A resolution congratulating the Seattle Seahawks for winning Super Bowl LX.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to complete my remarks before the vote is called.

Mr. President, I rise today to read my resolution congratulating the Seattle Seahawks for winning Super Bowl LX.

Whereas, on February 8, 2026, the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots by a score of 29 to 13 to win Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, CA;

Whereas the game marked the second Super Bowl victory and fourth Super Bowl appearance for the Seahawks;

Whereas the Seahawks finished 14 to 3 in the regular season, coming first in the National Football Conference--Western Division on their way to victories over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round and the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game;

Whereas the Seahawks opened up a lead in the first quarter of Super Bowl LX, which the Seahawks never relinquished throughout the game;

Whereas running back Kenneth Walker III dominated the defense of the Patriots, running 94 yards over 14 plays in the first half alone and becoming the first running back to win the honor of being named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player in almost 30 years;

Whereas the unmatched ``Dark Side'' defense by the Seahawks held the Patriots scoreless through the first half of the game and forced punts on eight of the first nine possessions of the Patriots;

Whereas kicker Jason Myers scored 5 field goals, setting a new record for the most field goals in a Super Bowl and becoming the first player at any position to score more than 200 points over an entire season in the history of the National Football League--establishing a new record of 206 points as part of a strong special teams performance;

Whereas quarterback Sam Darnold capped a strong first season with the Seahawks with a 16-yard pass to AJ Barner to score the first touchdown of the game;

Whereas quarterback Devon Witherspoon hit the quarterback of the Patriots, Drake Maye, in the fourth quarter and forced an interception by linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, who carried the ball 45 yards to a touchdown;

Whereas the remarkable season of wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba made him a unanimous All-Pro selection and the second Seahawk ever to win AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year;

Whereas the second-year head coach of the Seahawks, Mike Macdonald, led his team to victory, becoming the first head coach to win a Super Bowl as the primary defensive play caller and the third youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl;

Whereas the general manager of the Seahawks, John Schneider, who was named the NFL Executive of the Year for 2025, constructed a second Super Bowl-winning roster for the Seahawks, with entirely new players and a new head coach, becoming the first NFL executive to do so with the same organization;

Whereas the chair of the Seahawks, Jody Allen, played an important role in maintaining the winning culture established by previous owners while pushing the organization to develop innovative strategies;

Whereas the Seahawks became the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl and commit zero turnovers over the course of their full postseason;

Whereas every member of the Seahawks' roster contributed to their decisive victory in Super Bowl LX; and

Whereas the victory of the Seahawks would not have been possible without the support of our ``12s''--the greatest fans in the world;

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Senate congratulates the Seattle Seahawks, their staff, and ``12s'' everywhere for the victory of the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX and respectfully directs the Secretary of the Senate to transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the chair of the Seattle Seahawks, Jody Allen; the president of the Seattle Seahawks, Chuck Arnold; the general manager of the Seattle Seahawks, John Schneider; and the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Mike Macdonald.

DHS Funding

Mr. President, I have another topic I would like to turn to before the vote, and that is to say, what we have seen over the last many months is downright un-American: masked Federal agents trampling people's First, Second, and Fourth Amendment rights and more; breaking into people's cars; tear-gassing protesters; using children as bargaining chips; and, of course, killing American citizens in broad daylight.

It is clear to just about everyone in every part of this country that ICE and CBP are out of control and must be reined in. It is clear to everyone--that is, except maybe some Republicans here in Congress.

For years, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have warned of government overreach and rogue Federal Agencies trampling Americans' constitutional rights. They have gone to great lengths to speak out against government tyranny when we ask mega corporations not to pollute, and you can bet they will scream to the high heaven about injustice and government thugs when we ask billionaires to pay their fair share in taxes. Seriously, they will raise a racket for billionaires. But the truth is, the government tyranny Republicans long warned about is here, and many of them are just silent. They enabled it by cutting a $140 billion blank check for Secretary Noem to deploy masked ICE and CBP agents to terrorize our communities.

ICE was spending beyond their funded level, so last summer, Republicans handed Kristi Noem enough cash to fund an army, and she is using that blank check to send masked men door to door asking for papers, charging into houses without a warrant, breaking car windows without a reason, staking out school zones, and dragging citizens and legal residents hundreds of miles away without so much as confirming their immigration status or charging them with a crime.

