Floor Statements

Madam President, as has been discussed by my distinguished colleagues, in May of 2022, the Mexican military forcibly shut down Vulcan Materials Company's operations. Almost a year later, military police came in--the military of our supposed ally--and they breached and seized Vulcan's port facility at gunpoint. That is right. Instead of using its armed forces to confiscate the fentanyl killing hundreds of American citizens every single day, the Mexican military, under the directive of their former President, confiscated a port rightfully owned by an American company, an Alabama company. Instead of going after the cartels, our neighbor went after law-abiding Americans.

Radical leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador seized Vulcan's operations and property. Make no mistake, that action was illegal under both Mexican and international law, and it is unacceptable that Mexico's new President seems to be carrying the water for him. She said absolutely nothing except that she is going to continue Lopez

Obrador's unlawful seizure of an American company and she stands with him.

Time and time again over the past 4 years, bad actors across the globe have poked and prodded at the United States because they saw weakness in the White House. They saw they could do it and get away with it. When they did it without even the slightest bit of response, let alone consequences, they just kept doing it.

The Wall Street Journal recently published an editorial citing sources stating that this administration, the Biden administration, has undergone last-minute, backroom negotiations on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. The changes, the Journal reported, would rob American companies like Vulcan of the protections they have relied on when investing in partner countries--the protections that would have prevented those partner countries from seizing, for example, operation centers or port facilities.

The Biden administration and its U.S. Trade Representative are actively undermining American interests. They are leaving American companies out in the cold without consulting Congress, preventing us from exercising our constitutional duty to provide oversight on trade.

The Biden administration's actions should be a front-page story in every newspaper across this Nation. The idea that a sitting President and/or his administration would be working against the interests of the country and/or the people he was elected to serve is absolutely unacceptable.

While we wait for January 20, I am proud, in the interim, to support--proudly--Senator Bill Hagerty's piece of legislation. It is called Defending American Property Abroad Act. I joined this quickly, alongside Senators Barrasso, Budd, Kaine, Tuberville, and Wicker. It would prohibit the Mexican Government from profiting from its unlawful seizure of Vulcan's property and port facility. No vessel that has used a port, land, or infrastructure illegally seized from an American entity would be allowed entry into a U.S. port. Should the Mexican Government attempt to violate the law, it would be met with crushing consequences.

The United States can no longer stand by as its companies are terrorized by foreign governments. We will not sit back and watch as our own government allows our interests around the world, in our own hemisphere, to come under attack, and we will not be afraid of protecting our own citizens and their interests.

This past November, the American people did not choose decline; we chose renewal. We must begin to reassert ourselves and make sure that no country--not Mexico, not anyone else--can get away with seizures like the one the Mexican Government carried out against Vulcan.

American interests, American families, American values, and American securities must come first.

I yield the floor.

Senator Helmy, thank you so much for your leadership on this important issue from day one.

Mr. President, you, yourself, have led on this issue significantly.

I think it is important for our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to come together and understand just how pressing America's mental health crisis really is.

I was honored when Senator Helmy came to me right after being sworn in and told me that he wanted to work together on mental health issues and social media. And that is what we are doing here today.

And all of the statistics that Senator Helmy mentioned are not only horrifying but really challenging to even wrap our head around.

The word ``crisis'' doesn't even begin to capture what we are up against. And while we should always be wary of pointing to just one culprit, there is one that stands out amongst the rest; and that is social media.

As a mom of two teenagers, I see firsthand--and I hear from other moms--about the effects of social media on our country's children. And at the same time, those incredibly distressing trends that Senator Helmy detailed took place, social media usage became pervasive among America's kids. And the numbers back it up.

So if you look, 54 percent of teenagers said it would be hard to give up social media. Half of all teens say that they are addicted to their phones.

That was in a 2016 survey. I can't imagine what it would say today.

And 35 percent say that they are almost constantly on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook.

And for those of you who can't see, we are getting some shaking heads from our pages down front.

Almost all of American teens have access to a smartphone. This near- constant use of social media platforms has consequences.

The U.S. Surgeon General wrote, this summer, that 3 hours of social media is 2 times the risk of anxiety and depression amongst our young people.

The average American teenager spends nearly 5 hours a day on social media, and it is clearly having an impact. The Department of Health and Human Services studies show almost half of adolescents say that social media makes them feel worse about their bodies.

Internal research on Instagram conducted itself showed that a third of teenage girls who use the app report that it ``made them feel worse,'' and they found themselves ``unable to stop.''

And results of studies like the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System and the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Monitoring the Future survey shows teens and tweens today get less sleep, less exercise, and less in-person time with their peers than previous generations.

It is long past time to do something about this crisis. And I would like to hand it back to Senator Helmy to talk about how this body is getting to work.

Yes. And, listen, I am so glad that you brought this up before we moved to the next one. The Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act, I think, really represents the best among us. It was a true bipartisan product. It showed progress on the issue. I am proud to have been a cosponsor and working alongside the Senators that you mentioned, their leadership--Blackburn, Blumenthal, Cassidy, Markey--who were willing to step up and truly say: Look, here is a path forward, and let's build consensuses and move it.

