Floor Statements

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

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Banks), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn), the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Cotton), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul), and the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Risch).

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, this week, President Trump called attention and paid tribute to families who lost loved ones--loved ones who were killed by illegal immigrant criminals. Now, these are known as Angel Families. On Monday, President Trump declared February 23 National Angel Family Day.

On Tuesday, during the State of the Union, when we were both there, the President honored a heartbroken Angel mother--a mother who was there in the audience from the State of Texas. It was her 16-year-old daughter, Lizbeth Medina, who was brutally murdered by an illegal immigrant. Lizbeth's killer had a criminal background and should not have been in our country.

Just like Laken Riley, the nursing student who had been brutally murdered by an illegal immigrant, Lizbeth dreamed also of becoming a nurse. Think of all the lives that could have been helped and saved had hers not been stolen away.

Republicans are determined to ensure that no more families are forced to feel this sort of pain.

During his State of the Union Address, President Trump asked a single and powerful question. He said to the entire Chamber, everyone-- Republicans, Democrats, everyone there--he said: If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support.

He then presented the statement to the American people. This is the statement. He said:

The first duty of the American Government is to protect

American citizens--not illegal [immigrants].

So what happened? Republicans stood up and cheered, as they should and should every American citizen, for putting American citizens first. Not a single Democrat, that I saw, stood up. They sat on their hands. They sat in the Chamber. They refused to stand to the important statement of ``The first duty of the American Government is to protect American citizens--not illegal aliens.'' To me, that revealing moment said it all.

Now, I have said it many times before, and I will say it again: Democrats care more about illegal immigrant criminals. Every one of them on the other side of the aisle cares more about illegal immigrant criminals than they do about the safety and the security of the American people. That is wrong, Mr. President. That is not what our country is all about.

Department of Homeland Security

Mr. President, we are now 13 days into the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. It is another Democrat shutdown. They are the ones that shut it down--a shutdown against American safety and security. That is who those people are. That is what they believe in. That is why they would not stand, the other night, during the President's State of the Union Address, to support American citizens as opposed to illegal immigrant criminals.

But the Department of Homeland Security stands between illegal immigrant criminals and the American people, between terrorists and American citizens. And yet this is the very Department that the Democrats have decided to shut down.

We funded 96 percent of the Government through the usual approach that we do, the Appropriations Committee, and they refused that last 4 percent of Government because that is the 4 percent that deals with the Department of Homeland Security.

So today these heroes that protect American lives are working without pay. It is wrong. We are talking about TSA agents, Secret Services agents, the Coast Guard that patrols our coastal waters, our Nation's cyber security--260,000 people in all working without pay because the Democrats have shut down the Department of Homeland Security or, at least, refused to pay them. They are still working, but they are not getting paid because of the Democrats.

Funding the Department of Homeland Security is about protecting American citizens. That is the fundamental role of Government. It is not coddling illegal immigrant criminals, which is what the Democrats seem to want to do, especially criminals who brutally murder American citizens.

Republicans have offered fair terms to fully and immediately fund the Department of Homeland Security. What do the Democrats say? Well, they continue to make unreasonable and unserious demands. Democrats want the Department of Homeland Security to remain closed. It is very evident from their statements.

Democrats have submitted a laundry list of demands in order for the Government to fund the Department of Homeland Security. They demand harsh restrictions on cooperation between the Federal Government, State governments, and local officials.

Mr. President, you would want them all to work together. I mean, wouldn't it be better if we coordinated efforts at the State, local, and national levels? Of course.

Democrats are demanding an outright ban on immigration enforcement at so-called sensitive locations. So they have a list of sensitive locations. One, astonishingly--this is the first time this has ever appeared in any of their lists of demands, but it is now here--they want a sensitive location for protection of illegal immigrants to be polling places.

Why are illegal immigrants in polling places? It is illegal for them to vote.

That is who the Democrats are. That is who they are supporting. That is what they are trying to do--protect illegal immigrant criminals. Their demands are driven not by the protection and safety of the American people. It is for the protection and safety of illegal immigrants, and it is just flatout wrong. It flies in the face of who we are as American citizens.

