Floor Statements

Mr. President, lowering costs for Americans has been a key focus of this Republican Congress. The 2025 Working Families Tax Cut Act prevented the largest tax increase in the history of our country. If that bill had not passed, taxes would have gone up by about $3,500 per family.

The tax cuts have put more money into working families' and seniors' pocketbooks by establishing no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and expanding tax relief for seniors to the tune, for seniors, of a $6,000 tax credit.

It also increased the child tax credit, and it also has a deductibility of interest on car loans. So you see, when we call it the Working Families Tax Cut Act, you can see the important provisions that back up that title. Those taxpayers earning between $50,000 to $200,000 that took advantage of at least one of these new deductions received an average tax cut of between $815 and $1,250.

Moreover, the rest of the law made pro-growth policies that incentivized business investment permanently. This has enabled Iowa companies such as Sukup Manufacturing in Sheffield and Vermeer Corporation in Pella to fund multimillion-dollar expansions and add hundreds of good-paying jobs.

This Senator has worked to lower costs of healthcare by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse out of the healthcare system. I am also working hard to hold pharmaceutical companies and powerful drug middlemen called pharmacy benefit managers accountable.

In February, Congress passed key PBM reforms to lower drug costs for seniors and Americans with private health insurance. Of course, everybody agrees more needs to be done to stop anticompetitive practices of Big Pharma and these pharmacy benefit managers.

I will continue to push to fix a broken system and lower drug costs. I have also worked to lower food costs by supporting American agriculture and passing the farm bill. Lowering high input costs for farmers is key, a very key way to help American agriculture and, at the same time, all American families at the dinner table.

The Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee-passed farm bill includes my transparency tools to help bring down fertilizer costs. It also includes year-round E15 that will deliver a $14 billion boost in corn demand and lower the price at the pump of up to 40 cents per gallon.

Here in the Senate, we have expanded and protected the Trump administration's effort to remove redtape and put more money back into the pockets of working families and small business owners. So far, the administration's efforts have resulted in over $1 trillion in total regulatory cost reductions.

Reducing redtape spurs innovation and lowers production costs, putting downward pressure on the price of household goods.

Last here, but not least, affordability requires fiscal sanity, something the Biden administration didn't have because fiscal recklessness by the previous administration spurred 9 percent inflation, costing Iowa households an extra $7,000 in just his first 20 months in office.

Now, we hear all this talk about inflation since Trump took over. Is the memory of Americans so short that they don't remember 9 percent inflation in the previous administration and how now it is dramatically down?

Now, self-proclaimed democrat socialists are running for office, promising a pile of budget-busting policies rather than delivering affordability. Such policies would exacerbate inflation and push up interest rates on mortgages, car loans, and consumer credits.

In contrast, Republicans, by focusing on rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in government, are working to snuff out inflation and contain interest costs. This includes trimming $1 trillion in mandatory spending as part of the Working Families Tax Cut Act. This work and more are making life more affordable for America.

SCREENS Act

Mr. President, now another short comment I want to make on another subject about cancer screening. Last week, I introduced a bipartisan cancer screening bill titled the ``Standardizing Cancer Recommendations for Early Evaluation and Navigation of Screening Act''; SCREENS, as an acronym for that legislation and that long name of the legislation.

The bill will improve access to cancer screening guidelines so they are more accessible, transparent, and user-friendly.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. We know that access to cancer screenings increases the chance of early treatment and reduces mortality. This is especially important for rural Americans and with the rising rates of cancer in young people.

To ensure patients have access to the best information at their fingertips or in the doctor's office, the Federal Government, through the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, can help ensure cancer screening recommendations are in a data-friendly format for apps, for tools, and for interoperable technology development.

Cancer screening guidelines still sit in lengthy documents that are not easy to navigate for patients or even for providers. These guidelines are routinely updated and refined, but it is difficult to track every change.

Patients want to know: Are they at risk for cancer and when should they get screened? Patients expect doctors to have the latest information, and they often have sticky notes on the recommendations taped to their computer, but it might not be the latest information or applicable to a particular patient.

