Floor Statements

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session.

Madam President, I rise today to recognize February as National Children's Dental Health Month. Since 1981, this month has given us the chance to acknowledge the importance of dental health for children, recognize the progress we have made on this front, and renew our commitment to ensure that all children in our country have access to quality, affordable dental care.

Oral health is an aspect of health that is often overlooked, despite its critical role in the overall health of a person. As former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop once said, ``There is no health without oral health.''

In my state, like many others, we have witnessed firsthand the consequences of neglecting oral health in young people. One story that has shaped my view on this issue is that of Deamonte Driver, a 12-year- old Prince George's County resident who tragically died in 2007 due to a lack of comprehensive dental services. Deamonte's death was particularly heartbreaking because it was entirely preventable. What started out as a toothache turned into a severe brain infection that could have been prevented by an $80 extraction. After multiple surgeries and a lengthy hospital stay, sadly, Deamonte passed away, 17 years ago this month.

Stories like this underscore the need for access to affordable oral health care for all Americans, particularly vulnerable and underserved communities.

While trends over the past several decades show promising reductions in tooth decay among young children, tooth decay remains one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood. About 1 in 4 preschool children experienced tooth decay in primary teeth and at least one in six children aged 6 to 11 years experienced dental tooth decay in permanent teeth. It is also important to note that neglecting oral health at a young age increases the need for more advanced and expensive dental services, which are even less accessible than more standard types of dental care.

There is a persistent pattern of oral health disparities, as children from lower-income and minority racial and ethnic groups generally experience more disease and have less access to treatment.

Children from low-income households are twice as likely to have cavities, compared with children from higher-income households. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for children aged 2 to 5 years, about 33 percent of Mexican-American and 28 percent of non-Hispanic Black children have had cavities in their primary teeth, compared with 18 percent of non-Hispanic White children. For children aged 12 to 19, nearly 70 percent of Mexican-American children have had cavities in their permanent teeth, compared with 54 percent of non-Hispanic White children.

In its most recent Oral Health in America report, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, one of National Institutes of Health, identified disparities as one of the primary challenges facing oral health in the United States. Last year, I held a hearing in the Senate Finance Health Care Subcommittee to focus on these issues. The hearing highlighted disparities in access to oral health care, which have persisted and have serious consequences for children, adults, families, and communities. I was proud to have Dr. Warren Brill, a distinguished pediatric dentist from Maryland who has long provided care to low-income children and provided valuable insights for our conversation, serve as a witness.

Poor dental health can have lasting impacts on children. Tooth and gum pain can impede a child's healthy development, including the ability to learn, play, and eat nutritious foods. Children who have poor oral health often miss more school and get lower grades than children who have good oral health.

While it might be easy to view oral health as an afterthought, it is clear that the issues resulting from a lack of care can have wide- ranging, serious impacts, especially when access to care is a struggle from a young age. Poor oral health can contribute to severe outcomes like the tragic story of Deamonte while also manifesting in broader disparities across racial and ethnic groups.

Since the loss of Deamonte, I am proud to say that we have made significant progress in improving access to pediatric dental care in our country and in my state. In 2009, Congress reauthorized the Children's Health Insurance Program, CHIP, with an important addition: a guaranteed pediatric dental benefit. Research shows that CHIP generally offers more comprehensive benefits at a much lower cost to families than private coverage.

Additionally, the Affordable Care Act, ACA, has significantly improved access to affordable dental care for millions of Americans by requiring most insurers to cover essential health benefits. I was particularly pleased that pediatric services, specifically pediatric dental care, were identified as part of the ten categories of healthcare services included in the EHB package. As a result, pediatric dental insurance coverage is available for purchase on all State-based insurance marketplaces and the federal marketplace. The dental coverage offered through ACA plans in all States covers a minimum set of benefits to ensure children have coverage for essential dental services.

Expansion of dental insurance coverage has enabled early intervention for more children from low-income households. Today, 9 in 10 children in the U.S. have dental insurance. Dental care is also a mandatory benefit in Medicaid for children since it is provided through the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Program. Still, research has found that although State Medicaid programs cover children's dental services, fewer than half of all publicly insured children get the recommended care.

This figure demonstrates that there is more we can do to ensure children are receiving proper dental care. This effort is a priority of mine and an area where I believe we can make tangible changes to the lives of many Americans.

For several Congresses, Senator Stabenow and I have introduced the Ensuring Kids Have Access to Medically Necessary Dental Care Act. Our legislation would eliminate lifetime and annual limits for dental care for children under CHIP. The bill would also require

States to provide ``wraparound'' CHIP dental coverage, meaning CHIP would cover dental services for eligible children who are not enrolled in CHIP. Currently, if a child is eligible for CHIP but instead has coverage under a group health plan or employer-sponsored insurance, States have the option of providing dental-only coverage to this child through CHIP. This bill requires that dental coverage be offered.

In recent years, dentists nationwide have seen a significant decrease in operating room access for dental procedures. This problem has primarily impacted children and adults with disabilities who are in need of urgent dental care and cannot access it in an office-based setting, necessitating care in an operating room. Earlier this Congress, Senator Blackburn and I sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services urging them to include the recently established code for dental surgical services in the 2024 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System. Thankfully, the code was included in CMS's final rule to expand access to these critical procedures and shorten the waitlists to receive care under general anesthesia in operating rooms.

