Floor Statements

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I have spoken many times in this Chamber about human health from my perspective as an orthopedic surgeon. Today, I am here to talk about a different crisis that is facing our Nation.

Earlier today, 24 of my colleagues joined me in introducing a bill to combat chronic wasting disease in cervid populations across this country. Chronic wasting disease is a terrible degenerative brain disease. It affects captive and wild deer, elk, moose, and caribou in at least 26 States and several Canadian Provinces. It is highly contagious and always fatal.

In my home State of Wyoming, chronic wasting disease was first detected back in 1985. Since then, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has partnered with scientists, State wildlife managers, and Federal Agencies to understand how the disease spreads. Many other state agencies have forged similar partnerships to study the same things. Over the last 34 years, their work has shown that the disease is spread by prions, but how these prions actually infect animals remains a mystery.

The disease can be transmitted through nose-to-nose contact, through

animal waste, or through carcasses of infected animals. Some studies have suggested that prions can remain in affected soil for up to 16 years.

Well, there is a lot we still don't know about the disease, including the risk to humans. Chronic wasting disease is a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, like bovine spongiform encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

There are a number of diseases I studied in medical school from a human standpoint that now seem to be affecting animals as well.

There have been no reported cases of this chronic wasting disease in humans as of this time, but the Centers for Disease Control takes the risk of human infection quite seriously. The CDC developed a list of things people can do to reduce their own risk of consuming meat from an infected animal. Across the country, many people rely on meat they harvest from deer, moose, and elk to feed their families. For them hunting is not a recreational activity but an important part of their way of life.

Hunting also contributes tens of billions of dollars in economic activity each year. Those dollars fund important wildlife research and habitat conservation and contribute nearly 10,000 jobs in Wyoming alone. Dollars derived from the sales of tags or hunting licenses and hunting equipment are used by State wildlife agencies to carry out important monitoring, management, and conservation work.

If this disease persists and we cannot instill confidence in the public that the risk can be controlled, hunting will decrease. Fewer licenses sold means less money for our wildlife agencies, which means less research. So we need to act now.

Chronic wasting disease threatens the iconic deer, elk, and moose herds that roam our State. It is a threat to our western heritage, but it is not just a western problem. Chronic wasting disease has found its way to Alabama, New York, and Pennsylvania. After finding the disease late last year, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency now requires hunters to check in their deer at physical locations to check for infection. The Muley Fanatic Foundation in Wyoming, which does fantastic work, told me there is no bigger threat to our big game populations than the spread of chronic wasting disease.

The bill is being introduced today. Senator Jones from Alabama is on the floor and is going to speak next. The bill we have introduced today requires the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the U.S. Geological Survey to work with the National Academies of Science to answer some important questions about chronic wasting disease. They will review gaps in current scientific knowledge about transmission. They will review where Federal and State best management practices can better align, and they will review the areas at greatest risk for new infections.

State wildlife managers need answers to these questions so they can coordinate prevention and control efforts among their States and so they can target their research to fill in any gaps in current knowledge.

Chronic wasting disease is not a new threat, but it is one that has fundamentally changed our efforts to manage and conserve wildlife. Unchecked, this disease can truly be catastrophic for wildlife and for local economies. Across our Nation, whole industries are built around wildlife, tourism, wildlife watching, and deer and elk farming.

I believe this bill and this research can make a real difference. So I am glad that so many of my colleagues agree and have cosponsored this legislation.

Mr. President, I have spoken many times in this Chamber about human health from my perspective as an orthopedic surgeon. Today, I am here to talk about a different crisis that is facing our Nation.

Earlier today, 24 of my colleagues joined me in introducing a bill to combat chronic wasting disease in cervid populations across this country. Chronic wasting disease is a terrible degenerative brain disease. It affects captive and wild deer, elk, moose, and caribou in at least 26 States and several Canadian Provinces. It is highly contagious and always fatal.

In my home State of Wyoming, chronic wasting disease was first detected back in 1985. Since then, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has partnered with scientists, State wildlife managers, and Federal Agencies to understand how the disease spreads. Many other state agencies have forged similar partnerships to study the same things. Over the last 34 years, their work has shown that the disease is spread by prions, but how these prions actually infect animals remains a mystery.

The disease can be transmitted through nose-to-nose contact, through

animal waste, or through carcasses of infected animals. Some studies have suggested that prions can remain in affected soil for up to 16 years.

Well, there is a lot we still don't know about the disease, including the risk to humans. Chronic wasting disease is a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, like bovine spongiform encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

There are a number of diseases I studied in medical school from a human standpoint that now seem to be affecting animals as well.

