Floor Statements

Mr. President, I join my colleagues from Rhode Island in coming today to honor the victims at Brown University, for those who lost their lives and those who are fighting for theirs right now in a hospital room.

We lift up their families in prayer. We ask for privacy and peace as they grieve the unimaginable.

Just over the last 24, 36 hours, I have been inundated with text messages and calls specifically talking about what an incredible young woman Ella Cook was. She was everything that is great about our State-- bold, courageous, convicted, thoughtful, kind. She made her mark at Mountain Brook High School. She was making her mark at Brown University. The calls that I have gotten have been not just from Alabama but literally from people across the country who encountered her.

While her life was cut way too short--and I cannot imagine the pain and grief that her parents are feeling right now and her little brother and her little sister and her extended family--it is clear that she made an impact, that her time on Earth was such a positive force for good that the ripple of her life will be felt for generations to come.

As we lift their families up in prayer--the Brown community, people across this country that are grieving--I hope to echo my colleague's statement that we can all do that together.

I yield the floor to the senior Senator from Rhode Island for a moment of silence.

Mr. President, today I rise with a heavy heart in honor of longtime Capitol Hill staffer and friend Kevin McDonald.

He began his career as an intern and worked his way up to the top political strategist in the office of the President pro tempore of the Senate, Senator Patrick Leahy, with whom he spent 30 years serving alongside. This alone speaks volumes to Kevin's professional character, his loyalty, dedication, and his selflessness.

His former colleague Ann Berry, who served as deputy chief of staff to Senator Leahy before her appointment as Secretary of the Senate, had this to say about Kevin:

I have always viewed public service as an honor, and Kevin

McDonald represented the best in being a public servant.

Whoever he was helping, he wanted them to have the best

experience. Whether it was pulling together a meeting of

Senators or showing the latest crop of interns the ropes.

For over 30 years, he set our boss--

She said--

Senator Patrick Leahy up for success. He advised and

handled logistics to keep the Senator and the Senate running

smoothly.

Kevin loved assisting guests from Vermont and around the

country [to] experience the majesty of the U.S. Senate by

organizing tours, helping them attend special events, and

[always] offering [expertise that made] DC a truly special

place [for everyone to visit.]

Kevin set an incredible example for all public servants with the positive impact he had on the lives of countless people, including me.

Like former Secretary Ann Berry, many of us were fortunate to call Kevin a friend. We didn't just work with him, we got to know him on a personal level. I worked closely with Kevin when I served as chief of staff to Senator Richard Shelby. As the top ranking appropriators in Congress for several years--and while they certainly did not see eye to eye on most every policy-related issue--Senators Shelby and Leahy, alongside their wives Annette and Marcelle, enjoyed a close personal relationship, a relationship and tradition that Senator Welch and I are committed to upholding.

Their teams benefited tremendously from their friendship as well. Kevin and I had the privilege of joining Senators Shelby and Leahy on many congressional delegation trips around the world. I will forever cherish my time with Kevin as we learned a great deal from our bosses on those trips and in this Chamber.

His friendship meant the world to me and all who knew him, including Toni-Marie Higgins, chief of staff to Senator John Boozman. She said this of Kevin:

[He] was one of the best colleagues I've [ever] had the

privilege of serving with in the Senate. . . . Whether we

were part of a [congressional delegation] or attending events

in DC, he brought energy, joy, and kindness to every single

moment. . . . His presence made every experience more

meaningful--and a lot more fun.

I couldn't agree more. He truly radiated light and kindness, and we were all better because of it. Although Kevin touched many lives--some in this Chamber, some outside in Vermont and across the country--Kevin was, first and foremost, an integral part of Team Leahy. I know his decades of service meant the world to Senator Leahy and his wife Marcelle, who had this to say about Kevin:

Kevin McDonald was more than a senior advisor and

scheduler. He was like a member of our family and our whole

family felt that way.

My thoughts and prayers are with all of those who loved Kevin: Brian, Tom, his nephews, Declan and Griffin.

While many Members of Congress receive their day in the Sun for their devotion to our great Nation, staffers can often be overlooked, and their tremendous contributions cannot be undervalued. This institution, the State of Vermont, and the country are better for the service of Kevin. And there are few more deserving to be recognized than he. So I am honored to stand here today on the Senate floor and remember his life and legacy.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, passing a clean CR this week is important for two reasons. First, passing the CR, of course, will avert a harmful and unnecessary government shutdown.