While ensuring dental coverage for our young people is the most direct way to support their oral health, it is also important to keep in mind that providing dental coverage for adults also improves outcomes for their children. A 2021 study found that Medicaid adult dental coverage was associated with a reduction in the prevalence of untreated tooth decay among children after parents had access to coverage for at least one year. The study found that all children saw improvements in oral health, and non-Hispanic Black children experienced larger and more persistent improvements than non-Hispanic White children. A Medicaid dental benefit for adults would enhance the progress for children and provide much needed dental care and improve oral health outcomes for adults.

That is why I am proud to have introduced the Medicaid Dental Benefit Act, which would extend comprehensive dental health benefits to tens of millions of low-income Americans on Medicaid. The legislation would provide States with a 100 percent federal match for the dental benefit for three years. This investment of federal funds would support states to set up or improve their dental benefit and assist in provider education and outreach efforts to better connect enrollees to oral health care.

Oral health is a crucial part of overall health, and it should be a priority for Americans from a young age. Dental care should not be a luxury or reserved for the most privileged. Access to quality, affordable care is not only important in the fight against tooth decay and related complications, but also plays a valuable role in combatting the health disparities that plague our communities. As we recognize our progress on this issue, we must recommit to expanding access to oral health services. I urge my colleagues to join me in this effort.

S.J. Res. 60

Madam President, we are shortly going to be voting on a motion by Senator Paul in regards to the F-16 sale to Turkiye. Recently, the administration noted an F-16 sale to Turkiye to modernize its F-16 air capacity.

I understand my colleague from Kentucky's concern about President Erdogan's record. I share some of those concerns. The State Department's most recent human rights report on Turkiye found significant issues, including credible reports of: forced disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrests, and continued detention of tens of thousands of persons, opposition politicians, former members of parliament, lawyers, journalists, and human rights activists.

In addition, Turkiye has targeted U.S. partners in the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and supported Azerbaijan in its brutal war last year to conquer Nagorno-Karabakh.

This is unacceptable, and I have not hesitated to make it clear that Turkiye needs to change course. I have consulted closely with the highest levels of the Biden administration about this transition over several months.

I believe they share my concerns, and I believe we are making progress. And our former colleague Ambassador Flake is engaging regularly on these issues with the government in Ankara.

So I want to be clear, my approval of the Biden administration's sale of the F-16 aircraft to Turkiye was not a decision I came to lightly as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

It was contingent on Turkish approval of Sweden's NATO membership. That condition has been met. Turkiye's parliament ratified Sweden's NATO membership bid. This comes at a critical time.

(Mr. BOOKER assumed the Chair.)

President Putin is continuing his brutal war in Ukraine and threatening NATO and all of Europe. Given the stakes, not only is Sweden's membership vital to NATO, so is Turkiye's.

Turkiye is a key to the defense of the southern flank of NATO. It is host to a major U.S. military presence. And Turkiye's F-16 fleet contributes to NATO, including in the Black Sea, which is critical to our national security.

That is why it is in the national security interest of the United States and our allies for Turkiye to upgrade its aging F-16 fleet to a more capable model, a model that is compatible with the United States and NATO partners. That is exactly what this sale will do. It will usher in an important new chapter in our relationship with Turkiye.

Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to reject the resolution being offered by my friend from Kentucky and allow this sale to go forward. It is in our national security interest. It is in the security interest of our allies. It will strengthen NATO and strengthen our resolve against Russia's aggression in Ukraine.

I yield the floor.

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

Madam President, when Alexei Navalny died 2 weeks ago, he had been in solitary confinement for almost 300 days. Outside his window, the Russian dissident and anti-corruption campaigner could only see a tall fence and no light.

Far above the Arctic Circle, the prison was built on the site of a Soviet gulag, a place the Kremlin has sent generations of Russian citizens to break their spirit. But despite the subzero temperatures, despite the months of darkness, despite the violence, Alexei Navalny never gave up. He never lost his sense of humor. He never wavered in his commitment to fight for a better Russia. And what really bothered the Kremlin: He never gave up on telling the truth about Putin. After all, he is the one who aptly described Putin's United Russia party as ``the party of crooks and thieves.'' He saw that Putin is still the KGB agent who never turned away from the Soviet legacy that crushed rebellion in Hungary in 1956, that suppressed reforms in Czechoslovakia in 1968, and that declared martial law in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to crush Solidarity in Poland in 1981.

There was a chance for Russia to take a different path in the 1990s. Many Russians leapt at the opportunity after the collapse of the USSR. There were independent political parties. There were open elections. There was a free press. Civil society emerged. Russians connected with counterparts in Europe and around the world.

But since his rise to power at the turn of the century, Putin has turned Russia in a very different direction, ruling with a regime as repressive and corrupt as anything under Brezhnev or Khrushchev. He is old-school Soviet. Today, Putin wraps himself in an ideology of White Christian nationalism. He has cracked down on ethnic and religious minorities. He has persecuted the gay and lesbian community. He has shut down independent media and jailed journalists like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-born American citizen who went to visit her ailing mother, and even Americans like Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal, who was imprisoned for doing his job as a reporter.