There have been no reported cases of this chronic wasting disease in humans as of this time, but the Centers for Disease Control takes the risk of human infection quite seriously. The CDC developed a list of things people can do to reduce their own risk of consuming meat from an infected animal. Across the country, many people rely on meat they harvest from deer, moose, and elk to feed their families. For them hunting is not a recreational activity but an important part of their way of life.

Hunting also contributes tens of billions of dollars in economic activity each year. Those dollars fund important wildlife research and habitat conservation and contribute nearly 10,000 jobs in Wyoming alone. Dollars derived from the sales of tags or hunting licenses and hunting equipment are used by State wildlife agencies to carry out important monitoring, management, and conservation work.

If this disease persists and we cannot instill confidence in the public that the risk can be controlled, hunting will decrease. Fewer licenses sold means less money for our wildlife agencies, which means less research. So we need to act now.

Chronic wasting disease threatens the iconic deer, elk, and moose herds that roam our State. It is a threat to our western heritage, but it is not just a western problem. Chronic wasting disease has found its way to Alabama, New York, and Pennsylvania. After finding the disease late last year, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency now requires hunters to check in their deer at physical locations to check for infection. The Muley Fanatic Foundation in Wyoming, which does fantastic work, told me there is no bigger threat to our big game populations than the spread of chronic wasting disease.

The bill is being introduced today. Senator Jones from Alabama is on the floor and is going to speak next. The bill we have introduced today requires the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the U.S. Geological Survey to work with the National Academies of Science to answer some important questions about chronic wasting disease. They will review gaps in current scientific knowledge about transmission. They will review where Federal and State best management practices can better align, and they will review the areas at greatest risk for new infections.

State wildlife managers need answers to these questions so they can coordinate prevention and control efforts among their States and so they can target their research to fill in any gaps in current knowledge.

Chronic wasting disease is not a new threat, but it is one that has fundamentally changed our efforts to manage and conserve wildlife. Unchecked, this disease can truly be catastrophic for wildlife and for local economies. Across our Nation, whole industries are built around wildlife, tourism, wildlife watching, and deer and elk farming.

I believe this bill and this research can make a real difference. So I am glad that so many of my colleagues agree and have cosponsored this legislation.

Mr. President, today U.S. taxpayers are subsidizing the electric car industry. The cost to these taxpayers is billions of dollars, and the subsidies have lasted now for nearly 30 years.

In 2008, Washington added a tax credit for purchases of electric vehicles. The market was very small at that time, and it was worth encouraging that market, but today the electric market for vehicles is well established. The auto industry no longer needs these pricey subsidies for electric vehicles, and I believe it is time to pull the plug on subsidies for electric vehicles.

Leading manufacturers, including General Motors, Ford, and Volkswagen, have announced plans to massively increase investment in the electric vehicle market. Global automakers are

promoting electric car luxury brands, such as Bentley, Aston Martin, Maserati, Porsche, and Cadillac, but with these new electric vehicles coming to the market, the subsidy program is going to continue to run at an enormous cost to American taxpayers.

Congress first passed legislation to provide subsidies for electric car buyers back in 1992. The purpose was to temporarily support a promising, environmentally friendly market. For decades now, Washington expanded this program of tax credits. At the same time, many States enacted similar subsidies.

Between 2011 and 2017, electric car buyers received more than $4 billion in Federal credits alone, costing taxpayers up to $7,500 for each vehicle. This program disproportionately subsidizes wealthy buyers because nearly 80 percent of the tax credits go to households earning at least $100,000 a year. Well, these car buyers don't need a taxpayer subsidy.

The program has served its purpose, and I say that because today a million electric vehicles travel our highways. The global demand for electric vehicles is rising as well. Now nearly every automaker is entering the market. In fact, the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that sales of light-duty electric vehicles will reach 4 million vehicles by 2025.

So here is exhibit A. This past weekend was Super Bowl weekend. They had so many commercials, and it cost about $5 million to run an ad during the Super Bowl. Well, the automaker Audi ran a commercial saying that by 2025 one-third of their cars--one out of every three cars--will be an electric vehicle. So I use that as exhibit A to say this market is firmly established. As a matter of fact, this market is positioned for expansion--which means so will the cost of subsidies. I believe it is time to take taxpayers off the hook.

I have introduced legislation, the Fairness for Every Driver Act, and it is to end the electric vehicle subsidy program. My legislation has three key goals; first is to the save taxpayers billions of dollars through the subsidy program; second is to help maintain our aging roads and bridges; and the third is to reduce wasteful Washington spending. According to the Manhattan Institute, ending this subsidy will save taxpayers an estimated $20 billion dollars--$20 billion.

