Floor Statements

Mr. President, I rise to acknowledge Col. William Bryan Annie, who is retiring on July 1, 2026, after more than 30 years of military service to our country and the great State of West Virginia.

Colonel Annie grew up in Kanawha County, and in October 1995, he put on a uniform for the first time, joining the 130th Security Forces Squadron of the West Virginia Air National Guard. While serving, he pursued his education, earning a bachelor of science in 1999 and completing airman's leadership school. At that time, he had risen to the rank of staff sergeant, and in 2000, he attended the Academy of Military Science where he then commissioned as a second lieutenant. Colonel Annie wore the bars and then the oak leaves and eventually the eagle of a full colonel--pinned on June 3, 2020--a promotion that capped an arc of relentless growth and deep responsibility.

Colonel Annie's career in uniform transcended national borders and demanded mastery of nearly every facet of Air Force support operations. He completed several overseas missions, including to South Korea for Operation Team Spirit and Operation Foal Eagle. In immediate response to the attacks on September 11, 2001, Colonel Annie mobilized for Operation Noble Eagle. In 2009, he deployed to Baghdad as a Coalition Joint Plans Officer with Multi-National Force Iraq, serving in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Throughout his career, he served as a Transportation Officer, Logistics Readiness Officer, and as a Plans Officer. No matter the time, the place, or the task, Colonel Annie dedicated his life to our great Nation.

After returning from Iraq, Colonel Annie took on installation and security responsibilities at the State headquarters level, then moved into command. As the Force Support Squadron commander of the 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg, a strategic airlift unit flying the C-17A Globemaster III, he was responsible for the morale, welfare, and readiness of hundreds of airmen and their families. He then commanded the 167th Mission Support Group, overseeing the broad infrastructure of the wing before being selected as deputy wing commander, where he helped guide more than 1,100 military members in training and worldwide missions. His command career was defined by steadiness, accountability, and genuine care for the people under his charge.

Colonel Annie received extensive decorations for his service: a Defense Meritorious Service Medal, a Meritorious Service Medal with five oakleaf clusters, Air Force and Army Commendation Medals, a Combat Action Medal, the Armed Forces Service Medal with six service stars, the NATO Medal with a service star. He also received State awards from West Virginia to fill an additional column, including the Distinguished Unit Awards, Emergency Service Ribbons, and Commendation Medals. Taken together, they are not merely a collection of ribbons, but a map of a life lived wherever the mission required, doing whatever the mission demanded.

Colonel Annie is a West Virginian in the deepest sense--rooted in his community, committed to its people, and unwilling to mistake rank or recognition for purpose. He was a soldier-scholar, a commander-servant, and by every measure, the kind of officer the institution of the West Virginia National Guard was built to produce. His leadership in the military organization will be felt for many years to come, as well as his positive impact on the many, many lives he changed for the better. I express my sincerest gratitude for Colonel Annie's service and patriotism, and I send my best wishes for his health and happiness in retirement.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, June 23. You know, it is a beautiful sunny day in a lot of places in this country right now. And June 23 is usually that in West Virginia, but I can tell you all that 10 years ago--10 years ago today--June 23 turned into one really, really tough period in my great State.

I am here today to speak on just one thing, and for one reason and one reason alone, and that is just this: I am here to speak for all the great people that pulled the rope together, that did every single thing we had to do at a time when it was tragic beyond all comprehension.

I am here to tell you just a couple of stories, but just imagine this: I was just beginning or in the middle of running for Governor, my first term, in the State of West Virginia.

All of a sudden, it started raining that morning, and it rained-- rained like none of us have ever seen. Eleven inches of rain in West Virginia over just a short period of time is astronomical beyond all comprehension. Eleven inches of rain in a lot of places in this country is no big deal, but 11 inches of rain in the mountains of West Virginia is one big, big, big deal.

Just imagine this: We were getting ready at the Greenbrier to have a FedEx golf tournament for the PGA Tour. At 2 o'clock in the day, I went down to inspect all the build-out that we had done. We were just days away from having the golf tournament. The PGA asked us to build this little footbridge across Howard's Creek, and I did it. It cost $7,000. I thought it was absolutely the most ridiculous thing that I had ever done, but I did it.

At 2 o'clock in the day, I went down there to just look and to see what Howard's Creek was all about, and I could see the water was almost at the bottom of this little footbridge that I had built across Howard's Creek for the players to walk across. I said: You know, that $7,000 that I spent right there for that is just going to go ``shoop,'' and it is going to zip right away.

