Floor Statements

Mr. President, Joseph Stalin was rumored to have once said:

We will hang the capitalists with the rope they sell us.

Unfortunately, the United States has been selling the Chinese Communist Party a lot of rope in recent years. At this very moment, American entities are fueling China's aggression by funneling huge amounts of capital into capabilities that could eventually be used against the United States and our allies. From advanced semiconductors to quantum computing to artificial intelligence it is high time that the United States becomes serious about limiting the flow of U.S. dollars into the arsenal of our biggest strategic adversary.

By some estimates, U.S. investments in Chinese communities totaled more than $2.3 trillion in market value in 2020. That is American investments in Chinese companies--$2.3 trillion in market value at the end of 2020. That includes $21 billion in semiconductors, $54 billion in military companies, and a whopping $221 billion in artificial intelligence. According to a report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, ``The United States is the most important foreign source of investment to semiconductors, quantum computing, and AI in China.''

Because of China's strategy of military-civil fusion, these investments are not simply benefiting China's economy; they are directly bolstering China's military. China is the greatest national security threat of our time. I think we all understand that, and it is incomprehensible to me that American investors are continuing to bankroll its rise, and we are essentially blind to what that scale and what the focus of those investments really are.

The Chinese Communist Party has become increasingly aggressive in its efforts to gain power and influence, embracing illicit tactics like intellectual property theft, forced technology transfer, and predatory lending. According to findings of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, China subsidizes the sale of fentanyl and illicit narcotics abroad and has fueled addiction and death in the United States. The Drug Enforcement Administration reports that fentanyl is the leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. We know where the precursors are coming from. We know where they go--to Mexico--and then they are combined and then produced to look like normal pharmaceutical drugs, much to the chagrin and misery and death of so many of our young people. And then, 2 years ago, the United States intercepted a surveillance balloon from China that crossed across our country.

Meanwhile the Chinese Communist Party continues to assert excessive and illegal maritime boundary claims in the South China Sea, at times using force against our treaty ally, the Philippines, when they have attempted to resupply their ship near the Second Thomas Shoal. President Xi has ordered the Chinese military to be ready and capable of taking Taiwan by force in 2027--just 2 years from now.

So it should go without saying that the United States should exercise caution before continuing to sell the Chinese Communist Party rope in the form of sensitive technology, like advanced semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

I have been working with my colleagues here to address legislation that would provide some transparency for this outbound investment from the United States to the PRC. Last year, the Senate made good progress on this issue by including a provision to address outbound investment transparency in the Senate-passed National Defense Authorization Act. The Senate voted 91 to 6 to include my amendment in the NDAA last year, showing an overwhelming bipartisan consensus on the need to address this issue. We all know how hard it is to find consensus around here. A 60-vote threshold can be hard to come by on many important issues, but upward of 90 votes should send a clear message that this issue is one that we deem of utmost importance on a bipartisan basis. We all are acutely aware of our competition with China and our need to counter some of China's aggression, and including prohibitions on certain outbound investments is a critical step to that end.

I must say we have had some great partners in the House. I want to thank, in particular, John Moolenaar, chair of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party; Congressman Michael McCaul, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House; and Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, who have all contributed to our efforts to advance this issue, but this isn't where the story ends.

The Senate has--or had--another opportunity to include these provisions in the Defense Authorization Act this year, but House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries chose to block these provisions. One person is standing in the way. It is simply unconscionable that anyone who claims to care about the China threat would be opposed to outbound investment transparency, and it is unacceptable to play political games with such an essential national security provision.

I understand, over the last day, Leader Jeffries has listened to the voice of reason and come back to the negotiating table. And I am hopeful that these conversations will continue to be productive and yield a positive outcome. The national security of our country depends on it, and we must not squander this opportunity to confront the Chinese Communist Party. Time is running out.

We all know that we are living in the most dangerous time since World War II. Our adversaries are not shy about the fact that they are working together. Earlier this year, China and Russia pledged to deepen their trust and cooperation, while they have continued to conduct joint military exercises. North Korea has sent 10,000 troops to Russia, and some intelligence estimates suggest they may be willing

to provide up to 100,000 soldiers in the coming months, from North Korea to Russia, to fight in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Iran and its proxies have been attacking U.S. shipments in the Red Sea and have launched a terrorist attack against our greatest strategic ally in the Middle East, which is Israel. It is no secret--it is well-known--that China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are working in concert to undermine American interests and to threaten the stability of the global world order. So we should not add our name to the list by helping them with the gift of unrestrained, nontransparent American investment.

I would urge all of our colleagues to not let politics stand in the way of our national security. We cannot stand by and continue selling the communists in China the rope they will use to hang the United States of America.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, last week, I spoke about a few of President Trump's excellent choices to lead his foreign policy agenda. Today, I would like to highlight a few of the impressive individuals he has tapped to lead his agenda for American energy abundance at the Energy Department, the EPA, and Interior.

It is no secret that Texas is an energy-producing State. The 30 million people I represent have been suffering from high gas prices, along with inflation and higher utility bills, under President Biden these last 4 years. From day one of his Presidency, President Biden made clear that he was taking his cues not from people like my constituents, who had to pay these higher prices, but from radical activists looking to further their leftwing climate agenda. He started by canceling the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would have created jobs and helped keep gas prices affordable.

While Texans, along with other Americans, were suffering from historically high inflation, President Biden responded to their pleas by signing into law a so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which I like to point out did nothing to reduce inflation. Well, the Inflation Reduction Act, in fact, added more burdensome regulations and wasteful spending, while President Biden himself admitted that the law has ``less to do with inflation.''

Adding insult to injury, the EPA put into place a tailpipe rule that creates emissions standards so stringent they practically force consumers to choose an electric vehicle rather than a gas-powered car. Of course, that was part of the goal. No one I know of wants to be told by the government what kind of car they have to buy, but consider, as well, that Texans are already having trouble keeping up with their bills due to high inflation. Does President Biden really think forcing them to buy an expensive electric vehicle or forcing hard-working people who can't afford an electric vehicle, even with the subsidy, to subsidize wealthier Americans so that they could do so is helpful? It makes no sense whatsoever.

Finally, by significantly limiting America's LNG exports, liquefied natural gas, many of which leave the country and travel to our allies by way of Texas ports, President Biden gave a gift to Vladimir Putin and forced our European allies to rely more heavily on Russia and Saudi Arabia for their energy needs.

It should be no surprise to the Biden administration that Texans voted against a President who prioritized keeping radical climate activists happy at the expense of average Americans.

But with President Trump at the helm, I have no doubt that Texans will be able to breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to their energy needs. Chris Wright, whom the President has tapped to lead his Department of Energy, will bring a wealth of experience in the oil and gas sector, and he has been an outspoken advocate for economic growth and American entrepreneurship.

I also look forward to working with former Congressman Lee Zeldin, whom the President has chosen to be the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

And then there is the former Governor of North Dakota, Doug Burgum, an outstanding choice to lead the Department of the Interior. He will bring a fresh perspective to Washington from his excellent track record as Governor.

I look forward to working with each of these Cabinet nominees, and I hope they will embrace the all-of-the-above energy strategy that includes all forms of energy, something that Texas has always championed.

Texas-based companies are making serious strides in energy innovation. Every day, they are finding new ways to make our most prevalent and affordable energy sources cleaner. But, to that end, there is a lot of work that needs to be done to reverse the damage caused by the current administration.

First off, the President's pause on LNG exports must be lifted. As many Texans know, LNG is one of the cleanest sources of energy on the planet. If activists are serious about working in good faith to lower CO2 emissions, they should be pushing for more--not less-- LNG that, produced here in the United States, could be provided to our friends and allies around the world.

