two landmark bills sit before the united states senate. the john lewis voting rights advancement act, and the freedom to vote act. [applause] and these two bills represent the first real opportunity to secure the freedom to vote since the united states supreme court gutted the voting rights act nearly a decade ago. we do not know when we will have this opportunity again. senate republicans have exploited arcane rules to block these bills. and let us be clear. the constitution of the united states gives the congress the power to pass legislation, and nowhere, nowhere does the constitution give a minority the right to unilaterally block legislation. [applause] the american people have waited long enough. the senate must act. and the bottom line is this. years from now, our children and our grandchildren, they will ask us about this moment. they will look back on this time, and they will ask us not about how we felt they will ask us, what did we do? we cannot tell them that we let a senate rule stand in the way of our most fundamental freedom

states senate. i yield the floor. sen. mccain: mr. president, the events that took place today are probably as historic as any votes that i have seen taken in the years i have been here in the united states senate. the majority with

two landmark bills sit before the united states senate. the john lewis voting rights advancement act, and the freedom to vote act. [applause] and these two bills represent the first real opportunity to secure the freedom to vote since the united states supreme court gutted the voting rights act nearly a decade ago. we do not know when we will have this opportunity again. senate republicans have exploited arcane rules to block these bills. and let us be clear. the constitution of the united states gives the congress the power to pass legislation, and nowhere, nowhere does the constitution give a minority the right to unilaterally block legislation. [applause] the american people have waited long enough. the senate must act. and the bottom line is this. years from now, our children and our grandchildren, they will ask us about this moment. they will look back on this time, and they will ask us -- not about how we felt -- they will ask us, what did we do? we cannot tell them that we let a senate rule stand in the way of our most fundamental f

legislature, certainly as secretary of state, and now even moreso in the united states senate. damian: you've sponsored-- well, we'll talk about that in our next segment. i'm gonna give you some time to have a sip of water. we're talking with united states senator alex padilla. we'll be back after these messages. stay with us. you can follow me on twitter. my handle is @newsdamian. on instagram, it's @newsdamiantrujillo. you can also pick up a copy of "el observador" newspaper and support your bilingual weeklies all across the bay area. i think they're mostly online now, but check 'em out. we thank you once again for sharing a part of your sunday. we're going into another little hiatus because of the olympics on nbc, but we'll be back in late february, early march. we're gonna leave you now with the second part of our exclusive interview with united states senator alex padilla. buenos dias. damian: and we're back or co-sponsored legislation and having to do with immigration and citizenship. talk about that, and where that is, and what happened to that. senator padilla: right, l

it is not destroying the united states senate. that means which is to stand here in front of these cameras, and challenge one another r because we have to. because the rules force us to do that. not to go home to our home state. not to put a a hold on a bill or a person and then not say a word. not to be able to justify why you are doing that on the floor. so i see this in a little different light than has been described by someone across the aisle. and they can shake their heads and say what has gone wrong? i think what has gone wrong as we have gotten lazy. truth. the last place i want to be is on the floor of the united states senate and justify my position. it takes time. it takes effort. but there are people that do that. that is part of the debate we are having here today. and to realize there's not a single member of this body on either side of the aisle that wants to blow this place up.at they might describe it that way. but the truth is that everybody knows that serves in this body doesn't function as a united states sena

states senate. i yield the floor. sen. mccain: mr. president, the events that took place today are probably as historic as any votes that i have seen taken in the years i have been here in the united states senate. the majority with only majority votes, the same as was passed with obamacare, with only democrat votes, changed the rules of the senate in a way that is detrimental, in my view, not only to the united states senate, not only to those of us in the minority party, but great damage to the institution itself. one of the men who served in this senate for a long time that we respected as much or more than any other leader, he certainly knew the senate rules more than any of the rest of us combined, was one robert byrd. three months before his death, robert byrd wrote this letter. three months before his death, he said, "during my half-century of service in various leaderships during the u.s. senate, including minority leader, majority leader, majority whip, and now president pro tem, i have car

