00:00Madam President, I ask that the Chair execute the order of June 4, 2024, with respect to
00:08the Sullivan nomination, that the confirmation vote occur at 11.40 a.m., ask unanimous consent.
00:15Without objection.
00:19Madam President, I'd like to submit for unanimous consent request an article that appeared in
00:29the Chicago Tribune a year ago, on May 3, 2023, without objection.
00:38Without objection.
00:39Thank you, Madam President.
00:40Madam President, I'm a liberal arts lawyer, I'm not a doctor, and I'm not a researcher.
00:47So when I get into these fields, I want to say the words I use very carefully, not to
00:52misstate what is clearly the case.
00:56But this is an amazing article, which is entitled, Device Uses Microbubbles to Open
01:03Blood-Brain Barrier to Treat Glioblastoma in Humans.
01:09It's a story of Northwestern medicine scientist Adam Sonnabend.
01:16Report results of first inhuman clinical trial using a skull implantable ultrasound device
01:25to open the blood-brain barrier and repeatedly permeate large critical regions of the human
01:31brain.
01:33To try to translate this into simple words, the blood-brain barrier is something I don't
01:40understand.
01:41When we take two beers and drink them, we can feel it.
01:45So the alcohol has permeated the blood-brain barrier.
01:48But in the ordinary course of events, it is in fact a barrier for chemicals to enter
01:55the brain.
01:56Dr. Sonnabend is finding a way to get beyond that barrier.
02:01And it's for the treatment of what is known as glioblastoma, brain cancer.
02:06We know that very well on a personal basis here in the United States Senate.
02:11We have lost John McCain to glioblastoma, Ted Kennedy to glioblastoma.
02:18One of our Democratic staffers, Tim Mitchell, to glioblastoma.
02:24And Hunter Biden, his brother, Beau Biden, died from glioblastoma.
02:30Why?
02:31I'm going to try to say this in simple words, and I hope I don't misstate it.
02:37Because when we discover the tumor, the first reaction is surgery to remove the tumor.
02:43And so you'll see, with each of the people I've just mentioned, that experience take
02:49place.
02:50The tumor is removed, but unfortunately the chemotherapy that is common to stop cancerous
02:56tumors from emerging in the same area can't be used because of the blood-brain barrier.
03:03This barrier stops the application of the medicine.
03:07So the researchers are finding a way to get beyond that barrier, to bring chemotherapy
03:11to the brain of those suffering from glioblastoma.
03:16We lost the individuals that I mentioned earlier because the follow-up was so difficult because
03:21of this barrier.
03:22Now, that's as far as I can go in layman's terms explaining the situation.
03:26But the reason I raise that issue is because it's timely.
03:30The reason it's timely is the doctor who is heading up this research at Northwestern University
03:38is a Mexican immigrant to the United States.
03:41He's been here almost 10 years.
03:43He has a team of nine other doctors.
03:46They're all doing this research, critical NIH research at Northwestern, and I'm proud
03:51of the fact that they're doing it and doing it successfully.
03:54The point I want to make is the discussion of immigration here in the United States often
04:00is a discussion about fear and hate, that immigrants are somehow a threat to this country.
04:07Donald Trump has gone so far as to say they poison the blood of America.
04:11Now, those sorts of bigoted, hateful statements have been used throughout history to condemn
04:16immigrants, but we have to be honest with ourselves.
04:20Go to your favorite hospital, wherever it may be.
04:23Take a look at the roster of physicians and surgeons that are going to treat you and your
04:27family and you pray to God they're successful.
04:30And notice how many names appear to be immigrants to this country.
04:34They probably are.
04:36And we should be proud of the fact that this nation of immigrants invites people to bring
04:40their talents to the United States and to succeed.
04:43Dr. Sondland coming to the United States from Mexico is certainly welcome.
04:48I want him to stay and be successful and his team as well.
04:52We need his immigrant talent, as others will throughout our nation's history.
04:57They're going to make a difference in the lives of a lot of individuals.
05:01So when President Biden decides that he's going to open up immigration in the United
05:05States and give people an opportunity to live in this country and be part of its future,
05:11I say as long as they go through a background check and we know that they're making a positive
05:16contribution, paying their taxes and following the law, they are welcome here in the United
05:21States.
05:22I say this with some prejudice.
05:24My mother was an immigrant to this country.
05:26Her son is a senator from the state of Illinois.
05:30And that, I think, is an indication of what can happen to the sons and daughters of immigrants
05:35given a chance.
05:36That's what America is all about.
05:38Madam President, it's been more than 20 years since I decided to introduce a bill called
05:43the DREAM Act.
05:45This bipartisan legislation provides a pathway to citizenship for young immigrants who were
05:50brought to the United States as children.
05:54These young people who are known now as DREAMers grew up in the United States, went to school
05:58with our kids, pledged allegiance to the only flag that they've ever known.
06:03And poll after poll shows the vast majority of Americans believe they deserve a chance.
06:08They didn't make their family's decision to come here.
06:11Their family made the decision.
06:13And they grew up here.
06:14We support, on a bipartisan basis, giving DREAMers an opportunity to become American
06:19citizens.
06:20I'm sorry they were not expressly included in the President's proposal, but in one aspect
06:25they were.
06:27Time after time, the DREAM Act has earned bipartisan support in Congress, only to ultimately
06:32be blocked by Republicans.