When our European allies and others can't access American LNG, they have to turn elsewhere to ensure that they can keep the lights on. Alternative countries like Russia and Saudi Arabia don't have nearly the same environmental standards as we have here. The last thing the United States should do is to cause our allies to rely more on Vladimir Putin and Russia for their energy needs, but that is the consequence of President Biden's policies.

I spoke yesterday on how China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea are working in concert to undermine American interests around the world in a very dangerous situation. It is not an overstatement to say that President Biden's ban on LNG exports directly advances the interests of this axis of authoritarians. That is dangerous.

It is clear that we need to be producing more domestic energy of all kinds to support not only our domestic needs but our friends and allies around the world, and President Trump has made a great choice to help advance that effort.

Over at the Department of the Interior, I hope that Governor Burgum will get to work quickly to reform and streamline the permitting process for energy activities on Federal lands. This is one of the most serious self-inflicted wounds that the U.S. Government has inflicted on itself by restricting access to streamlining permitting.

Another pressing issue for the incoming administration is that NEPA is in desperate need of reform. These are the environmental review programs.

Under the Biden administration's unwielding handling of this process, costs and timelines have been unpredictable, making it nearly impossible to tap the vast natural resources our Nation is so abundantly blessed with.

My Republican colleagues and I stand ready to work all of these nominees to reverse the harmful policies of the current administration, like the tailpipe rule, turbocharge America's energy sector, and pass commonsense permitting reform.

I look forward to working with President Trump's team, and I am confident that together we can put the full forces of the Texas energy sector back on display and once again unleash affordable, reliable, and secure energy right here in America.

Madam President, the Senate is obviously back from the Thanksgiving recess, and I know we all enjoyed a little bit of time at home with our friends and families, but here we are, back with 18 days until the funding for the Federal Government runs out, and we certainly have our work cut out for us.

Of course, I expect this sort of drama to end next year when we have new management, both in a new President as well as in the Senate and House majorities, because, frankly, the way that the majority leader here in the Senate has managed to cram all of this unfinished business into the last 18 days is by design, and it does not serve the best interests either of the Senate or of the American people. This cannot be and will not be the new normal.

Before we recess for Christmas, we must extend the farm bill, and you have just heard from the ranking member and soon-to-be chairman of the Agriculture Committee on that issue; we need to pass a National Defense Authorization Act bill--something we have done 63 years in a row; and, as I mentioned a moment ago, we need to keep the lights on, as the U.S. Government runs out of money in 18 days. All of these are entirely preventable, and we find ourselves in this uncomfortable and embarrassing situation purely by design.

Starting with the farm bill, unfortunately, the partisan proposal released last month by the chair of the Agriculture Committee last month is not what we need in a new farm bill. I guess, rather than actually do the hard work of sitting down and trying to negotiate a bipartisan farm bill, the soon-to-be-departing chairman of the Agriculture Committee, the Senator from Michigan, just decided to lay down a partisan farm bill and blame Republicans for not capitulating, even when she refused to negotiate a bipartisan outcome.

I am grateful to the ranking member and, again, soon-to-be chairman, Senator Boozman from Arkansas, for continuing to press for a fair, effective farm bill that is actually focused on the American people and farmers and not enshrining a liberal wish list on their way out the door, as our Democratic colleagues seem determined to try to do.

As Senator Boozman likes to say, ``We need to put the farm back in the farm bill,'' which are true words. Only about 20 percent of the farm bill actually benefits farmers. The rest of it is nutrition programs and other mandatory spending that is part of this alliance between urban and rural interests, and that has produced, frankly, an unworkable process where farmers and our agriculture producers are harmed by the fact that so little of the attention and so little of the policies are actually directed at them and their ability to put food on our tables.

Texas is home to more than 230,000 farms and ranches--more than any other State in the country. One out of every 7 Texans is in an ag- related job--that is, 1 out of every 7 of 30 million people is in an ag-related job in Texas.

Of course, the farm bill is important for all of the reasons you just heard but primarily because it provides safety net programs and funding for things like crop insurance. Farming is hard work. You are also dependent on Mother Nature, and sometimes Mother Nature can be pretty cruel through droughts, hurricanes, and all sorts of weather conditions that make it impossible to produce a crop. Of course, these are essential lifelines to countless producers. Our ag producers have

to borrow the money, by and large, to plant their seed, to plant their crops, to harvest it, and then to sell it in order to pay the bank back for the money they just borrowed. So if they don't have a crop because they have bad weather or a hurricane or a drought, they don't have the capability to keep going. And fewer and fewer of our younger farmers in particular are able to sustain this very, very difficult and challenging life given the exigencies that exist.

This farm bill is critical to managing the considerable risks associated with this critical industry. A strong and on-time farm bill is essential to the health and well-being of the agriculture industry and to the American people and to our economy, and, as I indicated earlier, it is absolutely imperative for Texas.

Now, how did we find ourselves without passing a farm bill on a timely basis with basically 3 weeks left to go? We know the farm bill comes up every 5 years, so there is no surprise. It is our duty to get it done on a timely basis, as soon as possible, but the 2018 farm bill has already been extended once, and it hasn't been updated to current conditions--frankly, because it hasn't been a priority for the majority leader. Partisan proposals and a complete lack of interest from the majority leader have made this process to pass a new farm bill an insult to the hard-working farmers and ranchers in my State and around the country.

But, of course, the farm bill isn't the only last-minute task we have hanging over our heads. We need to pass the National Defense Authorization Act. Again, this is not a surprise. We need to do this every year. And now, of all times, is not the time to delay this critical legislation, because we are experiencing the most dangerous world since World War II. We are living in one of the most dangerous eras in the last 70 years. China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are working in concert to undermine the West and the United States in particular. This National Defense Authorization bill, which we need to take up and pass each year, is designed to ensure that our military has what it needs in order to achieve its missions of today and rise to the challenges of tomorrow. Now is not the time to play hooky on our national defense obligations.

Furthermore, this legislation is typically the vehicle we use to ensure that our servicemembers and their families and our All-Volunteer military are adequately provided for. In Texas alone, there are roughly 225,000 servicemembers stationed in places like Fort Cavazos, Fort Bliss, and Joint Base San Antonio, just to name a few.

The National Defense Authorization Act was completed by the Armed Services Committee in July--more than 4 months ago--so what are we doing here, 3 weeks before Christmas, having to jam this through somehow, some way, without full debate and amendment and deliberation? Well, it is purely by design because it obviously was not a top priority for the majority leader or he would have put this on the floor months ago rather than leave it as one of the last things we need to do.

Nevertheless, Chairman Reed of the Armed Services Committee, Ranking Member Wicker, and all of our colleagues on the committee have done yeoman's work to put this bill in a shape to consider on the floor, but the majority leader has, by design, made sure that we are unable to do that in a way that will allow all 100 Senators to participate in the process.

Again, this is the most important thing we have to do to protect the safety and security of the American people, and this bill would go a long way to modernize America's defense and establish deterrence, which is just another way of saying to keep the peace.

We have passed the NDAA for 63 years in a row, and it is among the most important jobs we have to do. If we don't get it done by the end of the year, Senator Schumer's legacy as majority leader will be that he broke the 63-year tradition of supporting our military and maintaining peace through strength.

Finally, as I started out by saying, the last thing on our list before we head out for Christmas is government funding. The annual appropriations process is designed to move through the Appropriations Committees, which it has on a bipartisan basis, and then to reconcile the differences between the House version and the Senate version and get them on the President's desk by the end of September--that was last September. But when that doesn't happen, then we end up passing continuing resolutions, which means we tread water until we can get around to doing something we should have done many months ago.

