republicans think in an era of rising crime not near historic i but certainly higher than it has been in recent years that they think the city the nation's capital shouldn't be reducing sentences on those particular crimes. it's also a political issue. this is something republicans have made an issue of in the 2022 a midterms. i think this is an opportunity to tackle crime at least in the place where the work if not in other places. >> host: why is it the senate -- why is the senate going forward this? why won't they just drop it since the d.c. council has and we don't want you to go forward with it? >> guest: right. the d.c. city council chairman yesterday sent a letter to vice president harris who acts -- >> we're going to break away for live coverage of the u.s. senate on c-span2. l.

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: 56, the nays are 49, and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table. the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the clerk will report to incloak cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar

number 43, ramon ernesto reyes jr., of new york. the presiding officer: the mandatory quorum call has been waived. is it the sense of the senate that the nomination of ramon ernesto reyes jr., of new york, shall be brought to close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rules. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the clerk: arun subramanian, of new york, to be the --

test.

>> well, first, let me say led by the president the democrats are in full retreat on the d.c. criminal law issue. washington is different from any other city this in america. our constituents come here, our staff lives here, all of you live here. and we need to have a reasonable expectation of security here in the capitol. and i think what has, was tried by the d.c. city council is a correct time for federal intervention to protect our constituents and our staff.

with regard to the presentation on fox news last night, i want to associate myself entirely with the opinion of the chief of the capitol police about what happened on january 6th. finish -- >> hardly a day goes by here in this city when there isn't a violent crime. and if you look at this year already, there have been 99 carjackings, and the number of cars stolen is double what it was this time a year ago. and it's not just car theft. violent crime is up 25% year over year here in washington, d.c. the, and this is an issue that cries out for a solution. and i think that anybody who, as the leader said, works here, lives here, visits here would

with like to have a community that is safe. and this isn't just unique to washington d.c. from cities across the country from new york to seattle, you see particularly a lot of our populated areas around the country are experiencing this same wave of crime as a result of soft-on-crime policies. and so this is, this has got to stop. we have a constitutional authority, legislative the authority here over the district of columbia, ask we're going to exercise that this week. as the leader pointed out, the resolution that'll be on the floor here very soon, tomorrow, is one that i think will enjoy broad bipartisan support because the democrats have recognized what we all know and what the american people know, and that is that you can't have, continue to have policies where politicians put, basically put politics ahead of public safety, where you've got prosecutors who are not putting people away and

an environment that is permissive and encourages this type of criminal activity in a lot of our major cities across this country. so we're going to the make that statement tomorrow and, again, i believe it'll be a big bipartisan vote, and it should be. because the message needs to be sent clearly to the american people that, you know, policymakers here in washington, d.c., that their elected officials get this and understand how important it is that there be a strong response to the wave of crime that's been experienced across this country and that we intend another the something about it starting with washington d.c. >> over the weekend i was able to get out and about across iowa, i was able to do a meeting with the sheriff and chamber of commerce and small business owners. i did a farm bill round table with a number or of stakeholders that were interested in conservation. so a number of activities.

and hearing from iowans, in particul county, there was one constituent that stepped up and said he felt like a big hand -- the big hands of government were all over middle america, and he's not wrong, folks. if we look at this administration and their overly burdensome regulations that are being pumped out from so many of our federal agencies, we would understand the feelings of this individual and many of the other folks that came out to the town hall. you can see it. and whatever democrats and president biden are doing, everything from the waters of the united states being pushed out by our epa all the way over to politicizing individuals' retirement accounts. there's so many regulations out there that are impacting

everyday americans' lives, and they're tired of it. they're very tired of it. and so it's good to see that finally some of the democrats that are here in our senate chambers are starting to wake up to the pressures that this administration is putting on our daily americans' lives. i just continue to encourage our democratic colleagues to step up, take a look at what these burdensome if regulations are doing to their constituents and join us in a number of pushing back with these, with these cras. so, again, overly burdensome regulations out there putting too much pressure on middle america. >> i want to kind of piggyback on what joni was saying about overburdensome regular regular -- regulations. i'm ranking member on environment and public works.

i have 49 republicans on a measure to the take down this administration and the epa's waters of the u.s. regulation that they put out. and we are looking to our friends over on the house side when passed a congressional review act to take that regulation down. they passed it out of committee last week, we're expecting them to pass it out on friday out of the full house, and we will have it on the floor here on the poll ifing week. so several of you concern the on the following week. so several of you have can asked me, and i expect it to pass on the senate floor. well, the president has issued a notice of veto. and so why do this? i said, well, first of all, is he going to stick by what he says? we don't know. we saw what happened last week -- or this week. and if so i think that's a logical question. the second reason is because it's the right thing to do. if they are rewriting laws, there's a pending court case at the supreme court right now that's going to make a lot of

