[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 14 (Thursday, January 25, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S262-S266]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             CLOTURE MOTION

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before 
the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will state.
  The assistant bill clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination 
     of Executive Calendar No. 459, Joshua Paul Kolar, of Indiana, 
     to be United States Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit.
         Charles E. Schumer, Richard J. Durbin, Angus S. King, 
           Jr., Margaret Wood Hassan, Peter Welch, Mazie K. 
           Hirono, Alex Padilla, Jeanne Shaheen, Jack Reed, Robert 
           P. Casey, Jr., Chris Van Hollen, Richard Blumenthal, 
           Gary C. Peters, Raphael G. Warnock, Christopher A. 
           Coons, Jeff Merkley, Christopher Murphy.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum 
call has been waived.
  The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the 
nomination of Joshua Paul Kolar, of Indiana, to be United States 
Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit, shall be brought to a close?
  The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant executive clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin), 
the Senator from Minnesota (Ms. Klobuchar), and the Senator from 
Minnesota (Ms. Smith) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Wyoming (Mr. Barrasso) and the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Marshall).
  Further, if present and voting: the Senator from Kansas (Mr. 
Marshall) would have voted ``nay.''
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 66, nays 29, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 24 Ex.]

                                YEAS--66

     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Braun
     Brown
     Butler
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Coons
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Cramer
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Ernst
     Fetterman
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hickenlooper
     Hirono
     Kaine
     Kelly
     Kennedy
     King
     Lujan
     Manchin
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Moran
     Mullin
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Ossoff
     Padilla
     Peters
     Reed
     Romney
     Rosen
     Rounds
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Sinema
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warnock
     Warren
     Welch
     Whitehouse
     Wyden
     Young

                                NAYS--29

     Blackburn
     Boozman
     Britt
     Budd
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Fischer
     Hagerty
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Johnson
     Lankford
     Lee
     Lummis
     McConnell
     Paul
     Ricketts
     Risch
     Rubio
     Schmitt
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Sullivan
     Tuberville
     Vance
     Wicker

                             NOT VOTING--5

     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Klobuchar
     Marshall
     Smith
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Butler). On this vote, the yeas are 66, 
the nays are 29.
  The motion is agreed to.
  The Senator from Maryland.


                                Ukraine

  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, as the chair of the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee, I come to the floor to advise our colleagues about 
the urgency for us to take up and pass the supplemental appropriations 
bill that contains many important provisions, but I am going to start 
with the most urgent, and that is providing assistance to Ukraine to 
defend itself from the brutal attack by the Russian Federation.
  Vladimir Putin could change the equation in Ukraine in a matter of 
weeks. His tanks could be rolling through Ukraine. His forces could be 
arresting Zelenskyy and his Cabinet. The Russian flag could be flying 
over Ukraine's capital. This could happen in a matter of weeks if the 
United States does not act.
  A few days ago, I was in the White House for a meeting about this. 
President Biden could not have been clearer: We are out of money to 
support Ukraine in this fight. Think about how that sounds to the 
Ukrainians fighting on the frontlines.
  One Ukrainian soldier said:

       The guys are tired, very tired. They are still motivated, 
     many people understand that they have no other choice. But 
     you can't win a war only on motivation.

  Ukrainian soldiers have had to ration artillery shells. One unit had 
to go from firing as many as 90 shells a day to just 10 to 20 shells a 
day.
  Mr. Putin has made it clear. He is investing in a long war. The New 
York Times reported:

       Nearly a third of the country's spending next year--roughly 
     $109 billion--will be devoted to ``national defense,'' 
     according to a budget he signed into law.

  Russian TV commentators are celebrating our gridlock. As one European 
Ambassador reportedly said, he can ``hear those champagne bottle corks 
popping in Moscow.''
  President Putin knows that if Congress does not act, he will be able 
to break Ukraine. If he succeeds, he will be signaling to the world 
that he can invade his neighbors whenever he wants to, erase the nation 
of Ukraine and our allies in Europe, in the Middle East, in Africa, and 
in Asia, and we are ourselves, the United States, will be in greater 
danger.
  A group of NATO parliamentarians was in Washington last week, 
concerned about Congress's inability to pass the supplemental funding.
  One of my counterparts, the chair of the Lithuanian Foreign Affairs 
Committee, asked:

       Who is next? Balkans, Taiwan, Korea, the Baltics. . . . It 
     takes years to wake up Washington, so please guys, wake up.

