Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote scheduled for 1:45 p.m. commence.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I have a motion at the desk.

I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the names be waived.

Mr. President, the American people are hurting. Inflation has soared to the highest we have seen in 40 years, and the Consumer Price Index is now 9.1 percent. Americans are seeing increased prices on everything from the grocery store to the gas pump. Gas prices have gone up $2.25 a gallon just since the President took office. Diesel prices since this administration took office are up $2.81--that means 60 percent more since President Biden took office. The cost of food is up more than 12 percent.

We not only have inflation, we have our economy stagnating as well-- stagflation. It is something we haven't had since the late 1970s, early 1980s. We have the resources and the capabilities to reduce that inflation to address the stagnation. This tax-and-spend bill is not the way to do it.

I ask that we return this to committee and come up with a plan that will actually get our economy going and reduce inflation. I ask for support on this motion.

Mr. President, the bill increases taxes and increases spending. It will not bring down costs, and it will not bring down inflation.

Vote on Motion to Commit

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Madam President, I am pleased to join my colleagues in talking about the tax-and-spend bill that is being put forward by our colleagues on the other side of the aisle.

I rise today to discuss the harmful economic consequences that this tax-and-spend bill will have on American families.

Americans are facing soaring inflation that we haven't seen in generations. In June, the Consumer Price Index was up 9.1 percent from a year earlier. The price increases families are seeing at the grocery store, at the gas pump, and for basic housing needs have far outpaced wage gains and left Americans struggling to make ends meet.

The news last week that our GDP shrank for a second consecutive quarter is only further evidence of this administration's failed economic policies.

Now, my colleagues across the aisle are doubling down on their failed approach, proposing to increase taxes on nearly every single hard- working American by $750 billion and spending nearly $370 billion on a Green New Deal policy.

And, again, don't just take my word for it. Analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation shows this bill will increase taxes on millions of Americans across every income bracket, with more than half of the tax increase impacting Americans making less than $400,000 a year.

Next year alone, the bill will increase taxes by $16.7 billion on American taxpayers earning less than $200,000--a clear violation of President Biden's promise to not increase taxes on Americans earning less than $400,000 a year.

Further, the Joint Tax analysis also shows that the corporate tax increases in this bill would overwhelmingly hurt U.S. manufacturers-- U.S. manufacturers--with nearly 50 percent of the corporate tax increase hitting the manufacturing industry.

Manufacturers are already struggling with inflation, supply chain disruptions, and an impending recession. This tax increase would undermine U.S. manufacturing investment in critical research and development and in emerging technologies. And it will also result in higher costs for American families.

Think about that young couple starting out. They have to buy a refrigerator, a couch, furniture--all of these different things. They are going to pay higher prices. I mean, that tax is going to impact them on the manufactured goods they need, regardless of their income or their ability to pay. That is increasing inflation in this country. And inflation is the cruelest tax because it hits low-income people the hardest.

Not only that, the bill, as I say, will actually increase inflation. Analysis by economists at Penn Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania, the Federal Reserve, Moody's Analytics, and the CBO all show that it will not reduce inflation.

When you look at things like the tax on, not just manufacturing but other companies that produce oil and gas, here we are fighting with the highest prices we have seen at the pump in years that people pay every time they pull up to fill up their car. And now with increased taxes, that is going to exacerbate the cost of fuel at the pump. It is going to impact the price of groceries at the grocery store at a time when we are not only fighting inflation but we are fighting economic stagnation--stagflation, something we haven't had in this country since the late seventies and the early eighties.

Economists at the nonprofit Tax Foundation projected this bill will reduce long-term economic output, reduce average wages, and eliminate 30,000 full-time jobs. Let me repeat that. Economists at the nonprofit Tax Foundation have projected that this legislation will reduce long- run economic output, reduce average wages, and eliminate 30,000 full- time jobs in this country.

Rather than tightening our fiscal belt and reducing spending, Democrats are continuing down the same old path that has led to record- high inflation and our economy on the verge of recession.

Increasing taxes and more Federal spending will not reduce inflation. It will not create jobs. It will not lower gas prices, which are still about 60 percent higher than they were just a year ago.

Instead, we should be empowering our domestic energy producers, restoring our energy independence, reducing our reliance on foreign oil imports, and creating more jobs here at home--not eliminating 30,000 jobs, creating more jobs. Less spending, less taxation, less regulation gets this economy growing. This bill does just the opposite.

Democrats are proposing new energy taxes and Green New Deal-style subsidies that will only worsen our current energy crisis and weaken our Nation's economic and our energy security. And energy security is national security.

