Floor Statements

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Budd).

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

Mr. President, first, I would like to associate my remarks

with those made earlier today by the majority leader Senator Thune. That is because Democrats have this delusional dream of eliminating gas-powered vehicles in America. They want to force-feed electric vehicles to every man and woman who drive in this country.

Well, Republicans are ready to use the Congressional Review Act to end this Democratic electric vehicle fantasy. The California EV rules that we are going to be voting on are expensive and economically destructive to our Nation. EVs currently make up 7 percent of the market of vehicles in this country and sales are plummeting.

What the Democrats want to do--want to happen to this country--is impossible to meet. They want 35 percent of all lightweight vehicles sold in America next year to be electric vehicles--35 percent. And by year 2035, they want it to be 100 percent of all vehicles.

Well, the House of Representatives, including 35 Democrats, including some from California, have voted to say no, they wanted to end this mandate. They were right to do so. That is what the Senate is going to be taking up.

Democrats in the Senate continue to cling onto the pillar of their Green New Deal. That is a deal that the American people rejected in November and rejected by electing a Republican President, a Republican House, a Republican Senate; and we are here to do the will of the American people.

Russia

Mr. President, on another matter, I come today to call for an end of Russia's war in Ukraine. President Trump is committed to peace. He has repeatedly said his mission is to stop the killing. Yesterday's phone call with Vladimir Putin, I believe, was a decisive step to do just that.

After 3 years of bloodshed, Russia and Ukraine have now begun necessary talks for a cease-fire that will end the war. This breakthrough wouldn't be possible without President Trump's strength and leadership. President Trump is a master dealmaker. We know that. He has united our allies in Europe and Ukraine behind his vision for lasting peace. Real leadership ends wars. Real leadership saves lives, and that is what we are seeing today from President Trump.

Yet as President Trump forges peace, Putin continues to sow chaos. Putin is a brutal dictator. That is who he is. He lies, he cheats, he disregards the lives of his own country's citizens, and the attacks of war continue.

Russian soldiers continue to attack Ukrainian citizens. This weekend's massive drone attack--one of the largest of the war--was a deliberate attack on innocent people--not combatants, but innocent people. We cannot forget Vladimir Putin's brutality.

Russia faces a stark choice: peace or crippling sanctions. President Trump has spoken forcefully of swift and severe consequences if Russia fails to honor a cease-fire. There is a bipartisan group in this Senate. We agree--over 70 have already signed onto a bill to expand sanctions and tariffs on Russia, crippling sanctions, crushing sanctions.

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut are leading the charge. It includes 500-percent tariffs on anyone who buys oil, gas, or uranium from Russia. Energy is the cash cow of Putin's war machine. Cut it off, the Russians cannot continue to fight.

Russia's biggest customer is communist China. The next is India. They will be hit very hard. Europe, too, must act. Last year, Europe spent $23 billion on Russian oil and gas. It is more than Europe sent in aid to Ukraine. Europe has somewhat reduced their dependency on Russian energy projects, partially buying American. They must do better; they must do more. Europe must go further faster to take back its security and its future.

So America stands ready. Energy security is national security. Affordable, reliable American energy is a source of our strength as a nation. We in America are an energy superpower; and under President Trump's leadership, we are actually acting like it. Vladimir Putin doesn't respond to statements. He only responds to strength.

If Russia stalls, the Senate will act decisively to move to bring lasting peace. It is time to end the killing. It is time to end the war in Ukraine.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Hawley), the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker).

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call with respect to Calendar No. 66, S. 1582, be waived.

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

Mr. President, today the Senate is going to vote on what is called the Kaine-Van Hollen resolution. To me, it is a political stunt, and I will vote against it. It is not about transparency. It is not about human rights. It is about bringing a verified member of MS-13, a terrorist group, criminals--and bringing that member back into the United States.

So today, Senate Democrats are voting, once again, to defend illegal immigrant criminals. They seem to like to do that. It is hard to believe, but it is true. That is whom Senate Democrats are here to protect, and that is whom Senate Democrats seem to want to defend.

So they are going to come to the floor today, and they are going to line up to express their blind loyalty and their belligerent support for illegal immigrant criminals. That seems to be the party model right now.

No Democrats are going to be able to answer this simple question, though: How does allowing MS-13 gang members to roam free in our communities make our communities or make our country safer?

I will tell you the answer: It doesn't. You allow illegal immigrant criminals in our country, you let them stay in our country, it makes all of us less safe.

Under unified Republican government, illegal border crossings have plummeted. Illegal crossings are down 93 percent compared to last year--93 percent this year over last year.

Republicans are going to continue to fight for protecting American communities and protect our communities against illegal immigrant criminals.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham) and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. McCormick).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. McCormick), and the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran).

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

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

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

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

Mr. President, I have just come to the floor and listened to the minority leader talk about energy. Energy. Do you know why he is in the minority and we are in the majority? It is because of energy, because Joe Biden, former President, told the EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency, to prioritize the climate over energy that is affordable, available, and reliable. They tried to shove electric vehicles down the throats of every man, woman, and child in America. That is why they are in the minority and we are in the majority. People want affordable energy.

I am here today on the floor, and in the Gallery are many people from the State of Wyoming, our law enforcement officers who are here as part of Police Week ceremonies. They know about affordable energy. They know that this week in Wyoming, graduation week at home, gas at the pump is 50 cents a gallon cheaper than it was a year ago. So if they have to drive the distances around the State of Wyoming to see kids or grandkids for graduations, it is $10 a tank less to fill up now than it was a year ago when Joe Biden was in the White House and the Democrats were in charge.

Wyoming is America's energy breadbasket. We are a powerhouse of energy. And the Presiding Officer's home State of Oklahoma knows a lot about energy as well. We know what the American people want, and it is not what Chuck Schumer is trying to sell here on the floor of the U.S. Senate or across the country.

So when I come to the floor to talk about Police Week and hear the minority leader talking about energy, I just can't help but think about how much better we are now with this effort to unleash American energy than we were the last 4 years when they wanted to keep American energy in the ground and made it so hard for the hard-working men and women who produce that energy to do their jobs in ways that respect the environment, ways that protect the environment. That is what the American people want. That is what they voted for.

And to hear the minority leader come to the floor, when, when Biden left office, energy prices were 30 percent higher than they were the day he came into office--the American people said: We can't afford this. We need a big change.

They got that change on election day, and I am proud to be part of those who are being able to restore American energy dominance.

I know the men and women who listen from around the country and certainly our officers who are here today know how important affordable energy is to our home State of Wyoming.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Justice), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Tuberville).

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 North Dakota (Mr. Cramer), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Tuberville).