So thank you for the effort, all of them, that they put into this legislation. I wasn't surprised, like you, that it passed the Senate in overwhelming fashion because this is not a red or a blue issue. This is an American issue. And that is exactly how this must be tackled. And it is clear that this body understands that.

And I am looking forward to continuing to build more momentum, taking more steps on a bipartisan basis to move that ball even further down the field.

Senator Helmy, you are a parent, just like I am. We are raising kids in this environment. We are seeing how social media affects them. And it is really a struggle that I think unifies us in an unprecedented way.

I was proud to work along with Senator Brian Schatz and Ted Cruz and Chris Murphy as we also reflected on this problem as parents.

That is why our bipartisan group introduced the Kids Off Social Media Act. It would prevent kids under 13 from

creating a social media account--something that social media companies say they do anyway, so that shouldn't be a problem. It would prohibit the use of algorithms--as the Senator mentioned these algorithms, really getting to the heart of that--it would prohibit the use of algorithms on all social media users who are under the age of 17. It would also require schools to block and filter social media on their Wi-Fi networks if they receive Federal funding.

I also worked alongside Senator Amy Klobuchar, and we introduced the Youth Mental Health Research Act. It would create a national youth mental health research initiative to guide long-term mental health care efforts and better target preventive interventions for those at risk of developing mental health challenges.

These are many bipartisan pieces of legislation that are here right now. Unfortunately, we are in a place in this world where the media believes so often that it is their job to sell the news instead of to tell the news.

So, Senator Helmy, your putting this together today for us to tell of the work that is being done in this Chamber in a bipartisan way to address this issue I think is so critically important, and we must keep talking about it.

I want to mention one other piece of legislation that the Senator is a cosponsor of, and I am so grateful, and that is my work with Senator John Fetterman.

Following the Surgeon General's calling for a warning label on social media, Senator Fetterman and I put our heads together to create a bill that did that and then a little bit more. Our bill, the Stop the Scroll Act, would require a warning label when people open up a social media platform--almost like a pop-up--that would also include links to mental health resources. We want to ensure that resources are at the fingertips of those who need it most.

Quickly after being sworn in, Senator Helmy joined our effort and our call to fulfill the Surgeon General's recommendation. I am thankful for Senator Helmy in joining Senator Fetterman's and my bill. His passion to help America's kids is truly inspiring. While he and I might not agree on every issue, at the end of the day, we both see the obvious, and that is that social media is harming our kids, and America faces a mental health crisis.

Senator Helmy, would you mind speaking about why you felt like it was so important to join Senator Fetterman's and my effort with the Stop the Scroll piece of legislation?

Well, to Senator Helmy, if I may say, I think Stop the Scroll is a great example of a small bill that can make a tremendous impact, and I am grateful for his support of it.

Overall, I hope what America sees today is that we have faith that we can do the right thing by America's kids. Here we are, two people quite far apart on several issues but willing to come together to address this urgent problem.

Senator Helmy, I am grateful that you came to me as soon as you were sworn in to say: Hey, how can we work on this particular issue? You hit the ground running. I hope the people of New Jersey and America know that.

This man got to work before day one, and when he gave his address to this Chamber, his maiden speech, he said: I will tackle this issue. That is exactly what he did.

As a brandnew Senator, you immediately sprang into action, seeking out partners on both sides of the aisle to address something that you knew was critically important. You were willing to bring different opinions and a different perspective to the table in order to achieve a result.

Senator Helmy, I am proud to have worked with you on this critical topic and on so many other things during your tenure here in the U.S. Senate. It is truly an honor to have served with you, and I hope the people--the great people--of the State of New Jersey and the people of this Nation understand the leadership you have exhibited during your short tenure here and the impact you have made on colleagues like me who may sit across the aisle but who are given hope by our ability to come to the table and move important things forward.

It is an honor to serve with you, and I thank you for allowing me to be a part of this today in helping you tackle such a critical issue.

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

Mr. President, Lulu Gribbin, a 15-year-old from Mountain Brook, AL--that is who I am here to talk about today.

She is a high school student who loves basketball, volleyball, and golf. She is one of four siblings. She is actually a twin. Lulu loves to spend time at the lake with her brothers and sisters. Her favorite color is purple.

On June 7, her life changed forever. That was the day she was on the beach enjoying the best of summer with her family and friends. She was looking for sand dollars in the ocean with a friend, and that is when a shark attacked.

What happened next is nothing short of a miracle. It was a miracle because on that day, by the grace of God, there were doctors, nurses, EMTs, and other Good Samaritans who were there on that same beach who immediately jumped into action to help Lulu. These incredible men and women undoubtedly saved her life. But Lulu's resiliency and strength certainly was a dominating factor, not just in her survival but in her incredible recovery.

Though the shark took her left hand and her right leg, it did nothing but strengthen her spirit. When Lulu woke up from surgery and got taken off the ventilator, do you know what her first words were?

I made it.

As a mom, I can't even begin to imagine how powerful that moment was for her parents, how incredible it was to hear her say those words:

I made it.

