and i could go on, mr. president. the version of the bill that came over from the house contain such a non-covid related measures as $100 million for an underground rail project in the house speakers home state. $1.5 million for a bridge in the democratic leaders home state. plus a massive increase in the federal minimum wage that would cost an estimated 1.4 million jobs according to the congressional budget office, and potentially potentially devastate small businesses already reeling from the effects of the coronavirus. and then there are the ostensibly covid related measures like $350 billion for states. what's the big problem there? states don't need anywhere near that much money to whether the rest of the pandemic. the vast majority of states are not in crisis. and rescuing those states that are not in crisis would not take anywhere close to 350 billion. democrats are going to spend hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars on an unnecessary giveaway to states. and on top of that, mr. president, that giveaway is h

thank you, mr. president. mr. peters: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. peters: mr. president, i rise in support of shalanda young's nomination to be deputy director of the office of management and budget. ms. young is a proven leader, a dedicated public servant with the experience and the expertise needed to tackle the challenges facing o.m.b. and our nation. not only does ms. young bring a deep knowledge of the budget process and government operations, but she has a long track record of working successfully across the aisle. during her 14 years as a senior staff member on the house appropriations committee, she worked tirelesslessly to -- tirelessly to find a bipartisan path forward on many critical issues. she played a key role in ending past government shutdowns and in negotiating last year's bipartisan coronavirus relief legislation. since president biden are announced ms. young's nomination, members and staff, both democrats and republicans, have enthusiastically praised her ability to work with

. >> it's great to be with you, mr. president. my second call as a foreign leader and third with you and now you are my second virtual meeting with a foreign leader. our relationship with mexico is paramount to all the elements. >> translator: [speaking spanish] >> and i was honored to meet you on one of those visits, mr. president. >> translator: [speaking spanish] >> during my business i got to know mexico a little bit and its people and i paid my respects to guadalupe. as a matter of fact, i still have my beads that my son was wearing when he passed. i walked through the beautiful stones of mexico city and spoke with mexicans of all walks of life. i treasure those memories and hope to be able to build on them in the next four years. >> translator: [speaking spanish] >> mr. president, this is what i know, the united states and mexico are stronger when we stand together. it is a long and complicated history between the nations. haven't always been perfect neighbors among one another, but we have seen over and over the power and t

mr. inhofe: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: thank you, mr. president. it's obvious to just about everyone outside of washington that the situation on our southern border is a crisis. i can't believe that anyone wouldn't believe that it's a crisis. but there are some who would answer that it isn't a crisis. president biden and the d.h.s. secretary refuse to call it a crisis. it's not just a challenge. they call it a challenge. this isn't a challenge. this is a crisis. ask anyone you see on the street if it's a crisis. people lined up coming in illegally. you don't have to take my word for it. look at the facts. we've had a 173% increase in border apprehensions compared with one year ago. 173% increase. this past february apprehensions were the highest total for february in 14 years. d.h.s. admits we're on track for the most illegal migrants in more than 20 years. this is on the border. this is today. this is what's happening. last week main street media news reports found the administration is restricting information bor

will you run again, mr. president? are you considering 2020 for? >> based on every poll, they want me to run again, but we are going to take a look and we will see. first thing is for us, we have to see what we could do with the house. i think we have a very good chance at taking back the house. you are going to lose 15-25 seats. i got involved. i worked very hard. i made tremendous amounts of meetings, speeches, teleconferences and everything else for 56 of them. i had 56 basic teleconferences with thousands of people in the line and what happened is we ended up winning 15 states instead of losing potentially 25 seats. it almost cost nancy pelosi a job. i think we have a chance of taking back the house. i think we have a chance to do better in the senate. we need leadership in the senate, which frankly we don't have. we need better leadership in the senate. we have a good chance to take back the senate. and frankly, we will make our decision after that. but you know what, if you take a look at the polls, maria, when you take a look at what is happ

president. mr. president. >> no. the young lady. >> mr. president, i know you said earlier that you were not thinking of revenge toward iran. but does that preclude any punishment whatsoever for what they've done? >> well, again, i have to ask your forbearance and wait until we've finished our study of this whole situation, as to what we are going to do. i -- i don't think any of us have a friendly feeling toward the people that have done what they have done. but i think it's too complex for me to answer, until we've had time to really study this. >> just one followup. are you -- would you go so far as to encourage american businesses to resume commercial trade with iran? >> at this point, no. >> mr. president. >> no, i'll go back there, in a second. >> mr. president, do you intend to follow through with your campaign pledges to abolish the departments of energy and education? >> i have not retreated from that at all. yes. the process, however, that i have asked for is for both the secretary bell of education and secretary jim edwards of e