the determine the nations, but they wouldn't wait for that -- determinations. they had to redesignate waters that had never been designated waters of the u.s. it hurt farmers, ranchers, developers, miners, anybody who wants to expand their footprint. it will make much more regulatory burden on the folks that joni met with last weekend and all the way from the individuals to the larger entities. so, again, i think is the voice of the majority, the voice of the majority of the representation here in the united states, senate and house reflecting the country in itsty is -- in its entirety is going to tell the president stop with the overregulation, the overburdensome rules that you put forward, and let's get back to some reasonable, accomplishable rules and regulations so we can move forward. >> when i'm back home in

montana, the top concern i hear about is fentanyl, drugs flooding across from the southern border into states like montana. i also hear a lot about inflation, the price of gas, the price of groceries. montanans are feeling the consequences, certainly, of biden's inflation. but another direct consequence as we heard today in the banking committee when chairman jay powell was before us, is this reckless spending that we saw unleashed by the democrats over the last two years causing inflation and now the soaring costs of servicing our national debt. in february the cbo updated their next 10-year forecast, and over the next 10 years the dollars spent by the federal government on servicing the debt, on interest will exceed the total collars spent on --

dollars spent on defense. i remember when i was first running for the u.s. house back in 20 the 12, i remember quoting the joint chiefs of staff chairman mullen who back then said, and i quote, the most significant threat to our national security is our debt. i think he was prophetic. because this gets us into trouble as china is increasing depence spending every single year. -- defense spending every single year and strapping our future generations with load of debt is irresponsible, it's dangerous, it is a threat to our national security. we need to bring back fiscal sanity to the washington d.c. [inaudible conversations] >> given that you -- [inaudible] agree with the capitol police's serious concerns about this police, wasn't it a mistake -- the. [inaudible] >> my concern is how it was

depicted. it's a different issue. clearly, the chief of the capitol police, in my view, correctly describes what most of us witnessed firsthand on january 6th. so that's my reaction to it. it was a mistake, in my view, for fox news to depict this many in a way that's completely at variance from what our chief law enforcement official here at capitol thinks. [inaudible conversations] >> just following up on -- [inaudible] another round of -- [inaudible] i understand that you're upset with the way that -- [inaudible] fox news depicting it but -- forecasting this for months --

[inaudible] >> you guys know i have many thoughts -- faults, but one of them is not answering the question in a way that i don't want to answer it. [laughter] >> why do you think there are some in your party who don't want to acknowledge january 6th -- [inaudible] [laughter] >> shall i give you the same answer again? [inaudible conversations] anybody want to ask me something different? >> do you have any reaction to president biden imposing a 5% medicare surtax -- [inaudible] >> well, you know, the president's budget is replete with what they would do if they could. thank goodness the house is republican. massive tax the increases, more spending all of which the american people can thank the republican house for will not see the light of day. [inaudible conversations]

>> okay. good afternoon, everyone. one and all. i'm proud to be joined by senators -- [inaudible] whitehouse and carper. we had a good lunch and we covered an array of topics about what's shaping up to be an exciting week, and we're all excited about the president's budget and the contrast it will show with republicans. but first on fox news. now, i have to address this because it's been weighing on me and it intensified after seeing you can ther carlson last night -- tucker carlson last night. last night fox news, with speaker mccarthy as a willing, capable and powerful accomplice, aired one of the most shameful hours we have ever seen in the history, in the entire history of cable television. tucker carlson is a propagandist

publicly pretending to be a museman. a newsman. we know that, we know that fox news knows that rupert more cock the knows and that he -- rupert murdoch knows that they're liars, that they're propagandists, that they're destroying america for some kind of monetary or other advantage. we heard or in federal court that he's paid by fox news, that rupert murdoch specifically has asked them to promote a particular point of view regardless of the facts. this man didn't just embrace the big lie, he was one of the loudest voices perpetuating it. chief cook and bottle washer after donald trump. all the while knowing it was a big lie. what has happened to any standards of honor, of honesty,

of keens in americasome -- of decency in america when this happens? with that contempt for facts and knowing full well that he was lying to america, tucker carlson ran a lengthy segment last night arguing the january 6th capitol attack was not, not a violent insurrection. an attempt to rewrite history and erode the very foundation of our precious and sometimes fragile democracy. so, yes, this morning i am furious. millions of americans are furious. i was here on january 6th. many of you saw the footage as i ran for my life coming within a few feet of these criminals on that day. my he quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, communities across the country have paid the price of

democrats' soft on crime policies. the democratic party has backed woke prosecutors who refuse to enforce broad swaths of the criminal code. it has endorsed defund the police policies and candidates. and it's consistently shown more sympathy for the criminals who commit crimes than for the victims who were hurt by them. it's no surprise that these decisions carry very dangerous consequences which are being felt across america. businesses are fleeing portland, oregon, due to surging crime. the mayor of chicago was just defeated in her primary because she failed to address rampant crime in that city. and one city that is not immune to these consequences is our nation's capital, washington, d.c. so far this year the district of columbia has seen more than three dozen homicides, a nearly

