Floor Statements

Mr. President, today, I come to the floor to speak about a favorite topic that my friends know I am proud of, protecting whistleblowers and the roles that they play in government.

I have long held that government oversight can't be done without the patriotic work of whistleblowers. Even Department and Agency heads need whistleblowers to know what is really going on in their respective Departments and Agencies.

I tell people that come to my office before their Senate confirmation that whether you are in a very small number of employees Agency or, you know, hundreds of thousands of employees in our Agency, you are at the top; you can't know what is going on at the bottom. And you need to listen to whistleblowers, and they usually come forward with very important information.

When they don't get that respect from the Department heads, they usually end up coming to the Congress, and many of them come to the office of this Senator.

Just this year, to show you the importance of whistleblowers, I made records public, exposing the political origin of Arctic Frost. Arctic Frost is the case that ultimately became one of Jack Smith's cases against President Trump. Anti-Trump FBI agents and Department of Justice prosecutors started Arctic Frost.

Based on even more records that I have made public, those very same anti-Trump FBI agents were involved in the investigation and prosecution of Peter Navarro, now serving with President Trump in the White House, like he did in the first Trump administration. Those agents that took on Peter Navarro were Assistant Special Agent in Charge Thibault and Special Agent Walter Giardina.

Whistleblowers have also disclosed to me that J.P. Cooney wanted to potentially open yet another case on Trump. J.P. Cooney was Jack Smith's deputy. Allegedly, Cooney wanted to use compulsory process to obtain more information. He improperly based that desire to do so, in large part, on partisan news outlets.

And guess who was included in the communication about the new case against Trump? That same person's name shows up, Special Agent Walter

Giardina. I will have more to speak on that matter later.

Whistleblowers have told me that Special Agent Giardina openly stated his desire to investigate Trump, even if it meant false predication.

I have been able to make all these records publicly available because of brave, patriotic whistleblowers. They are patriots to the highest order. And a lot of this information that I received from whistleblowers wouldn't have been made available or even known that it existed without the help of these whistleblowers.

And because of those whistleblowers, it is now an absolute fact that these cases against President Trump and his associates were politically motivated. My investigative work won't rest. There will be much more coming from this Senator.

Mr. President, today, I come to the Senate to recognize June as National Elder Abuse Awareness Month. I am introducing a resolution with Democratic Senator Blumenthal for this very purpose. This is a time to shed light on a crisis that too often remains in the shadows.

Last year, an estimated one in six older Americans experienced some form of abuse in a community setting, whether physical, emotional, financial, or neglect. For every elder abuse case that is reported, as many as 24 go unreported, it is estimated.

These aren't just numbers. They are our parents, our grandparents, our neighbors, and our veterans. Elder abuse isn't limited by geography or income. It occurs in nursing homes and private residences, the very places meant to offer these elderly people care and protection.

With a fast-growing senior population in our country, the urgency to act has never been greater. This month, we recommit to building a society that views aging not as a burden but as a source of wisdom, experience, and continued contribution.

We recommit to raising awareness of elder abuse and implementing protections for those in our society who protected us first. I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring older Americans this month.

In the Senate Judiciary Committee, which I chair, I am working to support Protect Our Seniors. So tomorrow, I am holding a hearing to examine how scammers are targeting older Americans.

This continues my effort to ensure that seniors are protected from financial predators and can live with the security and the dignity that these seniors deserve.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

On June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress passed a resolution creating what we know today as the United States Army. Since its establishment 250 years ago, tens of millions of American patriots have put their lives on the line to protect national security, defend our allies, and fight tyranny and terror from distant shores.

Today, the Army is comprised of roughly 450,000 Active-Duty servicemen, 325,000 National Guardsmen, and 176,000 members of the Reserve, making the U.S. Army the largest branch of the military.

I want to thank our brave men and women in uniform for their sacrifices to our country. Their dedication and their selflessness have made our Nation safer, and the first priority of the Federal Government ought to be our own national security.

Now, we have to think back to President George Washington's first annual address to Congress, where he said: To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving the peace in the world.

That includes a nonnegotiable tenet of America's national security, which is ``peace through strength.''

I have said before and I want to reiterate, we must be prepared at all times to stamp out aggression because weakness is provocative. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and a strong and capable military is the best way to do that.

In a few short weeks, we will celebrate Independence Day. I encourage all Americans to recognize and appreciate the freedoms that the Army has defended for 250 years, and I will continue to defend that in the future. And I want to thank President Trump for bringing attention to the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army with the festivities that are going on this weekend in Washington, DC.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, 38 years ago on June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan stood at the Brandenburg Gate and called for the General Secretary of the Soviet Union to tear down the Berlin Wall.

