To expand the boundaries of the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area to include Lafourche Parish, Louisiana.

Kevin F. McCumber, Clerk of the House, reported and found truly enrolled bills of the House of the following titles, which were thereupon signed by the Speaker pro tempore, Mr. McHenry, on Friday, December 20, 2024:

H.R. 663. An act to amend the Indian Child Protection and

Family Violence Prevention Act.

H.R. 1607. An act to clarify jurisdiction with respect to

certain Bureau of Reclamation pumped storage development, and

for other purposes.

H.R. 1727. An act to amend the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Development Act to extend the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

National Historical Park Commission.

H.R. 2468. An act to require the Secretary of the Interior

to convey to the State of Utah certain Federal land under the

administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management

within the boundaries of Camp Williams, Utah, and for other

purposes.

H.R. 3324. An act to extend the authority to collect

Shasta-Trinity Marina fees through fiscal year 2029.

H.R. 4094. An act to amend the Central Utah Project

Completion Act to authorize expenditures for the conduct of

certain water conservation measures in the Great Salt Lake

basin, and for other purposes.

H.R. 4385. An act to extend authorization of the

Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991.

H.R. 4467. An act to direct the Under Secretary for

Management of the Department of Homeland Security to assess

contracts for covered services performed by contractor

personnel along the United States land border with Mexico,

and for other purposes.

H.R. 5646. An act to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965

to require institutions of higher education to disclose

hazing incidents, and for other purposes.

H.R. 5770. An act to reauthorize certain United States

Geological Survey water data enhancement programs.

H.R. 6826. An act to designate the visitor and education

center at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine

as the Paul S. Sarbanes Visitor and Education Center.

H.R. 6843. An act to expand the boundaries of the

Atchafalaya National Heritage Area to include Lafourche

Parish, Louisiana.

H.R. 7177. An act to amend title 28, United States Code, to

consolidate certain divisions in the Northern District of

Alabama.

H.R. 7213. An act to amend the Public Health Service Act to

enhance and reauthorize activities and programs relating to

autism spectrum disorder, and for other purposes.

H.R. 7332. An Act to require the Secretary of the Interior

and the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain Federal

land to the State of Utah for inclusion in certain State

parks, and for other purposes.

H.R. 7524. An act to amend title 40, United States Code, to

require the submission of reports on certain information

technology services funds to Congress before expenditures may

be made, and for other purposes.

H.R. 8219. An act to require the Secretary of the Interior

to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility

of designating certain land as the Lahaina National Heritage

Area, and for other purposes.

H.R. 8413. An act to provide for the conveyance of certain

Federal land at Swanson Reservoir and Hugh Butler Reservoir

in the State of Nebraska, and for other purposes.

H.R. 8663. An act to require the Science and Technology

Directorate in the Department of Homeland Security to develop

greater capacity to detect and identify illicit substances in

very low concentrations.

H.R. 9566. An act to require governmentwide source code

sharing, and for other purposes.

Kevin F. McCumber, Clerk of the House, further reported and found truly an enrolled bill of the House of the following title, which was thereupon signed by the Speaker on Saturday, December 21, 2024:

H.R. 10545. An act making further continuing appropriations

for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, and for other

purposes.

Kevin F. McCumber, Clerk of the House, further reported and found truly enrolled bills of the House of the following titles, which were thereupon signed by the Speaker pro tempore, Mr. McHENRY:

H.R. 82. An act to amend title II of the Social Security

Act to repeal the Government pension offset and windfall

elimination provisions.

H.R. 670. An act to direct the Secretary of Health and

Human Services to establish a website to promote awareness of

available resources for individuals with disabilities, and

for other purposes.

H.R. 1318. An act to authorize the location of a monument

on the National Mall to commemorate and honor the women's

suffrage movement and the passage of the 19th Amendment to

the Constitution, and for other purposes.

H.R. 1555. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 2300 Sylvan Avenue in

Modesto, California, as the ``Corporal Michael D. Anderson

Jr. Post Office Building''.

H.R. 1823. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 207 East Fort Dade Avenue in

Brooksville, Florida, as the ``Specialist Justin Dean Coleman

Memorial Post Office Building''.

H.R. 2997. An act to direct the Secretary of the Interior

to convey to Mesa County, Colorado, certain Federal land in

Colorado, and for other purposes.

H.R. 3354. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 220 North Hatcher Avenue in

Purcellville, Virginia, as the ``Secretary of State Madeleine

Albright Post Office Building''.

H.R. 3391. An act to extend the Gabriella Miller Kids First

Pediatric Research Program at the National Institutes of

Health, and for other purposes.

H.R. 4136. An act to name the Department of Veterans

Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Plano, Texas, as

the ``U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson Memorial VA Clinic''.

H.R. 4955. An act to name the community-based outpatient

clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Monroeville,

Pennsylvania, as the ``Henry Parham VA Clinic''.

H.R. 4984. An act to direct the Secretary of the Interior

to transfer administrative jurisdiction over the Robert F.

Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus to the District of Columbia

so that the District may use the Campus for purposes

including residential and commercial development, and for

other purposes.

H.R. 5103. An act to require the Director of the Office of

Management and Budget to approve or deny spend plans within a

certain amount of time, and for other purposes.

H.R. 5443. An act to establish a policy regarding appraisal

and valuation services for real property for a transaction

over which the Secretary of the Interior has jurisdiction,

and for other purposes.

H.R. 5867. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 109 Live Oaks Boulevard in

Casselberry, Florida, as the ``Colonel Joseph William

Kittinger II Post Office Building''.