Vaclav Havel would have recognized these Soviet tactics. He was a playwright, a dissident, and of course, later, President of the democratic Czech Republic. He wrote in the Washington Post:

I come from a country where, as late as mid-1989, while all

around us totalitarian icebergs were cracking and thawing . .

. I was in prison. Yet by the end of that same year, I was

elected the president of a free Czechoslovakia.

Long before that, Havel wrote a famous essay, ``The Power of the Powerless.'' In it, he explained that dictatorial regimes are mortally afraid of the courageous individual who speaks up for their rights, who tells the truth when the regime is telling lies. Havel could have been writing about Alexei Navalny.

The Putin regime is a house of cards built on corruption and violence.

I was in Germany earlier this month at the Munich Security Conference when the news of Navalny's death broke. I met with his widow, Yulia, who spoke movingly about her husband's death. I wanted to convey condolences and demonstrate solidarity with her at a painful time.

Despite Putin's continuing threats, she is not afraid, and she is committed to continuing her husband's mission. His team at the Anti- Corruption Foundation is not afraid. They still have their list of ``bribe-takers and warmongers.'' Navalny himself was not afraid. Even after they poisoned him and left him in critical condition, he still went back to Russia. Courage only begets more courage. That is what scares Putin: Navalny was not alone.

I want to speak briefly about another brave Russian democrat who is unjustly imprisoned in Putin's gulag. Only a few weeks after appearing before a Helsinki Commission hearing I chaired, they also poisoned Vladimir Kara-Murza. Like Navalny, he refused to be intimidated. He refused to be exiled from his homeland and returned to Russia time and again. They threw him in jail almost 2 years ago for his criticism of Putin's unjust war in Ukraine. There are others, too, like Ilya Yashin, who was sentenced to 8 years after publishing reports about the war crimes by Putin's forces in Ukraine in 2022.

We in the free world must do everything we can to lift up their voices. We must give material support to activists, both inside Russia and across the diaspora.

I was pleased to see the Biden administration levy more sanctions against Putin's regime last week, including against the warden of the prison, whom Putin promoted to the rank of colonel general 3 days after Navalny's death.

We must hold those responsible accountable, including using Global Magnitsky Sanctions. At the same time, the House of Representatives must pass the supplemental funding request to help support the Ukrainians fighting against Putin's repression.

The fight against Putin in Ukraine is also the fight against Putin in Russia. This is something Navalny clearly understood when he said:

Russia must leave Ukraine alone and allow it to develop the

way its people want.

I realize there is a painful sadness for so many across the Russian community in the wake of Navalny's death. It is a terrible loss. But remember what he told us:

If they decide to kill me, it means that we are incredibly

strong.

Navalny personified what Havel long ago described as ``the power of the powerless.'' So to the friends and family of Alexei Navalny and all those in Putin's prisons, to the Ukrainian people fighting against the Russian war machine, to the Russian diaspora who still dream of returning home, don't give up hope. Have faith that we will one day see a peaceful and prosperous and democratic Russia where freedom and justice reign.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that privileges of the floor be granted to the following interns on Senator Kelly's staff for today: Maya Rezende-Tsao, Gabe Levine, Gannon Tulumello, and Leila Pearson.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications that have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such an annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which

have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Madam President, it is really an honor for me to be part of the continuation of the tradition of the U.S. Senate, on George Washington's birthday, to read Washington's Farewell Address.

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. He took the oath of office as President of the United States on April 30, 1789; and 7\1/2\ years later, on September 19, 1796, in his decision not to run for a third term as President of the United States, he delivered his Farewell Address.

It is a particular honor for me, as a Senator from Maryland, to participate in this tradition: Maryland, one of the original Colonies that formed the United States; Annapolis, our State capital, where on December 23, 1783, George Washington resigned his military commission, establishing the principle of our civilian government.

The first chartered college in the United States was in Maryland, in Chestertown, appropriately named Washington College.

And I follow in this tradition with other Maryland Senators, starting with Herbert O'Conor, John Butler, Daniel Brewster, J. Glenn Beall, and Charles Mathias.

Mr. CARDIN, at the rostrum, read the Farewell Address, as follows:

To the people of the United States:

Friends and Fellow-Citizens: The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the executive government of the United States being not far distant, and the time actually arrived when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made.

I beg you at the same time to do me the justice to be assured that this resolution has not been taken without a strict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his country--and that, in withdrawing the tender of service which silence in my situation might imply, I am influenced by no diminution of zeal for your future interest, no deficiency of grateful respect for your past kindness, but am supported by a full conviction that the step is compatible with both.

The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in, the office to which your suffrages have twice called me have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty and to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. I constantly hoped that it would have been much earlier in my power, consistently with motives which I was not at liberty to disregard, to return to that retirement from which I had been reluctantly drawn. The strength of my inclination to do this, previous to the last election, had even led to the preparation of an address to declare it to

you; but mature reflection on the then perplexed and critical posture of our affairs with foreign nations, and the unanimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence, impelled me to abandon the idea.