40% increase compared to last year, 40%. sex crimes have more than doubled compared to last year, and there have been more than 1,200 motor vehicle thefts, including carjackings which is more than double the number at this point last year. in total the nation's capital where we are located reported a 25% increase in crime compared to last year. with crime on the rise, you would expect that the elected leaders at the d.c. city council to take steps to improve public safety, but that's not what they did. in fact, councilmembers took the exact opposite approach. forget deterring criminal conduct. the d.c. city council responded this crime wave by reducing

penalties for violent crime. it actually passed legislation that decreases punishment for many of the same crimes that have been on the rise over the last year. lower penalties for carjackings, home invasions, and robberies, lower penalties for convicted felons who illegally carry firearms and for felons who use guns to commit other crimes. there's no mandatory minimum sentence for any crime other than first-degree murder. it's a slap in the face of every law-abiding resident and visitor to this city. every person who worries about getting carjacked are on their way home from work like the people who work for us here in the nation's capitol or being robbed on the metro like the visitors from our states who come into the nation's capital who don't expect to be assaulted and robbed.

or individuals who have their residents car getted by a serial burke -- targeted by a serial burglar. this is not the kind of legislation that's meant to keep people safe. it's just the latest iteration of failed soft on crime policies. it's no surprise that d.c.'s criminal code rewrite was met with severe backlash. even "the washington post" published an editorial entitled d.c.'s crime bill could make the city more dangerous. well, i give them credit for stating the obvious. the u.s. attorney for the district of columbia warned that >> the u.s. attorney warned it penalties and one local elected official used harsh words to describe bill to a slow

someone convicted for sexual assault for early release in 20 years. she said i don't think the dc counsel should be helping rapists get out of prison early. that's crazy. so crazy that the liberal mayor marial vetoed when it reached her desk saying it does not make us safer. i don't find myself agreeing with the washington post editorial board and media often but they are both right here. dc council members should have viewed as a sign to go back to the drawing board but unfortunately they doubled down. dc city council overwrote the mayor's veto and they ignored the deep concerns of citizens of the city and the dire warnings

from public safety advocates and plowed ahead. fortunately that's not the end of the road of deeply misguided bill. the constitution of the united states gives congress exclusive legislative jurisdiction over the district of colombia and we must take action to prevent the criminal measure from going into effect. and as we have seen this effort has brought bipartisan support starting at the white house. the last time house of representatives passed approval 250 to 173 can more than 30 democrats crossing the aisle to support it. thanks to the senator from tennessee, senator haggerty's leadership, that resolution will receive a vote on the senate

floor this week. i expect it will pass with strong bipartisan support as it should and put final nail in the coffin of dangerous and deeply misguided legislation. soft on crime policies have had a devastating impact on cities across america and we can't our nation's capitol to become a consequence free playground for slawmakers. so i appreciate senator haggerty's resolution and work to ensure it receives a vote in the democrat-led senate. mr. president on another but somewhat related matter, over the last several years washington democrats have wagedo war on our independent federal

judiciary abortion rally outside the supreme court where he made deeply disturbing comments about two sitting associate justices on the supreme court of the united states. he said, quote, i want to tell you, gorsuch, i want to tell you, kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. you won't know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions. that's a quote. well, the majority leader certainly did not mince words. the top democrat in the united states senate threatened two sitting supreme court justices by name based on a case they were considering. in the years since the radical left has picked up the sword and carried on the fight.

last summer as the supreme court considered a case on abortion rights, a radical organization released the home addresses of several supreme court justices. and they encouraged protesters to show up at the justices' private homes to harass and intimidate. it was a disgusting invasion of privacy and a massive security risk which sadly was met with nothing more than a shrug by many of our democratic colleagues. attorney general garland himself had an opportunity to address this abhorrent conduct in the judiciary committee last week, and he confirmed that to date no prosecutions have been brought under a federal statute making what these protesters did a crime, seeking to intimidate sitting justices and caused them

to change their opinion on legal matters that they were charged with. no prosecutions. with no real repercussions for such gross behavior, the far left has now expanded its attack to include other federal judges. last month the liberal news site vox published a story railing against what they described as trump's worst judge, all of whom serve on the federal courts in my state of texas. the author of that piece tweeted the article that featured a photo of one of those judges, matthew kacsmaryk. the author added that judge kacsmaryk is, quote, the single worst villain in the united states of america that most people have never heard of and i'm determined to make him a household name.