H.R. 5887. An act to amend chapter 3 of title 5, United

States Code, to improve Government service delivery, and

build related capacity for the Federal Government, and for

other purposes.

H.R. 6062. An act to restore the ability of the people of

American Samoa to approve amendments to the territorial

constitution based on majority rule in a democratic act of

self-determination, as authorized pursuant to an Act of

Congress delegating administration of Federal territorial law

in the territory to the President, and to the Secretary of

the Interior under Executive Order 10264, dated June 29,

1951, under which the Constitution of American Samoa was

approved and may be amended without requirement for further

congressional action, subject to the authority of Congress

under the Territorial Clause in article IV, section 3, clause

2 of the United States Constitution.

H.R. 6116. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 14280 South Military Trail

in Delray Beach, Florida, as the ``Benjamin Berell Ferencz

Post Office Building''.

H.R. 6162. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 379 North Oates Street in

Dothan, Alabama, as the ``LaBruce `Bruce' Tidwell Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 6188. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 420 Highway 17 North in

Surfside Beach, South Carolina, as the ``Nancy Yount Childs

Post Office Building''.

H.R. 6244. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 1535 East Los Ebanos

Boulevard in Brownsville, Texas, as the ``1st Lieutenant

Andres Zermeno Post Office Building''.

H.R. 6395. An act to amend the Energy Act of 2020 to

require the Secretary of the Interior to include the

Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultations

regarding designations of critical minerals, elements,

substances, and materials.

H.R. 6492. An act to improve recreation opportunities on,

and facilitate greater access to, Federal public land, and

for other purposes.

H.R. 6633. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 9355 113th Street in

Seminole, Florida, as the ``Army SSG Ryan Christian Knauss

Memorial Post Office Building''.

H.R. 6750. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 501 Mercer Street Southwest

in Wilson, North Carolina, as the ``Milton F. Fitch, Sr. Post

Office Building''.

H.R. 6810. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 518 North Ridgewood Drive in

Sebring, Florida, as the ``U.S. Army Air Corps Major Thomas

B. McGuire Post Office Building''.

H.R. 6852. An act to designate Holcombe Rucker Park, in

Harlem, New York, as a National Commemorative Site, and for

other purposes.

H.R. 6983. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 15 South Valdosta Road in

Lakeland, Georgia, as the ``Nell Patten Roquemore Post

Office''.

H.R. 7158. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 201 East Battles Road in

Santa Maria, California, as the ``Larry Lavagnino Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 7180. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 80 1st Street in Kingsland,

Arkansas, as the Kingsland `Johnny Cash' Post Office''.

H.R. 7365. To provide PreCheck to certain severely injured

or disabled veterans, and for other purposes.

H.R. 7385. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 29 Franklin Street in

Petersburg, Virginia, as the ``John Mercer Langston Post

Office Building''.

H.R. 74l7. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 135 West Spring Street in

Titusville, Pennsylvania, as the ``Edwin L. Drake Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 7507. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 203 East 6th Street in

Lexington, Nebraska, as the ``William E. and Elsie L. Barrett

Post Office Building''.

H.R. 7508. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 1285 Emancipation Highway in

Fredericksburg, Virginia, as the ``Gladys P. Todd Post

Office''.

H.R. 7606. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 1087 Route 47 South in Rio

Grande, New Jersey, as the ``Carlton H. Hand Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 7607. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at Block 1025, Lots 18 & 19,

Northeast Corner of US Route 9 South and Main Street in the

Township of Middle County of Cape May, New Jersey, as the

``George Henry White Post Office Building''.

H.R. 7893. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 306 Pickens Street in

Marion, Alabama, as the ``Albert Turner, Sr. Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 7938. An act to amend the Klamath Basin Water Supply

Enhancement Act of 2000 to provide the Secretary of the

Interior with certain authorities with respect to projects

affecting the Klamath Basin watershed, and for other

purposes.

H.R. 8012. An act to establish the Jackie Robinson Ballpark

National Commemorative Site in the State of Florida, and for

other purposes.

H.R. 8057. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 9317 Bolsa Avenue in

Westminster, California, as the ``Little Saigon Vietnam War

Veterans Memorial Post Office''.

H.R. 8641. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 401 Main Street in Brawley,

California, as the ``Walter Francis Ulloa Memorial Post

Office Building''.

H.R. 8666. An act to amend title 28, United States Code, to

authorize holding court for the Central Division of Utah in

Moab and Monticello.

H.R. 8667. An act to rename the community-based outpatient

clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Cadillac,

Michigan, as the ``Duane E. Dewey VA Clinic''.

H.R. 8717. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 20 West Main Street in

SantaQuin, Utah, as the ``SGT Bill Hooser Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 8841. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 114 Center Street East in

Roseau, Minnesota, as the ``Floyd B. Olson Post Office''.

H.R. 8868. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located 609 Portsmouth Avenue in

Greenland, New Hampshire, as the ``Chief Michael Maloney Post

Office Building''.

H.R. 8909. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 82-6110 Mamalahoa Highway in

Captain Cook, Hawaii, as the ``Army 1st Lt. John Kuulei

Kauhaihao Post Office Building''.

H.R. 8919. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 151 Highway 74 South in

Peachtree City, Georgia, as the ``SFC Shawn McCloskey Post

Office''.

H.R. 8976. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 20 West White Street in

Millstadt, Illinois, as the ``Corporal Matthew A. Wyatt Post

Office''.