what they call voting rights legislation in the united states senate. something that has been rejected already multiple times. he is using the false narrative that our states cannot protect voters access to voting. we know that is a false narrative. he is bringing up this legislation why? so that he can bring up the senate filibuster. he wishes to break the filibuster. years ago, he himself had stated that we needed to maintain the filibuster. we saw this with president joe biden when he was serving in the united states senate. he said we need to maintain the senate filibuster. his attempt to federalize our voting system is just an excuse to give democrats the power in the united states senate. as you have heard time and time again, the senate is different than the house. the senate is here as the saucer for the teacup. so it can help the t cool. -- help the tea cool, and we need that because we have seen a hot mess coming from the house. what we don't need is another house of representatives. >> as i traveled around florida, everybody says to meet they

two landmark bills sit before the united states senate. the jon lewis voting rights advancement act and the freedom to vote act. and these two bills represent the first real opportunity to secure the freedom to vote since the united states supreme court gutted the voting rights act nearly a decade ago. we do not know when we will have this opportunity again. senate republicans have exploited arcane rules to block these bills. and let us be clear. the constitution of the united states gives the congress the power to pass legislation and nowhere, nowhere does the constitution give a minority the right to unilaterally block legislation. the american people have waited long enough. the senate must act. and the bottom line is this. years from now, our children and our grandchildren, they will ask us about this moment. they will look back on this time and they will ask us not about how we felt. they will ask us what did we do. we cannot tell them that we let a senate rule stand in the way of our most fundamental freedom. instead, let us tell the

. >> it is time for the united states senate to do its job. a landmark bill, as we all know, since before the united states senate. the freedom to vote, john r. lewis act. this bill, represents the first real opportunity to secure the freedom to vote since the united states supreme court gutted the voting rights act nearly a decade ago. and the senate must pass this bill now. >> the biden administration had hoped to have a senate vote on voting rights in time for today's martin luther king junior holiday. from the sounds of it, they are not ready to give up. despite all signs pointing to failure. we want to welcome tonight simone sanders, former chief spokes person to vice president harris. she will be hosting a show here on cbs nbc. the choice on peacock. and tim miller, contributor to the bulwark. -- welcome to both you, good evening. simone, welcome to the nbc family. going to be fun to be with you on a regular basis. simone, i think it is fair to say that this may be the most meaningful mlk junior holiday since the holiday has existed. bec

two landmark bills sit before the united states senate. the john lewis voting rights advancement act and the freedom to vote act. [ applause ] and these two bills represent the first real opportunity to secure the freedom to vote since the united states supreme court gutted the voting rights act nearly a decade ago. we do not know when i'll have this opportunity again. senate republicans have exploited arcane rules to block these bills. and let us be clear, the constitution of the united states gives the congress the power to pass legislation and nowhere -- nowhere does the constitution give a minority the right to unilaterally block legislation. the american people have waited long enough. the senate must act. and the bottom line is this. years from now our children and grandchildren, they will ask us about this moment. they will look back on this time, and they will ask us, not about how we felt. they will ask us what did we do? we cannot tell them that we let a senate rule stand in the way of our most fundamental freedom. instead, let u

we have 50/50 in the united states senate. that means we have 51 presidents. you all think i'm kidding. i've been pretty good working with senators my whole career. when you have 51 presidents, it gets harder. anyone can change the outcome. sadly the united states senate designed to be the world's greatest deliberative body is a shell of itself. as an institutionalist, it's a threat to our democracy is so grave that we must find a way to pass these voting rights bills. debate them, vote, let the majority prevail. if that bear minimum is blocked, we have no option but to change the senate rules including getting rid of the filibuster for this. [applause] you know, last year, if i'm not mistaken, the filibuster was used 154 times. filibuster has been used to generate compromise in the past, promote bipartisanship. but it's also used to obstruct including especially obstruct civil rights and voting rights. and when it was used, senators used to have to stand and speak at their desk for however long it took. sometimes it took hours. when they sat down, if no one s