this blatant attack on this sitting federal judge and on the edmund pettus judiciary -- and on the independent judiciary was not just limited to a news site. larger mainstream news sources joined in, too. "the washington post" recently published an opinion piece and argued that the only way to rein in republican judges is to shame them. these are federal judges who are given life tenure following senate confirmation for the very purpose of making them insulated from politics so that they can remain laser focused on judging the law and interpreting the constitution and applying it to the says before them. "the washington post" editorial or opinion piece i'm referring to says democratic politicians, left-leaning activist groups,

newspaper editorial boards, and other influential people and institutions need to start relentlessly blasting republican-appointed judges. a former aide to senator schumer, the majority leader of the united states senate would now serves as executive director of a dark money group called demand justice shared that article on twitter and endorsed the idea of referring to judges by share party affiliation. again, these are senate-confirmed judges who serve for life who have basically have foresworn politics about you this former aide to the senate majority leader says no, you need to refer to them by their party affiliation, presumably the party affiliation of the president who nominated them to the office. as our country struggles to deal with hate speech online and threats of violence against our leaders and politicians, it's

hard to imagine anything getting more dangerous than the rhetoric targeting federal judges and the independent federal judiciary. last summer u.s. marshals arrested a man outside of justice kavanaugh's home who had traveled all the way from california with the intention of assassinating justice kavanaugh. when the man was arrested, he had in his possession a glock 17 pistol along with ammunition, a knife, a hammer, a crowbar, and zip ties. he told authorities that it was his plan to break into the house and kill justice kavanaugh and then take his own life. thank god he was caught before anyone was harmed. but we may not be so lucky next time. when this reprehensible,

irresponsible rhetoric strikes unstable individuals and prompts them to do things that none of us, i hope, would want or endorse. blatant attacks against judges and our independent judiciary must come to an end. sadly one of our senate colleagues has joined the ranks of the angry mob. last month the senior senator from oregon delivered an incredibly dangerous speech here on the senate floor advocating for the biden administration to ignore a potential court order from judge kacsmaryk's court. to be clear, this is a united states senator who said that the executive branch should disregard the lawful order of a federal district judge. he wants the constitution to be

effectively ripped into shreds and thrown out the window if the judge happens to decide a case in a way that he doesn't approve of. the left's attack on our independent judiciary just keeps getting more and more dangerous. it doesn't matter what case is in a federal court or what ruling is ultimately handed down. senators must respect the constitution itself and with that comes three coequal branches of government. judicial independence is the thing that distinguishes our democracy and our constitution from all other countries on the planet. judicial independence, judges who aren't frayed to call balls and strikes and interpret the constitution hopefully as

written and apply the laws that congress passes. that judicial independence should never be threatened. and if the united states -- and if a united states senator doesn't realize that, then we have some really, really big problems. mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. cotton: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. cotton: there is one foreign leader for whom the democratic leader seems to reserve special scorn. leading democrats have called him a reactionary, a racist,

ethnonationalist. they've accused him of committing war crimes and of leading an apartheid state. president biden has called him extreme and said they don't agree on a damn thing u strong words. who is this monster, you may ask. were the democrats talking about vladimir putin or xi jinping? or perhaps ayatollah khomeini? no, they are talking about benjamin netanyahu, one of america's best friends. once again these democrats have proven their tendency to coddle our enemies and condemn our friends but democrats don't stop at mere word. they're working to undermine bibi and his government. yesterday the washington free beacon reported that the state department is funneling your tax dollars to netanyahu's domestic

opponents. since 2020, state has sent more than $38,000 to something known as the movement for quality government for so-called democracy education. so what is the movement for quality government and how good is this democracy education? this movement is an activist group that's fomenting unrest against the israeli government and demanding netanyahu's resignation. last week hundreds of protesters harassed netanyahu's wife, forcing police to intervene and escort her to safety a far from staying neutral in israel's domestic affairs, secretary of state tony blinken lectured netanyahu about the judicial reforms to his face, tacitting siding with the demonstrators.

some democratic senators have also condemned the reform proposals, which is awfully rich coming from democracy who have voted to shred this senate's ancient rules to pack our supreme court and to rewrite our founding documents. i guess when american liberals want to change the courts, it's the only way to save democracy. but when israeli conservatives want to, it is a threat to democracy. go figure. the state department doesn't even deny it's funneling money to these left-wing activities, by the way, which is troubling because it's a clear violation of the usual state department policy against funding foreign partisan organizations. not only is this u.s.-funded organization subverting a foreign government, it's subverting the government of one of our closest allies. secretary blinken should immediately apologize to prime

minister -- to the prime minister of israel, demand your money back and open an investigation into how this happened. then again, i suspect we already know how this happened. after all, a the democratic party has been meddling in israeli democracy to undermine benjamin netanyahu for more than a quarter century. by his own admission, president bill clinton intervened in the 1996 israeli election to support netanyahu's opponent chicago money perez. clinton met with peres, dangled policy shifts to israel, all to get peres across the finish line. netanyahu prevailed nevertheless. team clinton intervened yet again in 1999. the clinton white house reportedly urged democratic donors to give money to netanyahu's next opponent, ahewed barack, and didn't stop there. politicalton's political

advisors campaigned against bibi while the clinton state department allegedly spread falsehoods about the israeli government and netanyahu himself. netanyahu lost this time around, though he was more of a victim of his own success against palestinian terrorism than clinton's campaign against him. but bibi returned to the knesset years later and became prime minister in 2009. the obama state department was worse than clinton's, funneling hundreds of thousands of your tax dollars to a group called the one voice movement, not coincidentally, one voice partnered with an organization running anti-netanyahu ads that was advised by -- you guessed it -- a top obama campaign operative. of course, democrats will insist they're innocent of these charges and aren't meddling in israel's democracy.