H.R. 9076. An act to reauthorize child welfare programs

under part B of title IV of the Social Security Act and

strengthen the State and tribal child support enforcement

program under part D of such title, and for other purposes.

H.R. 9124. An act to name the Department of Veterans

Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Auburn,

California, as the ``Louis A. Conter VA Clinic''.

H.R. 9285. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 39l3 Leland Avenue Northwest

in Comstock Park, Michigan, as the ``Captain Miguel Justin

Nava Post Office''.

H.R. 9322. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 675 Wolf Ledges Parkway in

Akron, Ohio, as the ``Judge James R. Williams Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 9421. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 108 North Main Street in

Bucoda, Washington, as the ``Mayor Rob Gordon Post Office''.

H.R. 9487. An act to amend the Legislative Reorganization

Act of 1970 to authorize the Legislative Counsel of the House

of Representatives to designate more than one of the

attorneys of the Office of the Legislative Counsel as a

Deputy Legislative Counsel, and for other purposes.

H.R. 9544. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 340 South Loudon Avenue in

Baltimore, Maryland, as the ``United States Representative

Elijah E. Cummings Post Office Building''.

H.R. 9549. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 125 South 1st Avenue in

Hillsboro, Oregon, as the ``Elizabeth Furse Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 9580. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 2777 Brentwood Road in

Raleigh, North Carolina, as the ``Millie Dunn Veasey Post

Office''.

H.R. 9592. An act to amend title 44, United States Code, to

modernize the Federal Register, and for other purposes.

H.R. 9600. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 119 Main Street in Plains,

Georgia, as the ``Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Post Office''.

H.R. 9775. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 119 North Anderson Street in

Elwood, Indiana, as the ``Officer Noah Jacob Shahnavaz Post

Office Building''.

H.R. 10065. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 802 North Tancahua Street in

Corpus Christi, Texas, as the ``Captain Robert E. `Bob'

Batterson Post Office''.

Mr. President, we are currently considering the Defense authorization bill. We have considered this most years annually for many decades. Typically, though, we will have a robust debate, we will have amendments offered, and we will try to have participation by Senators from all over the

United States geographically represented in the debate.

That won't happen this year. There will be no debate. It will be very controlled and circumscribed, and there won't be amendments. This is disappointing to me because I think there are some very important issues that need to be brought up, and one of those is emergency powers.

Our Founding Fathers understood that it was very important to divide these powers between the executive branch, the legislative branch, or the judiciary. Over the past hundred years though, we have had a gradual evolution of these powers toward the executive branch. And we now have a very, very strong executive branch that, in many ways, is able to control the narrative and ultimately to control the country.

In the 1970s, Frank Church wrote these words, which I think represent a problem that existed then and even more so now. He wrote:

Hundreds of statutes clothe the President with virtually

unchecked powers with which he can affect the lives of

American citizens in a host of all-encompassing ways. This

vast range of powers, taken together, confers enough

authority on the President to rule the country without

reference to normal constitutional processes.

Under the authority delegated by these statutes, the

President may: seize property; organize and control the means

of production; seize commodities; institute martial law;

seize and control all transportation and communication;

regulate the operation of private enterprises; restrict

travel; and, in a plethora of particular ways, control the

lives of all American citizens.

These words were written by Senator Frank Church in a 1977 law review article, but they are still true to this day and even more worrisome.

The Church Committee's investigatory work famously convinced many in Congress that the time had come to reassert congressional checks and balances on the Executive that had become all too powerful.

It is ironic that the powers-that-be still conspire to this day to hide the work of the Church Committee. I have been trying for over a year to read the classified version of the Church Committee. All right. This is not some sort of new document; this is a document from 1976. But the powers-that-be have prevented me for over a year from reading the classified report. You got to wonder--does that mean they have something to hide or does that mean they love power so much that they don't want to share it?

The National Emergencies Act of 1976 was supposed to be a reform of Presidential emergencies. It was supposed to limit the power of Presidents. In that act, they actually gave a legislative veto. If an emergency were invoked by a President and the majority of Congress voted it, they would be legislatively able to reject that emergency.

The Court ultimately ruled, though, that that would have to be signed by the President, effectively meaning that if a President declares an emergency, a majority of us say ``We don't think that should be declared,'' and he vetoes it, it now takes two-thirds of us to overcome a Presidential emergency. This is a very high bar and makes it nearly impossible to stop a Presidential emergency.

Essentially, the National Emergency's Act enforcement mechanism became toothless when the Court got rid of the legislative veto. Subsequently, Congress must muster this veto-proof or two-thirds vote. To thwart a rogue President, it currently takes a two-thirds majority vote in both Houses to overturn a veto. This is a very high bar. Consequently, we live in a country Frank Church would barely recognize.

In some ways, the United States of America is a monarchy in disguise. The United States maintains the veneer of a constitutional republic but often operates as an elected monarchy in which the President exercises awesome and unchecked power by decree and in perpetuity.

If you look at the emergencies on the books, some of them have been on the books for 50 years. If you look at the potential emergencies that could be declared, you would be shocked.

This dangerous imbalance of the constitutional separation of powers is not simply aggrandizement by the executive branch; it is something that Congress has actually been complicit with. Congress has essentially made itself a feckless branch of the Federal Government by granting the President so many emergency powers and refusing to regularly vote on the termination of national emergencies, as required by current law. The emergencies go on and on.

Our concern should not merely be to restore Congress to its proper role in our Madisonian system of government; rather, our true focus should be to restore the Founders' vision of a government of limited and diffuse powers that is devoted to securing our inalienable rights. A government that disperses power among separate, distinct, and competing branches is a government that is less likely to violate our liberties.

