Floor Statements

Mr. President, the SAVE America Act answers one simple question: Should noncitizens be able to cast a vote in American elections?

The answer is clearly, incontrovertibly, no. Indeed, the right to cast a vote in American elections is something that belongs to American citizens alone. It is a precious right. The American people understand this.

And you know what? The American people agree. More than 90 percent of Republicans, more than 80 percent of Independents, and more than 70 percent of Democrats want proof of citizenship--a valid ID--in order to vote in American elections. Why wouldn't they?

With such a groundswell of support from the American people, it makes me wonder why my colleagues on the other side of the aisle don't support voter ID. You must ask yourself: Who are they representing? They can't be representing their constituents. If they were, they would be screaming from the rooftops: Pass voter ID into law today. But they are not. They are not.

Then you ask yourself: Who is their constituency? Is it illegal aliens? Someone in a far-off land they have never met? Are they representing some moneyed interest that are opposed to voter ID?

These are all valid questions, but the bottom line is this: The opponents of the SAVE America Act are not representing the will of the voters, including those of their own party. Voters across this Nation are not being represented.

I can tell you that whether I am back in Tennessee or here in Washington, I constantly hear from my constituents about the need to pass this piece of legislation. Tennessee requires an ID to vote, and we have the strongest election integrity laws in the United States. We get it in Tennessee.

Tennesseans, like the majority of Americans, understand that every vote cast by an illegal immigrant or anyone who isn't a citizen disenfranchises an American citizen.

A vote against this legislation, frankly, is a dereliction of duty. It is further proof of what I think many Americans feel about Congress, that the politicians they sent to Washington don't care about their views and can't be bothered to represent them. Americans are frustrated when the very second a politician is sworn in, that politician seems to forget all about the very people that they took a solemn oath of office to represent, defend, and protect.

I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to do the very thing they were sent to Washington to do. It is simple. Represent those who sent you here. Vote in favor of the SAVE America Act.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, today marks the 20th day of what has been a

completely unnecessary, incredibly harmful, and politically motivated shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, an Agency whose core is to protect our citizens from terrorism, from crime, from cyber risk, and from natural disasters.

The question is, Why are we here? Why is the entire government not open?

We find ourselves at this moment because my colleagues on the other side of the aisle oppose our efforts to clean up the immigration crisis that they created. This is purely about politics, not policy.

At a moment when global tensions are high and President Trump is rightly carrying out a strategic operation in the Middle East to make America more secure, it is more important than ever to ensure that the Agency tasked with defending our homeland remains fully funded and fully operational without delay.

The situation in Iran has direct ties to the security of our southern border. Think about it. More than 1,500 Iranian nationals were detained trying to enter this country illegally under President Biden. And do you know what? The Biden-Harris administration released about 50 percent of those individuals into our homeland, many of them with suspected ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also known as the IRGC. If you think about this, the open border policies of the Biden-Harris administration brought these 1,500 Iranian nationals, and 750 of them were released into the interior of our homeland.

Those are the ones that we know were apprehended. We don't even know how many people from Iran--or other countries that have our worst interest at heart--invaded during the time our border was collapsed under President Biden.

There is a nonzero chance, clearly, that the feckless open border policies of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle let people in who want to do harm to America. We shouldn't sit back and just wait for something to happen.

We, as U.S. Senators, should lock arm in arm and fund the hundreds of thousands of dedicated men and women who fight every single day to keep our homeland safe. From our Coast Guard and TSA officers to cyber security officers and natural disaster first responders, these selfless Americans continue to show up for work to protect our country and carry out their duties, all while not knowing when their next paycheck will arrive. They are doing their jobs, and it is more than past time for Congress to do ours.

The legislation before us today is not new. It is the very same bipartisan agreement that this body negotiated and agreed upon just weeks ago. Yet, for the second time in 6 months, Democrats have chosen to obstruct necessary Federal funding rather than to negotiate in good faith.

Therefore, I have to ask my colleagues: What exactly are we waiting for? Are we waiting for our adversaries to exploit this inaction? Are we waiting for the next natural disaster to strike a vulnerable community? Are we waiting for a violent extremist attack to occur?

The American people are paying attention. The American people understand what is at stake.

Supporting this bill means funding the security of our airports, strengthening our borders, defending our critical infrastructure, and ensuring our Nation is prepared to respond to natural disasters the moment that they occur. Weakening those capabilities, especially during a time of heightened global tension, is beyond unacceptable. It is irresponsible.