The electric car market can thrive without Washington subsidies. We see it is thriving. It is growing. Nearly every State now provides its own subsidies and added incentives.

California even mandates the percentage of cars that must be zero emission. This category is almost exclusively electric vehicles. In 2017, Californians purchased 95,000 electric vehicles. Now, residents in my home State of Wyoming, where distances are long and recharging stations are few, purchased only 51. Hard-working Wyoming taxpayers shouldn't have to subsidize wealthy California luxury car buyers.

Ending the electric car subsidies isn't just about saving taxpayers dollars, it is about our shared responsibility to maintain our highway system. The highway trust fund is depleted. The highway trust fund pays for road and bridge projects. Its main source of funding is the Federal gas tax.

Drivers of gas- and diesel-powered vehicles pay this tax every time they pull up and fill up at the pump. Electric car drivers never pay these fees. Although a Tesla puts as much strain on the highways as a Ford Focus, the Tesla driver pays next to nothing to fix the roads.

Without congressional action, the highway trust fund will be exhausted by 2021. This legislation ensures all drivers pay their fair share to improve America's roads. It establishes an annual highway user fee for these alternative fuel vehicles. Comparable to the gas tax, this user fee will result in billions of dollars over the next decade to fund needed road projects.

All drivers use the roads. All drivers should contribute to maintaining them. Electric cars are here to stay. The market is poised for growth, with or without the subsidies. Congress should pull the plug on this program. It is time to end this subsidy. It is time to stop wasting taxpayer dollars, and it is time to level the playing field for all drivers when it comes to repairing our roads and bridges.

It is time to pass the Fairness for Every Driver Act.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, last night we heard from the President of the United States in his State of the Union Address. What I heard and what I know, living in Wyoming and traveling across my State and across the country--is that the state of the union is strong. It is strong, and we are strong militarily, economically, and politically.

It is so fascinating to see this growth that we have in our economy. I remember just a few years ago when the new normal for economic growth was stuck below 2 percent. People said: That is where we are going to be.

Well, as a result of tax cuts and regulatory relief, we have had an incredible amount of economic growth over the last couple of years. Really, the economy is sizzling, firing on all cylinders, fueled by the tax cuts that are allowing people to keep more of their hard-earned money, and wages going up because there are so many jobs being created.

Talking about the good news for the American people, I just noted that there were 3 million new jobs added

since Republicans passed tax reform a year ago. That is 3 million new jobs across the country.

Somebody might say: Well, maybe it is slowing down. It is actually the opposite. This past month, there were 304,000 new jobs. The experts, who thought they had a handle on the economy, said: Well, maybe there are 160,000 new jobs.

There were 304,000, not just 160,000, as it was estimated. There have been 3 million new jobs since we passed tax reform for the American people.

The other thing that is so interesting with the numbers is the increase in manufacturing jobs. I remember President Obama saying that you would need a magic wand to bring back manufacturing jobs to the country. Well, the number of manufacturing jobs that were brought back to the country or that were created in the country last year was the largest growth in over 20 years.

Now, what about wages? Wages are up significantly, compared to a year ago. People are noting not only an increase in their salaries but also an increase in their take-home pay because the amount of taxes taken out are going down as well. So you have higher salaries, lower taxes, and the amount of money that people are able to keep is going up as well.

More people are working today than at any time in our history as a nation. There are 157 million American workers, and workers are in the driver's seat. There are more jobs available than there are people to fill those jobs.

I am so happy with what President Trump has done with regulations to try to eliminate these burdensome, expensive, and time-consuming regulations that made it harder to create jobs, harder to keep jobs going, and harder to keep people in their jobs.

I was most pleased to see the President's focus and discussion on energy. Energy is called the master resource. It is called the master resource for a reason. It fuels our economy, it fuels our military, and it fuels our Nation.

We now have, through innovation and investment, enough energy resources that we have now become a net exporter of energy. People around the country and around the world look to us as a source of energy--crude oil, natural gas, and liquefied natural gas. There are opportunities for people around the country--coal from my home State of Wyoming. We are a net energy exporter, and it is because of the President's focus on allowing us to use the resources that we have been so blessed with in this great country.

As for this talk about 3 million new jobs, in Wyoming alone there have been 8,000 more jobs created since we passed tax reform.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board's headline this past Friday, February 1, was this: ``Sorry for the Good News.'' It said: ``This is what happens when the political class takes its boot off of the neck of private business, as the GOP Congress and Trump administration did for two years.''

That is why we have all this good news. Taxes are lower. Regulations are much more reasonable. They are not the kind of troublesome regulations that choked our economy.

I think now it is time to refocus, as the President talked about--a time for greatness in America, to refocus our attention on economic expansion.

