Floor Statements

Madam President, for the second time this year, I have the privilege of congratulating my alma mater, Kindred High School, on a State championship.

In March, my hometown school celebrated the boys basketball team's first-ever State championship. Eight months later, on November 12, the Kindred Vikings football team won the State 11B title at the Dakota Bowl State Football Tournament. The Vikings defeated longtime rivals, the No. 1-ranked Hillsboro-Central Valley Burros, by a score of 37 to 14, for the championship. They had earlier won their first three games, defeating Lisbon, Central Cass, and Bishop Ryan teams.

This was the first State championship for the Vikings since State playoffs sponsored by the North Dakota High School Activities Association began in 1975. They had made only one other Dakota Bowl appearance in 2016. To advance to the tournament this year, the Vikings defeated the Langdon-Edmore-Munich Cardinals, which had played in every Dakota Bowl since 2016.

Graduating from Kindred High School in 1979, I lettered for 4 years in football, basketball and track. I was the starting quarterback my junior and senior years, and our team was bad, me especially.

Knowing firsthand what it is like to persevere on a losing team, watching these Kindred Vikings, who ended the season with a 12-1 record, was thrilling. I saw very talented athletes excel by tapping into the strength of each player. Notably, the impressive skills of running back Trey Heinrich did not go unnoticed when he was named the MaxPreps North Dakota Player of the Year.

I want to recognize this year's team members Charles Biewer, Masen Allmaras, Lukas Klabunde, Izaak Spelhaug, Maxwell McQuillan, Andrew Trom, Taylor Stefonowicz, Carter Schmitz, Caleb Klabunde, Connor Rolland, Jack McDonald, Wyatt Briscoe, Graham Glasoe, Jordyn Sunram, Hayden Cichy, Owen Hoyme, Kylan Swenson, Jorgen Swenson, Camron Schwartzwalter, Trey Heinrich, Ty Roesler, Tyson Johnson, Chase Miller, Jeremiah Dockter, Alex Moffet, Jacob Hiatt, Samuel Jenness, Jacob Lund, Jack Huesman, Blake Houska, Tate Miller, Landon Kottsick, Grant Spelhaug, Andrew Haley, Colin Lunde, Ethan Fornshell, Mason Nipstad, Kelby Erdmann, Dilon Filler, Riley Sunram, Jack Packer, Jack Olson, Hunter Bindas, Maxwell Opgrand, and Ryker Lachowitzer.

I congratulate the team, as well as Coach Matt Crane, his assistants Brad Ambrosius, Eric Burgad, Joe Harder, Nate Safe, and Ryan Sunram and all the hometown fans on winning this championship.

I join the rest of North Dakota in thanking the Kindred Vikings for inspiring all of us to achieve excellence. For the second time this year, they have demonstrated what can be achieved by combining faith and passion with determination and teamwork.

Mr. President, on October 28, North Dakota lost one of our heroes. Lynn Aas of Minot, age 100, was to many of us the face of the very best of the Greatest Generation. This child of the Great Depression was raised on a farm near Benedict, ND, and was among the 60,000 North Dakotans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 1942, after completing his first year of college. He became part of the 193rd Glider Infantry Regiment of the 17th Airborne Division and, after extensive training, was shipped to Liverpool, England, 2 years later.

Lynn's first combat experience was the Battle of the Bulge, one of the costliest battles in American history with more than 80,000 U.S. casualties, including 19,000 American soldiers killed. His division and unit were flown to France and transported by trucks to Bastogne on December 24, 1944. His platoon entered combat on January 7, fighting in deep snow, frigid cold, and heavy fog. Beginning with 55 troopers, Lynn was one of only five survivors to leave the front lines 3 weeks later. The end of January brought his first 2 nights of sleep under a roof in 5 weeks. In February, his platoon fought along the Seigfried Line on Nazi Germany's border.

Later in March 1945, he participated in Operation Varsity, the last large-scale Allied airborne operation of the war. There he was towed in a glider and landed behind enemy lines near Wesel, Germany. Lynn's combat career ended on March 25 when he was wounded in his left arm by shrapnel. Following extensive recuperation back in America, Lynn remained in the Army another 5 months before being honorably discharged on November 1, 1945.