We owe the people nothing less than the restoration of the constitutional principles of separation of powers and of checks and balances among the branches of the Federal Government.

I have offered a significant step towards revivifying the Founders' vision. I have introduced a bill called the REPUBLIC Act, which is an amendment to this bill but likely will not be considered because the powers-that-be don't want debate or amendments. But this amendment, were it considered, would restore Congress's role in governance by requiring that declarations of national emergency expire after 30 days. The President would still have the power to declare an emergency, but it would expire after 30 days unless approved affirmatively by Congress. What this does is essentially switches the role we currently have. Currently, it takes two-thirds of Congress to stop an emergency; now it would take 50 percent of Congress to affirm an emergency.

We did this in my State for our Governor. It is a good reform and goes a long way towards restoring the faith that people have in the separation of powers and the limitation of powers.

This simple reform allows the President to respond to genuine crises but ensures that the Executive cannot rule by unchecked perpetual emergency.

My bill includes other reforms that are designed to safeguard the country from emergency rule. My bill would repeal the provisions of the Communications Act of 1934--also known as the internet kill switch-- that allow the President, if he declares an emergency, to take over all communications.

Now, this emergency fortunately has never been declared, but simply having this on the book for so long is a threat that someday a President might occur who says: I am going to take over all communications, and I will shut them down. That is a power so ominous, no President of either party should ever have that power, and this bill would remove that power.

Today, though, with the power still in place, with the stroke of a pen, the President could use this power to monitor emails, restrict access to the internet, control computer systems, television, radio broadcast, and cellphones. Longstanding use of this power would effectively eviscerate the First Amendment.

If the REPUBLIC Act, my amendment today, were accepted, the President would no longer be able to utilize this power--at least would have limited power during a limited time, and a majority of Congress would have to affirm the continued use of this emergency.

Emergency powers were not the type of rule our Founders anticipated for our country. The other name for emergency rule is ``martial law.'' It is something all of us should object to and say that this should only happen in an exceptional case, be very limited, and have the ability of Congress to overturn.

If anyone doubts that emergency powers can be abused, just look to Canada. Gene Healy of the Cato Institute wrote:

America's neighbor to the north offers a cautionary tale

about the risks that broad emergency powers could be turned

inward against political dissent. In early 2022, Canadian

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced a mass protest against

COVID-19 restrictions, in which Canadian truckers obstructed

key border crossings and effectively shut down the capital

city with their rigs. Instead of simply clearing out the

protesters and punishing them via conventional legal means,

Trudeau invoked emergency powers broad enough to permit the

financial ``un-personing'' of anyone participating in the

protests.

He went to their bank accounts and took their money. When people raised

money voluntarily through crowd financing to help these truckers, he stole that money as well through martial rule. Without any rule of law, he took the money. No transaction with the protesters; he took their money. People were locked up under martial law.

Canada's 1988 Emergencies Act gave the Trudeau government

staggering powers to subject individual protesters to ``de-

banking'' without due process.

This is the danger of Presidential power--of excessive Presidential power. It isn't about any individual President; it is about all Presidents of either party because men and women will succumb to the desire for power. It is inherent in all. That is why we must have checks and balances.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland put it this way in describing Trudeau's martial law in a February 2022 warning to the truckers:

As of today, a bank or other financial service provider

will be able to immediately freeze or suspend an account

without a court order.

The Government of Canada--essentially Trudeau--could freeze a bank account without a court order, without due process of law.

We are today serving notice: If your truck is being used in

these protests, your corporate accounts will be frozen. The

insurance on your vehicle will be suspended. Send your . . .

trailers home.

While native-born Americans may think that emergency powers are to be used to target others, I would venture to guess that the Canadian truckers protesting COVID-era mandates didn't expect that their government would treat them as foreign adversaries and freeze their accounts.

If it can happen in Canada, it can happen in the United States.

Expansive emergency powers do not end there. Today in the United States--a country that owes its very existence to tax revolt--the President can unilaterally impose and raise taxes on foreign imports. Now, some of that power, unfortunately, Congress gave to the President, but it was a mistake, and we should take the power back.

The rallying cry of our American Revolution--``no taxation without representation''--was not just a protest of the past, it is a core principle of American governance. Yet Congress, in its feckless desire to abscond on all responsibilities, said to the President: You can have it; we don't want it. You can raise taxes anytime you want without a vote of Congress.

Terrible idea. Our Constitution was designed to prevent any branch from overstepping its bounds.

Unchecked Executive actions--enacting tariffs on our citizens without a vote of Congress threatens our economy, raises prices on everyday goods, and erodes the system of checks and balances that our Founders so carefully crafted.

The REPUBLIC Act, the reform of emergency powers, the limitation of emergency powers, would correct this. We end up saying to the President: You can't declare an emergency to raise a tax.

Our Founding Fathers were very specific. Not only did taxes have to originate in Congress, they had to originate in the House before coming to the Senate because the House was seen as being closer to the people. Yet here we are talking about vast taxes being levied by one person through emergency powers. We should not let this stand.

Finally, the REPUBLIC Act, my reform, requires the President to disclose Presidential emergency action documents to the Congress. What are these? These are Executive orders that are prepared in anticipation of a wide range of emergency scenarios. These documents are kept secret, and Congress has historically had little oversight or insight into how many exist, what they say, and what are the powers that the President anticipates taking in an emergency.