  He is right. We need to wake up.
  If Putin wins in Ukraine, he will not stop there. That is why this 
isn't a choice between sending funding to Ukraine or not sending 
funding to Ukraine. The choice is between sending American dollars to 
fight Putin now or sending American soldiers to fight him later.
  If we want to preserve America's credibility with our allies, it is 
up to us. If we want to show our partners we will be there to help when 
times are tough, it is up to us. If we want to make sure the United 
States stands on the right side of history, it is up to us.
  Russia is one of our most dangerous adversaries and an enemy of 
democracy everywhere. This is money that will strengthen the United 
States' security.
  Ukraine needs money for air defenses, money for drones, money for 
arming the brave Ukrainians on the frontlines and, of course, direct 
budgetary support and humanitarian assistance.
  People around the world are depending on the United States for the 
humanitarian assistance in the supplemental funding request. Without 
money for food, children and mothers, from Africa to the Middle East to 
Eastern Europe, will go hungry.
  It is up to us. It is up to us.
  Finally, I want to underline that there is strong bipartisan 
agreement on the need to support Ukraine.
  We must not let this be the end of Ukraine. We must not give in to 
Russian aggression. We must not stand idly by as this dictator does 
what he likes to his neighbors. We must vote

[[Page S263]]

for the supplemental funding that supports Ukrainians' struggle for 
freedom. Time is running out. We need to act now.
  With that, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                        Tribute to Maria Downey

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Madam President, it is Thursday afternoon, and, as you 
know from presiding at this time frequently, it is my favorite time of 
the week because I get to come down to the Senate floor and talk about 
our Alaskan of the Week. This is somebody who is doing something great 
for our local communities, our State, maybe the country, maybe the 
world.
  I have been doing this for several years now, and it really helps 
highlight what makes Alaska, in my view, the greatest State in the 
greatest country in the world.
  I would like to talk about, at the beginning of this speech, a little 
about what is going on in Alaska. We have seen all the snowstorms 
across the country this week. Trust me, that is just another day in our 
State. I think by Christmas Eve this year in Anchorage, my hometown, we 
had close to 100 inches already of snow, so no worry about a white 
Christmas back home.
  It is actually a really beautiful time of the year--great to get 
outdoors. I have done some skiing already. People are out snow 
machining. If you are watching on TV or in the Gallery, come up to 
Alaska any time of the year. In winter, you can see the northern 
lights. In summer, you will have a great time fishing, hunting--
whatever you want to do. It is truly an incredible State. Year-round, 
we want people to visit--our great fellow Americans to come up. You 
will have a fantastic time.
  Now, it is not always the easiest place to live. It is far from the 
lower 48 here. The weather can be extreme. It can be pretty harsh. As a 
result, the people in the communities bond a lot. They have to. They 
work together, particularly in some of our most remote communities.
  Every community in Alaska--in America--needs to be able to share 
reliable, credible information. Local journalism across this great 
Nation of ours is vital--more vital, probably, in Alaska than any other 
State, I would say. It isn't talked about nearly enough how vital that 
local journalism is. We all benefit all across the country from 
thousands of local reporters who are working on stories day in and day 
out. That is certainly the case in Alaska. I believe that we should be 
saluting these frontline journalists--local journalists--for doing this 
important work a lot more here.
  What we are trying to do is do that today for one of the alltime 
best. Our local reporters in Alaska are so important. So what I would 
like to do today is introduce to the U.S. Senate and the American 
people a great Alaskan of the Week, Maria Downey--longtime Anchorage 
journalist, news anchor--who for more than 40 years has brought 
Alaska's news directly to our homes and kept us informed about our 
State, our communities, our country--with professionalism, sincerity, 
kindness, and grace.
  Let's talk about Maria Downey--Alaskan of the Week, Maria Downey. She 
moved to Alaska from Florida with her husband Ron in 1981. In 1981, a 
lot was going on in Alaska.The Trans-Alaska Pipeline--which, by the 
way, this body approved--was flowing.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  On page S263, January 25, 2024, in the second column, the 
following language appears: The Trans-Atlantic Pipeline--which, by 
the way, this body approved--was flowing.
  
  The online Record has been corrected to read: The Trans-Alaska 
Pipeline--which, by the way, this body approved--was flowing.