For his valor and commendable 18 months of service during World War II, he was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals, in addition to the Glider Badge, Combat Infantryman's Badge, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one Bronze Arrowhead and three Bronze Campaign Stars, and the World War II Victory Medal.

After his discharge, Lynn earned business and law degrees from the University of North Dakota, and moved to Minot in 1960, where he and his wife Beverly raised four sons. He managed a medical clinic until retirement, served in the North Dakota Legislature for 8 years and was a delegate to the State's 1972 Constitutional Convention. Until his final days, Lynn remained active in the Minot community.

He shared his World War II story throughout his life, giving a voice to all veterans whose lives were forever impacted because of their selfless service. Lynn attended reunions of the 17th Airborne Division, and in 1999, he visited Europe with other 17th Airborne Division veterans, visiting the locations where they had fought more than

a half century earlier. In 2015, he visited Belgium again to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. As one of the official representatives from the United States to this observance, Lynn was greeted by many grateful Belgians who had not forgotten what American soldiers did to liberate them from Hitler's tyranny.

In 2017, the French Government awarded Lynn its highest honor, the Knight of the Legion of Honor medal, an award created by Napoleon in 1802. The letter from the French Government notifying Lynn of this award carried these poignant words, ``73 years ago you gave your youth to France and the French People. Many of your fellow soldiers did not return, but they remain in our hearts . . . You saved us. We will never forget. For us, the French people, you are a hero. Gratitude and remembrance are forever in our souls.''

As he is buried today, we remember the remarkable life of Lynn Aas. He is one of those personalities who, even at the age of 100, you think is never going to die. Yet he has earned this opportunity to rest, and I join all North Dakotans in sending our sincere condolences and prayers to his family. I am grateful that I could count Lynn Aas as a friend and one of my mentors in public service and public life. He will be greatly missed. God bless his memory.

Madam President, every October, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute--CCAI--

sponsors its annual Angels in Adoption recognition gala. This event honors individuals across the Nation who are making a difference in the lives of young people in need of foster and forever homes.

As adoptive parents ourselves, the dedication and commitment to adoption and foster care by CCAI and every Angels in Adoption honoree this year are extremely near and dear to the hearts of my wife Kris and me.

I want to recognize the Angels in Adoption couple I nominated and who are being honored this year. I have known Jon and Carol Mielke of Bismarck, ND, for many years. Yet I am not sure our home community has any idea of all they have done to foster such vulnerable young children for nearly 20 years.

Jon and Carol became foster parents in early 2003, when their daughter was in college and their son a senior in high school. They made the decision to foster infants, they said, because they had ``room in their home and room in their hearts.''

To date, they have taken into their home some 45 infants. Some were with them for only a couple of days. Others stayed nearly 3 years.

Always keeping in mind the main goal of foster care is family reunification, they have made an effort to remain in contact with the biological families of these children. Their first foster child was a newborn who had been abandoned at the bus station. They cared for her for 2-and-a-half months. This girl, who recently graduated from high school, is one of the children with whom Jon and Carol have stayed in touch. Another set of twins, now teenagers, visited them for a week earlier this year.

Jon was a longtime administrative manager for a State agency, and Carol's profession was accounting. He has since retired, and she later became a licensed practical nurse, keeping flexible work hours to be available for the children when they come into their home.

Because of Jon's background in legislation and lobbying, he has provided testimony on foster care issues before the legislature. This has helped bring positive statutory changes to some State laws.

Jon and Carol have been active in the regional foster care association, with Jon serving as president one year. They also mentor new foster parents and have appeared in media campaigns promoting foster care. In 2006, they were named North Dakota's Foster Parents of the Year.

The lifelong impact of the love and care they have given to each and every baby coming into their home will never be accurately measured. And, after nearly two decades, they continue to remain dedicated to foster care because of their unwavering belief they can make a difference in the life of a child.

I join all North Dakotans and the entire Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute in congratulating and honoring Jon and Carol Mielke. We thank you for your years of dedication and the work you continue to do fostering infants in your home. You are exceptionally deserving of recognition as Angels in Adoption.