Two hours later--2 hours later--I left the Greenbrier to go to an event in Charleston, WV, and when I went out the front gate of the Greenbrier and turned and started down the little hill, the water was almost mountain to mountain--that fast, a solid moat. I thought, well, I can drive through this, and it won't be too awful bad.

Well, I drove through it downstream. It was probably the dumbest thing in the world to do, but I got through it, had a flat tire, and I knew then I had to get back into the Greenbrier because there was something taking place that none of us had ever seen.

Now, just think about this just for a second. We had 15 people die in Greenbrier County. Twenty-three people died in West Virginia. Communities like Elkview and all kinds of schools, a third of the population--a third of the entire population of the entire State was without power. It was just flat unbelievable.

But to take it one step further, we hunted bodies all over the place. We found three different bodies on the golf courses. And I think about Ashley Cagle, a young lady who absolutely served in our U.S. Army. Imagine this: Ashley Cagle waded out into one of the ponds on the golf courses to pull one of the bodies out of the pond.

I think about a friend and a good, good young man, Andrew Sullivan, and the courage he had. His family lost everything, and then the tragedy beyond that is astronomical, but he had the courage--the courage--to stay together.

I think about Ronnie Scott and Tom Bill Dudley. I think about that just for one second. I am a basketball coach. And at the scorer's table, there they were, game after game after game after game, keeping the clock and the book.

Tom Bill's house was washed completely away.

Ronnie Scott absolutely told his wife he was going to take the car and the kids and go to high ground, and he did. Then, all of a sudden, he looked back. His wife was supposed to get the dog and the other car and come to high ground, and all of a sudden, the phone rang, and it was his wife. His wife said: Ronnie, I can't get out of the house now. The water is coming up too fast.

So Ronnie started climbing a hill to where he could see his house, the rain just pouring down on him. All of a sudden, the next time the phone rang, it was his wife, and his wife said: Ronnie, I am in the attic, and I smell gas.

Then, all of a sudden, the entire house exploded like a bomb had hit that house and leveled it right to the ground. It blew her 70 feet into a tree--third-degree burns. Three days later, she died.

There is story after story after story of the courage of how we hung together.

One of the great moments that I was able to do--and a lot of people say: Boy, that was unbelievable that you did it.

I would say: Bull feathers. It was what we do in West Virginia.

We opened the Greenbrier to anybody to just come in and stay there. They

walked in with no shoes on. They walked in--700 of them. The great thing about it is the people of the Greenbrier took care of them and tried to help them in every single way they possibly could, even to the point of teaching them swimming lessons--the little kids.

I am telling you today is a day that I will never forget, and it is hard for me to talk without having big, giant tears in my eyes. And I can tell you just this: I don't want you to ever forget all those great people that bound together. That is what this country does. That is what West Virginians do. We bind together to be able to do something that no one thought we could even do, and that is build back and come back.

Now, there is tragedy after tragedy after tragedy that happens all over the place. The first responders, the National Guard--on and on and on--were so unbelievable, it was off the chart. But the last thing I will tell you is just this: Imagine wading in the mud looking for the bodies. For 6 weeks--6 weeks--every day, I would go there. I suspended the campaign and everything, which you just should do, for crying out loud. You know, every day I would go there, and we would look for a little 14-year-old girl, Mykala Phillips. Whew. We finally found her 6 miles downstream.

Absolutely--I have said this prayer so many times that I can't tell you. When I would be on the way there, I would be praying that, please, Lord, some way somehow, let me see where she is, and let me go there and just take my coat and lay it on her and then call for help. This family is hurting so bad, it is unbelievable.

Well, we finally found her.

I think about the National Guard wading in all that mud, and I think about all these families. It is unbelievable--totally, absolutely unbelievable.

The last thing I will tell you is just imagine this: Family after family after family--their house was just full of mud, full of mud; all their memories, all their pictures, all their photo albums, all their everything. Literally, they took it out in the street and just piled it in a pile, mud and everything. Along would come an end loader with the National Guard and pick it up and throw it in a dump truck, and off it would go.

I am telling you, the people of West Virginia are really good, and they had to stay together to get through that. It was the worst disaster I have ever seen in my life. And I know that across this country, from time to time, there is tough stuff, and we have just got to come together. We did it in West Virginia. We have done it across this country over and over and over. And I salute this great country and the great State of West Virginia in every way.

I ask you just this: On this day 10 years ago--say a little prayer at some point in time today for all those great people of West Virginia-- the 23 that we lost all across the State, all those that had to come together to absolutely build and become stronger. God bless each and every one of them.

Thank you so much for letting me speak.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, you know, I have got to say just this: We have Medal of Honor recipients with us right now, and I fast- forwarded because I had this beautiful speech to give and all that stuff, and there have been some things happened that we will get to in just a second.