If Republicans are serious about their warnings on government tyranny, they must work with us to put an end to the insane attacks we have seen, including on Americans' most basic rights, but right now, we still have some Republicans who are seriously insisting masks have to stay on Trump's secret police and who are insisting DHS cannot be required to get judicial warrants before breaking into your home.

We have a few Republicans acknowledging the violence we have seen from ICE and CBP that must end, but we need to see more real, tangible progress to rein these Agencies in through legislation--basic constraints upheld by law.

Democrats are not asking for the Moon. We are not trying to overhaul immigration laws. We are insisting on basic measures to protect our constitutional rights and hold these Agencies accountable to some of the most basic standards as local police. After all, if

ICE and CPB do not want to be called secret police, then they should not be wearing masks and should be carrying identification 24/7. If they do not want to be accused of kidnapping people, then they should not be dragging people out of cars and houses without warrants. If they do not want to be accused of being lawless, then they need to start following the law. But they have been ignoring law after law and court after court. In a recent decision, a Bush-appointed judge--a former Scalia clerk--in Minnesota appended a list of 96 court orders that ICE has violated. What else do you call that except a rogue Agency?

The American people need us to meet this moment. We need to rein in ICE and CBP. We need to call out the avalanche of lies. Most importantly, we need to stand up for our communities because they are being terrorized by their own government.

It is not targeted law enforcement when Trump sends 8,000 Federal agents into one city and has them go door to door, especially not when agents literally tell people they are asking for papers solely because of how someone looks or speaks. It is not about our immigration laws when Trump is grabbing people who are following the law, people who have green cards in the mail, and even people who are U.S. citizens. It is not about stopping violent criminals when ICE is staking out schools and grabbing parents during pickup. In fact, just this week, we saw that the administration's own data shows that only a tiny fraction of people they have detained are violent criminals.

They have also taken military spouses, taken parents of marines. They have even taken veterans. In fact, last week, they deported a veteran. Do my colleagues hear me here? Trump deported a veteran. Think about that. Sit with that. We cannot look away from what is happening in our country. Men who fought for our freedom are being denied theirs, being exiled from the country they risked their lives for.

Meanwhile, children--kids--who have done nothing wrong are having their parents snatched away from them or are being snatched up themselves in a cruel ploy to use them as leverage.

Given how outrageous, how lawless, how heartlessly un-American Trump's crackdown has become, it is clear why people across the country are demanding action. And I don't just mean in opinion polls, though the polls do actually overwhelmingly support action to rein in ICE, and even Republican voters think ICE has gone way too far. But I also mean people are demanding action in a great American way: protesting, using their voice, speaking out, putting a spotlight on what ICE and CBP are doing to their friends and to their neighbors.

The Trump administration's response to that great American tradition, to the First Amendment in action, has been about as unhinged and un- American as it gets. The level of wanton violence and lawlessness we are seeing out of ICE and CBP is without comparison in recent U.S. history. It is the kind of stuff you expect out of Putin's Russia. Agents are saying things to protesters like ``I will put a bullet in your head if you don't shut up'' or ``You raise your voice, I erase your voice.''

The actions are even worse than the words. How many peaceful protesters have to be tear-gassed before Republicans think this is a problem? How many children? Wasn't the video of a driveby gassing bad enough? What about the photo of the man pinned to the ground getting sprayed in his face? How many car windows have to be shattered and people dragged from their cars? No warrant, no nothing. Were you not outraged to see that woman on the way to a doctor's appointment dragged out of her vehicle for no reason? Were you not appalled to learn agents shattered a glass car window, dragged away a mother, and left a 1- month-old baby in the back of the vehicle, blanket covered in glass shards? Were you not alarmed to watch an agent point a rifle at a car window of someone sitting in their own driveway and bust out the window with a gun?

How many people does ICE have to detain before Republicans stop sitting on their hands? How many kids do they have to attack like the young man at the Target that they slammed to the ground, marched off with, and then dropped him off miles away--no charges--once they realized he was a U.S. citizen? There is also the time they tackled a pregnant woman or the time they marched a citizen out of his house in his underwear in freezing weather.