Senator Collins, Senator Murray, and everyone on the Appropriations Committee did their job by passing all 12 appropriations bills months ago. Senator Schumer could have--but didn't--scheduled these for floor votes months ago. Instead, he chose to leave it for the last 3 weeks, along with everything else we need to do.

National security seems to not be a priority. We should have finished all of this work a long time ago and certainly with plenty of time before Christmas. But what did we do instead? Well, when we were actually here voting, we had show votes. What I mean by a ``show vote'' is a vote that has no real merit, that he knows is not going to pass, which is purely designed to try to embarrass other Members of the Senate and maybe create a narrative that could be used in the election.

Senator Schumer held a series of partisan messaging votes leading up to the election, which he knew would never pass. They were designed to solely force Republican Senators to take votes on bogus bills to gain some sort of perceived political messaging advantage. It mattered little to the majority leader that the premise of these votes was false to begin with.

We had votes on issues like in vitro fertilization access, which wasn't at risk in the first place. Then, Senator Schumer held votes on a tax package that had not gone through the appropriate committee of jurisdiction--the Finance Committee that I sit on--as well as a border bill that did not go through the Judiciary Committee. It hadn't even been considered, neither one, by the Senate committees of jurisdiction, which means, in other words, that they were not ready for prime time. Not one of these votes had input from the broader Senate, nor were they intended to be any sort of good-faith effort to actually solve a problem.

The week before Thanksgiving, after the entire monthlong recess in October, Senator Schumer kept us here late at night, burning the midnight oil, but none of these votes tackled any of the mountain of work that I have just described.

We were not here voting late--as I know we would be happy to do--to advance the farm bill or the Defense Authorization Act, if absolutely necessary, or funding to keep the government open. But instead we were here to confirm partisan nominees to the judicial branch during a lameduck session of the Congress.

If you look at the details of some of these judges' backgrounds, it is an embarrassment that they were ever able to receive a majority of votes in the U.S. Senate.

One of them, a Judge Kasubhai, has a habit of praising Ibram X. Kendi as an ``amazing historian and author.'' Ibram X. Kendi, of course, has equated capitalism with racism.

Then there is Judge Sooknanan, who served as a board member for a group that vehemently opposed sending police officers to schools in order to prevent school shootings and to maintain safety.

Is this really what the U.S. Senate should be spending its time on when Texas farmers and our servicemembers have their livelihoods in jeopardy because of an unpassed defense authorization act and a farm bill?

Of course, thanks to several of our colleagues, we were able to finally secure an agreement to prevent some of the most egregious of these judges from lifetime appointments to the Federal bench. Those will be filled by President Trump starting next year.

But if this abuse of Senate floor time to confirm unqualified nominees to the Federal bench was not enough, now we awoke to the news that President Biden has shamelessly decided, in the final weeks of his Presidency, to do something he said he would not do, which is to pardon his son, Hunter, for corrupt business practices and criminal activities.

After months--months--of the President, his Press Secretary, and others in the administration telling the public

that, of course, he wouldn't do this, he simply went back on his word. This is blatant corruption and an abuse of the office and a blatant example of President Biden continuing to mislead and lie to the American people.

Justice means nothing if it is not applied evenhandedly. The notion that someone could be above the law simply because his father happens to be President is an affront to law-abiding citizens. It is a terrible example because without any accountability for people breaking the law--getting a pass, in other words--there is no deterrent effect or no accountability that teaches our young people and others that, yes, you need to follow the law and, yes, there are consequences if you don't.

It is, frankly, absurd and contrary to all available facts for President Biden to claim that his son was ``selectively and unfairly prosecuted,'' especially after a sweetheart deal that was almost struck in his favor. But for the timely and pointed questions of the judge who was asked to pass on a plea deal that ultimately blew up, they would have gotten away with it. And there wouldn't have been any pardon because there wouldn't have been any conviction.

No, Hunter Biden was rightfully prosecuted for committing crimes and breaking the law. It is unfair and selective for this President to single out his son for a pardon, and it sets a horrible example for future administrations. So any future administration could simply point back to this and say: Well, apparently, it is OK for the President to do whatever the President wants to do without regard to the law or the message it sends to the Nation or nations around the world.

We need to restore respect for the rule of law within the Department of Justice and the FBI and confirm more qualified judges to our courts. But I must say that I am disappointed and dismayed that Senator Schumer continues to lecture Republicans about the importance of bipartisanship, which he does on a regular basis, while he, himself, is engaged in a partisan show of procrastination.

The people of Texas and of America, for that matter, deserve better.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Madam President, under the misguided leadership of the Biden administration, our credibility--America's credibility--on the world stage has crumbled. Simply put, our friends no longer trust us, and our enemies no longer fear us.

The Biden administration's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan signaled to our adversaries and our allies alike that the United States could not be trusted.

With deterrence a mere memory, this gave the green light to Vladimir Putin to continue his ambitions in Ukraine and launch a full-scale invasion after invading Crimea in 2014.

This administration took it a step further, though, unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets and allowing Tehran to pour even more money behind the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Shia militias, its terrorist proxies operating throughout the Middle East. Of course, the administration did this with full knowledge of Iran's nuclear ambitions. But they didn't stop there. By removing the designation of the Iranian-backed Houthis as a terrorist group--a decision which the President later only partially reversed--President Biden practically invited them to start attacking international commerce in the Red Sea.

The dominoes were set, and now we are seeing them fall. Iran and its proxies have been emboldened and launched the most deadly terrorist attack on the people of Israel on October 7. Then there is North Korea, which has sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia, and some intelligence estimates that they might be willing to provide up to 100,000 soldiers in the coming months as part of Russia's effort to capture Ukraine.

Then, in the South China Sea, in another part of the world, the People's Republic of China--dominated and run by the Chinese Communist Party--continues to assert excessive and illegal maritime boundary claims, at times using force against our treaty ally, the Philippines, when they have attempted to resupply their ship, the Sierra Madre, near the Second Thomas Shoal.

So perhaps it should be no surprise to anyone, given the absence of effective American leadership, that President Xi, the President of China, has ordered the Chinese military, the People's Liberation Army, to be ready and capable to take Taiwan by force in 2027, 2 years from now.

If China's aggression in the Indo-Pacific goes unchecked, President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party will continue to threaten, intimidate, and ultimately invade China's neighbors. The CCP, Chinese Communist Party, will likely escalate its economic war against the United States by blackballing us from the biggest market in the world and starving our country of critical supplies, including critical minerals.

It is no secret that China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are now working in concert to undermine the United States and our allies. It is no exaggeration to say we are perhaps at the most dangerous environment, geopolitically, since World War II.

And we know from history that the beginning of wars becomes only clear in retrospect. We know that from the runup to World War II. This is a dangerous period and environment. So the United States must reestablish deterrence and must show the world that we are serious about confronting these threats and the reality head-on.

And while I admit this paints a rather grim picture, I am confident that the United States is headed toward a new chapter of ``peace through strength,'' as Ronald Reagan said, this time with President Trump as our Commander in Chief.

I am glad to see President Trump has selected military veteran Pete Hegseth as the next Defense Secretary, Representative Mike Waltz as the National Security Advisor, and our friend and colleague Senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State. And I am proud that my fellow Texan and my former colleague in Congress John Ratcliffe has been selected to direct the Central Intelligence Agency.

I am looking forward to working with these terrific individuals to reverse the disastrous policies of the Biden administration, but we all have our work cut out for us. But I am confident that, in these individuals, President Trump picked the right people for the job.