But if U.S. Army MG Patrick Brady, just please stand up, just one second, sir. If you would, just stand for just a second, sir.

And U.S. Army LTC William Swenson, please stand, if you would.

And U.S. Navy Command Master Chief Britt Kelly Slabinski, if you would please stand.

And U.S. Army SGM Thomas Payne, if you would stand, please.

Madam President, if I violated the rule, it is because I am new to the game, and I don't know all the rules. But I want to thank them for their service in every way.

Medal of Honor winners--it is just unfathomable to think that those folks can grab a live handgrenade and try to throw it away from their comrades, to absolutely charge into enemy fire like you can't imagine.

And I think all the time, and I say to myself: You know, if I were in that situation, could I have that courage?

Could I have that grit? Could I have that love for this unbelievable country and my comrades that are right with me?

I don't know. It takes something that not many have, and we should honor them beyond belief.

The reason I asked these gentlemen to stand was simply just this: Today--today--something happened to me that, to be perfectly honest, I may have thought was getting to be semi-impossible. And that was just this: People from both sides of the aisle actually talked to one another. I had an amazing conversation with Ranking Member Martin Heinrich. We sat, and we built some level of trust and communication.

Now, we are always going to fight with one another; we know that. But at the end of the day, these four--and for all the other 3,500 almost-- today, we did something that, in all fairness, these four an hour and a half ago would have thought wasn't going to happen.

So I am going to fast-forward and read something that we all thought was semi-impossible.

But to others on the other side of the aisle--you know, Senator Shaheen; you know, Senator Padilla; to absolutely our great chairman of ENR, you know, Senator Lee, who I am so thankful that we just talked-- for God's sakes of living, we just talked, and lo and behold: wham, bam, bam. This monument that we have wanted to put on our National Mall that I am going to ask for your unanimous consent in just a second, absolutely we are there. No one would have believed it. No one really thought it.

These people have given so much, and we needed to stand up for them, and, lo and behold, today, maybe just a lot of lessons--lessons maybe that we all ought to listen to, and that is just this: If we talked and we trusted and we absolutely told the truth to one another, there may just be passage of lots and lots and lots of stuff that we should be doing here.

That is what we should be doing. I always call the voters Toby and Edith. But Toby and Edith need us. They need us in the worst way.

I would say, someway, somehow, we have got to tone down and stop a little bit of the food fight.

So right now--now, get this; get this--this is what I am reading to you right now.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be discharged and the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills en bloc; that the substitute-amendment at the desk to S. 858 be considered and agreed to; and that the bills, as amended, if amended, where applicable, be considered read a third time and passed en bloc; and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc: my bill, S. 858, the Hershel `Woody' Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act, and S. 1142 the Scarper Ridge Golden Gate National Recreation Area Boundary Adjustment Act, from Senator Padilla.

How about that, guys? Now we are rolling.

So at the end of the day, I could go through this wonderful speech that I had, but really and truly, we are there. God bless each and every one of those unbelievable heroes that have delivered for this great Nation.

And, Madam President, I thank you so much. It has been a big-time honor flying with you. So proud--can't be more proud than I am right now.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I reserve my right to object.

I would like to start by just saying a few comments, and that is just this: I think about my good friend, my colleague from the great State of Alabama. He is a patriot. He is a good man. He is a man full of common sense. He is a man that absolutely cannot stand wasting time. He can't stand worthless grandstanding, and neither can I. I didn't come here for that. He will be a great, great Governor.

You know, I had 8 years of serving the great people of West Virginia. It is the honor of my life. We approach things the same way in a lot, a lot of ways. You know, we are both coaches. We tease each other that we are the best two coaches in the U.S. Senate. We are the only two coaches in the U.S. Senate, but we still think we are the best.

You know, we concentrate on things like moving the ball forward, don't we? We absolutely listen to our team. We listen to voters. We listen to--who I always call the voters--Toby and Edith. This is a gigantic distraction again by the Democrats just because they hate our great President beyond all good sense. When are they ever going to get over hating Donald Trump?

Now, you know me well enough to know that I speak the truth. And I know the Trump family, and I know

President Trump really well. I have seen Eric Trump underneath my vehicle changing the tire on my vehicle so far back in the woods that you can't imagine how far away we were. They are good people, and they are a good family, and God knows what he has achieved is off the charts. It is so good; it is unbelievable.