states senators--50 democratic united states senators, and they said so, they articulated that. there are some things they don't support. we need to work on that and we need to get it done, because it, too, will make an extraordinary difference. an extraordinary difference in the supply-side issues we are dealing with with the employment issues, childcare, health care, etc., etc. rachael: let's dig more into build back better. before i get to this make it in america competition bill -- we will get to that in a second. build back better stalled when the senator joe manchin of west virginia stepped away from the negotiating table. given his concerns about inflation, one of the reasons he stepped away continues to be an issue for him. how are democrats going to revive it this? knowing what is the play to get this moving --what is the play for getting is moving? rep. hoyer: joe manchin indicated he supports much of the legislation. when you say it has been stalled since december, that is less than 30 days ago. you know the legislative process, rachael. it does not move for the most

very strong message to the american people, to the united states senate. that was a very clear message that democracy is before us and that we have a choice. are you going to be on the side of darn the martin luther king junior? are you gonna get inside of george wallace? and it was clear that he outlined a case for voting rights. why it was so important for us to pass federal legislation the freedom to vote at in the john lewis voting rights act, that it was imperative that congress needed to do it now. and he also laid out a pathway that we needed to adjust the filibuster in order to make way for there to be a vote on this issue. any also made it very clear that adjusting to full buster heads taking place before with the debt ceiling. and there's no reason why it should not happen again for us to deal with a fundamental right in our country, which is democracy. we all know what needs to be done, talking about it, those one thing getting it done is a mother entirely i think show, and i think what president fighting and vice president biden illustrated tod

senate, and members of the united states house of representatives and the united states senate. please welcome the most reverend michael curry, presiding bishop of the ethical church. reverend curry: let us pray. internal god of whom the bible speaks and says that you are loved, you are the source of all that is good and just and true, and compassionate. we come before you come of the fountain of all wisdom and the light of all truth. we come before you not in pride or in arrogance, but we come before you in true humility. we come before you because we need your help. we need your help in these troubled times. we need your help for this beloved nation. we need your help for those who have been traumatized and troubled by the painful events of one year ago, and all that has continued since. we need your help, lord, now, to be the democracy you would have us to become a to be the nation you would have us to be. one nation, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. so, we ask you now to help us, to help all those who are traumatized. help all of those who have lost l

senate, and members of the united states house of representatives and the united states senate. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the most reverend michael curry, presiding bishop of the ethical church. reverend curry: let us pray. internal god of whom the bible speaks and says that you are loved, you are the source of all that is good and just and true, and compassionate. we come before you come of the fountain of all wisdom and the light of all truth. we come before you not in pride or in arrogance, but we come before you in true humility. we come before you because we need your help. we need your help in these troubled times. we need your help for this beloved nation. we need your help for those who have been traumatized and troubled by the painful events of one year ago, and all that has continued since. we need your help, lord, now, to be the democracy you would have us to become a to be the nation you would have us to be. one nation, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. so, we ask you now to help us, to help all those who are traumatized. help all of

states senators, his own| united states senators, his own attorney— united states senators, his own attorney general, _ united states senators, his own attorney general, his _ united states senators, his own attorney general, his own - united states senators, his own attorney general, his own vice i attorney general, his own vice president. _ attorney general, his own vice president, governors - attorney general, his own vice president, governors and - attorney general, his own vice| president, governors and state officials — president, governors and state officials in _ president, governors and state officials in every _ president, governors and state officials in every battleground. officials in every battleground state — officials in every battleground state have _ officials in every battleground state have all— officials in every battleground state have all said, _ officials in every battleground state have all said, he - officials in every battleground state have all said, he lost. . officials in every battleground - state have all said, he lost. that's what _ state have