The first and most significant task at hand will be shoring up our Armed Forces, specifically the U.S. Navy. A revitalization of the Navy will be critical to deterring Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific as well as keeping AUKUS--our partnership with Australia and the UK--alive and well.

In order to pose a credible threat to the CCP, in order to maintain deterrence--which is our ultimate goal--we need to adequately resource the Navy as well. This starts with our shipbuilding capabilities. Secretary-designate Hegseth should waste no time in working with Congress on a shipbuilding plan.

We also stand ready to work with the Trump administration on a plan to reinvigorate our aging shipyards, which are struggling to attract and retain necessary talent. The Pentagon can streamline its specifications for building maritime assets, ensuring that they are linked to warfighting requirements.

Another priority must be improving military recruitment. I am pleased to see Secretary-designate Hegseth's commitment to ending the politicalization of our military. Given the Biden administration's needless focus on what divides us instead of what unites us, it is really no surprise that the number of Americans voluntarily joining our military is at an alltime low. Reducing the diversity, equity, and inclusion bureaucracy will have the benefit of freeing up resources necessary to aid recruitment and rebuilding. By ending these culture wars and reorienting the Pentagon toward a commitment to excellence as a top priority, we will be better positioned to recruit a talented military ready to deter aggression anywhere around the world.

And the Pentagon must come to terms with our depleted arsenal of critical munitions. This includes replenishing our stock of long-range anti-ship missiles, joint air-to-surface standoff missiles, and the advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles.

Secretary-designate Hegseth can do this cost effectively by returning to policies that the Pentagon has disregarded in recent years. Mandatory fixed-price commercial contracts promote cost savings for the taxpayer. Contrast this with the Department of Defense's current model of cost-plus contracting, which has stifled innovation and allowed private sector contractors to outsource R&D costs to the taxpayer.

So we have a lot of work to do as a Congress and as a nation to bolster our commitment to our allies and shore up deterrence against our adversaries. But by reversing the damage done over the last 4 years by the Biden-Harris administration, we will be well on our way to a world where America's friends trust us once again and our enemies fear us once again.

I look forward to working with Secretary-designate Hegseth, Secretary-designate Rubio, and President Trump to move this country in a better direction. I am confident that working together with that goal in mind we can work toward a safer and more peaceful world.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 15 minutes prior to the scheduled vote.

Mr. President, it was 2 weeks ago--I know it seems like a lifetime ago but 2 weeks ago--when folks across this country went to the polls, with some undoubtedly joining the political process for the first time, to elect Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States as well as to deliver a clear victory for Republicans in both Chambers of Congress.

I would like to extend my congratulations once again to President Trump and our colleague, Vice President JD Vance, on their hard-fought and well-earned victory.

Congratulations, too, to my friend and colleague John Thune, who will be the next leader of the Senate Republican conference, the next majority leader, alongside the entire leadership team for the 119th Congress.

We will be seeing some new faces around here next year, and I would like to extend a warm welcome to some of them: my incoming Republican colleagues Senator McCormick from Pennsylvania, Senator Justice from West Virginia, Senator Moreno from Ohio, Senator Banks from Indiana, and Senator Curtis of Utah.

I would also like to congratulate my colleague from Texas, Senator Cruz, on a well-deserved victory in our home State of Texas.

In the other Chamber, there are some new additions to the Texas delegation on the way: Representatives-elect Craig Goldman, who served for a long time in the statehouse, and Brandon Gill, who was elected in this last election. I look forward to working with all of these colleagues as we deliver needed solutions to the American people.

The American people said very clearly that they believed the Nation was on the wrong track. It is our job to get the Nation on the right track, and that is exactly what we intend to do. Voters made their voices heard, and the message was loud and clear: Americans are ready to turn the page on the last 4 years of failed policies.

The American people elected a trifecta of Republican leadership to address the major challenges we are facing as a nation, things like inflation, open borders, a $35 trillion national debt, and the perception of American weakness and a lack of resolve abroad.

Families are ready for affordable groceries, gasoline, and homes once again under a Trump administration. They are certainly ready for secure borders, particularly in my State. They are ready for an end to the deadly fentanyl and human trafficking pouring across our southern border. They are ready to return to a world where our friends can trust us and our enemies fear us under President Trump.

The last 4 years under Democratic leadership have been marked by reckless spending, failed border policies, and a weak and dangerous presence on the world stage.

Texans have had to bear the brunt of historic levels of inflation not seen in 40 years. Since President Biden took office, rents have risen by more than 15 percent, the cost of groceries is up nearly 20 percent, and electricity prices have increased by nearly 25 percent. With higher interest rates, necessitated by the Federal Reserve's attempts to control inflation, Americans are also paying more each month on their mortgages and their car payments.

But that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Biden- Harris administration's misguided priorities, far-left policies, and abysmal leadership. Just look at the administration's energy policies, which put the hysteria of climate activists ahead of Texans, who just want to be able to afford the gas to drive to work or to school, or consider that President Biden promised to undo the effective border policies of the Trump administration. This is one promise he has certainly delivered on, much to our chagrin.

My State has had to deal with huge influxes of migrants for a long time. This administration chose to roll out the welcome mat to people from all around the world as well as to the people who took advantage of those open borders, including the drug runners and the human traffickers and people generally up to no good--and all because they failed to enforce the laws on the books.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, Customs and Border Patrol has broken daily, monthly, and yearly records of encounters at the southern border. The history books will remember this Presidency for the open- border policies that have been simply devastating to our country. Mark my words, we will be paying the price for decades to come as a result of these disastrous policies.

Our country has been suffering from a deadly fentanyl epidemic. Fentanyl poisoning is now the leading cause of death of young people between the ages of 18 and 45. We know where it comes from. The precursors come from China, and they go to Mexico. They are combined to look like innocuous pharmaceuticals and sold to unwitting children and young people here in the United States.

The record number of unaccompanied minors who have entered the country at the southern border, only to be lost by this administration, is 500,000 unaccompanied children placed with sponsors. And largely, the administration takes the position they bear no responsibility for knowing where they are, what is happening to them, whether they are being trafficked for sex, or sold into involuntary servitude. They just don't know, and the truth is, they do not care.

This November, the American people had a choice. They knew that the next President and the next Congress would decide whether to continue down this path of economic hardship, open borders, and American weakness or turn a page. That was their choice. The American people voted not only to turn the page but to write an entirely new chapter written by Republicans in the majority.

No doubt, we have a lot of work to do, but we also have a mandate from the American people who are sick and tired of failed leadership and ready for change.

I look forward to being part of that change. And I am grateful to the Texans who continue to give me the opportunity to serve them at this pivotal time as we work to get our country back on track, as we all want it to be.

I yield the floor.

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

Madam President, as most people know, the majority leader is the only one who can schedule action on legislation on the floor of the U.S. Senate. None of the 99 other Senators can make that happen, which means that the lack of productivity on some very important matters by the U.S. Senate lies squarely at the feet of the majority leader.

And I have to say that our lack of productivity here in the U.S. Senate verges on what can only be described as malpractice. I say that as a recovering lawyer who used to defend cases of alleged malpractice.

But we have wasted valuable floor time on partisan nominees and political show votes and not advanced the fundamental causes that are so basic to governing--things like funding the government, things like passing our annual Defense authorization bill--something we have done more than 60 years in a row. And, unfortunately, it looks like we are headed toward another short-term continuing resolution and a delay on both of these essential tasks, which will damage our military when global conflicts are more tense than at any time in recent memory. And that is not hyperbole.