The road home was not easy for Lulu, with surgeries and rehabilitation, but 3 months after the shark attack, y'all, she is already back home. In fact, she is back in action, showing up other golfers on the driving range.

Lulu is an inspiration. She shows all of us that when you get knocked down, you don't wait to get pulled back up. You fight, and you fight with a resolve and a determination that will carry you through even the hardest of moments.

Her grace, her faith, her strength, her perseverance, all in the face of the unimaginable, make her a hero to all of us. It is sometimes hard to remember that she is just 15 years old. Her story is hard to tell, not just because I can't imagine having to see a child go through that but also to think that there is something that could have prevented her from having to go through this tremendous fight.

Ninety minutes before Lulu was attacked and only a few miles away, another woman was attacked by a shark. Elisabeth Foley, a mother of three from Virginia, tragically lost her left hand in a shark attack.

After I heard Lulu's story and about the prior attack, I immediately thought, what could have been done differently? It turns out Lulu's parents were thinking the exact same thing. There has to be a better way to get information into the hands of beachgoers, of parents, of families if a shark attack has happened in their vicinity. That is why I introduced Lulu's Law.

This is a bipartisan bill which Congressman Gary Palmer is leading in the House, and I am so proud that everyone in the Alabama delegation has signed on. It would give local authorities the confidence that they are authorized to issue a wireless emergency alert to warn beachgoers of potential shark attacks. This doesn't impose any kind of mandate on local officials; it simply empowers them to help beachgoers stay safe through the existing wireless emergency alert system.

Although this is a small change in statute, it would enable local leaders to put information into the hands of families faster, which, as we can see, could make a world of difference.

This is the kind of commonsense work I came to do in the U.S. Senate. My priority has always been fighting for children and families from the great State of Alabama and across this Nation and protecting children and their families from harm. That is an important part of it.

With Lulu's Law, we can empower beachgoers with information that will ultimately keep them safe.

To Lulu's parents Joe and Anne Blair Gribbin, the strength that you have shown and the way you have galvanized not just Alabama but people across our entire country to rally behind your daughter is nothing short of amazing.

To Lulu, I want to thank you for your bravery and determination. You are truly an inspiration. I wish you could see this because we have Senate pages down here shaking their heads. We are so proud of you, and we look forward to turning this bill into law to protect kids and honor the extraordinary person that you are.

To my colleagues watching from the Cloakroom, the Chamber, or back in your office, now is the time to act. Let's get this done, and let's deliver a win for the American people, for Alabama, and for Lulu. Add your name to the cosponsor list, and help us get this done. This is clearly something all of us can rally behind. Let's do it for Lulu. Let's do it for her legacy. Let's keep others safe, and let's inspire others with Lulu's story.

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

I yield the floor.

Madam President, it is always an honor to represent my great State, to stand and speak in front of my colleagues and before the American people. But today is particularly special for me as my parents are here in the Gallery, and I rise today with great concerns for our country as a parent myself.

As a mom of two, I know firsthand the struggles that parents face with raising their children. You add doing that in this digital age, and obstacles and challenges become that much more great.

Our country is in the throes of a mental health crisis. And don't just take my word for it. Just look at the data. Twenty percent of Americans between the ages of 12 and 17 experienced at least one major depressive episode in 2021. When looking at just girls, that number then increases to 29 percent.

This crisis--and crisis doesn't even really feel strong enough when we are talking about rates this high--is alarming, and recent developments show us that. But before that, let's rewind.

Between the years of 2011 and 2019, depression rates amongst our teenagers more than doubled. The number of adolescents who reported experiencing a major depressive episode shot up 60 percent from 2007 to 2019.

Emergency room visits by children and teens for anxiety, mood disorders, and self-harm increased sharply during this time as well, and suicide rates among our children, between the ages of 10 and then all the way to 24, which had been stable the previous decade, jumped by almost 60 percent.

When we talk about suicide, the numbers show an incredible heartbreak of what is actually occurring. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 44. In 2021, 25 percent of teenage girls made a plan to die by suicide.

The next year, in 2022, one-third of high school girls said that they seriously considered taking their own life, and then 9 percent of our high school population actually attempted death by suicide. That is 9 out of every 100 high schoolers. This is not OK.

Meanwhile, factors that contribute positively to mental health are on the decline. Data from surveys conducted by groups like the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System and the National Institute on Drug Abuse show that teens and tweens today get less sleep, less exercise, and have less in-person contact than their peers before them.

So in an age where we brag about being more ``connected'' than ever, we have actually never been further apart. And while we should always be wary of blaming just one culprit, there is one thing that stands out among the rest, and that is social media usage.

Nearly 100 percent of teenagers have access to smartphones. I am looking at our incredible group of pages down in front, and my guess is, if I polled this group, we would see that that stat is probably true. Half, though, of American teenagers say that they are online constantly.

I wish that the Gallery could see that I am actually getting some shaking heads up here.

This is about the same percentage of teens who reported feeling addicted to their smartphones in 2016.

Fifty-four percent of American teenagers admit that it would be really hard to give up their social media, and 35 percent of American teenagers say that they are on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook--I am sure I am missing a few, right?--almost constantly.