but israelis now the truth. obama's meddling was so pervasive that an astounding 26% of israelis thought he was meddling. obama is pursuing regime change in israel -- not iran, our mortal enemy. now joe biden is simply following in barack obama's footstep. the biden administration reportedly pressured the united arab emirates to cancel a summit, all to deprive netanyahu of a diplomatic victory ahead of that year's election. and after netanyahu won the 23022 election, the -- 20922 election, the biden administration sought to undermine his coalition government by trying to veto key cabinet appointments. the recent scandal is not an

aberration, therefore. it has been the de facto policy of the democratic party for a quarter century to beat netanyahu, though he keeps beating the democrats. though it does provide more evidence, yet again, for the old saw that while it's dangerous to be america's enemy, it's -- it can be fatal to be america's friend, at least when democrats are in charge. instead of trying to topple the democratically elected government of israel, i would suggest we should support it. israelis are more than capable of managing their domestic affairs without democratic meddling, but they need our help to stop iran from getting a nuclear bomb. they need our help to achieve peace with their neighbors a, and they need our help to defeat a terrorist threatening both our nations a. if they don't get that from the biden administration either. iran is racing toward a nuclear breakout while the president

dithers. his administration can barely utter the words abraham accords. and president biden is breaking u.s. law to subsidize the palestinian authority's support for terrorism. a few years back congress paled an act which prohibits non-humanitarian aid to otopalestinian authority until it ends its so-called martyr payments. a euphemism for bounties given to principle terrorists are or their -- palestinian terrorists or their families for maiming or killing jews. so the administration has instead funneled tens of millions of your tax dollars to nongovernmental organizations to build roads, sidewalks, parking lots, and other infrastructure projects on behalf of the palestinian authority. as a result, this money is spongeable, the palestinian authority can ignore these basic responsibilities is of government and instead keep

pouring more money into its pay-for-slay program. the contrast couldn't be starker. if the palestinian authority wants to bankroll terrorists and their families, the biden administration will contort the law beyond recognition to fund the palestinians. but it a center-right government gets elected once again in israel, the biden administration will work overtime to undermine it. this is exactly backwards. we should demand the palestinian authorities stop subsidizing terrorism before it gets another penny of your tax dollars. and while we're at it, we should pass the tailored for smarter terror prevention act. meanwhile, president biden and his administration should quit treating prime minister netanyahu like he is a a rival or even an adversary. and start treating him as he is,

a war hero, a courageous patriot, a towering figure of modern israel and most important for us, a great friend of america. mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. smith: thank you, mr. president. i rise today in support of the nomination of patrice kunesh to be the commissioner of the administration for native americans at the department of health appeared human services. ms. kunesh is a descendant of the standing rock lakota and a

distinguished lawyer, advocate, and thought leader. since she currently works at the native american rights fund but her career spans from being counsel for the msshintucket between to the federal reserve, all in the service of native communities. ms. kunesh also served is at the department of the interior and as deputy under secretary for rural development at the usda. the administration for native americans at hhs helps native communities, including indian tribes, hawaiian natives with technical assistant for native language preservation, self-sufficiency. and i know that patrice is up to the task. she is knowledgeable, experienced, and deeply connected to tribal leaders and native communities. she knows how the federal government works and how we can best fulfill our trust and

treaty responsibilities in indian country. patrice's nomination is supported by the national congress of american indians and numerous tribal nations. most importantly, filling this role at hhs is essential to meeting our responsibilities to tribal nations and native communities. i urge my colleagues to vote yes on patrice kunesh's nomination. mr. president, i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: so today -- i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: today the senate confirms a first-rate legal mind, someone i was proud to champion to the president for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench, arun subramanian of new york. mr. subramanian is the epitome of the american dream and a history maker, the child of hardworking immigrants from india, he will become the first south shane to preside in the southern district which has one of the largest asian populations in the nation. mr. subramanian is excellent, he is accomplished, he has dedicated his entire career fighting for average americans. he served as a law clerk to judge dennis jacobs on the seventh circuit, judge gerald

lynch in the southern district of new york and the late great justice ruth bader ginsburg. he's an expert in consumer protection with years of experience defending those injured by unfair bleel practices. he also defended victims of child trafficking and pornography. our courts need more people like arun subramanian. i'm proud to support his confirmation. i thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for supporting him today. once we confirm mr. subramanian, this united states senate majority will have confirmed 114 judges to the bench, 30 circuit court judges, 83 district court judges and 1 incredible supreme court justice in ketanji brown jackson. of those 114 nominations, 82 are women, 78 are people of color, and again, mr. subramanian is the first south asian judge confirmed to the southern district of new york. because of the work done by this

majority, our federal judiciary is far more balanced, far more defense, far more experienced than the one we just had two years ago, and it's something every american can be proud of. i yield the floor and ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

asian

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 59, the nays are 37, and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 45, patrice h. kunesh of minnesota to be commissioner of the administration for native americans, department of health and human services, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of patrice h. kunesh of minnesota to be commissioner

of the administration for native americans department of health and human services shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote: vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: yeas are 62. the nays are 34. the motion is agreed to.

