Floor Statements

I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call with respect to the Kuntz nomination.

Mr. President, few votes in this body are as important as the vote to fund our troops, our military.

Yesterday, right here on this floor, the U.S. Senate--every single Democrat--voted to block that funding. And just 10 minutes ago, the minority leader came to the floor and bragged about the fact that the Democrats had blocked the funding for our military. He stood here and said they are proud of the fact that they are, once again, choosing politics over the security of our Nation.

That is what we're facing here in the U.S. Senate today. We're talking about the National Defense Authorization Act, and this Congress has passed this bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act every year for the past 65 years.

And when it came to the floor of the Senate yesterday, the minority leader said to the Democrats: Say no. Say no to the military.

I am going to go through the list of all the things they said no to yesterday. This year should be no different than the other years--65 years in a row.

This year's Defense bill gives our military every tool it needs to keep us, as Americans, safe. It invests in peace through strength at home and abroad. Importantly, this bill provides a pay raise for the men and women who defend our Nation.

Every single Democrat in this Chamber joined Senator Schumer, joined Bernie Sanders, and joined Elizabeth Warren and said: No, we are not voting for it. We are not voting for it.

That is what they said. They refused to allow the debate to even begin. This was before the bill even started the debate here on the floor of the Senate. And it is interesting because many of them flip- flopped. What do I mean by that? It means that, first, many of them voted for the bill in the committee in order to send it to the floor. Then it gets to the floor, and what happens? All of them vote to block it from even beginning the debate. Apparently, Democrats were for it before they were against it.

Here is what Democrats voted against: They voted against higher pay for our troops. They voted against better healthcare for our service members and their families. Democrats voted against better housing for our troops. Democrats voted against stronger deterrence. Democrats voted against a more lethal military. Democrats voted against a larger, stronger Navy.

Democrats even voted against a modern nuclear deterrent. Don't we want to deter nuclear war? This is at a time when nuclear weapons are proliferating all around the world. In my home State of Wyoming, we have F.E. Warren Air Force Base. The airmen who serve there are the lynchpin of our land-based nuclear force. The deterrence there has been known over the decades as our Nation's ``ace in the hole.'' That is how it works--the desire to protect us as a nation.

Democrats voted against all of it. They actually even voted against expanding our military recruitment effort. They don't want us to be able to recruit for the military, and they don't want the military to be properly funded and equipped in a way that protects us as a nation.

Democrats actually even voted against more savings for taxpayers. Democrats voted against protecting women's sports at our military schools. No, they don't want any of that. Democrats voted against promotions based on merit and merit alone: Oh, no. You have merited and earned a promotion? No, you are not getting it on merit alone.

That is who the Democrats have become. That is the threat to our Nation--this far-leftist group that is telling the Democrats here on the floor of the Senate what to do. And for things that had been bipartisan in the past, they said: No, we can't do that anymore.

This far-left wing of the party is telling us what to do and how to march in step.

Democrats voted against ending harmful DEI mandates. They voted against stronger border security. They like open borders. They don't want border security. They voted against funding to combat against the cartels that are moving poison into the country--killing young people in record numbers. Democrats voted against stopping the flood of deadly drugs and illegal border crossings.

Just 2 days ago, right here on the Senate floor, the Senator from Maryland, Senator Chris Van Hollen, said this: Missile defense--to defend against incoming missiles for the American people--was wasteful spending.

It is remarkable. Defending the country is wasteful spending. That is who the Democrats have become.

The Democrats act like pennypinchers when it comes to paying our troops to protect our homeland; yet, they accept the astronomical cost of the waste, the fraud, and the abuse--free healthcare for illegal immigrants, the fraud that is happening like we are seeing in Minnesota, and all of those things. The Democrats are for all of that, but they are not for our troops, and they are not for defending our Nation. That is the Democrat Party of today.

The Democrats of today are radical; they are extreme; they are dangerous; they are scary. Well, the world is a dangerous place, and by voting against the National Defense Authorization Act, the Democrats are disrespecting the American troops; they are undermining American security; and Democrats are jeopardizing America's strength.

Look, our friend Lindsey Graham believed in peace through strength. I do, as well as do most Americans--but not the Democrat Party of today. It is time for us to act on that belief: that America is best when we are strong and it helps make us more safe. It is time for the Senate to pass a bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act, and it is time for Democrats to act like Americans.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. McCormick).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kentuky (Mr. McConnell) and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. McCormick).

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

Mr. President, I rise today to honor my good friend and colleague Lindsey Graham.

Our colleague from South Carolina led an impactful life. He leaves an impressive legacy, and he left all of us important lessons for life.