TikTok, in particular, has presented some really serious concerns. So for those of you who may not be aware, just this spring, several American lawmakers received death threats from users saying they would kill us if we voted for the TikTok divestment bill.

My office got one of those messages; so did Senator Tillis from North Carolina. I wouldn't be surprised, if we polled all 100 Senators, if there weren't messages like this on many, many more machines. And the truth is, it wasn't just about killing us. These messages also said that, if we did this, they would kill themselves and/or harm others.

That came just after TikTok urged its users to call American lawmakers and stop them from voting for that bill. So, clearly, social media has a deep hold on our country's children and teens.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy wrote a few months ago that adolescents who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media double their risk of symptoms of anxiety and depression than those who do not.

But guess what the data shows. Our teenagers aren't on social media for 3 hours a day, on average. They are on social media around 5 hours a day.

Many kids acknowledge that social media is bad for them, and many parents acknowledge that, too. But the situation is clearly getting more devastating. It seems to just be getting worse.

Our kids are suffering, with many not realizing that the root cause is due to the addictive quality of social media, and they actually seem to feel powerless on how to end that.

Earlier this summer, the Surgeon General called for the creation of a warning label on social media, and 42 out of 50 State attorneys general, including Alabama's own Steve Marshall and Pennsylvania's Michelle Henry, backed this proposal.

Senator Fetterman and I are on the same page about this. There should be a warning label on social media, and that is why today we have introduced the Stop the Scroll Act. Our bill would require a social media platform to have a warning label to be placed on it to ensure that users know about the potential adverse effects of these apps and they must acknowledge that before proceeding to use them.

While Senator Fetterman and I agree on the importance of these labels, we also recognize that we are not the experts here. Our bill would not determine what the label would say. Rather, we would leave that up to the Surgeon General.

The only requirement that this bill would create is that the warning label include a way to quickly access mental health resources--which, in our mind, would look like a link to 9-8-8, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or other resources--putting them quickly at the fingertips of those who need them most.

Now, warning labels won't prevent the American people from using the app, just like warnings on tobacco or alcohol don't stop someone from purchasing them. The warning is a caution so that consumers have their eyes opened to the potential dangers ahead. It empowers them to make informed decisions.

It is similar to when a doctor tells a patient they need to limit their sugar intake, right? The doctor isn't going to force you to stop eating sugar, but the warning from the doctor will likely make the patient think twice. In that situation, the doctor will usually provide advice on how to reduce sugar in your diet.

That is what the warning does. It makes sure consumers' eyes are open. It ensures that they acknowledge it before moving forward, and it provides direction to access resources if that user needs help.

The Stop the Scroll Act isn't a cure. It is a caution that will hopefully help promote healthier social media usage, while providing those in crisis with the resources they need to get help.

It is an important step forward in creating a safer digital age for all Americans.

So I am grateful for the leadership of my colleague from Pennsylvania Senator Fetterman in introducing this important legislation alongside me today. I want to thank Senator Fetterman and Surgeon General Murthy for their efforts to address the dangers of social media.

I am committed to continuing to work in a bipartisan fashion to help our kids have the kind of childhood that we were blessed to enjoy and to ensure that they have access to the American dream, rather than the social media nightmares that so many families are dealing with today.

Madam President, it is always an honor to represent my great State, to stand and speak in front of my colleagues and before the American people. But today is particularly special for me as my parents are here in the Gallery, and I rise today with great concerns for our country as a parent myself.

As a mom of two, I know firsthand the struggles that parents face with raising their children. You add doing that in this digital age, and obstacles and challenges become that much more great.

Our country is in the throes of a mental health crisis. And don't just take my word for it. Just look at the data. Twenty percent of Americans between the ages of 12 and 17 experienced at least one major depressive episode in 2021. When looking at just girls, that number then increases to 29 percent.

This crisis--and crisis doesn't even really feel strong enough when we are talking about rates this high--is alarming, and recent developments show us that. But before that, let's rewind.

Between the years of 2011 and 2019, depression rates amongst our teenagers more than doubled. The number of adolescents who reported experiencing a major depressive episode shot up 60 percent from 2007 to 2019.

Emergency room visits by children and teens for anxiety, mood disorders, and self-harm increased sharply during this time as well, and suicide rates among our children, between the ages of 10 and then all the way to 24, which had been stable the previous decade, jumped by almost 60 percent.

When we talk about suicide, the numbers show an incredible heartbreak of what is actually occurring. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 44. In 2021, 25 percent of teenage girls made a plan to die by suicide.

The next year, in 2022, one-third of high school girls said that they seriously considered taking their own life, and then 9 percent of our high school population actually attempted death by suicide. That is 9 out of every 100 high schoolers. This is not OK.

Meanwhile, factors that contribute positively to mental health are on the decline. Data from surveys conducted by groups like the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System and the National Institute on Drug Abuse show that teens and tweens today get less sleep, less exercise, and have less in-person contact than their peers before them.

So in an age where we brag about being more ``connected'' than ever, we have actually never been further apart. And while we should always be wary of blaming just one culprit, there is one thing that stands out among the rest, and that is social media usage.

