Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act of 2025

Mr. President, this week, I filed a bill, as I do multiple different weeks. I don't come every week

to be able to talk about the bills that I file, but I want to be able to talk about this a little bit and some context that comes into it.

I also don't come to this floor very often and read an entire bill to this body, but I want to do that today. It is not long. It is literally just half a page. But it reaffirms something that I think should be pretty simple for all of us but for some reason has become controversial in the past few decades.

Here is the whole bill. It says:

None of the funds made available under this Act may be

provided to any public institution of higher education that

denies to a religious student organization any right,

benefit, or privilege that is otherwise afforded to other

student organizations at the institution (including full

access to the facilities of the institution and official

recognition of the organization by the institution) because

of the religious beliefs, practices, speech, leadership

standards, or standards of conduct of the religious student

organization.

Now, this should be pretty simple for us as Americans. We should treat religious organizations on a college campus the same as every other organization. The university shouldn't be able to reach into some organizations and say ``Because you are religious, we need to tone you down'' or ``Because you are religious, we need to pick your leadership for you because we want to pick your leadership.''

I will tell you, most Americans would say ``No one does that anyway''--except they did. Under the Biden administration, this became an issue, where multiple different colleges and universities would reach into different religious organizations on campus and would deny them access to be able to be on campus and use campus facilities at all or they would say: We don't like the way you pick your leadership. You need to have a broader perspective of leadership from multiple different perspectives of the campus. It can't just be your particular faith in your religious organization.

It became the most bizarre set of ideas that came out of the Department of Education to say a Jewish organization had to pick non- Jewish leaders to be the leadership of their organization or non- Christians had to also be selected as leaders of their Christian organization on campus.

We are like, what in the world? What happened to the basic right of association and affiliation that is a constitutionally protected right?

That never happened to nonreligious organizations; it seemed to only happen to religious organizations.

So while we have common agreement on this as Americans and while that rule is now not being applied under the Trump administration, I raise a very simple bill to say: Why can't we, as all Americans, agree that religious organizations on college campuses should be treated exactly the same as every other organization on any college campus? That should be basic.

So I bring a very simple bill to be able to resolve that one big issue and to say let's make this once and for all just a policy that we have as Americans.

Now, I bring this up because it needs to be addressed, but I also bring this up because next week, there is a significant event that is going to happen all around the country--quite frankly, all around the world--that some people won't even notice but, quite frankly, is Earth- shattering.

Thirty-five years ago, a group of students gathered around a flagpole early in the morning to be able to pray for their school. It was in 1990. It ended up being about 46,000 total students in 4 different States, including my State of Oklahoma, that just kind of gathered. The word kind of spread organically that one Wednesday morning in September, students--high school and middle school students--would just go and do one day publicly what they do privately other days; that is, pray for their teachers, pray for their faculty at school, pray for each other, pray for their parents, and pray for the Nation.

So in September of 1990, around 46,000--we don't know the exact number--students in 4 different States just quietly gathered to pray. Now, that may not seem like a big deal, but in 1990, there was a great debate that was still spinning on this issue. In fact, that year, that September day, at at least one of those gatherings, the sheriff's department came out and arrested the students for praying--praying--on their school campus before class started.

The result of that was that the next September, a million students showed up to pray--a million, documented. From almost every State in America, teenagers showed up at their high school or their middle school campus just to be able to pray. They didn't have teachers with them; they didn't have youth pastors with them--just students. They gathered at their pole. It was a simple thing called See You at the Pole--just that simple. They would encourage each other just to be able to show up that one day in September to be able to pray publicly for their parents, for their Nation, for their campus, and for what was going on in their community.

It became the largest student prayer movement that we know of in the history of the Nation. Year after year in September, one Wednesday, students from around the Nation would gather. It was about 3 years later that it started spreading globally, to where literally students from around the world were just going to their flagpole, and they would just gather to be able to pray.

Now, people have said over the years: Why a flagpole? Well, it is because every school has a flagpole, and so it became just a common cry. It kind of seems like ``See you at the principal's office'' doesn't ring as true. But it was just like, what does every single campus have? Every single campus has a flagpole. So that simple statement, ``See you at the pole,'' became really a challenge to say ``See you at a spot where we can pray.''

There is a lot going on in the country right now--a lot. There is a lot of anger, there is a lot of frustration, and there are a lot of questions about what happens next.

For 35 years, students have gone to their flagpole and have prayed for the Nation. My simple request of them again this year is to do it again. This Nation could use some prayer. This Nation could use a generation rising up to be able to say: No one is going to stop us from praying.

It is the most simple request that we have--to not go to government but to go to God and say: We need your help. We need your intervention.