There are some leading examples that are working to address this problem, including the Cancer Screen Iowa tool and Decision Precision+. My legislation will enable more technology development for patients and providers by streamlining access to cancer screening guidelines.

Making sure cancer screening recommendations are more patient- centered is common sense. Improving cancer research, access to early detection and screening, and cancer care are critical in defeating cancer.

I am proud to say that Iowa is taking this same comprehensive approach. This includes the cutting-edge research at the University of Iowa's Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center and Iowa's use of the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Fund that was in the tax bill of last year that is investing in rural cancer care at rural hospitals and clinics across the State. I will keep fighting to prevent cancer and improve cancer care.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, for over a year, the Department of Defense has stopped signing wind energy mitigation agreements through its Siting Clearinghouse, which is negatively impacting energy projects in Iowa. The reason the Pentagon Office of Energy, Installations, and Environment has provided for halting mitigation agreements is that the Department is reevaluating its process, analyzing threats to national security.

I agree that the Department of Defense must ensure projects do not put national security at risk. That said, the Department has been ``reevaluating the process'' for over a year. We have the most capable military and intelligence in the world. The Pentagon has the ability to identify and mitigate risks in a timelier fashion--especially given that wind energy projects are nothing new, nor are these agreements. Given the current administration's hostility to wind energy, it makes me wonder if this reevaluation is being used as an excuse to hamstring these projects.

In addition to the capabilities the Pentagon has, not all wind energy projects pose the same concerns to national security based on the location of the project. For example, Iowa is a landlocked State. The projects underway in Iowa are not going to have the same level of national security concern as, say, a project where there are several major Active-Duty military installations, global shipping ports, and international border access points.

I have raised concerns with the Pentagon and administration officials and have spoken directly with Secretary Hegseth about the importance of these projects for Iowa. I stressed that the mitigation agreement process must restart in a timely manner. Unfortunately, I have not been given an answer from the Pentagon on June, July, and September 2026 inquiries. This is unacceptable.

Congress established the Siting Clearinghouse through the fiscal year 2011 National Defense Authorization Act, to evaluate and explore impacts and mitigation options related to alternative energy production to preserve military missions. Since its establishment, energy projects have been able to work with the Siting Clearinghouse to mitigate any concerns raised and agree on the most appropriate path forward.

Wind energy is extremely important in Iowa. Iowa is a top leader in wind power capacity and share of total electricity generation. Delays in new wind energy projects mean holdups in energy generation and independence, which can lower energy prices for consumers. Unfortunately, the Department of Defense does not seem to recognize the importance of timely action.

I am supportive of provisions in the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act that would put tighter timelines on the Pentagon for completing these agreements. It is important that wind energy projects can continue and that the bureaucratic redtape blocking Iowa wind projects is disposed of soon.

Happy news in the fight against fraud: This week, the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud took steps to stop fraud and to prevent bad actors from gaming ObamaCare.

The administration is working to stop fraudulent and improper ObamaCare enrollment. Now, just think, over 600,000 consumers attested to unauthorized enrollment or plan switching.

This task force has the potential to save billions in taxpayer dollars. This action will ensure resources are only going to those who are eligible and have signed up or authorized their enrollment.

Too often, taxpayer money is lost to fraud, waste, and abuse. This not only wastes taxpayer dollars, but it also limits how effectively those dollars could be used to help the most vulnerable: those people that Medicaid and ObamaCare were intended to serve.

The administration's action complements my work in the Senate and the work of Iowa's Representatives Hinson, Miller-Meeks, Nunn, and Feenstra in the House, accomplished when we passed the 2025 Working Families Tax Cut law.

The tax cuts law not only prevented the largest tax increase in American history, but it also established program integrity reforms to stop fraud, waste, and abuse as well as preserve programs like Medicaid and ObamaCare.

In the past year, I have come to this floor highlighting how my own oversight along with inspector general audits and Government Accountability Office reports have found taxpayer dollars being wasted on deceased enrollment and providers, enrollees participating in two different State Medicaid Programs and who are dually enrolled in Medicaid and ObamaCare, excess ObamaCare subsidies not being paid back, and consumers being fraudulently enrolled in ObamaCare.