The Democrat demands are driven not by the traditional Democrats of yesterday. Oh, no, they are driven by the extreme Democrats of today. And it is the extreme Democrats of today who have captured and are controlling today's Democrat Party. The Democrats of yesterday are gone. This is a party under the control of the radical left--a party that calls for defunding the police, a party that encourages defying the law, and a party that refuses to stand when they are asked to support the citizens of America.

The Democrats' demands are reckless, they are radical, and they are dangerous. The Democrats' demands compromise public safety. They fly in the face of the rule of law. They turn America into a sanctuary country. That is not what the American people want.

The danger is real. The cartels remain a serious and deadly threat. Just this week, in Mexico, they launched a violent new drug war. This violence started after the Mexican military, encouraged and assisted by the United States, eliminated one of Mexico's most powerful drug lords.

As the cartels spread chaos across Mexico, they also seek to harm law enforcement officers inside America--inside our own country. ABC News has now reported that the Mexican cartels have placed cash bounties on ICE and Border Patrol officers living and working here in America, cartels paying for damage--physical damage--of ICE and Border Patrol agents serving here at home.

They actually have a payment list. They offer $2,000 to dox an agent, including photos of the agent's family or details about the agent's family. They are paying $5,000 to $10,000 to kidnap or assault an enforcement officer, and $50,000 to murder a high-ranking official. That is what the Mexican cartels are up to these days, at a time that the Democrats here stand for the illegal immigrants but remain seated in terms of support for the American people.

So think about it. Criminal cartels in Mexico have put a price on the heads of our law enforcement officers here at home in America, and yet the pro-crime Democrats here in the U.S. Senate, as part of their list of demands, are demanding that ICE officers remove their masks in the face of such assaults, making it easier for the cartels to get what they want, to go after their families.

But Republicans are not at all going to accept these dangerous demands from the Democrats--demands that make our communities less safe and demands that put our enforcement officers at increased risk.

Republicans here in this body and across the country and most American citizens agree with President Trump: It is the No. 1 duty of any government--and certainly ours--to protect its citizens, not illegal aliens. And Republicans will stand every day for the safety and security of our Nation's citizens.

I yield the floor.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Justice), and the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul).

Further, if present and voting: the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham) would have voted ``yea.''

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Montana (Mr. Daines), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty), the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Justice), the Senator from

Kentucky (Mr. Paul), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Tuberville).

Further, if present and voting: the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham) would have voted ``yea,'' and the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty) would have voted ``yea.''

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

Mr. President, I come to the floor having just heard the minority leader, and he talked about the State of the Union Address last night. I heard the same speech that he did. I thought it was outstanding. Apparently, the difference is that I was actually listening.

The American people agree with me in terms of what they saw and heard and witnessed last night with Donald Trump's state of the Union. What Americans saw last night was quite simple: Republicans stood with them; Democrats didn't. They didn't stand for much. Republicans cheered for lower taxes, for safe communities, and for safer elections--secure elections, elections people have faith in.

Senator Schumer said he thought the speech was delusional. The American people didn't think that. Immediately after the State of the Union, CNN conducted a poll. Here is what they found: 62 percent of the viewers said that President Trump's economic and immigration policies would move the country in the right direction.

That is what we have been trying to do for the last year--get the country back on track. Those are the commonsense policies for which the Democrats refused to stand.

The President said to the whole body:

If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show

your support.

He then read the statement:

The first duty of the American government is to protect

American citizens, not illegal aliens.

Every Republican stood up. Not the Democrats. They sat silently.

This is the first responsibility of a government of a nation--to protect its citizens. Why in the world would Democrats refuse to stand for such a statement, such a basic understanding of what the role of government is in our lives, what our Founding Fathers fought for? The Revolutionary War. Here we are 250 years into the United States, and the Democrats in the Senate and in the House and in the Chamber last night don't believe that is the responsibility of government, the No. 1 first duty--to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens? That is delusional on the part of the Democrats. It is astonishing.

I am happy to see CNN report that so many Americans agree that we are getting the country back on track, doing what we should do, what we were elected to do--to provide safety and prosperity for the American people.

What do the Democrats stand for? Raising taxes. They sit on their hands when it comes to protecting American citizens. Their priorities are wrong. We are in a shutdown right now for the Department of Homeland Security. Why? Because they want to stand with illegal immigrant criminals instead of the safety and security of the American people. To me, that was the most telling moment of the evening, and the American people will not forget that. They will not forget that visual. They will not forget seeing the President of the United States make his statement and the Republicans jump up and cheer and the Democrats sit in silence.