Madam President, I am here today to join my colleagues and first associate myself with all of the words from the ranking Republican from the Armed Services Committee, Senator Inhofe.

Very well said, Senator, and I agree wholeheartedly.

I express my profound disappointment in President Biden's handling of the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. The American people and certainly my constituents in North Dakota are upset, and they have every right to be.

For weeks, we were inundated with horrifying stories of Americans and our allies fleeing for their lives, paired with the constant stream of disturbing images and videos out of Afghanistan as it was taken over by the Taliban. Yet, somehow--somehow--President Biden has the audacity to call the withdrawal an ``extraordinary success.'' Well, President Biden is wrong. It was not an extraordinary success. The withdrawal was an abject failure, and President Biden bears all of the responsibility for it, and that is to say that he is the reason it was an abject failure, because our heroes in uniform did an incredible job against very difficult odds and, frankly, with very poor leadership coming from the Oval Office.

The reality is, the President misled the American people to justify his decisions and to downplay his failures. Now, terrorists are emboldened, our allies are questioning the resolve of the United States, and the United States is less safe because of it.

The reality is, his deceitful rhetoric really began several months ago. In August, he led us to believe our military leaders were united in their support of his withdrawal plans. Like many of my colleagues, I expressed concerns at the time when his plans were first announced and urged him to follow a conditions-based withdrawal. He did not.

To rationalize his choices, he worked to convince us that the most senior leaders in the Pentagon were standing behind him, agreed with him. They gave him this advice, he said. As we have heard from multiple generals, that is simply not true.

The President also misled us about the conditions on the ground in Afghanistan. In an August speech, he said the Afghan military force had ``300,000 strong, incredibly well equipped fighters.'' The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said in a report that is not true. It said that of the 300,000 members of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, only 182,000 of them were Afghan National Army members and the rest were members of the Afghan National Police.

Well, when I discuss the number of servicemembers in our Armed Forces, I don't include the number of police officers or even FBI agents. That would be inaccurate at best, and then deceitful at worst. Yet, here, the President is doing exactly that.

President Biden used that 300,000 number to claim the Afghan Government could defend itself, and he later tried to say no one could predict their forces would fall so quickly.

Was he being dishonest with the American people, or was he just not being given accurate information by his senior leadership about the conditions there?

Well, neither ignorance nor incompetence are a very good answer.

Later in the month, when it became clear the withdrawal was going to be a failure, President Biden insisted that the United States would get all Americans who wanted to leave out of Afghanistan. Well, he didn't. He failed.

And no one, including him--and least of all him--wants to take responsibility. The State Department says, you know, talk to the Defense Department. The Defense Department says talk to the State Department. But no one is taking responsibility.

And I say the buck stops in the Oval Office with the President, who let that happen and who is letting his team dodge taking responsibility, all while Americans fear for their lives in a country run by terrorists and terrorist sympathizers.

Near the end of August, after 13 brave U.S. military members were killed in an ISIS-K terrorist attack during the botched withdrawal, President Biden rushed to release a statement taking credit for this retaliatory drone strike.

He said: ``I said we would go after the group responsible for the attack on our troops and innocent civilians in Kabul, and we have.''

Well, except he hadn't. It was later revealed, as we know, that the strike did not take out any ISIS-K leaders. In fact, it took out 10 civilians, including 7 children. But, since then, the President said nothing. He didn't say anything about this horrifying revelation when it was clear that he misled the American people in the wake of the strike.

Our military leaders did not agree with the withdrawal plans. The Afghan Army was not prepared to defend itself. We did not get every American out of the country, and justice was not delivered to ISIS-K or its leaders after it killed 13 American heroes.

And what now? What do we have to show for it?

Well, America is less safe than it was when President Biden became President. As our top military leaders testified in yet another contradiction of President Biden's claims, al-Qaida is alive in Afghanistan and looks to carry out a strike right here on American soil.

How are we supposed to stop it?

Our military leaders don't have faith in the over-the-horizon strategy that President Biden repeatedly touts to give us reliable information.

Who is going to help us?

Our strongest allies and partners and longest standing friends vocally distanced themselves from us amid this botched withdrawal.