The Working Families Tax Cut Act put an end to much of this fraud, waste, and abuse in the Medicaid and Obama programs.

To bolster these efforts, last month I introduced a bill with the title ``Healthcare Fraud Prevention and Improvement Act.'' This bill will improve and will invest in the Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Control Program. That program was created to combat fraud across Federal health programs. But that program needs improvement.

Federal healthcare spending is expected to exceed $24 trillion over the next decade. Through the Working Families Tax Cut Act and by improving the Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Control Program, we can crack down on bad actors stealing the taxpayer's money and really protect resources for the most vulnerable Americans.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, last year, my Republican colleagues and I enacted the Working Families Tax Cut Act, which prevented the largest tax hike in our Nation's history. Not a single Democratic Senator voted for it.

This bill made permanent tax reforms that were enacted in 2017 and expanded on that 2017 tax bill, allowing taxpayers to keep more of their hard-earned money. This included provisions that reduced tax bills of individuals and families as well as pro-growth tax policies critical to boosting domestic business and employee wages.

Without the 2025 tax bill, we would have had the largest tax increase in the history of the country.

Now, this Working Families Tax Cut Act also fulfilled President Trump's campaign promises to have no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and expanded tax relief for our senior citizens. It also increased and indexed the child tax credit, and it allowed for the deduction of interest on car loans. Truly, this is a working family tax bill cut.

But a great new tax exemption was created to encourage savings and particularly to start at an early young age. The law has in it an innovative new savings tool for children under 18 called Trump Accounts.

These new savings accounts opened for contributions on July 5 and, according to the White House, over the next 5 days, families invested $125 million in these new accounts for children. In addition to family contribution, there are over 50 companies committed to offer Trump Account contributions for children of their own employees. Moreover,

a growing list of philanthropists and nonprofits are pledging to make donations to Trump Accounts. Just as one example, Michael and Susan Dell have pledged to contribute $250 to the first 25 million accounts established for children 10 and under.

The Working Families Tax Cut is lowering tax bills. It is, at the same time, invigorating the economy and at the same time helping a new generation build financial security.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, my colleagues know that I come to the floor quite often to talk about the issue of ethanol and the benefits of E15 for the State of Iowa but also for the whole country. So I would remind my colleagues that year-round E15 does, in fact, benefit people across the country even though Iowans probably talk about it more than any other State in the Nation.

It benefits not only consumers, who can see, at least sometimes, 40 cents per gallon in savings at the gas pump, but I want to also remind you that farmers in every State benefit because, you see, the only grain in the United States that grows in all 50 States is corn. Corn produces ethanol and is the key to American-grown fuel we call E15.

America is the largest producer of corn in the world. While my home State of Iowa grows the most corn, farmers across the Midwest in this country benefit from permanent year-round E15. Economists have estimated that it would put $14 billion more in the economy through the increased price of corn. In addition, then, passing year-round E15 helps every State by adding $25.8 billion to the gross domestic product. It is good for consumers' pocketbooks, for our environment, for our rural communities, and for our national security.

Now I am going to turn to something that I am asking President Trump to do because he has done similar things--from chips for China--or President Nixon 55 years ago did it for the consumers of America when he put embargoes on soybeans.

Another key way to help farmers is lowering diesel prices. So along the lines of embargoes I just talked about, I encourage President Trump to put a temporary embargo on diesel exports through Executive action. It will help family farmers who feed and fuel the world.

I have recently been reading some commentary, probably from Big Oil, where it is very difficult--because there are different kinds of diesel, that it might be difficult to separate it from

exports and things of that nature. So another way Big Oil could handle this would be to just sell diesel in the United States at a cheaper price than you sell it overseas.

I am going to continue pushing to give farmers and consumers across the country the stability they deserve by making year-round E15 permanent and finding ways to lower diesel prices.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, today is Constitution Day. On September 17, 1787, 39 delegates signed the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia. They set forth an experiment rooted in American exceptionalism: Government authority comes from ``We the People,'' the first words of the preamble to the Constitution.