No reasonable Member on either side, Democrat or

Republican, wants a government shutdown.

Now, those aren't my words. Those are actually Senator Schumer's words from just over a year ago.

I rise today because, once again in this Congress, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have decided to put politics ahead of the American people. You see, just a few weeks ago, we finally unpacked the logjam that they had created on President Trump's nominees. They decided that, instead of working for the American people and allowing this body to do its job, they were going to engage in unprecedented obstruction, allowing for every single person that came to this floor-- insisting that they had a cloture vote, 134 out of 135 nominees-- something that had historically never been done. At the rate we were going, up until Republicans finally took action to remove Democrat obstruction, President Trump, at the end of his term--at the end of his term--would have had about 800 nominees confirmed out of the 1,200 that he actually gets to select during his administration.

I didn't say at the end of this year. I didn't say at the end of this Congress. That would have been just over 400. At the end of his term, he would have only had just over two-thirds of the people that he needed to make his administration work. That is what they wanted to do. That is what they were insistent upon.

Look, the American people spoke on November 5. They heard from both sides. It was probably one of the more fruitful debates. Knowing what Vice President Harris would bring to the table--seeing that she said: I would do nothing different than Joe Biden has done--and then knowing what President Trump did his first term and what he was promising to do yet again, the American people made a very clear choice.

But yet, instead of allowing this body to focus, this body to work, this body to function, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have continued to play politics. And guess what. We are over it. And that is what we are seeing happen here today.

Make no mistake, what we want to do is pass a clean CR. Now, this means we have, obviously, come to the end of our time of government funding. We have 12 appropriations bills that we need to get across the finish line. Getting them across the finish line is important to fund the government. And, look, we are on our path--a path greater than that, that was set by my colleagues when they were in charge, just over a year ago--to actually make great strides toward that.

So what Republicans are asking that we do is that we continue these conversations, that we continue the work that we are doing. You see, for the first time since 2018, we actually passed three appropriations bills out of this Chamber before the August State work period. We have been working diligently with our counterparts in the House to get those ready for final passage. What we are asking them to do today is to let us keep working, to let us keep doing our job for the American people. But they are consistently choosing politics over the very people they serve.

This Chamber is barreling toward a government shutdown and--make no mistake about it--there is no one to blame but the Democrats. Instead of saying yes, let's keep working, they decided to say: You know what? For 7 weeks of keeping working toward the goal of bringing these bills to the floor and actually passing them, getting them across the finish line, when we have engaged in record obstruction on other items, we are going to ask you for $1.5 trillion--trillion--in new spending, for 7 weeks.

So they have essentially asked--you heard that right--for not a billion with a ``b'' but a trillion with a ``t'' for 7 weeks of spending, under a Biden budget, as we extend that while we work to put ourselves under a Trump budget moving forward. It is seriously partisan and unfortunate for the American people.

Their plan also asked for some other things that are deeply unserious: to allow illegal aliens to receive taxpayer-funded benefits--that is what they are asking in exchange--to send a half a billion dollars to media that functions more as propaganda than it does as an actual news outlet. And they want to eliminate the $50 billion of investment that Republicans pledged and made to rural healthcare. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Here is the reality. Voters rejected all of that on November 5. The America-last spending of Democrats is something that the people of this country said we don't want any more of. President Trump and Republicans were elected to change that in historic fashion. But time and time again, it appears that the people pushing for a shutdown, the people on the other side of the aisle, are not living in reality and are caring more about pandering to the far left than they are about actually delivering results to the American people. And that is sad.

Look, this isn't an impasse where we said ``let's work on these things'' and

we have made no progress. We have made significant progress, and we are committed to continuing to do that, given the opportunity. Meanwhile, the Republicans have put forth a clean CR. It funds the government for 7 weeks. It puts forth no new partisan spending. And, importantly, it allows for us to have more time to get back to a semblance of regular order and pass bipartisan appropriations bills.

Enacting these appropriations bills needs to be one of our top priorities, because while the Republican-led CR is the best option for right now, it is my belief that we cannot continue to kick the can down the road. Every time we do that, it costs the American taxpayers more. It is time for us to get in this room right here and do the work of the American people.