Agents have recklessly caused car accidents, only to arrest the person they ran into and then make things up. Agents have even tried to round up witnesses of their crimes, rush them out of the State and through deportation before they can testify at a trial.

How many people have to be murdered by Federal agents in cold blood until Republicans join us to stop this tyranny? How many lies will Republicans tolerate--because we have witnessed brazen and dangerous lies from this administration. They lied about Alex Pretti brandishing a gun when he clearly never touched it. They lied about Renee Good trying to target agents with her car when she was clearly just trying to drive away. They lied about a young woman ramming CBP agents before they shot her, only to drop the case against her. Newly released body cam footage shows the agent turned his wheel toward her vehicle.

They said that an L.A. man was shot after he weaponized his vehicle and began ramming law enforcement, but body cam footage shows an agent's gun go off by accident as he switched hands. They said someone in detainment died from suicide, when an autopsy found it was a homicide. They said someone got eight fractures in his skull from running into a wall on purpose. The man says he was beaten. Greg Bovino said he deployed tear gas on a crowd after someone threw a rock at him, only to admit the truth in court when confronted by video evidence. The list goes on. And that is just lies we know about.

Enough.

Law enforcement cannot be lawless. That is exactly what we are seeing from ICE and CBP. As Democrats have made abundantly clear, we cannot continue funding a rogue Department without substantial reform. Accountability at DHS must be written into law.

Now, my Democratic counterparts and I have been at the table the whole time. We have put forth incredibly reasonable reforms--reforms that would increase accountability and transparency and compliance with constitutional rights, reforms that do not impact DHS' ability to detain convicted violent criminals. We remain committed and ready to land a funding bill that enshrines those reforms into law and ensures FEMA and TSA and other important functions get funded. But we cannot kick the can down the road as Republicans want us to do. The time to rein in these rogue Agencies is right now. We cannot waste another moment.

If Republicans refuse to make the changes that the American people are demanding, they are forcing a Republican shutdown of DHS. The chaos, the brutality--all of it--have happened at the explicit direction of this President and a Republican Congress that wrote him a blank check for ICE and CBP. If Republicans want Democratic votes to fix that, then they need to understand half measures will not cut it.

What Democrats are demanding is reasonable, and it is necessary. None of what we are asking for is extreme for local law enforcement, so why don't those basic standards apply to ICE? There is no good answer.

Sorry, but I don't care if Stephen Miller wants a special force that is empowered to beat up and detain or shoot whomever he doesn't like. In America, we believe in due process. We believe in our Constitution. We believe in law and order, safe streets, law enforcement we can trust. If you don't like that, go to Russia.

So Democrats are focused on getting a bill, but it has to be a bill that reins in the abuses we are seeing from ICE and CBP. Until a bill is negotiated, we cannot kick the can down the road and give license to Noem to continue the chaos with another CR that continues funding for ICE and CBP.

Americans are demanding accountability, and we will settle for nothing less. So given the track record of lawlessness from ICE and CBP, which seems to be growing longer every single day, I will be voting no on the procedural vote today and on Republicans' inadequate proposal.

The alleged withdrawal from Minneapolis is long overdue, but it is not nearly enough to end the chaos and the violence we are seeing nationwide. We need real reform. We cannot let the Trump administration act like things are ``business as usual'' when it is tear-gassing peaceful protesters, detaining people in complete violation of their rights, and even murdering citizens in cold blood. We cannot trust the same people who are lying about what is happening to be truthful about accountability. We cannot trust the same administration that is purposefully trampling our rights and causing this chaos to end it.

Late last night, we received more details on the White House's proposal, and what is clear at this point: It doesn't come close to addressing Americans' grave concerns about how ICE and Border Patrol are operating. So we need to see a lot more movement to rein in these rogue Agencies.

So Congress has to do its job, and I will continue to negotiate in good faith to deliver that reform and accountability we need to see, but we have to stop this outrageous tyranny.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I come to the floor having heard the minority leader come to the floor, and

what he said was that the Democrats are going to vote against funding the Department of Homeland Security.