As part of the $370 billion in spending on Green New Deal subsidies, this bill includes: $51 billion to extend and modify the production tax credit to subsidize the already profitable wind, solar, and geothermal industries; $27 billion to establish a greenhouse gas reduction fund to deploy low-carbon technologies in disadvantaged communities; $3 billion for a neighborhood equity, safety, and affordable transportation program; $3 billion for environmental and climate justice block grants.

Further, the bill includes new taxes on natural gas and increased fees and royalty rates for oil and gas produced on Federal lands, which will only result in higher costs for American families at the pump, at the gas station, or their utility bills, and higher prices for goods across the board because all of those goods have to be transported to the grocery store. And now you are going to pay higher transportation costs, and that is going to be reflected in the food prices. So you don't just see it at the pump at the gas station when you are filling your car, you see it at the grocery store.

And with this tax on manufacturers, you are going to see it on all the manufactured goods as well. Low-income people are going to be paying those higher prices, more inflation. That means the tax gets them.

Gas prices are already $2.25 higher a gallon than when President Biden took office. Diesel prices are even higher--nearly $2.81 per gallon more than in January of 2021.

In short, look, we need to unleash our domestic energy production, not ask for help from OPEC or Venezuela. We need to unleash our oil and gas resources in States like my home State or the Presiding Officer's home State. We can produce a lot more oil and gas in this country, and we have the best environmental standards.

That is how you bring the price down at the pump: more supply, not higher taxes; more supply, not taxes that will drive prices up and reduce supply when we still have increased demand. That is why we have the inflation in the first place.

The Biden administration policies are creating the inflation and now the stagflation, and this legislation will make it worse. It is going down the same path.

We need to unleash our domestic energy production. We need to get our debt and deficit under control. We need to work on behalf of farmers, ranchers, the ag supply chain to continue to produce the highest quality and the lowest cost food supply in the world. We need to unleash our energy resources.

Those are the things that will increase supply, reduce inflation, and get our economy going so we don't have a recession or stagnation. Those are the things that benefit all American consumers, all American workers, regardless of their income level. This bill does none of those things. This bill makes the problem worse, and it should be rejected.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I come to the floor today, along with my colleagues, because Americans are continuing to take a financial hit with more expensive, less reliable energy resulting from the Biden administration's harmful energy agenda.

In the middle of the summer travel season, drivers are paying record- high

prices at the gas pump. Gas is now $4.63 a gallon nationwide and an average of $4.57 per gallon in my home State of North Dakota. Sky-high energy prices are fueling record inflation, driving up the cost of goods across the entire economy.

The current CPI rate came out this morning--9.1 percent--9.1 percent, the highest in over 40 years. And it hurts every single American--at the gas pump, at the grocery store, everything they buy. Unbelievable.

Of course, energy is a big part of that inflation. There is an energy component in every good and service that you get. Electricity prices have risen 13.7 percent. Natural gas and heating oil prices have ballooned by 38.4 percent and 98.5 percent, respectively, over the last year.

In addition to higher prices, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, or NERC, warned that homes and businesses across much of the country are facing higher risk of blackouts and brownouts this summer. President Biden's energy policies are threatening the economic well-being of Americans and our national security.

Just a few years ago, our country was producing almost 13 million barrels per day of oil and consumers benefited from historically low energy prices. Production has remained down under this administration at about 11\1/2\ million barrels of production per day. American families are paying record prices because the Biden administration is continuing its regulatory onslaught on domestic energy production.

President Biden's energy crisis began with the administration's moratorium on new energy leases, closing off access to our abundant taxpayer-owned energy reserves on Federal lands. And for leases that the energy companies have on Federal lands, they are being held up either by the administration's bureaucratic redtape that doesn't allow them to get drilling permits or held up by litigation in the courts. And this administration continues to hold up our ability to move more oil and gas across the country by blocking pipelines like the Keystone XL Pipeline. In 2015, I led a bipartisan effort in Congress to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. If the Obama-Biden administration hadn't vetoed our bill which passed both Houses of Congress, this pipeline would be operating today and bringing almost a million barrels of oil a day to our country from our closest friend and ally Canada.

We need to unleash more of our vast energy, our oil and natural gas reserves, all the energy that this Nation produces--our most critical, economic, and national security assets. And if we want to truly cut off the Russian war machine and support our allies, we need to cut off Putin's ability to sell Russian energy.

