Floor Statements

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Alabama (Mrs. Britt), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), and the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Schmitt).

Mr. President, for 24 years, I practiced medicine as an orthopedic surgeon in Wyoming. And over that time, I know what it is like to practice in a frontier State, a State where huge distances separate us.

Medical care is needed everywhere. I know how important it is to provide available, affordable, quality care for the citizens in my State and in the Presiding Officer's State.

(Mr. SHEEHY assumed the Chair.)

And as in the Presiding Officer's State today where people are celebrating an overtime victory by the Montana football team last evening--a 1-point difference--and people traveled vast distances to get to the game, they also travel vast distances to get to care.

So in my State of Wyoming and in the Presiding Officer's State of Montana where the distances are great, we know how important it is to provide quality care for all of our citizens.

I want everyone in my State to be able to get the care that they need from a doctor they choose, at a price they can afford. And that is why we worked so hard--myself and the Presiding Officer, working together-- during the Working Families Tax Cut bill that we passed last year to include a specific, large component for rural healthcare, for the patients in our small communities to get the care that they need and, many times, closer to home.

And we funded this program in a way that it really provides the necessary care in our communities. And I know, in my home State of Wyoming, $205 million came to the State of Wyoming, and it is headed specifically to our critical access hospitals. It is heading for emergency medical services, emergency medical technicians.

It is to address the needs we have all across our State. And it is also going for education--to provide the education needed, to provide to make sure that, in the future, there are people there to continue to be able to deliver the care--because we need the money to

help strengthen and to train and to retain nurses and EMTs and paramedics and X-ray technicians, essential healthcare workers.

You know, if we want them to stay local, we need to train them locally. And the Presiding Officer sees that in his home State, and I certainly see it in mine.

Well, now, hospitals and clinics and health centers in vulnerable rural communities will have the necessary resources that we need to allow us to treat patients closer to home.

More choices and better care is a direct result of the Republicans' Working Families Tax Cut bill. This Rural Health Transformation Program that we put in place for $50 billion is the largest Federal investment in rural healthcare ever.

Now, Democrats talk constantly about access to healthcare. Yet when Republicans--when we proposed this fund to help in rural America, every single Democrat in the Senate voted against it. Every single one of them said: Nope. We are not interested in funding rural healthcare.

When Democrats shut down the government last fall--lots of pain for the American people--one of their demands to reopen the government was to slash all of the funding for rural healthcare. They say they are for rural healthcare. They say they are for healthcare. But when given the chance, they refused and actually voted to eliminate our efforts to provide healthcare for rural Americans. That tells you exactly how little these far-left Democrats value America. Democrats have a long history--and it continues today--of thumbing their noses and turning their backs on rural communities and rural America.

At the same time, last summer, what did they vote to do? They voted to provide taxpayer-funded healthcare to illegal immigrants. Democrats: Yes for illegal immigrant healthcare; no for rural American healthcare. And they did it as we continue to uncover massive amounts of fraud. We are seeing it now in Minnesota with government programs, scammers who stole billions of dollars from taxpayers.

Republicans are committed to ensuring Americans have the healthcare they deserve and that the money goes where it needs to go: to American citizens who are deserving and need the care and need the funding and need the support, not to people ripping off the system as the Democrats look the other way.

In September, I attended the grand opening of a hospital in Pinedale, WY. For years, the nearest hospital was 85 miles from Pinedale--and that 85 miles includes curvy roads and a mountain pass. And if the roads were closed due to weather, the next hospital, which was a different direction, was 100 miles away. So this new hospital in Sublette County is going to be saving lives.

Republicans want rural communities across America to have what Pinedale has today: care they need, doctors they choose, closer to home. Regrettably, many other rural communities are not so fortunate.

And let me tell you what has happened since ObamaCare has become law. Since the Democrats passed ObamaCare on a party-line vote 15 years ago, over 100 rural hospitals have closed--over 100. It is yet another broken promise from the failure of ObamaCare.

Republicans are reversing the trajectory: we are strengthening hospitals; we are supporting providers; and we are keeping care closer to home. That is our commitment, and this is just the beginning. Hundreds of millions of dollars are flowing now, and more funding will continue for the next 5 years. More communities are going to be better served; more patients will receive care; and more lives will be served.