Yesterday, the Democrats received the legislative text that they demanded. Just this morning, border czar Tom Homan announced that the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota was over. There has been significant progress in the last 2 weeks, enough progress that Democrats should join Republicans today to keep the Department of Homeland Security fully funded. Democrats don't seem to be determined, in any way, to fund the Department of Homeland Security. They seem determined, however, to protect illegal immigrant criminals.

The goal of the Democrat Party, as stated, is to abolish ICE-- Immigration and Customs Enforcement--and to defund American security. Remember, the Democrats are the party of ``defund the police.'' They are not for the safety and the security of the American people, and a ``no'' vote today will confirm that.

Who pays the price? Well, the American people because FEMA will not be funded, TSA will not be funded, the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, America's cyber security defense--all defunded because Democrats are prioritizing illegal immigrant criminals ahead of the safety of the American people.

The White House and Republicans are acting in good faith. Democrats should vote today to keep the Department of Homeland Security open.

The first duty of our government is to keep Americans safe. Today, the U.S. Senate faces a test. Republicans are going to answer that test by upholding our duty to the American people. The question is, Are the Democrats going to join us? It sounds, from listening to the minority leader, that they have no intention of voting to keep America safe and secure. Democrats seem to be determined, as announced by the minority leader, to block the funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

Mr. President, we Republicans have acted repeatedly to secure the border, to strengthen law enforcement, to remove illegal immigrant criminals from our midst and from our neighborhoods and from our communities. From the Laken Riley Act to the current funding bill, we have worked in good faith with the Democrats to make America safer. Now what we see are Democrats flip-flopping on funding the government.

This was a bipartisan bill. Democrats helped negotiate it. The Democrat ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, who is on the floor right now, supported it. Democrats in the House voted for it.

Republicans have offered Senate Democrats fair terms for reasonable reforms. Senate Democrats are now rejecting them.

Over the course of the past 2 weeks, the Democrats' list of unreasonable demands continues to balloon. Democrats are now demanding an end to Supreme Court-approved administrative warrants. The Supreme Court says they are good; the Democrats say: No, not good enough.

Democrats are now demanding harsh restrictions on cooperation between Federal immigration officers and State and local officials.

Democrats are now demanding a ban on immigration enforcement at so- called sensitive locations. You know, they have been hospitals in the past, schools, places of worship. Not enough--not for the Democrats. No, their demands are so extreme they are now defining ``sensitive locations''--expanding it to include, of all places, polling places. Illegal immigrants should not be at polling places and certainly not illegal immigrant criminals. Now the Democrats want to add this to their list of sensitive locations. Even Joe Biden's Homeland Security Secretary said that was a step too far.

Taken together, these conditions would materially slow immigration enforcement in this Nation. Polling locations would become a sanctuary location for illegal immigrant criminals--people allowed to roam free in our communities.

Democrats want to turn America into a sanctuary country. They have been for abolishing borders.

Republicans believe many of the Democrat demands would undermine public safety and the rule of law. And you know what. So do the American people. They agree with us.

We are not going to make and accept proposals from the Democrats that are going to make our communities less safe.

So what comes next if the Democrats reject the offer that is before them today or reject a continuing resolution to discuss and continue to work together? It is entirely up to the Democrats. If the Department of Homeland Security is defunded, the pain will extend throughout the country. And Democrats know what the Department of Homeland Security does. It funds disaster relief through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It keeps America safe when we fly by going through TSA. It protects our Nation from cyber attacks through the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency. It oversees the Coast Guard.

The Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard testified to Congress this week. They asked about this, about the devastating impact of the loss of funding. He had some things to say about that. He said 56,000 Active members of the Coast Guard would work without pay. He said morale would plunge, and the Coast Guard recruitment efforts would suffer.

The record is clear: Republicans have acted to protect the American people. Ninety-six percent of the government is already funded today because of our work passing 11 of the 12 appropriations bills, and we are down to the final 1--the last 4 percent of funding. We are ready to do it again.

Democrats have two options: One, vote today to fund the Department of Homeland Security, or two, stand side by side with illegal immigrant criminals. That is the choice. What is it going to be?

If they refuse to fund our Nation's security, they will be making a deliberate choice and a deliberate statement that they are wanting to practice the politics of pain, and the American people will regrettably be the ones paying the price for the destructive demands of the radical left that is running their party today.