I rejoice that the state of your concerns, external as well as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of inclination incompatible with the sentiment of duty or propriety and am persuaded, whatever partiality may be retained for my services, that in the present circumstances of our country you will not disapprove my determination to retire.

The impressions with which I first undertook the arduous trust were explained on the proper occasion. In the discharge of this trust, I will only say that I have, with good intentions, contributed towards the organization and administration of the government the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable. Not unconscious in the outset of the inferiority of my qualifications, experience in my own eyes, perhaps still more in the eyes of others, has strengthened the motives to diffidence of myself, and every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied that if any circumstances have given peculiar value to my services, they were temporary, I have the consolation to believe that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it.

In looking forward to the moment which is intended to terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country for the many honors it has conferred upon me, still more for the steadfast confidence with which it has supported me and for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment by services faithful and persevering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. If benefits have resulted to our country from these services, let it always be remembered to your praise and as an instructive example in our annals that, under circumstances in which the passions agitated in every direction were liable to mislead, amidst appearances sometimes dubious, vicissitudes of fortune often discouraging, in situations in which not unfrequently want of success has countenanced the spirit of criticism, the constancy of your support was the essential prop of the efforts and a guarantee of the plans by which they were effected. Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave as a strong incitement to unceasing vows that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained; that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these states, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it.

Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger natural to that solicitude, urge me on an occasion like the present to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all important to the permanency of your felicity as a people. These will be offered to you with the more freedom as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his counsel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar occasion.

Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment.

The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.

For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens by birth or choice of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together. The independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint councils and joint efforts-- of common dangers, sufferings, and successes.

But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those which apply more immediately to your interest. Here every portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the Union of the whole.

The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with the South, protected by the equal laws of a common government, finds in the productions of the latter great additional resources of maritime and commercial enterprise and precious materials of manufacturing industry. The South in the same intercourse, benefitting by the agency of the North, sees its agriculture grow and its commerce expand. Turning partly into its own channels the seamen of the North, it finds its particular navigation invigorated; and while it contributes, in different ways, to nourish and increase the general mass of the national navigation, it looks forward to the protection of a maritime strength to which itself is unequally adapted. The East, in a like intercourse with the West, already finds, and in the progressive improvement of interior communications by land and water will more and more find a valuable vent for the commodities which it brings from abroad or manufactures at home. The West derives from the East supplies requisite to its growth and comfort--and what is perhaps of still greater consequence, it must of necessity owe the secure enjoyment of indispensable outlets for its own productions to the weight, influence, and the future maritime strength of the Atlantic side of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community of interest as one nation. Any other tenure by which the West can hold this essential advantage, whether derived from its own separate strength or from an apostate and unnatural connection with any foreign power, must be intrinsically precarious.

While then every part of our country thus feels an immediate and particular interest in union, all the parts combined cannot fail to find in the united mass of means and efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably greater security from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace by foreign nations; and, what is of inestimable value! they must derive from union an exemption from those broils and wars between themselves which so frequently afflict neighboring countries not tied together

by the same government, which their own rivalships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues would stimulate and embitter. Hence likewise they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which under any form of government are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty. In this sense it is, that your Union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation of the other.

These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting and virtuous mind and exhibit the continuance of the Union as a primary object of patriotic desire. Is there a doubt whether a common government can embrace so large a sphere? Let experience solve it. To listen to mere speculation in such a case were criminal. We are authorized to hope that a proper organization of the whole, with the auxiliary agency of governments for the respective subdivisions, will afford a happy issue to the experiment. It is well worth a fair and full experiment. With such powerful and obvious motives to union affecting all parts of our country, while experience shall not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those who in any quarter may endeavor to weaken its bands.

In contemplating the causes which may disturb our Union, it occurs as matter of serious concern that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by geographical discriminations--northern and southern--Atlantic and western; whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that there is a real difference of local interests and views. One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart burnings which spring from these misrepresentations. They tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection. The inhabitants of our western country have lately had a useful lesson on this head. They have seen in the negotiation by the executive--and in the unanimous ratification by the Senate--of the treaty with Spain, and in the universal satisfaction at that event throughout the United States, a decisive proof how unfounded were the suspicions propagated among them of a policy in the general government and in the Atlantic states unfriendly to their interests in regard to the Mississippi. They have been witnesses to the formation of two treaties, that with Great Britain and that with Spain, which secure to them everything they could desire, in respect to our foreign relations, towards confirming their prosperity. Will it not be their wisdom to rely for the preservation of these advantages on the Union by which they were procured? Will they not henceforth be deaf to those advisers, if such there are, who would sever them from their brethren and connect them with aliens?

To the efficacy and permanency of your Union, a government for the whole is indispensable. No alliances, however strict, between the parts can be an adequate substitute. They must inevitably experience the infractions and interruptions which all alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first essay by the adoption of a Constitution of government better calculated than your former for an intimate Union and for the efficacious management of your common concerns. This government, the offspring of our own choice uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation and mature deliberation, completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its powers uniting security with energy, and containing within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. But the Constitution which at any time exists, until changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government.

All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations under whatever plausible character with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction; to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common councils and modified by mutual interests. However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.