A good start would be by passing legislation like my American Energy Independence From Russia Act, bicameral legislation that I introduced with nine of my colleagues in the Senate. Our commonsense approach takes immediate action to encourage more U.S. energy production, including things like increasing access to taxpayer-owned energy reserves on Federal land, authorizing the construction and operation of the Keystone XL Pipeline--vital infrastructure to move energy safely around the country--and removing regulatory hurdles to increase liquefied natural gas facilities and exports.

Each additional barrel of oil we produce here at home replaces production from Russia and other adversaries, countries that also have little to no environmental standards. Each additional barrel we produce at home helps reduce prices and lower inflation for the American people.

Instead of asking Saudi Arabia for help--and as you know, the President is on a trip to do that right now--or going to places or asking for help from adversaries like Iran or for energy from Venezuela, President Biden should be empowering our domestic producers to restore and grow our supply of energy here at home.

The solution is simple. The Biden administration needs to take the handcuffs off domestic energy production because more supply is needed to bring down prices. That is just common sense, and the American people know it. The American people need that relief now.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I rise today, again, regarding the need to secure our southern border. Right now there is a caravan of migrants making its way to Mexico through the southern border.

Media reports that it could be the largest caravan ever, growing to 15,000 migrants by the time it reaches the U.S. border. The unprecedented and growing crisis at the southern border is due to the Biden administration's misguided immigration policies.

This includes the lack of enforcement of key tools, including the ``Remain in Mexico'' policy, the safe third country agreements, and the title 42 public health order.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that in April of this year, over 234,000 individuals were encountered attempting to illegally cross the southern border--234,000 in the month of April.

This is an increase of 31 percent from April of 2021, last year, and a staggering 1,268-percent increase from April of 2020, 2 years ago. There are 234,000 individuals attempting to cross the border illegally in just 1 month--just 1 month.

I was recently in Del Rio and Eagle Pass, TX, to draw attention to the challenges at the border and to meet with the North Dakota Army National Guard soldiers. Our Guard members are providing support to Customs and Border Protection in light of the immigration crisis.

Our dedicated CBP officers and agents are working tirelessly to try to fulfill their mission of securing the border, with the added pressure and stress of addressing the humanitarian crisis occurring with the continuing surge of migrants seeking to cross the border illegally.

While they do everything they can, they face an impossible task that the Biden administration's actions are exacerbating. As I mentioned earlier, the current crisis at the southern border is the result of the Biden administration's policies.

Notably, the Biden administration is now attempting to end the use of public health order 42--just last month. Those efforts failed when a Federal judge correctly issued an injunction preventing the Biden administration from ending title 42.

The Federal injunction noted that rescinding title 42 will result in a significant increase in illegal immigration at the southern border. This includes an anticipated tripling of illegal border crossings at the border, increasing from 7,000 per day to 18,000 per day, should public health order 42 end.

At the same time, the ongoing crisis at the southern border is creating significant challenges for northern border operations and the security of our northern border. Northern border personnel and resources continue to be depleted because of the surge at the southern border. That is unacceptable.

We need to address the ongoing crisis at the southern border and ensure that we have the resources we need at our northern border as well.

Border security is vital to national security, and we need to secure them both. President Biden's actions have incentivized migrants to take the dangerous journey to the U.S. border. We need to change those policies to get the border crisis under control.

That means we need to do three things to ensure that we have a secure border. We need to make sure that we continue the border wall, along with personnel and technology to make sure that we secure the border; we need to reinstate key immigration policies like I talked about; and we need to move toward a merit-based immigration system.

Again, we need to enforce our Nation's immigration laws, resume construction of the border wall, and ensure that we have in place the infrastructure, the personnel, and the technology to adequately secure the border. The Biden administration needs to take these steps, and they need to do it now.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the need to immediately increase our domestic energy production to counter Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

For an energy-rich nation such as ours, it is unacceptable that our country has been increasingly reliant on Russia for oil. In recent months, we have imported nearly 600,000 barrels per day of Russian oil. At the same time, the Biden administration has worked systematically to shut down domestic U.S. oil and gas production.

American oil and gas producers, including those in North Dakota, have proven that they have the capacity to produce more oil here at home. We had gotten to 1.5 million barrels of oil a day production; now, 1.1 million barrels a day.

We can do more; other States can do more. We need to do it not only for our consumers here at home but to help our allies in Europe.

Our economy, quality of life, and security depend on access to low- cost, dependable energy from all sources, both traditional and renewable.

The Biden administration's hostile energy policies treat America's abundant oil, gas, and coal reserves differently, and they treat it as a liability.

We are seeing the direct consequence of that approach, allowing investment and dollars to flow to energy producers like Russia, Iran, and other countries that leverage their own energy against our interests, with little or no regard for environmental stewardship; whereas, our environmental stewardship is the best in the world.