Mr. President, on a separate matter, yesterday, I was at the White House with the President of the United States. President Trump and his all-star energy team have done historic work to unleash American energy, and that most certainly includes Wyoming coal.

Recently, the east coast experienced something that Wyoming experiences every year, as does your home State of Montana, Mr. President, and that is sustained temperatures below freezing.

The power grid was tested, and through it all, coal delivered. Coal generation jumped 31 percent during the recent winter storm. Meanwhile, wind and solar energy declined. Coal literally saved American lives.

Coal is also saving American families money. According to a recent report, families saved more than $100 on their energy bills last year thanks to coal generation.

Coal is one of the most affordable, available, reliable, secure sources of energy in the world. We have it right here. We have more coal in the United States than any other country, and my home State of Wyoming produces nearly half of it. For America to be energy dominant, we need Wyoming coal.

For years, the Biden administration tried to shut down coal mines, coal-fired powerplants, and attack American coal miners. That was the Biden administration.

I will never forget when I heard Joe Biden tell his EPA Administrator to prioritize climate over energy that was affordable, available, and reliable. That is what they did. The American people paid a heavy price.

What a difference a new administration has made because today, America is no longer apologizing to others for using our God-given energy resources.

President Trump's announcement this week builds on the work that Republicans have done over the past year. Our shared agenda is unleashing American energy, it is growing the economy, and it is putting money back in people's pockets.

Our Working Families Tax Cut law opened up more Federal land for new coal leasing. The Department of the Interior has already acted on this. It has opened 11 million new acres to leasing.

Additionally, the Working Families Tax Cut law reduced royalty rates for

coal produced on Federal lands. That is good news for Wyoming coal producers. They now have more certainty in terms of reinvesting in production. It also means good-paying Wyoming jobs are going to continue there for decades.

At the same time, Republicans delivered no taxes on overtime for American workers. Well, that includes a lot of Wyoming coal miners and coal miners in your home State of Montana as well, Mr. President. They have earned every dollar they make; and when they file their taxes this year, they will be able to keep more of it.

Wyoming families are thrilled with these changes. They know that coal funds our schools and services in our communities. And thanks to President Trump and Republicans, Wyoming coal miners are powering the Nation with affordable, available, reliable coal.

Mr. President, there is a book that I speak about when I talk to students and others in Wyoming, and it is called ``Hidden America: From Coal Miners to Cowboys, an Extraordinary Exploration of the Unseen People Who Make This Country Work.'' These are the men and women who put food on the table and keep our country with the energy that we need. It is a privilege for me, Mr. President--and I am sure for you in your home State--to represent these fine American workers.

I yield the floor.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Johnson), the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Justice), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), and the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul).

Mr. President, Americans are crystal clear about how they feel about ICE. The status quo cannot continue. We hear it from people back home and all over the country. People are angry. They are afraid. They want accountability and an end to the chaos. The White House and congressional Republicans must listen and deliver.

Democrats have been very clear: We will not support an extension of the status quo, a status quo that permits masked secret police to barge into people's homes without warrants, with no guardrails, with zero oversight from independent authorities, a rogue police force that doesn't obey the rules that every local police force and sheriff's office must obey. It is out of control. No American, regardless of party, supports having their taxpayer dollars fund a secret police force that operates without transparency or accountability. Democrats agree: We demand commonsense solutions, practical solutions--solutions that every police department in America abides by--to rein in ICE and stop the violence.

Now, today, Tom Homan held another press conference in Minneapolis, claiming that the surge in that city is going to soon conclude. He says a significant drawdown has been underway. But let me be very clear: Regardless of what Tom Homan says, ICE's abuses cannot be solved merely through Executive fiat alone. We, first and foremost, need legislation, and that is what Democrats have said from the start. We need legislation to rein in ICE and to end the violence. Without legislation, what Tom Homan says today could be reversed tomorrow on a whim from Donald Trump.

He could say: Go into that city. Put your masks back on.

``You don't need a warrant,'' Trump could tell them. Without legislation, Donald Trump could choose to put a rogue force in any city they want and have them operate without any guardrails.

