[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 4, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S770-S773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HOUSING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY ACT--Motion to Proceed


                             Affordability

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, last week, Leader Schumer came to the floor 
to announce:

       Lowering costs will be Senate Democrats' North Star in 
     2026.

  He continued:

       Let me repeat that so [that] America and our Republican 
     colleagues hear it: Lowering costs will be Senate Democrats' 
     North Star in 2026.

  Well, you have to give the Democrats a lot of credit for their nerve 
or, maybe, for their case of amnesia, because to hear Democrats speak 
lately, you would think that they have zero memory of the massive 
affordability crisis that they created.
  Well, let's just review for a minute.
  Five years ago this week, Democrats were getting ready to pass a 
massive $1.9 trillion spending bill with no offsets--their so-called 
American Rescue Plan--despite warnings that their bill's excessive 
spending could cause a serious inflation crisis. They passed it anyway, 
and it helped unleash the worst inflation crisis in 40 years--an 
inflation crisis whose reverberations are still being felt today.
  And even as inflation rose and rose, again and again and again and 
again, Democrats either failed to recognize--or tried to minimize--the 
problem. Worse, they tried to double down on the strategy of excessive 
government spending that helped set off the crisis in the first place.
  So Democrats are going to have to forgive me if it is just a little 
hard to swallow their sudden interest in lowering costs.
  Democrats may talk a good game, but it is Republicans who are 
actually putting in the work to make life more affordable for the 
American people. There is no single, silver-bullet solution to 
inflation, but since we took control of Washington just over a year 
ago, we have taken a number of actions to help alleviate the burdens on 
hard-working Americans.
  The first step was putting more money in Americans' pockets, which is 
exactly what we did with the working families tax cuts. Thanks to 
Republicans' landmark bill, the American people are benefiting from 
significant tax relief this year. We prevented a $2.6 trillion tax hike 
on working families, with no help--zero help--from Democrats, and 
implemented a slew of new tax relief. And as Americans file their 
taxes, they are seeing lower tax bills and significantly bigger 
refunds. And because Republicans delivered permanent tax relief, 
working people can count on having more breathing room in their budgets 
in the years to come, enabling them to spend, invest, and save more of 
their money with confidence for the future.
  Government regulations can actually have a huge impact on costs, 
whether they are driving up the cost of new housing construction or 
driving up the cost of your kitchen appliances. That is why Republicans 
have also put a lot of effort into untangling the web of costly 
regulations put in place during the Biden administration.
  Much of that has involved reversing Green New Deal-style rules on 
everything from appliances to the car you drive. Through the 
Congressional Review Act process here in Congress, we were able to 
rescind a number of Biden-era rules impacting households and small 
businesses.
  And together, with actions taken by the Trump administration, we took 
aim at Biden-era mandates to force Americans into costly electric 
vehicles--rules requiring most new passenger vehicles to be electric in 
less than a decade and 35 percent by this year, similar requirements 
for heavy-duty trucks, and the EPA waivers that would have allowed 
California to impose a de facto electric vehicle mandate on the entire 
country.
  Thanks to President Trump and Republicans, these EV mandates are a 
thing of the past, and the American people will have the freedom to 
choose the vehicle that works for their needs and, importantly, for 
their budgets.
  The Biden years were also characterized by a clear hostility to 
conventional energy production, putting us on a dangerous path to a 
future with more expensive and less reliable energy. Republicans 
promised to unleash American energy, and we have made a concerted 
effort to ensure America's abundant natural resources are used to the 
benefit of the American people.
  The Trump administration has reversed a number of Biden-era decisions 
preventing energy production in energy-rich regions of our country. 
Republicans also did away with the Biden natural gas tax--a tax that 
would have driven up energy prices even further and destroyed jobs in 
the energy sector.
  There is more to do to bring down the cost of energy and to safeguard 
our energy security, and Republicans continue to work to ensure that 
the American people have access to an affordable and reliable energy 
supply for the long term.