thank you, mr. president. [applause] >> thank you, madam speaker. and mr. majority leader. and america. the president promised help is on the way. today, help has arrived. help has arrived to the workers who lost their jobs, help has arrived for the students who have been stuck at home, help is arrived for the families that have struggled to put food on their tables. and for the small businesses that have struggled to keep their doors open, help is arrived, america. this landmark legislation will get relief to families, give support to communities, and make sure more shots get in our arms. i want to thank the speaker, nancy pelosi, and majority leader, chuck schumer, and all the members of congress who voted for this legislation and helped lead to its success. and of course, we would not be here today were it not for the leadership of our president, joe biden. [applause] and i just want to say something. about the president. from the beginning of this, joe said we have to tell the story. we have to tell the story. we have to show we understand what the people are experienci

mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. barrasso: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor today to oppose the nomination as secretary of health and human services of xavier becerra. mr. president, as i stand here stayed, america is still fighting the worst pandemic in a century. more than half a million americans that we have just heard have died of this coronavirus. life expectancy in our country has actually dropped by a full year. now, as a doctor, i will tell you that's a significant drop of life expectancy. in this time of crisis, our secretary of health and human services may be the single most important member of the president's cabinet. there are many well-qualified democrats in my opinion who could serve in this position. for example, i voted to the confirm president obama's last secretary of health and human services, sylvia burwell. and, you know, she was confirmed by a large bipartisan majority. that's not the kind of nominee that we have

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, today i'd like to begin with a few quotations. quote, the legislative filibuster is the most important distinction between the senate and the house. without the 60-vote threshold for legislation, the senate becomes a majoritarian institution, just like the house. much more subject to the whims of short-term electoral change. no senator would like to see that happen. so let's find a way to further protect the 60-vote rule for legislation. that was the -- that was the current democratic leader, senator schumer, in april of 2017, less than four years ago. here's another quote, mr. president. what about the nuclear option, doing away with the filibuster? i can tell you that would be the end of the senate as it was originally devised and created, going back to our founding fathers. we have to acknowledge our respect for the minority, and that is what the senate tries to do in its composition and in its procedure, end quote. that was the assistant democratic leader, senator durbi

leahy, president pro tempore. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to calendar number 1, smst 11. the clerk: prp the clerk will report. the clerk: a bill to provide for exception to limitation against apappointment of persons as secretary of defense and so forth. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, as the senate prepares to take up the american rescue plan today, i want to remind everyone why we're here. this country is in the midst of a once-in-a-century crisis. not once in a decade, not once in every 50 years. once in a century. it's a crisis that is still very much with us, and it is deadly, deadly serious. it has claimed more than 515,000 precious lives across every part of the nation. for the better part of the calendar year, businesses have had to close their doors, en

sir. >> mr. president -- >> oh, sorry. >> you'll be next. mr. president, some administrative officials have promised adherence to the civil rights laws, which are on the books. but there has been considerable discussion about dismantling the affirmative action aspect of that, that give those laws, to some people, greater meaning. and i am wondering, mr. president, if there will be a retreat in the federal government on the affirmative action programs, generally, and in federal hiring of blacks and hispanics, specifically? >> no, there will be no retreat. this administration is going to be dedicated to equality. i think we've made great progress in the civil-rights field. i think there are some things, field. i think there are some things, field. i think there are some things, however, that have -- that may not be as useful as they once were, or that may even be distorted in the practice. such as some affirmative action programs becoming quota systems. and i'm old enough to remember when quotas existed in the united states, for the purpose of dis

mr. president, mr. becerra's extremist views on abortion would be enough of a red flag but to that we have to add mr. becerra's religious liberty and freedom of conference. his most famous effort to force religious people, including nuns to offer health benefits that go against their religious beliefs. he claimed i never sued an order of nuns. i sued the federal government. that's an answer only a lawyer could love, mr. president. yes, he didn't sue nuns. he sued the federal government to force nuns and other religious people to offer health insurance benefits that violate their consciences. that was the aim of his lawsuit, mr. president. to force nuns and other religious americans to act contrary to their consciences. and when an order of nuns, the little sisters of the poor, joined the case in an effort to ensure their right to live according to their faith was protected, mr. becerra apparently had no hesitation in continuing his suit. mr. president, mr. becerra's extremist views on abortion an his re