Last night, we heard about the great American comeback. The President's remark proved two things: Our country is strong, and our fellow citizens--boy, they are courageous. And we heard great stories of courage last night. More than a dozen heroes were honored, and rightfully so, heroes like 100-year-old Navy pilot retired CAPT E. Royce Williams and helicopter pilot CW5 Eric Slover, both of whom received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Well earned. Well done. Well deserved. Heroes like Pennsylvania mom Megan Hemhauser, who homeschools her two children and works in the evenings as a waitress; heroes like Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan, who rescued many young girls from the deadly Texas flood.

These American heroes remind me of two sailors I met with this past weekend. I was on a Navy destroyer within firing distance of Iran. These sailors

from Wyoming were nine time zones away from home in Wyoming. One that I talked to is from Gillette, WY. He went to Sheridan High School. He is from Gillette. His father works at a coal mine in Gillette. Another is from Wheatland, WY. His father works at the powerplant. Both of them said that President Trump and Republicans had saved their fathers' jobs, and they asked me to portray that and give that thanks to the President. I did that last night as a member of the Escort Committee when I met with the President before he entered the Chamber to deliver the State of the Union.

He knows that what he is doing is making a difference for the men and women--the working men and women--of our country, for the jobs in our communities, for good-paying jobs, and for American energy. That is what we are doing for America.

The success that the President outlined last night is just the beginning. It is being felt by working families everywhere around the country. People are going to continue to feel that success because of our Republican comprehensive economic plan.

Being from Wyoming, of course, my focus is small businesses that make our State thrive. Wyoming is proud to be a small business State. Ninety-nine percent of our businesses are small businesses. Two out of three jobs in our State are all from small businesses, and what we are talking about is farmers, ranchers, construction workers, energy workers, so many more; people who feed our country, people who power our homes, people who make our communities better.

During the previous administration, small businesses struggled. They chocked on a witch's brew of higher taxes and burdensome regulations. Punishing good people for honest work did not make life in America more affordable; it made it more challenging. It led to higher costs. It led to smaller paychecks. It led to fewer jobs. That is what the Biden administration and the Democrats did.

But now, because of our Working Families Tax Cut law, taxes on small businesses are going down, and they are going to stay down. The Working Families Tax Cut law is already helping create jobs.

This year, in every State, new Main Street jobs are going to be created. Small businesses receive a permanent tax cut. In my home State of Wyoming, 50,000 small businesses will benefit from them.

The Working Families Tax Cut law encourages investing here at home. Small businesses can now write off 100 percent of their costs for new equipment. It is called full expensing. It matters to the small businesses on Main Street all along this great Nation.

Full expensing simply means that small businesses will be able to build more and grow faster. They can invest in their business and their workers. Faster growth means lower costs for families. It means more jobs. It means bigger paychecks. That is what the American people want.

The Working Families Tax Cut law supports farmers and ranchers. They receive major relief from the dreaded death tax. This relief is permanent. Death tax relief has significant consequences for rural livelihoods and for feeding our country.

Now, families across Wyoming and your home State of Montana, Mr. President, will not have to worry about whether they can keep the farm or the ranch when Grandma or Grandpa passes away. They want to keep it in the family. In the past, they had to sell it to pay the tax man. That is wrong.

All these changes mean immediate savings for small businessowners, for their employees, as well as for their customers. This year, small businessowners will receive about $27 billion in additional tax refunds. That is money in their pockets. And because these provisions are permanent, small businesses can hire, invest, and grow with confidence now and in the future. The only people who don't want this success to continue are the Democrats.

People in mainstream Wyoming--and you know, think of a small community in Wyoming, Newcastle, WY, a great place. I go every year. They do what is called Madness on Main Street. All the small businesses are out. They have tables out. The firefighters do a pancake breakfast. That is what America is all about: small communities, local community jobs, local schools where they still teach the students the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence. The kids can actually recite it. They can come to the--they stand up. I have been in their classrooms. It is astonishing what is going on in small communities, in small schools, all across America.

That is what President Trump was talking about and what he is doing for small businesses in our communities in rural America, but that is not what we saw with the Democrats. No.