Towards the preservation of your government and the permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles, however specious the pretexts. One method of assault may be to effect in the forms of the Constitution alterations which will impair the energy of the system and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments as of other human institutions, that experience is the surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution of a country, that facility in changes upon the credit of mere hypotheses and opinion exposes to perpetual change from the endless variety of hypotheses and opinion; and remember, especially, that for the efficient management of your common interests in a country so extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty is indispensable; liberty itself will find in such a government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is indeed little else than a name, where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine each member of the society within the limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and property.

I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally.

This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but in those of the popular form it is seen in its greatest rankness and is truly their worst enemy.

The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation on the ruins of public liberty.

Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight) the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and the duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.

It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which find a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.

There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the government and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This within certain limits is probably true--and in governments of a monarchical cast patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of the popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutary purpose. And there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be by force of public opinion to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest instead of warming it should consume.

It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A just estimate of that love of power and proneness to abuse it which predominates in the human heart is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into different depositories and constituting each the guardian of the public weal against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern, some of them in our country and under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If in the opinion of the people the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit which the use can at any time yield.

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule indeed extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?

Promote then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.

As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible, avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to your representatives, but it is necessary that public opinion should cooperate. To facilitate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential that you should practically bear in mind that towards the payment of debts there must be revenue; that to have revenue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant; that the intrinsic embarrassment inseparable from the selection of the proper objects (which is always a choice of difficulties) ought to be a decisive motive for a candid construction of the conduct of the government in making it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in the measures for obtaining revenue which the public exigencies may at any time dictate.

Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all; religion and morality enjoin this conduct, and can it be that good policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that in the course of time and things the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages which might be lost by a steady adherence to it? Can it be, that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue? The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices?

In the execution of such a plan nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations and passionate attachments for others should be excluded and that in place of them just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one nation against another disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence frequent collisions, obstinate, envenomed, and bloody contests. The nation, prompted by ill will and resentment, sometimes impels to war the government, contrary to the best calculations of policy. The government sometimes participates in the national propensity and adopts through passion what reason would reject; at other times, it makes the animosity of the nation subservient to projects of hostility instigated by pride, ambition and other sinister and pernicious motives. The peace often, sometimes perhaps the liberty, of nations has been the victim.

So likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the nation making

the concessions, by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained and by exciting jealousy, ill will, and a disposition to retaliate in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the favorite nation) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country without odium, sometimes even with popularity, gilding with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation.

As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable ways, such attachments are particularly alarming to the truly enlightened and independent patriot. How many opportunities do they afford to tamper with domestic factions, to practice the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the public councils! Such an attachment of a small or weak towards a great and powerful nation dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter.

Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government. But that jealousy to be useful must be impartial; else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defense against it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favorite, are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people to surrender their interests.

The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop.

Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence therefore it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves, by artificial ties, in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities.

Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course. If we remain one people under an efficient government, the period is not far off when we may defy material injury from external annoyance; when we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon to be scrupulously respected; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation; when we may choose peace or war, as our interest guided by justice shall counsel.

Why forgo the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rival-ship, interest, humor, or caprice?

It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world--so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it, for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements (I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy)--I repeat it therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But in my opinion it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them.

Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable establishments, on a respectably defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies.

Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest. But even our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand: neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the streams of commerce but forcing nothing; establishing with powers so disposed--in order to give to trade a stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to enable the government to support them--conventional rules of intercourse, the best that present circumstances and mutual opinion will permit, but temporary, and liable to be from time to time abandoned or varied, as experience and circumstances shall dictate; constantly keeping in view, that it is folly in one nation to look for disinterested favors from another--that it must pay with a portion of its independence for whatever it may accept under that character--that by such acceptance it may place itself in the condition of having given equivalents for nominal favors and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not giving more. There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.

In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish--that they will control the usual current of the passions or prevent our nation from running the course which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But if I may even flatter myself that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good, that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism--this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare by which they have been dictated.

How far in the discharge of my official duties I have been guided by the principles which have been delineated, the public records and other evidences of my conduct must witness to you and to the world. To myself, the assurance of my own conscience is that I have at least believed myself to be guided by them.

In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my proclamation of the 22d of April 1793 is the index to my plan. Sanctioned by your approving voice and by that of your representatives in both houses of Congress, the spirit of that measure has continually governed me, uninfluenced by any attempts to deter or divert me from it.

After deliberate examination with the aid of the best lights I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our country, under all the circumstances of the case, had a right to take--and was bound in duty and interest to take--a neutral position. Having taken it, I determined, as far as should depend upon me, to maintain it with moderation, perseverence, and firmness.

The considerations which respect the right to hold this conduct it is not necessary on this occasion to detail. I will only observe that, according to my understanding of the matter, that right, so far from being denied by any of the belligerent powers, has been virtually admitted by all.

The duty of holding a neutral conduct may be inferred, without anything more, from the obligation which justice and humanity impose on every nation, in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations of peace and amity towards other nations.

The inducements of interest for observing that conduct will best be referred to your own reflections and experience. With me, a predominant motive has been to endeavor to gain time to our country to settle and mature its yet recent institutions and to progress without interruption to that degree of strength and consistency which is necessary to give it, humanly speaking, the command of its own fortunes.