That wall was originally built to prevent people from fleeing communist East Germany into democratic West Berlin. The legendary line that President Reagan spoke:

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.

Now, those lines were nearly left out of the speech after the advisers from the State Department and the National Security Council claimed that the statement was, in their words, ``too provocative.''

But President Reagan stood his ground. He wanted to speak directly to the hearts of the divided world and take a moral stance against tyranny. President Reagan's words resonated with millions of East Germans. These East Germans dreamed of freedom. Two years later, the wall came down. It turned out that Reagan's words were prophetic--not provocative. Russia only understands strength. We still know that today.

I have reminded my colleagues of this fact in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Weakness is what provokes a KGB man like Putin. President Biden was too timid in his approach, trying to manage escalation. Had the West instead given the Ukrainians what they needed earlier, they might have pushed Russia out of their country by now.

President Trump ought to not make the same mistake that President Biden made. I think Putin thinks that he can play President Trump. Putin's lackey, former ``puppet'' President Medvedev, admitted recently what Russia wants is not peace but in his words ``swift victory'' and, again, in his words a ``complete destruction'' of the Ukrainian Government.

Putin will only respond to strength, and this Congress ought to give President Trump the tools to stand up to Putin with strong sanctions that plug the loopholes in the current Biden sanctions.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, last week, Secretary Noem ended a program that is called the Quiet Skies Program. It is a program that was well-intended when it was set up, but the Biden administration weaponized it to target its opposition, including the now-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Quiet Skies was supposed to track American airline travelers who had prior contact with known or suspected terrorists.

You can have no argument with that intent to make sure that air travel is safe, but instead it has been revealed that the Biden administration's Transportation Security Administration allegedly tracked U.S. citizens based upon nine nonsecurity-related considerations.

As just one example, whistleblowers told my office, some who were merely present at a rally on January 6, 2021, with President Trump were added to the Quiet Skies' list of targeting.

In another allegation, a woman was accused of invading the Capitol on January 6 and later added to the Quiet Skies. The woman was disabled and couldn't physically engage in those actions.

Now, fortunately, Secretary Noem shut down Quiet Skies to end this weaponization, and that should be music to everybody's ears.

In August 2024, I wrote to Biden's Transportation Security Administration questioning their abuse of this authority under this Quiet Skies Program. I did not get sufficient answers from the previous administration.

I will continue my oversight to learn the full truth about the Quiet Skies Program, and I appreciate Secretary Noem and Director Gabbard's leadership as my office works with them on the oversight request.

Mr. President, I come to the Senate to congratulate the University of Iowa's Department of Ophthalmology. It is the 100th anniversary of this famed department.

For a century, this department has improved the lives of Iowans and made a significant national impact. This department and its members have consistently ranked among the top 10 of the U.S. News & World Report and Ophthalmology Times. Beyond its ranking, the department has been a world leader in treating serious inherited eye diseases and other vision problems.

In the 1990s, the department established the first center for macular degeneration in the United States, providing patient care and conducting research into more effective treatments.

The department has a rich history of innovative research and clinical trials to advance eye care. Today, its research includes making groundbreaking discoveries into genes responsible for common and rare retinal diseases. Researchers are also integrating artificial intelligence to diagnose and treat eye diseases.

Thanks to this dedication, the department has trained generations of doctors and specialists who now serve in hospitals and clinics across the country, expanding its impact far beyond Iowa City, IA.

I commend everyone who has contributed to this remarkable legacy--the present faculty, staff, students, and patients. And, of course, we need to always remember the pioneers in this area who have now passed on.

May the next century be just as impactful as the first century for the University of Iowa's Department of Ophthalmology.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, the month of June is considered National Dairy Month, and this has been going on for decades and decades. And to kick things off, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed a bill that is entitled the ``Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act.'' That was voted out of committee yesterday, and it was voted out unanimously.

This bill is a very important piece of legislation, of which I am proud to be a cosponsor. Not only will it help the dairy industry, but it is going to restore great-tasting and nutritious dairy products to our Nation's school lunch program. Specifically, it is going to allow chocolate milk, whole milk, and 2-percent milk, instead of the requirements of the existing law that these kids in school can only drink skim milk.

The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act is also the first piece of legislation that the Senate Ag Committee has marked up in nearly 3 years. Its passage represents the bipartisan work that the Senate Agriculture Committee has a good reputation on delivering.