  Republicans kicked off 2026 by passing a funding bill that included a 
number of provisions to improve healthcare access and affordability. 
Among its most important provisions were measures to bring down the 
cost of prescription drugs at the pharmacy counter, which will 
complement efforts by the Trump administration to lower the cost of 
prescriptions.
  And, this week, we have begun consideration of the ROAD to Housing 
Act, the most significant housing bill in at least a decade. We know 
that a lot of Americans are being priced out of homeownership, and this 
bill will go a long way toward making buying a home more affordable and 
accessible for hard-working Americans.
  The massive $1.9 trillion spending spree that Democrats passed 5 
years ago helped set off a once-in-a-generation inflation crisis. And 
while Democrats may talk a good game about lowering costs, it is 
already becoming clear that, should they again regain the majority in 
the next election, their strategy will be more of the same--more 
spending and bigger government--the same things that helped plunge our 
Nation into an affordability crisis in the first place.
  Don't believe me? Well, just this week, the senior Senator from 
Vermont released legislation that was hailed as a marker for Democrats.
  What is in it? More spending and bigger government.
  Well, we saw how that worked out the first time. In fact, the country 
is still cleaning up from how that worked out the first time.
  Democrats may have amnesia when it comes to their record on costs, 
but I am pretty sure that the American people don't, and I very much 
doubt that they are going to trust the people who caused this 
affordability problem to solve it. But I guess the Democrats can always 
hope.
  Meanwhile, Republicans will continue to act. We will continue to work 
to put more money in Americans' pockets and to make life more 
affordable for American families.
  I yield the floor.
  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. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                   Recognition of the Minority Leader

  The Democratic leader is recognized.


                                  Iran

  Mr. SCHUMER. Well, the last thing the American people want or need is 
another war in the Middle East. But if you listened to Secretary Pete 
Hegseth's press conference this morning, one thing is crystal clear: 
America is at war.
  In his own words, Hegseth said:

       We are just getting started.

  You hear that, America? Pete Hegseth says another war in the Middle 
East is just getting started. He says more of our sons and daughters 
will be shipped off to fight in a foreign land, more of our taxpayer 
dollars will be wasted abroad instead of invested at home.
  Hegseth also said:


[[Page S771]]


  

       We are accelerating, not decelerating.

  Hegseth said:

       More bombers and more fighters are arriving just today.

  What is Hegseth talking about? Are we putting boots on the ground? 
Are we depleting our strategic munition reserves? Is there a timeline 
or a limit to our engagement in Iran? We have no clue because Hegseth 
is more interested in sound bites than explanations.
  And Hegseth said:

       Death and destruction from the sky all day long.

  This is not how an intelligent, prudent, sober-minded military leader 
speaks. Just the contrast between the serious tone of General Caine, 
who spoke next to Hegseth, and that of Hegseth, who was almost gleeful 
about going to war, is stark. What Hegseth said this morning is 
embarrassing and childish.
  So to anyone around here who thinks we are not at war, listen to 
Hegseth's press conference. It is little more than microwaved cable 
news drivel. But what he is saying loud and clear is this: We are at 
war, and this administration is signaling more escalation ahead.
  This is insanity. Americans just spent the last two decades fighting 
and dying in the Middle East, and Pete Hegseth says: We are back for 
more.
  How many parents watched their kids ship off and fight and die in 
Iraq and Afghanistan?
  How many sleepless nights did families have over the last 20 years, 
worried about their loved ones? How many headlines did we watch over 
the decades of troops getting shot down and convoys getting attacked 
with wounded soldiers returning home, scarred by the horrors of war? 
How many billions of dollars were wasted? How much anguish, suffering, 
and grief did America endure?
  And now, Pete Hegseth says he would be happy that we are going to do 
it all over again. He says: This new war is just getting started.
  This is madness, and we don't even know what the administration's 
plan is. I just sat yesterday with my Senate colleagues for an all-
Senators briefing, and let me show you how much clarity we got out of 
that briefing: Zero. Zero.
  Even after the briefing, we walked away with zero clarity about what 
Donald Trump's goal in Iran is.
  After my briefing this week and Hegseth's press conference this 
morning, it is clear they are widening the war in Iran, and I fear now 
more than ever that we are going to put boots on the ground, and that 
is precisely what the American people fear. We still don't know how 
long we will be there. We still don't know what Donald Trump is even 
trying to accomplish.
  This is not how you conduct foreign policy. This is not how you 
conduct defense policy. And the fault for the chaos is entirely with 
Donald Trump.
  Trump is manic. Whatever pops into his head, he says immediately. He 
picks one plan one day, then he picks the total opposite the other, and 
he doesn't think it through. He doesn't check the facts, and nobody 
around him has the guts to stand up to him and tell him: Mr. President, 
you are wrong. He is surrounded by yes-men. This is dangerous.
  Just yesterday, as Trump launches America into a war with Iran, he 
goes ahead and slams and critiques Zelenskyy and calls him a name, the 
``P.T. Barnum of Ukraine.'' This is insane. Donald Trump is manic, 
blasting one of America's friends as they fight for survival and are 
beginning to make gains against Russian forces--insane and certainly 
not how you conduct foreign policy.
  Well, now, in this body, here in the Senate, we have a chance to say 
``enough'' to Donald Trump's military insanity. Today, the Senate will 
vote to discharge a bipartisan resolution--led by Senators Kaine, 
Schiff, Paul, and myself--to put a halt to military activity in Iran 
without congressional approval.