Though in reviewing the incidents of my administration I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence and that, after forty-five years of

my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest.

Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by that fervent love towards it which is so natural to a man who views in it the native soil of himself and his progenitors for several generations, I anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat, in which I promise myself to realize without alloy the sweet enjoyment of partaking in the midst of my fellow citizens the benign influence of good laws under a free government--the ever favorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors and dangers.

Geo. Washington,

United States, 19th September 1796.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Bennet for those comments.

Senator Shaheen, thank you for organizing this opportunity for us to talk about the importance of this bill.

I must tell you, it has been a long road, and there were times where I think we thought we would not be able to get this aid package to the floor of the U.S. Senate.

The Senator from Colorado was one of the strongest voices that we had to make sure we never gave up. We were disappointed many, many times over many months. Senator Shaheen has been in the forefront, serving both on Armed Services and Senate Foreign Relations, to make sure, again, that we kept the momentum moving forward to get this done. Even last night, when we thought that there was an impediment that we could not overcome, we looked at the votes on the board and said that it doesn't look like we are going to get there. Senator Shaheen said, Senator Bennet said, Senator Blumenthal said that we can't give up.

I have the honor of chairing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Presiding Officer is one of our distinguished members.

There is no more important foreign policy priority than getting this bill passed and signed by the President. It is our No. 1 priority for our national security.

You have heard my colleagues talk about the fact that this is not about Russia versus Ukraine. That is what this war immediately is about, but it is about the free-world democracy versus autocracy.

Yes, 2 years ago, how many of us thought that President Zelenskyy would still be alive, let alone President of a viable country, Ukraine? The will and fighting spirit of the Ukrainian people is to be admired. Their leadership has been incredible. They are the ones who have been able to hold back the big Russian army, but they couldn't do it without our support. Yes, they will still fight, but they can't hold back that type of force unless they have the ammunition and the weapons and the support they need in order to carry on this battle.

When I said it is not a fight between Russia and Ukraine, we have a coalition of the democratic powers of the world all working to help Ukraine--Europe and throughout the global community--and I think sometimes it is lost because our constituents think this is just the United States coming to Ukraine's aid. Europe collectively provides more help than we do as a nation. We are the largest single contributor. They can't do it without our expertise, our help, our resources, and our equipment. We know that.

But look who is on the other side. Who is supporting Russia? It is Iran, it is North Korea, and, yes, it is the People's Republic of China. They are the ones supporting Russia's efforts.

Yes, this supplemental is interconnected. What is happening in the Middle East, what is happening in the China seas, what is happening with Taiwan--all related to whether democracies can prevail.

We have so much at stake. Yesterday, I was so disappointed because of the vote that took place. Today, I see

some light here. But let's take advantage of this. We have momentum. Let's make sure we get this bill passed.

Why is it so important? There is no question in any of our minds that Russia will not stop its military operations at Ukraine's border. Russian troops are already in Moldova and Georgia because of earlier incursions similar to what happened with Crimea, Ukraine. Do any of us think they are not going to try to take over those countries, as they did Ukraine?

Then take a look at the Baltic countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia. They used to be part of Russia--at least they claimed; we never recognized that. They are now NATO allies and great NATO allies. Mr. Putin wants to take over those countries.

Poland--he wants to take over Poland, the countries that border, and he doesn't stop there.

This really is an alignment of the world, and it is so critically important that the United States is the leader in this effort on behalf of democracy. It is not only the money that is important. It is not only the ammunition and the munitions that are important. It is U.S. leadership because it is a clear signal that we are going to triumph, that Ukraine will triumph and democracy will triumph. We really need to understand the importance of this action.

I have been honored to be a Member of this body now for 18 years. This is my 18th year in the U.S. Senate. This is perhaps the most important vote I will cast as a United States Senator. That is just how important this issue is for us to get done. And I am proud of many of the issues that we have taken up during my years in the U.S. Senate. That is how important it is for us to get this done.

Yes, we need to make sure that we stop the Iranian proxies in the Middle East because they are all part of this. Yes, we could be drawn into a conflict because of what is happening on the Red Sea or what Hezbollah is doing on Israel's northern border or Iran's activities and proxies in Iraq. We know that. We have to act with dispatch--urgency.

In Ukraine, the case is that they don't have enough ammunition. They are rationing ammunition today. There are Ukrainian villages as we speak on the floor of the U.S. Senate that are at risk of being taken over by Russian forces because they don't have the munitions they need and the support they need, including from the United States of America.

This has been a great investment. How many of us thought that the monies we invested over the last 2 years would lead to blocking the Russian military? But it has done that. Yes, it is real that the alternative to money could be U.S. military, our sons and daughters over fighting in Europe once again. Look at history. Look at what happened in the 1930s. Look what led up to World War II. You see some dangerous comparisons that are taking place.

We need to be on the right side of history, and the right side of history is to make sure the supplementals pass with dispatch. There are so many other issues in here that are critically important. We need to make sure that humanitarian assistance is there, and we need to make sure that at the end of the day, Russia is held accountable for what they have done. War crimes. They have committed genocide. They tried to wipe the Ukrainian culture off the face of the Earth. Sound familiar? World War II. They have to be held accountable.