Earlier this year, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees created something called the Commission on National Defense Strategy. This is a bipartisan group of top national security and defense experts to assess the world's strategic threats to the safety and security of the United States and to analyze any shortcomings in America's preparation.

Well, the Commission's report that came out last week was nothing short of stunning, and I would like to highlight some of its findings. They described China as the most serious and longest term threat to the safety and security and peace in the Indo-Pacific.

Militarily, the People's Republic of China, governed by the Chinese Communist Party, are expanding their forces from air to cyber, to space, and they now have the world's largest navy at nearly 400 warships. And their capacity to build more ships is estimated to be about 230 times greater than ours.

China now possesses missiles and continues to enhance their capabilities, which would put any of our aircraft carriers in the Indo- Pacific at grave risk in the event of a conflict. And as the report states, they may very well use these significant advantages to invade Taiwan by 2027 and attempt to defeat American or other allied attempts to defend Taiwan and its sovereignty.

Turning to Europe, Ukraine continues to defend itself against Russia's unprovoked aggression, which began, really, back in 2014, when they invaded Crimea, but was escalated approximately 2 years ago when they intended to essentially take the entire country.

As the defense strategy report indicates, America's continued support of Ukraine against this invasion by Vladimir Putin's Russia isn't just essential to Ukraine's survival; it is paramount to sending the message to the world that aggressors that seek to invade smaller nations simply cannot win. That is what we call deterrence.

In essence, global security is interconnected, and what happens in the European theater can impact our security in the Pacific theater and around the world.

Of course, in the Middle East, our close ally Israel is defending its very existence, following a brutal and unprovoked attack by the terrorist group Hamas, which is backed by its sponsor Iran, the No. 1 state sponsor of international terrorism.

Iran and its proxies--namely Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis--are more emboldened than they have ever been as they continue wreaking havoc across the region.

More broadly, the Commission's report cautioned against the growing alignment of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. This isn't exactly breaking news, but to see some of the best military leaders in our country put their concerns in writing about this axis of autocracies and their statement that it may lead to coordinated opposition to U.S. interests globally should wake all of us up.

They also called attention to America's deficiencies in terms of our preparation. The military experts point out that our equipment is old, our technology is outdated, our industrial base has shortcomings, our force readiness is not what it should be, and the Department of Defense is too slow to respond because of bureaucratic redtape and the failure of leadership.

Let me repeat. These are among the most admired and talented military minds in the country who are saying these things. This assessment should wake up every American but especially Members of Congress, because it is up to us to respond and to respond appropriately.

And the question is: What are we going to do about it?

My dad was a B-17 pilot in the Army Air Corps in World War II and flew 26 bombing missions over Nazi Germany, until he was shot down and captured as a POW. My dad, like so many of the ``greatest generation,'' came back to the United States; they went to school on the GI bill of rights and helped rebuild our country and helped rebuild the rest of the war-torn world. But I know they believed that we would not have any large military conflicts between great powers--again, perhaps that would be the last. But as Bob Gates, the former Secretary of Defense, has reminded us, he said that our holiday from history is over. In other words, war intends to be more the rule than the exception. And the only thing that prevents wars from breaking out in military conflicts is the strength of American power and our willingness to take a leadership role.

Ronald Reagan was exactly right when he talked about peace through strength. So we need to be ready and we need to be prepared and we need to be engaged in order to deter these would-be aggressors around the world.

Exactly how are we going to be prepared? Well, Congress's role is to make sure that we pass the authorities necessary in the Defense authorization bill to enable our warfighters to be prepared and to get the training and

equipment they need in order to deter the next war.

And then there are, of course, passing the appropriations bills that make sure that their pay and their training and their families are taken care of.

Now, the Defense authorization bill that the majority leader has deferred until after the election does really important things, like making sure our defense industrial base is ready to produce the weapons and the materiel that are needed not only by the United States but by our allies around the world.

It also is focused on reforming our acquisition and procurement processes to ensure that our Armed Forces can meet the challenges of this evolving and dangerous threat environment.

September 30 is the end of the fiscal year--otherwise known as the deadline to fund the government for the next 12 months, as well as to provide our military with the authorities and resources it needs to face the security challenges that I have touched on.

The end of the fiscal year, September 30, does not sneak up on us. We know where that date is on the map, and we know that it is our job to be prepared to meet that timeline. Yet the majority leader has failed to put on the floor the sorts of opportunities we need in order to fund the government and to equip our military. And it is simply inexcusable. It isn't for lack of trying by the relevant committees on both sides of the aisle.

Senator Murray, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, a Democrat, and Senator Collins, the vice chair of the Appropriations Committee, a Republican, have made serious progress on the appropriations process.

As of July, the Appropriations Committee has approved 11 of the 12 annual funding bills in a bipartisan fashion. On the Defense authorization bill, Chair Reed, a Democrat, and Ranking Member Wicker, a Republican, have worked tirelessly to advance the Defense authorization bill out of the Armed Services Committee, which they did more than 2 months ago. But the majority leader has done nothing-- nothing--to move these bills on time across the Senate floor.

Again, there is none of the other 99 of us who can do anything about that. That is solely his authority and his responsibility. But he has done nothing, until here we are just days before the deadline.

This is a completely avoidable crisis. I heard the majority whip--the Senator from Illinois--say that it is embarrassing that we find ourselves in this situation. Well, the embarrassment is as a result of the majority leader's failure to even move these bills across the floor. He likes to point across the Capitol to the House--and, yes, the House has its own challenges, but we wouldn't be looking at short-term continuing resolutions in another phony narrative of a government shutdown if the majority leader and the U.S. Senate had simply done our job and done it on time.

And our military commanders will tell you that short-term continuing resolutions are no way to operate. Every one of these short-term bills, which looks like we are heading toward a December 20 deadline for the next short-term continuing funding bill, has provisions that said there should be no new starts. And, of course, with only a 3-month funding stream, it is almost impossible to plan.

A national defense authorization bill passed in the lameduck doesn't give the military the certainty it needs so that decisions can be made that address our short- and long-term needs.

Postponed defense authorization legislation makes our military less capable, jeopardizing our readiness and leaving citizens at home and abroad more vulnerable to our adversaries who are on the march.

If I can paint a brief picture of the State of the majority leader's Senate, we have less than 5 days before the end of the month--that is why we are hearing all this unnecessary drama and narrative about a potential government shutdown--and we have not considered a single appropriations bill in the Senate, which we could have done starting months ago.

We have wars in the Middle East and in Europe and rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific and beyond that could reach a fever pitch at a moment's notice. And we have defense leaders from every facet of our military saying that the way the Senate is currently operating when it comes to funding the military and providing for the authorities that they need in order to do their job in the defense authorization bill, the Senate's failure to act on a timely basis is making their jobs harder and Americans less safe.

When you add all these factors together, the picture of leadership here in the U.S. Senate is truly pitiful. It is difficult to describe how frustrating and alarming it is when the Senate's leadership fails to act on such basic matters as keeping the lights on and funding the government, or making sure that our military is ready to stop and prevent the next potential military conflict.

It is even more difficult to convey the national security implications that come with the short-term continuing resolutions; although, the Commission's report is the best attempt I have seen recently.

Now, I appreciate the challenges that Speaker Johnson has across the Capitol to help Congress avert a shutdown. And I understand they are going to try to pass a 3-month continuing resolution that will take us to December 20, at which time we will play this movie over again, because all we are doing is kicking the can down the road 3 months and failing to do our job on time or the way it should be done.

But let's not forget we could have avoided all of this if the Senate majority leader had scheduled votes on individual government funding bills months ago, as he could have. These are bipartisan bills. So he owns it. And you might say he designed it.