It is time we harness our vast strategic energy reserves and maintain our status as a global energy powerhouse.

President Biden will soon deliver his State of the Union Address, and it is time he works with us to support our domestic energy producers and abandon his failed approach to energy policy.

Each additional barrel of oil we can produce here at home strengthens our economic and national security and helps our allies. Each additional U.S. barrel offsets production from Russia and other adversaries. Each additional barrel of oil helps reduce prices for American consumers, and because energy is built into virtually everything we consume, lowering energy costs helps bring down inflation. That means empowering and encouraging our domestic producers and reversing the Biden administration's policies that curtail production.

To start, the Interior Department needs to immediately end the leasing moratorium and hold previously postponed lease sales, both onshore and offshore.

We need to expand our energy infrastructure to ensure efficient delivery to consumers. That includes approving the Keystone XL Pipeline, which is legislation that I led, and we passed during the Obama administration. Now, it was vetoed by President Obama, but it was my bill. We approved it in this Chamber, approved it in the House, got it to the President, and the President vetoed it. If he hadn't, we would have Keystone Pipeline today, bringing millions of more barrels of energy to our country and to our allies, working with our closest friend and ally, Canada.

We need to strengthen our energy trade with Canada--as I said, obviously, one of our most important allies.

It also includes building new natural gas pipelines to connect areas like New England to domestic gas reserves in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

We need to expand liquefied natural gas--LNG--exports to our European allies to provide cleaner, more efficient alternatives to Russian gas.

The gas that we send from our LNG facilities to Europe, on a lifecycle basis, has 41 percent less emissions than Russian gas.

I will soon be introducing the American Independence from Russia Act, bicameral legislation, with Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, which requires the President to provide Congress with an energy security plan that, first, evaluates U.S. oil imports and exports; second, assesses our energy security risks based on oil imports; and, third, encourages U.S. domestic oil production to offset Russian imports. This is all about a return to regulatory certainty to protect our capacity to produce energy, and that means helping producers attract capital investment.

It is time we unleash the full potential of U.S. energy producers to strengthen our energy independence and weaken authoritarian adversaries like Russia and others. In addition to strengthening national security, robust and domestic energy production will help provide lower energy costs and relief from inflation for hard-working American families. We need to unleash our energy resources for the sake of our own consumers and our allies.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the late North Dakota attorney general, Wayne Stenehjem.

Earlier this month, North Dakota laid to rest a dedicated public servant for our great State who was both a colleague and a true friend. Wayne spent over four decades serving the people of North Dakota. Throughout that time, he worked to make our State a better place to live. Moreover, he was a fierce advocate for the rule of law and the rights of North Dakotans.

Wayne was the best at what our State has to offer, having called North Dakota his home for the entirety of his life. He was born in Mohall, ND, graduated from the University of North Dakota, and received his law degree from the University of North Dakota School of Law.

Wayne started his career in public service in North Dakota's State Legislature, where he served for 24 years, first as a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives and then as a member of the North Dakota Senate. He then ran for the position of attorney general and was the longest serving attorney general in the State's history, having held the position for 21 years.

In fact, Wayne and I both ran for State office in 2000, Wayne for attorney general and I ran for Governor. We spent much of the year traveling the State together and, once elected, we were able to start our service in statewide office at the same time. It was a blessing to have my time as Governor and now Senator coincide with Wayne's service as attorney general. This not only provided us with many opportunities to work together on issues important to North Dakotans, it allowed me to get to know him as a friend and to experience his many great qualities.

He was incredibly intelligent. He had a tremendous sense of humor, and he possessed a deep knowledge about a wide variety of subjects, from sports to trivia, to history, to law--you name it. Wayne was one of the most intelligent people I ever met. There is much to miss about Wayne and many great memories to be grateful for.

Wayne is survived by his wife Beth Bakke Stenehjem and son Andrew, along with many, many other loved ones. He had a large family, and he loved them all.

Mikey and I extend our deepest condolences to Wayne's family and all of his loved ones. North Dakota lost a strong advocate for our State, but his legacy will continue on.

Rest easy, Wayne. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for all that you accomplished.

Mr. President, I yield to my colleague from North Dakota.

Mr. President, today I would like to pay tribute to the late North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, a dedicated public servant, a colleague, and a true friend. Attorney General Stenehjem spent four decades serving the people of North Dakota. He was a fierce advocate for the rule of law and the rights of North Dakotans.

