Floor Statements

Madam President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is still available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications that have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such an annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Port of Lewiston, Idaho's only seaport and an economic cornerstone of north Idaho and the broader Pacific Northwest.

In 1975, the Port of Lewiston opened, marked by the launch of the first barge to sail westward down the Columbia-Snake River System. Nez Perce County voters approved its creation in 1958, but it took the completion of the Lower Granite Dam in 1975 to make Idaho's seaport fully operational. As the furthest inland seaport in the western United States, the Port plays a vital role in connecting Idaho's businesses to global markets. Over the past five decades, the Port of Lewiston has been instrumental to boosting regional trade, promoting economic development, and generating new jobs in surrounding communities.

The establishment of the Port of Lewiston provided farmers and businesses with a cost-effective alternative to rail and truck transport. Today, approximately 24 million bushels of wheat are transported out of the Port of Lewiston's Lewis Clark Terminal each year. The Columbia-Snake River System continues to serve 11 western States and is the largest pathway for wheat exports in the country.

The influence of the Port of Lewiston extends far beyond trade, serving as a driver for business and real estate development and public infrastructure investments. The Port has been a catalyst for modernization in the region, notably through the expansion of fiber broadband access in Lewiston and the development of a broadband network from Moscow to Star. These investments ensure Idaho businesses remain competitive in the ever-evolving global economy.

While manufacturing jobs have declined in many areas nationwide, north central Idaho has defied this trend. Thanks in large part to the port, manufacturing jobs in the Lewiston area have surged by 70 percent, adding over 3,000 positions since 1975. This remarkable growth has made north central Idaho's workforce incredibly resilient and distinctive.

Recently, the Port of Lewiston partnered with American Cruise Lines to create Idaho's first cruise ship dock, further diversifying its economic impact and attracting tourism to the region. The port, along with its investments in Idaho, have attracted new manufacturing, transportation, and tourism employers, inspiring greater opportunities for the people of north central Idaho.

As we look to the next 50 years, the Port of Lewiston will undoubtedly remain a key driver in shaping Idaho's economic future and that of the greater Pacific Northwest. Congratulations to the port, its outstanding leadership, and the entire north central Idaho community on this significant milestone.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is still available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications that have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such an annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is still available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications that have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such an annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is still available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications that have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such an annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is still available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications that have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such an annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is still available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications that have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such an annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is still available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications that have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such an annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, as a member and former chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, each month I recognize and celebrate the American entrepreneurial spirit by highlighting the success of a small business in my home State of Idaho. Today, I am pleased to honor The Gangplank as the Idaho Small Business of the Month for March 2025.

Newell and Carol Walker opened The Gangplank in 1970 in Idaho Falls. Originally named Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips, the restaurant was part of a national chain that ceased operation in the early 1980s. After an incident that knocked over the restaurant's marquee sign, the pair renamed the seafood joint to The Gangplank in 1982. When Newell decided to retire in 2002, he sold the businesses to Jeff and Sharlene Croney, who took over the restaurant with their then-teenage son Jason.

Twenty-three years later, Jason is now co-owner of The Gangplank, bringing new ideas to the business and becoming an integral part of the restaurant's success. In 2022, Jeff and Jason purchased a mobile food truck to serve more southeast Idahoans during the summer months. The Croneys also have big plans to expand The Gangplank's operations in Pocatello, open a second Idaho Falls location, and launch an additional food truck for catering services. This family-owned business hopes a third generation of Croneys carry on The Gangplank legacy for another 55 years and beyond.

The Gangplank has been an established and reputable name in the Idaho Falls community over the last half-century. The restaurant sponsors and donates to local fundraising and charity events, including Boy Scouts of America, Festival of Trees, and the Distinguished Young Women program. The Croneys also support and encourage staff to seek further education at all of Idaho's local colleges and universities.

Congratulations to the Croneys and all of the employees at The Gangplank on their selection as the Idaho Small Business of the Month for March 2025. Thank you for serving Idaho as small business owners and entrepreneurs. You make our great State proud, and I look forward to your continued growth and success.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I rise to object to this. Senator Sanders has brought us a resolution which very simply states that Russia must immediately and completely and unconditionally withdraw from the territory of Ukraine. This isn't even a law. It isn't even a bill. It is only a resolution.