This delay is by design by the majority leader. There is no other reasonable explanation. He does it because he believes this enhances his power to negotiate a final package of spending bills at the end of the year. But the threats to our national security are real, and the embarrassment that the majority whip expressed early is real. But it could all be avoided if he would simply have let the Senate do its job on a timely basis. That is embarrassing.

I yield the floor.

Will the Senator yield for a question?

I am a little confused. If the Democrats sincerely want to pass a law relative to IVF, wouldn't they ordinarily work to have an amendment process where we can actually have debate and maybe achieve some consensus?

It seems to me that by introducing a bill that they know is bound to fail and blocking the bill that you and the Senator from Alabama have offered, they are guaranteeing there will be no Federal protection for IVF. Am I missing something?

Would the Senator yield for one more question?

So if Senator Schumer and Senator Murray--the Senate Democrats who offered this bill--were actually serious about passing a bill to protect IVF, wouldn't the logical approach be to make sure there was an opportunity to offer and vote on an amendment? If they were to prevail in their version of the bill, well, 60 Senators could determine that and make that happen.

If, in fact, 60 Senators agreed with the bill that you and the Senator from Alabama have offered, then that bill would prevail and go to the House and then presumably to the President for his signature. But apparently they are afraid to allow the Cruz-Britt bill to even get a vote. They have so little confidence in the likely electoral outcome of their proposal that they don't even want a vote on the Cruz-Britt bill.

So, again, I just wanted to ask the Senator a couple of questions because I was wondering whether I was missing something. This seems like, as you said, a cynical show vote and certainly not one to accomplish a result. I appreciate your answering the question.

Mr. President, the Biden-Harris apparent strategy for handling the massive influx of migrants on the southern border has been to funnel them into allegedly temporary parole programs and act like the Biden-Harris border crisis has been resolved. Far from it.

There is little public data on the number of people who have actually been released into the United States under these programs, whether they are making asylum claims, or whether their claims were being evaluated in any way before they are being released, or whether they ever leave the country or remain indefinitely.

The administration has gone to great lengths to hide the ball when it comes to levels of illegal immigration. But the American people deserve to know exactly how many migrants are being released into the country and exactly on what terms.

That is why I led the Southern Border Transparency Act, which would shine a bright light on the catch-and-release policies of the administration by requiring the Department of Homeland Security to fully report on how it handles migrants encountered at the southern border.

This is the most basic of transparency measures--just the facts, that is all we are looking for. And anyone who supports securing the southern border can support this legislation.

I appreciate Senator Grassley's leadership on this issue, and I hope the Senate can advance this bill today.

Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. 3187 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, it is no secret that the Senate has a long to-do list this month. The National Defense Authorization bill, the farm bill, and all 12 appropriations bills should be signed into law before the end of this month, but with 9 working days left on the schedule, we all know that is likely not to happen. But these deadlines are not a surprise. We have known about them for a long, long time, and many of them, like government funding, come up every year as well as the NDAA, which we have done for 60-plus years in a row.

Despite that, we find ourselves staring down the barrel at the end of the fiscal year without a clear direction from Leader Schumer on how he intends to see that the government is funded. It is astounding that the monumental task of funding the government has lingered in purgatory on the Senate calendar as the Democratic leader chooses to spend this Chamber's time, limited time, on political show votes on a number of partisan nominees.

I would also like to remind this Chamber of what the Democratic leader has wasted the Senate's time voting on this year. We have voted on things like protecting access to contraception--not in dispute; IVF, in vitro fertilization--not in dispute; and neither of which is under any kind of threat, but we had to have show votes to try to gain political advantage in the run-up to the November 5 election even if the narrative supporting the vote outcome is a false narrative.

We also voted on sweeping tax policy and a bill that never went through a single committee in the Senate and received zero input on the Republican side. We voted again on a border bill that didn't address major contributors to the massive illegal immigration we have seen during this administration. The majority leader has scheduled these show votes to give his vulnerable incumbents a political lifeline, putting politics over doing the most basic things that the Senate should be doing.

We spent weeks voting on the Biden-Harris administration's controversial nominees, many of whom are unqualified to fill the jobs that they have been nominated to. This partisan gamesmanship, when so much important

work remains to be done, is a waste of time, and it is an opportunity lost.

So let me just put this in greater context. It is not for the lack of effort on behalf of Senate committees. Both the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee have done their work in a bipartisan manner. On appropriations, Chair Murray and Vice Chair Collins have made serious progress on the appropriations bills. Virtually all of them have passed out of the Appropriations Committee with either unanimous support or strong bipartisan support.

The majority leader could have put those bills on the floor last July, not 9 days before a government shutdown, but he chose not to do it. So he points the finger of blame at our colleagues in the House of Representatives, who are trying to figure this out, but this is a wholly man-made disaster in the making, and it could have been avoided. We could have been voting on funding bills months ago instead of days, weeks, and months creeping by without even an inch of progress. These are bills like the National Defense Authorization bill, for example, that pay our servicemembers and ensure that government operations, big and small, continue day-to-day.

I would say that the work done by our Senate committees on a bipartisan basis is not necessarily easy work. It takes a lot of time and consideration by our colleagues on the Appropriations and Armed Services Committees. But the majority leader has sabotaged this productive bipartisan work by imposing a part-time work schedule on the Senate. It doesn't give us much room to maneuver or much time to actually debate, vote on, and pass legislation. Of course, when the Senate is in recess, which we have just come off of for about 6 weeks, committees can't meet, and it makes it difficult, if not impossible, to solve the biggest problems facing our country, of which there are many.

There is also this newfound phenomenon under the majority leader's schedule called recess Mondays. This means the Senate doesn't even come back to Washington until Tuesday, and then we are gone Thursday afternoon. It is hard to get real work done working part time. How on Earth are members of the various committees and subcommittees supposed to debate, amend, and advance 12 funding bills when the Senate is only working 2\1/2\ days a week? With this type of schedule, there just simply are not enough hours for our colleagues to complete the mountain of work ahead of them.

Our current posture shows the folly of this approach. Including today, we are only scheduled to be in session 9 days before adjourning for October, the entire month of October, just after coming off of a 6- week break.

Again, Chairman Murray and Vice Chair Collins have both said repeatedly that they want us to return to the normal appropriations process, not this contrived narrative of an imminent government shutdown, with all that that would entail.

I want to say, I appreciate the good work that has been done by our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee and on the Appropriations Committee. Again, this is not easy. These are huge, important, and challenging issues that they have debated and voted on and produced bills that now await the majority leader scheduling them on the Senate floor. But because of the leader's inability or, rather, unwillingness to plan, we may end up kicking the can down the road in the form of a continuing resolution.

For those listening, a continuing resolution just means the status quo. It means just moving the deadline further down the road. We will still have to deal with these issues again--perhaps in December, perhaps in March, depending on how long the continuing resolution is.

But it is somewhat embarrassing to be a Member of the world's greatest deliberative body and to find ourselves in this situation once again. Again, this isn't a surprise. This isn't something that just popped up. We know what the deadline is, and we know we should have been doing our work a lot earlier.

There is no question that stopgap bills are better than a shutdown but just barely. It isn't a perfect solution, especially for critical missions like national defense.

As the Presiding Officer knows, during continuing resolutions, the Pentagon can't engage in any new starts, and basically they can't plan beyond the timeframe of the continuing resolution. Yet we know that there are wars raging in Ukraine, in the Middle East, and threats in the Indo-Pacific and in places like North Korea.

