Floor Statements

Mr. President, today, I wish to honor Dennis Gannon, a truly remarkable public servant. Over the years, Dennis has led an incredible life marked by an unshakeable commitment to serving others. After retiring from years in the U.S. Army with the rank of major, he set out to establish his own business and has served two terms as county executive for Jefferson County, MO. During his years in this role, the county has experienced significant growth and completed several major projects, including efforts to bring overseas jobs back to Missouri and the county's landmark work to improve infrastructure at the Jefferson County Port Authority, transforming the county's place as a regional trade hub, an effort I was very proud to support. He has also volunteered his time to various organizations serving the greater St. Louis area and has served on the East-West Gateway Council of Governments and REJIS Commission leadership boards.

The Gannon family's story is also uniquely American and defined by the same spirit of service. When he was a child, his father Jack worked as a butcher before later being elected to the Missouri State Senate, and his wife Elaine served 12 years in the Missouri General Assembly. Currently, his son also serves as the board president for Chelsea Football Club in the United Kingdom and played a key role in the development and opening of SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

This fall, Mr. Gannon will begin his well-deserved retirement from public service to spend more time with his family. I wish him all the best as he begins this new chapter and am proud to call him a fellow Missourian.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I rise today because America needs to remember that our Nation was not built by men who asked permission from history. It was built by men who looked into the unknown and saw more than danger. They saw destiny.

Mr. President, 222 years ago today, on May 14, 1804, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and the Corps of Discovery departed from the St. Louis area and began one of the most consequential journeys in the history of our Republic.

But before they ever set foot in that wilderness, our Nation made its boldest wager yet. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson doubled the size of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase. He bought a continent on paper, sight unseen, believing that the future belonged to a people willing to bet on themselves, endure hardship, and build something greater than themselves.

America 250 cannot become a yearlong exercise in nostalgia. It must be a national summons to remember what we inherited, to recover the courage that built it, and to rededicate ourselves to it.

Jefferson understood something too many in this city have forgotten. Nations are not forged by committees of caution. They are forged by men with enough faith to act before every risk has been removed. Jefferson gave that honor to a small band of men who turned their restless, adventurous, and fearless American spirit into something that could be passed down for centuries. These were not soft men. They were not managed men. They were men born close enough to the Revolution to understand that freedom is not a theory. It is something fought for, defended, and carried forward across generations.

But on the banks of the Missouri that day, there was no great spectacle, no crowds, no fanfare, and no guarantees. From the first settlements in Jamestown to the edge of the frontier in Missouri, every generation of Americans has carried a simple promise forward: that this Nation, this Republic, would belong to her people.

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark came from those first families of Virginia in Jamestown. They were raised in the shadow of the American Revolutionary War. They were descended from those who bled for this budding Nation. Their kith and their kin had already fought to carve a nation out of the wilderness--an empire. They inherited not just land but virtue, discipline, leadership, and a willingness to stake everything on uncertain ground. Every mile they gained was earned-- through hunger, through bitter cold.

Lewis and Clark faced rivers that threatened to sweep them away. They encountered Tribes whose intentions they could not know. They came face to face with grizzly bears, unlike anything Americans had seen before, and still they pressed forward--not because the path was easy but because their mission demanded it. That is what courage looks like--not one dramatic act but a habit formed mile by mile, hardship by hardship, by a people proving themselves worthy of the inheritance that they have received.

That first summer, as they passed what would one day become Jefferson City and, later, near present-day Kansas City, they passed on the Fourth of July and paused. Hundreds of miles from civilization, surrounded by uncertainty, they celebrated the birth of this great Republic. They fired their rifles into the sky. They shared an extra ration of whiskey. And they toasted a nation that existed in that moment more in their hearts than in the world around them.

Think about that. In the middle of an unknown wilderness, they celebrated freedom. That is America--not comfort first, not fear first. America is men in the wilderness raising a toast to liberty because they knew the Republic was real even when civilization was far away.

And the expedition continued. The challenges only grew. Winter came hard and unforgiving. The mountains rose before them. The land itself seemed to push back against every step westward. Avalanches, freezing winds, starvation, exhaustion--staring fate directly in the eye in the high passes of the Rocky Mountains, the Corps of Discovery learned something that has defined the American story ever since: that progress is not given; it is earned--that destiny is not inherited whole; it must be claimed through sacrifice, endurance, and through faith.

And so they climbed, they crossed, they endured until, in November of 1805, after more than a year of hardship, on the other side of the Continental Divide, William Clark wrote three simple words: ``Ocean in view.'' In those three words was the answer to every frozen mile, every doubt, every hardship endured along the way. The unknown had given way to proof. The continent was not a barrier. It was, in fact, a bridge.