Although the documents have never been made public, there have reportedly been emergency orders designed to unilaterally suspend habeas corpus, impose censorship, and seize property without warrants. We don't know for certain because they will not reveal these Executive orders, but we do know that they exist. Congress desperately needs to see these documents to conduct oversight of these secret plans that can threaten basic constitutional rights.

We do not have to accept as inevitable or as an inevitability the degeneration of a republic into rule by an all-powerful Executive. We do not have to live in a monarchy disguised as a republic.

We would do well to remember Montesquieu, who wrote that ``when the executive and legislative powers are combined into one branch, no liberty will remain.''

It is time to reclaim the authority of Congress and protect the liberties of people by paring back the vast emergency powers delegated to the President.

I hope the powers-that-be will change their mind and see fit to allow a vote on this amendment. There is significant bipartisan support. We passed it out of committee I believe 13 to 1. The Democrat chairman is a cosponsor of this bill. I think this is a bill that really should bring both sides together.

There used to be pride in our country, pride in the legislative branch to hold firm against usurpation of power by the other branches. This was a pride that went beyond party label and brought legislators together. In recent years, it has been disappointing.

Some people are for reform of Presidential emergencies when their party is not in power, and some people are for it until they are against it when their guy or their woman is in power.

I can tell you this: I have been for this emergency reform under the previous President. I am for this emergency reform under the next President because this is about power. It is about the dispersion of power. It is about decentralizing power. It is about the constitutional separation of powers. It is about checks and balances.

It is important enough that it should be considered. I think it would pass were it considered. But the American people need to know that important debates like this will only occur if the powers-that-be allow the vote to occur. So I would beseech the powers-to-be to allow a vote on this amendment and for my colleagues to vote yes.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I come to the floor today to talk about the National Defense Authorization Act. The act that is called the NDAA covers a wide range of topics, but, overall, it helps us chart a course to defend our country during these very dangerous times.

Russia, China, and Iran are working together to undermine U.S. interests across the globe. A world led by those nations is, in fact, a very dangerous world. And it is a world where the economic well-being of ordinary Americans suffer.

I have visited key U.S. allies and partners in recent years, and I am convinced that when we are strong--when the United States is strong--as a nation, we attract like-minded partners who will work with us to push back on our adversaries and defend freedom, not only here for our country but across the globe. And the NDAA is about bolstering our defenses and strengthening those very partnerships.

This bill, for example, establishes a Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. Now, that is modeled after the Indo-Pacific and Ukraine's security assistance initiatives, and it is designed to enable Taiwan to maintain sufficient self-defense capabilities, vitally important in the Pacific and vitally important that we not work just with Taiwan but with all our allies in the Pacific: Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and others.

And also, this pact requires the Department of Defense to provide Israel with intelligence and advice in support of their war effort in the Middle East against Hamas and other terrorist organizations, including the largest sponsor of state terrorism in the world, Iran.

In addition, the NDAA supports a handful of missions that are both critical to our security around the globe and of particular interest to my State.

First, for example, UAS and counter-UAS. It is a huge issue right now, not only in terms of the battlefield, what we are seeing in Ukraine, in the Middle East, and other places, but even here in our own country, civilian uses of drones and counter-drones is certainly very much at the forefront of the

public's attention. And we have real problems with UAS threats across all of the areas that we operate, here at home and overseas.

Now, we still have a patchwork approach that has grown out of an ad hoc response to specific threats to domestic military installations. The Department of Defense very much needs a coherent strategy and clear guidance when it comes to drones and countering drones.

This bill takes a number of important steps toward addressing the issue, including: directing the Secretary of Defense to develop a strategy for countering unmanned aerial systems and the threats they pose to Department of Defense facilities, personnel, and assets. And that means not only here at home but across the globe where we have personnel and where we have military installations.

So having that strategy for drones and counter-drones is very, very important right now. And it is very complex, as we are seeing.

This legislation also requires standing up a counter-UAS--unmanned aerial system--drone task force to review and update all of DOD guidances to provide clarity and expedited decision-making processes and information processes so that the public knows what we are doing and has confidence in what we are doing.

In North Dakota, we have a UAS ecosystem that is ready to support this initiative, both in the military aspects and in the civilian aspects. And we have had that focus on UAS technology going back all the way to 2005.

And again, I think we are one of the only air bases in the country, at the Grand Forks Air Force Base, where we operate military and civilian, manned and unmanned aircraft, all at the same base, as well as our connection to the lower orbit satellites through the Space Defense Agency.

So we have established what we call their Project ULTRA. Project ULTRA is specifically designed to move unmanned aerial systems and to counter unmanned aerial systems from the drawing board to the warfighter. As I say, we have been at that for almost 20 years.

As DOD contemplates this counter-UAS strategy, we are ready to bring industry partners, and I mean some of the leading industry partners like Northrup Grumman, like General Atomics, like Raytheon, and many others as well. They are already operating. They are in the Grand Sky Technology Park on the Grand Forks Air Force Base. And we are ready to bring those partnerships--those companies that have developed these technologies--together with the Department of Defense under the directive in this legislation to defend, like I say, not only our military installations but to do more in the civilian airspace so that the public can have confidence that when they see a drone flying in our national airspace, that it has been accounted for and properly dealt with.

Second, the second huge issue in the NDAA is nuclear modernization. Our nuclear deterrent is the foundation of global stability and is prerequisite for the success of our conventional forces.

