we've seen it in arizona and florida, texas, arizona. but many more state legislatures are moving in this direction, and the voting rights of this nation are at stake because what we're seeing is a deliberate and systematic attempt to make it harder and more difficult to register to vote and particularly for people of color to have this right. it is an attempt to subvert our democracy and attack the lifeblood of our nation. we know in theory that the founders intended that in fact our government, quote, derives its just powers from the consent of the governed. but more than an exercise in theory, this effort is a direct, clear attempt to defend against the tsunami of voter suppression bills now crashing on our nation, and that is why the john lewis voting rights advancement act should be bipartisan. i have no illusions about it being so. but one way or the other, we ought to follow the advice of john lewis, who said, quote, the right to vote is precious, almost sacred. it is the most powerful, nonviolent tool or instrument we have in a d

arizona officials also received word that their medicaid work expectations were being revoked. just a few months ago this administration likewise pulled all work expectations from the states of arkansas, new hampshire, michigan, and wisconsin. indiana's gateway to work program, again, revoked by c.m.s. would have merely asked medicaid recipients to report 20 hours of work or volunteer or school or other activities every month. now this is really important. these community engagement activities are designed to improve quality of life, to improve the quality of the recipient's life over the long term. and to help hoosiers transition from medicaid to full employment. this is what people want. when we think of the american dream, we think of the ability to go out and start a family and be part of a larger community and to be able to meaningfully participate in a nation civic life and to secure a vocation. most would regard the goals of indiana's gateway to work program as commendable. however, according to c.m.s., this program would result in significant coverage losses and harm to

this agency oversees 12 different -- or 12 million acres of public land in arizona, 48 million in -- acres of land in nevada, eight million in montana. it's like that all across the west. included in the land that it manages is almost 65 million acres of federal forests. the bureau is also responsible for hundreds of millions of acres of mineral land below the surface. it's critical to america's energy independence because a lot of energy is under those lands. tracy stone-manning has no business leading this agency, none whatsoever. she helped plant a tree spiking in one of our country's national forests. she sent a threatening letter to the united states forest service about it. she did not cooperate with federal investigators, blocked the investigation, only testified when she received immunity and lied to our committee about it. there is bipartisan concern about this nomination. i will tell you bob abbey, who was president obama's bureau of the bureau of land management said her actions should disqualify her. president obama's nominee to run that bureau. bob knows her involvement

the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. ms. sinema: i ask that all remaining time be yielded back. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the question occurs on the motion. ms. sinema: 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: vote: vote: the presiding officer: the yeas are 50, the nays a 48, the motion to discharge is agreed to. the nomination is discharged and will be placed on the calendar. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, i first ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. so ordered. mr. whitehouse: and i ask unanimous consent to speak up to 15 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, this series of scheme speeches i

one of the issues was from arizona, a situation where you have no easy places to drop off your ballot in large native american reservations. so by banning the ability for people to collect ballots and drop them off, you essentially make it extraordinarily difficult for this targeted community to vote. and that was the intent. that was the intent. now, this law, section 2, it didn't say that anything about intent. it said the result. and it didn't say it had to be denial. it said an abridgement. in other words, an afringe -- an infringement on the ability to cast a ballot. but alito doesn't care. the majority doesn't care on the supreme court about defending the right to vote. the pulse stating heart of -- pulsating heart of our republic. so where does that leave us? it leaves us as the critical factor to defend the constitution. the supreme court won't do it. the states are undermining it. it's our responsibility, our responsibility to set out those basic standards that defend the ability of every american to vote. and that's why i'm here on the floor tonight talking about the for the