So, again, Democrats have been clear. We need legislation to truly halt ICE's abuses. We need legislation to rein in ICE and stop the violence. Otherwise, this administration could go right back to what they were doing.

After weeks and weeks of the American people watching the horrors in Minneapolis, the administration felt the heat. So now they are claiming they are pulling ICE out of that city, but the administration doesn't actually want to reform ICE. They will never do it on their own. That is why we are fighting for legislation to rein in ICE and stop the violence.

And, look, there is no reason why Republicans should reject what Democrats in the Senate and the House are proposing. We simply want ICE to be required to follow the same standards that law enforcement agencies across the country already follow and, effectively, obey. We need legislation on warrants. We need legislation on codes of conduct. We need legislation to stop secret, unidentified police. Masks off, cameras on, and basic identification is a must. All of this happens in every other police department--just about every police department in the whole country.

So why do the Republicans resist? Because ICE was created as a rogue force to terrorize people, and the American people really don't like that.

Republicans should ask people back home: Do they think it is OK for Federal agents to wear masks and run around our neighborhoods without any identity as to who they are? Do they think it is OK for ICE to tail schoolbuses and use kids as bait to arrest their parents?

Of course, Americans don't think this is OK. It is simply not law enforcement.

And I want to make something else very clear: A lot of attention has been focused on Minneapolis--rightfully so--but ICE's abuses are happening all over the country, including in my city of New York.

A few months back, there was an outrageous, violent raid on Canal Street, where ICE swept vendors and residents, indiscriminately, asking random people on the street to show their papers and detaining people in droves, including U.S. citizens. ICE agents in New York are patrolling around subway stations. A video recently circulated of ICE agents seemingly barging into someone's home in Queens--without warrants. They are lurking around courthouses, waiting to arrest people who show up for legally mandated hearings.

I heard a heart-wrenching story of a young man in Port Chester who was on his way to church when he got pulled over. At the station, he was about to be released when two Federal agents showed up, asked to see his papers, lied to his wife. What started out as a Sunday drive to church ended up as a trip to a detention center in Louisiana-- sickening. That doesn't make America any safer. That only destroys the trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

So enough is enough. Enough is enough. Democrats will keep pushing the administration and our Republican colleagues to rein in ICE and stop the violence through a smart, commonsense, practical legislative proposal. We must get it done, and we are waiting for Republicans to join us.

Indictments

Mr. President, now, on what happened in the last 2 days on indictments, we gaveled into session 2 days after learning Donald Trump's Justice Department tried and failed to push criminal charges-- meritless criminal charges--against two Members of this body and four Members of the House of Representatives. The President of the United States tried to throw two U.S. Senators in jail--Senators of the opposite party--simply because Trump didn't like what they said.

It is good these indictments failed. The grand jury--average citizens--in a rare moment, saw through these attacks on free speech and rejected what the prosecutors asked them to do, but the mere fact that these indictments were attempted should terrify every one of us. That is what happens in a dictatorship. The Chief Executive arrests people who speak out against him--legislators who speak out against him. It should not, cannot, must not happen here in America. Unfortunately, we all know Donald Trump will keep trying.

A lot of Members on this side of the aisle came to the floor yesterday as angry as I have ever seen them, and they were right to be angry, but both sides of the aisle should be angry. This is an attack on America. This is an attack on democracy. This is an attack on the legislative branch. This is an attack on free speech. If this happened to one of our Republican colleagues, they would want us to speak out, and they would be right because when a President tries to jail Senators for speaking their minds just because he disagrees with them, that is not a Democrat or a Republican problem; it is a constitutional crisis of the highest order. It is an assault on everyone who cares about free speech, who cares about basic freedoms, who cares about how our democracy has functioned for close to 250 years.

Look, this isn't just about six Members of Congress being indicted for one video; this is about Donald Trump destroying our democracy-- destroying our democracy--from top to bottom. His goons are arresting journalists and peaceful protesters. Masked agents are patrolling the streets of Minneapolis, launching raids in New York, shooting citizens in the streets. He is raiding election offices in Georgia and demanding the States turn over the voter rolls. He says there is fraud but has no evidence of it. It is a political heavy hand crushing our democracy.

Enough is enough. The American people are tired of this chaos. They are tired of corruption. They are tired of being lied to by this President.