about how the united states senate should work and not a single word about the reality of why the united states senate no longer works. in announcing her opposition to changing senate rules in any way in order to pass voting rights legislation by a simple majority vote, senator sinema said this. >> eliminating the 60-vote threshold will simply guarantee that we lose a critical tool, that we need to safeguard our democracy from threats in the years to come. >> it is hard to think of a stupider thing that could be said about the 60-vote threshold. that was senator sinema claiming that the 60-vote rule in the senate is, quote, a critical tool that we need to safeguard our democracy. it is, in fact, the single most anti-democracy rule that exists in american government. if senator sinema said a single true thing about the 60-vote rule today, i would press the play button for that right now and let you hear it. she didn't. not one true word about the 60-vote rule. so here is something untrue that senator sinema said about her own history with the 60-vote threshold. >> there is no need for me

in the cooperation that had been the hallmarks of the united states senate. let us listen to the admonition of the democratic leaders when he spoke against changing the rule in 2017. let it go no further down this road. >> the democratic campaign continues. the ideologues in the senate want to turn the founding fathers called the cooling saucer of democracy. a rubberstamp of dictatorship. not my words, madam president, but the words of the current senate leader in 2005 when they were under discussion. the current democratic leader was once in fact a

united states senate. half of the supreme court that the senate would refocus and what they are elected to do and then to address their concerns but the recent rhetoric with any such optimism the american people deserve a government that acknowledges and works powerfully to address them those that we face as a nation americans want us to do our job. those with debate and compromise it would do irreparable harm help my colleagues find the strength of the long-standing support and i hope they reject this cynical move for the voters that they represent and to stand here yesterday and the opportunity to act this week in the spirit. martin luther king day. and i feel compelled to response a couple of items in the senate. and then to make mention we should focus on voting rights. because that all actions last year with the american rescue plan. and to be at record lows but the infrastructure and jobs act i can attest that percentage of containers waiting to bes picked up democrats are taking action. so just imag

it's not destroying the united states senate. it means we get a chance to stand here in front of these cameras and challenge one another because we have to, because the rules force us to do that, not to go home to our home state. not to put a hold on a bill or a person and then not say a word why, not to be able to justify why you're doing that on the floor. so i see this in a little different light than has been described by someone across the aisle. i don't think this is blowing the senate up at all. if the forefathers looked at the senate today, they would sit there and shake their heads and say what has gone wrong. and i think what's gone wrong is we've gotten lazy. it's the truth. truthfully the last place i want to be is on the floor of the united states senate trying to justify my position. i mean, that's a lot of work. it takes time. it takes effort. we ought to be forcing people to do that. that's part of this debate we're having here today. and we ought to realize that there's not a single member of this body on either

the 60-vote threshold in the united states senate does exactly the same thing for all americans. so i urge my democratic colleagues don't abolish the filibuster. and if democrats won't listen to reason from republicans, they should listen to the president himself. when he was a senator, he said, quote, at its core, the filibuster is not about stopping a nominee or a bill. it's about compromise and moderation, end quote. he's forgotten that now, but that doesn't mean his colleagues who are still here have to forget it. mr. president, senate democrats were happy to use the legislative filibuster hundreds of times under president trump. not so long ago it was, quote, the most important distinction between the house and the senate. and without it, the senate would become much more subject to the whims of short-term electoral change, end quote. that was the now-majority leader, and he was 100% correct. but now the democrats are in power. they have changed their minds. today the filibuster is not only no longer essential, but anyone who supports keeping it is called a racist. that is t

>> i think we can go on and on with the oddities of the united states senate. you know what, that's exactly what we're gonna do. >> thank you lawrence. >> thank you rachel. i've been looks inning to the senate speeches for decades now. most of them when i was sitting in the chamber as a democratic staff member. and i have never, never, heard of a more contemptuous speech by a democratic senator than the one written by kristen sinema's staff and read by senator sinema on the floor today. the speech was filled with a contempt for senator sinema's democratic colleagues, for her constituents, and for all of you. sinema express that content by delivering a nonstop insult to the intelligence of everyone who was listening. she filled her 20 minutes on the senate floor, with a string of hallmark greeting card type latitudes about how the united states should work and not a single word about the reality of why the united states senate no longer works. in announcing her opposition to senator -- in any way to pass legislation by a simple majority vote. senator sinema said