  The resolution is the Senate Republicans' chance to put pressure on 
Donald Trump's manic decision to drag us into war. Americans 
overwhelmingly oppose war with Iran, and Senate Republicans have a duty 
to stand up for Americans by forcing Donald Trump to reverse course.
  Today, every Senator--every single one--will pick a side. Do you 
stand with the American people who are exhausted of forever wars in the 
Middle East or stand with Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth as they bumble 
us headfirst into another war?
  To my colleagues: If you are tired of wars in the Middle East, 
support our resolution.
  To my colleagues: If you don't want America to get dragged into 
another conflict that spirals out of our control, support our 
resolution, take a stand, do the right thing. Support this resolution.


                          Trump Administration

  Mr. President, now, on the high costs for the American people, which 
is what they really want Trump and his administration to focus on, and 
the food prices.
  Last night, Americans once again turned out in record numbers to 
support Democratic candidates up and down the ballot. The enthusiasm is 
unlike anything we have seen in primaries. In ruby-red States, voters 
showed up and voted blue in levels we rarely see in a primary. And it 
is not hard to understand why voters are so enthusiastic: People are 
fed up with Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.
  Just this morning, the Wall Street Journal ran a harrowing story: 
More Americans are dipping into their 401(k)s just to keep up with 
everyday expenses. That is not what people want to do. The 401(k)s, 
which people put money in that they want to use for other things, but 
they knew they needed for their retirement, and now, because of high 
costs, they are getting so squeezed that they have to take the money 
out of their 401(k).
  People hate doing that. People hate cannibalizing their financial 
futures just to survive the present. This is not the golden age Donald 
Trump promised. It is a travesty, and Americans deserve better.
  Americans need focus on the high costs of food, not another war in 
the Middle East. That is why Democrats are going to do what Donald 
Trump refuses to do: put the affordability crisis front and center 
every day, all year long.
  Tomorrow morning, I will be introducing legislation aimed at one of 
the core drivers of higher food prices: consolidation and monopoly 
power in the food industry.
  Grocery prices are higher than ever. If you can't afford to pay for 
food, nothing else matters. If more and more of your paycheck is spent 
on paying for food instead of keeping up with the rent or filling up 
the tank or paying for daycare, you are trapped, and this is how 
Americans feel today. They feel trapped, trapped because Donald Trump 
promised to bring food costs down and instead they have gone up.
  My bill does what Donald Trump hasn't: giving Americans a real plan 
to lower food costs by breaking the pernicious stranglehold of 
monopolistic corporate middlemen that have weakened our supply chains 
and price-gouged consumers at the grocery store.
  And Democrats will keep going. We recently rolled out our agenda to 
tackle the housing crisis. Soon we will present our plan to lower the 
costs of energy and childcare and to fix our broken healthcare system 
that Republicans have sabotaged by letting premiums skyrocket.
  Donald Trump and congressional Republicans had their chance. They 
promised to make life better for the American people and lower their 
costs, but here we are on the brink of yet another war in the Middle 
East, with families already stretched to the breaking point at home.
  The American people deserve a whole lot better, and Democrats are 
going to fight for it.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                         War Powers Resolution

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in strong 
opposition to what the Democrats are putting forward on this floor of 
the U.S. Senate today. It is a War Powers Resolution.
  Let me expose this resolution for what it is. The Democrat resolution