When he asks himself why he is so unpopular, it is not Democrats attacking him, and it is not the press going after him. It is what he does.

The American people, Donald Trump, do not like what you are doing. They do not like what you are doing on costs. They do not like what you are doing on chaos. They do not like what you are doing on corruption.

If Republicans and Democrats don't take a stand in this Chamber, the lawlessness--the chaotic lawlessness--we have seen so far is not going to end. It is going to get worse and swallow all of us up.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, Homeland Security appropriations expire tomorrow, and there are concerning signs the Democrats are prepared to walk away from the table and allow funding for critical Homeland Security Agencies to expire--funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the TSA, the Coast Guard, cyber security, and more.

I want to take just a moment to review how we got here because it was a mere 3 weeks ago we had a bipartisan agreement on the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill--bipartisan. Both House and Senate Democrats had signed off. That bipartisan agreement included additional funding for body cameras for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. It included funding for deescalation training for ICE, and it included additional oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol spending. We were all set to pass this bill, and then Democrats reneged on the agreement.

And so here we are. Circumstances changed. I understand that. But some Democrats were already signaling they were prepared to walk away from the deal before the most recent events in Minneapolis even transpired.

So Democrats wanted to reopen negotiations. Despite our bipartisan agreement, Republicans agreed to their request for additional time to consider this bill before final passage. Democrats wanted 2 weeks. Republicans warned--I warned at the time--that more time would be needed, that it would be almost impossible to come to an agreement and pass a renegotiated bill in that timeframe. But Democrats insisted. And to prevent them from shutting down a large portion of the Federal Government, Republicans agreed to their request.

Unfortunately, once they got their 2-week agreement, Democrats showed little urgency when it came to negotiations. It took them more than a week to come up with a list of demands. They didn't provide legislative text until this past weekend. But now, they have the gall to suggest that it is Republicans who are slow-walking things.

The White House responded to Democrats' list of demands within 2 days and sent proposed legislative text over yesterday, and it is an extremely serious offer.

On top of that, the White House has continued to show it is committed to taking actions on its own, with Tom Homan, this morning, announcing the withdrawal of almost all agents from Minnesota.

It is clear that the White House is serious, but it is increasingly looking like Democrats are not.

Now, I am not sure if Democrats thought the White House would just accede to every one of their demands or what, but they cannot reasonably expect to reach an agreement without actual negotiation with give and take from both sides. We warned Democrats they were not allowing enough time for this process, but they insisted on their 2- week timeframe CR anyway.

And now that we have been proven right, the onus is on Democrats to agree to an additional CR to allow time to complete the negotiations-- unless, of course, Democrats are more interested in a political issue than they are an actual outcome because it is starting to look like Democrats might not have been interested in actual reforms. As I mentioned, they left an agreement on the table that would have provided for body cameras, deescalation training, and increased spending oversight. And now, instead of allowing adequate time to negotiate on additional measures, they are threatening to shut down the Department of Homeland Security, which will get them exactly zero changes to the status quo.

So what is it? What is it that the Democrats want? Policy changes? Or is it a political issue?

Democrats are never going to get their full wish list. That is not the way this works. Republicans, for example, will not agree to measures that make it impossible for law enforcement officers to do their jobs. But Democrats can build on the measures the Republicans have already agreed to if they actually engage in serious negotiations with the White House.

So the ball is in the Democrats' court. Are they going to shut down the Department of Homeland Security, which will be their second shutdown this fiscal year, or are they going to allow for the time to negotiate with the White House and get an agreement on a final bill?

That is the question before the House. We had a bill negotiated carefully that Democrats had signed off on which, as I said, they reneged on, wanted to revisit it, more time to negotiate, which we agreed to. We suggested at the time probably 4 to 6 weeks would be an adequate amount of time in which to negotiate the changes--or some of the changes, the reforms, other things on top of the ones that have already been the bill that they want.

And they said: 2 weeks. They used over a week of that, about 10 days, to actually come up with their list of demands, to which the White House responded quickly. And, again, right now, sitting in front of them, a counterproposal from the White House, a reasonable good faith offer, as I said.

So the question, again, before the House is: Are they serious, or aren't they? Is this about politics, or is it about solutions?