They have to be held accountable financially for the damage they have caused to Ukraine. I am proud of the bill we were able to pass in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee known as the REPO bill. I congratulate Senator Whitehouse and Senator Risch for their leadership on that. It also includes the global center. It also includes atrocities prevention.

We need to make sure that we have a comprehensive way to make sure Russia is held accountable for what they have done, but it starts with supporting Ukraine to defend itself and to win this war of aggression that Russia has started and make it clear that we are there in the Middle East. There is no future for the security of Israel or the Palestinians with Hamas in control. They have to be eliminated. The proxies in Iran have to be neutralized. Yes, in the Indo-Pacific, we must stand with our ally Taiwan so there is no military action taken by the People's Republic of China against Taiwan. All of that is in this bill, and that is why this bill is so critically important that we get to the finish line.

So I urge my colleagues--we had a good vote a little while ago. We are not at the finish line in the U.S. Senate. The next step is, let's be reasonable and find a reasonable path forward to get this bill done--I hope within the next day or two--send it over to the House of Representatives, and hope that our colleagues in the House will follow the lead of the U.S. Senate, Democrats and Republicans working together to get a bill done for our national security. Then I hope we can get back to border security because we know our immigration system needs that, and we need border security.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such an annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Madam President, last week marked the beginning of Black History Month. And so I come to the floor today to celebrate the important roles Black Americans have played both in my home State of Maryland and in U.S. foreign policy.

Paying homage to our country's rich Black heritage--including learning about the challenges Black Americans have overcome--makes our Nation stronger, both at home and abroad. But in recent years, this history has become increasingly polarized and politicized.

The rise of the ``war on woke'' has led to a growing hostility toward diversity and inclusivity. It has led to the rewriting and even omitting, of brutal, but significant parts of our Nation's story.

We cannot allow this to overshadow our celebration. We must not shy away from studying our Nation's history with thoughtful critique. We should not settle for sanitized lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, and others in America's classrooms-- because Black History Month, like many of our cultural heritage months, should be a time to illuminate stories that may otherwise get lost. Overlooking such stories, especially in a State like Maryland, a place rich with Black history, would be a travesty--Maryland, the site of Kunta Kinte's arrival at the docks in Annapolis, as told in Alex Haley's ``Roots''; Maryland, home to greats like Harriet Tubman and Thurgood Marshall; Maryland, where Black waterman have lived on the Eastern Shore for generations.

This week, I had the privilege of meeting with Black watermen and their families, families who were some of the original stewards of the Chesapeake Bay. They were boat captains and admirals, fishermen and entrepreneurs, oyster shuckers and crab pickers. They laid the foundation for the aquaculture and maritime industry that is so heavily stitched in the fabric of Maryland's culture. They were descendants of William Samuel Turner whose family owned and operated seafood processing enterprises that anchored Bellevue, a historic African- American neighborhood on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Frederick Jewett, one of the first in the Chesapeake Bay to sell crabs and crabmeat and developed the crabmeat grading system that we still use today; Capt. Eldridge Meredith, Sr., a waterman and entrepreneur who was honored as the 101st Admiral of the Chesapeake Bay, and Downes Curtis, one of the country's few Black sailmakers who was renowned for his skillful craftsmanship.

They were descendants of the often-overlooked Black women, like Hazel Cropper, also known as ``Hurricane Hazel,'' who worked in the packing houses picking crabs, women who became the backbone of Maryland's crab meat industry.

These Black Marylanders left a legacy of progress and success, but their stories also echo a system of inequality that exists today. Many of Maryland's Black watermen were redlined. They couldn't get loans. They weren't paid fairly. And they lacked access to capital to keep their businesses afloat when they suffered economic hardship.

Maryland's congressional delegation has made Federal investments in historic preservation to ensure that Maryland's Black history is told because it has laid the foundation for Wes Moore, Maryland's first Black Governor; Adrienne Jones, Maryland's first Black speaker of the house of delegates; Anthony Brown, Maryland's first Black attorney general; Dereck Davis, Maryland's first Black State treasurer; and Brandon Scott, Baltimore's youngest Black mayor.

Of course, Black leaders have not only contributed to Maryland, but to our Nation, like Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge, EPA Administrator Michael Regan, and OMB Director Shalanda Young. And now, we are proud to have our first Black woman on the Supreme Court, Justice Kentaji Brown Jackson and Black leaders have contributed around the world. And so, as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I also want to take a moment to highlight the incredible contributions of Black Americans in U.S. foreign policy.

Ebenezer Bassett, the first Black diplomat who served as Ambassador to Haiti from 1869 to 1877; Nobel Laureate Dr. Ralph Bunche, who mediated the 1949 Egyptian-Israeli Armistice Agreement and fought for African independence; Ambassador Edward Perkins and Dr. Richard Hope, founders of the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship; Valerie Dickson-Horton, one of the first Black women to serve as a USAID Mission Director and Assistant Administrator; Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams; and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN. These are pioneers and visionaries who have advanced our national security.