The U.S. Constitution is the only founding document of any country in the history of humankind that is meant to protect the people from the government. Other constitutions throughout history were written to give the government power over the people. That is why the United States is unique, and that is why we continue to say that the United States is an exceptional system of government.

There are some in this country who want to fundamentally change the U.S. Constitution. In recent months, there is an organization within the Democrat Party that call themselves the Democratic Socialists of America. Their document wants to abolish the Senate. That document would uproot our system of checks and balances. That system would rip up our Constitution and draft a new one--particularly when some of them are saying they want a parliamentary system of government like other countries, particularly in Europe, have.

Democratic socialism of America is antithetical to America's promise of prosperity and the founding principles enshrined in our great Constitution.

The U.S. Constitution is now 239 years old this very day, and the principles that it embodies are timeless. On this Constitution Day, September 17, it is my hope that Americans of all ages will reflect upon the blessings of freedom handed down from one generation to the next.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, this past Friday, our Nation marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

I will never forget that day. That morning, after my weekly interview with Iowa radio networks, the U.S. Capitol was evacuated, and I remember officers pounding on my door here in the Capitol office: You have got to get out of here.

No one knew right then that nearly 3,000 lives would be lost in that morning's attack or that more than 8,000 people would die from post-9/ 11 illnesses.

Now, a quarter of a century later, more than one-third of the U.S. population is too young to remember the terrorists' attacks. So we need to carry history forward so that we never forget and keep our country safe.

We all know that, under the Constitution, national security is the No. 1 responsibility of the Federal Government. As a Federal policymaker, I have worked to ensure that we don't repeat the mistakes that led to the intelligence failures preceding 9/11 and that the missions of the intelligence community, the U.S. military, and Homeland Security are effectively and efficiently serving the American people.

On this solemn 25th anniversary, let's recommit ourselves to the spirit of America and never forget the lives that were lost on 9/11 and in the years that followed. We honor the memory of those who have passed and carry forward the legacy and uncommon courage of the heroic first responders, survivors, servicemembers, and their loved ones.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I want to pay tribute to a friend and longtime supporter, who was a lifelong champion for the family farmer and highly respected leader for innovation and conservation that he put into practice on his own family farm in southwest Iowa. Today would have been his 74th birthday.

On Saturday, September 5, Ray Gaesser passed away unexpectedly after a farming accident, a heartbreaking loss to his beloved family and a big loss to the farming community.

Like many farmers across Iowa, Ray never stopped working. He started farming as a teenager alongside his dad in southern Indiana. When he married his wife Elaine, they began Gaesser Farms on a few hundred acres near Corning, the county seat of Adams County. With more than 50 years of farming under his belt, his farming operation eventually expanded to thousands of acres that he worked with Elaine and their son Chris.

A lifelong steward of the soil, Ray practiced what he preached. Conservation was central to his farming operation, and he was a tireless pioneer for sustainability, clean energy, and water quality. Decades ago, he implemented terraces, grass waterways, turn areas, 100- percent no-till planting, and cover crops to conserve the land and strengthen Earth's natural resources.

Ray was widely respected in his southwest Iowa farming community. To be sure, his voice and advocacy on behalf of American agriculture carried near and far, from podcasts to the policymaking table around the world and in Washington, DC.

Throughout his 73 years, Ray burned the midnight oil on the tractor seat and extracted every minute out of the day. He traveled around the globe, sharing stories with farmers about feeding the world, participating at UN Climate meetings, and testifying before Congress on Capitol Hill. A dedicated member of the Iowa Soybean Association, serving as its president from 2006 to 2007, Ray went on to serve as president of the American Soybean Association from 2013 to 2014. His resume reflects his commitment to conservation and forging consensus to address challenges facing the future of farming. Among his many hats, Ray held leadership positions on the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board, the Iowa Economic Development Agriculture Advisory Board, the Iowa Conservative Energy Forum, the North American Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance, and the International Soybean Growers Alliance. He served as cochair of the Iowa Conservation Infrastructure Initiative and was named Iowa Master Farmer in 2012 and American Soybean Distinguished Leader in 2018.