A long-term continuing resolution would keep spending at Biden levels, and the American people neither voted for this nor could they afford it. We have an obligation to ensure the Senate gets back to doing its job. We must return to transparency, to accountability, and to regular order.

The last several months, it was blocking President Trump's nominees. Now, it is holding the government hostage with a wish list of demands.

Republicans are here to work for the American people, and, look, we are going to continue to do so. It is my hope that some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are committed to doing the same thing.

Make no mistake, if the government shuts down, if Federal workers go without a paycheck, if things go awry, that would be the Democrats' burden to bear.

It is not like there hasn't been progress. It is not like there is no plan. We have made progress on these bills. Our leader, Leader John Thune, has promised to continue to put these bills on the floor. It is past time that Democrats get serious and decide if they want to govern or if they just want to follow their leader. I hope that they choose actually doing the work of the American people and not making them pay the price for a Schumer shutdown.

Decisions need to be made in this very Chamber tonight, and I hope that our colleagues on the other side make the right one. Let us continue to work for the American people. Let us do the job that we have already started on and are committed to finishing. And let us get this Senate back functioning for the very people that we serve.

Mr. President, I would like to thank my colleague from Oklahoma. He did a tremendous job on what he just laid out, and he has also been working tirelessly on this for the last few months, in particular the month of August, along with myself, Senator Eric Schmitt, Senator Ted Budd, Senator Ron Johnson, all trying to coalesce on how to make this place work again.

This is about preserving the institution, not about partisan advantage. Unfortunately, this is where we are today.

I think it is important that we rise to continue to talk about this, about Senate Republicans working to restore order to this Chamber. The Senate has a constitutional obligation to provide the President advice and consent on his nominations for key professions. This role is a cornerstone of the checks and balances system created by our Forefathers, and it is a process we must ensure continues to function, no matter who is currently serving in the White House.

I understand being in the minority, and it is certainly frustrating when your party doesn't win the general election. But as we have heard our colleagues say a number of times, elections have consequences. And while we have seen power change back and forth from Republican and Democratic administrations, the Senate was specially designed to uphold our constitutional obligation of advice and consent.

We serve 6-year terms with one-third of the Senate being up for reelection every Congress because we want to make sure that we are not shortsighted or partisan acting, but unfortunately this year, we have seen that unravel due to historic obstruction by Senate Democrats, a theme that goes back nearly 25 years.

Over the August recess, as we have worked on this, I spent a great deal of time studying the history of Senate confirmations to better understand inflection points and how we actually got here.

This is a common theme. The Senate slows confirmations when there is a Republican in the White House. It started in 2003 when President Bush nominated Miguel Estrada, a brilliant attorney, to serve there, and he received bipartisan praise from the likes of future Biden White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain. Democrats, concerned that Estrada might be soon nominated to the Supreme Court, used the filibuster to block him-- the first time in history an appellate court nominee was blocked.

What started with Estrada continued to shape Bush's term. While President Clinton had 98 percent of his nominees confirmed by voice vote or unanimous consent, President Bush had 90 percent in his first term--a small but noticeable dropoff.

Much to the disappointment of conservatives around the country, President Obama was sworn into office in 2009. In his first term, how many nominees do you think Obama had confirmed without a rollcall vote? Ninety percent--the exact same as his Republican predecessor, President Bush.

Next, President Trump. He took office in 2017. Senate Democrats dusted off their same playbook that they wrote during President Bush's term, and while Obama had 90 percent of his nominees approved without a rollcall vote, President Trump actually received just 65 percent. This slowed the Senate down and, more importantly, kept well-qualified leaders out of key roles for our country.

President Biden took office in 2021. He nominated a number of people controversial not just to Republicans but actually to many Democrats too. In fact, one in particular was his Secretary of Labor. His nominee to be Secretary of Labor couldn't get confirmed by his own party and actually was in an acting role for over 680 days--nearly 2 years without a confirmed Cabinet Secretary. Despite all of this, 57 percent of President Biden's nominees were confirmed without a rollcall vote.

Now, this takes us to President Trump's second term, where he won, obviously, an overwhelming majority of Americans with the popular vote and the electoral college, but, as you know, he has received zero percent of his nominees without a rollcall vote--not one.

