Floor Statements

Thank you, Senator.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, earlier today, there was a discussion here on the Senate floor of the Major Richard Star Act, legislation that I cosponsored and strongly support. This legislation would allow medically retired veterans with combat-related disabilities to receive their full military retirement pay from the Department of Defense and disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

I came to the Senate floor in March to express my support for the Major Richard Star Act and to reiterate to my colleagues that I want to work together to see this bill signed into law this year. That is what I still seek to accomplish.

I have been working with my House colleague Chairman Mike Bost, the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee here in the Senate, with the legislative leadership, the majority leader's office here in the Senate on a comprehensive veterans package that would improve the delivery of healthcare, benefits and services for veterans, servicemembers, survivors, caregivers, military families, and VA staff.

Notably, this package that we are putting together that we have developed and continue to develop would include the Major Richard Star Act. Veterans who did not get a chance to complete their military career due to medical retirement should not be penalized because they received disability compensation from the VA.

This comprehensive legislative package also includes the bipartisan Veterans ACCESS Act, the Love Lives On Act, the Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act, among a number of other bills sponsored by Republicans and by Democrats.

We are close to a final agreement to introduce this comprehensive veterans package. This is not anything out of the norm, but putting this package together, we are going to include the Major Richard Star Act for which the Armed Services Committee has jurisdiction, not the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

We are doing this because we see a way forward, finally, on the Major Richard Star Act becoming law. We are close to reaching an agreement on that package. We have worked extensively over months with veterans service organizations, a wide array--dozens of them--to garner their feedback, to seek their input, to determine whether they can be supportive, and continue to review this legislation in the way we intend, including the way we intend to pay for it.

In addition to working with veterans service organizations, Chairman Bost and I have met with our Democrat and Republican colleagues in both the House and Senate on our committees, the White House's Domestic Policy Council, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to make certain we are creating legislation that is sound policy, has widespread support, and the ability to gain the necessary votes.

Let me say that again: the ability to gain the necessary votes to be passed and signed into law and, most importantly, at the same time will meet the needs of our Nation's veterans.

It is easy to come to the floor and ask for unanimous consent to make a point, but we are doing something different. It takes hard work and consensus building to pass legislation that meets the needs of veterans and has the ability to become law.

This is not just like a symbolic thing that we are with our veterans; it is how do we make something that matters so greatly to them actual law and the benefits they would receive.

I, again, express my support for the Major Richard Star Act, but that means little--my saying that means little to the veterans who are currently being denied the benefits owed them for their military service. I have served on both the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees and often remark how the committees are the most bipartisan committees in Congress.

In 2020, I worked with then-ranking member Jon Tester, a Democrat, to pass the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act, and when Senator Tester became chairman, I was the ranking member, and we worked to pass the PACT Act.

We were able to work together to pass these bills because it didn't matter which party controlled the Chamber but because we knew we owed veterans the healthcare and benefits they desperately needed, earned, and deserved.

Some of my colleagues would like to see this bill and many others pass without any offset of the costs. That is not and has not been a viable a path forward under either Republican or Democratic majorities. For 5 years, under both Republican and Democratic leadership, the Major Richard Star Act has been unable to pass either the House or the Senate, in significant part, due to the inability to offset the cost of the legislation, something required by law.

We can either continue to encounter this same roadblock--we can do this over and over and over again and see the same result--or we can work together to address the concerns that have prevented this bill from passing for the last 5 years.

Lots of sponsors on the Major Richard Star Act, one of the most sponsored pieces of legislation in Congress, but for 5 years it has not become law. It is my goal to change that, and we are developing a path to do exactly that.

The legislation that I plan to introduce pays for the Major Richard Star Act and other bipartisan and bicameral priorities in their entirety. Ensuring that veterans have the care and benefits they have earned is my primary concern. While some of these benefits typically are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense and not the Department of Veterans Affairs, we don't let that technicality, that technical jurisdiction, stand in the way of helping veterans.

I choose to lead on this effort because I decided to be an original cosponsor of the Major Richard Star Act, not to cosponsor it for the purpose of saying I cosponsored it but for the purpose of seeing it become law.