Instead of allowing politics to undermine our national security, we should strengthen the various institutions that keep Americans safe. Ensuring the Department of Homeland Security has the resources it needs to properly function should be one of the most basic duties that we have as Members of Congress serving this Nation.

By voting in favor of this legislation today, we have the opportunity to lock arms as leaders and to do the right thing. That is why I would strongly encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill without delay. Let's do what is right for the citizens and take care of this great Nation right here at home.

I yield the floor.

I would note that Texas only exists because of Tennessee.

Mr. President, I rise today to acknowledge my home State Governor Bill Lee on his exceptionally well-received state of the State address this week, which I was honored to attend.

In Tennessee, we believe that parents know best for their children. We are committed to expanding school choice and education options for students to succeed, an effort Gov. Bill Lee has championed from the outset of his tenure as Governor.

Governor Lee started the Education Freedom Scholarship Program, and it is already in high demand among parents and students. This year the program received 54,000 applications so far for 20,000 slots. It is truly remarkable.

Under Governor Lee's leadership, Tennessee has gone from the bottom half of States in educational scores to a top-five State for gains in reading and in math. Students are thriving, and their future is only getting brighter.

As a former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, I know firsthand what it means to bring new jobs and better opportunities for Tennesseans. Just last year, private companies invested more than $11 billion in Tennessee. Business leaders are flocking to the Volunteer State because of the strategic advantages that we provide in nuclear energy, in low taxes, in skilled labor, and in our entrepreneurial spirit. Job creators are seeking the benefits of having a strong partner, not an adversary, in the Tennessee government.

Governor Lee and Republican leadership in the State have prioritized investment in nuclear energy; and because of that, Tennessee is the No. 1 State for nuclear energy development. Indeed, the Volunteer State is the global leader in nuclear energy, recruiting

$8 billion of investment from nuclear companies around the world. And I am certain we are only just getting started.

I have had the honor of working with Governor Lee on an issue that is very near and dear to my heart: That is making Memphis the safest city in America. I have worked with President Trump, Attorney General Bondi, FBI Director Patel, Senator Blackburn, Representative Kustoff, Governor Lee, Commissioner Long, Sheriff Bonner, and Mayor Young for more than a year to get the Memphis Safe Task Force in motion. Because of Governor Lee's commitment to provide not only funds, but law enforcement personnel, we are seeing real results in Memphis that will provide a generational change for Memphians.

Crime in the Shelby County area is way down. As of yesterday morning, law enforcement has arrested 5,681 criminals and gotten them off the streets. They have seized 926 firearms and located 148 missing children. Think about how many families have had their lives changed for the better with 148 missing children returned to them. That, along with everything else I have laid out before you today, has benefited from Governor Lee's leadership.

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

Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the unaffordability of healthcare, a crisis created and perpetuated by my Democrat colleagues across the aisle.

Fifteen years ago, without a single Republican vote, congressional Democrats authored and signed into law the so-called Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare.

Ever since, congressional Democrats, without Republican support, have continued to prop up this failed system with tax credits and bogus incentives to hide a broken foundation. Congressional Democrats even expanded these tax credits under the guise of the pandemic--again, on a wholly partisan basis--not once but twice, which included setting a deadline for their expiration this year.

Now they are expecting the American public to believe that Republicans are culpable--culpable--for what the Democrats have done. They have clearly broken the system.

When ObamaCare passed in 2010, Democrats promised the American people that this legislation would make insurance affordable. Sadly, this promise has gone unfulfilled. I have heard from constituents across my home State of Tennessee who are grappling with the realities of this broken system.

In 2014, the premium for a benchmark plan was $197. That is 2014. In 2026, that premium is expected to be $711. That is an increase of 260 percent.

As if this wasn't enough evidence, take the story from a constituent in East Tennessee who is self-employed. He and wife own and operate a consulting firm. For his family of three, their insurance premium for the exact same plan they had this year will increase from $1,400 a month to $2,200 a month; no new coverage, no additional family members, just higher cost from an inefficient and fraud-ridden system that is collapsing under its own weight.

This is not affordable health insurance. If health insurance were truly affordable, then Tennesseans like the one I just mentioned would not be forced to rely on taxpayer subsidies just to afford their monthly premium, not to mention out-of-pocket costs, copays, and coinsurance.

