this? i mean that affects so many people. >> i think we've definitely seen an uptick fromit the administration in putting our resources tora this in the last several months, even in the last 24 hours since this hearing was announced. so many of the things i put in my written testimony about the issues that have plagued the fafsa rollout from the financial aid office perspective, we have seen changes in in the last couple of months and even in the last 24 hours. so they have thrown more resource added in terms of showing up at conferences, having more webinars, communicating more frequently. thankfully alicia will see if this sticks, and the last four hours there been more direct and operational guidance instead of pumping it up with fluff and sort of pr. i guess what i would say though a lot of that feels like trying to close the barn doors after the horses have left the stable. i think it's going to take

additional oversight from bipartisan from this committee to make sure speedy we will break away and take your life to the u.s. capitol where the stent is ready to gavel in. this morning lawmakers are from japanese prime minister fumio kishida during a joint meeting of congress. no votes are currently scheduled today in the upper chamber. you are watching live coverage on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer.

the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, our powerful deliverer, we trust in you for protection, for you save us from those who shoot from the shadows. you keep the faithful from vanishing from our planet, providing a refuge for the oppressed and a shelter when gloating evil seems to have the upper hand. today, use our lawmakers to help bring unity to a divided nation and peace to a war-torn world.

may our senators make their positive impact by living blameless lives speaking the truth, keeping their promises, and honoring you in their thoughts, words, and deeds. we pray in your merciful name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

the president pro tempore: the clerk will report the pending business. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 350, s. 4072, a bill to prohibit the use of funds to implement, administer or enforce the rules of the environmental protection agency.

mr. cardin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland, i move to proceed to executive session to

consider calendar number 478, and i 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 the clerk: ms. baldwin, mr. booker, mr. braun. mr. brown. mr. budd, ms. butler. mrs. capito, mr. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto.

mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich.

mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin.

ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan.

mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. sf sf coons, grassley, king, murray, smith and whitehouse.

senators voting in the negative -- crapo, paul, scott of south carolina, and thune.

the clerk: mr. marshall, no.

the clerk: ms. rosen, aye.

vote: the clerk: ms. hassan, aye.

the clerk: mr. brown, aye. mr. mullin, no.

the clerk: mr. sullivan, no.

the clerk: mr. schatz, aye.

the clerk: mr. graham, no. the clerk: mr. durbin, aye. mr. budd, no.

mrs. blackburn, no. mr. heinrich, aye. mr. ricketts, no. the clerk: ms. collins, aye.

ms. stabenow, aye. the clerk: mr. welch, aye. mr. tuberville, no.

ms. cortez-masto, aye.

the clerk: mr. schmitt, no.

the clerk: mr. moran, no. ms. cantwell, aye. mrs. capito, no.

the clerk: mrs. shaheen, aye. the clerk: mr. barrasso, no. mr. kelly, aye. mr. blumenthal, aye.

the clerk: mr. braun, no. mr. vance, aye. mr. vance, no.

mr. hawley, no.

the clerk: mr. kennedy, no. mrs. hyde-smith, no.

the clerk: ms. butler, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. tester, aye.

mr. warner, aye. ms. ernst, no. ms. lummis, no.

the clerk: mr. fetterman, aye. mr. peters, aye. mr. risch, no.

the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no. mr. rubio, no. mr. schumer, aye. mr. cassidy, no. mr. markey, aye. ms. warren, aye. mr. reed, aye.

the clerk: mr. booker, aye.

the clerk: mr. lujan, aye. the clerk: mr. rounds, no.

mrs. fischer, no. mrs. gillibrand, aye. mr. casey, aye.

the clerk: mr. scott of florida, no. mr. wicker, no. mr. romney, no.

ms. klobuchar, aye. mr. padilla, aye.

the clerk: ms. sinema, aye.

the clerk: mr. lankford, no. mr. johnson, no.

the clerk: mr. wyden, aye.

the clerk: mr. cotton, no.

the clerk: mr. murphy, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. lee, no.

the clerk: mr. carper, aye. the clerk: mr. boozman, no.

the clerk: mr. young, no.

the clerk: ms. baldwin, aye. the clerk: mr. merkley, aye.

mr. daines, no. the clerk: ms. duckworth, aye.

mr. tillis, no. mr. cruz, no.

the clerk: mr. warnock, aye. mr. hoeven, no.

the clerk: mr. hickenlooper, aye.

the clerk: mr. bennet, aye.

the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye. 6 the clerk: mr. ossoff, aye.

vote:

the clerk: mr. grassley, no. mr. hagerty, no.

the clerk: mr. manchin, aye.

the clerk: mr. kaine, aye. vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 49. the nays are 44. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, ramone ya gomez of northern mariana islands to be judge for the district court. mr. schumer: mr. president, i move to proceed to executive session -- i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the. the clerk: will report the motion. 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 478, ramona villagomez manglona to be judge for the district court for the northern mariana islands signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 638 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 638 calling for the immediate release of -- united states citizen -- [no audio].