Nearly 100 percent of teenagers have access to smartphones. I am looking at our incredible group of pages down in front, and my guess is, if I polled this group, we would see that that stat is probably true. Half, though, of American teenagers say that they are online constantly.

I wish that the Gallery could see that I am actually getting some shaking heads up here.

This is about the same percentage of teens who reported feeling addicted to their smartphones in 2016.

Fifty-four percent of American teenagers admit that it would be really hard to give up their social media, and 35 percent of American teenagers say that they are on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook--I am sure I am missing a few, right?--almost constantly.

TikTok, in particular, has presented some really serious concerns. So for those of you who may not be aware, just this spring, several American lawmakers received death threats from users saying they would kill us if we voted for the TikTok divestment bill.

My office got one of those messages; so did Senator Tillis from North Carolina. I wouldn't be surprised, if we polled all 100 Senators, if there weren't messages like this on many, many more machines. And the truth is, it wasn't just about killing us. These messages also said that, if we did this, they would kill themselves and/or harm others.

That came just after TikTok urged its users to call American lawmakers and stop them from voting for that bill. So, clearly, social media has a deep hold on our country's children and teens.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy wrote a few months ago that adolescents who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media double their risk of symptoms of anxiety and depression than those who do not.

But guess what the data shows. Our teenagers aren't on social media for 3 hours a day, on average. They are on social media around 5 hours a day.

Many kids acknowledge that social media is bad for them, and many parents acknowledge that, too. But the situation is clearly getting more devastating. It seems to just be getting worse.

Our kids are suffering, with many not realizing that the root cause is due to the addictive quality of social media, and they actually seem to feel powerless on how to end that.

Earlier this summer, the Surgeon General called for the creation of a warning label on social media, and 42 out of 50 State attorneys general, including Alabama's own Steve Marshall and Pennsylvania's Michelle Henry, backed this proposal.

Senator Fetterman and I are on the same page about this. There should be a warning label on social media, and that is why today we have introduced the Stop the Scroll Act. Our bill would require a social media platform to have a warning label to be placed on it to ensure that users know about the potential adverse effects of these apps and they must acknowledge that before proceeding to use them.

While Senator Fetterman and I agree on the importance of these labels, we also recognize that we are not the experts here. Our bill would not determine what the label would say. Rather, we would leave that up to the Surgeon General.

The only requirement that this bill would create is that the warning label include a way to quickly access mental health resources--which, in our mind, would look like a link to 9-8-8, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or other resources--putting them quickly at the fingertips of those who need them most.

Now, warning labels won't prevent the American people from using the app, just like warnings on tobacco or alcohol don't stop someone from purchasing them. The warning is a caution so that consumers have their eyes opened to the potential dangers ahead. It empowers them to make informed decisions.

It is similar to when a doctor tells a patient they need to limit their sugar intake, right? The doctor isn't going to force you to stop eating sugar, but the warning from the doctor will likely make the patient think twice. In that situation, the doctor will usually provide advice on how to reduce sugar in your diet.

That is what the warning does. It makes sure consumers' eyes are open. It ensures that they acknowledge it before moving forward, and it provides direction to access resources if that user needs help.

The Stop the Scroll Act isn't a cure. It is a caution that will hopefully help promote healthier social media usage, while providing those in crisis with the resources they need to get help.

It is an important step forward in creating a safer digital age for all Americans.

So I am grateful for the leadership of my colleague from Pennsylvania Senator Fetterman in introducing this important legislation alongside me today. I want to thank Senator Fetterman and Surgeon General Murthy for their efforts to address the dangers of social media.

I am committed to continuing to work in a bipartisan fashion to help our kids have the kind of childhood that we were blessed to enjoy and to ensure that they have access to the American dream, rather than the social media nightmares that so many families are dealing with today.

Mr. President, today I rise to discuss something that is extremely disturbing, the fact that we have less than 2 weeks before the end of the fiscal year and yet we have not put any of our appropriations bills on the floor.

By ``we,'' ``we'' is not the Appropriations Committee. That is actually right on Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. He decides what comes to the floor. He decides when we do it, and yet he hasn't prioritized our men and women in uniform.

I think, today, that is exactly what we should be doing. But instead, I am sure he will either conjure up another show vote like we saw yesterday or he will put another partisan nominee on the floor. Instead of considering these appropriations bills, that seems to be what we are doing.

I want to be really clear. For everyone in the Gallery, we have members of the Appropriations Committee, both Democrat and Republican, that sit and work together. We have a job to fund the government. We are supposed to do it by September 30. We have marked up 11 out of 12 of those bills in an extremely bipartisan fashion. Yet those bills still sit on Chuck Schumer's desk. He hasn't brought one of them to the floor.

Now, the House has sent over five bills, so what we could be doing is putting the ones that match up on this floor, sending them to conference, and actually funding them. But instead, we are doing nothing.

I want you all to know that this isn't new. This is exactly what Chuck Schumer did last year as well. You have Patty Murray and Susan Collins of different parties working together in a bipartisan fashion to figure out a path forward. I commend them for that.