states senate. voting rights and the majority leader's goal this week as it was last week to blow up the legislative filibuster i believe would be the first time in u.s. history and majority leader actually sought to do this which in and of itself says a lot. this would of course change the senate, change the country forever. the president of the united states weighed in on these two topics, the filibuster and the voting rights and in georgia in a speech last week is already going down as an infamous speech by the president of the united states. let's just say it didn't go very well, the president's speech. i ask all americans to take a look at it. it was almost universally panned on the left even. on the right, in the center. i haven't seen one u.s. senator come down on the floor this week to defend it. as a speech by a president it was remarkably divisive. it was historically absurd invoking the sacrifices of the civil war antiheroes like abraham lincoln and villains like jefferson davis to the pr

it is not only bad for president obama, but for this body, the united states senate, it is bad for our country. it is bad for our national security and bad for our economic security. that is why it is time to get the senate working again, not for the good of the current democratic majority or some future republican majority, but for the good of the united states of america. it is time to change the senate before this institution becomes obsolete. mr. president, at the beginning of this congress, the republican leader pledged, "this congress shall be more bipartisan than the last congress." mr. president, we are told in scripture, let's take for example the old testament, the book of numbers. promises, pledges, a vowel. one must not break his word. engineer ike tomorrow public and's promised to work with the majority to process nominations in a timely manner by unanimous consent, except in extra ordinary circumstances. mr. president, exactly three weeks later, republicans mounted a first in history filibuster of a highly qualified nominee for secretary of defense, despite being a former

this is my 48th year here in the united states u.s. senate. having been elected by those same vermonters i praise for the way they protect the sanctity of the ballot 48 times. still, the only democrat september to the united states senate by the voters of vermont. i've become the chairman of the appropriations committee, the former chairman and ranking member of the judiciary and agriculture committee, and then honored three times to be elected as president pro temp tempore. so let me take a couple minutes with your indulgence, mr. president, to talk about what the senate was, what it has become, and what it can be again. i think my experience qualifies me to say that my conscience compels me to say that. we, each of us, stand on the shoulders of giants, the senators from across the political spectrum. from around this nation, they've forged a path for america. they met the moment of the time, not with timidity or fear, but with action, with i did siesiveness -- decisiveness. now, was the road taken an easy one? no. was the struggle short? no.

. >>> it is time for the united states senate to do its job. a landmark bill, as we all know, sits before the united states senate. the freedom to vote john lewis act. this bill presents the first real opportunity to secure the freedom to vote since the united states supreme court gutted the voting rights act nearly a decade ago. and the senate must pass this bill now. >> the biden administration had hoped to have a senate vote on voting rights in time for today's martin luther king jr. holiday. from the sounds of it, they're not ready to give up, despite all signs pointing to failure. we want to welcome tonight, simone sanders, former chief spokesperson for vice president harris. she'll be hosting an upcoming show here on msnbc and our streaming channel. tim miller, a contributor, welcome to both of you. simone, welcome to the family. it will be fun working with you on a regular basis. i think it's fair to say this may be the most meaning of the mlk jr. holiday since the holiday existed, because it's the first time since this holiday existed t

in my ten years in the united states senate, i've taken a lot of votes, mr. president. you've taken a lot of votes. there are very few votes, i think, are as consequential as the vote we're getting ready to take. if senate democrats put partisan loyalty above national security security, if they vote simply by party line, it will dramatically increase the chances of a violent russian invasion of ukraine. and days or weeks or months from now, if we turn on the television set and see russian tanks in the streets of kiev, the reason will be that the united states senate heard the pleas of our ukrainian allies, and we turned a deaf ear to them. i pray that we don't do so. the eyes of history are upon us us, and this body, republicans and democrats, should rise to the occasion. i yield the floor.iding officere senator from new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: madam president, i come to the floor today to speak in opposition to senate bill 3436 which is the nord stream 2 sanctions bill sponsored by senator cruz. i certainly share the concerns that have been expressed just a few minute

