Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call with respect to the Donahue nomination be waived.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, today I have the privilege of recognizing my friend Karl Bailey, who will soon retire from the Architect of the Capitol after 23 years of Federal service as the supervisory health and fitness specialist in the Senate Members' fitness facility.

Karl began working in the Senate Members' fitness facility in March 2002 after 20 years as head athletic trainer at the Catholic University of America. Karl is the first health and fitness specialist hired by the Architect of the Capitol, working specifically in the Members' gym, designing workout routines for Senators. Karl is also the first NATA BOC certified athletic trainer to work in the legislative branch, specifically with Senators.

Karl has not only made an impact on Senators' health and well-being at the gym, but also the facility itself. In 2003, Karl lent his expertise to the floor design and purchase of strength and aerobic exercise equipment during a renovation of the Members' gym. Karl has overseen subsequent improvements to the Members' gym during his tenure.

Karl has been supported by his wife Susan, son Matthew, and daughter Rachel, who served as a Senate page in 2010. The Baileys will continue to reside in Glenn Dale, MD, while awaiting new adventures in retirement. As Karl embarks on a well-earned retirement, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude for his friendship over the years. It has been a pleasure working with you, Karl, and I pray that God blesses you and your family in the days ahead.

Mr. President, I have 11 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

committee on commerce, science. and transportation

The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 9:45 a.m., to conduct a business meeting.

committee on commerce, science, and transportation

The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

committee on energy and natural resources

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a business meeting.

committee on environment and public works

The Committee on Environment and Public Works is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 10:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing on nominations.

committee on finance

The Committee on Finance is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

committee on health, education, labor, and pensions

The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 1:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing.

committee on indian affairs

The Committee on Indian Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 3:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing.

committee on the judiciary

The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing.

committee on small business and entrepreneurship

The Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing.

special committee on aging

The Special Committee on Aging is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 3:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing.

select committee on intelligence

The Select Committee on Intelligence is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 2:50 p.m., to conduct a closed briefing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 30, S. 195.

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, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 68, S. 260.

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, I ask unanimous consent that, notwithstanding the adoption of S. Res. 178,

the Cornyn amendment to the preamble which is at the desk be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate and that the Secretary of the Senate be authorized to make appropriate changes to reflect adoption of the amendment.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following resolutions, which are at the desk: S. Res. 228, S. Res. 229, S. Res. 230.

Mr. President, the Committee on Foreign Relations has received a request from the U.S. Department of Justice for access to records relating to a briefing attended by Senate staff that may be relevant to a pending criminal case in Federal court in Arizona.

In keeping with the Senate's practice under its rules, this resolution would authorize the chairman and ranking minority member of the Foreign Relations Committee, acting jointly, to provide records to the Department of Justice for use in connection with this case.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.

The resolutions were agreed to.

The preambles were agreed to.

(The resolutions, with their preambles, are printed in today's Record under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations en bloc: all nominations on the Secretary's desk in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy, with the exception of PN89, Matthew Ryan; that the nominations be confirmed en bloc; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate resume legislative session.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 15; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of Executive Calendar No. 88, Sean Donahue, postcloture, and that the Senate vote on confirmation of the nomination at 11:30 a.m.; further, that following disposition of the Donahue nomination, the Senate resume legislative session and Senator Kaine or his designee be recognized to make a motion to discharge S. Res. 195 and that following the motion to discharge, all time until 1:45 p.m. be equally divided and that the Senate then vote on the motion to discharge S. Res. 195; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during Thursday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

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

Madam President, the month of May is a special time to celebrate the Americans who serve our country in uniform. May is Military Appreciation Month.

On Saturday, we celebrate those currently serving on Armed Forces Day, and toward the end of the month, on Memorial Day, we honor those who gave their lives in defense of our country.

South Dakota has a rich heritage of military service, and I am proud to represent the men and women carrying on that heritage in the South Dakota National Guard at Ellsworth Air Force Base and serving in our military around the globe.

South Dakota is proud to support our troops. Our State is home to two major military installations that are fixtures of their communities. But 20 years ago, South Dakota was at risk of losing one of these bases.