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 


Our country needed energy. We just had the Arab oil embargo. So Alaska 
 was booming. Almost 2 million barrels a day was flowing through taps, 
as we call it in Alaska. That is unbelievable. It is great for Alaska, 
  great for America. We need energy.Maria said about 1981:

       It was a great time to be a reporter because it was the 
     boom period. CNN or NBC, whatever the affiliates were at the 
     time, would not hesitate to spend the money to send you 
     places [during that time].

  Now, for a little context. Journalism in Alaska looks a little bit 
different than other parts of the country. There are a lot of things in 
Alaska that look different from the lower 48. A reporter, for example, 
may have to take a charter plane hundreds of miles--several hundreds of 
miles--just to reach some of our State's most rural communities. Of 
course, they are usually faced with weather challenges. They are 
getting into the nitty-gritty of small-town politics. You might 
encounter some hungry wildlife even.

  But because of these challenges, some of the best reporters arise 
from Alaska. An example of some of the National Public Radio's most 
famous reporters nationally who have gotten their start in our great 
State: Peter Kenyon, Elizabeth Arnold, and many others. And the 
Anchorage Daily News, which has won Pulitzer prizes, had the late, 
great Howard Weaver. These are big names in reporting.
  But I am digressing because the biggest name, in my view, in 
journalism in Alaska is our Alaskan of the Week, Maria Downey--even 
bigger than some of the other names I just mentioned.
  It is this kind of intrepid reporter that makes Alaska so special in 
terms of news broadcasts and makes our Alaskan of the Week so special.
  Maria started, as I mentioned, her journalistic career in 1981 on 
Channel 13 before moving to Channel 2 in 1985. At Channel 2, Maria 
quickly climbed the reporter ranks, going from co-anchoring to a full 
anchor in just 6 weeks. That is a shooting star in terms of journalism. 
As an anchor, Maria realized how vital the role local news reporting 
played in reporting Statewide news:

       When we go to a village in rural Alaska, there's people 
     meeting us at the airstrip [when we get off the plane]. So 
     when you go there, and you feel that connection [with your 
     fellow Alaskans throughout the whole State].

  While the national media can get a lot of negative attention--some 
earned, maybe some not earned--local media, especially in Alaska, is 
often the crucial link to rural communities who need that reporting for 
information, who need that reporting throughout the State, who need 
that reporting to bring us all together, especially in a State as big 
as Alaska.
  Maria said:

       It's our community [the whole State]. We're invested in it. 
     It would be a disservice to do anything that's not honest and 
     fair to our community.

  What a great principle, by the way, for a journalist.

       People see that we're out and about [working with them] and 
     this is our home.

  If you need evidence for how invested Maria truly has been and was in 
her job--you won't believe this story--in 1986, while on the air live 
on Channel 2, she went into labor. She stayed on the air the whole 
time. Yes, that is a true story. Her longtime coworker, news director 
John Tracy, said:

       She was cool as a cucumber. You'd never know what was 
     happening [that she was in labor]. I timed her contractions 
     in between commercials.

  It is amazing. Maria closed out her segment in labor by telling her 
husband on the air: ``Ron, meet me at the hospital.''
  There you go. If that is not dedication to Alaska journalism, I don't 
know what is. So along with her own two children, Alaskans across the 
State have seen and viewed Maria as our ``TV mom.'' Again, that is the 
kind of personality that she brings to her job, the professionalism and 
the fact that people love her.
  As the Facebook congratulatory posts have flowed in the past week 
when Maria announced her retirement after more than 40 years, one post 
in particular stood out, from a child from rural Alaska who every night 
would pray for all his family members and then say, ``God bless Maria 
Downey.''
  Children across Alaska associate Maria with the close of the day--the 
Channel 2 evening news theme signaling dinnertime every night in 
thousands and thousands of homes across our great State. Channel 2 is 
the biggest station. It reaches pretty much the whole State.
  Madam President, as you are probably gathering here, Maria is about 
as close to a local celebrity as you can get, and her popularity is 
really, really well-earned. Her coworkers, some of whom have worked 
with Maria more than 20 years, never fail to describe her as kind, 
intrepid, and good-humored. Tracy Sinclare--by the way, another 
intrepid journalist and producer herself who I know well at Channel 2--
remembers Maria bringing her meals when

[[Page S264]]

Tracy was fighting breast cancer. She will tell you--and this is a 
quote from Tracy:

       Maria is absolutely the person you see on TV [the best].