The truth is that America's diverse talent pool is one of the most valuable assets we have on the global stage. And yet, in the last 20 years, the number of Black employees at the State Department has decreased. It is why the Department, USAID, DFC, Peace Corps, and all of our international affairs Agencies must expand their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. And, following the tremendous efforts of Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, I am awaiting the announcement of the State Department's new chief diversity officer.

Hard-won progress made thanks to the Rangel, Pickering, and Payne programs alongside paid internship programs must continue. Exchange programs and research partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities must grow. With four HBCUs in my State, I can personally attest to the brilliance and talent these institutions contribute to our Nation's global food, health, climate, economic, and other efforts which bolster national security.

With the appointment of Desiree Cormier Smith as our Nation's first Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice, our Nation has also increased its efforts abroad. From the North American Partnership for Equity and Racial Justice Declaration to the UN International Decade for People of African Descent, our country is playing an important role in protecting the rights and recognizing the contributions of African descendants across the globe.

At the Foreign Relations Committee, we now have our first director of diversity, equity, and inclusion--Dr. Mischa Thompson--to help advance these efforts in the Senate, our international Agencies, and across the globe. But we must all join this effort.

And so, as we celebrate Black History Month, let us all recommit to fighting to overcome prejudice and oppression. Let us never give up hope that with determination and commitment, we can build the world Dr. King dreamed of--a fair world, a just world, a better world. We can do it as long as we remember what Ralph Bunche's said, that ``anything less than full equality is not enough.''

Madam President, I rise today to express my sincere appreciation for the exceptional service rendered by Ms. Greta Brown during her four-decade tenure at the U.S. Senate Federal Credit Union, USSFCU. Greta has not only been a dedicated employee but has become an integral part of the fabric that binds our Senate community together.

Since 1981, Greta has been a constant presence within the Senate office buildings, witnessing the growth of the USSFCU from a small institution to a vital financial resource for Senators, dignitaries, and congressional staff. Her ability to connect with members, provide insightful financial advice, and create meaningful relationships has shaped the perception of the credit union within the walls of our office buildings.

Greta's journey is a testament to her commitment, professionalism, and the positive impact she has had on our community. She is a source of inspiration, always demonstrating dedication, poise, and flexibility in her tasks. Ambassador Alfonso E. Lenhardt rightly acknowledges her as one of the finest individuals, embodying the values that define our Senate community.

Many who know Greta echo this sentiment, expressing gratitude for her astute financial advice. Greta's influence extends beyond her role, with many young staffers seeking her guidance as they navigate their financial journeys.

In the spirit of ``people helping people,'' Greta has consistently served members with excellence and compassion. Her impact is evident in the numerous letters of appreciation she has received over the years. Greta is more than a colleague; she is a mentor, adviser, and friend to those fortunate enough to work alongside her.

As the credit union approaches its 90th anniversary, Greta stands as a symbol of continuity, dedication, and the values that define our Senate and Capitol Hill community.

In conclusion, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Greta Brown for her outstanding contributions to USSFCU and the broader Senate community. Her legacy will undoubtedly continue to resonate, inspiring us all to strive for excellence and service in our shared mission.

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

Mr. President, I ask consent that I be permitted to finish my remarks before the scheduled vote.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to speak in support of the nomination of Kurt Campbell to be Deputy Secretary of State.

The Deputy Secretary of State is one of the most critical roles at the Department of State. The Deputy Secretary serves as a key adviser to the Secretary, advancing top national security priorities, and serves as one of our top diplomats around the world.

To that end, Mr. Campbell's distinguished career provides him with the experience to excel in this position. It includes service in the Navy, in the State Department, the Defense Department, and the private sector. Mr. Campbell brings more than two decades of service in various leaderships, including as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs.

He has the expertise to help navigate the Department and our Nation through complex global challenges. Having a confirmed Deputy Secretary of State is paramount as we work to support our allies and build resilient partnerships, and respond to crises and deescalate tensions and conflict around the world--from Europe, where maintaining unity and support for Ukraine is more critical than ever; to addressing challenges in the Indo-Pacific, with the dynamic reaction between Beijing and Taipei; to the Middle East, where we must prevent further escalation and work toward the release of hostages and avoid the humanitarian crisis.

These require the full diplomatic force of our Nation. At this critical moment, the State Department's role in leadership is more important than ever. I don't have to remind my colleagues of all the challenges we have around the world. We need a full diplomatic corps there to represent the United States' interests, and it is critically important that we have Mr. Campbell confirmed as Deputy Secretary of State.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge the exceptional leadership of Ambassador Victoria Nuland, who has been serving in an acting capacity since last year. She is among our Nation's finest diplomats, and we have been lucky to have someone of her experience step into this role in the interim.

I must state that I have had many dealings with Ambassador Nuland. She has always been very direct with us. She has always been an incredibly talented diplomat representing our Nation, and we thank her for being willing to take on this extraordinary position during this critical time.

But it is in our national interest to have a Senate-confirmed official serving in our Nation's top national security post. Mr. Campbell is among the most experienced and most capable officials to be nominated to this position.

I strongly encourage my colleagues to support cloture of Mr. Campbell's nomination and to confirm him without delay.

I yield the floor.