John W. Hickenlooper

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, $43.6 billion and counting--that is the Pentagon's estimate for how much it has spent on this illegal war in Iran. Now, that is a lot of money. In fact, it is so much money that if every American family gave $500, you still wouldn't have enough to pay for this war--the missiles, the munitions, the warships. Over $43 billion of taxpayer money with no discernible benefit--wasted.

But I don't want to talk about what $43 billion includes. Today, I want to talk about what that number doesn't include. Wars aren't measured just in dollars and cents; they are measured in

lives lost, whether Americans feel safer at home, better off. And by all these accounts, the costs are enormous.

Take the 19 brave servicemembers whose deaths have been disclosed by the Pentagon. That is 19 families who have lost someone irreplaceable. In just a few weeks, children are going to trick-or-treat without their parent. A few weeks later, parents and families will gather for Thanksgiving with an empty seat at the table.

``I will never recover from this,'' one widow wrote on social media.

What is even more heartbreaking is that we don't know exactly how many servicemembers have died in the Middle East amid this war. Reports say that the Pentagon is not being transparent with Congress or the American people. What we know is that every one of those lives lost deserves our gratitude, and every one of those families deserves an accurate accounting of this war's human cost.

Since February, more than 800 servicemembers have been wounded in the Middle East. Some went days without receiving adequate hospital care. Many face life-altering injuries. Tens of thousands of their fellow servicemembers are still deployed, fighting a war that this administration still refuses to call a war. Back at home, their loved ones are left worrying and wondering whether their loved ones will get home for the holidays. You are not going to find any of those costs in the $43 billion pricetag.

There has also been a staggering cost in America's loss to national security. Since June, the war has consumed between one-half and two- thirds of our key missile defense interceptors. Even with increased production rates, it will take at least 5 years to rebuild those stockpiles. Every interceptor we fire in Iran is one that we don't have protecting this country in the future.

Iranian strikes have damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures on U.S. bases, along with our relationships with the allies and partners who agreed to host them as a bulwark against the aggressions of Iran. That premise has been turned on its head.

At the same time, we have shown Iran that it can seize control of one of the world's most critical waterways and literally bring global trade to a stop, bring it to its knees. A quarter of the world's oil and a third of the world's fertilizer trade used to flow through the Strait of Hormuz. No longer. We have given our adversaries a roadmap and even a test drive for holding the global economy hostage, which the Houthis have already exploited in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

America's adversaries are celebrating our distraction, this futility, and the mounting costs. Every dollar we spend on Iran is a dollar we are not spending modernizing our military to protect against the threat of an ascendant China. Every warship that is deployed to the Arabian Sea is one fewer warship that is available to protect the South China Sea. But you are not going to find those costs in the $43 billion pricetag either.

And then there is the cost, well, to you, the American people. You are paying for this war every day when you fill up your tank, when you buy groceries, when you pay your rent. Before the war, the national average for diesel was $3.72 per gallon. This week, it is over $6.50 per gallon for diesel. That is nearly a 75-percent increase. That means that a small farmer using 1,000 gallons of diesel during a harvest is paying roughly $2,800 more just to do the same work as before the war. Even Republicans have said it: This is ``killing farmers' income''-- that that is what this war is doing: ``killing farmers' income.''

The war is also impacting Americans' grocery bills. Between July of 2025 and July of 2026, fresh vegetable prices increased over 6 percent, beef rose over 9 percent, and tomatoes are up over 13 percent. You shouldn't have to be a millionaire to drive to the grocery store and feed your family.

Few have felt the financial cost of this war more than prospective home buyers. Before the Iran war, the average 30-year mortgage rate was hovering right around 6 percent--still too high for many families. Today, it is above 7 percent. For the average Colorado home buyer, that difference adds up fast. That is a mortgage that is $280 more every month, almost $4,000 a year, and over $100,000 over the course of a 30- year mortgage. That is real money that could go to childcare, to a child's college savings, or just their lifetime savings. For many, it means buying a home just doesn't make financial sense right now, even if you have been saving up for years. You won't see those tradeoffs reflected in the Pentagon's $43 billion pricetag for this war.

Let me ask, finally, what is the cost of this war on our democracy? James Madison once wrote to his friend Thomas Jefferson that ``the Executive is the branch of power most interested in war, and most prone to it.'' That is why the Founders gave Congress the power to declare war--not the President, not the Supreme Court; Congress. Yet, so far, not a single Senator has introduced a legislative measure to formally declare war on Iran.

The Presiding Officer may have noticed that up until now, I haven't mentioned President Trump. That is not because the President bears no responsibility for this war. He certainly does. President Trump unilaterally made the decision to enter this costly--for most people, unwarranted--war. But the decision about whether it continues does rest with Congress.

To my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, who are wrestling with this issue, just ask yourself, is this war making the lives of your constituents any better? That isn't a partisan question; it is a question every Senator has an obligation to ask and a responsibility to get the response for. Because whether the President is a Republican or a Democrat, Congress cannot surrender its constitutional power simply because the President belongs to our party.

We all, each and every Senator--we all took an oath to defend the Constitution, not a President. We all took an oath to serve the American people, not a party.