Now, there isn't anybody that disagrees with this. I certainly agree with the substance of this, but this is going to have absolutely zero effect of any kind. If my good friend Senator Sanders believes that Vladimir Putin is watching this show on TV and says, ``Huh, they passed a resolution saying I should get out of Ukraine; so I guess I will pack up and go,'' you are delusional if you think it is going to have any effect of any kind on Vladimir Putin.

However, having said that, I don't think it is a secret to anyone that there are very delicate negotiations going on. There are four entities involved. Obviously, Ukraine is involved,

the United States is involved, Russia is involved, and our European allies are involved. There is constant conversation going on.

I think a lot of people were upset when they saw the exchange this weekend, understandably. But, look, what you are looking at is the tip of the iceberg. Everybody wants the same outcome and that is to have peace in Ukraine.

There is one man on this planet--one man--that can make that happen, and that is Donald J. Trump. He promised he would do that in the election. He is making very significant strides in that regard.

And to my good friend Senator Sanders, this is not helpful to the activities that are going on to try to get this resolved. You may think you know what is going on, but I can guarantee with absolute certainty, you do not know what is going on as far as the negotiations are concerned to get this over with. What you are looking at is the tip of the iceberg, and this is not going to be helpful to getting to the point that you want to get to, that I want to get to, that everyone wants to get to, and that is to get peace in Ukraine.

On that basis, I object.

Mr. President, I respect my friend, but I vehemently disagree that this resolution is going to cause Vladimir Putin to end this war.

My good friend says that Vladimir Putin could end this war. He does not have the ability to end this war. This war is going to end when there is an agreement by the four entities involved: Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and our European allies. When those four reach an agreement, there will be an end to this war. That can be done by Donald J. Trump.

I guarantee you, Vladimir Putin does not have the ability to bring those four entities together to end this war.

Again, this is not helpful. You don't know what the negotiations are that are going on, and this is going in the wrong direction, and that is the reason I object.

Again, to my good friend Senator Sanders I would say that Putin does not have that ability. He simply does not have the ability. You talked about how he started this and how he could end it. He could have ended it shortly after he started it. He is in so deep in this, he cannot end it. It is going to take an agreement between the four entities to end it. That is how it is going to end.

I don't--the answer to that is yes, but I don't want to do a quiz here.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, to my good friend from Illinois, I say I am going to object to this, and it is not because of the substance of the resolution. You correctly stated what the resolution states, but, again, I think you, along with myself and every Member of this body, want to see the fighting stop in Ukraine. That is a necessity. It has to happen.

The things that are happening are going on right now. There are discussions going on right now. As I said to my good friend Senator Sanders, you may think you know what is going on on this because you watched what happened this weekend. I can tell you with absolute certainty that you do not know the discussions and what is happening as the train moves forward to try to resolve this.

This isn't a resolution that is going to happen with a whole bunch of people getting involved and trying to lay out different things that they want to get to resolution. It is going to be complicated. It is going to be complex.

Again, I come back to the fact that there is one person who is in the center

of this that can make this happen, and that is Donald J. Trump.

Our passing resolutions here is not helpful to the efforts that are trying to be done to resolve this. So as a result of that, I am going to object to it, and as a result of that, I do object.

Mr. President, I agree with my good friend from Illinois that this is amongst many, many facts that are going to be taken into consideration as the parties negotiate in what is going to be a very complex negotiation to get to the end point. There are going to be a lot of things that do need to be considered.

The difficulty is that when this institution, the U.S. Senate, puts something out like this, it does have an effect on the parties that are sitting at the table. And you don't really get to a resolution by prodding on these kinds of things. You talk about what it takes to stop the fighting, not what it took to get into it, not the actions that were taken during the fighting. But if you want to stop the fighting, you have to talk about where we are and where we need to get to.

This simply, I can assure you, Senator, is not helpful to those negotiations that are going on.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following press secretary be granted floor privileges until March 6, 2025: Allison Aprahamian.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is still available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications that have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such an annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, I object.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is still available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications that have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such an annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum calls with respect to the Driscoll and Greer nominations.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the rollcall vote commence at this time.