His was a tremendous and impactful career that clearly demonstrated his devotion to our State, which he called home for the entirety of his life. Wayne was born in Mohall, ND. He graduated from the University of North Dakota and received his law degree from the University of North Dakota School of Law. He is survived by his wife, Beth Bakke Stenehjem, and his son, Andrew, along with many other loved ones.

Wayne started his career in public service in the State legislature, where he served for 24 years, first as a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives and then as a member of the North Dakota Senate. He then ran for the position of attorney general in 2000, the same year I was elected Governor and the first time either of us sought statewide office. I had the benefit of traveling much of the State with Wayne that year, where I came to know him as a solid, reliable individual with a tremendous sense of humor.

Wayne capped off his career in public office as our State's longest serving attorney general. Throughout my time as Governor and as a U.S. Senator, I had many opportunities to work with Wayne on keeping our communities safe, supporting our law enforcement officials, and protecting the rights of North Dakotans. He worked tirelessly to advance these important goals, and I will always be proud of our shared efforts in these matters. Moreover, I am grateful for our time together, both as colleagues and as friends.

He will be greatly missed and remembered well for the meaningful legacy he has left behind. Mikey and I send our sincerest condolences to Beth, Andrew, and the entire Stenehjem family.

Mr. President, I rise today to honor the 2022 Football Championship Subdivision national champions, the North Dakota State University Bison.

This past weekend, North Dakotans once again filled Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX, where the NDSU Bison seized their 17th NCAA championship, earning victory over the Montana State University Bobcats by a score of 38 to 10.

I had the opportunity to join Bison Nation in Frisco to cheer on the team, and, as always, the fans created an overwhelming atmosphere of support and team spirit.

At the same time, the Bobcats should come away from the game with pride, having capped off a successful season. The Bison have now won 9 of the past 11 FCS championships--an achievement that goes unmatched in modern collegiate football history.

Further, this victory followed a strong season for the Bison, where they had a 14-win and 1-loss record--a continuation of a decades' worth of excellence and skill. Since 2011, the NDSU Bison have had 149 wins to only 12 losses, which includes a streak of 39 consecutive wins. Such a record stands as a testament to the hard work and dedication of the players and staff, including Head Coach Matt Entz.

Accordingly, I am joining with my colleague Senator Cramer to introduce a resolution honoring the NDSU Bison's achievements. We congratulate all of the players, coaches, and university leadership, including Athletic Director Matt Larsen, NDSU President Dean Bresciani, and others, on building this tremendously successful program. We recognize the important support of Bison Nation, which helps drive this team to victory year after year.

The NDSU Bison are the pride of North Dakota. Their accomplishments, character, and work ethic represent the very best of our State. We say congratulations again to the national champions, and, as always, we say: Go Bison.

I ask unanimous consent to have the resolution printed in the Record.

Mr. President, before I turn to my colleague Senator Cramer, I want to mention that I was at the national championship game. It was just fantastic.

As I say, Bison Nation, which is all our Bison fans from North Dakota and across the country, and the coaches, the staff, President Bresciani, and, of course, these great student athletes who had such a wonderful game--it was a great show. They turned out in force in Frisco, TX. We are starting to call Frisco Fargo South, which is actually the name of one of the high schools up in Fargo, which is kind of fun. But our fans travelled down there so well, filled the stadium, and they did once again. It was just a wonderful atmosphere. It was on national television, so they performed on a national stage, and people from across the country got to watch a wonderful game.

But leading up to that game, in the semifinals, they played James Madison University, which has a tremendous football program as well. That was on a Friday night, and it was the Friday night where we were last here several weeks ago voting until about 2 o'clock in the morning.

The reason I bring up the story is because we must have had--you were there, Mr. President--we must have had like north of 20 votes at least. So we started early in the evening and went until 2 in the morning or thereabouts.

But the semifinal game between the North Dakota State University Bison and the James Madison Dukes was on television that Friday evening, so between votes, we were going into the cloakroom, and we had it on television there. So between votes, all the Senators--at least in the Republican cloakroom--we had it on, and we were watching the game.

It was a lot of fun and helped, you know, with the long evening, but it really demonstrated how this program has done so much in terms of for the State and NDSU and really providing an awareness nationwide of these great student athletes we have, because all of our colleagues got to see them, and they commented on not just the caliber of the football that our team played--it was a hard-fought game. James Madison has a wonderful program as well; again, really just a class operation. So the Bison won in a hard-fought game.

But the other thing that was fun--we have a dome. We call it the Bison Dome. Go figure. And remember that Bison is B-I-S-O-N, but it is a Z, not an S, when you say it properly. But they showed all the fans having fun and the noise in the dome, which makes it so hard to come up and play North Dakota State on our home field in our dome. Everybody, of course, is dressed in green and gold. But what an incredible sports atmosphere.