one mr. president. among the amendment house it was common sense proposals school funding which is the reopening of schools and freezing food for the food assistance program for farmers and ranchers and the overlooked rural communities and an amendment to protect healthcare providers from from one - - frivolous lawsuits. one thing that can be said is at least it gave members in the house a chance to review the bill in committee. here in the senate democrats are told the package will come to the floor without any committee consideration so were just supposed to accept whatever the house and over minus the items from the reconciliation package from senate budget rules. the partisan course is disappointing because up until now covid relief has been a bipartisan process today congress has passed five covid relief bills and every single one of those bills was overwhelmingly bipartisan through public and led senate took up past reliefs with resolution 96 / 196 / 092 / 61 and even went by voice vote here in th

murphy: thank you very much, mr. president. mr. president, i waspresiding on tuesday. sometimes staff will give you a folder of things to review while i'm presiding and often they'll be upset when i come back having not reviewed they have given me. the reason for that is simple. when there are members speaking before the body, i'm, frankly, very interested to listen and to hear what our colleagues have to say. we don't do enough of that in this place. we're so busy during the day, we don't spend a lot of time on the senate floor. we might have the floor on our tv in our office, but we're not always paying attention to what our colleagues have to say. one of the benefits of getting to preside is you get to listen to the arguments being made on the senate floor. the hours i was presiding on tuesday, i got to hear about four or five of my republican colleagues come down in sequence to make their case as to why they'd be voting against the american rescue plan. and so i got to hear a number of themes be developed. i don't think coincidentally a number of arguments were mad

a sitting president leaned on me to do it. he tweeted about it. what did i do, mr. president? i said to the president at that time, no. i said no repeatedly. because becoming a u.s. senator comes with higher duties than steamrolling any obstacle to short-term power. i meant it. republicans meant it. less than two months ago, two of our democratic colleagues said they mean it, too. if they keep their word, we have a bipartisan majority that can put principle first and keep the senate safe. >> mr. president, it's flattering when the republican senate leader comes to the floor and mentioned your name and senator mcconnell did just that this morning. the issue was the filibuster, and senator mcconnell found a quote of several years ago where i spoke in favor of the filibuster to protect annuity rights in the senate.'s it's true. i didi say that, and it was basd on life experience having already served in the senate for a number of years. i came to understand how i

one, mr. president. among the amendments house democrats rejected were commonsense proposals to the school funding to the reopening reopening -- the school funding to the reopening of schools. there was an amendment to unfreeze coronavirus food assistance program for freanches. farmers and ranchers. and an amendment to protect health care providers from frivolous lawsuits. mr. president, the one thing that can be said for the house is at least it gave members in the house a chance to review the bill in committee. here in the senate, democrats' covid package will come to the floor without any committee consideration. senators are just supposed to accept wheamb -- whatever the house sent over minus items excluded from a reconciliation package by senate budget rules. mr. president, democrats' partisan course on covid legislation is particularly disappointing because up until now covid relief has been a bipartisan process. that's right. to date, congress has passed five covid relief bills, and every single o

mr. president, i ask that my first black senator to represent the state of georgia. >>> mr. president, before i begin my formal remarks, i want to pause to condemn the hatred and violence that took eight precious lives last night in metropolitan atlanta. i agree with georgians and americans with people of love all across the world this unspeakable violence largely upon the asian community is one that causes all of us to recommit ourselves to the way of peace that prevents these kind of tragedies from happening in the first place. we pray for these families. mr. president, i rise here today as a proud american and as one of the newest members of the senate inat all of the journey that has brought me to these hallowed halls and with an abiding sense of reverence and gratitude for the safe sacrifices of ancestors who paved the way i am a proud son of the great state of georgia born and raised in savannah, a coastal city known for its cobblestone streets and town squares, towering oak trees, centuries-old covered in spanish moss stretched from one side of the street to the other

judge jeanine: mr. president i know your time is valuable, do you go next week or the week after? >> i don't want to setey a schedule but over the next few weeks i guess i'll go and i'm not sure i really should do it other than the fact that if such respect for the border patrol and for ice and these people are dying for leadership, there is erno leadership you have to see the squalor, the children and bring the people to come into the country you look at what's happening the dirt and filth that's why they're not letting the press in. frankly if that were me the press would have been in.