  News director John Tracy said:

       She could have done many other things for more money. But 
     she just loved what she did. She earned every accolade.

  And the accolades are now pouring in.
  Maria is eager to pass her reporting expertise on to the next 
generation of Alaska's journalists--by the way, a true sign of a 
leader, developing the next generation to take over after you are 
completing your professional career.
  So, of course, Maria is Channel 2's internship coordinator, where she 
has mentored young journalists, many of whom now hold full-time 
positions in the newsroom and continue to work alongside their mentor, 
Maria Downey.
  Outside of the newsroom, Maria has devoted herself to serving the 
community that she reports on. No surprise there. For more than 25 
years, Maria has led Channel 2's Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor 
Day telethon, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars every year for 
MDA for Alaska.
  She was part of the committee that started what we call in Alaska the 
Pick, Click, and Give. It is an initiative and a program that lets 
Alaskans easily donate to the charities of their choice when they are 
applying for their Permanent Fund Dividend. This is a great initiative, 
and Maria has been critical to that success.
  For her journalistic career, Maria, as I mentioned, has been 
rightfully honored with awards throughout the years, throughout the 
decades, celebrating her exceptional reporting for Alaska. She is a 
Silver Circle inductee with the Northwest Chapter of the National 
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, an honor recognizing 
individuals with 25 years or more in the industry for exceptional 
contributions to broadcast and media in the Pacific Northwest. She has 
also been recognized by Alaska's ATHENA Society, by the YWCA's Women of 
Achievement Awards, and was inducted into the Alaska Broadcasters Hall 
of Fame.
  When asked how she wants to be remembered from her 40-plus years in 
journalism, Maria said working to make sure her community is a better 
place is what she focused on:

       Looking at ways to help, donating time, talent, treasure. 
     The old stewardship motto. Hopefully what we've done, and 
     what I have done throughout the years, has helped push people 
     towards doing what's right for their community.

  What a great legacy. She is not done. She is retiring, but, 
fortunately, Maria is going to stay in Anchorage. That is great news 
for all of us in Alaska. She is going to be spending more time with her 
husband and their two children. Even though we won't be seeing her in 
our homes every night and letting us know what is happening in our 
community, in our State, in our country, we all hopefully will be 
seeing her around town. I am sure we will.
  So on January 26, after 38 years of Channel 2, Maria will anchor the 
Channel 2 News for the last time. So all Alaskans make sure you tune 
in. Americans, you want to watch one of the greatest newscasters in the 
country--the whole country should tune in.
  So, Maria, thank you for your exceptional service to Alaska, for 
being that woman behind the news all these many years. Thank you for 
keeping our communities connected, people informed about what is going 
on in Alaska, in America, in our communities, and congratulations on 
maybe one of the biggest awards you have ever received up until this 
moment, being our Alaskan of The Week.
  Great job, Maria. Have a great retirement.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Booker). The Senator from Hawaii.


                                Abortion

  Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, this week is the anniversary of the Roe v. 
Wade decision. Because of the current rightwing Supreme Court's 
decision almost 2 years ago to dismantle reproductive freedom, women in 
many parts of the United States today have less control over their 
bodies than they did 50 years ago--50 years ago.
  The Dobbs decision was the crowning achievement of the hard right's 
decades-long war on a woman's right to choose, but it wasn't the end. 
They want to go even further. These very same people are now going 
State by State, trying to pass extreme laws to all but ban abortion 
access, and it is working. Over half of the women of reproductive age 
live in States that are hostile to abortion rights, and more than 
64,000 women and girls have become pregnant because of rape in States 
that have implemented abortion bans after Roe was overturned--64,000 
women and girls pregnant in States where abortion access is limited or 
not available at all.
  The stories they share about the pain and trauma inflicted by this 
extremist cruelty will break your heart. A woman in Ohio had 1 day--1 
single day--to decide whether or not to keep her child because she was 
right on the verge of the State's ban at 6 weeks. A Florida woman was 
forced to carry her baby to term even though doctors found fatal 
abnormalities in an ultrasound at 23 weeks and knew that it had at most 
a few hours to live after birth. Another woman, whose baby would have 
been born without a skull--without a skull--traveled 1,400 miles from 
Baton Rouge to New York City to get an abortion because local doctors 
were afraid they would lose their license--they would lose their 
license--or be thrown in prison for providing abortion services.
  Horrific as these stories are, they haven't stopped Republicans from 
trying to destroy every last bit of bodily autonomy and freedom. 
Republicans here in Congress are explicit: They are pushing for a 
national abortion ban. So some of the things you say about what is 
happening sound like they are partisan talking points, but that is what 
is happening. They actually do want an abortion ban in Federal 
statutory law.
  The rightwing Supreme Court may well deliver another hammer blow to 
abortion rights in the coming months if it reverses Federal rules 
governing access to medication abortion--rules that were shaped in part 
by a Federal lawsuit where a Hawaii doctor argued correctly that women 
should be able to access abortion pills, which are safe and effective, 
when and where they need them. For Hawaii and so many other places 
around the country that rely on telehealth and medication by mail for 
access to care, this is vital, but they may not last much longer.
  If there is a glimmer of hope in all of this, it is that a majority 
of Americans reject this extremism on abortion. They see it for what it 
is: plainly unjust and needlessly cruel--needlessly cruel. They believe 
in a woman's right to choose, and they support enshrining reproductive 
rights nationally once and for all.
  We live in a democracy, after all, and Senate Democrats will continue 
to fight until a woman's right to control her own body is the law of 
the land again.


