Ashley Moody

Mr. President, today is Constitution Day. Two hundred thirty nine years ago, our Founders signed the Constitution of this United States. Every Senator in this room has taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And every one of us swore that oath. I did it at the same time as Senator Husted, who is on the floor today.

Our Founders understood the danger of concentrated power; they had just fought a revolution against it. And they understood something about human nature: Power will always want more power.

So they put limits on it. They divided power among three branches. They built in checks and balances. They preserved the authority of the States. And with the Bill of Rights, they made one thing unmistakably clear: There are some places government simply cannot go. Government cannot silence you because it doesn't like what you say. Government cannot take away your right to keep and bear arms. It cannot search your home whenever it pleases. It cannot take away your liberty without due process. These aren't suggestions. They are hard limits on government power.

Yet today there is a growing movement on the left that treats safeguards within our Constitution as obstacles to overcome. You don't like a decision from the Supreme Court? Pack the Court, add Justices until you get the decisions you want. You don't like the laws of the people that are enacted through their representatives? Just have an Executive, a rogue prosecutor, refuse to enforce the people's laws. Don't like what Americans are saying? Pressure private companies to silence them and call it fighting misinformation.

Again and again, we will see the same pattern when constitutional guardrails stand between you and what you want: Simply move the guardrails. And that is dangerous. It is the greatest threat to a constitutional republic.

The greatest threat to a constitutional republic is not disagreement. It is the belief that your cause is so important that the Constitution should get out of your way.

And today we are seeing something even more fundamental: this movement that I referenced to dismantle the institution the Constitution created. Right now, democratic socialists are calling for a far-reaching change to the very foundation of American Government, our Constitution. They want to abolish the Supreme Court, replace the Presidency, abolish the electoral college.

And at some point, we have to admit this stops being an argument about policy. It becomes an argument about the very foundation of this country, the United States of America. It becomes an attack on the Constitution that we all swore an oath to protect and defend because when you start dismantling institutions designed to keep power in check, the next question has to be: Who keeps power in check then?

I have had the rare opportunity to see the balance of power, the separation of power, from all three branches now. I have served as a Federal prosecutor; I have served as an attorney general in the great ``Free State of Florida''; I have served as a judge for over a decade; and now I serve on behalf of the people, making their laws in the legislative branch.

I have seen firsthand why the Founders drew those lines and why we must protect them. And that brings me back to our oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

We know what a foreign enemy looks like. But a threat to our constitutional system doesn't have to come from beyond our shores. It can come from within the very institutions the Constitution created. And what happens when those that have sworn the oath to protect and defend the Constitution, what happens when they themselves start advocating to dismantle it?

Right now, we have Members of Congress that have sworn to protect the Constitution, but they are coming out and supporting organizations and policies and advocacies that would attack and dismantle the things that protect people's rights.

An oath means the most when keeping it becomes inconvenient. Just ask the officers, the deputies in my home county of Hillsborough County, who took the oath to protect and serve and went into live fire in order to do their jobs and uphold their oath.

Justice Clarence Thomas recently described the challenge this way:

It is that devotion that we are missing today and that we

must find in our hearts if this Nation is to endure.

This year, America celebrates 250 years since declaring our independence. The Declaration of Independence announced the promise of America. The Constitution gave us the system to protect it.

Our job is not to move its guardrails when they become inconvenient. Our job is to defend them because our enemies do not have to defeat America on a battlefield if we are willing to tear down from within the institution and principles that have sustained this Nation for 250 years.

So, today, on Constitution Day, let us remember the oath that each one of us took to support the Constitution, to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Let's remember our duty and carry it out faithfully.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today to urge this esteemed body into action.

I know that we are on the verge of a planned, long State work period and that many of my colleagues are looking forward to being back in our homes to meet with our constituents. But here is the thing: I know many of us agree that our business is far from done. The work the American people entrusted to us has not concluded. We have not done what we need to do. We cannot leave Washington until we act

upon the most vital aspect of protecting our democracy, and that is securing our elections so that we remain a government of Americans-- free Americans--by Americans, for Americans. I am here today to make sure that happens.

Our great American experiment hinges on the sanctity and integrity of our elections, and it is our responsibility--every single one of us no matter what side of the aisle we sit on--to protect the United States of America and everything that it was built on. To do that, we have to ensure that only Americans and legitimate voters participate in American elections.

Two hundred fifty years ago, this Nation began as a bold experiment in self-representative government, and we are still guided by those enduring words that followed ``We the People.'' And while the challenges we face today may seem more modern, certainly more complex, and more immediate than those confronting the Founders, the principles they laid out remain steadfast--the guarantees to our people. ``We the people'' agreed we would live among one another, create, enforce, and uphold our laws. To do that, we created a strong Republic that depended on ``we the people'' being engaged in our elections to select our Representatives--the Representatives of the people--to serve our interests.

The SAVE America Act--indeed, election integrity efforts--are grounded in a simple, commonsense--indeed, foundational--principle that only American citizens should vote in American elections.

I really am dumbfounded that I still have to come to the floor and have this debate with anybody in this Chamber. I am one of the newest Senators. I just got to Washington last year on behalf of the great, free State of Florida. I fought like heck to protect that State during challenges this Nation had never faced before, and we did it. We are now one of the most successful States, and we are one of the States with the most secure elections. You had better be darned sure I am going to do that here as a U.S. Senator on behalf of all Americans. It shouldn't be controversial. It is not complicated. It is a basic safeguard of our Republic that ensures our government remains truly of, by, and for the American people.

From the beginning, the Founders understood the importance of fiercely protecting our elections. Framers like Alexander Hamilton knew that our laws and our system should reflect the will of the American people and no one else. Americans must be able to trust that their elections are not corrupted or skewed or nullified by noncitizens voting or ineligible persons voting.

Questions about election integrity are not new. They were recognized and debated by the Founders themselves. During the Constitutional Convention, one member expressed concern that States may make false returns of their elections. States, today, give licenses to those here illegally and then register them to vote. A lot of that paperwork happens at the same time.

It is the responsibility of Congress to uphold the election integrity of this country. It is our responsibility to do that on behalf of our constituents back home. In fact, I think it is the responsibility of this Chamber to put it up for a vote so they can see who is standing up for them back home. That is the only way we can ensure the people have confidence in the system and in the legitimacy of our results of elections.

This is about more than one bill. Look at any of the election integrity measures that are coming up. I am proud to have been an original sponsor of the SAVE America Act, but voter ID and voter integrity bills--all of these are important. I have also sponsored a bill called Ballots by Election Day to make sure we can get prompt results so people trust these elections. It is about preserving the integrity of our Republic. It is about ensuring that our government remains accountable to the people. It is about protecting a system--a government--that has endured for 250 years.

How do we ensure only citizens vote? The answer is so simple: voter

Madam President, if the motion for the Senate to adjourn with pro forma sessions scheduled until September 14 were to have been a rollcall vote, I would have voted no.