For anyone who likes collegiate athletics, this is one of the most iconic, greatest venues in the country. Again, it is Bison Nation. It is the fans. It is everybody--the coaching staff, President Bresciani, his whole team, the staff and faculty, and, of course, most of all, the student athletes.

I know the Presiding Officer, coming from Michigan, knows what great sports teams are all about.

Their commitment, their hard work, their passion, their support of Bison Nation--all these things just make it a joyous and wonderful thing.

I can't say enough about these young people, the commitment they made and the hard work that they do. Many of them may actually end up in the professional ranks. So they are playing at an extremely high level. They are just wonderful young people, and I can't say enough great things about them.

Once again, now 9 out of the last 11 years, national champs--again, congratulations and go, Bison.

With that, I would like to turn to my colleague Senator Cramer.

Mr. President, I thank Senator Cramer for his comments and wonderful commentary on these great student athletes, but there is one other point I want to make that goes to the excellence of this program.

In the last national championship they won, the quarterback was a wonderful player by the name of Trey Lance. He played for 1 year as a redshirt freshman. So he easily could have been playing this year, which would have been probably his sophomore or, maybe, junior year. It is a little hard to say with the COVID spring season, but I think it would have been his sophomore year.

The reason he wasn't able to quarterback the team is that he was quarterbacking the San Francisco 49ers to a win in the NFL. So they bring in another redshirt freshman quarterback who platoons with some other players, who is another wonderful quarterback, Cam Miller. So they win it with another player.

Again, it just shows, even as they lose some of these players-- sometimes in the transfer portal and sometimes to the NFL, as Senator Cramer said--they keep bringing in just excellent athletes, and he mentioned a number of them. It is not just that they are excellent athletes; they are student athletes. Again, that goes to the quality and the character of the program.

So we commend all of them--Senator Cramer, thanks for joining me--and also with Kelly Armstrong in the House in recognizing a wonderful group that truly deserves it--all the Bison nation.

Anything else from Senator Cramer? All right.

I yield the floor.

I would like to thank my colleague from Missouri. As my colleagues have pointed out, we rise to support Senator Kennedy's UC-- unanimous consent request--his legislation, because we have consistently supported funding for Medicare and funding for our farmers and our ranchers who work hard to provide food, fuel, and fiber for our Nation.

That is why I support both the UC request and the amendment that Senator Graham is sponsoring. I am cosponsoring that amendment as well. That would ensure that we fund these priorities.

I do not support linking these funds with an increase in the debt ceiling, as the bill from the House would do, without our amendment.

We should not be tying the debt ceiling to important legislation that ensures healthcare providers can continue to care for our seniors and protect our farmers who produce the highest quality, lowest cost food supply in the world.

So I strongly support and have cosponsored the Graham amendment which would strike the fast-track debt ceiling process from this bill. As we are saying very clearly, we support the funding for Medicare. We support the funding for our farmers and ranchers.

Now, Democrats, who control the White House, the Senate, and the House, are trying to use reconciliation to pass a trillion-plus tax- and-spending bill on a purely partisan basis. Given that, they obviously can use reconciliation to pass a debt ceiling increase on their own. They do not need this House legislation to do it.

And with that, I will yield to my colleague from Kansas.

Mr. MARSHALL: I thank the Senator for yielding. I am honored to be here this evening to support my colleague from Louisiana. I want to take this Nation back to a year ago, a year ago this spring in April 2020. COVID was on the rise--our first variant, our first wave ripping through this country. Our ERs were overflowing; the ICU beds were full; and doctors and nurses across this Nation ran to the sound of the battle.

We didn't have vaccines. There weren't therapeutics, but we took an oath to take care of our fellow man. I joined those doctors. I went to an ICU in Southwest Kansas where we had 8 beds, 12 patients, and 9 ventilators.

So how are we going to reward those doctors today? We are going to cut their pay. We are going to cut most doctors' pay 2 to 11 percent. Even before COVID, there was a doctor shortage. There was doctor burnout. Because of this pay cut, even more doctors will quit. More doctors are going to stop taking Medicare.

Yesterday, the leadership on the other side of the aisle just wanted to kick doctors, but today I found out they are kicking farmers in the shins as well. Holding doctors and farmers hostage is no way to run a government. I, too, am tired of seeing doctors and farmers used as pawns for political gain.

I support Senator Kennedy's bill, and I am honored to turn it back to him.

Madam President, I thank the senior Senator from Minnesota for her hard work in getting Michael Connor to the floor. I have been very pleased to join with her, and, obviously, we are hopeful that, tomorrow, we will have that vote.