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, mr. mcconnell: mr. president, >> mr. president today like w to begin with a few quotations. quote the legislative filibuster is the most important distinction between the senate and the house. without the 60 vote threshold for legislation the senate becomes a majoritarian institution just like the house. much more so kicked to the went to short-term electoral change. no senator would like to see that happen. so let's find a way to further protect the 60 vote rule forio legislation. that is the current democratic leader senator schumer in april of 2017 less than four years ago. here's another quote mr. president, what about the nuclear option, doing away with the filibuster? i can tell you that was at the end of the senate as it was originally devised and created going and created going back to our founding fathers. we have tos acknowledge or respect for the minority and that is what the senate tries to do in this composition and in its procedure end quote. that was the assistant democratic leader senato

and with that, mr. president, i yield back. mr. wyden: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: mr. president, the senate will soon vote on the nomination of california attorney general xavier becerra to lead the department of health and human services. moving this nomination forward required an additional procedural step and more floor debate than others, so i will make just a few quick points this afternoon. first, in our lifetime, america has never faced a greater public health challenge than the pandemic we face today. the department of health and human services is our point agency, the leading agency to coordinate the effort to end the pandemic as soon as possible. right now, for example, it's coordinating the distribution of vaccines. it's working to get p.p.e., the critical protective equipment, into the hands of nurses and doctors and all those providers who desperately need more of it. the department supports rural hospitals, keep them afloat so that rural patients have access to care. the department's work incl

your reaction to that offensive comparison, mr. president? >> mr. trump: well, jim crow is their most often used term over the last three weeks. i noticed this constantly being used. trying to get something with no voter i.d., no signature verification, send all the ballots you can, you will never have another fair election in this country, just like, if you look at the last election, it was disgraceful. it was a third world election. it was a disgrace. legislatures didn't approve much of what happened. our supreme court should be ashamed of themselves. under the constitution, all of the things that they were doing had to be approved by legislatures, and legislators, and if you take a look at it, the democrats went to the republican legislatures. there were five of them, and they went to the republican legislatures, could not get approval, so they did it anyway. that is in total violation of the constitution. and what they did was absolutely disgraceful, and if you look at the numbers, the numbers were vastly in favor of us in the presidential elect

one mr. president. among the amendments house democratsd reject or commonsense proposals to the school funding to the reopening of the schools. there was an amendment on freeze for the food assistance program for farmers and ranchers. they overlooked a rural communities and an amendment to protect health care providers from frivolous lawsuits. mr. president the one thing that can be said for the houses that we gave members in the house the chance to review the bill in committee. here in the senate democrats package will come to the floor without any committee consideration. we are supposed to except where the house sent over whatever changes the democratic leader made minus those excluded from a reconciliation package via the senate budget rules. mr. president democrats partisan course on covid legislation particularly disappointing because upbe until now covid relief has been a bipartisan process. that's right, to date congress has passed five covid relief bills and every single one of those bills was

your reaction to that offensive comparison, mr. president? >> mr. trump: well, jim crow is their most often used term over the last three weeks. i noticed it's constantly being used. trying to get something with no voter i.d., no signature verification, send all the ballots you can, you will never have another fair election in this country, just like, if you look at the last election, it was disgraceful. it was a third world election. it was a disgrace. legislatures didn't approve much of what happened. our supreme court should be ashamed of themselves. under the constitution, all of the things that they were doing had to be approved by legislatures, and legislators, and if you take a look at it, the democrats went to the republican legislatures. there were five of them, and they went to the republican legislatures, could not get approval, so they did it anyway. that is in total violation of the constitution. and what they did was absolutely disgraceful, and if you look at the numbers, the numbers were vastly in favor of us in the presidential elect

so let me explain kind of the significance if i could, mr. president. typically about 70% of all cancer patients receive radiation at some point during their treatment. and typically these treatment courses can last up to six to eight weeks per patient. a long course of treatment. and patients go through a lot during the course of treatment. so the tradition here in our department is the very last treatment -- in the patients will ring the bell and it's symbolic of several things, mr. president. it's symbolic of bravery, it's symbolic of the resiliency of the patient, they're overcoming long odds here. long, long odds and finally it is symbolic of hope. hope for the future. so this bell right here means a lot not only to us but our patient population. so really thanks for letting me share that with you. >> unfortunately i'm pretty familiar with the bell. not here but -- my son when he came home he decorated war hero from iraq, was diagnosed with stage four and you know then it is only a matter of months, not if going live in most cases, and i had a chan

mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. kennedy: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, since we've got a few minutes here -- i think senator sanders is supposed to be next. am i right about that? i just thought i'd spend a few minutes to talk about president biden's coronavirus bill. let me see if i can explain why so many of my republican colleagues -- and i'm a part of that -- are disappointed in the bill. this bill -- this bill will be our sixth coronavirus bill. i don't think anybody, any fair-minded person, can accuse the united states senate, both democrats and republicans, are not trying -- of not trying to respond to -- to this devastating virus and the -- the -- the economic problems that it has created. and i've been very proud that in the first five bills that we did it on a bipartisan basis. we spent a lot of money, about $4 trillion. that's four 4000000000000000 taxpayer dollars. and, of course, we don't even have 5% of that. we borrowed every bit of that. it's a staggering sum. but we did it, it was a crisis. we had to deal with it. that's what

mr. president, i object. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. mr. cruz: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: the senator from oregon i guess demonstrates the principle that hypocrisy is the tribute that advice pays to virtue. because the senator from oregon subjects that somehow payments to people who are not criminals will be delayed if we don't pay criminals in prison. that claim on the face of it is absurd. the federal prisons are administered by the bureau of prisons. government may not be good at everything but i feel quite confident the federal government can produce a list of currently incarcerated prisons. i know the states can. the i.r.s. likewise is perfectly capable of recognizing whether it is mailing checks to prisoners in prison. this is not whether you've ever been convicted of a crime. it's if you are sending the check to sing sing. if not, don't send it. joe six-pack at home is not getting his check because we don't want to send checks to prisoners is demonstrablely untrue. the senator from oregon also claims republica

mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: mr. president, before i begin i want to express my sadness about senator blunt's announcement, he will not seek reelection in 2022. he has been a leader in our conference and will be sorely missed. i will especially miss having him as a member of the whip team here in the senate. i came into the house of representatives with senator blunt back in the election of 1996, began our service in january of 1997, and he quickly rose up through the ranks in the house and became the whip, republican whip in the house of representatives. he has always been involved in leadership wherever he has been, and his list of achievements is long. all americans have benefited over the past year from his tremendous efforts to accelerate coronavirus testing and vaccine development. less than two months ago, in his role as chairman of the rules committee, he oversaw a very successful inauguration at a particularly challenging time. mr. president, the one

mr. president, people will feel and see what we all did here. they will see the checks in their bank accounts and see the child tax credit when they file their taxes, when they return to work in school and when they reopen their businesses, when they hug their grandchildren the first time in a year. americans will see what we did here. what you did, mr. president. they will feel the impact of this bill for generations to come. that is what happens when you make historic investments in communities of color and tribal immunities and rural communities and you lift the children living in poverty out of poverty. [applause] because of you, mr. president, help has arrived and on behalf of our nation, thank you. it is now my great, great honor to introduce the president of the united states of america, joe biden. [applause] pres. biden: good afternoon. thank you, kamala. when i look out over what happened the last 50 days when jill and i first got a chance to move into this magnificent building behind you, i promised the american people and i guess it b

. >> follow-up mr. president. if you can't make progress on those challenges. >> i plan on making ryegrass on all of them, but that's going to be for the american people for dish i'm going to make progress on all of them, but that's going to be for the american people to decide. pretty big deal. growing the economy. people's lives are changing. let's see what happens. all i know, i've been hired to solve problems. not create division. ok, >> thanks so much. you said over and over again that immigrants should not come to this country right now. that message is not being received. the perception of you they got you elected is immoral -- is moral decent man. how do you resolve that tension? and how are you, there are some families that are staying. is there a timeline for when we won't be seeing these overcrowded facilities when it comes to minors question mark >> >> i guess i shouldn't desk -- i guess i should be flattered. i'm a decent man or however it's phrase. the truth of the matter is nothing has changed. as m

thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, last week i introduced a bill to permanently repeal the death tax. i've been pushing to repeal the death tax for a long time because i've seen the consequences the tax can have for family farms and ranches and for family businesses. and i'm proud that we protected a lot of family farms and businesses three years ago with the tax cuts and jobs act by doubling the death tax exemption. but the death tax is still a big problem. first of all, the change we made to the death tax in the tax cuts and jobs act isn't permanent. the increased exemption level expires at the end of 2025. second, democrats always eager to seize any possible revenue source have proposed not merely returning the exemption to its previous level but reducing it even further. and now -- and that would be a big problem for a lot of family farms and businesses. mr. president, the death tax

god is good, as you know, mr. president, better than most of us. but he struggles and so when here about the anguish of small business people, i'll never forget, i would work is sometimes weekends, summers, , andy sent me out to collect checks from a landlord who had three or four buildings, smaller buildings, and we had done, my dad's company had done exterminating. that guy had not paid for six months. it took about an hour and half onto the deck buses to go to this man's door. i knocked come open the the door and i said, you know, i'm chuck schumer, the son of a schumer, century exterminating. you always six months. we've been doing a a good job exterminating her house. do you know what he said to me? joy that is a small businessman. he can'thi afford a lawyer. he can't afford anything to go after me. i'm not paying. the anguish that small business people face. so we need to help them. we need to help them. and that's one of the many reasons i'm so proudau of the american rescue plan. because it provides tens of billions of dollars in support fo

thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. cruz: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: mr. president, i rise today to commemorate texas independence day. 185 years ago today, on march 2, 1836, the republic of texas declared our independence from the nation of mexico. 59 delegates adopted the texas declaration of independence on that day, gathered at washington on the brazos. the del cats adopted a declaration modeled in significant parts after the declaration of independence of the united states. the declaration decried the arbitrary acts of oppression and tyranny from the mexican government under the dictator general santa anna. in particular, it noted that that government had, quote, ceased to protect the lives, liberty, and property of the people from whom its legitimate powers are derived, and the texans signing that declaration sought to protect their rights of free speech, their rights to keep and bear arms, and their rights of freedom of religion. signing that declaration commenced the texas revolution, our

>> thank you, mr. president. i would like to ask you about some of the other issues. one are the defining challenges you face in the coming months? issues like immigration and reform and gun control. all of those things are facing united opposition from republicans. how far are you willing to go to achieve those promises? pres. biden: look, when i took office i decided that it was a fairly basic, simple proposition. that is, i got elected to solve problems. the most urgent problem facing the american people, i stated from the outset, was covid-19 and the economic dislocation for millions of americans. that is why put all of my focus at the beginning on dealing with those particular problems. the other problems we are talking about from immigration to guns and other things you mentioned are long-term problems. they have been around a long time. what we are going to be able to do, god willing, is one at a time to focus on those as well. whether it's immigration or guns or a number of other problems that face the co

with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. lankford: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. lankford: mr. president, on january 20 of this years, president biden declared the repeal of an emergency action at our southwest border. he withdrew that and said there was no emergency that currently exists there and paused all funding for the border wall construction. stopped it. wherever it was that day, he ended it. on the same day he announced a 100-day moratorium. stopped it. within a few days the federal courts stepped in and said you can't stop executing the laws of the united states, and so the court halted his halt on moratoriums for deportation, in this case his deportation halt went through a federal court system had asked him to be removed from the united states. that's what president biden has trying to stop. federal courts stepped in and said when they have to be removed, the executive branch can't just ignore that. they have to be removed. that opened the floodgates. those two announcements together, that we're not

thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. ms. smith: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. smith: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of senate resolution 83, submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 83, expressing support for the designation of february 20 through february 27, 2021, as national f.s.a. week, and so forth. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed. ms. smith: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. ms. smith: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it recesses until 10:30 a.m. on tuesday, march 2. that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approv

leahy, president pro tempore. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to calendar number 1, s. 11. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to s. 11, a bill to provide for an exception to a limitation against appointments of persons as secretary of defense within seven years of relief from active duty as a regular commissioned officer of the armed forces. mr. schumer: thank you. mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: mr. president, i begin this morning with a very exciting announcement about critical leadership roles in the senate chamber. three outstanding individuals are set to resume new responsibilities -- lieutenant general karen gibson will serve as the next senate sergeant at arms while kelly fado will serve as deputy sergeant at arms and jennifer hemingway chief of staff. the senate sergeant at arms was established 223 years ago as an outgrowth of the office of the senate doorkeeper back when one of thing