Last year, we did 12 out of 12 bills that were marked up out of a Senate committee, were allowed to be amended on TV in front of the public by July 27.

Yet those bills sat, Chuck Schumer not putting them on the floor until November 1 of 2023--127 days after they had been marked up.

After that is when we saw the next bill come on to the floor. We actually didn't finish our process until 174 days into the fiscal year last year. That is not only fiscally irresponsible, it is morally irresponsible.

The people sent us up here to do a job. And my question to the majority leader today is: Why aren't you letting us actually do it?

I am extremely disappointed that not a single one of these bills again this

year has seemed to find its way on the floor. He seems to have no plan to do that. The only plan seems to be to kick the can down the road.

And as my distinguished colleague from Mississippi said, every time we do that, our men and women pay the price. Secretary Austin, obviously appointed by President Biden, confirmed by this body, has said that a CR will hurt our men and women in uniform. So what we should be doing is figuring out a path forward to fund defense and to fund our veterans.

So today you see Members of the Republican Party standing up and saying: Let's get this Chamber back to doing the critical work we were sent here to do. It is long overdue.

Now, for those of you who don't know, I am new in this body. I have been here less than 2 years. And yet for some reason, last year I asked a question. I said: When is the last time we actually did our job on time for the American people?

You heard me say it took us 174 days into the fiscal year last year to actually do our job. Now, I want you all to be clear: Every time we do that, every time we kick the can down the road with a CR, continuing resolution, it costs the taxpayers more.

Think about this. You are halting everything; you are halting bidding processes. Have any of you ever had to rebid something? When you rebid something, does the price go up or does it go down? We know it doesn't go down. We know it goes up, which means we are being irresponsible with taxpayer dollars.

But yet again, that seems to be what we do year after year after year. So the former staffer came out in me, and I wanted to get to work and figure out when is the last time we actually did our job.

The last time we did our job on time--y'all, listen to this--was fiscal year 1997. And the last time we actually did it on time by passing bills individually through regular order, fiscal year 1995. So to all the Senate pages, clearly, you weren't even born yet.

That is 30 years ago for everyone in the Chamber that is doing the math, 30 years of kicking the can down the road.

The American people deserve better, and yet, somehow, we can't get the media to cover this. We can't get them to cover the fact that Leader Schumer has refused to lead but yet used his time on a show vote yesterday where he was trying to put my State in the crosshairs.

I am proud of the work that my State has done to protect IVF quickly and effectively, both from the legislature and the Governor. Once again, IVF is accessible and legal in every single State across our great Nation.

But do you know what Chuck Schumer took his time doing yesterday? Creating a show vote for commercials, for men and women on the other side of the aisle that are in vulnerable seats, instead of putting the American people first. And the American people are sick of that. And bottom line, they deserve better.

And as long as I am in this body, I am going to keep pushing this issue; I am going to keep moving it to the front. We are going to find a solution to actually getting back to doing the work the American people sent us up here to do.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, a truly amazing thing is happening in our Nation right now. The sitting Vice President is actually running for election by running from her record. After 35 months in office, she is promising change from her own administration.

Her day one was actually January 2021, but she is trying to convince the American people that things are going to be different this time around. And it is not just that she is promising change for our country, it is that she says she herself has seemingly changed overnight. Just about every unpopular policy position imaginable that she has taken and been on the record supporting for years--well, now that she is up for election, she no longer believes those things.

Let's just look at a sampling of policy positions that the Vice President has held. Let's start with energy and economic security. She supported enforcing an EV mandate that would take gas-powered vehicles off the road, ending offshore drilling, banning fracking, eliminating private health insurance, and raising taxes by trillions.

But it doesn't stop there, and it just gets worse for public safety and border security. She supported decreasing funding for the police, abolishing ICE, decriminalizing illegal border crossings, ending the detention of illegal border crossers, giving taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal border crossers, defending sanctuary city policies, vowing to block all border wall funding, and even using taxpayer funds for gender transition surgeries for illegal aliens and Federal prisoners. These are some of the most radical positions it is possible to take, and that is why she was actually ranked as the most far-left Senator when she was a Member of this body.

Now that she is President of the Senate, she is her party's nominee for President, and she is her party's leader. Again, she claims she has changed some of her own policy positions. So today we are going to give her party and the Chamber she leads an opportunity to prove whether that is true. To paraphrase the majority leader from his remarks yesterday, we are going to give our Democratic colleagues another chance to show the American people where they stand.

We will start today with a few bills related to energy and border security, and we can continue this every day the Senate is in session moving forward. The American people will be watching, and I look forward to seeing what happens today.

We are going to go ahead and start with the WALL Act. Last year, I introduced the WALL Act. This legislation is common sense and with a clear aim. It would appropriate funding needed to finish actually building a barrier on our southern border.

And it would accomplish that without raising taxes and without adding to our national debt. For all of you in the Gallery, we are $35 trillion in debt. That is not just fiscally irresponsible, that is morally irresponsible.

And for the first time ever, we paid more money on the interest on our national debt than we did for our national defense. You can look, over time, in the moment that any nation does that, it begins to become a nation in decline.