Look at this chart. This lays it out for you. You have H. W. Bush, 98 percent; Obama, 90 percent; you have Clinton here, 98; you have Trump 1, 65; you have Bush again, 90. I mean, look at this: 98, 98, 90, 90, 65, 57, 0. Does this seem like people are trying to make this place work or does this seem like they are trying to bring it to a screeching halt?

For me, I came here to actually do something. So we have 120 pieces of bipartisan legislation on really incredible things that have been marked up in committee and are ready to see time on this floor. They are things like social media to protect kids online, to finally stand up to Big Tech and say: The safety and security and mental well-being of our children comes first, not the profits in your pocket.

We have bills on affordable housing, knowing that now, when you look at the American dream, almost everyone's piece of that comes through owning their own home. While previously you would buy your first home between 26 and 28 years old, now that number has moved to 38 or beyond. Making sure that we make that more tangible for Americans, that we figure out how to actually address those prices, is critical, and we have a bill waiting to see the floor.

Yet Senate Democrats continue to try to prolong this, to try to put every roadblock in place just to keep President Trump from getting his people in place.

At the end of the day, last November, the American people were actually faced with two options, and this, to me, was the most well- informed election we have ever had in American history because they were two very known entities. You knew what you were getting. You had seen Kamala Harris serve as Vice President, you had already seen President Trump serve in one term, and so you knew what you were getting. And the American people overwhelmingly said: We want President Trump back in office.

Kamala Harris said she wouldn't do anything differently--I think you all remember that on ``The View''--anything differently than Joe Biden. So they said: This is what we want. But yet we are not allowing him to get his people in place to actually do the things that he needs to do for the country.

I understand voting against nominees that you disagree with. I even understand requiring a cloture vote on some. What I can't understand is the blocking, is the delay tactics on every single nomination. These are bipartisan nominees--many of them. The ones we will be talking about here came out of committee with a bipartisan vote.

Now, during President Biden's term, there were certainly a lot of nominees that I did not agree with, but a President deserves some deference. Give him an up-or-down vote and move on. Senate Democrats have given no such deference to President Trump and, just like the 2024 election, in my opinion, have failed to present the case to the American people. This is not obstructing nominees; this is a protest of an election that didn't go their way.

We have spent an unreasonable amount of time just trying to confirm largely uncontroversial nominees when we could be using it to see those bills that have been marked up in a bipartisan fashion on this floor. We could be using it to work through appropriations bills, which, in my opinion, are so critical to the job that we do. We could be using it to continue to move the NDAA and make sure that our forces are the best trained, ready, and equipped across the planet. Instead, we are nearly 9 months into this administration, and President Trump has less than 12 percent of his positions confirmed.

The Senate has worked hard these last 9 months. We have actually held a record number of rollcall votes. We have been in session a record number of days. Unfortunately, we have another record, and that is that we have zero voice votes here for President Trump at this point in time.

But it doesn't stand to reason that a historical effort is being put on us for continuing this lowest number of nominees confirmed through the Senate. President Trump is on pace to have confirmed just 426 nominees by the end of this Congress--426. Look at this. You have President Biden at the end of his first Congress, the end of the first 2 years--919 nominees confirmed.

Now we hear our colleagues on the other side of the aisle consistently say that we did everything possible to create an impediment for President Obama. That is clearly not true when it came to letting his people have an up-or-down vote or giving them an opportunity to get in his Cabinet.

You look at President Trump, you see what they did here--715 nominees by the end of Congress. Then you go to President Biden--817 at the end of the first Congress. At the current rate we are at now--and you heard my distinguished colleague from Oklahoma say that if we kept doing this, it would be 900 more hours that we would spend just in the near future--we will have only 426 nominees confirmed into his administration by the end of this Congress at the rate we are going.

Now, do you know how many people serve in a Cabinet? serve in an administration? Over 1,200. Over 1,200. So what you are saying essentially, then, is that at the end of his first 2 years, you are going to give him a third of the people, at best, that he needs to complete the mission that the American people very clearly said on November 5 they wanted to see enacted.

It is not right. President Trump deserves the men and women he has nominated to be in place today, and that is exactly why our conference has been working diligently to find a solution.

The Democrats' behavior in requiring a cloture vote on almost every single nominee is, in fact, a change in rules. Their behavior has set a new precedent. It is one that will last with this body on and on and on and on.