In the coming days, I will put forth a legislative package that accomplishes the goals of the Major Richard Star Act, and I will do so in a way that addresses the policy and cost concerns that have prevented this bill from passing the House or Senate despite widespread bipartisan support.

I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to work with me on this path forward that restores benefits to retirees with combat- related disabilities, offsets the costs of those benefits, earns the support of veterans and advocates, and can feasibly pass the Senate and the House and be signed into law by the President. That would be a great day for us as a Congress, as a legislature, to make certain we do our work. More importantly, it would be a great accomplishment for the veterans who deserve the full benefits of what they have earned.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, the Senate will, here this evening, soon vote or at least begin the nomination process to vote for Tony Mattivi to serve as a U.S. district judge for the District of Kansas.

I have often said that one of the most important responsibilities given to the U.S. Senate is that of providing advice and consent on judicial nominations.

Over many years, I have had the opportunity to get to know Mr. Mattivi, and I have seen firsthand his dedication to public service, to our justice system, and to our country.

He is a graduate of the Metropolitan State College of Denver and Washburn University Law School in Topeka, KS. During law school orientation, he met his wife Mary, who now serves as a Shawnee County district judge, a State judge, and they have three children.

Mr. Mattivi served as a Federal prosecutor for more than 20 years, handling complex cases on behalf of the Department of Justice involving drug trafficking, violent crime, and terrorism.

Following his time in Federal service, Mr. Mattivi was confirmed as the director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, providing him with additional capabilities and utilizing his capabilities in additional law enforcement responsibilities. He has provided strong leadership at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the KBI, and he has made the public safer, as is his priority.

I am the chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that funds the Department of Justice, and in that regard, I have worked with Mr. Mattivi throughout his time as the director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. He has demonstrated his devotion to serving Kansans and improving the judicial system, and I am confident his experience in the courtroom and in law enforcement will aid him well on the Federal bench.

During the White House's selection process to fill vacancies in Kansas' U.S. district courts, I met again with Mr. Mattivi and had a serious conversation about this position--this being his becoming a district judge for the Federal District of Kansas. As he has throughout his career, he continued to impress me with his qualifications, experience, and commitment.

For these reasons, I urged the White House to nominate him, and I am confident Mr. Mattivi will serve Kansans well in performing this role. I now urge my colleagues to join me in supporting his nomination to serve as a U.S. district judge for the District of Kansas.

Madam President, that concludes my remarks about Mr. Mattivi, and I now ask unanimous consent that the previously scheduled rollcall vote occur immediately.

Madam President, the Senate will shortly consider--in fact, tomorrow we will vote on cloture and the confirmation of the nomination of--Jeffrey Kuhlman to be a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. I rise this evening to urge my colleagues to support his confirmation.

During my time in the Senate, I have had the opportunity to vote on the confirmation of three current Kansas district court judges. With each nominee, I weigh the candidate's temperament, principles, experience, and commitment to administer equal justice under the law.

In addition to the three current court judges in Kansas, there are three additional vacancies in the district courts of Kansas. Mr. Kuhlman is the first of the three Kansans the Senate will be considering to fill those vacancies.

I certainly had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Kuhlman. I encouraged the White House to make his nomination to be a judge, and I was impressed. I would not have done that but for my sincere and real impression of his expertise, his legal experience, and his commitment to serving the people in Kansas.

I have always had a desire to see, as growing up in a small town in rural Kansas, that there might be Federal judges who could come from small towns, and I have always been looking for someone who practices law in a small town in our State that has Federal court experience.

Mr. Kuhlman is a native of western Kansas. He grew up in a county- seat town called Ness City, not too far from my hometown, and it has a population of just a little over a thousand. And maybe this doesn't matter to everyone--or to most people--but I want people who grew up in that manner to know that there is a future, that there are things that they can do, and that there is not a handicap to be a smalltown, rural Kansas kid.

In helping select candidates for the White House, I had the goal of making certain we selected qualified candidates from across the State, but I also was always interested in ``Could there be a rural person?''