                          Supplemental Funding

  Mr. President, the war in Gaza, the war in Ukraine, looming threats 
in the Indo-Pacific--finding bipartisan consensus about what to do on 
any one of these issues is very, very hard. To do them all together is 
extraordinarily difficult. But time is running out, and it is essential 
that we act--No. 1, because we have a very real security interest in 
each of these areas, and No. 2, because our allies and partners are 
counting on our help as they encounter the alarming march of fascism 
around the globe.
  It has been almost a month since the last U.S. arms shipment left for 
Ukraine. Funding for assistance has run out completely. Let me just 
repeat that. This is not something we are arguing about in terms of the 
facts on the ground; it is a fact that Ukraine is slowly but surely 
running out of ammunition.
  Ukraine will have to fight for its survival with a weapons supply 
that is dwindling by the day. Putin, on the other hand, is intensifying 
his assault with the help of missiles and artillery rounds provided by 
North Korea and Iran. That is who Ukraine is up against--Russia, North 
Korea, and Iran--a band of autocrats that have no respect for democracy 
or even a passing interest in peace.

  Beyond its own survival, Ukraine's fight is for the fate of the free 
world and nothing less. So we don't have time to play partisan politics 
here as Putin continues to pummel Ukraine day by day. Time is running 
out, and they desperately need help.

[[Page S265]]