In 2014, Ray cofound Solutions from the Land and was a tireless crusader for renewable energy, including biomass, wind, solar, and hydropower. Ray understood that proper stewardship of God's natural resources can produce bountiful rewards for the Nation's food and energy security. Just like he never punted on hard work on the farm, he rolled up his sleeves to making things work when a solution seemed out of reach. From climate change to water quality and carbon sequestration, Ray didn't avoid political hot potatoes. He immersed himself and brought stakeholders together on transcendent issues of our time: feeding the world, conserving resources, providing clean water, and producing renewable energy takes a coalition of the willing. In his words, ``When we work together, we all benefit.''

In 2021, Ray was nominated by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to serve on USDA's Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in grains, feed, oilseeds, and planting seeds. In this role, Ray brought decades of farming experience and dirt underneath his fingernails to the ears of the Nation's top ag and trade leaders to ensure Iowa soybean farmers were heard during global trade negotiations. He served as a commissioner on the Iowa Department of Transportation since 2022.

Ray was a gifted leader and communicator. He used his talents and work ethic to share a pragmatic vision for resiliency and sustainability in agriculture. A son of the soil, Ray wanted to ensure the land could feed the world and sustain livelihoods for generations of farmers yet to come.

From my annual county meetings and policy discussions in my office in Washington, I appreciated Ray's enthusiasm and expertise. He was an impactful problem-solver who effectively leveraged levity and bone deep passion for farming that connected stakeholders and made a difference.

Ray was a faith-filled servant leader, a family man, and a farmer who was called home to the Lord. I have no doubt he will continue doing the Lord's work among the angels, but as his friend, I will miss his advocacy for the family farmer, good-natured outlook on life, and warm, welcoming smile. Barbara and I extend our condolences to his wife Elaine and his two children Chris and Jennifer.

Mr. President, later today, I hope the Senate will vote to confirm the nomination of Todd Blanche to be Attorney General.

I support his nomination, and I urge my colleagues to vote for him. Mr. Blanche is nominated to one of the most important offices in our country, and he has shown that he is up to that task. His impressive background and the presentation at our hearing in the Judiciary Committee are proof that he has led the Justice Department with distinction and is well suited to continue doing that.

During his hearing, Mr. Blanche answered questions for more than 5 hours. His testimony reinforced what we already knew about his proven record as Acting Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General. Mr. Blanche is a tough, fair prosecutor, dedicated to the rule of law, and his leadership instills that same zeal throughout the entire Justice Department.

Mr. Blanche began his career clerking for two Federal judges, two Federal judges that were appointed by different political parties of the Presidency. He then spent nearly a decade as a Federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. During that time, Mr. Blanche handled a wide array of criminal matters, including narcotic trafficking and violent crimes.

Mr. Blanche eventually entered private practice, where he had a very successful career with many high-profile cases.

But his love of country brought him back to the public service that he is in right now, repeating again serving as Deputy Attorney General and now as Acting Attorney General.

Throughout his career, Mr. Blanche demonstrated an unwavering commitment to public service and the fair administration of justice. At his hearing and many times since, I have detailed the successes of the Justice Department under Mr. Blanche's leadership. Indeed, the statistics prove that Americans are safer with Mr. Blanche at the helm.

So let's look at that picture. Under his leadership, fraud enforcement efforts have been ramped up; arrests of violent crimes and criminals engaged in child exploitation have increased; terrorist plots have been successfully thwarted; massive quantities of illegal firearms and harmful drugs, especially like fentanyl, have been seized.

So, as a result, the United States has the lowest murder rate since 1900, and crime trends throughout the country have declined. According to the Council of Criminal Justice's 2026 midyear report, the reported rates for homicide have dropped 51 percent from its peak 9 years ago; carjacking dropped 73 percent; residential burglaries down 56 percent; motor vehicle thefts down 51 percent.