Jeffrey earned his bachelor's degree in history from Kansas State University before receiving his law degree from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.

After law school, Mr. Kuhlman returned to Kansas and was selected to serve a 2-year clerkship for who soon became Chief Judge Eric F. Melgren. In that role, he gained experience. He gained valuable and hands-on experience across all phases of Federal litigation.

Jeffrey then entered private practice as a litigation associate at a Wichita firm, the Hinkle Law Firm.

Mr. Kuhlman now has been a partner at Watkins Calcara in Great Bend, where his practice focuses on civil litigation, including municipal law, constitutional matters, commercial disputes, and personal injury cases.

Mr. Kuhlman and his wife Lauren--who is originally from Albert, an even smaller town--are raising their five young children in Great Bend, another small town in Kansas.

Mr. Kuhlman has demonstrated strong commitment to the rule of law, a deep respect for the Constitution, and a clear dedication to serving the people of Kansas. His experience both inside and outside the courtroom has prepared him well for the responsibilities

of the Federal bench, and I am confident in his professional competence and judicial temperament.

I am pleased to support his nomination, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to confirm Mr. Jeffrey Kuhlman as a U.S. district judge for Kansas. I believe he would meet all of the qualifications and the desires of the Members of the U.S. Senate.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 5 minutes before the scheduled rollcall vote.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Pastor Rex Petty for devoting decades of his life to serving the people of Liberal, KS, as pastor of Faith Tabernacle Church and to congratulate him upon his retirement.

He started there as an associate pastor in 1984. Rex soon stepped into the role of interim pastor, and the congregation voted to keep Rex on to continue leading the church.

Recently, Rex celebrated an incredible milestone with his congregation: 40 years of ministry at Faith Tabernacle Church.

Delvin Kinser, the news director for Great Plains Christian Radio, said of Rex:

He is more than a local minister devoted to his own

congregation.

For decades, he has made the entirety of Liberal, Kansas,

his mission field. Pastors have come and gone, but Rex has

been a constant source of spiritual leadership [in] his

hometown.

His retirement leaves a tremendous void, but those who know

him have little doubt that he made the spiritual fabric of

[this] community stronger than it otherwise would have been

without him. Always cheerful, always positive, always about

Jesus! That is Rex Petty!

Rex's passion for service extends far into the Liberal community. He has been an involved member of the Liberal Ministerial Alliance, an organization that brings local churches together to care for the needs of the community. He is eager to minister to others, and he has often brought former NFL players to Liberal to share inspirational messages with students in southwest Kansas and the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Rex also served as the coordinator for the local Liberal High School Baccalaureate.

An avid sports fan, he can regularly be seen cheering in the stands at many local youth sporting events.

In a recent interview with the local paper, the Leader and Times, Rex said--this is Rex saying:

Maybe we don't have the highest mountains or a lot of the

lakes and streams and all that beauty other places have, but

[what] we have [is] the people. And that's been the most

wonderful thing about Liberal.

Rex is civic-minded. He takes pride in his community. He can often be found leading prayers before local government meetings. He was instrumental in creating the city's slogan: ``From Generosity to Prosperity.''

In this life of service of 40 years, he touched countless lives. Here are a couple of comments that others have made.

Rozelle Webb is the CEO of the Liberal Chamber of Commerce, and she says:

Rex Petty has been a very ``Liberal'' pastor. He has given

his time and [his] heart, not only to his church and

congregation, but to everyone in our town. We will miss his

sincere love for Liberal.

Kansas State Representative Shannon Francis says:

Congratulations to my classmate--

Rex is a high school graduate of Liberal High School.

Congratulations to my classmate, Rex Petty, on his

retirement. Rex is what makes rural America great.

Rex is a hometown boy who returned home after college and

has spent 40 years ministering to his friends, family and

community members. His quiet, moral leadership has always

been a source of calm and comfort for our community. We will

miss him.

I would like to recognize an additional person, a person besides Rex. It is the person who supported Rex, and like him, is a cherished member of the Liberal community, his wife Eydie. She is committed to serving and investing in the life of others, including serving as a teacher in the Liberal Public Schools.