Today what we see is, again, the Democrats grasping at straws, doing stuff absolutely to try to make a scene. That is what this is all about. For God's sake, President Trump was elected unbelievably-- unbelievably. Why in the world are we not moving on? Why in the world do we continue to waste more and more and more time? Is it any wonder why we earn the badge of courage--14 percent approval rating--and we still won't do anything about it.

We need to do things. We need to really get stuff done here. We need to help our farmers, and I am sure my colleague from Alabama would help a lot of great farmers in the State of Alabama soon. We need to help our families. We need to make American lives better and better. And in my opinion, America needs to lead the world, and that is what we are doing today. Instead of the world absolutely leading us, we are doing what the world wants us to do. We are stepping up. We are leading the world.

Again, I want to thank Senator Tuberville in every way. And to my Democratic colleagues that I respect more than you know in all ways-- and I think that is how we all should be--please, let's stop wasting time; and please, let's stop this unnecessary and totally useless grandstanding politics. We have got to stop this. This is a total waste of time.

Mr. President, well, I don't come to you very often, but I come to you, when I come, with important stuff. You know, I am not a politician. It is easy for you to see that. We have so much work that can be done and should be done, all the time here.

You know, I am going to speak to you today about folks that we owe everything to--not some, but everything, to. You know, I have said so many times as a Governor of West Virginia--I said over and over and over--that we owe every single thing to those who serve in our military, the active folks that are serving in our military. They have given us everything--everything.

You know, in my little State of West Virginia, we are really proud because we step up. We step up in every way.

I am here today, in a lot of ways, for Sarah and Andy too. Surely, God above, we have not forgotten Sarah and Andy.

We just lost Sarah Beckstrom, a great National Guardsman, absolutely in the prime of her life--20 years old--gunned down right on our streets here.

And Andy Wolfe continues to fight for his life, and he is improving. He has done wonderful. Andy, in many ways, is our miracle--our miracle for not only West Virginia but our miracle for this Nation, in lots of ways.

But I also come today on something that is enormously important. I come today with my bill for this Nation, for the most prestigious honor, the most prestigious medal in our military, and that is the Medal of Honor.

I want to talk to you about the namesake of this bill, Woody Williams. You know, Woody was a friend, a good friend. His name was Hershel ``Woody'' Williams. My bill is S. 858. It is going to be called the Hershel Woody Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act. And in a few minutes, I will ask for unanimous consent for this. I will ask that we quit playing these silly, silly, silly politics and step up to the plate and honor absolutely those that have given, in many instances, the ultimate sacrifice.

So with all that being said, as I move forward here, I would say to you this: My bill is a testament--a testament--that will go on the National Mall. It is fully funded. It is fully funded with private donations.

We absolutely know that the recipients of the Medal of Honor, absolutely, those folks--all the way back to the Civil War--those folks have been in every single conflict that this Nation has been in, and it is so enormously important it is off the charts.

This monument in the National Mall will be in proximity to the other memorials and monuments that remember wars that these individuals fought and died in, in an absolutely appropriate setting. This monument reflects the American people's collective appreciation for the Medal of Honor recipients' bravery and stands as a lasting tribute to their legacy.

These individuals come from every corner of our Nation, from Hawaii to Maine, from every State. We have at least one individual from every State that has gone beyond the call of duty.

These people are like Army SGT Brian Buker from Maine. These people are like Navy ENS Charles Hamman from Maryland, Air Force MSgt John Chapman from Massachusetts, and Coast Guard Signalman First Class Douglas Munro from Washington State.

Mr. President, we are honored to have these great recipients, many of them with us today. But I do know that two are really right here with us today--U.S. MG Patrick Brady from South Dakota, who served in Vietnam and made several missions to evacuate wounded soldiers. He utilized 3 helicopters in a single day to Evacuate 51 seriously injured men.

It is unbelievable. It is totally unbelievable. The bravery. The sacrifice. Un-flat-believable.

We also have with us U.S. Army LTC William Swenson from Washington State and living up in California. He made multiple trips to the enemy's kill zone to evacuate wounded soldiers and recover four fallen U.S. servicemen.

I just don't know how in the world--you talk about this unbelievable bravery. You talk about their unbelievable sacrifice. They have given so much in every single way, and we should be so, so, so proud.

Like I said a few minutes ago, we are asking to do something on the National Mall. It has been vetted in every single possible way. The House has passed it unanimously. We passed it out of committee unanimously. Honestly, what is wrong with us in America? What could possibly be wrong with us in America to not step up and do something as small but as great as this for our greatest--greatest--medal recipients, the Medal of Honor. Absolutely.

I tell you this: I am grateful to be joined in this effort by 12 Senators that have cosponsored, including 5 of my colleagues from the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Again I underline that this passed the House 414 to 0. It passed committee without objection. It is absolutely unbelievable. Unbelievable.