Now, you could go on and on with a whole bunch of other statistics because, according to this report, every single violent crime category and nearly all property crime categories have dropped below prepandemic levels, and that didn't happen by accident.

It happened, why? Because Mr. Blanche refocused the Justice Department on keeping Americans safe. That is the sort of impact we should want and should expect from the Justice Department and any Attorney General that heads that Department. And that is what Mr. Blanche has delivered.

We heard about it at Mr. Blanche's hearing. The committee heard a heart-wrenching testimony from an Angel Mom, Jennifer Bos. She told us about her daughter's tragic and gruesome death. She explained the importance of Mr. Blanche's focus on keeping Americans safe.

Ms. Bos stated:

I couldn't save my daughter, but with Todd Blanche as

Attorney General, he might save yours because next time it

could be your

child. It could be your family. It could be you.

This sentiment was shared in the outpouring of support the committee received for Mr. Blanche's nomination. Three hundred Angel Moms wrote a letter thanking Mr. Blanche for prioritizing victims and focusing the Department's efforts on stopping illegal immigration, ending drug and human trafficking, and protecting America's communities from violent crime.

The committee also received several letters from major law enforcement organizations that collectively represent hundreds of thousands of law enforcement officers all across our country. They praise Mr. Blanche's focus on public safety, the rule of law, and his unwavering support for law enforcement professionals, the people that risk their lives daily to protect our families and our communities.

In total, the committee received more than 30 letters supporting Mr. Blanche's nomination. These include more than 100 former Justice Department attorneys, chiefs of staff, U.S. attorneys, and other senior officials. Mr. Blanche's nomination was also supported by multiple former Attorneys General, including John Ashcroft and Bill Barr. These former Attorneys General know what it takes to run the Justice Department.

Now, between his proven track record, his presentations to our committee, and the support he has received from across the country, I am convinced Mr. Blanche is the right choice to lead the Justice Department.

A vote for Todd Blanche is a vote for the safety of the American people. That is a vote the American people deserve, and that is a vote that I am proud to cast.

So I urge all my colleagues to join me in voting to confirm Mr. Blanche as Attorney General.

Mr. President, I am here to show my support for the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act.

Before I do that, I want to express my support for the proposed continuing resolution and thank Senator Collins for her leadership to make sure government doesn't shut down if that continuing resolution gets to the President.

Now, I do prefer passing 12 appropriations bills. And while I do that, I can say at the same time, it is my opportunity to tell my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to work with us and get the job done to avoid a government shutdown.

Funding the Federal Government is a core responsibility of Congress. The fiscal year begins October 1 each year. If appropriations bills are not signed into law by September 30, lawmakers and the President must agree on the temporary spending resolution that is known as a continuing resolution. That resolution keeps the government open for business. If that fails, the unfunded parts of government shut down.

Now, with increasing frequency, the minority party has used the threat or reality of a government shutdown to try and advance partisan political priorities. Over the past 10 years, we have seen five government shutdowns. Three of them--one a full shutdown, and two partial shutdowns--have occurred in just the past 9 months. Unfortunately, it looks like we could be headed for a fourth before the end of the year.

History has repeatedly shown that shutting down the government is not only bad policy; it is bad politics. It has also shown not to be a great bargaining tool. By a bargaining tool, I mean there is some group of Senators or sometimes an individual Senator will say: We are going to shut the government down until I get some policy, that that individual wants or that group of people want. And you know what? Eventually, government opens up and the bargaining tool instrument has not served the purpose of the Members that shut down the government.

It is a simple fact it costs taxpayers money to shut down the government and even more to reopen it. And in a time of fiscal crisis like we have now, you shouldn't be wasting that kind of money. A government shutdown reduces essential services to the American people, erodes the trust of the American people in their government, and limits the ability of Congress to conduct oversight over Federal Government operations. I believe Congress needs to stop governing from crisis to crisis, respect the appropriations process, and fulfill its constitutional responsibilities to fund the government.