this kid who grew up in poverty now serving in the united states senate. only the 11th black senator in the whole history of our nation. and during that same time georgia also elected its first jewish senator, my brother john ossoff. i believe somewhere dr. martin luther king and abraham joshua heshull are smiling because they marched together. the rab bye said when -- rabbi said when he marched with dr. king, he felt like his legs , praying. so what a moment. i won after a hard-fought election. the next morning, i was feeling pretty good. my mother, who grew up in waycross, georgia, picking cotton as a teenager, had joined with other georgians in record voter turnout and the 82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else's cotton helped to pick her youngest son to be a u.s. senator. only in america is my story even possible. i was on several of the morning shows talking about what the people of georgia had achieved, and i was feeling pretty good that morning. man, i was on "the view" talking to whoopi goldberg. but by lunchtime the news alerts on my ph

which have a sitting president of the united states shouting that united states senators are on the side of bull connor and jefferson davis for refusing to shatter the senate. was the senate created to make these kinds of factional fevers worse or to help break the fevers ?r does the senate exist to help narrow majorities double down on divisions or to force broad coalitions to build bridges? this fake hysteria does not prove the senate is obsolete, it proves the senate is as necessary as ever. republicans have supported this limitation on the majority's power, both when we've been in the minority which these rules protect, and when we've been the majority, which they inconvenience. and last week, some of our colleagues across the aisle reconfirmed they have the courage and the principle to keep their word and to protect the institution as well. but to many of our colleagues across the aisle -- too many of our colleagues across the aisle still want to respond to a 50-50 senate with a rule-breaking power grab. voting to break this institution will not be a free vote or a harmless action,

the elections for governor, united states senate, house of representatives. elections which they closed the gap in the house. they challenged none of that. then we went down the line. governors, senators, house of representatives. somehow, those results are accurate on the same ballot. but the presidential race was flawed? and on the same ballot, the same day, cast by the same voters? the only difference, the former president didn't lose those races. he just lost the woman was his own. finally, the third big lie being told by a former president and his supporters is that the mob that sought to impose their will through violence on the nation's true patriots. is that what you thought when you look at the mob ransacking the capital? destroying property? literally defecating in the hallways? rifling through the desks of senators and representatives. hunting down members of congress. patriots? not in my view. to me, the true patriots are the more than 150 americans who peacefully expressed their vote at the ballot box. the election workers who protect the integri

not some great tradition of the united states senate but his modern day abuse. his character of the senate rules. >> but back to the argument by that mitch, the reason national voter protection legislation is so critical is unfolding in front of our very eyes in texas where the republicans punitive law is already suppressing voters. new requirements for voter i.d. are leading some counties to reject as many as 40% of mail in ballots requested because the new law required new forms with an area to provide your address, social security or id number. not everyone got the form. applications of the wrong form are not acceptable for mail in ballot requests so they got tossed and the law also conveniently makes it a felony for election officials to proactively send out the correct application forms to voters. see how that works? the identification used also has to match the i.d. number used when the person registered to vote in the first place if that was years and years ago and that, that is why voting rights groups objected voter id laws. not the idea of showing id.

so this is a bright day for the united states senate and for our country to finally be able to move ahead on nominations so that any president, not just this president, any president can put together his executive branch under our constitution. a president should have the people that he or she wants to form their executive branch. every senator here gets to pick his or her own staff. we don't have to have the house vote on it or anybody else. it is true of every member of the house or senate. it is true of the judiciary, the third branch of government. they can hire their clerks and their staff without coming to us. so now, i think it is appropriate that any president can now form their executive branch with only 51 votes needed in the united states senate, not a super majority. so that is a huge step in the right direction. now, we can confirm judges of all the courts less than the supreme court, circuits and district court judges, again with 51 votes, without this super majority. that has been filibustering for so long. i listened to the republican leader during the run up to these vote