When I hear my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, they have taken a hard left turn, way off to the liberal side, to the radical side of things, proposing socialist programs that increase taxes, that increase government spending, and that apply burdensome new regulations. That would put a tremendous brake on the economy and the economic growth we have seen. These hard-left policies will kill job creation and cripple the economy.

Americans want more freedom, more opportunities, more economic prosperity, and better paying jobs. That is what this is all about. That is what we heard last night in the State of the Union. That is why the state of our Union is strong, with a strong, healthy, and growing economy. It is time--and I agreed with President Trump last night--to unite, time to work together and keep the country moving forward with commonsense policies that improve Americans' everyday lives.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote scheduled for 3 p.m. occur now.

Mr. President, first, I associate myself with the remarks that we just heard from the distinguished Senator from Missouri, who made some wonderful points about how important the bill that we are discussing on the floor continues to be. I appreciate his remarks and his leadership in this body.

Government Funding

Mr. President, I come to the floor to discuss a different topic, which is that the government has reopened for 3 weeks. It is welcome news that President Trump has signed the stopgap funding measure and has fully paid furloughed Federal workers.

There was an important workforce story that, I believe, was lost over the last couple of weeks during the shutdown--the story about the great news of the American economy. I certainly feel it at home. I know the Presiding Officer does in Utah, as do others, as we head home and see the ``help wanted'' signs that are up and the people who are looking to hire more people.

This economy continues to fire on all cylinders. It is fueled, certainly, in part by what Republicans have been able to accomplish due to our policy, which is a pro-job policy of tax cuts and regulatory relief. Since the tax cut law that was signed a year ago, this economy has created 2.6 million American jobs in the last year. There is additional good news. I hear it in Wyoming, I heard it last weekend, and I expect to hear it this weekend. Americans are seeing that there is actually more money in their paychecks. There is more money for a couple of reasons. One is that wages are up, and the other is that taxes are down. Last month, there was a 3.2-percent year-over-year increase in average hourly wages. It matched October as the biggest increase since 2009. This wage increase was even stronger for production workers and non-managers, who saw an additional increase in year-over-year growth.

The economy is working well. It is producing more jobs. For 9 straight months now, there have been more available jobs in this country than individuals looking for work. Last week, we saw jobless claims drop to the lowest level since November of 1969--1969, the year we put a man on the Moon and the year of Woodstock. That was 50 years ago. It was the lowest since then. That is half a century.

Now that this partial shutdown is over, I believe we need to refocus our attention on continuing to grow the economy, continuing to increase wages, and continuing to create more high-paying jobs for American workers. Meanwhile, Democrats seem to want to put the brakes on the economy. They are proposing higher taxes and expansive new regulations.

We still have our work cut out for us. This excellent economic news underscores the need for us to work together to resolve our differences on important government funding legislation. Let's keep in mind that 70 percent of the government is already funded all the way through the end of the fiscal year. Congress still has the job to do of funding the remaining 25 percent, and we need to do that by the middle of February--by February 15.

By signing the 3-week continuing resolution, the President has given Congress the opportunity to come together to secure the southern border and to fund the government. During the shutdown standoff, Democrats repeatedly called for the President to reopen the government. They asked for 3 weeks so they could seriously negotiate, they say, on border security. Well, we now have a 3-week agreement, but time is going to tell whether Democrats are serious about solving this border security crisis and protecting the American people.

A full-year spending deal has to include significant funding for a comprehensive border security package. We need more personnel, we need more technology, and we need more physical barriers.

Security barriers are not the sole solution, but they are an essential part of the solution. That is why the last four Presidents built 650 miles of physical barriers along our 2,000-mile border with Mexico. Democrats, including Speaker Pelosi, voted for all this construction. In fact, the Speaker's home State of California has a physical barrier on the border with Tijuana, Mexico.

Like his four predecessors, President Trump has listened to the security experts. Those four were President Obama, President Clinton, President George W. Bush, and President George Herbert Walker Bush. Four Presidents prior to President Trump listened to the experts.

The experts today say we need 200 more miles of physical barriers strategically located where illegal traffic is surging. Despite the experts' support, Democrats have abruptly changed their position on barriers--changed completely--and they have denied the President the funding he has requested.

Given that Democrats had supported 650 miles of the physical barriers we

currently have, why are they opposing the next 200 miles, strategically placed where illegal traffic is surging? To me, it seems personal, and it seems aimed at President Trump. The American people expect us to solve problems not as Democrats and Republicans but as elected representatives of the people.