[[Page S772]]

undercuts Americans' peace through strength.
  I just heard the minority leader come to the floor, and he said that 
no one ``has the guts to stand up to him'' and say he is wrong. I think 
he was talking about President Trump.
  Well, let me tell you, the Republicans are going to stand up to Chuck 
Schumer and to Tim Kaine, who has brought this resolution today on the 
floor of the U.S. Senate, and say to them: You are wrong. You are 
wrong.
  The purpose of the War Powers Act of 1973 is to ensure consultation 
and reporting. It is never intended to allow Congress to micromanage 
military operations. Under the statute, a President must notify 
Congress within 48 hours. President Trump did that. Members of this 
body were further briefed yesterday by top officials from the 
administration. The law then provides a 60-day window for continued 
military action.
  Now, many people believe the War Powers Act is actually 
unconstitutional. The Constitution makes the President the Commander in 
Chief. Every modern President has exercised this authority. President 
Clinton did it in the Balkans. President Obama did it in Libya. 
President Biden did it in Syria and the Gaza Strip.
  So why do Democrats object today? Why? It is because Donald Trump is 
President of the United States. That is why they are doing this. 
Democrats would rather obstruct President Trump than obliterate Iran's 
national nuclear program. Let that sink in. That is what the Democrats 
are trying to do. They want to use the War Powers Act as a partisan 
battering ram.
  This is Senator Kaine's fifth War Powers Resolution since President 
Trump returned to office a little more than a year ago. These 
resolutions have been used only 11 times in 50 years since the law was 
passed. The Senator from Virginia alone accounts for nearly half of 
them. Yet Senator Kaine introduced no War Powers Resolutions--zero--
when Barack Obama and Joe Biden were President.
  And it isn't just the War Powers Resolution. As Democrats jeopardize 
Americans' peace through strength abroad, they are obstructing American 
security here at home.
  A few minutes ago on this floor, Senator Schumer, the minority 
leader, came to the floor, and he said that what was happening in Iran 
is--he said, ``military insanity.'' Those were his words.
  Let me tell you what insanity is. Insanity is not allowing the 
Department of Homeland Security to be funded--because the Democrats are 
blocking that funding today. They have done it earlier this week. They 
have been doing it now for several weeks, at a time when our Nation is 
on red alert for terrorism. And they are coming to the Senate floor 
today to try to tie President Trump's hands in a situation in Iran that 
is making America safer and making the world safer, and the Democrats 
are undermining our security at home.
  It was 9/11 years ago--the planes into the Twin Towers, into the 
Pentagon, into the field in Pennsylvania--9/11. That is why we 
established the Department of Homeland Security: to fight terrorism.
  And there is no end in sight to what the Democrats want to do, 
continuing to keep the Department of Homeland Security shut down. The 
shutdown by the Democrats is endangering every single American. The 
next cyber attack on the homeland, that is on the Democrats. The next 
shooting by a lone wolf terrorist like we saw in Texas, that is on the 
Democrats. Blood will be on their hands. The next criminal that crosses 
the border illegally and kills an innocent American, that is on the 
Democrats, who have shut down the Department of Homeland Security.
  The American people deserve better. The American people deserve 
safety and are not getting it from the Democrats, as they continue to 
shut down the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of 
Homeland Security must be fully funded, and the people working there 
must get paid.
  Make no mistake, what President Trump is doing today in Iran is right 
and it is necessary. For 47 years, Iran has attacked our country and 
our people. From Beirut to Baghdad, Iran and their terrorist proxies 
have American blood on their hands. Every President--every President--
has pledged Iran would never have a nuclear weapon. Only President 
Trump had the courage to keep the pledge.
  President Trump worked for more than a year on a diplomatic off-ramp. 
He offered Iran every opportunity to choose peace. Iran refused every 
offer. The Iranian regime was racing to build a nuclear weapon. It was 
building and stockpiling deadly missiles at the rate of 100 missiles a 
month. As the Defense Intelligence Agency reported, Iran had the 
``largest and most diverse'' missile arsenal in the Middle East. Only 
when it became clear that Iran was preparing to attack our troops and 
our allies did President Trump strike first.
  Operation Epic Fury is a defensive action against a clear, present, 
and accelerating danger. Our forces are engaged in targeted strikes 
against Iran's military assets. The mission is to destroy Iran's 
capacity to wage war, and our troops are succeeding.
  This case for the mission is clearly and publicly stated. President 
Trump communicated our objectives within hours of the first strike: 
Destroy Iran's missile industry, and that includes their missiles, 
their launchers, and the production capacity, missiles they were 
stockpiling. Destroy Iran's navy. Destroy Iran's terrorist proxy 
network. Stop Iran from ever getting a nuclear weapon.
  That is exactly what our brave men and women in uniform have done. In 
less than 1 week and with 100 hours into this, Iran's Supreme Leader 
has been killed, its missile and drone industry destroyed, its navy 
sunk, the tentacles of Iran's terror network severed, and its capacity 
to ever produce nuclear weapons eliminated. This is American peace 
through strength.
  President Trump absolutely acted within his article II, section 2 
constitutional powers to achieve these goals. When Democrats come to 
the floor and they claim that President Trump lacks the constitutional 
authority to carry out this mission, they are wrong. When they claim 
President Trump has not clearly laid out our objectives to the American 
people, they are wrong.
  Our targeted strikes also send a powerful message--and it is a 
message of deterrence--to our adversaries. Russia and China are seeing 
that American resolve is real.
  There is also a profound opportunity here for the Iranian people. 
Operation Epic Fury is a defensive action for America, and it can lead 
to freedom for the Iranian people. The Iranian people have been 
prisoners of this oppressive regime, and they have been that way for 
decades. With the regime degraded, the Iranian people now have the 
opportunity to chart their own future. America is fighting the Iranian 
regime, not the Iranian people. The Iranian people aspire to freedom, 
and they have America's support.
  Mr. President, let me return to the Kaine resolution on which we are 
going to be voting today. It is wrong to vote to signal weakness to our 
enemies. It is wrong to vote to undermine our troops in combat. It is 
wrong to vote to undercut peace through strength. I will vote to uphold 
the safety and the security of this Nation.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic whip.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask consent to speak for 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                                  Iran