the elections for governor, united states senate, house of representatives. elections which they closed the gap in the house. they challenged none of that. the president's name was first. then we went down the line. governors, senators, house of representatives. somehow, those results are accurate on the same ballot. but the presidential race was flawed? and on the same ballot, the same day, cast by the same voters? the only difference, the former president didn't lose those races. he just lost the one that was his own. finally, the third big lie being told by a former president and his supporters is that the mob who sought to impose their will through violence are the nation's true patriots. is that what you thought when you look at the mob ransacking the capitol? destroying property? literally defecating in the hallways? rifling through the desks of senators and representatives? hunting down members of congress? patriots? not in my view. to me, the true patriots are the more than 150 americans who peacefully expressed their vote at the ballot box. the elect

know truman for what he is, a fraudulent united states senator, elected by ghost fraudulent united states senator, elected by ghost votes, whose entire record in public office has been devoted to one purpose alone and that is to the service of the corrupt master who put him in power. at another campaign stop, stark called the machine a greedy, rapacious gang of plunderers and corruptionists. the main newspaper across the state in st. louis, "the post dispatch," was equal parts scathing and i guess we could call it creative, when they declared, quote, harry truman, the erstwhile ambassador in washington of the defunct principality of pendergastia is back home. he is a dead cock in the pit. sheesh, things are rough for truman in 1940. despite this bleak forecast, spoiler alert, we know how the story actually turns out. it was an extremely close vote. truman would win by less than 8,000 votes out of more than 660,000 cast. there are a few reasons why. he was aided by the entrance of a third candidate who took votes away from stark and not him. his democratic friends in the senate rallied to

so tomorrow it will be on the united states senate to do their job. the house, we voted on voting rights more than three times. this is not new for us. but tomorrow, you will see us standing and watching as history will be made. and let me just say this. for all those who don't support the freedom to vote john r. lewis act, they're obstructionists, and it will be on their hands because our communities and all of those who know what we have to lose, especially black and brown people have so much to lose, that they will react, but you won't keep us from voting. and the senators should be scared about that because we know we don't cheat when it comes to elections. we get out, we stand in line, noond matter how they try to suppress the vote, democrats and black and brown americans will vote. >> you've talked about the congressional black caucus as being the conscience of the congress on issues like this and so many others. i wonder if you can give us a little window into their strategic thinking right now. the way you have turned the question on its head

i was also united states senator and i was here at the capital that morning at a classified hearing with fellow members of the senate intelligence committee. hours later, the gates of the capital are breached. i had left, but my thoughts immediately turned not only to my colleagues, but to my staff, who had been forced to seek refuge in our office, converting filing cabinets into barricades. what the extremists who roamed these halls target, it was not only the lives of elected leaders. what they sought to degrade and destroy was not only a building hallowed as it is. what they were assaulting were the institutions, the values, the ideals that generations of americans have marched picketed and shed blood to establish and defend. on january 6th, we all saw what our nation would look like. if the forces who seek to dismantle our democracy are successful. the lawlessness, the violence, the chaos. what was at stake then and now is the right to have our future decided the way the constitution for scribes it by we the people all the people. we cannot let our future be decided by those bent on

none of us are helpless here in the united states senate. we can pass laws that take away from states the power to disenfranchise any voters or the ability to put only one party in charge of vote counting. a few of my democratic senate colleagues think that they're saving the senate by preserving republicans' right to stop these reforms. they're wrong. if we don't take steps right now to stop trump's plan, there won't be a senate left to protect. that's not hyperbole. if the loser of an election for the united states senate gets seated as a member of this body in 2023, then our democracy is effectively dead. it's time we started actually listening to what trump republicans are telling us over and over again, out loud that they are getting ready to do. they have made their choice, and they've chosen power over democracy. i get it. it's always easier to do nothing and hope that the threat will just go away. just shut the door, box your ears, cover your eyes, hope for the best. but we're the united states senate. we're the ones that are put on