If we have a nuclear deterrent that no adversary ever questions, then they will never go beyond conventional forces. We have the finest military in the world. Our conventional forces are more than a match for anyone in the world. And so that could create the temptation for somebody to actually use nuclear forces. But if they know our deterrent is so strong, then they will never actually challenge us. So it is the bedrock or the foundation on which our conventional forces reside. We are facing an increasingly dangerous nuclear world where we must deter multiple nuclear powers at the same time.

Now, several years ago, I led efforts to ensure that the Department of Defense kept our inventory of silos for our intercontinental ballistic missiles and preserve a full deployment of these missiles to support deterrence.

Today, we need those missiles to support deterrence against China, which is building up its forces incredibly, as well as Russia and North Korea.

This NDAA continues to carry language preserving the number of ICBMs that we deploy. It also creates a new Assistant Secretary of Defense to oversee nuclear deterrence policies and programs across the Department of Defense.

And most importantly--most importantly--it authorizes the next steps in modernizing not only the ICBM force but all three legs of the nuclear triad--bombers, the missiles, and submarines. It provides more than $5.6 billion in authorizations for modernizing these programs; for example, Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, which is the only dual nuclear base that we have, both the bombers and the missiles. But it also updates the aircraft, the Sentinel, which is the new missile program, the LRSO, long-range stand-off, which is the new air-launched cruise missile, which is part of the bomber fleet; the B-52s, the new B-2 bombers, as well as our other long-range stand-off missile programs.

All of those things, as well as our submarines, form the nuclear deterrent that is the bedrock of our military forces. With the evolution of technology, the environment, and our own ambitions--the military environment I am talking about--and the near-peer challenges that we face with Russia and particularly with China, we have no choice but to make sure that we are updating and modernizing our nuclear forces so that no one ever challenges the United States or our ability to defend ourselves and our allies.

Space Development Agency--I mentioned that just a minute ago--another area of emphasis that is very important in this legislation. We know that space is an increasingly important part of defending our Nation and our interests around the globe. When we look at Russia, when we look at China and what they are doing in space, we must not only keep up, we must continue to exceed what they are doing. It is vitally important to making sure that our nuclear forces have the best technology and a technological advantage in warfare over our adversaries.

This legislation authorizes more than $4 billion for the Space Development Agency, including how the Low Earth Orbit Satellite Program is operated. This program is significant and will fundamentally change--the low Earth orbit satellites, which we are putting out in space now, and we will have many of them, I mean, hundreds of them. This program is significant and will fundamentally change the way our forces operate around the globe.

Every soldier, every weapon system, and every mission will benefit from getting information from these low Earth orbit satellites. And we are taking steps in this bill and in the appropriations processes to do just that.

And so when you look at SpaceX, sending those rockets in space, many of those have low Earth orbit satellites that we are already putting out in space.

Those low Earth orbit satellites will be controlled from one Army base and from one Air Force base. The Army base is the Redstone Army base in Alabama. And the Air Force base is the Grand Forks Air Force Base in my State.

Some other provisions that I want to mention are noteworthy as well. First, greenhouse gas emissions. This NDAA extends a prohibition that we passed last year on any rules that would force contractors to report on greenhouse gas emissions.

I fought hard against these types of regulations, which would add unnecessary redtape and delays, drive up costs, and provide no benefit to the warfighter.

The purpose of our weapons systems must be to make sure that our forces have a superior advantage to any other forces in the world in lethality. And that is exactly how they need to be designed. And that is what this provision is designed to ensure.

Support for our servicemembers, this bill includes a number of provisions that I have heard about in regard to strongly supporting our servicemembers and their families; for example, pay increases. It authorizes a 14.5-percent pay increase for junior enlisted servicemembers, E-4 and below, and a 4.5-percent basic pay increase for all other servicemembers.

Second, access to mental health. The bill improves access to services for mental health, making it easier for telehealth providers to offer services and expand accreditation opportunities for behavioral health providers, which is a big need.

Specialty care travel allowances. The bill includes a provision I supported to require the Secretary to reassess the

travel and transportation allowances provided to servicemembers and dependents seeking specialty care--healthcare, within a hundred miles of their duty station.

Military spouse professional licensing permanently grants authority to the Department of Defense to make transferring professional licenses between States easier for military spouses.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion: It is important that our military members can put mission first, and this bill eliminates authorizations for a range of disruptive DEI programs while establishing a 1-year freeze on hiring for DEI work at the Department of Defense.

Like I said at the beginning of my remarks, the NDAA helps us chart a course to defend our country during these dangerous times. With the passage of the NDAA, we will have the authorization for these important programs, and as a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, we are ready--I and others are ready--to get to work to fund these important programs for our Nation's defense. We have the finest military in the world, and we must do all that we can to support our men and women in uniform.

With that, I yield the floor.

Mr. President, may we have order.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I am laughing because it was Senator Hoeven over there probably talking about you and me, Mr. President, and I just couldn't let that go unchallenged.

Tribute to Paloma Chacon

Mr. President, with me today is one of my able colleagues from my Senate office, Ms. Paloma Chacon. Behind my back, some of my staffers call Paloma ``Kennedy's brain.'' They think I don't know that they are saying that, but it is probably true, and I want to thank her for her good judgment, counsel, and advice.

New Orleans Mass Shooting

Mr. President, what I want to talk about briefly tonight breaks my heart, but it also makes me mad. But it does break my heart.

On Thursday, November 21, we had another mass shooting in New Orleans--this time in the French Quarter. It happened at the corner of Iberville and Royal Streets, across from Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse. Three masked men pulled up in a car and started firing. Bystanders testified they fired about 40 rounds. One person was killed. Three others were injured.