The position of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works is critical to every Member of this body. Every State has interactions with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Assistant Secretary is the top civilian who oversees the Corps of Engineers. The Assistant Secretary plays a vital role in formulating the Corps' budget, in setting policy and priorities for the Corps, and in ensuring that an incredible array of projects is managed and executed across the Nation.

For example, in my State of North Dakota, we have Corps projects in communities like Minot on flood protection. A number of years ago, we had 11,000 people and 4,000 homes and buildings inundated. Obviously, flood protection is incredibly vital for them,

and we need the Corps working to get that done.

In the Red River Valley of the North, as Senator Klobuchar said so accurately, we are working together for comprehensive flood protection in that region. It is a multibillion-dollar, multi-State project that uses the latest approach of a public-private partnership with a WIFIA loan guarantee. We are doing things in a way that hasn't been done before that can really help us cut into the backlog that the Corps has on these flood projects.

But it takes a lot of work and a lot of creativity to keep that moving forward, and so we need the Assistant Secretary in place to help us do that, and that is why we need to move forward with this confirmation vote.

And as Senator Klobuchar said correctly, Mr. Connor is well qualified for this position. He held the No. 2 position at Interior from 2014 to 2017. He also served as Commissioner of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation from 2009 to 2014. He worked on Capitol Hill from 2001 to 2009 as counsel to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

So he has got the background to do this. He is ready to go. Let's have this vote on confirmation and let's put him to work for the great people of this great country.

And with that, I would defer again to the Senator from Minnesota for any concluding remarks she has, but, again, I want to thank her for working on this in a bipartisan way.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that Senators Capito, Barrasso, Lee, Kaine, and myself be allowed to finish our remarks before the previously scheduled rollcall votes.

Madam President, I am pleased to be here and follow my good friend, the Senator from the great State of Alaska, a State that produces an incredible amount of energy, as does my State of North Dakota.

And, of course, we are here to talk about how this administration's policies are harming America's energy producers and leading to skyrocketing energy prices.

Americans are paying more for energy, whether it is at the gas pump or their monthly utility bills. This week, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in my home State of North Dakota is $3.19. That is up from $2.27 in January. That is an increase of almost a dollar--about a 50-percent increase. Every consumer pays that when they pull up to the pump. Of course, that hits low-income people disproportionately.

North Dakotans are also facing higher home heating costs for this winter with the price of natural gas having almost tripled. Same thing: think about hard-working men and women who now are paying that higher utility bill as a result of these policies. Higher energy prices drive up the costs of everything we consume, and lower-income Americans, as I say, are disproportionately impacted when a larger share of their paycheck must go towards covering higher energy costs.

Last week, the President blamed OPEC for higher gas prices.

Why is our country a global energy powerhouse in this situation?

Just a decade ago, North Dakotans helped crack the code on domestic energy production in the Bakken, helping the United States become the world's largest oil and gas producer. We unleashed the potential of our abundant energy reserves and, as a result, our country became a net exporter of energy in 2019.

Americans benefited from our energy independence through record low energy prices, as well as strengthen economic and national security. Energy security is national security, yet, since January, President Biden has been saying ``no'' to America's energy producers.

The President is blocking new energy leases on Federal lands, stifling the opportunity to harness our abundant taxpayer-owned energy reserves. The President also killed the Keystone XL Pipeline and is actively discouraging needed private-sector investment in new oil, gas, and coal production.

Yet this administration allowed completion of Russia's Nord Stream 2 Pipeline, which, of course, moves gas from Putin's Russia into Germany and Europe. And instead of supporting our own domestic energy workforce, the Biden administration is asking Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the OPEC nations to pump more oil.

Why on Earth are we asking foreign countries with less stringent environmental practices to produce more energy when our own domestic producers are ready and willing to answer the call?

Despite this administration's failed policy and corresponding higher energy costs, the President and Democrats are doubling down on their Green New Deal agenda.

The Democrats' reckless tax-and-spend bill will only worsen today's high energy prices by making American energy production more expensive and less reliable.

The President's policies will not only increase the pain at the pump, they are threatening the ability to keep the lights on. These climate policies will accelerate the grid's reliance on intermittent renewable sources of power at the expense of always-available baseload generation from sources like coal and nuclear power.

We need to maintain our baseload sources of electric generation that are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless of weather conditions, to keep the lights on and homes warm as we enter the winter months.

And rather than turning to OPEC with less stable places in the world--our adversaries, in fact, like Russia, an adversary--we should be empowering our American energy workers to develop our abundant energy reserves here at home using the latest and greatest technologies to do it with better environmental surge. More supply of energy means lower costs for consumers. It is as simple as that.