The priority is to move full-year Homeland Security Department spending legislation through Congress that provides wall funding. Today, House-Senate negotiators are working to produce a compromise package that can pass with the other six bills and get it done by February 15. This conference committee--a committee of the two Houses-- will be meeting later today. Conferees may also add other provisions, including immigration reforms.

Already, the President has offered to extend protections for the Dreamers, who were brought here as children, and immigrants whose temporary visas are expiring. So the President has offered an opportunity and a solution. These modest proposals are an immigration policy bandaid. Yet they could be the start of broader bipartisan immigration talks. From a policy perspective, I believe we are not that far apart.

Americans agree that border security is important and that our immigration system does need reform. The country's safety and security must always come first.

In my opinion, the President is open to reasonable changes to his plan. I believe he has been very willing to compromise. As long as Democrats define victory as blocking President Trump, however, on his key priority, everyone loses, and that includes Federal workers, the American people, and immigrants.

The American people expect us to work together to resolve our differences. This isn't a winner-take-all political game. It never should be. Members of both parties must be flexible. Once Congress passes a full-year spending bill, we can move on to other priorities facing us as a nation.

President Trump has incredible determination to build physical barriers where Border Patrol tells us they are most needed, and the President is right when he says walls work. Democrats supported construction before President Trump took office; they should support it now. The President has presented a path to compromise. Now Democrats should follow suit. All we need to succeed is cooperation. The best position on this negotiation highway is the middle lane. It is time to move to the middle and move forward on border security. By working together, we can produce a winning solution for America.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I have up here a quote from the Washington Post from January 20, 2019. The words say: ``to refuse even to talk until the government reopens does no favors to sidelined Federal workers and contractors''--to refuse even to talk. This is a Washington Post editorial message to the Democrats.

The Post says that the Democrats should welcome the President's weekend offer and return to the negotiating table to end this partial government shutdown, which is now in its fifth week. I agree. It is time to end this stalemate. It is time to talk, and it is time to vote.

The title of the editorial was ``Make a deal. Save the dreamers''-- make a deal.

Divided government is often messy business. It is also serious business. It is what the American people have voted for and what we have seen more often than not in this country. Politically, there really are no winners and losers in this arena. What I worry about is the American people. Nobody wins in terms of a shutdown.

The Senate will vote tomorrow on commonsense, compromise legislation to secure the border, reopen the government, as well as to address what I believe are key immigration issues for the country.

We do have a national security and a humanitarian crisis at our southern border. President Trump has, again, requested $5.7 billion. That is one one-thousandth of the Federal spending. He has requested the money for a steel barrier system.

The southern border is almost 2,000 miles. The physical barrier already protects about 650 miles. The President wants to build more security barriers because we know they are a proven solution.

In addition, the President is proposing to grant provisional status-- a 3-year reprieve--for the 700,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals illegal immigrants, known as DACA. This 3-year reprieve will also help 300,000 temporary protected status immigrants. When people say TPS, that is what it stands for--immigrants with temporary protected status. Right now, they have protected status, but that is expiring. These are individuals who have suffered devastation in their lives due to the challenges previously faced in Haiti, as well as individuals from Central America. So we are talking about over 1 million people for whom the President is proposing changes that would impact them and their lives.

These DACA and TPS measures are an immigration policy bandaid. They are not the solution to everything. They deal with an immediate problem for a limited period of time. Once the government reopens, the President then plans, as he said, to hold weekly, bipartisan meetings aimed at broader immigration reform.

Border security policy has always been bipartisan. For decades, Presidents and congressional leaders from both parties have supported security barriers to protect the American people.

In 2006, Senate Democrats, including Senator Barack Obama at the time and Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Joe Biden and Senator Chuck Schumer--all of them--voted to construct a physical barrier on the southern barrier.

In 2005, then-Senator Obama said this: ``We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, and unchecked.'' Then, when Senator Obama became President Obama, he actually described the border situation as a crisis, but he failed to fix it.

President Trump resolved to fix the decades-old problem. That is when Democratic leaders suddenly changed their tune. They withdrew support for securing the border and dug in their heels, prolonging the partial government shutdown.

Even President Obama's last Border Patrol Chief, Mark Morgan, supports President Trump's efforts. President Trump did not keep him in the job, but Mark Morgan has said--and he was on television the other day--that building the wall is key to solving the security crisis and that Trump--President Trump--should ``stay the course.''

Still, Democrats refuse to negotiate with this President, so we can't reopen the affected Federal Agencies and pay the 800,000 furloughed Federal workers.

President Trump has the truth on his side. Here is the Homeland Security Department's assessment of the border situation: Each month, 60,000 illegal immigrants reach the border. Drug smuggling spiked in 2018, with a 38-percent increase in methamphetamine, a 22-percent increase in heroin, and a 73-percent increase in fentanyl. We also saw a surge in arrests of dangerous criminals, including 17,000 adults with criminal records and 6,000 MS-13 and other gang members.

