[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 173 (Thursday, November 21, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6699-S6700]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Business Before the Senate

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, last night, the Senate stayed late to 
keep working on confirming more of the President's judicial nominees. 
We made excellent progress this week confirming judges, and I am 
pleased to say that we have cleared the way to confirm many more judges 
when we return after Thanksgiving.
  Today, we will pick up right where we left off last night. Later this 
morning, we will hold two more cloture votes to advance two more 
district court judges: Noel Wise to the Northern District of California 
and Gail Weilheimer to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. We will 
finish today with a confirmation vote of Sharad Desai to be district 
judge for the District of Arizona. This would put our total for the 
week at six new judges confirmed to lifetime appointments to the 
Federal bench, one circuit court judge and five district court judges. 
And again, we are in a strong position to confirm many more judges when 
we come back. We hope to make progress on as many as we can.
  Now, I thank all my colleagues for their hard work last night and for 
being flexible amidst all the rollcall votes. And I want to thank the 
floor staff, the cloakrooms, the pages, and all the staff in the Senate 
for staying late several nights this week so we could keep working on 
the floor. I understand if you feel a little groggy this morning. That 
is OK.
  I am proud that the judges we have confirmed under President Biden 
are exceptional, highly qualified, and have already begun to bring 
balance to our bench. Our nominees are adding new perspectives and 
broad ranges of experience to their courts. We have confirmed 
individuals with strong experiences in consumer protection and voting 
rights and civil rights, Supreme Court advocacy, prosecution, and more. 
In other words, the nominees we have considered represent a balanced 
and evenhanded group of jurists.
  And we will keep going when the Senate returns. Voting on the 
President's nominees is a basic responsibility of the Senate. We will 
take that responsibility very seriously between now and the end of the 
year.
  Now, a look ahead. When the Senate returns after Thanksgiving, 
Senators can expect a very busy few weeks to finish our work before the 
end of the year. Both sides must continue working together to keep the 
government

[[Page S6700]]

open beyond the December 20 deadline. Letting the government shut down 
just before Christmas would be asinine, plain and simple, and nobody 
wants that to happen. Well, there may be a few in the other Chamber who 
do, but they are a distinct minority.
  We must pass the annual Defense authorization bill to provide for our 
troops and hold the line against America's adversaries abroad. We have 
passed the NDAA every year over the last six decades. With so much 
going on around the world--in the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific, in 
Europe, and beyond--passing the NDAA is as critical as it has ever 
been. We intend to get it done.
  We also hope to make progress on the farm bill to avoid going over 
the so-called dairy cliff at the end of December. Chair Stabenow 
released text of her bill earlier this week, and I want to commend her 
for drafting such a strong bill that provides for farmers and ranchers 
as well as working families through nutrition programs. I know that 
Democrats are ready to work with Republicans to get the farm bill done.
  Another issue we hope to get done is disaster aid. Both sides know we 
need to act because both sides represent States that have been impacted 
by disaster. Earlier this week, the Biden administration released a 
comprehensive plan for disaster aid that does a lot of very good 
things. It replenishes not just programs housed within FEMA--which is 
what most Americans think about when they think of a disaster 
response--but other programs across the Federal Government that are 
dangerously low on funding, if not totally depleted.
  A few days ago, I highlighted the important role that the SBA's 
Disaster Loan Program plays in times of crisis.
  Another one I want to mention is the Department of Transportation 
funding to repair and reconstruct our highways and roads. When disaster 
strikes and highways and roads are damaged and rendered impassable, it 
brings everything to a standstill. Aid is slower to arrive, getting 
people out of danger is harder, and entire communities can be left 
isolated.
  This is just one example of why we need to pass a robust disaster aid 
package, and I hope to work with Republicans to get it done as soon and 
as robustly as possible.
  Finally, as I have said, when we return after Thanksgiving, we will 
pick up right where we left off, confirming more of President Biden's 
judicial and executive nominees. So it will be a very busy and 
consequential few weeks in the Senate when we return, and I thank my 
colleagues for their cooperation.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.