All of this is what President Biden called an extraordinary success. Well, it is an extraordinary embarrassment is what it is. The American people are smart enough to not fall for such an obvious attempt to hide the truth from them.

That is why we, on the Armed Services Committee, are going to continue investigating the withdrawal and holding the Commander in Chief accountable for his poor judgment and actions, even if he won't take the responsibility. That is what our constituents expect and deserve, and I urge my colleagues to join in supporting those efforts.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I call up Cramer amendment No. 3105 and ask that it be reported by number.

Mr. President, this amendment would simply prohibit any ban on hydraulic fracturing. Such a ban would raise Americans' cost of living, weaken our national security, and, of course, actually enhance greenhouse gas emissions.

Thanks to the technology of fracking, since 2007, U.S. oil production

has doubled, and natural gas production has increased by 60 percent. That is helping States like Colorado, New Mexico, Pennsylvania. And it rids us of our reliance on nations like Saudi Arabia and Russia.

And, by the way, banning fracking would lead to triple-digit oil prices and possible global economic shock as per the University of Chicago.

Ironically, a ban on fracking would also increase global greenhouse gas emissions. Energy Secretary Granholm just recently said that the Russian gas is ``the dirtiest form of natural gas on Earth.'' And she is right. Emissions from Russian natural gas are over 40 percent higher than ours.

Democrats' fracking ban would be bad for North Dakota and our Nation and the environment, and I urge my colleagues to vote yes.

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

Mr. President, I wanted to get down here and spend a few minutes continuing the conversation about this infrastructure package that is before us and that we will be voting on soon or at least the next step of that.

I think, to start things off, I, first of all, want to express my great disappointment that we have squandered not minutes, not hours, but now several days. For several days, we have been negotiating, evidently, on an ``amendments package.'' I am in my third year here and I still don't understand the way the Senate cannot do things as opposed to do them. And I get that every Senator has these incredible powers and authorities and can obstruct whatever they want, and I honor that. When the time is right, maybe I will do the same; I don't know.

But I do think it is unfortunate that we have what is really a pretty good bill to start with, but now that we have opened it up for the last week or so to the opportunity for the rest of our Members--who weren't on the committees of jurisdiction, who heard a lot of this and who are seeing a lot of this for the first time several days ago--to now improve upon it--and I say improve because I am familiar with a number of the amendments, and they are really good amendments, and they should be passed. Some aren't as good. I would vote against them. Maybe we would kill most of them.

The point isn't whether we pass them or kill them. The point is that we should be voting on them--we should be voting--and I know there are hundreds of them, and that could take a long time, and absent an agreement, we don't have the time. Either way, we ought to be voting on them. We ought to be taking the time to vote on amendments, and so I am disappointed we aren't. I am still hopeful that, in these waning hours, maybe we could get a couple of them. I just find it frustrating that we are sitting here, speaking, instead of voting.

That said, I want to, again, express appreciation to the leadership of the bipartisan group. Senator Portman and Senator Sinema have done incredible work, proving that the Senate can work, building on the framework that was passed by the Environment and Public Works Committee and the Commerce Committee; and some of the work that is being done by other committees, building on that framework, adding some more infrastructure to the already robust infrastructure package, with high priorities for Republicans, high priorities for Democrats, and, in many cases, high priorities for both. I think that is the way a 50-50 Senate should expect to work and, I think, does work.

I think one of the things that is most heartening to me that I have seen so far is not even so much the work that has been done, but the work that has been acknowledged. I mean, when I look at the list of organizations that support this--it is a list--I don't know--that is 140, 150 organizations long, and what I like about it is the diversity of the list.

I see, for example, that the Business Roundtable supports it. Well, you know, those are the biggest companies in America. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, they represent a wide range of businesses, but so does my local convenience store and the paving company; so does the AFL-CIO; so does the Small Business Roundtable. I love the fact that the Farmers Union and the Farm Bureau support this infrastructure package. That tells you a little something about how compromise and common ground is found not just by Senators; we are a reflection of the people who we work for.