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, my friend the Republican whip says that we 
have a ``clear and present danger'' in Iran. Well, we are in the fifth 
day of this war, and so far, we have five different explanations from 
the White House as to why we invaded Iran.
  Iran is triggering turmoil and chaos in the Middle East, that is for 
sure, but when you listen to these explanations of why we are willing 
to risk American lives, you wonder if the White House has clearly made 
up their mind about a strategy.
  Listen to them, starting with the State of the Union Address and the 
President saying we have to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. 
There is a bipartisan consensus for that position, but it is hard for 
this President to explain why, in his first term, he eliminated the 
international inspectors in Iran who were making sure that they didn't 
develop a nuclear

[[Page S773]]

weapon. Those inspectors were eliminated by President Trump in his 
first term.
  The second explanation of why we are at war in Iran was their 
development of ballistic missiles. Yet we know that this is reminiscent 
of the excuse given for the invasion of Iraq years ago. Remember the 
allegation that there were weapons of mass destruction which could harm 
our allies, even the United States? Ballistic missiles in Iran are not 
capable of reaching the United States. Using that as an excuse as a 
``clear and present danger'' is hard to rationalize.
  The third explanation of the five we have had so far from the White 
House is regime change. Regime change. Well, certainly, the Iranian 
people deserve a regime change, but are we willing to back them up? If 
they go in the streets and are being massacred and slaughtered like the 
previous administration in Iran was responsible for, what will we do? 
Send troops to the streets of Tehran? That has never been explained by 
this administration.
  The fourth explanation for our invasion of Iran given by the White 
House in this early stage is that the Israelis were going to do it 
anyway and we probably would be dragged into the conflict. Really? So 
Israel is dictating America's foreign policy?
  The fifth explanation that I heard on the radio this morning from the 
President last night: A nuclear war was about to be launched by Iran. 
Really? With what missiles? What capacity? What weapons? This is a 
theory that is not backed up by any type of fact.
  Here is the reality. Five days into this war, we have had five 
different explanations of why we are in this war.
  Let me tell you my experience, having been here on the vote to go to 
war in Iraq. It is far easier to get into a war than it is to get out 
of a war. I remember that vote, and I remember that night here, 
standing in the well of this body, when I was 1 of 23 Senators--1 
Republican and 22 Democrats--who voted against the invasion of Iraq. We 
knew at the time that there was a possibility that a larger war would 
emerge rather than just a simple invasion, and it did. For 9 years, we 
fought on, American soldiers valiantly doing their duty and many of 
them losing their lives in the process. It is far easier to get into a 
war than it is to get out of one.
  This scattershot explanation of why we are going into Iran does not 
give me confidence that this administration has a clear strategy, but 
it does confirm my fear that we have an impulsive Commander in Chief--
impulsive. Remember when he said he needed to have Greenland as part of 
the United States and he was willing to defy not only Denmark, a 
traditional ally of our country, but also the NATO alliance to do it? 
Our Commander in Chief in Greenland? Even worse, declaring that the 
nation of Canada should somehow become the 51st State of the United 
States. For goodness' sake, for decades, Presidents of both parties 
have been able to count on the friendship, support, and alliance of 
Canada. Now, they are in a position where they question whether the 
United States can be trusted to deal with. That has been achieved by 
this impulsive Commander in Chief.
  And, of course, NATO. For 75 years, the strongest alliance on Earth, 