Rural America deserves this sort of treatment and respect and care from the Federal Government. These are the hard-working people that make this country great. High-quality care is necessary for them, and we need to make sure it is where they need it.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today having just heard the minority leader talk about the President's address to the Nation last night. I listened carefully to what the President had to say, and I thought he did an outstanding job explaining what a difference a year makes, because what the President inherited and Republicans inherited when we took over after Joe Biden and the Democrats had been in charge--our country was weaker, our country was poorer, and our country was less safe.

What we have seen is a complete reversal over the last year, with a focus on significant changes at the border, where we now have a secure border--the most secure it has been in years and years and even decades.

There is a huge difference on energy. We are right now going into the Christmas season, and gasoline prices are at the lowest they have been in 5 years.

There is a complete change in taxes, where the Democrats wanted to raise taxes on American families by $5 trillion. Instead, this year and as we go into next year, people are going to see a dramatic difference in lower taxes, impacting how much money they have in their pockets.

There has been a dramatic change in national security. We now have peace through strength, and we didn't have that over the last administration.

Then, on top of all these things, President Trump announced something called a warrior dividend. That is going to give $1,776 to each and every one of our brave men and women in uniform, and there are over 1 million of them right now. What a gift and what bonus to thank them for their service.

Oh yes, we are dramatically changing the direction of this country. We are getting America back on track.

Just this morning, we got additional good news. It is the latest inflation report. The inflation has slowed in November to 2.7 percent, and that is lower than anything anyone expected. That is a reflection of the work we are doing. Core inflation was the lowest since March of 2021. That is when Joe Biden and the Democrats came into office, and we faced 40-year high inflation. That is what the American people suffered through under 4 years of Biden and the Democrats.

This is good news for consumers, it is good news for Main Street, and it is good news for the country.

The evidence is undeniable: Republicans are getting America back on track.

This Christmas, families are really feeling the relief that comes from returning to commonsense energy policies. You unleash American energy, as we have done--taken the leash off that the Democrats had applied to American energy production--you get more energy production, and prices go down.

I remember when consumers were paying $5 a gallon for gasoline and even higher for diesel. Now, in Wyoming, it is less than $2.50 a gallon. I hear that in Oklahoma--from Senator Lankford--it is $1.99 a gallon.

I will never forget the day that Joe Biden told his Environmental Protection Agency--he said: Prioritize climate over energy that is affordable, available, and reliable.

That era is over. By unleashing American energy that is now affordable, available, and reliable, Republicans are making America safer and more prosperous.

Now, a vital piece of all of this energy dominance is America's clean coal. A few months ago, President Trump declared that American clean coal is essential for our Nation's safety and prosperity, and he is right.

As part of the Working Families Tax Cut bill, Republicans in Congress lowered the royalty rate for coal production on Federal lands. The old, higher tax rates risked keeping coal in the ground. Lower rates mean higher production and lower energy costs. It is good, certainly, for my home State of Wyoming, and it is good for America.

Wyoming is America's energy breadbasket. Our Powder River Basin coal produces nearly half of all the coal in America, and it is the cleanest burning coal in the world. More production means more affordable energy. More production means revenue for Wyoming schools as the taxes come in. More production means more certainty

for decades in the future in terms of our energy security. More production means good-paying jobs, and Joe Biden tried to cripple coal production in America.

His administration imposed a punishing Buffalo Resource Management Plan on Wyoming and on parts of Montana, a plan to stop mining of American coal. Republicans used the Congressional Review Act to restore sanity to energy production. Now, Wyoming coal producers in the Powder River Basin can provide the coal needed to continue powering our Nation.

As a result, miners see a bright future again. Coal production is now up 6 percent since last year. Another critical piece of American energy superiority is nuclear energy. Last year, the Senate passed my bill to ban the import of Russian uranium. President Trump is also supporting uranium production and nuclear energy as part of his all-of-the-above energy strategy.

Uranium production now in the United States is booming. My own State of Wyoming is the second largest producer of uranium in America. Our production has increased nearly 100 percent since last year.

Because of Republican policies, production facilities that were once dormant are now ramping up. That is because they have certainty in terms of business. Nuclear energy fuels 20 percent of American electricity. We need it. More power from all energy sources is going to bring affordable electricity prices in the future.

Remember, Republicans also ended this electric vehicle mandate that the Democrats were trying to foist upon the American people. We got rid of the $7,500 government subsidies to buy electric vehicles. When California tried to control what cars we can drive, Republicans stepped in to stop them. Electric vehicles are vehicles Americans don't want, can't afford, aren't practical in my home State of Wyoming or the Presiding Officer's State of Montana. We are not going to allow California to force-feed us. They tried. Now Americans are back in the driver's seat.