We want this Senate to work again. We want it to function once again. We want to be able to bring this important legislation that we worked on in committee in a bipartisan fashion to the floor and get things done for the American people once again. And we are not going to allow the obstruction by the Senate Democrats to continue.

It is important to understand that a significant number of these nominees that we will be talking about this week and next came out of committee on a bipartisan basis. Some are individuals whom many of us have known and have worked with for years. They deserve an opportunity to serve, and I think many of my Democratic colleagues would actually agree.

Now, before we discuss the rules changes our conference has coalesced around, we have obviously made sure that we have been thoughtful about a number of different avenues.

People have brought recess appointments up, amongst a number of different things. When recess appointments are made, they only fill a position for this Congress, so you are not fixing it for the entirety of President Trump's tenure. Also, many times, these recess appointments are generally unpaid positions. For these outstanding nominees, it would be unfair to ask to make many of them move across the country with their families for an unpaid job that expires at the end of a Congress, not even at the end of President Trump's term. Therefore, we landed on another solution--the Klobuchar-King proposal.

Now, look, this solution would allow us to vote en bloc, to confirm multiple nominees at one time--so not so dissimilar to how the Senate used to work for every other President--passing dozens of nominees at once through unanimous consent. We haven't had any of those packages here.

Look, there is no perfect solution, but one thing we do know is that we have to get this place back functioning again.

So I want to point out that when the Klobuchar-King proposal was introduced, the Senate was regularly confirming batches of nominees by voice vote--clearly something that is not happening now.

This was when the Senate was keeping the same pace confirming President Biden's nominees with Senate Democrats' pace confirming President Trump's in his first term.

The blame for the delay of President Trump's nominees lies solely with Senate Democrats. When President Trump first took office, he became the first President to not have at least 90 percent of his nominees confirmed without a rollcall vote.

I mean, this chart speaks for itself.

Now that they have exhausted every tool, they keep chipping away until nothing is left--not a single nominee more to obstruct. This is truly ridiculous, and it is actually no way to run a country. This is not what our Founding Fathers intended when they gave the Senate the power of advice and consent, and it is not what our voters sent us to Washington, DC, to do.

So, alongside Senate Republicans, I remain committed to finding a pathway forward to get the Senate back to working, to put institutional reform ahead of partisan politics, and to make sure this body is actually working for the American people.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I wish to recognize the life and legacy of Dr. Annette Nevin Shelby of Tuscaloosa, AL.

The daughter of Gladys Price and Edwin Claude Nevin, Dr. Shelby was born on January 22, 1939, in Kinston, AL. Dr. Shelby graduated as an honors graduate of Kinston High School and attended Alabama College, now the University of Montevallo, for 2 years before transferring to the University of Alabama.

While earning her bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees in speech, she excelled in several organizations on campus, including Delta Delta Delta sorority and Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha National Debate Society. Her commitments were honored through inductions into Mortar Board, a women's service organization, and into Phi Beta Kappa, a national scholastic honor society.

Dr. Shelby's dedication to higher education did not end in Tuscaloosa; rather, her personal and professional careers were just beginning. She earned a Ph.D. degree at Louisiana State University, received an honorary doctor of humanities degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and received an honorary litterarum humanorum doctoris degree from the University of South Alabama.

The daughter of two educators, Dr. Shelby followed in their footsteps through a lifelong commitment to educating the next generation. Notably, Dr. Shelby's 20-year instruction at Georgetown University in management, corporate, and crisis communication led to national acclaim and earned her tenure and a promotion to professor. She was the first woman in the business school to achieve this distinction and was named professor emerita upon her retirement.

Dr. Shelby's love for travel rivaled her husband's, retired U.S. Senator Richard Craig Shelby. She served as a director of Georgetown's program in comparative business at Oxford, taught graduate and undergraduate students at the Helsinki School of Economics, and lectured at the University of Leipzig. She also taught on the University of Pittsburgh's Semester at Sea program, where she spent time in 11 countries.

Throughout her life, Dr. Shelby sought to invest in the lives of students and in universities and schools. At Alabama, she served as the vice president of the women's division of the women's alumni association, where she spearheaded the restoration of Woods Hall, the first structure built on campus following the Civil War. She later served on the president's cabinet

and the president's advisory board, as well as the Women of the Capstone. A true lover of the arts, she also served as president of the Alabama Speech and Theatre Association, where she promoted theatre programing for high schools. Her national leadership was solidified in 2019 when she was appointed to the President's Advisory Committee on the Arts to serve as a representative for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

As two of the most generous, dedicated Alabama trailblazers, Dr. and Senator Shelby have continued to make remarkable contributions that will no doubt strengthen our State for many years to come.