here's how the meeting got started. >> it's great to be with you, mr. president. my second call as a foreign leader and third with you and now you are my second virtual meeting with a foreign leader. our relationship with mexico is paramount to all the elements. >> translator: [speaking spanish] >> and i was honored to meet you on one of those visits, mr. president. >> translator: [speaking spanish] >> during my business i got to know mexico a little bit and its people and i paid my respects to guadalupe. as a matter of fact, i still have my beads that my son was wearing when he passed. i walked through the beautiful stones of mexico city and spoke with mexicans of all walks of life. i treasure those memories and hope to be able to build on them in the next four years. >> translator: [speaking spanish] >> mr. president, this is what i know, the united states and mexico are stronger when we stand together. it is a long and complicated history between the nations. haven't always been perfect neighbors among one another, but we have seen over and over the power and t

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i have one request for a committee to meet during today's session of the senate. it has the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. schumer: mr. president, i understand there's a joint resolution at the desk and i ask for its first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for the first time. the clerk: h.j. res. 17, removing the deadline of the ratification of the equal rights amendment. mr. schumer: i now ask for a second reading and in order to place the joint resolution on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i object to my own request. the presiding officer: objection having been heard, the joint resolution will be heard for the second time

thank you, mr. president, for being there and for -- with us and for us. my husband, paul, always says i wonder how long it will be before nancy starts talking about our grandchildren. our grandchildren. my grandchildren have for many, many years been long-time friends of joe biden. they have a range in age, but all of them love joe biden. but let me tell you one story. i think with 2013, 4 and 5-year-olds, paul and thomas, we were at an event, the dccc in new york and joe biden was the speaker. they were so excited to see him because they heard so much about him from their cousins. they had swinging doors, have to get through the doors at one part of the store to the next. here they are. the place is packed and jammed. kids are making all this noise over there on the side. and all of a sudden i hear them pronounce, in order to open these doors, we do not say open sesame, we say open biden. that's our magic word. open biden. i love it. now more than ever, we need a battle-tested forward-looking leader who will fight for the people. a president with the val

thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. murphy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. president. i thank my friend, senator bennet, for those remarks for honoring the memories of those that we have lost and commanding us to action. i remember getting a phone call from michael bennet that friday morning as senator blumenthal and i were sitting at a firehouse in sandy hook, connecticut, learning what had happened just around the corner at a schoolhouse. i remember getting advice from michael bennet about what you do if you're an elected official in the midst of this tragedy because he had already been through it once before. colorado had already been through it more than once before. i think about this macabre club that an increasing number of members of the senate and house belong to in which we have this memory bank of what to do when a mass shooting happens in your district or your state, a set of capacities that no member of the house or senate, no governor ever had to think about or ever

. >> thank you very much, mr. president. [indiscernible] >> on thursday, president biden holds his first official news conference. watch live coverage beginning at 1:15 p.m. eastern, online, or listen on the radio app. >> american history tv on c-span3. exploring the people and events that tell the american story, every weekend. coming up this weekend, saturday at 10:00 p.m. eastern on real america, the recent announcement of this year's academy award nominees, we feature three films that were nominated or won academy awards. the library of congress from 1945, with these hands from 1950, and by men creates from 1958. sunday, at 2:00 p.m. eastern, a civil rights act of us recounts the 1968 massacre, where south carolina state troopers fired on students. at 6:00 p.m. eastern on american artifacts, we visit the national museum of the u.s. army in virginia. this masonic secretary and ken burns discussed the challenge of telling america's story, exploring the american story, watch american history tv, this weekend on c-span3. >>

mr. president, i am excited to serve with you. as you mentioned on that historic day in 2010, the affordable care act is a big deal. it still is. the same can be said about the american rescue plan. it is all about meeting the magnitude of the moment of my constituents. lives are on the line and there's a historic package that will put dollars in family pockets, get the people back to work, return children and our teachers to the safety of the classroom, improve vaccine distribution and yes, strengthen our economy. i want to thank you mr. president and vice president harris for pledging right belief to people and small businesses that needed the most. in this landmark -- and this landmark piece of legislation makes good on that promise. we can defeat covid-19 and they promise from the pressing issues that face our country, including something that is extremely personal to you, mr. president, defeating cancer, as evidenced by your cancer moonshot initiative. let's end cancer and continue to build back better. it is my pleasure to y