maybe in history, has kept us out of a third world war. What does this 
President, this impulsive Commander in Chief, do? He threatens the very 
basis of NATO and whether the United States has a future in it. I can't 
believe he did this. There are so many countries depending on the NATO 
alliance, and this impulsive President went to challenge them head-on 
and really destroyed the confidence which we have had with so many of 
these allies for so many years.
  That is the reality of the Commander in Chief as we launched this war 
in Iran, and I worry about it--five different explanations in 5 days as 
to why we are there.
  Before we ask the men and women of America, the families of America, 
to put their sons and daughters at risk in a war, shouldn't we have a 
fulsome debate here on the floor of the Senate? That is what the 
Republicans fear: a real debate on why this war is being launched. And 
that is why we have to remind them to pick up their copy of the 
Constitution and look at article I, section 8. It is only three words, 
but it is pretty clear--the powers of Congress: ``To declare War.'' 
``To declare War.''
  Many of my Republican colleagues would like to ignore that phrase and 
say it means nothing. They are prepared to say that we will not have a 
debate when it comes to this invasion of Iran. That is a mistake. It is 
a serious mistake. We learned that in Iraq. And credit President Bush 
at the time for at least allowing us to engage in that debate before 
there was an active invasion. This President has not. He launched a 
war, and now, he is saying to Congress: Step out of the way. You have 
no role in this.
  Ultimately, the Constitution says the American people have a role 
through their elected representatives in the Senate and in the House.
  I urge my colleagues to support Tim Kaine's effort today to establish 
again what this Constitution clearly says: The power to declare war is 
ours. If we give it up, then we are turning our back on the 
Constitution and our responsibility to the American people.
  I yield the floor.


                       Vote on Motion to Proceed

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the question occurs 
on the motion to proceed.
  Mr. DURBIN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant executive clerk called the roll.
  Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn).
  The result was announced--yeas 90, nays 8, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 45 Leg.]

                                YEAS--90

     Alsobrooks
     Baldwin
     Banks
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blackburn
     Blumenthal
     Blunt Rochester
     Boozman
     Britt
     Budd
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Coons
     Cortez Masto
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Curtis
     Daines
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Ernst
     Fetterman
     Fischer
     Gallego
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hagerty
     Hassan
     Hawley
     Heinrich
     Hickenlooper
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Husted
     Hyde-Smith
     Justice
     Kaine
     Kelly
     Kennedy
     Kim
     King
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Lujan
     Lummis
     Markey
     Marshall
     McConnell
     McCormick
     Merkley
     Moody
     Moran
     Moreno
     Mullin
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Ossoff
     Padilla
     Peters
     Reed
     Ricketts
     Risch
     Rosen
     Rounds
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schiff
     Schmitt
     Schumer
     Scott (SC)
     Shaheen
     Sheehy
     Slotkin
     Smith
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Warner
     Warnock
     Warren
     Welch
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden
     Young

                                NAYS--8

     Johnson
     Lee
     Murphy
     Paul
     Scott (FL)
     Tillis
     Tuberville
     Van Hollen

                        ANSWERED ``PRESENT'' --1

       
     Booker
       

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Cornyn
       
  The motion was agreed to.

                          ____________________