For that reason--and the reason I am here today is to talk about the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act. That act is introduced by Senator Lankford and Senator Hassan. This bill would make government shutdowns a thing of the past by providing an automatic continuing resolution should Congress fail to complete its job of passing appropriations bills on time. Moreover, it would implement rules designed to enforce the commonsense principle that if Congress doesn't do its job, Congress doesn't go home. Congress needs to work through regular order to fund the government Agencies to avoid our ``Groundhog Day'' approach to spending each year. Americans deserve better. They should not be asked to pay a price for congressional dysfunction.

It is past time that we put an end to the recurring political sideshow of government shutdowns, so that is why I say: Let's enact the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act by Senator Lankford and Senator Hassan.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, in a bipartisan approach, about 5 years ago, we passed legislation to correct the wrongs in our organ transplant program.

So, in my two decades spent fighting for U.S. organ donation reforms, I have heard far too many stories of patients who have lost their lives due to the negligence and abuse of that transplant system.

Recently, I requested the Government Accountability Office--GAO for short--to study and to report back to me about the challenges and the opportunities to improve pediatric organ allocation and transplantation, and that is a particularly difficult operation for the people that are involved in distributing organs.

We have about 2,000 kids on a waiting list for organ transplants, and 25 percent of that 2,000 are under the age of 5.

Pediatric patients have limited time and opportunity to receive an organ transplant, as organ size is critical to successful transplantation.

And this is especially true for kids waiting for liver transplants. Sadly, 1 in 10 infants listed for liver transplants never get a second chance at life.

The organ procurement and transplantation system could do a better job of serving kids. We know that if a child can get an organ transplant in a timely manner, their chances of living a healthy, longer life increase.

I am hopeful that GAO's findings will inform better oversight of the current organ system, and I am also hopeful that these same GAO findings will inform data-driven policymaking to improve the system for children and their families.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today as a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over Social Security, and to remind everybody--because everybody knows or better know--that the Social Security primary trust fund will be depleted in just 6 years. As a result, come late 2032, the program will only have enough income from the payroll taxes to pay 78 percent of benefits due.

That surplus was built up since a Republican, President Reagan, and a Democrat, then-Speaker Tip O'Neill, sat down and said: We can't let anything bad happen to Social Security. So they put a plan together that passed almost unanimously in this U.S. Senate.

I presume those two gentlemen--bipartisan they were--they thought it may only extend the program for 20 years or something. But as we see now, they had a plan that built up the surplus for the next 50 years, and that runs out in 2032. In other words, to emphasize, unless Congress acts quickly, retirees will see a 22-percent cut in their benefits, about the same as what Reagan and O'Neill saw happening in 1983.

So this statistic alone should motivate the Congress to act expeditiously to ensure no disruption of benefits occur. Unfortunately, Congress has a tendency to put off action until too late and at the last moment. This is never the best approach.

But with respect to addressing the Social Security funding shortfall, it poses a serious risk not only to the tens of millions of retirees but also a risk to the national economy.

As a recent Mercatus Center paper documents, waiting until the last minute to act on Social Security puts this vital program on a collision course with the Nation's growing fiscal crisis. The longer Congress waits to act, the more likely it is that any solution to Social Security will lean heavily on debt financing to bridge the funding gap. And that is how it is tied to the entire national economy.

So come 2032, the Nation will already have outstanding debt larger than at

any time in the Nation's history relative to the size of our economy. Flooding the bond market with trillions of dollars in new debt, in short order, then risks setting off a chain of events leading to a fiscal crisis. Bond markets are likely to demand higher interest rates to absorb all the national debt.

In other words, Congress needs to act in the same way that Reagan and Tip O'Neill acted in a bipartisan fashion, in 1983, to preserve Social Security. A bigger problem faces us today, and we should have a bipartisan agreement in this town, including a President who wants to get Social Security on a financially sound basis.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, today at the U.S. Capitol and the National Cathedral, at those places, we honored the life of Senator Lindsey Graham.

Over the past few weeks, we have mourned Senator Graham's untimely passing. Here on the Senate floor and in committees, I and my colleagues have spent time honoring his life and recalling fond memories.

