Floor Statements

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 367, S. 2934.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 306, S. 272.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the title amendment be agreed to on Calendar No. 306, S. 272.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be discharged from further consideration of S. 4161 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the Scott of Florida amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 668.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed on the en bloc consideration of the following resolutions, which are at the desk: S. Res. 692, S.

Res. 693, S. Res. 694, S. Res. 695, S. Res. 696, and S. Res. 697.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 12 noon on Wednesday, April 29; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each; further, that at 2:15 p.m., the Senate proceed to executive session and vote on confirmation of the Cekada nomination.

Mr. President, for the information of my colleagues, further votes are expected at 4:45 p.m. in relation to the Bennet and Rosen CRA joint resolutions.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 128, S. 1528.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 305, S. 2132.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to and the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time.

Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the bill.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 22; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed, and the Senate resume consideration of Calendar No. 376, S. Con. Res. 33, with 32 hours of debate remaining on the budget resolution, equally divided.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. President, I have been listening to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle so I can try to understand their arguments.

On my side of the aisle, we have been told that the Democrats in the Senate will not meet with the Republicans in the Senate about this issue. Yet we have had Democrat after Democrat on this floor this afternoon complain that they can't get meetings with Republican Senators. They won't meet with Republican Senators. They say: We only want to meet with the President.

Now we hear the President has submitted a proposal to them that is extremely reasonable. That is what we hear on the Republican side of the aisle. We haven't seen the President's proposal to the Democrats because they won't show it to us. It makes me wonder whether the President's proposal was so reasonable that they don't want to show it to us, that they don't want to be put in the position of having to agree with a President that they truly despise as an individual.

The whole Nation is being held up by this. So I want to apologize to the American people--especially to the TSA agents, the FEMA workers, and other Agencies within the Department of Homeland Security who are not getting paid. I want to apologize to the American people who are standing in lines at airports trying to get through TSA to get on airplanes, and they are stuck in those lines for 3 and 4 hours. I want to apologize to the people in my State--the day before yesterday--who live in the city of Wright, WY, where there was an over-1,500-acre fire heading in the direction of Wright, and no one from FEMA was available to help advise with regard to those issues.

These things are happening around our country today. Yet we have Democrats in this Senate saying ``The Republicans won't work with us,'' and we have Republicans in this Senate saying ``The Democrats won't even speak to us.'' It sounds like two ships passing in the night in the Senate.

Now, the odd thing is that when we are not in front of the cameras-- we are not on C-SPAN; we are not on this floor making speeches--we actually do talk to each other; we actually do get along. Yet here we are at an impasse that has us hurling disagreements at each other that don't even reflect an assessment.

If I was watching this on C-SPAN and I was just a citizen, I would say: I don't get this. They are acting as if they don't know what the other side is doing or thinking.

Well, even being here in this body, I don't know what the other side is thinking. I hear them say they are mad because ICE agents are wearing masks and don't have warrants, and there are a couple of things there that I would point out.

The reason ICE agents started wearing masks is because truly belligerent protesters were identifying those ICE agents and then going to their homes and their children's schools and threatening their families. So they put on masks so, as they are doing their job, the protesters cannot identify them and harass their families and them for doing their job.

Then I hear that this is about the fact that some Americans-- protesters--were killed in Minneapolis. We all mourn those deaths. But those were protesters who were not innocent bystanders. They were protesting in a very provocative way, taking on ICE agents directly-- either using their cars or kicking the headlights out of cars and yelling and throwing rocks at ICE agents. That is not innocence. It doesn't mean they should have been shot, but it does mean they were not behaving in an innocent manner.

But let's look at who was behaving in an innocent manner. Laken Riley was out jogging in Georgia when an illegal alien came up and killed her and she fought back and they smashed her until she was dead. That was an innocent bystander.

The little girl who was raped and thrown to the side of the road in Texas--that was an innocent bystander.

The mother who was jogging here back east, the mother of four kids who was attacked and murdered while jogging--that was an innocent bystander.

The problem I have with this whole discussion is we are showing tremendous sympathy for American protesters who were encountering ICE agents in a provocative way, and we have forgotten about the innocent Americans who were killed by illegal criminals--some of whom had been previously arrested in this country and turned loose.

When trying to eradicate this country of the illegal criminals who are harassing people in this country, are killing people in this country, are raping people in this country, are human trafficking in this country, we are taking our eye off the reason that ICE exists in the first place. We are taking our eye off the American people who just want to feel safe when they go for a jog, when their kids are out riding their bikes.

I do feel terrible about the Americans who were provoking ICE agents and were killed in the process, but I feel more sorry for the parents, the children, the husbands and wives who lost their family members through no fault of the innocent victim.

So we are in a terrible conundrum here. We have the Democrats refusing to pay TSA, Homeland Security Agencies like FEMA, if ICE agents aren't required to strip those masks off their faces when they are arresting people. But the Democrats aren't acknowledging that those masks were worn simply for the ICE agents to protect themselves and their own families.

What a conundrum we are in, and the innocent American people standing in TSA lines are bearing the brunt of this, the employees of the Federal Government who haven't received a paycheck are bearing the brunt of this.

I wish the cameras weren't on. I wish we could have discussions on things like this the way our Constitution was drafted. Those were not open discussions. There were no cameras. The Founders weren't playing to the cameras. In fact, they locked themselves in a hot, humid, stinky room until they came up with the greatest document that has ever been written in a secular manner by mankind, and here we are defending that document today and debating it.