On May 13, 2005--20 years ago--the Defense Department announced that it was recommending South Dakota's Ellsworth Air Force Base for closure.

I am not the only one for whom this was a gut punch. Ellsworth is a point of pride in the Black Hills. It has been a national security asset since World War II, and it is home to the 28th Bomb Wing's squadrons of B-1B Lancers, which were performing a critical role in the Global War on Terror.

But, at the time, Ellsworth was a single-mission base, and the Air Force saw savings in moving that mission elsewhere and closing the base.

In May 2005, I was a freshman Senator, 5 months on the job, but now my State faced a major test. Losing the base would have been devastating to western South Dakota and a significant loss, I might add, to our national security. So failure was not an option.

But Ellsworth faced long odds. Past rounds of the Base Realignment and

Closure Commission suggested we had a 12-percent chance of keeping the base open. Some, at the time, were ready to write Ellsworth's obituary, knowing it would take a miracle to save the base. Some thought it would take a political deal, and they doubted that South Dakota had the clout to pull that off.

We knew we weren't going to save Ellsworth through politics, and we weren't going to wait around for a miracle. Instead, we did it the South Dakota way. We worked hard--harder than we ever had. There were just over 100 days from the announcement in May to the financial decision in August, and saving Ellsworth consumed that entire summer.

My staff and I called everyone we could think of. I am sure the BRAC Commission was tired of seeing me that summer, but I was determined to drive home the case for keeping Ellsworth open. We poured through reams of data to make that case.

It was a team effort. Bob Taylor, in my Washington office, and Qusi Al-Haj, in my Rapid City office, didn't see much of their families that summer. The rest of the South Dakota delegation was involved. Then- Governor Mike Rounds was involved as well. Retired Air Force officers like Gen. John Michael Loh and Col. Pat McElgunn lent their voices and expertise to the cause. And countless local officials, community members, and, of course, the 11,000--11,000--South Dakotans who came to the BRAC hearing in Rapid City that June were all part of that team.

In the end, Ellsworth was not saved by miracles or politics. It was saved because we proved that Ellsworth was too valuable to close. Moving all the B-1s to another base was supposed to save money, but we proved that wouldn't actually be the case.

Plus, we demonstrated the Pentagon's analysis failed to account for a number of other factors. Consolidating the entire fleet of bombers in one place was a major vulnerability. An attack, extreme weather, or any issue at that base could ground the entire fleet of B-1s. And consolidation risked overwhelming maintenance and training capacity at that base.

It turned out that Ellsworth was just what the Air Force needed. That is the argument that we made. As Colonel McElgunn put it to the BRAC Commissioners, ``Ellsworth has operational advantages to make it the ideal base for the 21st century.'' And as General Loh testified, ``closing Ellsworth will deny the Pentagon a valuable base for future missions.''

Ultimately, in August, the BRAC Commission agreed, and it voted 8 to 1 to keep Ellsworth open. And since then, those predictions have proven right. Ellsworth's B-1s have been a consistent asset to our national security.

In 2011, B-1s left Ellsworth to strike targets in Libya, marking the first time a B-1 fleet launched from the United States to strike overseas targets.

Last year, Ellsworth B-1s conducted a CONUS-to-CONUS mission, taking a continuous 31-hour flight to the Indo-Pacific and back without landing.

And we have continued working to demonstrate Ellsworth's value and to ensure its future will never again be in jeopardy.

In 2007, the Air Force Financial Services Center arrived on base. In 2012, the 89th Attack Squadron came to Ellsworth to control MQ-9 Reaper drones from ground control stations in South Dakota.

In 2015, after a decade of work, we expanded the Powder River Training Complex, nearly quadrupling its size and making it the largest training airspace in the lower 48.

And in 2021, the Air Force announced that Ellsworth would officially be named the first operating base for the new B-21 Raider, a sixth- generation long-range strategic bomber.

From BRAC to B-21, and the story continues.

Madam President, 20 years ago, Ellsworth was said to be a liability. Today, it is very clear that it is a national security asset, and I am working to make sure the base and the surrounding community have what they need to continue to play a key role in our national defense for generations to come.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum call with respect to the Danly nomination be waived.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call with respect to the MacGregor nomination be waived.