The great cause to which Lindsey Graham devoted his life was the United States of America. That is what it was from day one all the way to the end. Lindsey Graham loved America. He believed that our Nation is exceptional, as do so many of us. He believed our Nation was worth fighting for. He believed especially in the American people. He fought for the people of his home State of South Carolina and the people of this great country every single day, and he did it with determination. He always believed that America was a nation that he needed to fight for every day to make us safer and stronger.

His life was shaped early on by duty and by love. Tragedy came early. At the age of 21, he lost both of his parents within 15 months. At the time, he began raising his 13-year-old sister Darline. He made sure that she stayed

in school and went on to continue her education in college. He was with her all the way. He later adopted her.

Lindsey once said that he was most proud of the woman that Darline had become. Now Darline is going to fill her brother's seat right here in the U.S. Senate, and there is nobody better to carry on Lindsey's legacy than his beloved sister.

Lindsey was a strong advocate for our military. He joined the Air Force right out of law school, and he served our Nation, in uniform, for 33 years. He remained in the Reserves even while serving in Congress. One year, over New Year's, Lindsey was serving in Afghanistan. I went and met him there, and we went and visited with the troops from my home State of Wyoming and with his troops from South Carolina. He never let anyone forget how proud he was of our servicemembers and of our country.

Lindsey's dad ran a bar in South Carolina. Lindsey talked about it often. He used to say it was good training for his life in politics. Lindsey told me that one of the key lessons he learned from his father was this: The key to being a successful bar owner in South Carolina-- probably or anywhere--is you have to be funny enough that people will keep coming back, and you have to be tough enough so people won't take over your business.

That was Lindsey Graham. He was the funniest man in the U.S. Senate. His humor was like Super Glue. It brought people together. It kept them together.

Lindsey and I traveled the world, often to war zones, and when you traveled with Lindsey, you visited a lot of tough places around the world. We visited Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine. We traveled to show our support for the men and women of our military. Lindsey and I got to know each other on those long trips, and we shared a lot of laughs. I will never forget how much fun it was with Lindsey to sing the lyrics of the old television shows, the ones from the fifties, sixties, and early seventies. Some of his favorites--and he knew all the words--were ``Gilligan's Island,'' ``The Beverly Hillbillies,'' ``The Addams Family,'' ``Green Acres,'' ``F Troop,'' and, of course, ``Car 54, Where Are You?''

We would sing together, we would laugh, and these moments will stay with me forever. His friendship meant the world to me.

You know, Lindsey was constantly on the move. He just returned from Ukraine this past weekend. He was scheduled to be on ``Meet the Press'' on Sunday morning in the studio. I think his favorite three places to be were at home in South Carolina, on the golf course with President Trump, and in front of the TV camera for Sunday morning news shows.

His greatest strength, of course, was his character. In Congress, people are often divided into show horses and workhorses. Lindsey was both. He was a show horse and a workhorse, and he was the best at both.

As President Trump said on Sunday morning, Lindsey was uncommonly hard-working, energetic, and steadfast. When Lindsey believed in something, he fought for it, and no one was more effective. The American people remember his stirring defense of now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh. It was an incredible moment, and his words changed the course of history.

Lindsey was a true conservative, and he also believed in working across the aisle. He wanted to tackle our Nation's most pressing challenges, and he knew in many ways you had to do that in a bipartisan way. He believed in the Reagan approach: If you can't get the whole loaf at once, take it a slice at a time. That is how the Senate is supposed to work.

Lindsey chaired some of the most powerful committees in this Chamber. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he led the second fastest confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice of all times--Amy Coney Barrett.

When this Congress began in 2025, he became the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. He made clear that he would carry out the agenda that the American people had just voted for in November of 2024. He guided the Senate through some of the toughest battles we have ever had. The Working Families Tax Cut law and the Secure America Act are a direct result of Lindsey Graham's leadership.

As whip, my job is to count the votes, and I could always count on Lindsey to help when the votes were close. The Senate has taken 135 votes on hostile amendments from the Democrats in the last year and a half. They were trying to undermine the Republican agenda. Thanks to Lindsey's persistence and his help, we did not lose a single one.

Lindsey truly was a force of nature here in the Senate. From the cloakroom to the committee room, to the campaign trail, he brimmed with ideas and with energy. That is what makes his passing and the timing of it so tragic. He was at the peak of his influence and impact. He still had so much more to do and to give.

The U.S. Senate will never see anyone quite like Lindsey Graham again. He was a happy warrior, he always put service before himself, and he believed in the Senate as an institution. He continued to shape it throughout his successful and significant career. He helped make America stronger and safer.

I join the entire Senate and his friends and his family in mourning the loss of our dear friend Lindsey Graham.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Justice) and the Senator from Kentuky (Mr. McConnel).