Republicans also removed Green New Deal regulations. We did it throughout the entire government, and taxpayers saved billions. Additionally, Republicans repealed the Biden-era tax on natural gas. That saves Americans money when they heat their homes. Republicans rolled back Biden-era regulations on home appliances. Now Americans have the freedom to purchase what they want, the appliances that work best for them and their families and their budgets.

The contrast between Republicans and Democrats is dramatic, and we certainly heard it last night with the President's address. Senate Democrats have absolutely no plans or no desire to make energy more affordable. They don't. They want it more expensive so we use less, and that helps their green climate initiatives.

Democrats may talk about affordability. Yet energy costs are the highest in their own home States. Think about it. Senator Schumer, he was just on the floor of the Senate, his home State of New York, and he was addressing affordability. He wasn't talking about putting more money in people's pockets. Nope, his home State electricity prices are up 34 percent over the last 6 years. New York's energy prices are 44 percent higher than the national average.

In California, electricity prices are up 58 percent in 5 years. Democrats ought to take responsibility for the higher prices because it is their policies that caused them.

Affordable, reliable American energy is a necessity. It is not a luxury. It is good for our workers; it is good for our economy; and it is good for our safety and our national security.

America is an energy superpower. Under Republicans, we are finally beginning to act like it again.

I yield the floor.

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Hawley).

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Utah (Mr. Curtis).

Mr. Schumer. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker), the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Kelly), the Senator from Minnesota (Ms. Smith), the Senator from Massachussetts (Ms. Warren), and the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Whitehouse) are necessarily absent.

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

Mr. President, the Republican Party has delivered for the American people. We promised and delivered a country that is safer, stronger, and more prosperous. That is what we have seen in the last year.

Americans are now seeing more money in their pockets. Inflation is now under 3 percent. During the Biden years, it was at a 40-year high of 9 percent inflation.

This Christmas, gas prices are going to be the lowest that they have been, basically, in the last 5 years. In 38 States, including mine, Wyoming, we now have gasoline prices lower than $3 a gallon. That is because Americans are seeing the impact of Republicans who have unleashed American energy.

Our borders are now secured. Not a single illegal immigrant has been released into this country under this administration. Compare that with 10,000 illegal immigrants, every day, flooding across our southern border and bringing with them the drugs and the crime, as so many of them were released into the country and others were never captured.

What we see happening globally is the world's most successful companies are investing in America, and $10 trillion is coming to our shores. Record investment is driving job growth. It drives innovation and drives opportunity.

We passed a comprehensive economic plan called the working families tax cut law. It is the central part of our economic plan. I really want to thank Senator Mike Crapo, chairman of the Finance Committee, for his hard work on seeing this through.

Republicans cut taxes. Every single Democrat voted to raise taxes to the tune of $4 trillion. That would have impacted every working family in America. It would also have been the largest tax increase in American history.

So why is it that we want to cut taxes for American families? It is because you want more money in their pockets. You want waiters and barbers and bartenders to be able to keep up to $1,300 more in money that they wouldn't have in their pockets now but by what we passed, which is no tax on tips.

In my home State and in yours, nurses and firefighters and police officers and coal miners are going to see about a $1,400 increase in their take-home pay in their paychecks next year because of the no tax on overtime.

Seniors are going to see more money in their bank accounts, as well. There is a new $6,000 deduction on Social Security income. Senator Marsha Blackburn fought hard to make sure that deduction stayed in the bill.

Thanks to Senator Katie Britt of Alabama, Republicans modernized tax credits for childcare. That helps parents pay for childcare.

Thanks to Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, new parents now get a $1,000 Trump account for every newborn child. Parents can use that to invest in their child's future. Also, parents get a bigger tax credit--$2,200 for every child.

America is now energy dominant once again. The working families' tax cuts unleashed American energy. It reopened Federal lands and waters for energy production.

This is a historic victory for Wyoming. Wyoming is America's energy breadbasket. We have world-class coal and world-class oil and natural gas, and this Republican bill helps American energy workers compete globally.

Republicans also rolled back punishing Biden regulations. Those regulations were burdensome, expensive, and time-consuming. By reining in Biden's heavy-handed bureaucrats, we have saved the American public $180 billion. That pencils out to over $2,000 in savings for each and every working family.

Republicans repealed 23 bad Biden regulations, and we used the Congressional Review Act to do it. That is a record as well.