I am always proud of a group of students at a high school football game that finish the game or that start the game just taking a knee to be able to pray for each other, pray for safety, and then go out and hit each other as hard as they possibly can on the football field. But it is always fun for me to be able to watch the sportsmanship that begins with two teams that gather together to pray, and it is almost always just one player on each of the teams that drops that idea and says: We should do this. Our team should do this.

It is not led by the coaches. It is not led by the teachers. It is led by students that just say: Let's ask God to help us in this.

I am always impressed when I am on high school and junior high campuses as I walk around the campus during lunch, and I see everyone kind of gathering for lunch and all the conversation happening, and I will see a couple students over in the corner, as they sit down at their lunch, to be able to just bow their heads for just a simple moment to be able to thank God for their food.

I am always impressed when I hear about groups of students that get together on a regular basis just to be able to have Bible study together, just to be able to pray for each other. They face a lot of pressure. They face a lot of challenges in this day and age. It is resetting and centering when they actually stop to say: Let's pray about that.

I am tremendously impressed that for 35 years--now a second generation of students are gathering at their flagpoles the fourth Wednesday of September to be able to just pray for each other, pray for their teachers, pray for their school, and this time, an earnest plea to God to help our Nation.

I am proud of students of faith and how they gather to be able to say: These days are dark, but we believe in a God who gives light, and we will choose to be a light on our own campus and do what we can to be able to serve each other and to be able to serve our schools.

Those are the role models that we need in a new generation. Those are the folks that we look forward to seeing what they do in the days ahead.

As fun as it is to me, students that are gathering this year are the children of the first generation that gathered 35 years ago to start a movement to be able to pray. Thirty-five years ago, I was a youth minister. I was a part of that first See You at the Pole in 1990. I was in leadership, helping organize students in getting the word out, to be able to say ``What can we do''--what can we do--``to serve each other and the Nation?'' The obvious answer began with ``Let's pray.''

See You at the Pole was born. It wasn't my idea. It was a group of students' idea. I just got to help fan the flame.

Students of this Nation need the encouragement of this body to be able to say ``well done'' and set a fresh new example; be the next generation of leaders; be the people who will rise up and do what is right; be the role models that are desperately needed; be individuals who will actually not only have a faith but live your faith--all the principles of the faith.

We can certainly use individuals in our Nation right now who are living the most basic principles of loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving your neighbor as yourself.

To the students of this Nation, I would encourage them to ``see you at the pole'' next Wednesday morning.

This coming Wednesday morning, September 24, you can be assured I am going to be parked across the street from a campus watching a group of students pray for a Nation that needs help. I will join them and say, ``God help us. We need your help.'' I will see you at the pole.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Pit River Land Transfer Act of 2025. This bill would transfer 584 acres of Federal land, administered by the Forest Service, to the Secretary of the Interior to be held in trust for the Pit River Tribe, California.

The Pit River Tribe consists of 11 autonomous bands traditionally inhabiting the area surrounding the Pit River and its tributaries. They are known for their deep spiritual connection to the land, with a rich cultural heritage centered around fishing, hunting, and seasonal gatherings. Today, they continue to preserve their traditions while engaging in efforts to reclaim ancestral lands and promote tribal sovereignty.

The proposed land to be transferred is known as the Four Corners Property, located in Shasta County. Today, the Four Corners Federal land is located in the ancestral territory of the Tribe, which the Tribe has historically used and has an ongoing relationship with.

This legislation is a commonsense step forward that will empower the Tribe to better serve their communities and empower Tribal self-growth. I want to thank Senator Schiff for cosponsoring this bill, and I also want to thank Republican Congressman Doug LaMalfa for introducing companion legislation in the House.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Ackerson Meadow Land Exchange Act. This legislation will facilitate a simple land exchange between the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service in the Sierra Nevada.

This bill would transfer 160 acres of Stanislaus National Forest land to the National Park Service to be managed as part of Yosemite National Park and transfer 170 acres of National Park land to the Forest Service to manage as part of Stanislaus National Forest. The land in the exchange is known as Ackerson Meadow.

Ackerson Meadow is one of the largest midelevation meadows in the Sierra Nevada. It is an ecologically and regionally critical wildlife corridor, and the scenic meadow is an important habitat for the State endangered great grey owl and little willow flycatcher, as well as a suite of additional at-risk wildlife species. In 2016, a coalition of conservation groups donated Ackerson Meadow to Yosemite National Park; however, it is almost completely surrounded by Stanislaus National Forest and only partially contiguous to the rest of Yosemite National Park.

The current configuration of land management presents logistical challenges to both NPS and Forest Service; therefore, both Agencies, as well as local stakeholders, support this land exchange.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this straightforward legislation to better manage the land in and around Ackerson Meadow.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.