This summer, Rex and Eydie will celebrate 42 years of marriage. Together, they are passionate about helping others, and they can always be found volunteering for Liberal's Pancake Day and all other good causes. They passed their desire to serve on to their family, and their son Reid works on my staff as a district representative serving the people of Kansas.

When I am in town, Rex will always meet me with a warm smile and a steady handshake. He has set a remarkable example of service and legacy that will not--will not--be forgotten.

Earl Watt, the publisher of the Leader & Times summed it up pretty well by saying:

Thank you, Rex Petty, for being Liberal's Pastor.

I congratulate him. In fact, I congratulate them, Rex and Eydie, for their service to Kansans, and I wish them the best as they enter this new chapter.

I believe the world is changed one soul at a time. Reverend Petty committed his life to serving Jesus Christ. In that service he touched many lives loving his neighbor as himself. Rex Petty, a role model for us all.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, today, along with Senator Blumenthal, we honor the life and mourn the loss of Judge William Greenberg, who dedicated more than 50 years of his life to public service in the U.S. military and as a civilian judicial leader.

In both Kansas and Connecticut, we understand the value and sacrifice of military service. Judge Greenberg served our Nation proudly, enlisting in the 117th Cavalry, 50th Armored Division of the U.S. Army in 1967 and serving as a cavalry scout. He would go on to commission in the Judge Advocate General's Corps and remained in the Army Reserves for 27 years, eventually retiring as a brigadier general.

After his time in uniform, he received his law degree from Rutgers University and said the highlight from his law school experience was his civil procedure class that was taught by future Supreme Court Justice, the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Following a judicial clerkship within his home State of New Jersey's Superior Court, he began a long and distinguished career as a trial lawyer.

In 2009, he was appointed Chairman of the Reserve Forces Policy Board, where he advised the Secretary of Defense and led efforts to expand legal support for wounded and injured servicemembers. His dedication earned him the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service, the Department of Defense's second-highest civilian honor. In November 2012, he was nominated to the Court of Veterans Appeals by President Barack Obama.

Judge Greenberg dedicated his life to serving those who served our country, including founding a program in New Jersey that provides free legal assistance to reservists called to Active Duty and advocating for wounded servicemembers going through the medical discharge process. His commitment rightfully earned him national recognition, including being awarded the Medal of Honor from the New Jersey State Bar Foundation.

The Court of Veterans Appeals was created in 1988 by President Reagan to examine claims for service-connected disability compensation and other benefits that are appealed by veterans and their families upon decisions by the Department of Veterans Affairs, including the VA Board of Veterans Appeals. This court was the first of its kind and provided a forum for veterans and their dependents to advocate for themselves when they disagreed with VA. Judge Greenberg was the 17th judge appointed to serve on the court and did so faithfully for 13 years.

During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, then-chairman Senator Johnny Isakson charged Judge Greenberg to ``be an outspoken judge, just as you have been an outspoken lawyer.'' As judge, he lived up to this. He would go on to write more separate opinions than all of his colleagues, besides former Chief Judge Bruce Kasold.

Judge Greenberg always looked for ways to improve the lives of his fellow veterans, and he should be an example for each of us to follow as we continue to seek to improve care, benefits, and services for veterans, servicemembers, and their families, caregivers, and survivors. We know his legacy will live on in the veteran community and with the people he loved. He will be sorely missed and our prayers are with his family, friends, and colleagues.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call with respect to the Cekada nomination be waived.

Madam President, later this evening, the Senate will consider the nomination of Robert Cekada to serve as the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or what we call the ATF.

In my capacity as the chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that provides funding to the U.S. Department of Justice, including the ATF, I have had many opportunities to get to know Rob.

In his current role as the Deputy Director of the ATF, Mr. Cekada is a ``lawman.'' He worked the frontlines as a New York City police officer and rose through the ranks of the ATF. He is an honorable man who believes in serving his community, enforcing the rule of law, and promoting public safety.