President Trump made the decision to enter this war, but whether this war continues is now a decision for all of us.

What is the true cost of this war and the cost of allowing it to continue? Well, this week, the Senate is going to get another chance to decide.

I urge, as I have been--I urge all of my colleagues to join me in voting to end this war now and for good.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for the Senate to pass S. 1838, the DeOndra Dixon INCLUDE Project Act.

Thousands of Americans live with Down syndrome, and yet research has been underfunded for decades.

In 2017, Congress encouraged the National Institutes of Health, the NIH, to launch the INCLUDE Project--an effort to make groundbreaking discoveries about conditions that disproportionately affect people with Down syndrome, like Alzheimer's disease.

The INCLUDE Project brings together multiple NIH institutes under a coordinated approach that is already delivering significant scientific discoveries as well as new treatments.

The bipartisan, bicameral DeOndra Dixon INCLUDE Project Act will officially authorize the INCLUDE Project into law.

The bill will ensure that Congress and the American people have visibility into the scientific breakthroughs that are so needed for this community. The INCLUDE Project is already yielding significant scientific results, and Colorado is at the core of these scientific advances.

Today, Colorado is proudly home to the world's leading Down syndrome advocacy, research, and medical care partners at the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, the Alzheimer's and Cognition Center, and the Sie Center at Children's Hospital Colorado.

We need to make sure that improving health outcomes for individuals with Down syndrome remains a priority and do so in honor of DeOndra Dixon, an extraordinary person who was an advocate leaving a legacy that will help improve lives for generations.

This bill has support on both sides of the aisle, including Senators Jerry Moran and Cory Booker and Representatives Diana DeGette and Richard Hudson. We also thank Senators Bennet, Padilla, Capito, Coons, Van Hollen, and Ossoff for their support.

We are determined to get this bill across the finish line for DeOndra and for the thousands of Americans who will see their lives improve for the better by this critical research.

Mr. President, as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be discharged and the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1838.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Hickenlooper substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to and that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time.

Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the bill, as amended.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I also would be remiss if I didn't recognize, once again, the incredible partners that have been behind these Down syndrome advocacy, research, and medical care--primarily the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, but also the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, the Alzheimer's and Cognition Center, and the Sie Center at Children's Hospital Colorado.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, the Senate is currently considering the nomination of Todd Blanche to serve as Attorney General of the United States. The Attorney General is one of the most important positions in the U.S. Government.

Not only does the Attorney General serve as a trusted member of the President's Cabinet, but he also leads the Department of Justice, the Agency responsible for enforcing the laws of the land and, hopefully-- traditionally--enforcing them in a nonpartisan way.

That is a difficult job in any administration, but under this President, who values personal loyalty above pretty much all else, it may well be impossible.

During his confirmation hearing, Mr. Blanche was asked about his relationship with the President. He responded, ``I'm his lawyer,'' before quickly correcting himself to say that he previously ``was'' his lawyer. Now, this wasn't a slip; this was a tell.

Mr. Blanche will not be an impartial check on the President.

And here is another tell: For months, Mr. Blanche has insisted the Department of Justice slush fund is dead. Yet, as recently as this weekend, President Trump was saying the exact opposite. He defended the fund.

So when Mr. Blanche says the slush fund is dead, the slush fund isn't moving forward, don't believe him, not for 1 second. His word is worth about as much as the Trump meme coin.

During reconciliation, we introduced an amendment to permanently-- permanently--end the DOJ slush fund. Despite bipartisan support, it ultimately was voted down. That means taxpayers could still be on the hook for paying bounties, rewards to people who attacked our democracy, attacked this Capitol.

At a time when working families are struggling with rising costs, the last people the Federal Government should seek to reward, to subsidize are those who assault our elections, people like convicted election criminal Tina Peters, who tried to undermine Colorado's free and fair elections; people like the January 6 rioters--my first full day of work in this position--the rioters who stormed this very Chamber in an attempt to tear apart our democracy.

The DOJ slush fund isn't dead; it is dormant. Until Congress permanently closes this avenue through legislation, we shouldn't rely on assurances alone. If there is even a chance that this fund could be revived, this confirmation, this moment, is when this Chamber and its Members have the greatest leverage to act. We should not surrender that leverage for promises that can be undone at the President's whim.

A DOJ letter promising to end the slush fund isn't law, it isn't binding, and it is certainly not enough.

Now, to be clear, we don't believe Mr. Blanche will break all of his promises. When he says behind closed doors that he wants the Dobbs v. Jackson decision to become, in his words, ``permanent in every state,'' we should believe him.

When someone reveals themselves to you, it is generally a good idea to believe them.

Whether it is abortion access or access to the ballot box, we should have little confidence that this new Attorney General will not target Colorado or other blue States because that is exactly what his boss wants.

We cannot allow a fox to guard the henhouse. We need an Attorney General who is loyal to the Constitution, not to President Trump. Mr. Blanche does not seem to be that person. Mr. Blanche is not that person.

I strongly, strongly oppose his confirmation and urge all of my colleagues to do the same.

I yield the floor.