So I wanted to make sure that we had something that had a commonsense approach, and through the WALL Act, construction of a border wall would be funded by eliminating taxpayer-funded entitlements and tax benefits for illegal border crossers.

The bill would also close loopholes that allow illegal border crossers to receive taxpayer-funded benefits intended for citizens and lawful residents.

Finally, this legislation would impose fines on individuals who illegally enter the United States or overstay their visas. In 2018, the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the tax components of this bill alone would save $33 billion over 10 years. Let's use these funds to build a border wall and to help keep Americans safe.

So, today, we are giving Senate Democrats a very clear choice. Now, watch what happens next very closely. Let's see how they answer these questions. Do they support building a border wall or will they block building a border wall? Do they want to spend taxpayer funds on keeping American citizens and legal residents safe or do they want to keep those taxpayer funds funding illegal border crossers? Where does the Vice President's party stand on these very different policy positions?

Well, we are about to find out.

As if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be discharged from further consideration of S. 332 and the Senate proceed to immediate consideration. I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I see my colleague from Oklahoma here and would love to have the opportunity to hear about his bill.

Madam President, I would like to give my distinguished colleague from Oklahoma an opportunity to respond and thank him for his leadership on the Protecting American Energy Production Act.

Madam President, I could not agree more with my distinguished colleague from Oklahoma. It is important that we are not only energy independent but that we are energy dominant. The truth is we do it better, cleaner, and more efficiently than anyone. And we know the cost of energy affects everything from whether you are at the gas pump to heating and cooling your home to the prices you see at the grocery store.

At the end of the day, the American people are hurting; they are hurting under the policies of this administration. We have now seen the Vice President as a Presidential candidate say, all of a sudden, she is OK with fracking. Today, we saw that her party doesn't stand behind her.

I would like to hear what my distinguished colleague from Utah has to say about another opportunity that we have seen in front of us where candidate Harris is very different than the woman that we have seen serve.

Madam President, I appreciate the remarks from my distinguished colleague from Utah.

While my colleague from Oklahoma gets set, I just want to recap a couple of things. I mean, here we have today a fracking bill that has been put on the floor but yet blocked by Democrats.

We have a bill here just now closing asylum loopholes, helping unaccompanied children get back to their family, but that has been blocked by Democrats.

Earlier, you saw us put a bill on the floor that would actually help build a barrier on our southern border, but yet that was blocked by Democrats.

When we have looked at how Vice President Harris is running, it is obviously very different than the way she served.

If you look back in 2020, Vice President Harris said, ``Trump's border wall is a complete waste of taxpayer money and won't make us any safer.''

I am wondering if she will put a disclaimer that says that underneath her commercials that focus on and show the border wall.

She said, as a Senator, that she vowed to block any funding for the border wall and urged her colleagues to reject any funding for the border wall, which is actually exactly what they continued to do and you saw them do here today.

Here is the deal: You can't have it both ways. Kamala Harris either wants to secure our border--which she has had ample time to do-- building barriers that help us keep Americans safe or she doesn't, which is what we have seen throughout her tenure both in the Senate and as Vice President. But yet now she is campaigning as something totally different.

We saw here today that her newfound support of a border wall is not supported by her Democratic colleagues here in the Senate.

I look forward to hearing more about what we have seen on the campaign trail versus, in actuality, where she stands.

On that, I see my distinguished colleague from Oklahoma and would love the opportunity to hear from him.

Madam President, I appreciate my distinguished colleague from Illinois and would like to say, with regard to the remarks from my colleague from Oklahoma, actively killing and saving are actually two different things. So for the people watching this, they should take a look at that. And I think what we are seeing is how far left this has gone. This is truly beyond comprehension.

I also just want to say that we spent time yesterday on an IVF bill that nobody actually tried to use to get to 60 votes. IVF is legal and accessible in all 50 States. And, in fact, the great State of Alabama, when forced into a decision, talking about this, immediately acted. Our State legislature and our Governor made sure that women had access to IVF in every corner of our State.

So I would wish that we would spend time on real things, like the appropriations bills that we have marked up, amongst others.

But if you are looking at where we are today, I think what we have seen is that Kamala Harris has said that she is for a border wall; she has said she is for fracking; she has said she is for cracking down on illegal border crossings--all during her short campaign tenure. But the truth is that all of those things were just blocked.

It is clear that her flip-flops aren't real, and there is much more to dig into and discuss as this campaign moves forward.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that Jackson Floyd Lovvorn, an intern in my office, be granted floor privileges until September 19, 2024.

Mr. President, I am proud today to be joining my colleague from Texas in support of the IVF Protection Act. I am grateful to Senator Cruz for his leadership on this important topic.

Both Senator Cruz and I are parents. We can both attest to the fact that there is no greater blessing in life than our children. For many Americans, building a family, becoming a mom or a dad--that is their American dream.

IVF makes the difference in achieving that dream for millions of Americans who are facing infertility. IVF helps aspiring parents to start families, to grow their family. In the United States, nearly 200 babies are born a day, so nearly 2 percent of all babies born are because of IVF.

This treatment is really a game changer for so many families; that is why I strongly support continued nationwide access to IVF. IVF is legal and available from coast to coast, in every single corner of America, and in all 50 States.