The National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation has been a great champion and partner on this bill. The National Congress of American Indians has also supported this effort, as it has 42 recipients who are Native American.

It is unthinkable for me. I am new to the game. I have white hair, and I have done a lot of stuff. But Mr. President, absolutely, if we can't do this--we have a miserable, miserable approval rating as it is--14 percent. I don't see how in the world it is 14 percent, to tell you the truth. But if we have 14 percent as our approval rating of what we do, we should be disgraced off the chart.

But if we can't step up and support these heroes that have given the ultimate sacrifice beyond belief, these people that absolutely have a level of courage and bravery, have a level of service, have a level of sacrifice that is totally off the chart--totally off the chart. Do we not realize that every single solitary thing we have--everything that we have today--is due to folks like this?

In every way, I hope and pray that we will just stand up and say absolutely, unanimously, we concede.

As if in legislative session notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be discharged from further consideration of S. 858 and the Senate proceed to immediate consideration; further, that the Justice substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to; 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, reserving the right to object, my bill has gone through all the steps. The great Senator who is here speaking--his bill has not gone through the steps, and it being held up is surely not my fault, and of everything in the world, it is not these great recipients' fault.

I may have missed one person that could possibly be in our Gallery, and that is Marine Corps Capt. Raymond Murphy of Colorado.

But I want to just tell you this, sir: We have gone through every step the right way. We have gone through the hearings, the markups, the unanimous passage by the ENR Committee. Therefore, I absolutely object in every single way. His bills have not gone through the committee. His bills have not had a hearing and been passed out of committee. This is absolutely skipping the proper steps. I may be new, but we have done it right.

And absolutely what we are doing is we are turning our backs on the greatest of the greatest of the greatest. This is the very thing--the very, very thing--I support the museums that he speaks of. We all would. But absolutely this act right here is the very root of what is wrong with us.

For God sakes-a-living, how do you absolutely look at those great people, how do you look at what they have given all of us and turn your back on them? I don't get it.

I absolutely object.

Mr. President, I am not going to volley back and forth. Use the Rules Committee, not this Congress.

Like I said before, I absolutely object.

Youthful. I like that.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to complete my remarks prior to the scheduled rollcall vote.

Mr. President, I would tell everyone just this--all those up in the Galleries, everybody--I am probably going to need your prayers to get through this, because we have had something happen in the small but great State of West Virginia that absolutely is tragic beyond belief.

I mean, look at these two young, beautiful people. We have lost Sarah, haven't we? And Andrew is just clinging for his life.

West Virginia is really hurting--really hurting. Our National Guard is really hurting but nowhere close--nowhere possibly close--to how these families are really hurting. So in every single way, I ask for your prayers.

Just think of the call that came right before Thanksgiving-- Thanksgiving, of all times of the year. Think about that call. Think about basically the senseless attack on America, but think about that call to these families and how bad bad really is.

You see, in my little State of West Virginia--I will just tell you this--the people are proud; the people are smart; the people are craftsmen; they are good people; they are loving people; they are neighbors. They are absolutely a people that are appreciative-- appreciative of all. It is amazing just how deeply appreciative they are when somebody does something that helps them in any way.

I have got to tell you this real quick. I had brown hair at one time, and I was really skinny. I grew up in the little town of Beckley, WV. I used to ride my bike absolutely from where we lived on a little dirt road, a little red dog road at the time--and ``red dog'' is something they just make out of, you know, coal piles that become slate and just got burnt, and they built a great road. With all that being said, I would ride my bike 8 miles across town to Little League practice. You see, I lived in Mayberry. That is all there is to it.

Now, think about our National Guard. You know, there is story after story.

I was able to be the Governor of the great State of West Virginia for 8 years, and I worked hand in hand with them. It was unbelievable what General Hoyer and General Crane and all the great people of the National Guard--they are phenomenal beyond all possible comparison. That is why

Sarah and Andrew wanted to be guardsmen. Absolutely they are unbelievable.

I have been right in the middle of the flood. And my family happens to own the Greenbrier Hotel, and it is a little place in West Virginia. But with all that being said, with the terrible flood that happened in 2016, we hunted bodies on the golf courses and found three bodies on the golf courses. We hunted for 6 weeks for a little 14-year old girl, Mykala Phillips, and we found her 5 miles downstream 6 weeks later.

I have been with the National Guard, and I have seen every single part of the National Guard and just how great--and I mean great--these people are. I think, though, just at this time, please, please keep your focus on these families.