The President needs to work with us to support our domestic energy producers and their work to provide low-cost, dependable energy to our homes and businesses.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today to talk about the harmful impacts that President Biden's policies are having on the global supply chain and consumer energy prices.

Americans today are facing the highest increase in costs for goods and services in over a decade, with inflation now more than 5 percent and rising. Similarly, our workforce participation rate is stagnant. There are still 4.3 million fewer workers today than there were in February of 2020. Nationally, there are more than 10 million job openings--more than in any other year.

Record high job openings, coupled with rapidly increasing consumer demand, is causing disruptions to global supply chains and further increasing costs, increasing inflation. Rather than working to spur economic growth, encourage workforce participation, and return our economy to growth, as we saw with the last administration, President Biden and the Democrats in Congress are focused on raising taxes and enacting harmful, job-killing policies.

A prime example of what I am talking about--harmful policies being pushed by the Biden administration--is the Green New Deal that will hinder domestic energy production and increase the expense for every American household.

Affordable and reliable energy is foundational to our economy, quality of life, and national security. Across the country and in my home State of North Dakota, we are seeing energy prices rise across the board. Drivers are paying more for fuel at the pump, and homes and businesses are prepared for record high heating costs as we go into the winter months.

Because the cost of energy is built into virtually every product we consume, we are seeing the inflationary pressures of higher prices on goods across the entire economy, all the way to the dinner table. For an energy-rich nation such as ours, the situation we find ourselves in is unacceptable, and it is certainly avoidable.

In the first week of his administration, President Biden yanked the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline and halted new oil and gas leases on Federal lands and offshore. President Biden's party has also called for new taxes and fees on American energy production.

In addition, the Biden administration is promoting foreign energy production as he stifles energy production here at home. He has allowed completion of Russia's Nord Stream 2 Pipeline while calling on Russia, Saudi Arabia, and other OPEC nations to increase more oil production. Think about that. At a time when he is holding back energy production in our country--oil production in our country, he is asking OPEC, Saudi Arabia, and Russia to increase oil? It defies common sense. Think about it.

If the Biden administration continues down this path, it will not only cause further increased prices for consumers, but it will undermine our energy independence and harm our national security by forcing reliance on foreign energy production.

It is time we recognized the fact that our country's vast oil, gas, and coal resources are a strategic national security and economic asset. As we have seen over the past decade, greater U.S. energy production has strengthened our national security and lowered energy prices for hard-working American families.

The fact is, we should be focused on increasing economic growth, encouraging workforce participation, and restoring our economy to its prepandemic highs. Support for our domestic energy production is a vital step to bringing down prices for consumers, and we need to do it.

With that, I yield the floor.

I call up my amendment No. 3243 and ask that it be reported by number.

This amendment ensures we continue to support policies that make our country an economic powerhouse, as well as keeping heating and cooling costs low for Americans, and that means protecting access to reliable, affordable energy.

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation recently warned that numerous areas of the country are at an elevated or high risk of experiencing blackouts or brownouts. This warning is not limited only to California and Texas; it also included most of the West, New England, and the upper Midwest.

My amendment promotes more baseload power, specifically from coal- fired and natural gas power plants with carbon capture, as well as nuclear power.

Instead of new taxes or the Green New Deal, we should be expanding access to power generation from resources available 24/7, regardless of weather conditions.

We are the world's leading economy with vast energy resources, and blackouts and brownouts are simply not acceptable.

I urge my colleagues to vote yes on this amendment to keep the lights on, energy costs low, and harness our abundant baseload resources with improved environmental stewardship.

I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Mr. President, I would note that I referenced carbon capture, as well as other environmental practices that we are taking, to lead the world in producing not only abundant, affordable baseload energy, but also with the latest, greatest technology in an environmentally friendly way. I would note the good Senator has joined with me on legislation to do that.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on the amendment.

Vote on Amendment No. 3243

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I am pleased to join with the Senator from Colorado on this Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration Partnership Act. I appreciate his leadership.

There are several points I want to make here before we vote, and that is, this program is very popular with landowners, and I think that is important. This is a very popular program with landowners. It is completely voluntary, a voluntary program. We have chatted with CBO. It does not score, so it does not have a score. Again, both the majority and minority on Ag agree and support this legislation. So, again, it is farmer-friendly, rancher-friendly, and popular with landowners.

I thank the Senator from Colorado, and I urge a ``yes'' vote on this amendment.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Vote on Amendment No. 2548