Some people, particularly back home, are probably thinking: OK. What else is new? Another mass shooting in Louisiana and in New Orleans. But this one was preventable.

One of the shooters, who was arrested--his name is Nicholas Miorana. Mr. Miorana is 28 years old. He has spent most of his adult life in prison. He is, based on his record, a career criminal. He served 7 years in prison for armed robbery. He got out. Shortly thereafter, in 2023, Miorana was arrested for a bunch of things: domestic battery, child endangerment, a series of gun charges, including being a felon with a firearm.

What happened next is disgusting.

In January of 2024, our district attorney offered Mr. Miorana a really sweet deal. Forget about the child endangerment. Forget about the domestic battery. Forget about all the gun charges.

The DA said: You can plead guilty.

He said this to Mr. Miorana: You can plead guilty to attempted possession of a firearm by a felon--attempted possession of a firearm by a felon.

What? Attempted possession?

I don't mean to be metaphysical here or teleological, but you either possess a firearm or you don't. I don't understand the ``attempted'' possession of a firearm. Maybe it was because, had Mr. Miorana been offered a deal--take it or leave it--for possession of a firearm as opposed to attempted possession of a firearm, which I didn't even know exists, it would have carried a 5-year sentence. Obviously, Mr. Miorana took the deal, and he appeared before Judge Leon Roche in our criminal court in New Orleans. Mr. Roche gave him probation.

Eight months later, while he was on probation, Mr. Miorana violated his probation, and his probation officer sought to revoke his probation. Then, 1 month later--nobody did anything about revoking his probation. So, 1 month later, Miorana was arrested for domestic abuse battery. He went back before Judge Roche. Judge Roche didn't revoke his probation. He just gave him house arrest and told him he had to wear an ankle monitor. That was in September of 2024. Then, a little bit later, Judge Roche decided to lighten even those conditions. He allowed Mr. Miorana to be free every day from 9 to 6--every day from 9 to 6-- supposedly, to go to work.

Beginning on October 8, Mr. Miorana violated the judge's orders every single day--every single day for 45 days. How do we know this? He had on an ankle monitor, and the monitor company reported to the district attorney and to Judge Roche that Mr. Miorana was violating the terms of his house arrest and ankle monitoring--45 days.

Do you know what the district attorney did? Do you know what Judge Roche did? Nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada. I have already told you how this story ends. Allegedly--I have to say ``allegedly''--he has been arrested for it anyway. Mr. Miorana and three of his buddies put on a mask, got in a Honda, killed somebody in the French Quarter, and shot three others. Mr. Miorana was caught. Do you know how he was caught? He had on an ankle monitor. He was caught within hours. This was a system failure.

I love New Orleans. I used to live in New Orleans. I earned a living in New Orleans. I met my wife in New Orleans. My son lived the first couple of years of his life in New Orleans. I love New Orleans.

What did Tennessee Williams say? ``America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everything else,'' Tennessee Williams said, ``is Cleveland.''

Now, before my friends in Cleveland get mad at me, I didn't say it; Tennessee Williams said it. But I think what Mr. Williams was trying to convey is what an extraordinary, unique, city New Orleans is. Every other State in America would kill to have a New Orleans. Twenty million people from all over the world come to visit the city in America which is perhaps the most European city and the most diverse city in our country. And I love New Orleans. But New Orleans deserves better.

I wish this hadn't happened. I wish there weren't more people in this world like Mr. Miorana. But there are some people in this world who just habitually, consistently hurt other people, and they take other people's stuff. I wish they wouldn't, but they do. I don't know why they do. If I make it to Heaven, I am going to ask. But they do, and they have got to be separated from society. And our judges and our district attorneys are not doing anybody--anybody--in New Orleans a favor by not putting those folks into jail. It breaks my heart. It also makes me mad.

Turkiye

Mr. President, the second thing I want to just mention briefly, and I say this gently--respectfully, but gently--to President Erdogan, the distinguished President of Turkiye: Leave the Kurds alone. Leave the Kurds alone.

The Kurds, as you know, are wonderful people. There are probably 30 to 40 million Kurds throughout the world. Some we are blessed to have here in the United States. They live mostly in Turkiye, Iran, northern Iraq, and Syria. The Kurds are a distinct ethnic group. They are sort of a stateless country because they are spread all over the world.

The Kurds are America's friends. It hadn't been that many years ago since ISIS was rising high. ISIS had established a caliphate in the Middle East. That is a fancy word for a country. They established their own country in the Middle East, and America and other countries beat them back. We destroyed ISIS. They are still there, but we destroyed their caliphate.

The people most responsible for helping us, most responsible for destroying ISIS, were the Kurds. We lost less than 20 American lives in destroying ISIS in the Middle East. Our friends the Kurds lost over 10,000--10,000--fighting alongside of us. Over 30,000 Kurds were wounded. Without the Kurds, ISIS would still be there.

Now, Mr. Erdogan, the President of Turkiye, does not like the Kurds. I am not going to go into why. He is entitled to his opinion. But, right now, Mr. Erdogan has troops and tanks and weapons marshaled on the border between Turkiye and Syria.

As we know, the people in Syria finally had enough, and they overthrew Mr. Assad, their President. Predictably, Assad, who we think stole billions of dollars from the good people of Syria, is now, predictably, living in Russia. We are going to try to find his money.

Mr. Assad, like his father, is a butcher. He killed tens and tens of thousands of Syrians, and many of them he hurt the entire time they were dying.