We stopped California's electric vehicle mandate madness. Thanks to the leadership of Senators Shelley Moore Capito, Deb Fischer, Markwayne Mullin, and Bernie Moreno, Americans are now back in the driver's seat.

My colleague and friend Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming led the repeal of the harmful Buffalo Resource Management Plan. That is really good news for Wyoming's energy producers. The Powder River Basin in Wyoming supplies about 45 percent of all the coal in the country.

Senate Republicans also cut wasteful Washington spending. We cut over $1 trillion in waste, fraud, and abuse as part of the working families tax cuts law.

We also passed the first standalone rescissions bill in over 30 years--a special thanks to Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri.

Taxpayers saved over $9 billion because we cut liberal projects. Let's look at some of them. One of those pet projects included net-zero cities in Mexico. Another cut out electric buses in Africa and taxpayer-funded classes on ``environmental racism.''

Additionally, Republicans created a $50 billion rural hospital fund. It is the single largest Federal investment in rural healthcare in American history.

Do you want to help patients with rare diseases find treatments? We were able to do that. We passed a bill that I introduced called the ORPHAN Cures Act. As a doctor in Wyoming, I saw the challenges that patients faced when they had few or no treatment options. That is why I fought to bring hope for millions of Americans living with rare diseases.

Republicans are also making our communities safer. We began this year by passing a bill from Senator Britt and from Senator Ted Budd of North Carolina. It is called the Laken Riley Act. It was the first bill that we passed this year and the first bill that President Trump signed into law. It mandates the detention of illegal immigrant criminals. Amendments from Senator Joni Ernst and Senator John Cornyn made it even stronger.

We also passed the HALT Fentanyl Act. It cracks down on deadly fentanyl trafficking. This is thanks to Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Chuck Grassley of Iowa. They have done incredibly hard work and important work.

On top of that, the working families tax cuts made a historic $170 billion investment in border security. It finishes the wall. It hires more ICE and Border Patrol agents.

As we finish this year, Senate Republicans have confirmed a record number of President Trump's nominees. We began the year by confirming President Trump's Cabinet faster than any Senate in modern history. By week's end, President Trump will have 417 nominees confirmed by the Senate this year. That is far more than the 365 that Joe Biden had in his first year in office.

This historic record comes despite unprecedented obstruction from the Democrat minority. What have they done?

Well, basically, they have just tried to obstruct. They have spent the entire year on the side of higher taxes, on the side of illegal immigrant criminals, on the side of wasteful spending, and on the side of burdensome regulations. If Democrats had their way, Americans would face the largest tax increase in history. If Democrats had their way, illegal immigrants would get free healthcare. If Democrats had their way, the government would still be shut down.

Republicans are putting more money in people's pockets; we are delivering safer neighborhoods; and we are providing more opportunities. Republicans are going to continue to deliver the safety and the prosperity that the American people want and deserve.

Waiving Quorum Call

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call with respect to the Isaacman nomination.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Iowa (Ms. Ernst) and the Senator from Iowa (Mr. Grassley).

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

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Iowa (Mr. Ernst) and the Senator from Iowa (Mr. Grassley).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Iowa (Ms. Ernst) and the Senator from Iowa (Mr. Grassley).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Iowa (Ms. Ernst) and the Senator from Iowa (Mr. Grassley).

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

Mr. President, I came to the floor today to talk about the National Defense Authorization Act, which is going to be addressed and voted on today.

As I was coming to the floor, I heard the minority leader talking about healthcare, and his phrase was ``the damage has been done.''

The damage was done the day the Democrats passed ObamaCare. Fifteen years ago, every Democrat voted for and every Republican voted against the Obama healthcare law, which Republicans said is going to lead to a rise in costs for healthcare, fewer choices for Americans, and hassles and headaches when it comes to healthcare, in terms of the paperwork and the denials and all the issues that come when the government tries to run healthcare. That is when the damage was done.

I should point out to the minority leader: He has no solutions. The Democrats have no solutions for the disaster that they have brought onto the American people, other than to say: Hey, let's go extend these bonus subsidies for another 3 years--$85 billion directly from the Federal Government's Treasury to the insurance companies' pockets.

That is the only solution the Democrats have come up with, nothing to address the needs of the American people, nothing to address the high copays, nothing to address the high deductibles--no, not a thing; and no reforms--certainly, nothing to deal with the waste, the fraud, and the abuse, and the corruption that has come with the Obama healthcare law and the added-on subsidies and bonus subsidies brought on by Joe Biden during COVID.