Beyond affordability, the Democrats promised to ``fix'' the healthcare system without adding to the national deficit. Their reforms were supposed to lower the deficit by more than $100 billion. Instead, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, ObamaCare has cost taxpayers an additional $1.3 trillion. The deficit has continued to grow, with healthcare spending being a driver of that deficit.

Welcome to socialism, my friends.

ObamaCare was supposed to ``end abuses by insurance companies'' and create what they call a ``robust and competitive'' marketplace.

Well, ObamaCare has been nothing but a profit-making machine for insurance companies. ObamaCare has funded tens of billions of dollars, especially in pandemic-era subsidies, directly to insurance companies. And we have seen insurance companies' profits balloon to historic levels.

Now, let's talk about the fraud that prevails in the ObamaCare system. We will never have a competitive marketplace when that marketplace is riddled with fraud.

As a test for the ease and the extent of the fraud that plagues ObamaCare, the GAO created applications for fictitious individuals--all using invalid information--and submitted these fake applications to the Federal ObamaCare exchanges for enrollment. The results--shocking.

Of the 24 invalid applications that were submitted, 23 of them--that is more than 95 percent of the applications--were wrongly approved for subsidized health insurance. Get that. Over 95 percent of these fraudulent applications were approved to be subsidized in ObamaCare.

As of this September, 18 of the 20 fake enrollees for 2025 are still covered. Not only did the ObamaCare exchange not identify these fraudulent identities, but insurers didn't either. Why? Well, perhaps it is because those 18 applicants paid more than $10,000 per month to the insurance companies for these nonexistent patients. The money wasn't paid to the patients. The money was paid directly to the insurance companies to the tune of $10,000 each. No wonder the insurance companies aren't complaining. No costs, no services provided; it all falls to the bottom-line profitability of the insurers when this happens.

The solution to this floundering system, created by the Democrats without a single Republican vote, is certainly not what Democrats have proposed today. They want to continue wasting Americans' hard-earned dollars.

Earlier today on the Senate floor there was a stark difference of views. On one side, Senate Democrats proposed a 3-year extension along with the repeal of anti-fraud provisions that we passed during the Working Families Tax Cut. More fraud, more waste, more ill-obtained profits for insurers. This unserious, partisan proposal would cost a whopping $83 billion. It would not

lower premiums for 93 percent of Americans by a single cent. I opposed that effort.

Instead, Republicans are offering real solutions, solutions that will lower benchmark premiums by 11 percent, save $30 billion by appropriating cost-sharing reductions, and empower patients to make their own healthcare decisions.

There are further Republican solutions being debated right now, solutions that add serious fraud protections and ensure that wealthy Americans are not receiving taxpayer subsidies, solutions that ensure no Federal funds are used for abortions; that ensure illegal immigrants aren't accessing these credits to free-ride and overwhelm the American healthcare system.

I hope my Democratic colleagues will stop playing their political games and begin to work with Republicans to actually lower the cost of healthcare for the American people.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I call up my amendment No. 3841 to substitute amendment No. 3748 and ask that it be reported by number.

Madam President, I stand before you today to urge the adoption of the Hagerty-Peters amendment for the bipartisan BIOSECURE Act.

The BIOSECURE Act is rooted in basic common sense. It would stop U.S. taxpayer money from going to Chinese technology companies that are aligned with the People's Liberation Army, companies like BGI.

The threat we face is real, and it is growing. Communist China has openly identified biotechnology as a key domain for future warfare. To cite just one chilling example, in 2017, National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army wrote about the possibility of ``specific ethnic genetic attacks'' that ``can be a precise, targeted attack''-- get this--``that destroys a race, or a specific group of people, or a specific person.'' This is bone-chilling, this is real, and this is the objective of the CCP and the PLA through this DNA data collection.

The Chinese military entity added that ``its potentially huge war effectiveness can bring extreme panic to human beings.'' Of course it would.

That is not science fiction; that is a PLA strategy document.

Companies like BGI--one of the so-called national champions of Chinese biotech--are in position to facilitate what was once heretofore unthinkable: a genetically targeted bioweapon. Evidence suggests that BGI is working with China's military to conduct joint research. It is using the Chinese military supercomputers to process biodata, and it is collaborating with Chinese military hospitals to genetically enhance the performance of Chinese soldiers. Can you believe this?