I love looking at the list of agriculture entities besides the Farmers Union and the Farm Bureau--but the commodity groups. Just about every one that is represented in North Dakota, even the Beekeepers-- North Dakota is No. 1 in honey production. The Beekeepers support this, as do, like I said, pretty much every other commodity group.

I think one of the other things that encourages me, as somebody who believes strongly in federalism, as somebody who believes strongly in self-governance as a reflection in Washington of the people back home, is the fact that the Conference of State Legislatures supports this. That is where the rubber meets the road in many cases.

And if that is not close enough to home, how about the Association of Counties supports this legislation?

Now, those are the guys who really know about roads and bridges. They are the ones who are hearing from their constituents on a regular basis. And when they aren't hearing about it from them, they are driving them themselves, and they know where the potholes are; they know where the crumbling bridges are; they know where the roads need repair or where a good road might be built.

And if that is not close enough to home, how about the League of Cities?

Our mayors in our big cities and our small towns support this legislation. That tells you they are the ones who have their ear to the ground. And, of course, our Governors--the National Governors Association supports this.

My point being that this isn't something that came from on high. This is

not some sort of an ivory tower, you know, contrived under the dome of the U.S. Capitol. These are Senators, leaders, who are a reflection of the people back home--the folks back home: small business, large business, medium-sized business, local government, county government, State government.

Even the Association of State Departments of Agriculture supports it. Our agriculture commissioners support it.

Why would an agriculture commissioner care about infrastructure? Why would a commodity group care about infrastructure?

I think it is pretty obvious. Infrastructure is what moves our products to market. Oh, and by the way, in case you wonder if broadband is infrastructure--I know there are some people saying: That is not infrastructure; that is not hard infrastructure--you can't do a transaction today without broadband.

You know, even if you order a load of soybeans or you sell a load of soybeans, it is going to take a broadband internet connection to do the transaction at some point. You know, you might make a deal over the phone, and somebody will send you a check--I don't know--but your local elevator needs high-speed internet, and on and on it goes.

I always like to use the illustration of food because I think food, which we grow a lot of in North Dakota--and, by the way, if we had to eat it all, it would be impossible. If we had to just use it all in the United States of America, it would be impossible. We grow food for the world--for the world. Hungry people all over the world need what is grown in places like North Dakota and Ohio and other parts of our great country.

You know, we talk a lot about soybeans. Remember, in the last couple of years, we have heard a lot about the importance of soybeans and getting soybeans to market, getting them to the Pacific Northwest.

Well, guess how that happens?

The way it happens is the farmer combines the soybeans after they have, of course, been planted and nourished and then harvested--the soybeans--and they get them to an elevator, a grain elevator, and it takes a truck to do that.

By the way, the trucks that go out in the field now--these aren't little pickup trucks. These aren't even big grain trucks. These are big, big semi-trailer trucks, and they need good roads and bridges. And they get those beans to the elevator, and the elevator markets them, or in some cases they put them in their own bins and wait for the price to go up and protect them.

But at some point they get on a train and they go to a place, like Seattle or someplace in the Pacific Northwest, and then they get on a ship from there. Well, you can't get on a ship unless you have a railroad track that gets you to the port--oh, and then you need the port; you need an adequate waterway; and then those soybeans go someplace else in the world to feed hungry people.

My favorite illustration, of course, is the pasta. And the reason I like to brag about pasta is not because there are a lot of Italian foods and Italian restaurants in North Dakota, but we are the No. 1 producer of durum wheat. And durum wheat is produced in these massive fields in the Midwest--mostly in North Dakota, a little bit in Montana, and some in Canada. With that durum wheat, again, the farmer takes it off the field and takes it by truck to the grain elevator. But from there, it has to go to a mill where it is milled into semolina flour, and the semolina flour is sent somewhere where it is then made into pasta of all types.

But the 750,000 people in North Dakota can't eat all the pasta that is made in the United States of America, so that pasta has got to get to other places. In some cases it is Manhattan, Los Angeles, or it might be some country overseas. Once again, pasta is lightweight. It can even go by hangar. Oh, that brings in the airports, which, by the way, bring a lot of the tourism traffic to and from our great Nation.