In 2023, Dr. and Senator Shelby established the Shelby Institute for Policy and Leadership at the University of Alabama. The program endeavors to educate future leaders through civic engagement, research, and public policy. Most recently, Spring Hill College broke ground on the Annette N. Shelby Health and Science Innovation Center. This state- of-the-art facility will not only expand Spring Hill's current nursing and pre-med programs, but also launch new programs.

Dr. Shelby died on July 23, 2025, at her home in Tuscaloosa. She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Senator Shelby; two sons Richard Craig Shelby, Jr., and Claude Nevin Shelby (Lisa); two grandchildren Anna Elizabeth Shelby and William Nevin Shelby; and brother Edward Haskell Nevin.

On behalf of Dr. Shelby's friends, family, and students, I am deeply proud to recognize her extraordinary life. Dr. Shelby's quiet strength, keen intellect and discernment, and elegant poise all contribute to her legacy as one of Alabama's most influential figures. Her status is cemented not just in the buildings and programs across the State that bear her name, but for the tremendous, indelible impact she made on all who were fortunate to know her. Alabama and our Nation are undeniably stronger because of her extraordinary life of service.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and celebrate Mrs. Arlene Mitchell, a tireless servant and philanthropist for the people of Alabama.

Mrs. Mitchell, who grew up just over the Alabama border in Atlanta, GA, quickly made Mobile home with her husband Mr. Mayer ``Bubba'' Mitchell, a native Mobilian. The Mitchell family's decades of dedication have paid dividends and strengthened Mobile for generations to come.

Notably, Mrs. Mitchell represented Mobile County on the Board of Trustees for the University of South Alabama--USA--a seat previously held by her beloved husband. In 2022, Mrs. Mitchell made history when she was elected as the first female chair pro tem of the board of the university. Her trailblazing commitment and heart for service proved critical to the university, increasing enrollment growth, spurring record fundraising, and advancing many crucial USA programs. Her oversight of the construction of the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine Building, renovation and expansion of the USA Health Children's & Women's Hospital Pediatric Emergency Center, and the establishment of the Arlene Mitchell Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, among countless other initiatives, have been transformational to the university, its community, and the region.

Equally important, Mrs. Mitchell and the entire Mitchell family were instrumental in establishing the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute, the region's only academic cancer treatment and research center. This visionary investment has brought world-class, groundbreaking research and hope to patients and families across Alabama and the entire gulf coast. Throughout the years, Mrs. Mitchell has generously donated to lifesaving initiatives at USA, including the Pediatric Emergency Center project, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit renovation, and the da Vinci surgical system acquisition at USA Health Children's & Women's Hospital. Mrs. Mitchell has not only generously given her resources, but her time and compassion, spending countless hours rocking precious babies in the NICU.

Mrs. Mitchell's service to the Mobile community extends far beyond her work on the board. Her impact can be felt across the gulf coast region, whether through her support of the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Alabama, the Exploreum Science Center, or the Senior Citizens Services of Mobile. She has been recognized as Mobilian of the Year, the first woman to receive this honor, the Distinguished Friend of Education by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and alongside her husband, has been honored by the United Way of Southwest Alabama for their lifetime of philanthropy.

This year, Mrs. Mitchell was conferred the honorary title of chair pro tempore emerita of the University of South Alabama Board of Trustees. And while her biggest accomplishment of all, is her life with Mayer, her 4 children and their spouses, 8 grandchildren and their spouses, and 19 great-grandchildren, I couldn't be more honored to celebrate her legacy of leadership, selflessness, and generosity.

I ask my esteemed colleagues in the U.S. Senate to please join me in extending our heartfelt appreciation to Mrs. Mitchell for her extraordinary contributions to higher education, healthcare, and the well-being of countless Alabamians. May her example be a guiding light to us all.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I rise today to talk about a number of topics. I first want to start with how thrilled I am that childcare was addressed in the bill that we passed last week. The affordability and accessibility has hung over so many Americans coast to coast that want or need the opportunity to reengage in the workforce. And we took action to make a difference--to make it easier for parents to keep more of their hard-earned money to be able to do just that.