That includes my home State of Alabama, where Governor Ivey and the Alabama legislature acted quickly to protect IVF access.

Today, we have an opportunity to act quickly and overwhelmingly to protect continued nationwide IVF access for loving American families.

Our IVF Protection Act would do just that: It would give aspiring parents nationwide the certainty and peace of mind that IVF will remain legal and available in every State. Our bill is the only bill that protects IVF access while safeguarding religious liberty.

It also could get 60 votes in the U.S. Senate, and isn't that the point? Yet we are going to have a show vote when we have been talking and saying that we want to protect access to IVF, but yet no one is working to actually get to the 60-vote threshold, which makes me wonder how serious my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are about this.

In an era of hyperpartisanship, this bill, the IVF Protection Act, should be the one that is on the floor today. This is the bill that will give aspiring parents confidence and continued hope that their dreams of bringing life into this world can come true.

Look, as I talk to families across Alabama and parents who are hopeful they can bring a child into this world, making sure that this process is protected and available is critically important.

However, this bill is not the one the Democrats are putting on the floor. This is not drafted in that way. It is drafted to be a partisan scare tactic in what we are going to see today. For example, it is not written in a way to narrowly cover IVF; it includes completely separate treatments and technology, even including human cloning.

Democrats are choosing to spread misinformation rather than fostering hope. The American people deserve better. The path forward is Senator Cruz and my IVF Protection Act. Again, I want to applaud my colleague from Texas for his unwavering and continued support for nationwide IVF access.

While Democrats prioritize scaring families, Republicans will continue to fight for them. I yield the floor.

Would the Senator yield for a question?

So it is my understanding, as the 2 of us came together, 49 Republicans-strong, sent a letter--a statement saying we strongly support IVF. Now, if the Democrats were serious about needing to protect IVF--which, by the way, is legal and accessible in every State--then wouldn't they have come to us to figure out a pathway forward? Yet, today, instead of taking our bill and, if they feel like it needs to be improved, working to do that, they are choosing to do a show vote just to give themselves something to campaign on.

Has anyone approached you about working together to find a pathway forward for IVF? Because I am a strong supporter of IVF. I am proudly here pro-family and believe that we need to find ways to make sure that people do have access and that it continues that way, and I think we have been very clear. But no one has approached me. And you have to get to 60.

So if you really believe that IVF is in trouble and in jeopardy, then wouldn't we be the first two people you would come talk to? And no one has talked to me. Yet this bill is going on the floor, which means they know they can't get to 60. There are only 51 of them. Maybe they have a few more.

My question is, has anyone approached you? Because if they authentically wanted to protect IVF, if they really cared about women and parents who are wanting to bring a child into the world and they want to give them certainty, they don't just want something to campaign on, I think we would be the first two people you would come talk to to figure out how to have a path forward. No one has spoken to me. It is so ingenuous. This body is supposed to be more than that. Has anyone spoken to you?

Mr. President, I wish to recognize and honor LTG William ``Bill'' N. Phillips, a distinguished veteran of the U.S. Army, where he retired as the senior acquisition officer after 38 years of exemplary service. Lieutenant General Phillips's career was marked by his exceptional leadership, strategic foresight, and commitment to our Nation's soldiers and defense.

During his tenure as the Military Deputy to the Army Acquisition Executive and as Acquisition Advisor to the Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Army, Lieutenant General Phillips made profound contributions to our military capabilities. Leading an organization of 16 Senior Executives and 6,000 personnel, he had oversight of more than 600 programs and transformed Army acquisition policy and processes resulting in savings of more than $2 billion through rightsized and efficient program execution.

As the commander of the Joint Contracting Command for both Iraq and Afghanistan, his leadership was instrumental in managing operations that

executed more than 38,000 contracts totaling more than $8 billion and providing critical and timely support to our combat forces.

Serving as the Program Executive Officer for Ammunition, he managed 12 Army ammunition plants and depots and delivered more than 300 different categories of ammunition totaling $4 billion, providing critical capabilities to every service. As the Deputy Program Executive Officer for Aviation, he effectively managed the Army's five major aviation programs totaling more than $14 billion. His strategic initiatives directly impacted the modernization of over 80 percent of the Army's aviation fleet.

Following his distinguished military career, Lieutenant General Phillips continued to impact our national defense strategy through his senior roles in the defense industrial base, notably at the Boeing Company in Huntsville, AL. There, he was responsible for delivering combat capabilities to the military, including AH-64 Apache, CH-47 Chinook, Long Range Precision Fires, Future Vertical Lift Unmanned Aerial Systems, and support across a broad array of Special Operations Aircraft.

His service to our country has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including Army Acquisition Commander of the Year, induction into the Defense Acquisition University Hall of Fame, the ``Federal 100'' award, and an Honorary Doctorate at Middle Tennessee State University, underscoring his vast influence on our national defense.

Therefore, on behalf of the people of the great State of Alabama and our Nation, I extend our deepest appreciation to Lieutenant General William ``Bill'' N. Phillips for his dedicated service and enduring contributions to our Nation's safety and security.