Andrew is clinging to life and showing signs of goodness towards maybe coming out and coming through this, but life will be really, really tough, won't it?

And Sarah--20 years old, beautiful beyond belief, and gone. And why? Why? Why on Earth? Why?

You know, many of you may say this. You may say: Well, we don't agree with what the President has done.

And I would say to you just this. I would say to you: How many body bags--how many body bags do we have to have in our cities to do something?

What was he trying to do? What does he continue to try to do? He is trying every way in the world to give Mayberry back to us, to give us what we all deserve in every single way. He is trying with all in it.

My little town of Beckley, WV, now has turned into, in many ways, not a great place from the standpoint of crime. If you ask Jim Justice this, if you said to Jim Justice ``Well, you know, I will tell you what we have got. We have got three Canadian Mounted Police that can come to Beckley, WV, and can really make a difference, they can really help,'' who would turn that down? Who would say ``No, no, we don't want to do that. No, we don't want to do that because that is going to infringe on somebody'' or whatever it may be? Do you not realize that every day that goes by, it gets worse? We have got to do something.

I would say: If this isn't the answer, then you fix it because we want to be Mayberry. We deserve to be Mayberry.

Last thing I would say is just this: America, please listen to me and listen now. What in the world has happened to us? What in the world has happened to us? Is the next thing you don't have enough dead bolts or locks on the front door of your house or your back door? Are we going to absolutely lock our bedrooms when we go to bed at night? because we will put locks on that too.

America, something is really wrong, and we have to really do something about it.

From the standpoint of Congress, are we dysfunctional? You are dad gum right in a lot of ways. I haven't been here very long, but I see absolutely the food fight going on all the time and the respect level almost nonexistent. That is bad.

We should absolutely respect one another, and we should look at each other's views and opinions and honor them, and we don't. And vote after vote after vote after vote, 59--51, 49. It is not good. It is not good, America, and it is not a game.

You see, at the end of the rainbow on every single thing we do here, there is a name. Today, the names are Sarah and Andrew.

America, please let's not gloss over. Let's absolutely let them have the opportunity to be a change--a change of who we are. Think about what they have given. Think about how many are hurting.

Absolutely first and foremost, again, I ask for your prayers for these great, great, great young people and their unbelievable families. God bless each and every one of them.

God bless this great Nation. And let's do something about it. Absolutely, let's let them change America. Don't forget them. Don't forget them no matter what you do. Don't ever forget them.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to address the Senate while seated when necessary.

Mr. President, well, to this great Senate body and to all of you, I will speak from my heart. I won't have hardly any notes, but I will speak from my heart about something that I think is absolutely key to Emerald City, and that is all about energy.

Absolutely, I am an energy guy. I am from an energy State. In my backyard, two-thirds of the population of this entire country is within a rocks' throw of West Virginia. If we don't watch out, we are going to awaken to a situation, as far as energy in this country, that is really, really, really bad. I believe this with all my soul.

Secretary Burgum is a really good man, and I always called him ``the pick of the litter.'' I think President Trump's nominees are absolutely great, but with all that being said, I think about Doug Burgum--our Secretary of the Interior--a guy that is supersmart, really, really experienced, compassionate, and has an unbelievable knowledge.

Now, with all that being said, if we could just go back to just this, we could think about Chris Wright. Chris Wright gets it. He knows what we need to do, and if you just step one step further, I would just say just this: President Donald Trump understands it. He knows exactly just this, and this is all there is to it: Energy is everything. It is everything right now.

It solves the inflation bubble. It insulates us from the standpoint of wars all over the place. Why in the world do we in America need to blow our own legs off and turn China loose, India loose, whomever it may be? That is what we are doing.

I am an absolute believer--and you have seen it in West Virginia, if you are paying attention. I am an absolute believer to embrace all the energy forms. We did 100 percent.

But if you believe today that we can do without our fossil fuels--our great fossil fuels--and absolutely if you think we can do without them today, I say you are living in a cave. You are absolutely living in fantasyland.

Absolutely, if you don't believe that today--a year and a half from today--that we are going to have a crisis in this country, off the chart, as far as electricity, you need to wake up because that is what is coming.

Now, let me go one step further, and let me just say just this: Let's just say we awaken to an opportunity of AI, data centers, whatever it may be, industry, manufacturing, whatever it may be. Do we want to say: Nope. We can't do that. We can't do that because we are going to be in a situation with our grid and with our energy production in a year and a half from today. I promise you, a year and a half from today, we are going to be in a situation that we are going to have to decide: Are we going to have opportunity and jobs and manufacturing and AI and data centers--are we going to have that--or are we going to choose with our electricity amounts that we have--we are either going to be able to support industry or we are going to have to support homes.