Under China's national intelligence laws, all Chinese companies, regardless of where they operate in the world, must turn over any data they have collected if the Chinese Government wants it. Given the stated interest of the PLA in bioweapons, you can be sure they will be interested in the genetic data of Americans.

Make no mistake, BGI and companies like it are not just commercial actors; they are tools of the CCP--collecting, storing, and analyzing DNA for millions of people worldwide, including the genetic data of Americans that they collect, very often without informed consent. That is why the Department of War has already singled out BGI on its list of communist companies that operate in the United States and that collaborate with the People's Liberation Army.

The solution is simple. The BIOSECURE Act stops U.S. taxpayer money from flowing to biotechnology companies of concern. It ensures that the Federal Government cannot buy from, contract with, nor subsidize CCP- controlled biotech firms that put at risk the DNA of American citizens and the security of the United States. It gives industry an adjustment period when new entities are designated as ``biotechnology companies of concern.'' It provides limited waiver authority where absolutely necessary on a case-by-case basis.

Just last month, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin were overheard talking about biotechnology, organ transplants, and even the possibly of extending life to 150 years. They know what is at stake. We must acknowledge it too.

This amendment is about protecting Americans' most personal information--their DNA. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be able to speak for up to 2 minutes.

Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support the confirmation of my close friend and, for the past 4 years, my chief of staff, Mr. Adam Telle, who is President Trump's nominee to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. He has served as my chief of staff for the past 4 years, and in that time, he has become a trusted adviser, a leader on my team, and, frankly, a very good friend.

Adam has spent the past two decades serving on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue and at all times serving this body here in the U.S. Senate, whether he was leading the Senate side of the leg affairs team at the White House or working right here for many of us. Adam is just the type of staffer that I think we want to see step into the executive branch into a leadership role, and he will serve as an inspiration to all of the staff that serve us so ably.

Adam is the son of a geologist, a man who knows how to make things work. He has a knack for that. He is a native of Northport, AL, and a graduate of Mississippi State University's Bagley College of Engineering. He is a brilliant mind.

He has excellent organizational skills--just what we want at the Corps of Engineers. If you think about it, the work of the Army Corps of Engineers affects millions of Americans--from navigation and flood control to water infrastructure and disaster response.

This work requires capable and responsible leadership, and Adam Telle is exactly that kind of leader, and I want to urge all of my colleagues to support Adam Telle for this position.

Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to confirm the confirmation of my teammate and friend Luke Pettit, President Trump's nominee to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions.

Luke has served on my staff for more than 3 years. In that time, he has become a vital part of my team, but more than that, Luke has become a leader, an indispensable adviser, and, in fact, a close friend.

Luke is exceptionally qualified. He came to the Senate with an already impressive resume. He has sterling academic credentials. Luke has years of experience at the Federal Reserve and in the private sector. His background has given him a deep understanding of how our Nation's financial system works, not just in theory but also in practice.

Luke is a true rarity here in Washington, DC. While possessing a deep understanding of complex technical matters, Luke has never lost sight of the true aim of economic policy, which is very simply to expand opportunity and to deliver prosperity to Americans from every walk of life.

Here in the Senate, Luke worked arm in arm with many of your staffers to write the GENIUS Act, landmark legislation to regulate stablecoins and promote innovation. Many of you and your staff will recall the long hours it took to move this measure forward.

This bill's passage was never guaranteed. It passed, in great part, thanks to Luke's tireless efforts to overcome obstacles and to bring people together across the aisle. In fact, without Luke's leadership and perseverance, the GENIUS Act, as we know it, would not have been possible.

Beyond his many qualifications, Luke is a leader in the truest sense. He is admired not merely for what he knows but how he carries himself, with humility and with selfless dedication to the task at hand.

Luke is beloved and respected by my entire team, and he mentors countless young men and women in the Halls of the Senate and beyond, including my own children.

To Senate staffers gathered here today, I hope you will see Luke's confirmation as an inspiration and an acknowledgment of the vital role that all of you play in shaping policy and serving this country. The strength and stability of the financial system are vital to our Nation's prosperity, to our global competitiveness, and, frankly, to the American way of life.

At the highest levels of government, we need leaders who understand the weight of that responsibility, leaders who will approach their duties with wisdom, humility, and an unshakable commitment to do what is right.

Luke Pettit is just that kind of leader.