06:34Without congressional action every day, DREAMers live in fear of their lives being uprooted
06:38by deportation.
06:39Now, Dr. Sonnebend is not a DREAMer.
06:42Don't make the mistake of equating that situation.
06:46But he is an immigrant.
06:47And the point I'm trying to make is, immigrants can make valuable contributions to our lives.
06:53When I started off on the DREAM Act, I introduced the bill and there was a battle between me
06:57and Orrin Hatch.
06:59You didn't get a chance to serve with him, but he was a Republican from Utah and proud
07:02of it.
07:03And he believed that the DREAM Act was his first idea.
07:07I thought it was mine.
07:08But the majority at the time was Republican.
07:11And I said, Senator Hatch, you'll be the lead, it'll be a Hatch-Durbin bill.
07:14Well, over time, he decided that he didn't like the idea any further and dropped his
07:19sponsorship of the legislation.
07:21But I continued pressing forward with it.
07:24Lucky for me, there was a former Republican senator from Indiana named Richard Lugar,
07:28an extraordinarily good man.
07:30I asked him to appeal to President Barack Obama, because they were personal friends,
07:35to use the president's executive authority to help DREAMers.
07:40Twelve years later, or twelve years ago, President Obama answered this bipartisan call from Senator
07:45Lugar and myself, establishing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, better
07:50known as DACA.
07:51DACA is a form of the DREAM Act.
07:54It has protected more than 830,000 young people from deportation.
08:01Many have gone on to serve our nation as doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, and first responders.
08:07President Biden faces a dilemma similar to President Obama's.
08:12He's tried to work with Congress to fix the broken immigration system, and it is broken.
08:17But Republicans have repeatedly thwarted his efforts.
08:21Most of us believe that we had an opportunity for a breakthrough, a bipartisan effort with
08:26Senator James Lankford on the Republican side leading the way, as well as two Republicans,
08:31Senators Murphy and Sinema, pardon me, two Democrats, Murphy and Sinema, to make this
08:37a bipartisan effort.
08:38They had a bipartisan border security bill that's coming before Congress.
08:43At the very last minute, when this measure was about to be considered, Donald Trump stepped
08:48in and said, stop.
08:50I don't want any Republicans in the Senate to support a bipartisan effort to solve the
08:54border crisis.
08:56Stop what you're doing right now.
08:57I would rather have the issue to debate in November than to have you try to solve it
09:01and give Biden any credit for it.
09:04And he said at the end of his statement, President, former President Trump did, you can blame
09:09me.
09:10Well, I'm blaming him that he stopped a bipartisan effort to solve the border crisis.
09:15When the bill came to the floor, the vast majority of Republicans opposed it at his
09:20request.
09:21And in fact, as he said, blame it on me.
09:23I do.
09:24The former president has made it clear he does not want a solution to our immigration
09:28challenges before the November election.
09:30He wants a campaign issue.
09:33He has demonized immigrants, saying, and this is one of the most despicable quotes I can
09:37think of, that they are, quote, poisoning the blood of our country.
09:42He has promised to round up and deport every undocumented immigrant in our country, including
09:46dreamers.
09:47In light of this Republican obstructionism, President Biden has no choice but to use his
09:53authority as president to improve our broken immigration system.
09:57That's why three months ago, I led a group of 19 Senate Democrats asking President Biden
10:03to protect immigrants with deep roots in our country, including dreamers and the spouses
10:07of U.S. citizens.
10:09This week, President Biden responded, taking action to protect immigrants who have been
10:13here for decades, paying taxes, and contributing to all of our communities.
10:19The president is helping Americans with non-citizen spouses keep their families together by allowing
10:24them to apply for lawful permanent residence, a status they are already eligible for without
10:30leaving the country.
10:32He's also allowing dreamers and other immigrants who have earned a degree from an American
10:35college and received a job offer from a U.S. employer related to their field to more quickly
10:41receive work visas.
10:43I commend President Biden for taking these steps, but ultimately, only Congress can fix
10:49the immigration system in America.
10:51To my Republican colleagues who may criticize the president, instead, I urge you to work
10:56with Democrats to pass immigration reform legislation.
10:59Madam President, I just want to conclude this part of my opening statement by saying this
11:05issue means so much to me.
11:07It was over 20 years ago that I introduced the DREAM Act, as I mentioned earlier.
11:11I've come to know these young people and I've come to try to help them over and over again.
11:16We've had some success on the floor where we would pass a measure and the House would
11:20not take it up.
11:21But despite that frustration, they continue to soldier on every single day, despite fear
11:26of deportation, to do their best to be part of America.
11:30Given that chance, they have proven themselves over and over again.
11:34I often think when you consider the hundreds of thousands of individuals who have been
11:39helped by the DREAM Act, by DACA, and other provisions, how few cases there have been
11:45where they've disappointed us publicly.
11:47The law of averages says you're bound to be somebody that's going to break your heart
11:51out there, calls himself a dreamer and does something that you don't like at all.
11:55But by and large, they are an amazing group of people who never, ever give up.
12:00And now they've asked, for example, some help with their parents, what President Biden
12:04suggested is going to give that help.
12:07Some of the parents now are going to have an opportunity to live in America with their
12:11families without fear of deportation.
12:14That to me is what this country should be all about.
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