Last night, how did they respond last night after the President's magnificent speech? Well, they chose the newly elected Governor of Virginia to deliver their State of the Union response.

She was sworn in just a month ago. But this is the mindset now of this far-left party over there, the Democrats, because since she was sworn in last month as the Governor of Virginia, she has introduced 50 new taxes--50 new taxes.

Democrats in Virginia are trying to raise taxes on barbershops, nail salons, dry cleaners, and gyms. Every one of those--if we were talking about Newcastle, WY, it would hurt Newcastle, WY, or the small communities in Wyoming and in your home State of Montana. But that is what Virginia wants to do. That is what the liberals that run the house, the senate, and their new Governor, whom the Democrats chose as the face of the Democratic Party--somebody who has been in office for 1 month and has introduced 50 new taxes: Barbershops, nail salons, dry cleaners, and gyms, tax them all.

You will love this. She wants to raise sales taxes on firearms and ammunition by 11 percent. That is not something that works in Wyoming or Montana. She wants to give instate tuition benefits for illegal immigrants. That is not something the American people agree on.

She wants to ban gas-powered leaf blowers. She is still living in that age of focusing on the carbon footprint instead of what we need in America today, which is all the energy and affordable energy. That is whom the Democrats chose to give the response, a person who wants to put sales taxes on everyday services all across the State.

You know, I said it before, and I am saying it again: Democrats are committed and determined to raise your taxes, and Virginia and what we heard from her last night--what they are doing in Virginia is just a roadmap to the radical policies that the Democrats want all over this country.

Remember, it was the Democrats, under Joe Biden, who brought us the worst inflation in 40 years. Democrats voted last year to raise taxes by $4 trillion. Democrats stood for higher taxes last night but not for tax cuts, not for working Americans, not for American heroes, not for the priorities of the safety of the American people. Nope.

The Democrat agenda continues to be higher taxes, higher prices that the American people cannot afford. Affordability isn't improved by taxing and by spending more government money; it is improved by allowing the American people to keep more of what they earned so they can make the decisions for themselves on what to spend, what to save, what to invest.

Americans are better off today because Republicans cut taxes, because we protect farmers and ranchers, because we support small businesses. And after just 1 year, inflation is falling, wages are rising, and more Americans are working.

This is the great American economic comeback. This is what we heard from the President last night. This is what we are proud of is a record of providing safety and prosperity for the American people, and there is more work to be done, as the President said.

Our Nation is returning to a position of safety, security, and prosperity. For small businesses in Wyoming and all across America, the future is bright.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise alongside my friend and colleague Senator Lummis to celebrate these three talented Olympians: Breezy Johnson, Jaelin Kauf, and Anna Gibson. The 2026 Olympic Games were the most successful winter games in our Nation's history.

Team USA won an astonishing 12 gold medals. It is the most gold medals our country has ever won in the Winter Olympics. America brought home the second most medals of any country--33 medals overall. This was a record-setting year for Team USA, and Wyoming is no small part of the success.

Breezy started the historic medal run that first day by winning our Nation's first gold medal of the 2026 Games by winning women's downhill alpine skiing. Her victory comes just 4 years after she was forced to withdraw from the 2022 Olympics due to injuries, injuries sustained on the very mountain that she conquered in 2026.

Her comeback is an inspiring story for every young American who aspires to a day as an Olympic athlete.

Jaelin Kauf was next. She took home two silver medals in mogul skiing. She is now a three-time Olympic silver medalist, and that makes her the most decorated mogul skier in U.S. Olympic history.

And everyone in Wyoming is so, so very proud of Anna Gibson. Look at that--the determination, the look in her. And what a sport it is. As Senator Lummis just said, this is the first year for ski mountaineering in the Olympics, and it was Anna's first Olympics ever. She made history as the first American woman to compete in ski mountaineering at the Olympic Winter Games. She finished in fourth place and accomplished this even though, incredibly, she picked up this event only a few months ago. I will tell you, she is a trailblazer, as are all of these Olympic athletes.

Watching her event on Saturday, I saw a Wyoming flag waving in the crowd and cheering her on. The people of Wyoming always show up for one another. You know, in Wyoming, we follow the Cowboy Code: Live each day with courage, take pride in your work, and do what needs to be done.