In 2018, 60,000 unaccompanied children and 161,000 families reached the border--a dramatic increase from 2017. Many were victimized along their journey.

The Border Patrol areas that do have enhanced or expanded physical barriers have seen a dramatic decrease in illegal traffic. That is why the President has requested additional funds to construct more barriers. The areas he has pointed to are the 10 locations where the Border Patrol has said: These are the spots where we really need the help.

All Americans want a healthy immigration system that enforces the law and keeps families together. The President has put a reasonable, bipartisan compromise on the table to end this partial shutdown and to pay furloughed Federal workers. President Trump is ready to sign this legislation. The Senate will vote on it tomorrow.

The House Democrats hold the keys to reopening the government. I believe Democrats should stop playing politics and meet President Trump in the middle. That is what President has done with his good-faith effort.

I say: Let's vote to secure the border and vote to reopen the government.

Tribute to Alfred Redman, Sr.

Madam President, now I would like to turn to a different topic that would

be at an appropriate location in the Record. It is something that I think the Presiding Officer, as the former chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, would find interesting. That is because I rise today to pay tribute to an incredible individual, a great man, the legendary Indian High School boys' basketball coach, Alfred Redman.

Saturday night, in Ethete, WY, the long-time coach was surrounded by school officials, by players, and by fans, who gathered for a ceremony renaming the school's gymnasium in his honor. Redman's incredible coaching record as he coached the Chiefs was 426 wins and 118 losses in 26 seasons.

Under his leadership, the Chiefs consistently made State tournament appearances, winning six State championship titles, and finishing second six additional times.

Coach Redman was tough. He conditioned his players through grueling practices. This was his formula for success: Work the players hard and make the games easier to win. His toughness paid off. He put Wyoming Indian basketball on the map, both at the State and the national levels.

Over the seasons, from 1983 to 1986, Redman's Chiefs set the State bar with a recordbreaking 50 straight victories. That record still stands today. It is no surprise that Redman is both a Wyoming and a national coaches Hall of Fame inductee.

Wyoming owes a great debt of gratitude to Coach Redman--a giant in State basketball history.

Thank you.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, the National Institutes of Health, which is the Nation's medical research Agency in Bethesda, MD, needed to secure its campus. The NIH's grounds were always open to the public before that. Anybody could walk or drive through the 300-acre campus and could do it freely, but in its facing heightened threats, officials planned to restrict public access and to build a wall. It was completed in 2005. The wall, with the black metal perimeter fence with guarded checkpoints, became the centerpiece of NIH's new perimeter security system. Signs were posted that said ``No Trespassing.''

On its website, NIH states that the purpose of this border barrier is ``to ensure the safety of our patients, employees, guests and facilities.''

NIH wasn't alone in building a barrier after the attacks in 2001. Across the street, the National Naval Medical Center, now known as Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, also walled off its 243- acre campus. These walls have worked. Both NIH and Walter Reed remain safe and secure.

Now we need to deal with a security crisis at our southern border. President Trump has requested $5.7 billion--it is about one one- thousandth of the Federal spending. The President wants to build more physical barriers--a proven border security solution. Thirty percent of the border already has a secure barrier.

Congressional leaders from both parties have supported a border wall in the past. In 2006, Senate Democrats, including then-Senator Barack Obama, Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Joe Biden, and Senator Chuck Schumer voted to construct a physical barrier on our southern border. But Democrat leaders now refuse to back the President's border security effort, prolonging the partial government shutdown that is going on today.

Meanwhile, the Democrats and media fact-checkers are out in force to attack President Trump. They insist there is no border crisis. The facts are that this January 10 Investor's Business Daily editorial says: ``Yes, There Is A Crisis At The Border--The Numbers Show It.''

First, in terms of how the numbers show it is that illegal crossings are climbing, last year, Border Patrol stopped more than one-half million people trying to enter the country illegally--more than 100,000 in October and November alone this past year. That is a huge increase from the same 2 months in 2017.

Second, apprehensions don't account for all illegal crossers. The Homeland Security Department estimates that about 20 percent of our crossers enter, which means about 104,000 illegal immigrants entered in 2018 alone.

Third, the U.S. illegal immigrant population right now is massive. Currently, over 12 million illegal immigrants reside here, comparable to the entire population of countries like Chile, the Netherlands, and Syria.

Fourth, illegal crime levels are higher than expected. The Center for Immigration Studies has found that noncitizens accounted for more than 20 percent of Federal convictions, although they represent only 8.4 percent of the population.