For God's sake of living, we don't want to go and get cold. We don't want to be hot in the summer. We don't need a choice between industry and our homes. What we need to be doing is exactly what I am saying. We have got to realize that energy is the key to everything here. That is all there is to it.

You know, it does solve all the things that I have already said, whether it be inflation or the war situation or our national security and on and on and on, but there is something else that it does. And it just goes just simply just this: We have a $37 trillion--none of us has any comprehension what a trillion dollars really is. None of us has any comprehension--can possibly imagine what a trillion dollars is.

We have got a $37 trillion deficit. How are we going to get out of it? Please tell me. Please tell me how are we going to get out of it? First of all, what we should do is mind the store. That is what we have got to do. Mind the store. That is the first thing you have to do.

That means cut as much waste as we possibly can. But after we do all of that, I will bet you this in every way. See, I am a business guy. I am not a politician. You can tell by the way I talk. For crying out loud, I am a business guy. With all that being said, I have never seen--never have I seen a situation to where you can cut your way out of a problem.

We will absolutely have to mind the store. President Trump is dead on point. The DOGE is absolutely real, and we can absolutely make a real dent, but it won't be a dent nearly big enough. At the end of the day, the only way you can truly get your way out of a mess--mind the store, and it grows. That is what we have got to do. You have got to grow revenue.

Say what you want, but at the end of the day, you have got to grow revenue. How are you going to grow revenue in America? For God's sake of living, the last thing on the planet that anybody would ever want to do is raise taxes. That would be the worst thing we could possibly do. That would kill us in every way imaginable.

We need to be supportive of President Trump's tax cuts. We absolutely need to grow revenue one way. This is the only way to do it in West Virginia. You won't hear me all the time just standing up on a soapbox going on and on, but really this is a West Virginia guy that is telling America and telling the world just this: We sit on so much energy it is off the chart. Why can't we be Saudi Arabia? I mean, for crying out loud, it absolutely is the answer, period. If you want to grow revenue in this country, absolutely it will start with energy, and it will end with energy. That is all there is to it.

Think about this for just 1 second: Every single country in the world--the gigantic countries or the real small countries--every country in the world today, the people will live longer and the people will be healthier if they have more energy--guaranteed. Every single country in the world, the more energy they have, the longer their people live, and the healthier they are.

Absolutely just go back and think just one more thing: Civilization only progressed--only progressed with abundant, cheap energy, and now it is abundant, cheap, clean energy. America produces the cleanest energy on the planet. Our coals are so clean it is unbelievable compared to China's coals or other countries.

Absolutely our natural gas is so good, it is off the chart. Embrace all the alternatives. All the wind, all the solar, embrace them all, but for gosh sake of living, you cannot--you cannot--forget the very thing that God above gave us in our fossil fuels.

So with all that being said--I didn't even look at the notes--but I would just say to you just this: We have a real opportunity in America today, a real opportunity to move forward in a way that absolutely can solve a lot of the riddle. The riddle is tough.

The riddle is tough, and absolutely when you step back from it and you think about, Well, what are we going to do? Here is a guy that has come to you not as a politician. I came to you not as a 40-year-old, you know, aspiring to someday being the chairman of some committee. I came to you with white hair as a 73-year-old because of one reason and one reason alone: I meet up with being a patriot. I am the real deal. I challenge the media all the time: Tell me something that, knowingly, I have told you is not true. They can't do it because I am going to tell the truth.

My parents taught me that. It is not OK to just tell anything and say: Oh, it is just politics in my world. It is not. I am telling you from my heart as a business guy and absolutely as a West Virginian but first and foremost as an American: I love you with everything in me. I love this country with every single thing in me. I want nothing but goodness.

I don't want one thing for me--nothing. I don't want the next hot tip. I don't need the next perk. I don't need the next invite. I don't want a thing for me. I am telling you, energy is our ticket. It is everything. It always has been everything.

Now, we have got to do something about it. America, you have got to listen to me on this one. We have got to do something about it, and we have got to do something about it right now. I mean, there is a bad day coming, and it is coming right at us like a freight train. Let's do something about it, America. God bless each and every one of you. Thank you so much for having me.

Mr. President, I will follow these guidelines correctly and make sure I do.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent to address the Senate while seated.

Mr. President, I can clearly tell you that it is a real honor to be addressing you, addressing my address on the Senate floor. Also, it is a real honor from the standpoint of being the new kid on the block. You know, you got several new kids now, but it is a real honor to be here and be with you.