Senator Graham loved this country. His forceful and quick-witted presence continues to be missed.

Barbara and I continue praying for Senator Graham's family and newly appointed Senator Darline Graham.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, all Americans--but I can't speak for all Americans. But I want to thank President Trump for his efforts to release Pastor Ezra Jin after 266 days in Chinese captivity.

Pastor Jin started Zion Church in 2007 to share his love of God, to serve others, and to worship peacefully. Following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, his church and its community were among the first responders. They even hosted blood drives in Beijing to help those who were impacted by the earthquake.

But on October 10, last year, Pastor Jin was detained with other leaders in the Zion Church.

Now, you might find yourself asking: Why was he arrested?

In communist governments, any belief system that places moral authority and fosters independent communities beyond government control is a challenge to the regime in power. This Senator does not see how preaching the love of Jesus Christ is a threat to any communist government, but they do.

That is why the Chinese Communist Party seeks to control religion through state-run religious organizations. Today, authorities suppress independent churches and target any individuals who worship outside of the state-sanctioned controlled institutions.

Many Christians seeking to practice their faith free of government control have to fear their identity being discovered and then facing punishment or even imprisonment.

This is precisely what happened to Pastor Jin. His only offense was leading an independent Christian congregation and exercising his fundamental freedom to worship without Chinese Government interference.

In November of 2025, the Senate passed a bipartisan resolution that condemned the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of religious groups, including Pastor Jin and the leaders of the Zion Church.

In March of this year, I joined a congressional letter to President Trump asking that he advocate for Pastor Jin's release in a meeting that he recently had with the Chinese President.

Today, we can celebrate that Pastor Jin is finally free. But our work is not finished. We must continue to speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves and stand firmly in defense of religious freedom.

Along this same line--not in China but someplace in Africa--I heard yesterday, in my attendance at the 105th Cedar Falls, IA, Bible Conference, that there has been a pastor in Africa that has been kidnapped, and they wanted us to pray for him. And, hopefully, our government is helping, to some extent, to free him as well.

I don't know his name. They didn't want to give out the name.

But this stuff that happens in China and around the world, you can't understand how it can happen because it seems to me the peaceful approach of Christians is something that shouldn't be challenged or feared by any type of government anyplace on this globe.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, Iowans are fed up with their taxpayers' dollars being lost every year to waste, fraud, and abuse. As a watchdog for those taxpayers, I have helped lead the charge to stop brazen criminals from stealing Americans' hard-earned dollars.

So that is why I am proud to be a cosponsor of my colleague from Iowa Senator Ernst's bill. That bill is entitled the ``Protecting American Taxpayers Act.'' I thank Senator Ernst so much for her hard work putting this piece of legislation together, and I also thank her for her hard work chairing the Small Business Committee of the Senate.

Now to the purpose of this legislation: According to the Government Accountability Office--GAO for short--the Federal Government loses annually anywhere between $233 billion to $521 billion to fraud. This comprehensive legislation cracks down on the fraudsters, protects the taxpayers' dollars, and curbs wasteful spending.

The bill includes 16 bipartisan initiatives. And I think when you talk about 16 bipartisan initiatives, that ought to tell some of our constituents that think Republicans never talk to Democrats and vice versa that that is the wrong information permeating our great country.

So the 16 bipartisan initiatives, 1 of them is my bill that I entitled ``Expanding Whistleblower Protection for Contractors Act,'' which then expands whistleblower protections for government contractors and grantees--just like we give whistleblower protection to people that are employees of the Federal Government.

It is obvious we need all eyes and ears within the Federal bureaucracy to stay wide open and remove the muzzle that Federal Agencies use to intimidate patriotic whistleblowers from reporting wrongdoing.

The bill that I am sponsoring--1 of these 16 bipartisan initiatives-- is in there to solve that problem. The U.S. Treasury is not a piggy bank for fraudsters to exploit and drain public assistance programs for their own profit. This anti-fraud package will stop fraud and return money to the taxpayers.

Thanks again to Senator Ernst.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.