Fifth, Presidents Reagan through Obama have acknowledged the crisis. In 2005, then-Senator Barack Obama said: ``We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked.'' In 2014, President Obama described the border situation as a crisis, but he failed to fix it.

Even President Obama's last Border Patrol Chief, Mark Morgan, supports President Trump. He was actually on television just today. Trump didn't keep him in the job, but Morgan says that building the wall is key to solving the security crisis, and the President should, as he says, ``stay the course.''

Still, Democrats refuse to negotiate with this President, so we can't reopen those Federal Agencies that have been closed for more than 3 weeks.

Here is the Homeland Security Department's latest assessment of the southern border situation. They say that each month, 60,000 illegal immigrants reach the border. Drug smuggling spiked in 2018, with a 38- percent increase in methamphetamine, a 22-percent increase in heroin, and a 73-percent increase in fentanyl. We also saw a huge surge in arrests of dangerous criminals, including 17,000 adults with criminal records and 6,000 MS-13 and other gang members.

In 2018, 60,000 unaccompanied children and 161,000 families reached the border--a dramatic increase from 2017. Many were victimized on their journey.

Border Patrol areas that have enhanced or expanded physical barriers have actually seen a dramatic decrease in illegal traffic. That is why the President has requested additional funds to construct more barriers.

The facts are the facts. We have a national security and humanitarian crisis at the southern border. The problem is the rise in illegal entries. We need to solve it. Walls work.

The question is this: Do U.S. citizens living in at-risk border communities deserve the same protection as NIH patients and the staff in Bethesda, MD?

All Americans want a healthy immigration system that enforces the law and keeps families together. Democrats shouldn't be playing politics with border security. It is time to work together to secure the border, reopen the government, and protect the American people.

Thank you.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, a new year begins, and it brings us new challenges, new opportunities, and new faces in the 116th Congress.

I welcome the nine freshman Senators: Mrs. Blackburn of Tennessee, Mr. Braun of Indiana, Mr. Cramer of North Dakota, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Martha McSally of Arizona, Mitt Romney of Utah, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Rick Scott of Florida, and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Their talent and hard work brought them here, and now we have an expanded Senate Republican majority--a majority we built on in the 115th Congress. Albeit, we are still short of the 60 votes needed to pass most pieces of legislation, we have a group of people committed to the values of our party and our country and working together to find solutions for the Nation.

During the swearing-in last week, as I was sworn in to the Senate, my 96-year-old mother joined us. She attended, enjoyed it, watches the opening every day for the Pledge of Allegiance and for the prayer from Reverend Black, and looks to that as a sign of our Nation moving forward.

From the time I was a little boy, she would always say: ``This is the most important year of your life.'' She started when I was very young, and I think her lesson remains today. For me and for all of us, this is the most important year of our lives, for ourselves, for our Nation, and for the world. She would say: What you do this year makes a big difference for the future, so make sure you do it right. Well, we are now at a point of divided government--Democrats control the House and Republicans the Senate. We need to work together and do it right on behalf of the American people.

Government Funding

Mr. President, I think we have some immediate tasks; one is to secure the southern border and the other is to fund the government. These goals are not mutually exclusive. We can and we must do both, and the key to breaking the current impasse is for both parties to work together.

President Trump, I believe, is absolutely right to insist on border wall funding. I think he is right to insist on it before agreeing to sign spending legislation to end the shutdown, and he spoke passionately and I think spoke convincingly about it last evening. If the southern border were a patient--and I practiced medicine for 24 years in Wyoming--if the southern border were a patient admitted to the hospital, it would be listed in critical condition.

All Americans want an immigration system that secures the border, enforces the law, and that keeps families together. The problem of course is the rise in illegal entry, terrorists, drug smugglers, human traffickers, the Mexican drug cartels, all exploiting our porous border with Mexico. The Customs and Border Protection Commissioner has called the situation a ``border security and humanitarian crisis.'' That is what we are dealing with, a border security and humanitarian crisis.

Here are the numbers from the Department of Homeland Security. Currently, 16,000 Border Patrol agents and 8,100 military troops guard the southern border. The National Guard has been deployed there continuously since 2006. Still, illegal border crossings increased dramatically from 2017 to 2018.

In this past year, the year just ended, 396,000 people were stopped at the border, including 3,700 suspected terrorists and 800 gang members. Of the border's 1,950 miles, a physical barrier today protects about 650 miles. Border Patrol areas with enhanced or expanded barriers have been successful. They have seen a 90-percent decrease in illegal traffic. That is why the President wants to continue with additional physical barriers to protect the border.