I would like to believe that we are actually here to try to solve this problem and to fund the government, not just the Department of Homeland Security, but all the Agencies of government that are covered in that bill, to include the Federal Emergency Management Agency, TSA, Coast Guard, cyber security. Those are all parts of this. It is pretty important stuff, I would argue.

Democrats are going to have an opportunity later today to vote not only on the bill as passed by the House, which they negotiated and then walked away from, which funds all these things I just mentioned. We will have that vote.

And they will also have an opportunity to allow for an extension for additional time, time which we all knew was going to be necessary to actually reach a final deal. So it really is in their court. And it is not something that they can point fingers at the Republicans or the White House. These are all things we have accommodated them literally in every way in an attempt to try and reach an agreement that would-- having been in good faith offered by the White House to work with them to reach a deal that would satisfy some, if not all, but certainly address some of their concerns and demands and do it in a way that keeps the government funded and keeps these important Agencies operating. That is the question, and it is really up to them. So we will find out, I guess, later today the answer to that question.

But I would simply say that we will be voting to keep the Federal Government funded, to keep it open, to keep these important Agencies-- so critical to the functioning of our Federal Government and the employees who work there who shouldn't be held hostage in a government shutdown--we will be voting today to keep all of those open, with reforms--with reforms--to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the very thing the Democrats have said they wanted, then walked away from and now are insisting that all the concessions that have been made by the White House to date aren't adequate, and yet they aren't willing to extend the time to continue the negotiations.

It is really kind of an ironic position to be in, but they seem to have embraced it. So we will have the votes.

I yield the floor.

Recognition of the Minority Leader

Mr. President, before I remind people that this day is Abraham Lincoln's birthday and talk about Lincoln, I want to start this morning by saying that my wife Barbara and this Senator are praying for those involved in the bus crash from Iowa Lakes Community College. Just yesterday, in Calhoun County on Highway 4, a bus rolled several times leaving 1 dead and 32 injured.

These young people were traveling to a baseball tournament when tragedy struck. We are praying for the family who lost a loved one. To the passengers and their families, we are praying for you and for full recovery from your injuries.

I am thankful for the Iowans on hand to help, including emergency personnel, healthcare providers, and the Iowa Lakes Community College community for supporting the team through this difficult time.

Abraham Lincoln

Mr. President, as we celebrate the 250th birthday of this great America and our independence from Great Britain, I want to recognize the birth of our Nation's 16th President on this very day, February 12, 217 years ago.

Americans know that President Lincoln was instrumental in preserving the United States and abolishing slavery. He also championed a law to fight fraud. That is my intention today.

In 1863, President Lincoln signed the False Claims Act. ``Lincoln's Law,'' as it is referred to, helped expose fraudsters at that time selling inferior supplies at premium prices to the Union Army during the Civil War.

So how did this law work? It gave patriots a financial incentive to blow the whistle on wrongdoing, rewarding them with a share of the fines collected through litigation.

Now, what happened to Lincoln's Law during World War II, and for reasons I don't know, but I have a suspicion that maybe Congress, at that time, felt that reporting this stuff may hurt our defense efforts to win World War II or for whatever reason, they neutered the legislation.

Then, four decades ago, I strengthened Lincoln's Law. I wrote the 1986 amendments to Lincoln's Law that restored this commonsense tool to fight fraud. By empowering patriotic whistleblowers to reveal wrongdoing, the law continues to deliver for the American people, returning approximately $85 billion for taxpayers since my amendments were adopted 40 years ago.

And that is not all. There is a deterrent effect of the legislation. My amendments to the False Claims Act have saved even more taxpayers' dollars by deterring untold billions of dollars of fraud in the first place.

In the last fiscal year, the Federal Government recovered over $6.8 billion dollars in fraudulent payments. This is the largest single-year recovery in the history of the False Claims Act. As we observe President Lincoln's birthday on February 12, I also want to remind Americans to celebrate the patriotic

whistleblowers who have used Lincoln's Law to hold wrongdoers accountable and recover a lot of taxpayers' money.

You can be sure that I will keep championing the False Claims Act to protect truth-tellers from retaliation when they stick their necks out to blow the whistle on waste, fraud, and abuse.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.