the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, today i am very proud that the senate just passed leader mcconnell and my resolution calling for ryan corbett's immediate and unconditional relies. -- release. by passing this resolution today, the senate sends a resounding message that it is time to bring ryan home. this weekend is ryan's birthday. we are all thinking about him because it has now been 609 days since ryan, a new york native, was unjustly detained by the taliban in afghanistan during a

routine business trip. i met with ryan's beautiful family this week, and i told them the senate is standing with them and has their back. and i promise them as long as ryan is held by the taliban, i will never stop fighting to bring him back home and unite him with ana, his children, and his family as quickly as possible. again, i thank leader mcconnell for joining me in this legislation. now, on a few other matters. this morning prime minister kishida fumio became only the second japanese prime minister to ever formally address a joint meeting of the congress. the best way the house can heed prime minister kishida's words is pass the national security supplemental as soon as possible, to approve defense funding not just for ukraine but also for the indo-pacific. if we want to protect against the chinese communist party,

endangering taiwan, the house should quit stalling and pass the supplemental. if we want to prevent handing putin a victory in europe, the house should do the right thing for democracy and pass the senate's aid package now. and on another matter, today, mr. president, is a big day -- the presiding officer: order on the floor, please. mr. schumer: we're almost done. today is a big day for america, for commonsense gun safety reform. this morning, the biden administration announced a rule expanding background checks and closing loopholes for online sales and gun shows, a direct result of the bipartisan gun safety law passed two years ago. this gun safety announcement has been decades in coming. it is the first significant expansion of background checks since i led passage of the brady bill way back in 1993. today's announcement expanding background checks shows change

is possible when both sides work together, even if progress is hard and halting. after all a few years ago this announcement would have been unimaginable. because democrats and republicans both together cast aside the influence of groups like the nra and work together. today's announcement has been made possible. the expansion of background checks will save lives. it will be easier to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands. it will show parents, kids, and teachers and americans everywhere impacted by gun violence that congress is listening. we have a lot of work to do. but today is a clear step in the right direction. as author of the brady law, today's announcement on background checks is a proud moment and a galvanizing one. we should build on these historic bills passed in 2022 and cure our nation of the disease of gun violence. finally, just a note, yesterday i led a group of 40 senators introducing a bill that would curtail judge shopping and

restore fairness to the judicial system. i will work with my colleagues to enact this important legislation. we here in congress have a duty to hold the federal judiciary accountable, and when the federal judiciary is being exploited by dangerous practices like judge shopping, it is both proper and appropriate for congress to exercise oversight authority. some of my republican colleagues have suggested it is unconstitutional for congress to oversee the judicial branch. that is ridiculous and avoids a plain reading of the constitution. even chief justices of the supreme court hardly a liberal, agrees that judge shopping is a problem and ought to be addressed. congress has clear authority under the constitution to exercise oversight of the courts. we'll continue weighing legislative options to ensure the federal judiciary is committed to equal justice under the law. i yield the floor.

i have four 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: i ask unanimous consent that the cloture motion filed today ripen at 35:30 -- 5:30 on monday, april 15. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. schumer: i move to recess until 3:00 p.m. on monday, april 15, and i 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: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso.

vote:

the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- bennet, booker, brown, cantwell, carper, casey, collins, fetterman, hassan, hirono, kaine, kelly, king, klobuchar, lujan, manchin, merkley, padilla, paul, peters, reed, schatz, schumer, smith, van hollen, warner, warnock, warren, welch, wyden. mr. blumenthal, aye. senators voting in the negative -- barrasso, blackburn, boozman, braun, budd, cotton, crapo, cruz, daines, ernst, fischer, grassley, hagerty, hoeven, johnson, kennedy, lee, lummis,

marshall, mcconnell, moran, mullin, ricketts, risch, rounds, rubio, schmitt, scott of florida, scott of south carolina, vance, wicker, young. ms. butler, aye. mr. trump whitehouse, aye u -- mr. whitehouse, aye. the clerk: mrs. britt, no.

mr. heinrich, aye. the clerk: mr. thune, no.

the clerk: mrs. hyde-smith, no. mr. murphy, aye.

the clerk: mrs. capito, no. mr. cardin, aye. ms. baldwin, aye.

the clerk: mrs. mur aye. the clerk: mr. ossoff, aye. mrs. shaheen, aye. ms. duckworth, aye.

vote:

the presiding officer: mr. cassidy, no.

the clerk: mr. tillis, no.

the clerk: mr. sullivan, no. the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye.

the clerk: mr. tester, aye. the clerk: ms. cortez masto, aye.

the clerk: ms. rosen, aye.

the clerk: mr. markey, aye.

the clerk: mr. coons, aye.

vote:

the clerk: mr. hickenlooper, aye.

the clerk: mr. lankford, no. the clerk: on this vote, the yeas 48, the nays are 40. the motion is agreed to. the senate stands in recess until 3

clack p.m. on montana -- clack p.m. on montana -- >> watch live coverage of the senate here on c-span2. >> get contact information for members of government in the palm of your hand. when you preorder your copy of c-span's 2024 congressional directory. with bio and contact information for every house and senate member of the 118th congress, import information on congressional committees, the president's cabinet, federal agencies and state governors. the congressional directory

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