the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. department of health and human services, patrice h. kunesh of minnesota to be commissioner of the administration for native americans. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate consider the following nominations en bloc -- calendars 58 and 59. that the senate vote on the nominations en bloc without intervening action or debate, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the question is on the nomination, en bloc. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nominations are confirmed en bloc. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent 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 ask unanimous consent the appointment at the desk appear separately in it the record as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i have six requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. schumer: and, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10:00 a.m. on wednesday, march 8, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. following the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the kunesh nomination postcloture. further, that all postcloture time be considered expired at 10:45 a.m. and the senate vote on the confirmation of the nomination, followed by the motion to invoke cloture on the war fell nomination. if the cloture is invoked on the

werfel nomination, the vote on confirmation be at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the republican leader. further, that following the cloture vote on the werfel nomination, and notwithstanding rule 22, the senate resume legislative session and senator hagerty or his designee be recognized to make a motion to discharge the committee on homeland security and government errs from further consideration of h.j. res. 26, that if the motion is made, all the time on the motion be considered yielded back and the senate vote on the motion to discharge. if the motion is agreed to, senator hagerty or his designee be recognized to make a motion to proceed. finally, if any nominations are confirmed during witness day's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: for the information of the senate, the confirmation vote on the werfel nomination is expected to occur

immediately upon the disposition of the joint resolution. therefore, senators should expect two roll call votes at 10:45 and two votes is later in the day. if there is to further business to come before the senate, i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of senators graham, bozeman and lankford. the presiding officer: without objection. test.

the presiding officer: the

senator from south carolina. mr. graham: thank you, mr. president. i'm going to turn this over to senator hagerty and other colleagues in a minute. i want to recognize senator hag earth why i from tennessee by -- hagerty from tennessee by doing something that needed to be done. the congressional review act allows u a body, to look at certain enactments coming from the d.c. district of columbia city council for our approval, and i'm just going to go through the highlights here. but tomorrow we'll be voting on senator hagerty's proposal to disapprove legislation that was passed regarding revising the d.c. criminal code. bill, you've done a good service for the people of the district of columbia, and i think for the body and nation as a whole. what are we talking about? this is numbers for the district of columbia, your nation's capital -- total d.c. crime has increased 25%, from 2022 to

2023, as of march 3. carjackings are up 111%, an increase for the fifth straight year. homicides are up 40%. d.c. has already reached 38 homicides. the average homicide suspect has been arrested 11 times before committing a homicide. sexual assaults are up 123%. property crimes are up 32%. there have been 393 robberies in d.c. during the last two months. according to the metropolitan police department, 430 fewer officers less than they had in 2019, the lowest number of officers since the 1970's. i don't know where to end this thing, other than to say the

d.c. city council, in light of all this information, passed a law over the objection of the mayor that would reduce the maximum sentence available for crimes, such as carjacking, robbery, home invasion, burglary, firearm offenses, when all of these offenses are at a historic high. senator hagerty saw what they did and said this is insane. i just read to you a dramatic increase in crime across the board, personal property, sexual assault, murder, and the d.c. city council passed a law, over the objection, the veto, of the mayor, to reduce maximum sentences to eliminate nonenhanced mandatory minimum offenses for all offenses except first-degree murder, lowering maximum sentences to 45 years, expands sentence reconsideration

to all criminals after 20 years of imprisonment, reduces the scope and maximum penalties for felony murder. the bottom line is, instead of increasing punishments, they decided to dramatically decrease punishments for the crimes that are out of hand. so when senator hagerty introduced this legislation that would reject this, things started changing. starting with the president of the united states. who said that he was going to veto any attempt by the congress to stop the d.c. law from becoming law. well, something happened because he's changed his mind. in the house, democrats and republicans passed this congressional review act overwhelmingly. the bottom line is president biden has now indicated he will

sign it, and d.c. city council is trying to find a way to take it off the books. i doubt if they can. senator hagerty, sometimes we wonder if we make a difference here. you have made a difference. you have wrought this -- brought this body together. i would and anticipate tomorrw we're going to have an overwhelming vote to reject the d.c. city council's efforts to revise their criminal code to make it less deterrent. all of us live up here during the week. it is our nation's capital. is one of the most beautiful places i've ever visited, but crime is out of control, and we need to restore law and order to our nation's capital. this effort by senator hagerty is now being joined by a legion of senate democrats. i want to thank each and every democrat for stepping forward and joining senator hagerty and all republicans for saying no to this bad idea of being soft on crime in the city that is