I look forward to the final passage of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act here on the Senate floor. Hopefully, it is very, very soon.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today concerned that the Senate's advice and consent role is being undermined. It is being undermined by obstruction from Senate Democrats that threaten to keep the Justice Department from functioning as the American people expect and the American people deserve.

The Office of Legislative Affairs serves as the crucial bridge between the Justice Department and this Congress. This relationship is essential not only for the legislative process, but for maintaining constitutional oversight and accountability.

The Office of Legislative Affairs ensures that we, as lawmakers, have the timely information needed to craft legislation, conduct oversight, and fulfill our constitutional duties.

When we seek answers, whether it is on criminal justice or immigration or national security, it is the Office of Legislative Affairs that takes our questions and returns the responses. This function can't run on autopilot.

Yet, today, the Office of Legislative Affairs is hobbled. It lacks a Senate-confirmed Assistant Attorney General to lead that office. Why? Because Senate Democrats have decided to impede the confirmation of all justice nominees without exception. That is not the constitutional role of advice and consent. That is obstruction.

Every Senator has the right to raise concerns about nominees. That is our constitutional role. That is our duty. And holds of specific nominees for specific reasons at times is very appropriate. It is an appropriate tool for any Senator to use.

I have even used that tool, and I have also done it on nominees. But the process demands fairness; it demands common sense. We should weigh each nominee individually, not slam the brakes on an entire Agency, especially one for keeping Americans safe.

So I am here at the floor because the nomination of Patrick Davis has been pending on the Senate Calendar now for 2 months. This is regrettable because he is an exceptionally qualified nominee. And this Senator should know because he worked for this Senator.

Mr. Davis brings a strong record of public service and a deep understanding of the legislative process gained from his time working for me on the Senate Judiciary Committee. I am confident he will lead the Office of Legislative Affairs with diligence, with fairness, and with integrity. He should be confirmed today, and I am here to ask my colleagues to do just that.

Obstructing his nomination serves absolutely no one. Many Senators-- myself included--have outstanding requests to the Justice Department that we expect answers to. I understand that some Senators may complain that they haven't received a response to their own outstanding request. I have made such complaints myself over the years under both Republican and Democrat administrations.

But I don't believe that obstructing this particular qualified nominee who can help get the responses we need will address their concerns.

I also understand that some Senators are unhappy with the current administration and are using Justice Department nominees to make their displeasure known. To these colleagues, I will simply say that the obstruction of qualified nominees to lead the Office of Legislative Affairs makes it harder for the Department of Justice to engage with Congress and harder for Congress to do its job.

This, ultimately, ends up hurting the American people. I am asking this body to uphold a fair confirmation process so that the Justice Department can effectively engage with Congress. Blocking the confirmation of Patrick Davis does not serve the Senate; it does not serve the interest of justice; and it does not serve the American people.

Mr. President, I am here to ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the following nomination: Executive Calendar No. 92, Patrick Davis, to be Assistant Attorney General; that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, I am sorry to hear the objection. I would like to correct the one thing that Senator Schumer said, that Patrick Davis didn't have a hearing before the committee. We did hold a hearing on Patrick Davis.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, the first Sunday in June is National Cancer Survivors Day. According to the National Cancer Institute, there are 18.1 million cancer survivors in the United States.

We have made great strides in recent decades to prevent and to battle cancer. The disease is the second leading cause of death in our country.

I know how a cancer diagnosis impacts a family, as a result of my wife Barbara's own diagnosis and victory over breast cancer 38 years ago. For sure, early detection and access to treatment saved Barbara's life.

Now, Iowa is a rural State. A majority of our States are rural States, and every State in the United States has rural areas in it.

Of course, it is difficult to deliver quality healthcare in rural America, but it is being delivered. To accomplish that, I have championed policies to keep the delivery of healthcare services accessible in rural America.

Access to quality healthcare should not be determined by your ZIP Code. Keeping rural and community clinics open and telehealth services available is a lifeline for cancer patients.

This day, National Cancer Survivors Day, is dedicated to celebrating cancer survivors and acknowledging the struggle and strength it took to overcome the disease.

We stand with you.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, yet again, I am here to draw attention and to condemn another outrageous attack that was aimed at the Jewish community here in the United States--specifically, Boulder, CO.

Yesterday, a deranged individual took a homemade flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to attack individuals marching for the release of Israeli hostages held by the terrorist group Hamas. This deranged individual allegedly yelled the words ``free Palestine.'' He yelled this during the attack.