The point is that the reason there are some 150, 200 organizations-- large and small and medium-sized--and the reason that the overwhelming people in the United States of America support this infrastructure package is because they know of the importance of it.

The other thing that I love about infrastructure is that it pushes against inflation. We are experiencing real inflation in this country, and some call it ``transitory,'' which, I guess, is a cooler word for temporary. I think inflation is always temporary. Hopefully, it is always temporary. The question isn't whether it is transitory, temporary, or permanent. The question is, When is it over? When is it going to be over?

Well, one of the challenges--and, by the way, rightfully, so--I mean, we spent a lot of money last year--lots of money to keep our economy afloat, and not just so much to keep the economy afloat as much as to keep people afloat. We didn't know what this crisis was going to bring, this pandemic of ours. We didn't know how long businesses would be shut down. We didn't know how long the global businesses would be shut down and global markets would be inaccessible.

And so to keep people whole, we borrowed a lot of money. We printed lot of money. Our Federal Reserve, you know, provided a lot of liquidity into the marketplace. That is all contributing to the demand side of our economy, the demand side.

Well, when you have a lot of liquidity, a lot of cash again--call it stimulus, call it safety net, whether it is the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses or direct payments to families or, you know, forgiveness of loans or moratorium on evictions for landlords and renters--whatever you want to call it, it is a lot of money, and it is money on the demand side of our economy.

The problem with that, of course, is there is not a supply to support that demand. When you can't shop, that is a problem. When the supply chain of manufactured goods is broken or you can't get lumber from a neighboring State or from Canada, that is a supply problem.

But infrastructure, see, spends the money on the supply side of the economy. It pushes back against inflation by doing that.

How does it do that? Well, it does it by all the ways I have talked about, obviously, opening up the supply chain. Guess what. Infrastructure is--that is the means of the supply in the chain. That is how you get inputs. It is how you get finished products back out to the market. It is on this infrastructure. So it helps the supply chain side for sure.

But it also puts people to work in a big way. Obviously, if you are moving commerce to market, that is people. That is people working. Whether it is working on the train or on the railroad, whether it is working on the building of bridges and roads or building out the infrastructure, stringing the fiber optics and burying them under the ground and hooking them up to homes and businesses and institutions, or whether it is driving the trucks or working at the factory, you are helping the supply side. And at the end of it, you have an asset. The great thing about a 5-year spending package like this--a 5-year authorization package--is you are building an asset that is going to last well beyond the 5 years.

Now, when you just give cash as a stimulus, it may last a day, it may last 6 months, and maybe it gets saved for a couple years. But we are talking about a transportation infrastructure that lasts decades-- decades.

That is why the Penn Wharton study shows that it actually pays for itself, even if you didn't have any pay-fors, and we can talk about that in a little bit.

Over the course of time, the economy actually pays back the government for infrastructure. That is what pushes against inflation. That is what helps keep inflation down. That is what balances the demand with the supply.

And so there are lots of good reasons for us to do this.

I want to talk a little bit about the pay-fors because it has been so talked about and, I think, in many cases grossly misrepresented.

The pay-fors for the $550 billion new spending are real. I know that everybody waited with bated breath for the CBO to prove us wrong, and yet the CBO proved exactly what we thought it would prove. It proved that where they can score--and, by the way, can I just say these are word salads. Words like ``score,'' ``pay-fors,'' you know, ``filibuster,'' these are word salads that if you stopped 100 people at the mall in Fargo or Bismarck, 99 wouldn't even

know what you were talking about. But this is what we are trapped with here--these archaic processes.

So, anyway, we will talk about new spending pay-fors and what the Congressional Budget Office can score. They are confined to what they can score, and some of it makes sense. They are accounting terms. They are government accounting terms, and they make sense. They identify a whole bunch of legitimate pay-fors, or at least what they call, you know, scores.

But they also recognize that there are a lot of things they can't score that actually do pay for this infrastructure--for example, the $53 billion from certain States that would come back as unused unemployment insurance benefits. That is real money. They can't ``score'' it because, of course, it has already been appropriated, and there is, in theory--nowhere in reality; there is, in theory--that somehow that $53 billion might not be spent by the government. I have never seen that happen, but, you know, I suppose theoretically it could. But believe me, it is a pay-for. It is real money. So they don't call it a score. They call it an estimate.