overwhelmed by crime. if there was an award to be given for bad ideas, i would nominate what the d.c. district council did in trying to reduce punishment for crimes against persons and property at a time when the city is on fire in terms of crime. senator hagerty and others have stepped into the breach. tomorrow we're going to vote, and we're going to end this ill-conceived idea. i want to thank him for his leadership. i look forward to being his wingman tomorrow. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. hagerty: i ask unanimous consent to speak. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. hagerty: i would like to say that i appreciate and am very touched by the remarks of the good senator from south carolina, mr. graham. and senator graham, thank you so much for your support and your presence here tonight. thank you, mr. president.

mr. boozman: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. boozman: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise today to discuss the staggering crime problem plaguing the nation's capital and the attempt to unleech more of it on residents and visitors alike. the d.c. city council unanimously voted last year to substantially weaken its criminal code, including by eliminating life sentences and most mandatory minimums for every crime but first-degree murder. it's also lowering maximum penalties for some violent offenses like carjacking, robberies. these so-called reforms weren't just opposed by republicans, they were even a bridge too far for the district's democratic mayor who vetoed the legislation, only to see that overruled by the city council, by a 12-1 margin.

d.c. is experiencing a wave of the very crimes this proposal is going soft on. there have been 99 carjackings so far this year, 38 homicides have occurred in 2023, and 203 murders took place in the city last year, the second consecutive year its total surpassed 200. this preposterous answer to d.c.'s public safety crisis was also rejected by "the washington post" editorial board, which said the city could become more dangerous, while even further tying the hands of police and prosecutors if this effort were to succeed. let's be clear, only in an overwhelming liberal city, with years of support from liberal lawmakers at the federal level, would something like this ill-conceived crime spree incentive be possible. it's just bad policy.

it's also unbelievably insensitive and disrespectful to victims on the receiving end of heinous and violent attacks. there is no justice in downplaying crime. you're also -- there also can be no pretense of keeping the public save and upholding law and order when leaders refuse to demand true accountability from those who brazenly break the law. how should these victims react to these senseless proposals that delegitimize their suffering and the consequences they will provoke? unlike our democratic colleagues, republicans won't make excuses for criminals and won't sit back and allow far-left ideology to gut the criminal justice system of its ability to deter and punish unlawful violent behavior. for too long, our friends on the other side of the aisle have frankly irresponsibly used

rhetoric about crime and policing that would inevitably lead to ideas as bad as this, or worse. from, quote, defund the police, to, quote, reimagining justice, there's been no shortage of liberal slogans and agendas to undermine the rule of law and minimize crime's societal impacts. democrats in washington, including president biden, have only poured fuel to the fire. many have openly embraced these absurd concept, including the 173 house democrats who refused to overturn the d.c. council and stand up on the side of common sense. let's not forget the ultimate irony in all of this, which is the fact that for the last two years democrats were demanding the senate abolish the legislative filibuster in order to ram through party-line votes on incredibly bad policies, including d.c. statehood. it seems that for democrats, giving the district complete

autonomy over its affairs is a useful political talking point, until it isn't. if that doesn't underline how bad the push to wreck the senate was, i really don't know what will, and i am so grateful a few colleagues on the other side had the courage to reject it. mr. president, i am pleased to hear my colleagues and the president and apparently even the d.c. city council seem willing to draw the line here. thank goodness. but the question of how long it will last, or if they really learned a time-tested lesson, is still quite open. for the nation's capital and our country, i hope this outbreak of sanity and appreciation of law and order is long lasting. thank you, bill. thank you, senator hagerty, for leading the charge. you've done a tremendous job,

and i think it made a real difference. with that, i yield the floor. lankford -- mr. lankford: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. lankford laird i was on a -- mr. lankford: i was on a plane, southwest airlines, flying from oklahoma city to washington, d.c. to come to the office. beginning to do a week of work. the plane was absolutely filled with people coming in that also work in d.c., in different agencies, lots of tourist groups that are coming up, groups of students that are here, all kinds of folks were in the plane. they were coming to washington, d.c. because it's the nation's capital. it's the nation's capital and the spot where the entire world,

every dem mat from every country, -- diplomat from every country comes to washington, d.c. to meet with the members of the senate, house, president and executive team. they come to interact because this is the central point of the government of the united states. they expect to come and to be able to see the white house, to be able to see the capitol, to be able to tour around phenomenal smithsonian institutions. this is what they also see when they come to washington, d.c. now. that's the common view. that's also around the city. because in the last few years, since the defund the police movement took over the city council, and the city council in washington, d.c. did several things. they took out student resource officers in schools. saying that sro, student resource officers in schools, what they called a pipeline from school to prison.