What had been uncertain before became the foundation of a nation stretching sea to shining sea. And from that journey flowed the America that we know today: the river cities of the Midwest and, of course, my hometown of St. Louis, that later was christened the ``Gateway to the West,'' and the beautiful and majestic Gateway Arch that now commemorates that heritage; the industries, the railroads, the settlements, and the towns that would rise across the continent. And the mighty Mississippi became the first economic superhighway.

Lewis and Clark did not build all of that with their own hands, but they made it possible. And that path began in my State of Missouri.

We often speak in this Chamber about budgets and programs and legislation, but beneath all of that lies a much deeper question: Who are we? Are we still the kind of people who build, who explore, who dare, who believe enough in ourselves to shape the future?

Or have we become a nation content to manage decline, a people more comfortable explaining why greatness isn't possible rather than summoning the courage to pursue it?

Lewis and Clark did not cross a continent so that their descendants would learn to live small. America was founded on a bold declaration and revolutionary ideas, but not just ideas; it is a nation; it is a people; it is an inheritance purchased by the sacrifice of generations who refused to accept the limits placed before them and entrusted to them to carry forward.

From the pioneers who crossed the frontier to the workers who built our industries to the innovators who reshaped the modern world, this country has always been defined by people who honor the past by building something worthy of it.

They did not worship ashes, but instead, preserved fire. That is the legacy of Lewis and Clark; not merely that they explored a continent, but that they revealed the character of the people capable of building a civilization upon it, a people who moved forward, a people who endure, a people who built.

As America approaches 250 years of independence, that spirit is being called upon once again, the spirit of `76, the spirit of discovery, obtaining a continent, the spirit of St. Louis, the American spirit.

Take the inheritance, carry the flag, and build the future. We face different challenges today, sure, but the test is the same. Do we have the courage to still act, the discipline to endure, the confidence to shape our own destiny, or will we allow the flame carried across this continent through hardship and danger to flicker and to fade?

I do not believe the American people have forgotten who they are. I believe that spirit still burns. And like Lewis and Clark before us, it is now our responsibility to carry it forward faithfully, courageously, and without apology, not for ourselves alone but for the generations yet to come so that when they look back on us, they will see a generation that merely didn't just curate the future ruins of a great nation; they will see a generation that remembered who we were, a generation that took up the trail, a generation that carried the flag, a generation that kept the flame alive, and a generation who handed this Republic on stronger, freer, and more faithful to its inheritance than we received.

Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 729, which was submitted earlier today.

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 with no intervening action or debate.

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

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I rise today to honor the late Arthur Fillmore II, one of Missouri's true champions. Throughout his entire life, Art's spirit was focused on those around him, as he continually searched for opportunities to protect and serve others. After graduating from the University of Missouri, he would receive a commission and join the U.S. Army, deploying first with the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam, and later earning the rank of captain, serving in the Strategic Ammunition Support Command in Europe as a nuclear weapons adviser to American and Belgian forces. During his service, he earned multiple decorations for his outstanding work, receiving several Bronze Stars, several Air Medals, and an Army Commendation Medal and was awarded two Purple Hearts.

Upon retiring from Active military service, Art graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law, beginning a remarkable career as an attorney. While practicing law, he also served on the Veteran Administration's Advisory Committee on the Readjustment of War Veterans and the National Security Advisory panel for the Central Intelligence Agency. In his free time, Art became a fierce community advocate, devoting himself to helping other brave veterans transition back into civilian life, founding the Heart of America Stand Down Foundation, and St. Michael Center for Homeless Veterans, cofounding the Kansas City Vietnam War Memorial, and serving on the board of directors for the Kansas City chapter of the Association of the United States Army.

Art's charitable work was not limited to veteran advocacy. He spent several years in leadership roles with the University of Missouri- Kansas City Athletic Association, the Kansas City Art Institute Board of Trustees, and the Kansas City Ballet, later working alongside former Senator Kit Bond as chairman of Heart to Heart International Airlift, which provides vital medical supplies and aid to those in need overseas. For his outstanding volunteer work, Art was honored with multiple awards, including the Harry S. Truman Silver Veterans Medal, Daughters of the American Revolution Lifetime Achievement Award, Vietnam Veterans Community Service Award, and was admitted to several Halls of Fame.