This is the most dangerous environment that our country has seen since World War II. Don't you think we would want to be able to fund the government on a timely basis so that the Pentagon can plan, so they don't have to worry about government shutdowns? Don't you think we would take up the National Defense Authorization bill that, again, passed out of committee months ago and has been available for floor action? This is the most basic function of the Senate when it comes to national defense, is passing the National Defense Authorization bill, but we are not going to do it because there simply isn't time.

I appreciate our colleagues in the House trying to figure out how to handle this under difficult circumstances--again, completely unnecessary--but I think we all understand that government shutdowns are not in anybody's best interest. We know that the problem that caused the shutdown is still going to be there staring us in the face when the government reopens, and the truth is, it is a whole lot more expensive and a whole lot more disruptive than it needs to be.

The bottom line is this: We have a duty and responsibility to pass full-year, on-time appropriations bills. That is the bare minimum of governing. Short-term funding bills don't allow for long-term planning or stability when it comes to important functions like national defense or any other aspect of the Federal Government.

It is unfortunate that we are in this situation because the majority leader, who is the only person who can schedule action on the floor, has given us so few session days in which to consider these critical bills.

Strengthening defense, funding the government, and safeguarding our supply of food and fiber--these are essential to the welfare of our Nation.

The way the Senate has been run under the current management is no way to treat its most basic responsibilities. I can only hope that come November, there will be a new management elected by the American people because they don't have to put up with the status quo; they can change it. That is one of the great things about democracy. Democracies are capable of course correction. When they don't like the direction you are heading in, they can change it, and they could do that at the ballot box starting on November 5.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senator from Missouri, Senator Schmitt, and I each be permitted to speak for up to 5 minutes prior to the scheduled rollcall vote.

Madam President, today is the 23rd anniversary of the tragic deaths of about 3,000 Americans at the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon, as well as in Shanksville, PA. It is a sobering and solemn day. And 9/11 is one of those occasions that you remember during your life because you remember where you were and what you were doing when the terrible tragedy came on the news. I remember I was on the telephone talking to my Governor, and my wife said: You need to see this. And I turned to watch the TV as the second plane hit the World Trade Center. We had no idea what was going on.

As I have often said, this day is a dividing line in our history. There is before 9/11, and then there is after 9/11. It is a reminder of our commitment as a country to carry out the promise that we made in the wake of the attack to never forget.

So, today, we remember the first responders who ran toward the danger, the families who lost loved ones, and the commitment of the U.S. Armed Forces to combat terrorism around the globe each and every day.

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

Mr. President, I don't think it is any secret that the United States is facing a myriad of security threats both here domestically and abroad. I have said--and I truly believe--this is the most dangerous time our country has experienced since World War II due to the axis of autocracies, as they are sometimes called, ranging from Iran to Russia, to China, to North Korea.

But right here at home, we have a huge, gaping national security threat called the southern border. We know it is being exploited by drug traffickers, human smugglers, and, yes, perhaps, even by terrorists. Out of the, roughly, 10 million or so people we estimate who have crossed the border during the Biden-Harris administration, about 2 million of them are what the Border Patrol calls ``got-aways.'' In other words, they are people evading law enforcement and, perhaps, for a good reason: either they are carrying drugs; they have criminal records; or, heaven forbid, they want to do us harm through some sort of terrorist attack.

But, as we look around the world, we see countries like Israel, our close ally in the Middle East, defending its right to exist following a brutal and unprovoked attack by the terrorist group Hamas, which is a proxy of Iran. Iran and its proxies are even more emboldened than ever as they continue to wreak havoc across the region. Oh, by the way, they are also enriching uranium in pursuit, perhaps, of a nuclear weapon.

In Europe, we know that Ukraine continues to defend its sovereignty in the wake of Russia's invasion more than 2 years ago, but actually it goes back earlier than that. Russia actually invaded Ukraine in 2014 and basically took over the Crimea, and nobody seemed to do much about it, by which Putin thought: OK. I got away with that. I am going to come back for another bite.

Then, following the devastating withdrawal of American and Allied troops in Afghanistan 2 years ago--we were just over in the Rotunda, honoring the lives of the servicemembers who lost their lives in Kabul 2 years ago as a result of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. But after that, Putin logically thinks: Well, the Taliban got to take over Afghanistan without a shot being fired. The United States coughed up tens of billions of dollars of equipment, ammunition, and transportation, and so maybe, just maybe--this is Putin's thinking--I believe, maybe, I can go ahead and invade Ukraine, and I can march on Kiev, and not a shot will be fired.

Well, he underestimated the will of the Ukrainian people, to be sure.

In the Indo-Pacific, China continues to be aggressive and belligerent and to threaten the stability of the region, especially the future of Taiwan.

So there is a lot at stake, and the eyes of the world are on the United States.

I have had a chance, like so many of us, to travel around the world and talk to our friends and allies. What I have learned is that no one--no nation--can substitute for the leadership of the United States of America. If America acts, others will follow. They will join us, perhaps, but no one will take the initiative if the United States is standing back.

It is true that terrorists and dictators are watching to see how we respond. Vladimir Putin watches what we do. President Xi in China, Kim Jong Un in North Korea, and the Supreme Leader in Tehran--they all watch what kind of reaction they get when they push. If there is no pushback they keep coming.

So the question is, Will we brush all of this off and try to explain it just as regional conflicts; or will we stiffen our spine, lock arms with our friends and allies, and commit to defeating evil and aggression in all its forms?

Well, to meet this crucial moment, we need to solidify support for our military and our national security. That is the No. 1 job of the Federal Government. No local government or State government, no private entity can provide for the common defense. That is the No. 1 job of the Federal Government. Everything else comes after that, because if you don't do that, none of the rest matters.

We are currently contemplating a short-term spending bill called a continuing resolution. But our commanders, the Secretary of Defense-- current and past--will tell you that a continuing resolution is one of the worst things you can do to the military because there are no new starts, no programs that we have authorized that plan for the future, particularly if you are looking at a funding bill of 3 months or 6 months in duration.

Even President Biden's own Defense Secretary acknowledges that any delay in funding and in the National Defense Authorization Act hampers their ability to plan. So it is not just the funding; it is also the annual exercise known as the National Defense Authorization Act.

We know that our committees here in the Senate, the Armed Services Committee both in the Senate and in the House, have done a lot of work on a bipartisan basis to prepare the National Defense Authorization Act. But here in the Senate, this seems to be the last thing on the majority leader's schedule and the last thing on his mind.

We are scheduled to be here roughly 2\1/2\ more weeks before we break for the November 5 election. In other words, we won't even be in session in October. So then we will come back after the election in the so-called lameduck, and one of the must-do bills that we have to pass is the National Defense Authorization Act.

It didn't have to be this way. We could have scheduled--the majority leader could have scheduled both an appropriations process that would make sure we didn't have to pass short-term continuing resolutions. We could have taken up the good bipartisan work of the Armed Services Committee and put the National Defense Authorization bill on the floor. But the majority leader would have none of that. It is just not a priority for him.

So what are we doing instead? Well, we are taking up judicial nominations, which are not insignificant, but they pale in comparison to the responsibility that Congress has to provide for the common defense. And we do that two ways: One, we pass the National Defense Authorization Act each year; and, No. 2, we fund the military and the rest of government.

When we do this, when the majority leader makes this choice, it doesn't give our commanders the certainty they need to make decisions that will serve both our short-term and long-term interests.

For our forces to continue the fight wherever necessary around the world, they need resources. They need stability. They need predictability. And they need to be able to start new, important programs like multiyear procurement programs to shore up our industrial base to make sure we have the resources we need to deter aggression anywhere in the world.