So I would ask my Democrat colleagues: Sit down with Katie Britt, sit down with our Senate colleagues on our side of the aisle. Bring your own colleagues who feel strongly about this, who are passionate about this. Sit down and have a discussion among us. I know you too well. You are reasonable when you want to be. We are reasonable when we want to be. So let's turn off the stupid cameras and have a family conversation for the good of the American people.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I am so pleased to join my esteemed colleague from Wyoming in this next presentation where we rejoice and celebrate our Olympians.

Last night was an incredible display of Americana, of the joy of celebrating

our athletes. It was particularly joyous when our gold medal U.S. Olympic hockey team came into the Gallery in their beautiful USA sweaters with their gold medals around their necks so every American who was watching the State of the Union last night could join with them to celebrate this tremendous achievement and to have a moment where America was rejoicing together over something that is so quintessentially a North American sport and a triumph for our Olympic teams.

Today, I want to continue that joyous celebration by congratulating and highlighting and punctuating three Wyoming athletes who were at the U.S. Olympic Games in Italy.

The three are Breezy Johnson, Anna Gibson of Jackson, and Jaelin Kauf of Alta. They did not just compete; they embodied grit, resilience, and the determination that really defines Wyoming. I have no doubt that they inspired every person in Wyoming, especially our young student athletes who watched them on TV.

I was so overjoyed that I got to watch Breezy Johnson's win in realtime. Breezy Johnson got America's medal run off to a tremendous start. Her race was early in the Olympic Games, and she took the gold medal in the women's skiing downhill, racing nearly 80 miles an hour to the finish line. It was an incredible moment for our country-- incredible--and a truly incredible moment for Wyoming.

In addition to Breezy's gold medal, she also came home with a fiance. So congratulations to Breezy and Connor. We are so happy for you both.

Jaelin Kauf made history by becoming the most decorated Olympic mogul skier in U.S. history, earning her second and third career silver medals. From learning to ski in Teton Valley to competing on the world's greatest stage, Jaelin's journey reflects years of discipline, perseverance, and unwavering community support.

The strength that is required in your legs to be a mogul skier is absolutely unparalleled. Through two Olympic Games, she has represented Alta and the United States with exceptional courage and joy. We could not be prouder.

Anna Gibson became the very first American to compete in Olympic ski mountaineering--which is a relatively new sport in the Olympics-- finishing fourth alongside her partner in a sport she grew up with in Jackson.

Anna demonstrated the courage to step into uncharted territory. As I said, it is a very new sport, and stepping into uncharted territory is a quality Wyoming knows well. So she just did a bangup job representing Wyoming and the United States in our skimo Olympic debut.

These three women remind us that greatness is not born in stadiums, but it is built in gymnasiums and on training courses and on ski mountains and early morning trainings; in weight rooms, in your diet, your exercise, and particularly in tight-knit communities that support these athletes.

These communities believe in one another. They believe in celebrating each other's hard work. Wyoming has always stood for toughness, independence, and quiet excellence. Breezy, Jaelin, and Anna carried that spirit with them to the world stage. They made Wyoming and the entire country so proud. We are lucky to call them ours.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following Senators be permitted to speak prior to the scheduled recess; myself for up to 10 minutes, Senator Kelly for up to 5 minutes, Senator Murray for up to 10 minutes.

Mr. President, I rise today to remind us of what we commemorated yesterday: Holocaust Remembrance Day.

During the Holocaust, the Nazi regime and its collaborators systematically murdered 6 million Jewish men, women, and children. Two- thirds of Europe's Jewish population was killed in concentration camps, death camps, ghettos, and mass shootings. Entire communities were wiped out, centuries of Jewish life and culture erased.

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we remember not just the numbers but the individuals. Each one represents a world of possibilities that were destroyed. And yet, we are living in a day and age where Holocaust deniers are growing in number, and anti-Semitism is on the rise.

In 2024, the FBI recorded its highest number ever of anti-Jewish crimes, nearly 2,000 crimes accounting for nearly 70 percent all religiously motivated hate crimes.

This is unthinkable and totally unacceptable. Jews make up only 2 percent of our U.S. population. Yet they bear the brunt of religiously motivated violence.

The United States-Israel relationship serves vital American interests. Israel is our most reliable democratic ally in the Middle East and shares intelligence that has prevented terrorist attacks on Americans here on our soil and against American interests worldwide.

Our military cooperation advances technology that protects American servicemembers. Israel's Iron Dome and other defensive innovations were developed with U.S. partnership and now inform our own defense systems.

A strong Israel helps counter Iranian influence and terrorism that threatens not just the region but American citizens at home and abroad. This relationship is built on shared values, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights in a region where these principles are rare. Supporting Israel's security is supporting American security.

You can visit Civil War cemeteries, Revolutionary War cemeteries, World War I and II cemeteries in Europe, Vietnam war cemeteries clear up until today and see the Star of David on some of those gravestones. You can see them out at our famous cemetery here in Washington, DC, where people who served our Nation and gave their last measure of devotion--and there are Stars of David among all of them.

This is an important American value that we must acknowledge and make sure never happens again.

Finally, I want to say a few words about responsibility. ``Never again'' must be more than words. It must be a commitment backed by action. We must speak up when anti-Semitism rears its head on our campuses, our streets, and online.

We must distinguish between legitimate political discourse and hate disguised as activism. And we must protect Jewish students who should feel safe pursuing their education. We must stand with the Jewish people--both here and in their ancient homeland--when they face existential threats.

History will judge us not by our words today but by our actions tomorrow.

I yield the floor.