There is a huge improvement due to the wall. Clearly, walls work, barriers work. So I ask: Why is Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, prolonging the shutdown by denying critical funding? She has called the wall immoral. I would say what is immoral is refusing to provide for the safety and security of the American people by providing border security.

Border security policymaking has always been bipartisan but not now, it seems. The Pelosi plan to end the partial shutdown isn't serious policy; it is political posturing. I say there is a partial government shutdown because 75 percent of the government continues to be funded. The Speaker's proposal includes billions in wasteful spending while ignoring the crisis at the border. The President has promised to veto what she is proposing, but instead of negotiating, the Speaker is basically playacting.

What is needed is an agreement between the President and the Democratic leaders in the House and Senate that can pass the House and secure at least 60 votes in the Senate and then be signed into law.

As President Trump said in a January 4 letter to Congress, a nation that fails to control its borders cannot fulfill its basic obligations to its citizens, physical safety, economic safety, essential public services, and the uniform protection of our laws.

We cannot afford to play politics with the border. I think we should listen to the advice my mother continues to give me; that this is the most important year of your life. It is important for this body, for this institution, and for this Nation. Let's start 2019 and do it in the right way by passing commonsense legislation that does secure the border, that does reopen the government, and that protects the American people.

Let's work together to make this the most important year, the start of a better future for all Americans.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, whether you support ObamaCare or oppose it--and I clearly oppose it--it remains the law. The decision in the Texas case is being appealed, and I expect it will eventually end up before the Supreme Court.

Regardless of what happens in this legal process, our commitment has always been to protect people with preexisting conditions. As a doctor and husband of a breast cancer survivor who has had three operations and who has been through chemotherapy twice, I know the importance of making sure that patients can get access to quality healthcare at an affordable cost. Since ObamaCare passed, this has not happened for many families I speak to in Wyoming. They keep telling me that ObamaCare has made their insurance unaffordable, whether it is premiums, copays--all of it. It has made it more difficult to get the care they need.

Simply put, they know ObamaCare has failed because they personally have experienced the law's sky-high premiums and few choices.

It has taken Washington Democrats a little longer to figure this out. Now they are clamoring for a federally mandated, single-payer system. They want a healthcare system dominated and controlled by Washington.

As a doctor, my focus is on making healthcare better for patients, period. It shouldn't take a judge to force us to get it done. We need to reform healthcare to give American families better care at a lower cost, which ObamaCare failed to deliver.

The question is whether Washington Democrats are interested in solving problems or playing politics. I am ready to work.

Therefore, Mr. President, I object.

Mr. President, today the Senate passed H.R. 5787, the Strengthening Coastal Communities Act of 2018, by unanimous consent. This legislation adds new acres to the Coastal Barrier Resources System, which Congress established through bipartisan legislation in 1982.

I yield to my distinguished colleague, the Senator from Delaware, ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee.

Mr. President, the Senator from Delaware is correct about this use of digital maps. Under H.R. 5787, Congress does not intend to prevent the use of these tools or data to assist in the implementation of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act. Congress intends to ensure the integrity of the system maps and the rule of law. Congress intends that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service be permitted to continue to make determinations as to whether a location is inside or outside of the Coastal Barrier Resources System with the assistance of Geographic Information Systems and any digital boundary data that were used to create the Coastal Barrier Resources System maps.

In cases where properties or project sites are located close to a system boundary, due to the scale of the official maps or age of the underlying base maps, the assistance of various digital tools and data may be needed in order to ensure that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service makes accurate determinations. Congress intends that those determinations are based on a printed, hard copy version of an applicable digital map.

Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Chloe for her hard work as an intern in my Casper office. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming.

Chloe is a native of South Dakota. She is a student at Casper College, where she is studying political science. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months.

I want to thank Chloe for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It was a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her next journey.

Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Reata for her hard work as an intern in my Casper office. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming.

Reata is a native of Albin. She is a student at Casper College, where she is studying political science. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months.

I want to thank Reata for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It was a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her next journey.

Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Will for his hard work as an intern in the Environment and Public Works Committee. I recognize his efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming.

Will is a native of Oklahoma. He is a graduate student at the George Washington University, where he is studying Environmental Resource Policy. He has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made him an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of his work is reflected in his great efforts over the last several months.

I want to thank Will for the dedication he has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our team. I know he will have continued success with all of his future endeavors. I wish him all my best on his journey.

Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Michael for his hard work as an intern in the Republican Policy Committee. I recognize his efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming.

Michael is a native of Indiana. He is a graduate of DePauw University, where he studied political science. He has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made him an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of his work is reflected in his great efforts over the last several months.

I want to thank Michael for the dedication he has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our team. I know he will have continued success with all of his future endeavors. I wish him all my best on his journey.