So congratulations to our Wyoming Olympic champions. They have done so much to make history. We are so very proud of all of them. They make our State and our Nation very proud.

I yield the floor.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Nebraska (Mrs. Fischer), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul), and the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Nebraska (Mrs. Fischer), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul), and the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker).

Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk that is due for a second reading.

In order to place the bill on the calendar, under the provisions of rule XIV, I would object to further proceeding.

Mr. President, tonight the President of the United States will give the State of the Union Address. Americans are going to hear two things from the President. They are going to hear a record of progress that puts America back on track. They will also hear a plan to build on that progress.

In the 2024 election, Americans demanded safety and prosperity, and Republicans have delivered. Republicans cut taxes for Americans. We eliminated wasteful Washington spending. We rolled back regulations that strangled businesses and punished small businesses all across the country. We restored American energy dominance.

Today, America is safer, more secure, and more prosperous than it was when Joe Biden left the White House a little over a year ago. For the 4 years of his Presidency, painfully high prices punished American families. Republicans' policies have changed all of that. Our focus is affordability. The proof is in the pockets of the American people.

Last year, Republicans passed the Working Families Tax Cut law. Every Democrat--every single Democrat in this body--voted against it. That law benefits every single American taxpayer.

Every working American receives a permanently lower tax rate. Every working American receives a permanent increase in the standard deduction.

Farmers, ranchers, small business owners, and Main Street small business owners receive permanent relief from the dreaded death tax.

All parents are going to receive a permanent increase in the child tax credit--$2,200 for each child each year. Waiters, barbers, and bartenders are going to keep more money because of no taxes on tips. Nurses, firefighters, police officers, and coal miners will keep more money because of no tax on overtime.

Millions of seniors living on Social Security will receive higher payments as a result of no taxes on Social Security.

New parents can save and invest in their child's future through the historic new Trump accounts.

Republicans didn't stop with cutting taxes--oh, no. We also removed burdensome government regulations that strangled our economy. Just this month, in a historic decision, the Trump administration ended the so- called endangerment finding. That was an Obama-era regulation that raised car prices and limited consumer choice. This is the single largest action to cut burdensome regulation by any administration ever, and it is going to make life more affordable.

It follows a year of rolling back redtape. Last year, President Trump eliminated 646 regulations, and his actions saved hard-working Americans over $200 billion.

This is just the beginning. So what are the results so far? Inflation is at the lowest it has been in 5 years. More Americans are working-- millions more--and wages are going up. The economy continues to see robust growth. Productivity grew twice as fast last year as it has over the past decade. That is what we have been able to deliver. These are the facts and figures.

Let me put it in personal terms. Because of the economic policies enacted in the past year, workers in America now have $1,400 more in each and every one of their pockets than they did before President Trump took office. From the gas station, to the grocery store, to the pharmacy, paychecks are going further. Families are feeling financial relief, and more relief is on the way because there is more work for us to do.

Let's consider what the Democrats--the people on the other side of the aisle--want to do instead.

Joe Biden and the Democrats' reckless tax and spending agenda caused the worst inflation in 40 years. Record-high inflation. Sky-high prices. Today, these Democrats are determined to bring that back--that pain, that suffering. They want it all again.

These Democrats tried to raise taxes on American workers by $4 trillion. Every single Democrat in this body--every single one of them on the other side of the aisle--voted in favor of the largest tax increase in America's history. We stopped them. We stopped them. Had these Democrats gotten their way, Americans would be paying more taxes today, not less. The refund checks coming would be smaller rather than larger, which is what they are going to get with the Republican plan when they get their tax refunds this year.

Even now, Democrats are still trying to raise your taxes. These Democrats are trying to undo the very policies that are putting more money back into the pocketbooks and the purses of American families.

Americans rejected the failed agenda of high prices and of open border and of high taxes. The American people chose safety and prosperity instead.

So, today, America is heading in the right direction. This is an all- American economic comeback, and we are going to continue to build on it, and people are going to hear that tonight when the President speaks.

Tonight, President Trump will lay out his vision for continuing to make America safer and more prosperous for the people who are here, the citizens of this country, and Senate Republicans are going to work closely with him to do precisely that.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Nebraska (Mrs. Fischer), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

Mr. President, I have two 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 move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 647.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.