The ATF is a multifaceted Agency, and its regulation of firearms--a constitutionally protected right--has made it, at times, a politically challenging Agency to lead.

Rob's work and influence with State and local law enforcement is often demonstrated to me in the conversations I have with local sheriffs and police chiefs. Their respect for Rob is apparent, and Kansas law enforcement has shared with me how the ATF's partnerships have helped reduce gun violence in their areas.

This was evident when Rob was in Wichita last November to help announce the opening of the ATF's new field office--an effort that reflected his commitment to strengthening partnerships on the ground and supporting law enforcement where they need it the most. That same approach carries through in the Agency's broader work, including its leadership in crime gun intelligence, particularly through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN, which has been a game changer for fighting violent crime.

In Kansas, Wichita State University supports this work, and next month, we will open a new Crime Gun Intelligence Laboratory on campus, further expanding the ATF's ability to provide cutting-edge forensic support to law enforcement nationwide.

Simply put, the ATF is a significant component of our efforts to combat violent crime and to support law enforcement, and I think no one is better prepared to lead this Agency than Rob Cekada.

I urge my colleagues to support his nomination.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I have one request for a committee to meet during today's session of the Senate. It has the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.

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

Madam President, the residents of Hill City, KS, a county seat town in Northwest Kansas will experience something new next winter: a new boys basketball coach will be on the sidelines for the Hill City Ringnecks. After 58 seasons as the head coach of Hill City High School, Keith Riley has officially retired.

Today, I pay tribute to his career, not just as a coach on the basketball court and the track field, but also as a teacher in the classroom.

His success was the result of his genuine interest in the well-being of the students who walked the halls of Hill City High School. Whether kids played for him or simply took his industrial arts classes, Coach Riley sought to help them achieve their full potential.

Like so many educators, he cared about his students, and they knew he cared. He freely gave his time to kids who asked to spend an extra hour in the evening shooting hoops or a Sunday afternoon in the spring learning to pole-vault.

When class projects were due at the end of the school year, he stayed in the woodworking shop late into the evening so his students could apply that last coat of varnish.

Under his leadership, Coach Riley's team won more than 800 games and 3 State titles--plus another 6 track and field championships--and his students won class projects; they won competitions there.

In those seasons where there was less success, his expectations for his players remained unchanged. Talent wasn't required to play hard and do the fundamentals well.

Teaching basketball over decades required him to be a student of the game himself. He would watch KU practice under Ted Owens, Larry Brown, Bill Self and take those ideas home to Hill City from Lawrence. He learned from other peers at coaching clinics and befriended many of them. His own work ethic and that of his players would result in him being inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2018. But for Coach Riley, personal accolades were far less important than the success of his kids, in high school and beyond.

Many of his players went on to become teachers and coaches too, no doubt running the same plays they learned from him. His assistant coaches became head coaches and won State titles on their own. Those who pursued other professional paths also credit Coach Riley's impact on their lives.

For Coach and his wife Merriel, his players were like their boys, in addition to their sons Brian and Geoff both who played for him. Players from his first year as coach still call him to check in, or if they are in town, they drop by his house.

He has always credited any success to those who played for him. I lived briefly in Hill City shortly after Coach

Riley won his second State basketball championship. The Mid-Continent League was known for its football towns, like Smith Center and Plainville and Norton, but under Coach Riley, Hill City was definitely a basketball town. You knew where most of the community would be on Tuesday and Friday nights during the winter.

While Coach's voice will no longer ring out from the sidelines, the gym in which he spent countless hours teaching kids the game he loves appropriately bears his name. Keith Riley Fieldhouse boasts many State title banners, won over nearly six decades, but his true legacy can be seen in the lives he changed along the way.

Coach Riley, congratulations on a legendary career, and I wish you and Merriel all the very best in your retirement.

I yield the floor.

(Mr. MORAN assumed the Chair.)

(Mrs. BRITT assumed the Chair.)

Mr. President, I have one request for a committee to meet during today's session of the Senate. It has the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.

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

Mr. President, the recent decision to waive oil sanctions on Russia and Iran in an attempt to stabilize oil prices frees up both of these adversaries to sell their oil at market prices.

