Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask to speak in morning business for 3 minutes.

Mr. President, today, we have a new President. So I say congratulations to President Trump.

As we turn a new page from one administration to another, we can put a contentious campaign and all the negative rhetoric behind us.

There will be plenty of time for arguments, and those arguments can be about policy and personalities in the days and years to come, but today, this very day, is a day that all Americans can celebrate in their own way.

With today's inauguration, there is a sense of optimism that always comes with a new President and a rededication of our republican form of government.

Even those who voted another way on November 5 can take the opportunity to pause and enjoy the excitement of their fellow Americans and even allow themselves to share in some of that optimism.

Of course, a new President must assemble a Cabinet of people he trusts to carry out his agenda and do that under the Constitution with the advice and consent of the Senate, with the expectation that before the day is out, we will approve the nomination of Senator Marco Rubio to be our Nation's 72nd Secretary of State. I am proud that today we can do that.

No one in this body can doubt that Marco Rubio is a very intelligent man with a remarkable understanding of America's foreign policy and a very deep commitment to the American dream. That dream comes from the fact that his family has a history that started with the immigration to the United States from Cuba and then watching their former homeland fall into a communist dictatorship that still exists to this day. That helps explain his love for America and his drive to oppose oppressive, autocratic regimes that threaten freedom.

Even in this time of intense partisanship and intense time of character assassination, I expect Senator Rubio will receive an overwhelming vote for his confirmation. His colleagues know his talents and his character firsthand. I expect most, if not all, of my colleagues will vote based on what they have seen with their own eyes rather than blind partisanship.

I look forward to Marco Rubio continuing his passionate defense of freedom in his role as our next Secretary of State.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, last week, you heard me speak in support of

the Laken Riley Act, a vote that we are going to have later this afternoon. Today, I would like to discuss a related bill called Sarah's Law.

Sarah Root was a young woman from Iowa who had a bright future ahead of her. Her life was tragically cut short just 1 day after she graduated from college with a 4.0 grade point average. She was killed when an illegal migrant who was street racing while heavily drunk crashed his car into Sarah Root's while she was stopped at a red light. In an outrage of justice, this illegal migrant was released after his arrest.

Sarah's Law requires immigration authorities to detain criminals responsible for a death or serious bodily jury.

Illegal migrants shouldn't be here in the first place. Everybody knows that it is against the law to enter the United States without our permission. Even so, if they come here violating our law, they hurt and kill an American, the Federal Government must prioritize their detention and deportation.

The Trump administration has promised to remove dangerous criminals who cross our borders illegally. Sarah's Law will support these efforts.

I would like to thank my colleague Senator Ernst for her long and tireless efforts to get this bill passed. Senator Ernst first introduced Sarah's Law almost a decade ago, and I was proud to join as an original cosponsor and colead this effort. Since then, she has reintroduced the bill with each new congressional session.

We haven't forgotten Sarah Root, and it is long past time for Congress to pass this legislation that we have named after Sarah-- Sarah's Law.

I urge my colleagues to pass the Laken Riley Act as amended with Sarah's Law included.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I will speak for a couple minutes in morning business.

I am an advocate, through the farm program, of having an absolute limit on the amount of money that one farmer can get from the farm program so that we target toward medium- and small-sized farmers so we don't subsidize very big farmers to get bigger. I got such a legislation through the House and the Senate in previous Congresses, and, would you believe it, even though it was exactly the same language in both Houses and that isn't supposed to be touched by the conferees, the conferees diluted it to not a very meaningful limit.

Well, I am still concerned about limits. So today, I come to the floor to say, as one of its last official acts, the Biden Department of Agriculture decided to disregard the wishes of Congress by using its authority under section 5 of the Commodity Credit Corporation's charter to increase payment limits for specialty crop farmers from $125,000 to $900,000 under the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops Program.

This increase cost American taxpayers over $650 million without a vote of the Congress. Had this been the desire of Congress, it would have been included in the continuing resolution passed just weeks before.

Article I of the Constitution is very clear. Congress has the power of the purse. It is time that we stop the abuse of that power by the executive branch, whether that is Republican or Democrat.