That is the Democrats' solution, as Republicans continue to work for ways to actually lower the cost of care and bring to the floor, as we have last week, a proposal that all the Republicans here voted for that said: We need to lower the cost of care. We need to get the money to the patients, not to the insurance companies. We need to put choice into the hands of patients--and dollars--to allow them to come forward with a choice.

So when the minority leader comes to the floor and says ``the damage has been done''--yes, he did it. The Democrats voted for it. Every one of them voted for that damage, and now the American people are seeing what we have under the Obama healthcare law, which is a program that is much more expensive and has fewer choices, more headaches, and more hassles. That is the Democrats' solution to the needs of the American people.

National Defense Authorization Act

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to talk about the National Defense Authorization Act. The bill enacts critical military policy for our Nation and for our troops.

The House of Representatives passed the NDAA last week, and they did it with strong bipartisan support. And now it is time for the Senate to act.

The previous administration failed to keep America safe. It allowed over 10 million illegal immigrants to flood across our border. It was responsible for a deadly and disastrous retreat from Afghanistan, and it undermined America's power around the world.

President Trump and Republicans, in this last year, have been restoring peace through strength. Under Republican leadership, America is becoming safer and more prosperous.

This year's National Defense Authorization Act refocuses our military. It focuses on our core mission of defending the homeland and defending American interests overseas. It deters our enemies and defends our Nation.

Mr. President, in combat, as you know better than any, competence

matters, not political correctness. The NDAA refocuses our military on lethality and readiness, and it rolls back these divisive DEI policies, which the Democrats have given us the last 4 years. Those liberal Democrat policies took time, money, and attention away from the training and preparation and combat effectiveness.

The bill on the Senate floor today restores policies that are merit- based and mission-focused.

Additionally, the NDAA builds on the recruitment surge we have been experiencing in this country. We have seen it during the past year, during the Trump administration. Recruitment numbers went up. They started to go up the day President Trump was elected back to office.

It gives our troops a well-deserved pay raise and increases recruiting bonuses. Better pay improves recruiting and retention and the readiness of our troops.

A stronger military means a stronger America. This bill prioritizes defending our homeland, and it does that because threats at home and abroad are continuing to increase, and they are increasingly connected.

We saw that in the terrorist attack in Australia. We also see at home that a terrorist gunman from Afghanistan attacked our National Guardsmen right here in Washington, DC.

This bill strengthens the tools needed to keep our border secure. At the same time, it invests in the next generation of missile defense, and that includes the Golden Dome initiative. It expands counterdrone authorities to protect military bases, critical infrastructure, and public spaces.

In Wyoming, protecting the homeland is what we do every day. Cheyenne, WY, is home to the F.E. Warren Air Force Base. F.E. Warren is home to Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles. These are critical to our Nation's nuclear deterrence. The NDAA modernizes communications and electrical infrastructure at F.E. Warren for this critical program. Furthermore, it invests $4.3 billion in the Sentinel missile program. These are the missiles that will replace the Minuteman III missiles. Wyoming will be the first to receive these new missiles.

As China advances hypersonic missiles, modernizing our nuclear deterrent is essential to keeping America safe. The bill we are voting on today modernizes our military across the board. It is going to make our warfighters more lethal and more intimidating.

Investments in shipbuilding and new fighter aircraft will strengthen American dominance in the air, as well as the sea.

At the same time, cutting unnecessary spending will make the Pentagon more efficient, more effective, and more accountable.

The National Defense Authorization Act restores America's ``Arsenal of Democracy.'' For far too long, bureaucratic hurdles slowed production. They stifled innovation. And this bill removes those barriers and accelerates the delivery of new technology.

During World War II, American industrial strength was decisive to victory. Industrial strength is the foundation of safety and security and of our liberty. When we innovate, we deter aggression. Weakness invites conflict. That is what happens. Weakness invites conflict. My friend and colleague Senator Kennedy of Louisiana always says, ``Weakness invites the wolves.'' Strength deters the enemy. It deters and prevents wars.

Under this bill, we are sending a clear message--a message that we will defend our Nation, that we will support our troops, that they will outbuild and outinnovate our adversaries and never apologize for American strength.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Iowa (Ms. Ernst) and the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran).

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum calls with respect to Calendar No. 285, S. 3386; and Calendar No. 284, S. 3385.

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Montana (Mr. Daines).

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Montana (Mr. Daines).

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Montana (Mr. Daines).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Montana (Mr. Daines), the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Hawley), and the Senator from Florida (Mrs. Moody).