so, to solve the issues around schools, they just stopped enforcing in the schools. you know what's happened? crime has gone up around schools, and problems have continued in schools. crime has gone up 25% just in the last year in washington, d.c. just in the last year. so far in 2023, according to the metropolitan police department, now, remember, we're in march of 2023, so far in 2023 there's already been 38 homicides in this city, 215 assault with a dangerous weapon, 298 robberies, 164 burglaries, 1,182 motor vehicle thefts, and from last year to this year arson is already up 300% in washington, d.c. and this has become the common sight around the city.

what in the world is going on? in the middle of rampant increasing crime in washington, d.c., the d.c. city council's response to this in an overwhelming vote was to reduce penalties for felonies and to be able to say you commit a misdemeanor, then you've got to have a jury trial as well, knowing full well that would clog up the courts and basically misdemeanors would never be heard and so they just wouldn't happen. no one would actually get a misdemeanor record in washington, d.c. so their plan to end this rapid increase in crime is just not to enforce the law. and if you were caught, to get out faster, to be able to get back to the street, to be able to reoccur crime again. listen, there are amazing people that live in this area in washington, d.c., remarkable residents that love this city and love this country, and they

do not want to be afraid for their kids going to school. we had a gentleman that actually worked full time to provide what they call safe passages for kids to be able to get back and forth from their homes to their school, that he worked his whole focus was just to be able to bring down crime in washington, d.c. was murdered not long ago on one of those same streets in d.c. this should not be so for this great capital and for this great nation. and the response should not be we're just not going to enforce the law. that's what the d.c. council has said they're going to do. to her credit, the mayor of washington, d.c. vetoed that bill when it came out of the city council, and the city council overrode her veto and said, no, we're going to do it anyway. now in response, senator bill hagerty has brought up what's called a congressional review

act, a challenge to this, and has taken the next step to be able to say not just the congressional review act, but to be able to say congress has the responsibility an the right to be able to actually watch over what happens here. this is not outside the bounds of congress' responsibility. from the united states constitution, article 1, section 8, line 17, says this. here's a responsibility of congress. congress should exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over such district as may be by cessation of a particular states and the acceptance of congress become the seat of government of the united states. that's describing where we are right now. in our constitutional responsibility, congress has the responsibility to oversee what is happening in washington, d.c. and to make sure that this area is a safe place. congress in decades past has passed over what's called home

rule to washington, d.c., to say to the city council, you have a responsibility to be able to make decisions for what's going on. but congress still has the congressional constitutional responsibility to be able to oversee d.c., so it is entirely appropriate for senator hagerty to be able to bring this up and to say it's time that congress steps in on the city council and speaks out for our constitutional obligation and says we cannot have rampant crime in the seat of our republic. so this vote that's coming up tomorrow is going to override this city council. and it's hard to believe that the united states congress has to vote to override a city council vote, but that is our constitutional responsibility, and we should take that in to be able to do it. this is important for the safety of all those folks that were on that plane with me, for all the folks that are coming next week

from oklahoma that will be on spring break. this city will be full of oklahomans coming to be able to visit all these museums, and it needs to be a safe place for them to be able to to be, and it needs to be a spot that they want to be able to come to, not a spot that looks like this everywhere all over the streets. this should not be so. so it is time that we speak out for a simple principle. defunding the police, decriminalizing criminal activity, taking out school resource officers out of schools and saying we just won't enforce the law doesn't stop crime. it accelerates crime. and for the good people of washington, d.c., they just want a safe city to live in. and for the folks that work and tour here, they just want to come to a safe place where they're not afraid. let's invite them to come see the capitol, not see this all over the city. with that, i yield the floor.

mr. hagerty: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. hagerty: thank you, mr. president. i would just like to thank my colleagues graham, boozman and lankford for being here this evening to support this effort. we need to make certain that our nation's capital doesn't become a national embarrassment. we need to make certain that we send a strong message that the american public has had it with crime in america, the crime spree that's happening in our major cities must come to an end. we're putting a marker in the ground tomorrow, and i want to thank all my colleagues, both republican and democrat, who are joining me in this. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until

if approved president biden said he would not veto the legislation. later this week they will also consider the president's nominee to the irs commissioner. watch live coverage of the senate when they return here on cspan2. ♪ since 1979, in partnership with the cable industry c-span has provided complete coverage of the halls of congress. from the house and senate floors to congressional hearings, party briefings and committee meetings. c-span gives you a front row seat to how issues are debated and decided with note commentary, no interruptions and completely unfiltered. c-span your unfiltered view of government.

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>> there are a lot of places to get political information. but only at c-span we get it straight from the source for no matter where you are from or where you stand on the issues, c-span is america's network. unfiltered unbiased word for word but happens here, or here, or anywhere that matters. america as watching on c-span, powered by cable. >> and now we hear from publican senator dan sullivan of alaska who spoke on permitting reform and called on the biden administration to allow for oil projects in the arctic. this is from the energy conference in houston. >> we walked up a little too soon are supposed to come in afterhe