Art was a devoted family man, a cherished father to three children, and a proud grandfather to six grandchildren. He was also a committed grill master and lifelong fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. Art Fillmore was a deeply selfless man and lived a life defined by compassion and service to others. His remarkable drive to volunteer and dedicate his time to charitable causes

will be sorely missed in the Show-Me State.

Mr. President, I rise today to honor the incredible and courageous career of Charles Jeffrey Beaton, who has for the last 15 years served as chief of the Glendale Police Department. Throughout his remarkable 33 years in law enforcement, Chief Beaton has continuously striven not only to protect and serve his fellow Missourians as a police officer, but also to serve as an effective leader in countless organizations. He has volunteered his time to serve on executive and advisory boards for the Regional Justice Information Sharing Law Enforcement Advisory Committee and the Law Enforcement Officials of Greater St. Louis. He also served as chairman of the St. Louis Area Police Chiefs Association's Memorial Prayer Breakfast Committee, where he and his colleagues honor the memory of first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

Outside of his law enforcement responsibilities, Chief Benton has continued to demonstrate his spirit of service as a dedicated volunteer at his church. Through his work with the Law Enforcement Torch Run Committee, he helped raise nearly $3 million for Special Olympics programs across the State. He also stepped forward to serve a short term as interim city administrator for Glendale, MO.

Without a doubt, Chief Charles Jeffrey Beaton is among our State's finest uniformed officers and public servants, and he has more than earned his upcoming retirement later this year. I am honored to recognize him as a Champion of Missouri and proud to call him a close friend. I wish him all the best as he begins this next phase of his life.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Zyan Knollmeyer of Jefferson City, MO, a 2026 graduate whose wrestling career showcases American resilience. Born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Zyan faced hardship at an early age with the tragic loss of his mother and spent time in Hawaii's foster care system. However, God had greater plans for him. Through several dedicated case managers, Zyan found his closest relatives in Missouri, who showed incredible compassion and quickly adopted him.

Not long after arriving in the Show-Me State, Zyan had his first encounter with wrestling--and wasn't impressed. But with the guidance of a phenomenal coach who helped him discover his own exceptional strength and determination, Zyan quickly fell in love with the sport and committed himself to mastering his skills. That commitment led him to become the varsity heavyweight for Helias Catholic High School in his sophomore year.

Over the years, Zyan has proven to be one of Missouri's most promising young athletes, finishing a remarkable season undefeated at 40-0 and claiming both the 2026 Missouri State Championship and NFHSC National Championship in his class. His dedication to honing his craft is truly remarkable. Zyan has not become complacent, instead taking every opportunity to practice new techniques to ensure he is always at the top of his game. He is the kind of young man who earns respect, leads by example, represents his community with pride, and takes time to encourage younger athletes who look up to him.

Zyan has a bright future ahead, and as he looks forward to graduating, any university would be lucky to have him represent their wrestling program. His journey is a powerful ``only in America'' story, and I am proud to call him a fellow Missourian.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Holy Redeemer Catholic Grade School of Webster Groves, MO, for 125 years of academic excellence. Holy Redeemer has graduated more than 5,000 students since its founding in 1901. To put this in perspective, Holy Redeemer has continually provided quality, faith-based education to Missourians since Theodore Roosevelt served in the White House. Over the years, the school has adapted to student needs and modern challenges remarkably well, transforming from a school primarily staffed by nuns of the Dominican Sisters to a contemporary academy operated by dedicated lay teachers, ensuring that all students who attend are equipped to thrive after graduation.

Holy Redeemer Grade School is one of thousands of Christian schools who have gone above and beyond to ensure our Nation's children are provided with the proper academic knowledge and spiritual formation to face life's challenges. In recognition of this impressive milestone, my office is proud to provide Holy Redeemer Parish an American flag that has flown over our Nation's Capital. I am proud that Missouri hosts such high-quality, faith-based schools, such as Holy Redeemer Grade School. I am deeply appreciative of Holy Redeemer's dedicated staff and religious leaders and wish them the very best as they continue providing children of the Show-Me State with a Christ-centered education.

Mr. President, I have nine requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mr. President, I rise again on this pressing matter of funding law enforcement, and the stakes couldn't be higher. Just weeks ago, I stood on this floor and warned that we would be back. Democrats blocked full funding for border security and deportations. They chose a radical ideology over the safety of the American people, yet again.

Now, we return with reconciliation as our vehicle, and we will not fail. This time, we will finish what the American people elected us to do--enforce our immigration laws and deport those who defy them, because this is not just another spending debate. This is a test of whether or not we are still a sovereign nation.