Mr. President, I can think of no one more qualified, no one more committed, and, frankly, no one more ready to serve than Luke Pettit. Therefore, I urge all of my colleagues to support the confirmation of Luke Pettit, which is about to occur.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum calls with respect to the Tata and Edlow nominations.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

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

Mr. President, I am here today to urge my colleagues to support the confirmation of Whitney Hermandorfer. Whitney Hermandorfer is President Trump's nominee to be a judge on the Sixth Circuit.

This is a defining moment for the second Trump administration because Whitney is the first judicial nominee to be brought forward to serve at the circuit court level. She is the first Trump nominee to come before the U.S. Senate, and she is a perfect candidate to be that first nominee.

She is going to set the benchmark for excellence for all future judicial nominees. Indeed, I don't think President Trump could have made a better choice.

Ms. Hermandorfer is eminently qualified. She graduated first in her law school class. Then she clerked on the district court for DC, the DC Circuit, and, not once but twice, at the Supreme Court of the United States.

Whitney served as lead strategist and advocate for our home State of Tennessee, representing the Volunteer State in its most complex and important cases, and, unsurprisingly to everybody that knew her and knows her, she did an exceptional job.

Ms. Hermandorfer has the experience and the demeanor that our very best judges possess, along with a genuine humility, kindness, and a sense of optimism that I think everybody will appreciate.

Most important, Ms. Hermandorfer will faithfully discharge the solemn duties of a judge. She will interpret the Constitution according to its original meaning. She will administer justice without fear, without favor. She will rule without preference for the poor or the rich, the weak or the powerful. She will protect the precious rights recognized in the Constitution and safeguard the delicate separation of powers that our Founders established.

Whitney Hermandorfer is an outstanding nominee. Any delay in confirming her deprives our courts of the very best and the very brightest that our Nation can offer.

So I am here today to urge my colleagues to support her nomination on today's procedural vote, and I am going to encourage this body to quickly proceed to her confirmation.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and honor the remarkable life of an extraordinary American, a Marine Corps veteran, titan of industry, and friend to me and many others here in the U.S. Senate and across the legislative and executive branches of our government Frederick W. Smith. Fred is best known for being a pioneer in the transportation, logistics, e-commerce, and express delivery industry, the founder and CEO of FedEx for nearly half a century. Fred was that and much more.

Fred Smith led an All-American life. Born in Marks, MS, he was raised in Memphis, TN. There, he attended elementary school at Presbyterian Day School and high school at Memphis University School. In 1962, he entered Yale University to study economics where he would conceive of an idea for an integrated air-to-ground transportation and logistics business, which would eventually become Federal Express.

After graduating Yale, he served our country through two tours of duty in the Vietnam war. For his service, Fred received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts. An excerpt from Fred's Silver Star citation provides some insight to the man Fred was--the Fred I knew: ``By his courage, aggressive leadership and unfaltering devotion to duty at great personal risk, Lieutenant Smith upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.'' Fred was honorably discharged from the Marines in 1973 with the rank of captain.

Fred Smith's leadership was found throughout his private life, too. Through his tenacity, he built FedEx to become one of the largest private employers of Americans and the global leader in transportation and logistics. On April 17, 1973, Federal Express began operations in Memphis, TN, with 389 employees; 14 aircraft delivered 186 packages to 25 U.S. cities during that first day. Today, FedEx employs more than 370,000 Americans, operating in over 220 countries and delivering over 17 million shipments per day.

Fred believed in his hometown of Memphis and chose to make his city the headquarters and logistical center of FedEx. He saw the potential for Memphis. Today, Memphis is a major center in global logistics because of Fred's hard work and determination. Fred served as CEO of FedEx until 2022 and served as executive chairman until his passing.

Fred Smith's commitment to Memphis was also demonstrated through his philanthropic support of education, healthcare, sports, the arts, and community development in the city. Fred served on the board of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Mayo Foundation. He demonstrated his love for the city through his actions.

And even more important than his military career, his accomplishments in business, and philanthropy, Fred Smith was a loving husband to Diane, father to 10 children, 31 grandchildren, and 2 great- grandchildren. I am fortunate to know many of Fred's family members, and in them, I see Fred's patriotism and commitment that will extend his legacy for generations to come. Fred has left a lasting impression on those who knew him and those who did not. Those who did will miss him dearly. Every American should be thankful for the life of Fred Smith.