It wouldn't have been possible, obviously, without that bill and the Republican conference coming together and

actually deciding to effect change for hard-working families across this Nation.

We worked diligently, though, before that was even an option, building a coalition in a bipartisan way to address the affordability and accessibility of childcare.

I want to take a minute to thank Senator Tim Kaine. The Britt-Kaine proposal is what much of this was pulled from. We worked together to build that coalition to make sure that we were getting it right for the American people, in that we both had team members that worked diligently and around the clock.

I want to thank Rebecca Howard from his team for the work that she put in--tireless work. She happens to be an Alabamian from Alex City, AL, working hand in glove with Maggie McPherson from our team.

Maggie dedicated so much time and energy to getting this right. As a result of their hard work--along with Stephen Newton, Sean Ross, and Caroline Moore--Americans are going to have more opportunity, parents are going to be able to rely on childcare and have it accessible to them, businesses--large and small--are going to get to be a part of the solution.

I am so proud that the Republican conference came together and finally updated the Tax Code. It had not been updated since 1986 and 2001 to double what parents get moving forward. I want to thank the team that worked so diligently for weeks and months leading up to that to make that happen.

Mr. President, I also rise today to recognize and celebrate an Alabama native Lulu Gribbon and her incredible journey that led us here today.

You see, just over a year ago--a year and a month--Lulu and her family did what many Alabamians and families across our Nation do every summer--they took a trip to the beach.

As a mom of two teenagers who is fortunate to live close to the Gulf of America, we have taken many beach trips ourselves. But what happened to Lulu last summer is not something I could have ever fathomed happening to one of my children, and it is not something I can fathom happening to anyone's child.

Lulu was on a sandbar in Walton County, FL, when she was viciously attacked by a shark. The attack was nearly fatal. She lost two-thirds of her blood in her body. And if it weren't for medical professionals who, by the grace of God, were close by, the end of this story could have been very different.

This marked the beginning of a grueling journey, multiple surgeries and countless hours of physical therapy. Lulu lost her left arm and her right leg but did not lose her will to fight, to be an inspiration, to be an example to all her knew her.

She embodies grit and grace and perseverance and has been an absolute force to all who had the opportunity to know her or get a window into her story. In fact, Lulu has actually taken up some new hobbies.

She has mastered her golf swing. She is driving a car. She is shooting hoops on the basketball courts. She is surfing, now running. And if you go to her Instagram page--LuluG.strong, which I encourage all of you to do--you will see her actually slalom skiing at Lake Martin.

Like the power of resiliency, faith, and mental fortitude, Lulu's story is not only incredible, but has given us an opportunity to ensure that it doesn't happen to anyone ever again. And do you know what? That is exactly what Lulu wants.

She wanted to make sure very practical lessons of how we can work to avoid these attacks from happening in the future actually got put into law. Because, you see, 90 minutes before Lulu was attacked, a woman from Virginia was attacked just a few miles down the beach.

Elizabeth Foley of Virginia lost her hand while fighting off a shark. Again, this was less than 2 hours prior and just a few miles away. Had there been an alert system for sharks, Lulu likely would not have been in the water.

That is the nexus of Lulu's Law. The Senate has now unanimously passed Lulu's Law, legislation I was proud to lead and that Lulu has courageously advocated for for over a year now.

Lulu's Law empowers authorized local, State, Tribal, and Federal Government authorities to quickly deploy warnings via the Wireless Emergency Alert system. This will happen if a shark has attacked someone.

Preventing attacks like this is something we can all rally around, in honor of Lulu and to protect future beachgoers and families. While the Senate passage of this bill certainly calls for celebration, our work is not done. I am hopeful that our House colleagues will quickly take up this piece of legislation and begin to move it through the House and, ultimately, to the President's desk.

I will tell you God's hand is in all of this. Last night, I called Lulu's parents and talked to them about how incredible this is, and they immediately said that when they got the news, they were having their very first Lulu Foundation meeting, and the junior board was meeting, which are all of the young ladies that were in the water with Lulu when this happened.

Their resiliency, their grit, their willingness to make things better for those to come after them should absolutely be commended. But none of this would have happened without a bipartisan approach. I want to thank Majority Leader Thune, I want to thank Minority Leader Schumer, I want to thank Committee Chair Ted Cruz, Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, and I want to thank Brian Schatz.