So getting back to what I said when I opened my remarks. I am going to be pursuing in the 5-year farm bill, this year, that same cap on what one family farmer can get, and we are going to take additional action to make sure that we reform the Commodity Credit Corporation's law to make sure that the executive branch Secretary of Agriculture does not have the authority to just willy-nilly put out money at the drop of a hat.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask to speak in morning business for 2 or 3 minutes.

Mr. President, on Sunday, January 12, it was National Pharmacists Day. I think it is quite appropriate that we pay attention and give reward to the work that pharmacists do.

I would like to extend a warm thank-you to Iowa pharmacists for their dedication and for their service.

While we commonly know a pharmacist as someone who fills our prescription needs and educates us about medications, a pharmacist is typically the most accessible healthcare provider, and that is especially true for rural America. Do you know what? Nearly 90 percent of the U.S. population lives within 5 miles of a pharmacy.

For several Congresses, I have been leading a bipartisan effort that is called the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act. This bill encourages pharmacists--only where they are licensed and trained to do this--to offer healthcare services under Medicare, such as health and wellness screenings, immunizations, and diabetes management. This is necessary because, for many seniors in rural areas, it is simply easier to get to a pharmacist than it is to get to their nearest doctor.

I also know that it is vital to protect rural pharmacists from greedy pharmacy benefit managers who have placed unfair pressures on pharmacies in recent years. In fact, I hear from a lot of Iowa pharmacists that if we don't do something about pharmacy benefit managers, we are going to continue to lose pharmacies in the small communities of rural America and particularly Iowa.

So, since 2018, I and about 65 or 70 of my colleagues have been trying to hold PBMs accountable and do that through legislation--about three different pieces of legislation--so that we can lower prescription drug prices and, in turn, keep our rural pharmacies in business. We want to do this through transparency because nobody knows what PBMs do. It is an opaque operation; yet they make up our formularies. Do they help big pharmaceutical companies or do they help the consumer? We don't know, and we need to do that. So I hope this Congress will move on some legislation to make what PBMs do transparent because with transparency comes accountability.

I am going to keep fighting for our pharmacists and our consumers.

I yield the floor.

Recognition of the Majority Leader

Mr. President, I would like to speak for 2 or 3 minutes.

Mr. President, the Jewish people have faced many libels and many libels over their history--in their case, for millennia. Today, the Jewish State faces the dirty libel--can you believe it?--of committing genocide, all while defending themselves from Hamas.

Remember, Hamas has pledged to destroy the Jewish people in their homeland. Now, that happens to be real genocide. Israel's accusers cite large civilian casualty numbers traced to Hamas's self-reporting. As we know, Hamas has a history of inflating numbers, of not distinguishing fighters from civilians, and of listing male soldiers as women or children. A recent report by the Henry Jackson Society confirms that the widely cited Gaza casualty statistics suffer from all forms of falsifications.

Still, as we would all agree, any civilian death in Gaza is a real tragedy. While Israel goes out of its way to issue warnings to civilians, Hamas actually encourages civilians to ignore evacuation warnings while embedding in schools and hospitals to use civilians as human shields. Hamas officials are on record that they seek civilian casualties for propaganda effect.

The definition of ``genocide'' in the United States and also under international law focuses on the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national ethnic, racial, or religious group.

A very recent Amnesty International report adopts a new definition just to tar Israel with that disgusting libel. Amnesty International Israel was not involved in the report and, as you might expect, rejects its central claims.

So I want my fellow Senators to know that I, too, reject this bias and this misleading report, and I say: Shame on them.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, the Stennis Center for Public Service is a legislative branch Agency with a congressional mandate to attract young people to careers in public service, provide training for leaders in, or likely to be in, public service, and offer training and development opportunities for senior congressional staff, Members of Congress, and other public service leaders.

A strong civil society is the foundation of a free society and essential for our republican form of government to work. That starts with public service minded individuals identifying problems and working together to solve them. This aspect of our society astounded Alexis de Tocqueville when he traveled our country in the early days of our Republic and compared what he saw to his native France.

But, as Ronald Reagan observed, ``Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.''

Part of perpetuating a free society is encouraging civic minded thinking and actions. So I am glad that the ``Public Service Review,'' produced by the Stennis Center for Public Service, features stories from young leaders who are making a difference in their communities. The publication, available on the Stennis Center's website at www.stennis.gov, recognizes and highlights examples of young people engaging in public service.