I want to tell you just one thing about me real quick. I am all about the truth and, today, what I say to you will be just that. I challenge the media from time to time and say: Find something that knowingly I have told you is not true. And they can't do it. Now I make plenty of mistakes, but I speak just the truth.

So I am here today not to waste anybody's time. You know, I really truly will never do that. I absolutely when I speak, I hope that others will listen because I am speaking from the heart, and I am speaking just purely the truth.

Doug Burgum is a really special man. His wife Kathryn, absolutely a wonderful lady. I know them well. It is a great man and a great family.

I can tell you just this: If you are looking for a Secretary of the Interior that is a smart guy, a super experienced guy, a compassionate guy, a guy that absolutely has unbelievable knowledge, Doug Burgum is the guy. That is all there is to it.

You know, being the Secretary of the Interior, I know you wear lots and lots and lots of hats. You look after lands and Tribes, and you are really, truly the doorkeeper of God's gifts.

Absolutely, from my standpoint, anybody and everybody that knows Jim Justice, knows that I absolutely love the outdoors, and I truly, absolutely am a person that gets it, gets it all about God's gifts, gets it about the beauty of all of our lands in all of our country all across all of our lands, gets it about nature.

I can promise you, Doug Burgum sees just these things because I see them. He not only sees them, but he hears them. And not only does he hear them, but it touches his soul.

You know, Doug Burgum has seen the brilliance of the red on a scarlet tanager on a real crispy early morning as the Sun comes up. He has heard a wild turkey thunder as it gobbles, and he has seen the majesty of a great big bull elk, and he has seen the discipline of a bird dog.

You know, many dogs when they are hunting or whatever, they chase after and they bark. But a bird dog runs its heart out, finally finds the bird, and freezes and stops. The discipline of a bird dog is something really, really special.

Many people don't see all these things, but Doug Burgum does. And being the Secretary of the Interior with all of our millions of acres of lands, we expect that of that man, and he gets it. He truly, truly gets it.

Also, way beyond that, he will protect our ability to be able to hunt. He absolutely will protect our lands because they touch his soul. It is really, really special.

He also knows something about energy. He has vast, vast knowledge about energy. He has got to protect our natural resources. So just step back and think: Here is a man for whom, really, nature and the beauty of our lands touch his soul. He will protect that.

Absolutely, on top of that, we have an energy crisis in this country like you can't imagine. West Virginia knows energy, and Jim Justice knows energy. Doug Burgum knows it, too, and President Trump knows that absolutely, of everything, energy is the most important of all today. It solves inflation; it provides for our defense. It

is absolutely the key--the answer--to everything. Now, I promise you that President Trump knows this, and Doug Burgum knows this.

I can tell you, from the bottom of my heart--and I hope everyone will listen to just this--if we don't get a handle on our energy situation in this country, a year and a half from today, we will be deciding between homes and jobs. We will be deciding between homes and opportunity for all of our people. We will be deciding between homes and industry. We will have the biggest crisis that you can ever imagine. And it will absolutely come down to just this: Are we going to give all of the advancements--are we going to give China every opportunity under the Sun or, are we going to have those opportunities?

I also believe just this: In this world, as a businessman, I have never seen a situation where you can purely cut your way out of a mess. I have never seen that. Does that mean we don't mind the store? Of course, we do. Does that mean we don't cut out unnecessary waste? We had best better. That is all there is to it. We had better mind the store and do what is right in the greatest way imaginable.

But, with all that being said, we have got to grow revenue. We have a $2.5 trillion hole in the bucket. We have got to grow revenue. Well, what is the secret to Emerald City? What is the secret, right now, to Emerald City? It is the energy--it abounds all around us--and the United States of America could dominate as an energy leader throughout the entire world. It is absolutely ridiculous for us to blow our own legs off while, in China, they are building coal-fired power plants absolutely faster than you can possibly imagine, and the energy that they produce to fuel those coal-fired power plants is filthy compared to our energy.

I would also say one other thing: You had better always protect the Eastern Coalfields because, if you were to have an emergency--a real, real emergency--our eastern coalfields could bail us out. Two-thirds of the population is within a truck's driving distance of the eastern coalfields. They are really, really important. Doug Burgum gets all of this.

Absolutely, with all in me, I am amazed at President Trump's nominees. You just think of who he has come up with as his nominees. This is a great, great nominee, and I support him wholeheartedly, in every single way.

I would say just this: As impressed as I am with President Trump's nominees and as impressed as I am with Doug Burgum, I would just say just this: In my world, the pick of the litter is Doug Burgum, and absolutely, we ought to unanimously--unanimously--confirm his nomination.