  I understand people say what is useful to them as an argument to get 
their legislation through, so I don't want you to think this is some 
sort of overstatement. They are literally running out of ammunition. If 
you ask anybody in a classified session, in a nonclassified session; if 
you ask any expert--left, right, and center--the determining factor for 
Ukraine's future and therefore the future of Europe and the future of 
the free world is, what do we do about the supplemental appropriations 
bill? They are running out of ammunition, and Putin is banking on a war 
of attrition that Ukraine will not be able to win.
  Meanwhile, the war between Israel and Hamas since Hamas's barbaric 
attacks on October 7 continues to devastate millions in the region. 
Hamas still holds 130 hostages captive, including Americans and even a 
year-old infant.
  As the United States made clear in the immediate aftermath of the 
Hamas attacks, Israel has an entirely legitimate right and an 
obligation to defend itself and to rescue the hostages. It should not 
be lost on anyone that Israel continues to lose scores of young men and 
women in battle trying to protect their nation in the wake of this 
unprecedented terror attack.
  But just as the United States has a responsibility to Israel, as its 
closest ally, to help it defend itself, we also have a responsibility 
as the leader of the free world to call on Israel to wage this war 
smartly and justly--to prosecute Hamas, not the Palestinian people. 
More than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in the last 3 months, 
most of them women and children. This is in no one's interest 
strategically or morally.
  We also have a responsibility to make sure that humanitarian 
assistance is allowed to flow to the millions of innocent civilians 
suffering the horrific conditions under the constant barrage of 
crossfire.
  Even in the face of heightened passions and justifiable anger, we 
have to make a distinction between people and their governments. These 
are two peoples suffering agonizing losses, two peoples who want to 
live their lives just like the rest of us--outside of the constant 
shadow of violence and bloodshed. They just want to go to school or 
teach at a school or be a garbage collector or bake bread or eat bread 
or drink coffee or make coffee or fix roads or drive on a road. 
Everybody has basic human needs. Everybody has basic human needs. And 
the idea that we can't see beyond our geopolitical disagreements to 
understand that this is causing immense suffering for everyone is one 
of our fundamental challenges.
  I talk a lot with the Presiding Officer from New Jersey about this. 
You know, it is at least partly the internet. It is at least partly the 
fact that if you say something about the suffering of Palestinians, the 
first thing out of everyone's mouth in your replies is ``What about 
October 7?'' If you say ``Hamas is terrible,'' people say ``What 
about''--the truth is, there really is suffering on both sides, and I 
am not trying to make equivalent a terrorist attack with a reaction to 
that terrorist attack. I am not. But, do you know what, that is all 
written in the wind. Everyone is suffering. Everyone is suffering.
  Whenever and however this war ends, there has to be a path to a just 
and a lasting peace. It has been the longstanding policy of the U.S. 
Government on a bipartisan basis to support a two-state solution 
because a two-state solution is the only way to guarantee distinct, 
inalienable, and mutually recognized homes for both peoples and empower 
each to chart their own future.
  As we consider a major aid package for the region, it is not 
insignificant to at the same time reaffirm our commitment to that 
vision. The amendment I plan to file, along with 48 of my colleagues, 
should a supplemental aid package come to the floor is about making the 
American position clear.
  Inherent to achieving a two-state future is leadership on both sides 
that is actually interested in peace and both sides feeling secure 
enough to pursue it. Israel must feel that Hamas and other militant 
groups have been degraded so they no longer pose a threat to the people 
of Israel or the country of Israel, and Palestinians must feel that 
they have a real seat at the table.
  There can't be extremists in the Israeli Government who jump at every 
chance to inflame and incite divisions, and there can't be a 
Palestinian Authority rank with corruption and nepotism, deteriorating 
into a kleptocracy. Palestinians want and need a representative and an 
effective government, and the PA in its current form is falling short.
  So, as we press for diplomacy, we also need to be clear that it will 
take a reformed P.A. that can deliver on the aspirations of the 
Palestinian people, in addition to a cooperative, forward-looking 
Israeli Government, in order for these negotiations to work. Changing a 
longstanding and deeply broken status quo is hard, but it is incumbent 
on the United States of America, as a global leader, to do everything 
that we can to foster the conditions for an enduring peace.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Schatz). The Senator from New Jersey.


                          Tribute to the Pages

  Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I appreciate the Presiding Officer, my 
dear friend, and I think he and I are very aware of this. If you ask 
the average person who knows about their Federal Government how many 
people are in the U.S. Senate, their answer is going to be 100, and 
they would be wrong. There are 100 Senators, but as the Presiding 
Officer and I both know, there are thousands of people who work in the 
U.S. Capitol for the U.S. Senate. This is a larger body of people who 
are critical to keeping this institution running.
  There are amazing folks who work here in the U.S. Senate. If you take 
the time to talk to them, you will hear stories that make you feel 
proud to be an American--from literally the people who are keeping the 
pipes under this place functional, who keep this place and its history 
and its heritage preserved. There are people on staffs who make sure 
the floor runs smoothly so Senators can present bills and ideas. This 
is an extraordinary collection of Americans who takes part in what is a 
hallowed and civic institution.
  But, perhaps, when people look at the floor, there are two Senators 
here, but there are probably 30 or so people on the floor right now, 
not to mention those working in the cloakrooms. But often, when people 
turn on their TVs and happen to catch it on C-SPAN--hi, Mom, who 
watches a lot--the folks they probably most overlook are the people I 
think bring an energy, an excitement, and an enthusiasm to this place, 
and those are the pages.
  Now, I can't even get my mind around, when I meet these young people, 
taking a year--or, excuse me, a semester--off of your normal track--all 
your extracurricular activities, from all of your friends--traveling 
from all over the country and coming here, not just to work a full-time 
job amidst these hallowed halls, but also to hold a full-time schedule 
of classes.
  I look at these teenagers, and I feel this utter sense of just 
sympathy for them because they are grinding in ways that a lot of 
Senators don't do. Think about this. They work on the floor of the 
Senate, which is a demanding job, doing critical work. Then they go 
home and study. Then they wake up sometimes at 5 o'clock in the morning 
to take classes in things that I am not sure if every Senator can still 
pass--calculus, for crying out loud. They do their academic work, and 
they do their service for their country. So it takes a special breed to 
do something so irrational with their teenage years.
  I get a chance every time--all of us Senators get a chance--to engage 
with them and meet them, and I just want to take this moment, on the 
last day that they are here, to just say some things particularly about 
this class.
  Mr. President, this class is the most awful group of joke tellers I 
have ever met.
  (Laughter.)
  I mean, their jokes are so particularly bad that I have never used it 
to describe such a page class. They are not just bad; they are 
painfully pathetic. Their jokes are pugilistic and pugnacious. Their 
jokes are pukeworthy. Yes, this is the first time in American history 
that word has ever been used on the Senate floor--``pukeworthy.'' The 
truth of the matter is they have a gene in their bodies that prevents 
them from having good senses of humor, and I make that clear: They need 
to work on this, or they may not make it in life.