There is nobody else to do it. It is the responsibility of Congress. Nobody can do this for us. We can't say, well, this is too hard, or it is inconvenient, or we have to go campaign for reelection.

There is nobody else to do it. It is up to us.

For more than 60 years in a row--six decades--Congress has passed an annual National Defense Authorization Act. That is in significant jeopardy. We are certainly not going to get it done in the next 2\1/2\ weeks that the majority leader has scheduled. And he has decided to wait until the last minute to even think about it. So in all reality, this is going to be an exercise in the lameduck after the election. But it is not the only thing we need to do.

As the Presiding Officer knows, we run out of money at the end of this month. It is the end of the annual fiscal year. So we are going to have to pass some sort of funding bill because the majority leader did not schedule votes on appropriations bills, all twelve appropriations bills, like he should have so we don't have to resort to a continuing resolution.

Well, in my home State of Texas alone, there are roughly 225,000 servicemembers stationed at places like Fort Cavazos, Fort Bliss, Joint Base San Antonio, the Red River Army Depot, and Ellington Field.

Those are the people I think of each year when we take up the Defense authorization bill. I think of them, and I think of their families, because while a servicemember wears the uniform, families also serve our Nation.

Well, the money and the programs that we should be authorizing under the Defense authorization bill include money for training, technology and equipment, and the pay and the benefits that families rely on. Supporting all of these people and these facilities is a Herculean task, and the Defense authorization bill is a very important way that we do just that.

This year's defense bill must also include efforts to strengthen military readiness. We know the nature of warfare has changed. It is not just tanks and airplanes and aircraft carriers. We are seeing what is happening in Ukraine, where the Ukrainians are using drones, relatively inexpensive drones, to knock out Russian tanks and armor. So this has changed quite a bit. The Houthis in Yemen are using inexpensive drones that are now being shot down by $2 million missiles launched from Navy ships. So the nature of warfare has changed, and we have to keep up with it, not so we can fight wars but so we can deter those wars.

We know that deterrence is the primary objective, and we know that war is a whole lot more expensive, both in terms of treasure and blood, than keeping the peace by maintaining deterrence.

Well, this Defense authorization bill should have a focus on reforming our procurement process so we can quickly replenish our defense stockpiles. This has been a major problem because the Pentagon is probably the world's biggest bureaucracy; and because of layers and layers of redtape and difficult processes, it is hard for innovators and creators and startups to do business with the Pentagon and with the Federal Government. So we are literally denied access to the latest and greatest technology because the Pentagon simply isn't postured to deal with that.

So what you have to do, in the case of companies like Palantir and SpaceX and Anduril, for example--just to name a few--well, SpaceX had to sue the Air Force so they can compete in space because the Air Force wouldn't allow them to compete for those projects. Now SpaceX, headquartered in Texas, launches the vast majority of payloads into space.

And, in fact, Boeing, whose spaceship went to the International Space Station, can't safely bring two of those astronauts back, so SpaceX is going to have to go get them sometime in February.

But the point is, we have a lot of heavy lifting to do, a lot of hard work to do when it comes to our national security. And the way that the majority leader has decided to schedule the Senate is a disservice, not only to the men and women in uniform, but it is, frankly, dangerous because it doesn't allow us to maintain maximum readiness and deterrence, which is so critical.

One of the things that I think should be part of the Defense authorization bill is something called the PAID OFF Act. This is critical legislation that will prevent foreign agents acting on behalf of our adversaries from influencing U.S. policymakers.

I know it is no surprise to anybody who follows the news here in Washington, DC, but foreign countries come in, and they hire lobbyists. And unbeknownst to Members of Congress, those lobbyists are working on behalf--sometimes--of foreign governments, not the American people. Yet because of a failure of the Foreign Agents Registration Act--we need to reform that legislation--there needs to be more transparency and disclosure so we know for sure who we are talking to and whose constituency they represent.

But it is not just the PAID OFF Act that needs to be part of this NDAA. I am hopeful that this bill, ultimately, in the lameduck session, will include key outbound investment measures to help the United States gather more information needed to better evaluate our national security vulnerabilities, as well as confront threats from our adversaries, and remain competitive on the global stage.

These are important goals that are becoming more and more urgent with each passing day.

But despite all of this, we have yet to formally begin the process of considering the national defense authorization bill, again, because this is, apparently, not a priority of the majority or the majority leader.

In a rational world, this would already be done. At the very least, this legislation should reach the President's desk before the end of this month. But, as I said earlier, Senator Schumer has only scheduled about 11 more days between now and the time we break before the election. The election actually isn't for 8 weeks, but the Senate is going to be in session 11 days? I think that is not doing our job.

The only person who can schedule the Senate agenda is the majority leader. I can't do it; the other 98 Senators can't do it, only the majority leader, and he refuses to do it.

Well, unfortunately, this has become standard operating procedure. We have lurched from one potential shutdown to the next. We passed continuing resolutions which tie the hands of our military commanders and the Pentagon, and it just makes it impossible for government to operate as efficiently as it should. So this has become standard operating procedure in a dysfunctional Democrat-led Senate. We spend weeks voting on President Biden's controversial nominees, like we are doing today, many of whom are unqualified for the jobs that they have been nominated to fill.

But the majority knows, the Democratic majority knows that if they lose the majority, they won't be able to get those people confirmed; so, of course, they are trying to move as many of them as they can when they can. But what that means is national security is kicked to the back seat and is no longer a priority.

In addition to spending time on nominations when we should be spending time on national defense, we will cap off the vote of the week with a controversial bill that stands no chance of becoming law. That is what we call a show vote around here. It is designed to embarrass. It is designed for political advantage. It is certainly not designed in order to accomplish the goal of passing legislation and getting it signed into law.

We saw these same sorts of show votes used primarily to try to gain political advantage in the upcoming election. We saw this on proposed legislation on the border, on contraception, on abortion, on in vitro fertilization, and on tax policy. In each instance, these were not efforts to try to work out differences and build consensus; this was designed to fail. That was the point: to have a show vote and then be able to have a TV ad or use it in some campaign. That is my definition of partisan gamesmanship, and it is a waste of the Senate's time, especially when so many priorities remain unaddressed, like the Defense authorization bill and the appropriation bills.

Again, all of this could have been avoided, but, by design, it was not. The majority leader has given us precious little time to do our job this year, and he has wasted a lot of time on partisan show votes. As a result, one of our most important responsibilities is outstanding.

Just to remind everybody, the Defense authorization bill was completed by the Armed Services Committee

more than 2 months ago. They did their job in a bipartisan way. That, in and of itself, is a miracle. But it should have been brought to the floor and opened for debate and votes and passage.

I want to commend Senator Reed of Rhode Island, the chairman; Ranking Member Wicker; and all of our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee for doing their job. Now, the majority leader needs to do his job so that we can do our job. It is long past time for Senator Schumer to bring this vital legislation to the floor. We are playing with fire, I believe, at a time when the national security threats loom so large, and I hope we will soon get a chance to debate and to vote on this bill.

Given the great power of competition and the fact that conflicts have unfolded in Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific, the NDAA should be a top priority. It is regrettable that the majority leader doesn't see it as a priority.

Well, Mr. President, when you can't plan, you can't get ready, and so it is no exaggeration to say we now find ourselves in a true readiness crisis. We can't delay consideration of the Defense authorization bill. We can delay it, but we can't postpone our problems, and our adversaries are not acting on Majority Leader Schumer's timeline.

America's strength and leadership are vital to global security and equally vital to protecting our homeland. So the Democratic-led Senate should not ignore its responsibility to bolster our readiness and certainly should not stand in the way of the rest of us who are interested in addressing these challenges.

I yield the floor.