[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 118 (Tuesday, July 11, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S2292]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Business before the Senate

  Mr. President, now, on Senate business, today the Senate will 
continue working to confirm two district judges and two Executive 
nominations. Last night, I filed cloture on four additional 
nominations: another circuit court judge, another district judge, a 
Commissioner of the EEOC, and an EPA Assistant Administrator. This sets 
up a busy rest of the week here on the Senate floor.
  And at the same time, the Senate will continue to move forward on the 
annual National Defense Authorization Act, known as the NDAA. Passing 
the NDAA is important for many reasons: to strengthen our defense and 
keep our country safe, to outcompete the Chinese Government, and to 
give our troops well-deserved pay raises.
  The NDAA has routinely been a bipartisan effort, with both sides 
working in good faith, and that has been the case so far this year too.
  I want to thank Chairman Reed and Ranking Member Wicker for moving 
the NDAA through committee quickly on the bipartisan cooperation. As we 
turn to the NDAA, I am hopeful we can come together here in the Senate 
on legislation related to our ongoing competition with the Chinese 
Government, on artificial intelligence, and perhaps some other 
important issues.
  I hope we can see that bipartisanship continues here on the floor and 
that we can pass the bill quickly without being dilatory. The House is 
having a whole lot of trouble moving on this must needed legislation, 
something I believe we can and should avoid in the Senate.
  Finally, as Americans' faith in the Judiciary is at an alltime low, 
thanks to the MAGA-majority Supreme Court, Senate Democrats will 
continue to move forward on legislation to restore trust in our Court. 
Supreme Court Justices should not be accepting lavish gifts and 
vacations from billionaire MAGA extremists who bankroll hard-right 
causes and taint our judicial system by bringing those same cases 
before the same judges.
  The highest Court in the land must be held to equally high ethical 
standards. I support the efforts of Chairman Durbin and the Judiciary 
Committee to advance ethics reform in committee, and I hope we can move 
on such legislation in this Chamber.