Reporting suggests that the individual may have overstayed his visa that the Biden administration gave him and was then in the country illegally.

This is the third high-profile attack on the Jewish community in the last 2 months. This sort of hate is completely unacceptable in our society, and, of course, we all know it needs to stop.

I commend FBI Director Patel for quickly responding and launching a full investigation into this targeted attack. I trust that the FBI and law enforcement will do their job and swiftly find justice for these victims.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, today is the 39th-year celebration of the U.S. Senate being covered by C-SPAN2.

I have come to the floor countless times since my first term in the U.S. Senate, beginning in 1981. It is a privilege to represent Iowans and my home State here in the greatest deliberative body in the world.

For more than four decades and counting, I have joined my colleagues here in this Chamber to debate public policy, shed light on wrongdoing, and celebrate historic milestones. I have cast votes on behalf of Iowans, given my assent or dissent to nominations and legislation on matters both foreign and domestic on issues from A to Z.

For a period of time spanning more than 27 years, I held the longest voting streak in Senate history. My 8,927 consecutive rollcall votes ended in November of 2020, when I was quarantined for exposure to

Mr. President, this month brims with milestones for students across America.

In Iowa, more than 34,000 students are among the class of 2025. I congratulate our graduates and encourage you to keep working hard. The sky is the limit. You get to define your future because you live in the land of the free.

That is because we have extraordinary patriots who have answered the call to serve and defend our cherished freedoms. One of these extraordinary patriots is a member of the class of 2025. His name is Orville Von Ehwegen.

Orville's journey to East Sac County High School's commencement ceremony this past weekend took an unusual detour and extended timeline. He missed out on the pomp and circumstance as a teenager because he answered history's call to serve. You see, Orville is 107 years old. He was born in 1917 and dropped out of school at age 14 to help on the family farm during the Great Depression.

Later, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and fought in the South Pacific during World War II. When he returned, he opened an appliance store and was a successful small business owner alongside his wife.

On Sunday, this remarkable World War II veteran received an honorary diploma from East Sac County High School, 93 years after his last day as a student. Orville's inspiring life story is an example of sacrifice and service, which his fellow graduates can emulate.

I congratulate Orville and thank you for your service. I would be honored to have you share your story as part of my annual Veterans History Project so that future generations don't ever take freedom and liberty for granted and understand what it takes to preserve them.

Orville's advice to the class of 2025 is a lesson for us all: Be kind and work hard.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to express concerns that I have heard from many stakeholders regarding the Make America Healthy Again Commission. For short, this is called the MAHA Commission. Their report will be coming out tomorrow.

The concerns that I have heard from food and agriculture stakeholders center around the difficulty that they have had getting meetings with the Department of Health and Human Services. HHS Secretary Kennedy is the Chair of the MAHA Commission.

Many people fear that the contents of this report will not be based on sound science, that it will be based on opinions and fears instead of scientific consensus.

When I met with Secretary Kennedy before his confirmation--and that is a traditional thing to do--we discussed things like pesticides, genetically modified crops and other important components that come together to ensure the United States has the largest and safest food supply on the globe, and how all those things center on making the life of the farmer producing food as easy as possible. Now, Secretary Kennedy agreed that these tools farmers use are necessary for that food supply.

The MAHA report should be based upon sound science. I believe that Department of Agriculture Secretary Rollins and EPA Administrator Zeldin have had robust input on this report and that they would advocate for the 2 percent of Americans that feed the other 98 percent and the tools that are used to produce the food supply that feeds America.

We want to remember that we have the reputation of producing food so that the expendable income of--the average family in the United States spends roughly 10 or 11 percent of their discretionary money on food-- the cheapest of any consumers in the world.

So I want everybody to know that I am watching this report closely that is coming out tomorrow, and I hope it reflects what Secretary Kennedy told me when I met with him in my office and he stands by his word.

I hope there is nothing in the MAHA report that jeopardizes our food supply or the livelihood of farmers or jeopardizes the food supply--to emphasize--for the 98 percent of Americans that buy and depend on the food that the 2 percent of Americans that are farmers produce.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, after the bloodiest war in U.S. history, an enlisted soldier in the Union Army was assigned to recover war dead from Southern battlefields. Brevet Lt.-Col. Edmund B. Whitman mapped out an intricate system of ``cemeterial districts'' that formed the framework for our system of National Cemeteries. They provide a final resting place for fallen heroes and sacred space for mourners and citizenry to honor those who gave their last full measure of devotion to preserve freedom and liberty for generations to come.

