That is the difference between Democrats and Republicans. Rising costs, of course, impact all of us, whether we come from blue or red States, but Democrats are the ones laser-focused on showing where we stand and in offering solutions that aim squarely at the problem. Republicans seem to have no solutions, just rhetoric. The other side, sadly, seems, oftentimes, motivated by something else. Rather than working with us in a bipartisan spirit, our Republican colleagues seem more comfortable giving speeches that go on and on about rising costs without offering any solutions. Complaining about the problem doesn't make inflation better--proposing solutions does--and that is precisely what Democrats will continue focusing on. Over the next month and beyond, Members from our side will continue offering a number of solutions--solutions--that will lower costs and leave more money in people's pockets. We need to help working families build wealth after the pandemic. We need to lower the costs of medications like insulin, which can still reach $600 a month. We need to relieve our strained supply chains and increase domestic manufacturing on things like chips--and on that front, I am hopeful that we can take bipartisan action soon. Our Republican colleagues, we hope, will join us in these efforts. Our Members would welcome it. We have come a long way from the start of COVID, but we still have more to do. Democrats' goals are to make sure that the job creation and wage increases of last year carry into this year. We are going to keep working on that this spring, and I hope to see our colleagues from the other side work with us to improve the lives of the American people. If we can keep wages growing and get costs down, the average American will have more money in his or her pocket to live a better life.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the first criminal trial arising out of the events of January 6, 2021, is scheduled to begin on February 28, 2022, in Federal district court in the District of Columbia. The Federal indictment charges the defendant with five felony counts for obstructing the counting by Congress of the electoral ballots for President and Vice President, transporting a firearm for unlawful use in furtherance of a civil disorder, using and carrying a firearm in a restricted area on the Capitol grounds, obstructing the Capitol Police during a civil disorder, and obstructing justice based on statements the defendant made to his children in reference to these matters. The government has requested trial testimony from Daniel Schwager, formerly counsel to the Secretary of the Senate, related to the obstruction count, including his knowledge and observations of the process and constitutional and legal bases for Congress' certification of the Electoral College vote. The Secretary of the Senate would like to cooperate with this request by providing relevant testimony from Mr. Schwager at this trial. In keeping with the rules and practices of the Senate, this resolution would authorize the production of relevant testimony from Mr. Schwager, with representation by the Senate legal counsel.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions introduced earlier today: S. Res. 515, S. Res. 516, S. Res. 517.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills en bloc: Calendar No. 163, H.R. 2044; Calendar No. 164, H.R. 3419; Calendar No. 188, H.R. 3210; and Calendar No. 262, H.R. 960.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I have 7 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: committee on armed services The Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing on nominations. committee on banking, housing, and urban affairs The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing. committee on banking, housing, and urban affairs The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is authorized to meet in executive session during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, to vote on nominations. committee on finance The Committee on Finance is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing. committee on health, education, labor, and pensions The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing. committee on small business and entrepreneurship The Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a business meeting. select committee on intelligence The Select Committee on Intelligence is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a closed briefing.