tanks in the streets of kiev, the reason will be that the united states senate heard the pleas of our ukrainian allies, and we turned a deaf ear to them. i pray that we don't do so. the eyes of history are upon us us, and this body, republicans and democrats, should rise to the occasion. i yield the floor.iding officere senator from new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: madam president, i come to the floor today to speak in opposition to senate bill 3436 which is the nord stream 2 sanctions bill sponsored by senator cruz. i certainly share the concerns that have been expressed just a few minutes ago by senator mcconnell about the threat that russia poses to ukraine and to eastern europe and the role that nord stream 2 plays in that critical issue. i have been a strong and long-standing opponent of nord stream 2. i believe now what i believed at the time that i originally cosponsored the nord stream 2 sanctions bill with senator cruz that the nord stream 2 pipeline is a long-term threat to the energy security of europe. but right now we're in a different place on this. and while senator cruz an

states senate. that's not what the forefathers had in mind. going back to the day where minority rights are protected but we have a talking filibuster i think would be beneficial to the minority and majority and bring people together in a bipartisan way if we present these rules in a way that forces people to be on the floor, if you want to stop a bill, you can, but you have to be on the floor to do it. you can't just put a hold, walk off the floor and go home. and i think that's really what we're looking at. and in the case of voting rights, i think that, you know, free, fair elections are very, very important to this democracy. i think we've seen since january 6th, since a year ago tomorrow, we've seen state legislatures do their darned exist to keep people from voting. i don't think that's what americans want to see. if we are able to get a good voting bill passed, if we are able to do some things with the filibuster that protects minority rights, yet forces participation, i think that's all posi

it took three years before he was able to come back to the united states senate. senator sumner was hurt so badly. that was something serious and terrible enough, even more than, you know, 160 years later that it is nothing to be glib about, nothing to be short about, even to make an otherwise valid point. but today, one of the things that happened at the capitol to commemorate the january 6 attack last year is that the house hosted the librarian of congress you see there on your left, and two very famous historians who you see at the center and right of your screen here, to talk about the history of what happened on january 6th, how to make sure that history gets preserved, how to make sure that attack gets told for the purposes of history, how to make sure it gets told accurately in history, and the historian doris kearns goodwin at that event today brought up the caning of sumner there today and brooks who nearly killed the senator on the floor of the senate and brought it up today in a way that surprised me because of the unique resonance of that violence, tha

now, madam president and colleagues, i am the first united states senator to be elected completely by mail. the second united states senator elected completely by mail was my friend, republican gordon smith, a senator well known to many here in this body. so the country looked up, and its first experience, colleagues, with vote by mail was thoroughly bipartisan. one democrat, one republican who, as it happened after running against each other, got along very well and did a lot together. so as the country began to get its arms around vote by mail, it was bipartisan, and the bipartisan efforts to build on it really took off. it took off all across the country until president donald trump got elected and began to spew all these lies about vote by mail. so then something that was completely bipartisan suddenly became very partisan. and what i want to do is rebuild that bipartisanship. my colleagues seem to say that's what they want. and the fact is vote by mail is the gold standard for casting an informed vote, particularly for working people, seniors, and others who would like the time,

on that day, i was not only vice president-elect, i was also a united states senator. i was here at the capital that morning at a classified hearing with fellow members of the senate intelligence committee. hours later, the gates of the capital were breached. i had left but my thoughts immediately turned not only to my colleagues, but to my staff who had been forced to seek refuge in our office, converting filing cabinets into barricades. what the extremists who round these halls targeted was not only the lives of elected leaders, what they fought to degrade and destroy was not only a building, hallowed as it is. what they were assaulting where the institutions, the values, the ideals that generations of americans have marched, picketed and shed blood to establish and discend. on january 6, we all saw what our nation would look like if the forces who seek to dismantle our democracy are successful. the lawlessness, the violence, the chaos. what was at stake then and now is the right to have our future decided the way the constitution prescribes it. by we, the people, al