``That Nation which respects and honors its dead, shall

ever be respected and honored itself.''--Brevet Lt.-Col.

Edmund B. Whitman, 1868

After the Civil War, it became popular to place flowers near gravesites to honor the fallen. So-called ``decoration days'' in springtime came to be called Memorial Day. A Union General issued General Orders No. 11 urging the Nation not to forget the human toll of war.

``Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of

time, testify to the present or to the coming generations

that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and

undivided republic.''--General John A. Logan, May 5, 1868

A century later, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, designating Memorial Day a Federal holiday on the last Monday in May.

In 1973, President Richard M. Nixon signed the National Cemeteries Act to update and modernize the administration of gravesites, particularly for aging World War II and Korean war veterans, as well as future servicemembers. It transferred 82 National Cemeteries from the Department of the Army to the Veterans Administration, expanding its network to 103 National Cemeteries. Today, the National Cemetery Administration oversees 156 National Cemeteries, 35 soldiers' lots, and has 122 grant-funded State veterans cemeteries, including the Iowa Veterans Cemetery at Van Meter. One of the oldest in the country is located in southeast Iowa. Keokuk National Cemetery was established during the Civil War for veterans who died in local military hospitals. Cast-iron tablets inscribed with a verse from an elegiac poem ``Bivouac of the Dead'' written by Theodore O'Hara are found throughout our National Cemeteries, including in Keokuk. The original tablets were fabricated at Rock Island Arsenal in the late 19th century to replace painted signs first placed on battlefields turned into burial grounds. The most frequently quoted passage follows:

On Fame's eternal camping-ground

Their silent tents are spread,

And Glory guards, with solemn round,

The bivouac of the dead.

On Memorial Day, the annual wreath-laying at Arlington National Cemetery is a somber moment to honor the sons and daughters lost on the battlefields of history. Since 1948, the 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as the Old Guard, places U.S. flags at more than 260,000 headstones and more than 7,000 columbarium niches containing the remains of the deceased. Iowa-born President Herbert Hoover led the first national Memorial Day ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on May 30, 1929, calling on Americans to honor the ``unselfish souls who gave life in service to their ideals'' and that their sacrifice must evoke ``the most solemn mood of consecration'' to ``manifest our gratitude'' in memoriam of their valor for perpetuity.

Since the Civil War, when Iowa sent the most soldiers per capita to the Union Army, Iowans have continued a legacy of strong military service, including the ultimate sacrifice. One of

the first three American soldiers killed in World War I was an Iowa farm boy from Glidden. Pvt. Merle David Hay was killed while serving sentry duty in the trenches in France. On May 25, 1930, thousands of people gathered at West Lawn Cemetery to dedicate an 8-foot granite monument in his honor. Travelers can see the monument while driving through Glidden on the historic Lincoln Highway.

Put the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum in Waterloo on your family calendar. You will learn about Iowans who answered the call to serve in the Armed Forces, including all five Sullivan brothers who were tragically killed aboard the USS Juneau on November 13, 1942.

Fifty years ago, one of the last servicemembers killed in Vietnam was a 19-year-old from Marshalltown. Lance Cpl. Darwin Lee Judge died 1 day before the fall of Saigon in 1975. As Saigon fell, Judge rescued a 3- year-old girl, putting her on his back ``piggyback style'' and ran her out to the plane. His bravery saved her life and cost him his own in a mortar attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base.

Every Memorial Day, communities across Iowa reverently celebrate hometown heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice. From grave decorations to patriotic observances, neighbors, loved ones, and family members gather to pay tribute to these fallen heroes from one generation to the next, honoring their memories, bravery, and service. The sacrifice of these fallen servicemembers is a profound reminder to every American articulated by President Ronald Reagan, ``Ours is the land of the free because it is the home of the brave.''

As Americans, it is our solemn duty to honor fallen servicemembers who have given their lives to defend our cherished blessings of freedom. In his acceptance speech for the Vice Presidential nomination in 1920, Calvin Coolidge imparted wisdom from history that rings truer than ever in the 21st century, ``The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.''

I encourage Iowa families to remember the defenders from our home State and hometowns who are deeply missed around supper tables and family celebrations. Be intentional on Memorial Day to attend community celebrations. Plan a road trip to visit nearby Freedom Rocks honoring veterans in each of Iowa's 99 counties. Find out the history of road names, parks, and post offices named for local heroes who died in service to our country. They put their precious lives on the line to preserve our way of life for generations yet to come. For that, Americans owe them an eternal debt of gratitude.