I am particularly proud that the entire summer 2024 edition highlights the Legislative Practice Center at Drake University Law School in Des Moines, IA. I encourage everyone to read this edition of ``Public Service Review'' and learn about how, for 25 years, the Drake Law School Legislative Practice Center has equipped students for public service careers by blending rigorous academic training with invaluable hands-on experiences. You will hear from staff and students in the Legislative Practice Center, learn about prominent alumni of the program now working in public service, and read about prominent Iowans working in public service, with stories written by the students.

The Drake Law students featured in this edition of Public Service Review include:

Carter Forrest

Witt Harberts

Haley Ledford

Laura Book

Natalie Sherman

Charlotte Miller

Zach Goodrich

Taylor McDonald

Zach Engstrom

Tom Ashworth

Bernardo Granwehr

Jacob Shrader

J.T. Harris

I congratulate them on this recognition and thank them for their dedication to public service.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak in morning business for 2 or 3 minutes.

Mr. President, I served 16 years in the Iowa House of Representatives before I came to the Congress of the United States. Frequently, I visit that body.

Yesterday, I participated in the opening of the 91st session of that Iowa House of Representatives. I enjoyed hearing from Iowa legislators about the issues their communities are concerned with. I also had the opportunity to swear in my grandson Patrick Grassley for his sixth year as speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives.

I wish both the Iowa House and Senate a productive session as they work to better the lives of Iowans through State law.

By the way, I can say to my colleagues here: Congress could learn a lesson not only from the Iowa Legislature but from most State legislatures in the balancing of the budget because the Federal budget needs that sort of discipline.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I would like to speak for 1 minute as in morning business.

Mr. President, January 9 is National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. Today, as well as every day, we should give our thanks to the Nation's men and women in blue.

I make this a practice. Whenever I see a police officer, I always try to stop and say two things: I am not for defunding the police, and I am proud to back the blue, or I say it another way: Thank you for maintaining the peace.

As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, you can be sure that I will continue my work to protect and support law enforcement in both Iowa and nationwide. The Judiciary Committee always accomplishes issues supporting police in a bipartisan series of bills, most often in the month of May.

To our law enforcement friends, all Senators say: Thank you for your selfless service. May God bless you, and may God protect you.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I am here to support the Laken Riley Act. This legislation comes within the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee, which committee I will chair this Congress.

We all know that the result of the last election was a mandate for the President to carry out his agenda. In that agenda was the deportation of people who illegally enter our country. Everybody knows you can't come to the United States without our permission. One of those things that President Trump prioritized was his pledge to detain and deport criminals who are in this country illegally.

Laken was a young woman who lost her life at the hands of a violent, illegal immigrant with a criminal history. Laken's killer robbed a business before he robbed Laken of her life. He should have either been in prison or deported immediately after committing his first crime of robbery. This bill would ensure that thieves are detained by our immigration authorities.

Sadly, we know from experience that some administrations willfully refuse to enforce our immigration laws. This bill protects our citizens against any future administrations that want to let criminals stay in the United States illegally. It allows States to sue the Federal Government if and when it refuses to detain an illegal immigrant who has harmed a person in that State.

Over the past 4 years, a countless number of criminals have crossed our borders and hurt Americans. No American should be harmed by those who shouldn't be here in the first place. The Laken Riley Act will empower the President and his administration to remove the dangerous criminals that currently roam our streets and threaten our citizens' safety.

I would like to thank my colleague Senator Britt for taking the lead on the Laken Riley Act. Thanks to her leadership, we have supporters and cosponsors from both sides of the aisle backing this legislation. I urge my colleagues to move to and support this bill.

The primary role of the Federal Government is to protect its citizens. We owe it to Laken Riley and others who have fallen victim to crimes by illegal migrants to ensure that the Federal Government never fails to protect other Americans like it failed to protect them.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, this week, our Nation mourns the loss of our 39th President, Jimmy Carter. With grief comes reflection on his life, a life well lived.