For decades, Washington has operated under a dangerous lie that America is an economic zone, not a nation; merely an economy, not a people; merely a labor market, and not a home. Under that lie, borders became suggestions, citizenship became paperwork, and enforcement became optional.

Then came the 4-year invasion, 15 million illegal immigrants flooding across our border--criminals, rapists, murderers. And the American people were told to accept the consequences in their wages, their schools, their hospitals, their neighborhoods, and sometimes at the grave sites of their children.

The American people were told to accept the affordability crisis caused by the massive influx of millions of aliens who suppressed Americans' wages, and Democrats nodded along as Joe Biden let it happen. The American people were told to accept higher rent. They were told to accept higher housing prices as millions of new neighbors flooded their communities, driving up costs. We saw that surge account for up to 100 percent of rental price growth in our most populous States--in two-thirds nationwide. That is the root cause of today's affordability crisis.

And on national security, the threat is very real. We have seen individuals from over 100 countries cross our borders--cartels, traffickers, and foreign adversaries ready to exploit weakness. Without enforcement, our southern border becomes a superhighway for cartels, crime, drugs, and terror.

But beyond economics and security, there is something deeper at stake. Our Nation isn't a marketplace. It is a people, a shared history, a culture, a way of life. Our Nation is woven together by our faith, our families, our freedoms. Our Nation has language, a memory, a border, and a people with the sovereign right to decide who gets to join them.

American citizenship is not a property interest to be conferred upon anyone who flies under the radar long enough. American citizenship is a covenant. It confers extraordinary rights but also demands obligations, loyalty, gratitude, humility, and the fidelity to the Nation and its people.

And when millions enter illegally--without assimilation, without limits, without enforcement--you don't get unity. You get division. You get a country that no longer knows who it is, and that is what we are here to stop.

This package funds the machinery of enforcement Democrats spent years trying to dismantle. It funds ICE. It funds CBP. It funds detention capacity, transportation, officers, agents, removal operations, and the hard infrastructure required to carry out deportations at scale.

The point is simple: A deportation order means nothing without a detention bed. A detention bed means nothing without agents. Agents mean nothing without transportation. And immigration law means nothing if Congress refuses to fund the men and women charged with enforcing it.

We have seen the costs of that failure. We have seen what this chaos looks like up close. It runs like a river of sin cutting through our land--murder, rape, arson, torture. Innocent Americans--daughters, sons, families--lost because the law was not enforced before the crime; lost because the Democrats have chosen illegal aliens over their fellow citizens, a choice made time and time again by the Democrats.

When given the choice between funding deportations and protecting sanctuary jurisdictions, Democrats chose sanctuary jurisdictions. When given the choice between detention beds and catch-and-release, Democrats chose release. When given the choice between American citizens and illegal aliens, Democrats chose illegal aliens, and the human cost of that decision is staggering.

The destiny of the American Nation is not to manifest death and destruction upon its own people through lawlessness and subversion of law enforcement. The destiny of this Nation--our Nation--is to be great, to be sovereign, and to be free.

We will not accept a system where action only comes after an American's blood is spilled on American soil. We will not defund law enforcement as Democrats argue for. We will not force our agents to do more with less while anarchy spreads like a plague. And we will not accept the lie that enforcement must always be delayed, diluted, or denied.

We are going to restore order. That means ending sanctuary policies that shield criminal illegal aliens. It means cutting off the incentives that fuel illegal immigration. It means giving our agents every tool they need to do their jobs.

To my Democrat colleagues, the American people rejected your open borders agenda. They voted for law and order. They voted for sovereignty. They voted for the deportations law enforcement will deliver.

And we are going to deliver.

To my Republican colleagues, this is our moment. For too long, we talked about these problems without solving them. That era is over. We have a real

opportunity right now to change the trajectory of this country; to restore the rule of law; to restore sovereignty; to restore our trajectory, our destiny; to restore the American Nation. And we cannot afford to fail because this is more than just about policy. It is about whether or not our kids inherit a country that has the guts to enforce its laws and protect its own citizens.

We will not let America become a place where citizenship means nothing, where borders mean nothing, where the good and the heroic people who built this country are treated as enemies, while politicians refuse to notify law enforcement when a criminal illegal alien is being released from prison and into our communities.

I reject that future and so do the American people.

Citizenship is not merely paperwork. It is a covenant among our people. The first duty of the Federal Government is not to the world, not to an NGO, not to foreign nations or nationalists. It is not to the cheap labor lobby either. Its first duty is to its citizens.

The American people are watching. They will remember who stood with them and who stood in the way. The safety of our citizens isn't optional. The rule of law isn't optional. And our duty to defend both is not optional.