Waiving oil sanctions now enriches the very countries that we wish to harm. It advantages the countries that wish to do us harm.

Iran and Russia are actively working to place Americans and other innocent lives at risk. Iran has provided Russia with critical drone technology to use in terrorizing Ukrainians. And Russia is reportedly providing intelligence that allows Iran to target U.S. facilities and critical infrastructure throughout the Middle East.

I urge the administration to immediately delist these waivers and not renew them once they expire after 30 days.

Last October, President Trump took the extraordinary step of imposing sanctions on Russia's two largest energy producers, LUKOIL and Rosneft. This move was long overdue, and it corrected yet another error of President Biden's handling of Russia's war against Ukraine.

Here in this body, in the Senate, more than 80 Senators have added their names to legislation to further sanction Russian oil, and there is significant support to get this legislation passed.

In the months following President Trump's new sanctions, Russia's revenue dropped significantly. Vladimir Putin was beginning to feel the budgetary pressures, forcing him to choose between which domestic program to cut to sustain his war of aggression in Ukraine.

The effect of President Trump's sanctions policy is now at risk of being reversed. To combat rising oil prices, the Treasury Department recently lifted sanctions for a period of 30 days on Russian oil already at sea.

The Financial Times estimates that Russia is earning $150 million a day, or nearly $2 billion, since the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed at the start of the month. In the span of a 30-day waiver, Russia could reap nearly $5 billion in a single month.

Similarly, with the waivers for Iran announced last Friday, one report says Iran could make as much as $14 billion from their sales. It makes no sense. It makes no sense to provide financial relief to a country that we are currently fighting.

The impacts of these waivers will be immediate. Russia can now more easily fund its war machine, from producing more drones and ballistic missiles to offering more pay for enlistees.

The influx of cash is a gift to one of our Nation's greatest adversaries intent on continuing its war in Ukraine; dividing NATO; and cooperating with China, Iran, and North Korea to undermine American interests.

The infusion of money for Tehran will enable it to rebuild capabilities that have been degraded over the past several weeks. Iran can also fund its proxy networks that threaten our interests in Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen. The waivers signal desperation to the Iranian regime and reinforces that their strategy of taking the Strait of Hormuz hostage is working.

Since Putin began his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he has wagered that he can outlast the United States of America. He can outlast Europe and other nations supporting Ukraine.

Likewise, the Iranian regime believes it can endure pain for longer than its neighbors and the United States. It is up to us to make sure that that bet they both lose.

Here at home, Americans are not immune to the sacrifices that come from waging war. Certainly, our servicemembers and their families are paying a price, but it is not expected that Americans can go without suffering as well.

This is a reminder of the urgent need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and strengthen domestic energy production. Energy touches every aspect of daily life, whether heating our homes, irrigating our crops, operating a business, or simply filling up the tank.

To secure a stable and affordable energy future, we must pursue a long-term strategy that expands and diversifies our domestic energy portfolio. That includes drilling more oil domestically, permitting reform and advancing biofuels, hydrogen, and the next generation of nuclear technologies and

hydropower resources that can bolster our resilience and reduce vulnerabilities to global markets.

I have long supported allowing the year-round, nationwide sale of E15. Expanding access to this affordable fuel blend gives consumers more choices at the pump and strengthens markets for our Nation's farmers and ethanol producers.

Now is the time to continue to invest in our own energy production so we are not dependent upon foreign countries to supply us with energy.

In both Russia and in Iran, the economic pressures of sanctions had begun to bite. Russia cannot achieve a breakthrough on the battlefield, and more money is needed to bribe ordinary Russians to fight.

In Iran, mismanagement of the economy under sanctions led to major protests over the past decade.

President Trump's sanctions are an essential component to the efforts to pressure Putin into ending his war and forcing Iran to come to the negotiating table. This tool is more important now than ever. Now is the time to keep the pressure on through the use of sanctions and choke off Russia and Iran's oil revenues that is funding their military operations. They are our adversaries. We should keep the sanctions on.

I yield the floor.