There is no doubt President Carter made an impact on scores of Americans. As for this Senator, in 1976, I was on the ballot as a Congressman for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District, and of course Jimmy Carter was on that same ballot. Now, he and I were bit by different political bugs, but we have a similar foundation--two smalltown boys anchored in our faith.

As the only sitting Member of Congress today who served with the Carter Presidency, I remember him fondly and maybe have a couple of times to remind you about.

I don't know exactly what year it was, but I was in Iowa. He made a phone call to me asking--he was on his way to Nicaragua to observe whether or not a Presidential election at that time was going to be a fair election. He asked me if I would go along with him. I said the work of the Senate didn't allow me to do it at that particular time. So, obviously, I regretted that.

Another time, he asked me--I think this was in the 2000 period of time, maybe around 2003, 2004, or 2005--he asked if I would come and speak to a Baptist group in Atlanta, GA, that he was leading. I had that opportunity to be there and to have a private conversation with him and his wife, the former First Lady.

Carter answered the call to serve his Nation in many different ways. We remember him as a naval officer, his call to serve in public service as our President of the United States, and his call to serve those in need after leaving the White House.

1 Peter 4:10 says:

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to

serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its

various forms.

The light of the Lord shone through President Carter's life of service. He used these gifts to serve others even beyond the borders of the United States. We say goodbye during this time to this man of many talents.

We know about his background as a peanut farmer. We know about his background as a naval officer and, more famously, as our 39th President and, lastly, as a homebuilder as he worked through organizations building homes for the needy. Now we remember him as he is in his heavenly home.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 3 minutes in morning business.

Madam President, as the 119th Congress kicks off, I look forward to continuing my work for Iowans. As President pro tempore of the Senate, Iowa is No. 1 with my leadership.

I look forward to working with my colleague Senator Joni Ernst to represent the people of Iowa and bring their views to the policymaking tables. The two of us will work with our colleagues--Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, Congressman Zach Nunn, and Congressman Randy Feenstra--across the Capitol to represent the good people of Iowa. We are ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

I just emphasized the Iowa delegation putting Iowa first. I do that at the same time we remember the voter mandate of the last election to put America first. We will work with President Trump to bring that goal to fruition.

On another point, yesterday, January 6, was Christmas Day for many Christians of the Orthodox faith. But during the Soviet Union--if you remember the history of the Soviet Union--Christmas had to be celebrated in secret, lest the communist authorities would find out and you would be punished.

The godless Soviet regime encouraged celebrating the new year with a visit from Grandfather Frost, a secular Russian folk character, in place of ``Jolly Old St. Nick.'' In a repeat of history, ``KGB Dictator Putin''--now President Putin, supposedly--banned Santa Claus in occupied Ukraine. Christmas caroling, Nativity scenes, and any mention of St. Nicholas were reportedly banned in Russian-occupied Ukraine for fear of spreading Western influence. A video recently came out showing the Russian military shooting down Santa's sled over Russia to the praise of Grandfather Frost. This is a war on Christmas, communist style.

In Russia today, religious expression outside of the state-controlled church is discouraged. And in Russian-occupied Ukraine, all Protestant churches have been closed. The head of the Russian church is a KGB guy who answers directly to KGB Putin. It is no wonder, then, that only 16 percent of Russians say religion is very important to them, and only 7 percent attend church weekly. It is also no wonder that most Ukrainians chose to celebrate Christmas with the West on the 25th, even while under rocket fire from Russia.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, I am here to visit with my colleagues about the Social Security bill that is before the Senate, but before I do that, I would like to give my point of view from past shutdowns of the Federal Government and why the shutdown of the Government is a bad idea.

Usually, people approach shutting the Government down because they have some big scheme they want to accomplish, and they will accomplish it during the negotiations to opening up the Government or accomplishing from the threat of shutting down the Government. What I have found in past instances when that has been tried: You shut the government down. You open the government up. And that Member or Members have not accomplished the goal that they wanted to accomplish.

It costs money to shut the Government down. It costs money during this week to get ready to shut the Government down. And after a period of time of a day or, at the most, 35 days, about 6 or 7 years ago, Government opens up, and it costs money to open the Government up.

The Government is supposed to be a service for the American people, and you can't serve the American people when the Government isn't operating. So I hope that something can be accomplished today or tomorrow so the Government stays open.