Mr. DURBIN: I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman) and the Senator from California (Mr. Padilla) are necessarily absent.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Justice) and the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Alabama (Mrs. Britt), the Senator from Utah (Mr. Lee), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), the Senator from Alaska (Ms. Murkowski), the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Risch), and the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Scott).

Mr. President, as a physician, I want Americans to get the care they need from doctors they choose at prices they can afford. That is what I thought in my entire time of practicing medicine in Wyoming and now as a U.S. Senator; and where a person lives should not determine whether

they have access to high-quality medical care.

So I practiced medicine in Wyoming for 24 years. At the Wyoming Medical Center, I was the chief of staff of the hospital and was president of the State medical society, and taking care of patients continues to guide my work here in the U.S. Senate.

Wyoming is a rural State, as is the Presiding Officer's. Rural Americans deserve access to local care that is affordable, reliable, and high quality. For years, the options for people in many small communities have been shrinking. Why is that? Because of the passage of the Obama healthcare law. ObamaCare accelerated the rural healthcare crisis with there being hospitals closing all across the country. Since ObamaCare became law 15 years ago, over 100 rural hospitals across our Nation have closed. It is yet another broken promise from the failure of the Obama healthcare law, known as ObamaCare.

Rural America deserves a better approach. That is why, 1 year ago, Republicans passed a $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Fund. The Rural Health Transformation Fund is a crucial piece of the Working Families Tax Cut law. It was designed to overcome the failed, one-size- fits-all Washington approach to healthcare. It partners with communities to invest in the services that they need. The Rural Health Transformation Fund is the largest Federal investment in rural healthcare in our Nation's history. Every State in America is now receiving the first round of funding under this new program.

The true power of this investment goes beyond the historic size and scope. Fundamentally, it is about delivering care to people where and when they need it the most. The Federal Government is too large to know the unique needs of every community. Rural solutions come from the States, they come from the local communities, they come from the local healthcare providers, not from Washington, DC. The Rural Health Transformation Fund is built on this simple idea. It gives States the resources and the flexibility they need to invest in the services that the communities need and that will work for them.

In Wyoming, we have received over $200 million this year from the Rural Health Transformation Fund, and more funding will follow over the next 5 years. We are using it to strengthen and expand access to care in every corner of our State. We are supporting rural hospitals and clinics. We are embracing new technologies. We are bringing quality care closer to home.

At the same time, we are investing in our healthcare workforce. High- quality care starts with highly trained doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. Wyoming has a long and successful track record of investing in our healthcare professionals. The Rural Health Transformation Fund allows us to build on that success.

We also know that the best treatment is often prevention. Preventive medicine can lead to healthier lives, it helps to lower costs, it teaches healthy habits from a young age. That is why Wyoming is investing in prevention. We are making sure the Food Stamp Program focuses on healthy nutrition. We are bringing back Presidential fitness tests in schools across the State. This helps children grow up healthier and reduces the long-term burden of chronic diseases.

These are practical and commonsense steps, and they have a clear goal. That goal is to help Wyoming families live healthier lives and to make healthcare more affordable.

I want to thank Dr. Oz and Gov. Mark Gordon. You know, Dr. Oz leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He and his team have worked closely with Gov. Mark Gordon of Wyoming and his team. Together, they have developed an innovative plan that is tailored to Wyoming's unique needs.

Every single Democrat in Congress--every single one of them--voted against the Rural Health Transformation Fund, and that is not bad enough. One thing that was bad is they voted against it, and then they came to the floor and later voted to eliminate it--to eliminate it--to strangle the money that is going out to these communities all across the country. They said: No, we don't want it to go out.

Why? Why did they vote to cut $50 billion from rural healthcare hospitals?

It is because they wanted to pay for healthcare for illegal immigrants. That is their mindset. Look at what happened in New York yesterday with the primary elections: open borders, eliminate ICE, focus on giving services to illegal immigrants--people who are in the country illegally.

How do they want to pay for all this?

The Democrats in the Senate say: Well, let's eliminate the rural healthcare plan.

That is the approach of every Democrat in the Senate and, apparently, of a lot of the Democrats, if not all, who are running to serve in this body.

Democrats voted to weaken healthcare for law-abiding American citizens in order to expand healthcare for illegal immigrants. That is a fundamental difference in a mentality and in an approach--and is a concern for American citizens. So just remember that when Democrats come and talk about healthcare. It is not necessarily healthcare for you or your family; it is healthcare for illegal immigrants.

Republicans are reversing the damage done by ObamaCare which, to repeat, forced the closure of over 100 small community hospitals around the country. Republicans are putting rural communities first, and we are going to continue to do that.

I yield the floor.

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell).

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell).

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Cassidy), the

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

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Cassidy), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Tuberville).