To keep power and his money--a lot of which he made by dealing drugs--he used chemical weapons against his own people. And now the people in Syria are free of him.

Everybody else, stay out of Syria. President Trump has already talked about it. It doesn't mean we can't offer our advice, but we all need to stay out of Syria.

The defeat of Mr. Assad in Syria would not have happened but for Israel. We know that. You don't have to be a graduate of Cal Tech to know that. Israel destroyed Hezbollah, which was working with Iran, which was working with Russia to keep Assad in power.

Russia and Iran and Hezbollah were on the side of the butcher. But Russia is tied up in Ukraine. Hezbollah was holding down the fort while Russia was tied up in Ukraine. And Israel ignored the advice of many and just went out and destroyed Hezbollah.

Thank you, Israel.

But that is why the people of Syria today are free, and they are entitled to self-determination.

Mr. Erdogan in Turkiye, I worry, is going to invade Syria. I am not accusing him of anything, but I worry that he is because we have intelligence that he has many soldiers and many tanks and much equipment and many weapons right now stationed on the border between Turkiye and Syria. And our Kurd friends are afraid that Mr. Erdogan, because of his hatred for the Kurds, is going to attack now. The Kurds live very peacefully in northeast Syria.

My message today is: President Erdogan, I don't want to mess in the affairs of your country, but don't do it. Leave the Kurds alone. Leave the people of Syria alone.

Turkiye has problems now. Turkiye is supposed to be our friend. Turkiye is a member of NATO. Lately, they haven't been acting like our friend. Turkiye has its own problems. If we think interest rates are high in America, they are close to 50 percent in Turkiye. Some people think they are in a recession. Their inflation is between 40 and 50 percent.

If you invade Syria and touch a hair on the head of the Kurds, I am going to ask this U.S. Congress to do something, and our sanctions are not going to help the economy of Turkiye. I don't want to do that. Leave the Kurds alone.

My work here is done. I will show myself to the door, and I will suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, first, I want to thank Senator Cassidy for his cooperation in putting together this package. It is a package of bills that were favorably considered by the committee. They are noncontroversial. I want to thank also Senator Kelly for his help in putting together this package.

Let me just, if I might, talk about two of the issues we just passed: First, H.R. 6826, to designate the visitor and education center at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine as the Paul S. Sarbanes Visitor and Education Center.

I want to first acknowledge Congressman Sarbanes, who is on the floor, who has represented me so well in the House of Representatives. He has also decided not to run for reelection and served for 18 years in the House of Representatives.

Mr. President, I hold the Sarbanes seat in the U.S. Senate. Paul Sarbanes was a dear friend. He was a Senator's Senator. He was deeply respected by all Members of this body. I think it is particularly appropriate that he is honored with the naming of the Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine visitor center and education center.

The late Paul Sarbanes was a tireless advocate to preserve Fort McHenry in Baltimore, MD. Senator Sarbanes worked to honor the site and elevate the history of the War of 1812 in the national consciousness throughout his career.

I got to know Senator Sarbanes when we were both elected at the same time to the Maryland House of Delegates many years ago. He would go on to serve in the House of Representatives on the Judiciary Committee, which was given the responsibility of the first Article of Impeachment against President Nixon during the Watergate scandal.

Later, while serving in the Senate in the aftermath of the 2002 Enron scandal, Sarbanes worked in a bipartisan manner to pass the Sarbanes- Oxley legislation. Then-President George W. Bush called the Sarbanes- Oxley bill ``the most far-reaching reforms of American business practices since the time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.''

He had a long and distinguished career of public service to the Nation, and, throughout, he never forgot his Baltimore roots. He saw Fort McHenry as a national treasure in the city and a site worth celebrating. This legislation acknowledges his long-term advocacy for the preservation of the site and the improvement of the visitor experience by designating the visitor and education center the Paul S. Sarbanes Visitor and Education Center. It is a fitting tribute to name the visitor center at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine after a true American hero: Paul S. Sarbanes.

Mr. President, I also would like to call my colleagues' attention to H.R. 1727, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Commission Extension Act, which we just approved.

I am proud to have worked together with Representative Trone and Senators Capito, Van Hollen, Manchin, Warner, and Kaine on this legislation. The C&O Canal National Historic Park is 184.5 miles long and covers 20,000 acres, winding north and west along the Potomac River, from the heart of Washington, DC, to Cumberland, MD. The park includes a canal and contiguous towpath that provides runners, cyclists, and backpackers access to hundreds of historic structures that tell a story of this critical economic artery.

The Advisory Commission was established in 1971, and it has been reauthorized at nominal cost by Congress every 10 years for the past three decades with overwhelming bipartisan support. There is no better wealth of knowledge of the unique issues the C&O Canal and its resources face than the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Advisory Commission. Government works better when policymakers listen to the people who know them best, and this commission ensures that all surrounding communities have a voice in shaping their future.

I am proud to work together with my neighboring delegations to keep this commission running strong.

So, Mr. President, once again, I want to thank my colleagues for their cooperation in getting this done, and I particularly want to acknowledge, as earlier, Representative John Sarbanes. He has worked his entire career on good governance, and there is no stronger need in our society than an advocate for good governance in our community. He has done a great job in the House of Representatives.

He is also known for his work on the Chesapeake Bay, as the leader of No Child Left Inside, getting young people to understand the importance of Chesapeake Bay so we have advocates for the future. I congratulate John Sarbanes for his incredible record in the House of Representatives and wish him the best.

I thank the Presiding Officer for the courtesies that were just extended.

I yield the floor.