This is what the country sent us here to do, is to figure out where we have common ground; and where we have that common ground, to make the lives better of the people we serve. That is exactly what we did today. This wouldn't have happened without people coming together. It is a big moment not only for Lulu but for the future safety of beachgoers from coast to coast.

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, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 10, that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed, and the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of Executive Calendar No. 49, postcloture; further, notwithstanding rule XXII at 11:15 a.m., the Senate vote on confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 49, and if cloture is then invoked on Calendar No. 112, Steven Vaden, the Senate recess following the cloture vote until 2:15 to allow for the weekly conference meetings; further, if cloture is invoked on the Vaden nomination, the postcloture time be expired at 2:15 p.m. and the Senate vote on confirmation of the Vaden nomination, and if any nominations are confirmed on Tuesday's session of the Senate, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; finally, that the filing deadline for all first-degree amendments to Calendar No. 66, S. 1582, and the substitute amendment No. 2307 be 2:30 p.m. tomorrow.

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

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

Mr. President, in March of this year, I delivered remarks right here on the Senate floor about a piece of legislation-- bipartisan, commonsense childcare legislation. I spoke about how the Republican Party is now the party of parents, the party of families, the party of hard-working Americans. I spoke about how we, as the party of life, the party of family, should prioritize ways to make it easier to both start and grow our families.

Since then, more and more colleagues have joined the Child Care Availability and Affordability Act. As we work to build back America, it just makes sense. I was proud to introduce this legislation with Senator Tim Kaine, and we believe it will help address our Nation's childcare crisis.

Supporters are both Republicans and Democrats. They are both parents and grandparents who understand how incredibly difficult it is to find affordable, high-quality, reliable childcare.

I have spoken about my own personal story in this Chamber, but today, I want to speak for the millions of moms and dads who don't just want Congress to do something about this, they need Congress to do something.

Recent polls show that 81 percent of America--think about that. In the time we are in right now, 81 percent of America believes affordable and available childcare is an issue that everyone should be concerned with regardless of whether they have children or not. Seventy-two percent of Republicans say that increasing Federal funding for childcare is an important priority and a good use of taxpayer dollars, and 70 percent of Independents and 90 percent of Democrats agree. Three out of every four Americans believe that the lack of childcare impacts the ability of businesses to function effectively and consistently.

The message from voters is absolutely crystal clear: It is not just parents of young children who are impacted by the lack of affordable and available childcare; it is small business owners, neighbors, grandparents, and friends. This issue cuts across different demographics and party lines.

It is a struggle that Congress absolutely should address. I believe the solution is my childcare legislation, the Child Care Availability and Affordability Act. This plan consists of targeted investments in families and small businesses. It modernizes three existing tax credits to reflect the current economic reality.

This is an example of good, commonsense policymaking. We are not creating a new entitlement; we are letting Americans keep more of their hard-earned taxpayer dollars in a manner that actually grows the economy, and we are offering job creators an incentive to invest directly in their hard-working people who have childcare needs, and those benefits would help.

These tax credits have not been updated since 2001, so almost 25 years ago. Unfortunately, inaction by Congress has contributed to the crisis. The American economy loses $122 billion a year because of the lack of affordable childcare. In contrast, my bill would cost just over $4 billion a year. You can do that math.

Imagine the boost to our economy if we made this targeted investment in workers and in families. Consider a parent who may be a low-income individual, many of whom find the high cost of childcare to be the single biggest barrier to reentering the workforce. We could empower those parents to get back to work and move off government assistance.

This is exactly the kind of pro-family, pro-Main Street, pro-worker legislation that has the ability to both transform our economy and support families.

I want to thank my colleagues who have already signed on--most recently, the senior Senator from Alabama, Tommy Tuberville, and the senior Senator from Arizona, Mark Kelly.

I am encouraged by the amount of support this legislation continues to build, but we can't stop now. They are counting on Republicans--the American people--to be that party of families, party of parents, party of hard-working Americans, and to actually deliver. I believe the American people are firmly behind us, and I want to encourage all of my colleagues to join with me in this effort.

We are elected to serve the needs of our constituents, and when the American people speak out about those needs, we have an obligation to listen and to do something about it.

I yield the floor.