[[Page S266]]

  But I will say something about this class that I think that the 
Presiding Officer may have noticed and definitely a lot of the staff 
who serves on the floor. I was literally struck, when I came in on the 
first day and started engaging with them, as I often do, that there was 
something special about this class, because it is the value I most 
admire in anybody that I meet. In this class, whether they are pages 
who serve on that side of the aisle or on this side of the aisle, I 
found them immediately to have this important superpower for coping in 
life, and that is that this page class is kind. They really are good 
people. I have to say that that is how I will remember this class. I 
will try desperately to forget their bad jokes. I will always, though, 
remember their kindness.

  I want to tell this page class that you brought something special to 
this floor; that you all contributed more than you probably realize; 
that you, in your humility, probably underestimate the impact you bring 
to this place. I know you are going to have special memories here. In 
fact, it is amazing, as I feel sometimes just as a Senator, that we all 
had a chance in our service together in the Senate to be on the 
frontlines of history, to witness some of the greatest debates of 
humanity right now. You heard one from the Presiding Officer, who just 
spoke, and who spoke to issues that go to the heart of what this 
country is about, what this country stands for, what this country will 
do. That was a privilege that you were a part of.
  But, to me, what I think is important about the role that you have 
played in the short period of time that you have been here is the fact 
that I think you remind a lot of us who are two and three and four 
times your age that, when you still come in here, despite how tired you 
are, and still have that look of wonder about this place, you help us 
to remember what a privilege it is to be here.
  So I just want this class to know that it has been my privilege, as 
one Senator, who, I believe, probably speaks for most--that it was a 
privilege to serve with you in the United States of America.
  I hope you remember that the highest calling of citizenship is 
service; that this is not your last time that you answer that call 
whether it is in your communities, your neighborhoods, whether it is to 
your States or to this Nation. I hope that you always aspire to show 
your patriotism not by what you say but by what you do.
  And, dear God, don't let a harsh world--a world that can be mean--
ever stop you from being as kind as you were on the day that I first 
met you.
  I love that story about the man who goes up to a young person and 
says: What do you want to be when you grow up?
  And the confident young person looked at them and simply said: I want 
to be kind.
  I think you guys already have achieved one of the greatest callings 
for people, which is to be good to one another. In fact, I look at our 
political climate in America, and it is often not a good demonstration 
of that high human virtue. So I want to thank you for your kindness. I 
forgive you for your bad jokes, but most of all, I hope that you will 
not change that spirit that resides in your hearts.
  Thank you for your service here to the U.S. Senate. What an honor it 
has been to be with you.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Booker). The majority leader.


                          Supplemental Funding

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, for months, I have said that the only way 
we are going to pass a national security supplemental is if both sides 
are serious about an agreement.
  Democrats are resolute on getting something done. We are committed to 
keeping our promise to helping our friends in Ukraine in their fight 
against Putin. We know that if Putin prevails in Ukraine, the 
consequences for Western democracy and for the American people will be 
severe and haunt us for years.
  Democrats are also resolute on reaching an agreement on securing the 
southern border. We know how important this is. We are negotiating in 
good faith and want to get this done in a bipartisan way.
  And Democrats are resolute to send more aid to Israel, provide more 
humanitarian aid for innocent civilians in Gaza, and hold the line 
against the Chinese Communist Party in the Indo-Pacific.
  As we have seen over the past day, getting a bipartisan agreement on 
the supplemental is very difficult. But I am glad that now negotiations 
are continuing to move forward. Of course, there are still issues that 
must be settled, but negotiators will work all weekend in an effort to 
get this done.

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