We will fund ICE. We will fund CBP. We will fund law enforcement. We will enforce our laws, and we will protect the American people, no matter how many times and for how long we have to return to this floor.

We will finish the job.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today to honor Bella Baker of Atlanta, MO. Her commitment to academic and personal excellence is nothing short of remarkable, as she has balanced roles as State president of Missouri FCCLA, served as a State officer with Missouri 4- H and as an area officer of Missouri FFA, while maintaining a remarkable 3.7 GPA.

Over the last 9 months, she has served as a member of the inaugural class of my youth council, a program developed to connect promising Missouri high schoolers with unique opportunities to gain hands-on experience with government, work on engaging civics projects, and meet with various local and State leaders across Missouri. Recently, each member of the council was asked to prepare an essay exploring the foundations of American law and government and detail a current issue on the national stage. While each councilor's work showed an understanding of our Constitution, Ms. Baker's essay demonstrated a clear passion and keen insight into American law as she analyzed disability programs under the lens of the Equal Protection Clause. I have no doubt that she has a bright future ahead of her and shows great promise of being among the next generation of the Show-Me State's leaders.

Ms. Bella Baker has been an outstanding member of my office's youth council, and I am proud to call her a fellow Missourian. I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Spiro Georges of Chesterfield, MO. While only a junior in high school, Mr. Georges has already proven to be an exceptional community servant and student-leader, having volunteered with various youth camps, mentoring younger students and helping them learn to make responsible choices, and serving with his school's student government.

For the last 9 months, Spiro has served with 11 other Missouri high schoolers as part of the inaugural class of my office's youth council, a program launched to connect promising Missouri high schoolers with unique opportunities to gain hands-on experience with government, work on engaging civics projects, and foster a deeper interest in the Show- Me State's history. Each member of the council was asked to create an essay exploring our Constitution and representative government in the context of a modern-day issue. While each essay showed insight, Mr. Georges' work demonstrated that he had a clear passion for the project and had done careful research, outlining how social media algorithms have influenced democracy and voter education. With his clear passion for civics and service, it is already clear that he has a bright future ahead of him and has the potential to shine as one of the next generation of Missouri leaders.

I am proud to call Mr. Spiro Georges a fellow Missourian and represent him

in the U.S. Senate. He has been an exceptional member of my office's youth council, and I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Katerina Pruitt of Webb City, MO. While still a junior in high school, Ms. Pruitt is already an accomplished young woman, having earned a bronze medal in a statewide speech and debate tournament, serving as captain on her school's swim team, and earning the prestigious magna cum laude honor in completing the National Latin Exam, all while maintaining an impressive 4.0 GPA.

Over the last 9 months, Katerina has served with 11 other outstanding Missourians as part of the inaugural class of my youth council, a program launched to connect promising Missouri high schoolers with unique hands-on opportunities to learn about our representative form of government, work on engaging civics projects, and develop a deeper interest in Missouri history. Recently, each youth councilor was asked to draft an essay exploring the foundations of American society and government in the context of a modern-day issue facing our great Republic. Ms. Pruitt's writing showed exceptional insight into the unique privilege and challenges we face as we serve our fellow Americans, putting the good of the Nation before all else.

Ms. Katerina Pruitt doubtless has a bright future ahead of her and already demonstrates great promise of becoming one of the Show-Me State's future leaders. She has been an outstanding member of my office's youth council, and I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

Mr. President, I rise today to honor Gannon Seyer of Ashland, MO. Despite still being enrolled in high school, he has already pursued multiple opportunities to develop his leadership and civic skills, serving as FFA chapter treasurer and as president of his high school's Beta Club, and has shown an impressive dedication to helping others, receiving the President's Volunteer Service Award in 2025 for his volunteer work.

Over the past 9 months, Gannon has served with the inaugural class of my youth council, a program launched to connect promising Missouri high schoolers with unique opportunities to gain hands-on experience with government, work on engaging civics projects, develop interest in State history, and meet with various leaders across Missouri. Recently, each member of the council was invited to create an essay exploring the foundations of the American Constitution in the context of a modern-day issue. While each councilor's work showed understanding of our Nation's laws, Mr. Seyer's essay demonstrated that he had put careful thought and research into this project, discussing the Great Compromise and potential avenues to ensuring all Americans are properly represented in Congress.

With his passion for service and dedication to personal growth, he has a bright future ahead of him, and I am proud to call him a fellow Missourian. Gannon Seyer has been an outstanding member of my office's youth council, and I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.