There is another estimate: $67 billion from proceeds from the C-band spectrum auction. Now, the reason they can't call it a pay-for, can't score it, is because that $67 billion has already come in. The auction was in February of this year. So it is already in.

Theoretically, it could maybe not be spent. Therefore, it can't be ``scored.'' But it is going to be real money. It is real money that exists that doesn't require taking it from anybody else--no tax increases, no new taxes, $67 billion--and that is called ``an estimate,'' not a ``score.''

There is an analysis--I think a pretty conservative one, by the way-- of $53 billion in economic growth. Remember I talked about the Penn Wharton study that showed over the decades that the economy would literally pay for the entire investment. But that is not how we do government, and I understand that, and we shouldn't. But even the CBO, in their analysis, concludes that $53 billion would come back. Now, they can't score that. It is just an analysis, but it is real money. And, by the way, it is very conservative.

Now, I know there is a lot of political rhetoric that flies back and forth in these word salads that, you know, Republicans like to use and word salads that Democrats like to use to talk about the same things, and we tend to talk to our people, if you will, to rationalize or convince or persuade, and that is all good. That is all fine. But I know this much for sure: I don't think there is a single American that thinks we ought to fall behind our adversaries any further.

We are under real economic challenges, global economic challenges, by our adversaries, not the least of which, of course, is China. China is fast becoming the No. 1 economy in the world. They are by far the largest population, other than probably the only thing close would be India, and yet China has made it a strategic decision to overcome the United States as an economic powerhouse, along with, by the way, a very, very advanced and efficient military.

They don't pay people to join the military, they just make them join the military. Their money goes a long ways. And whatever technology they can't discover or create, they steal. This is not a small threat.

And one of the advantages they have is that they have been investing at a very fast and very aggressive rate in their infrastructure--all forms of infrastructure: highways, bridges, roads, internet, water, ports. And, by the way, they invest in a lot of other countries' infrastructure to both win them over and then to use it as leverage against other countries.

So there are lots of good reasons to support this bill as it becomes time to, first of all, finalize, of course, the substitute, the amendment that makes up the bill, and then get on to final passage.

I want to wrap up where I started, however, and that is to just stress how disappointed I am that we haven't been voting on amendments. There are some really good ones out there.

In fact, the best ones I know of were introduced by Republicans and Democrats together, equally. And we would be wise, all of us, to just agree. Maybe it is not the top 10. Maybe it is not the top 20 amendments, but even if it is the top 4 or 5, you know, let's recognize that the bill can still be improved in these final hours and get some folks down here.

Let's get the 100 of us together and make some decisions together while the hours are still in front of us, and improve this bill so we can get about the business of debating it, getting us to final passage, and sending it over to the House of Representatives, where I would implore, plead with the Speaker of the House, to take it up--take it up apart from this $3.5 to $5.5 trillion tax-and-spend wish list of the Democratic socialists. Take it up and do something good for the country. Then we will get about the business of debating the next big package.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today in support of North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem filing a lawsuit against the Biden administration's continued cancelation of oil and gas leases on Federal lands and its impact on State and private mineral owners.

In addition to being a foolish idea, I believe President Biden's moratorium is illegal. It increases Federal and State budget shortfalls, hampers State and private mineral owners' rights, and makes the United States less energy independent and more reliant on foreign producers.

My State of North Dakota is uniquely harmed by this action, given what is commonly referred to as the split estate issue. For roughly 100 years, the Federal Government has retained Federal mineral rights on land near where State and/or private entities also hold surface and mineral rights. About 30 percent of the spacing units in North Dakota have interspersed federal mineral interests and therefore must go through the leasing process of the Bureau of Land Management--BLM-- regardless of its size.

Accordingly, since the moratorium, it is estimated our State has lost $4.77 billion in tax revenues and $1.2 billion in private royalties. We are grateful the Louisiana Federal District Court Order agreed the Biden administration's actions are illegal, but unfortunately, we are being given no reason to think the near of this harmful policy is near.

On a recent call between the leadership of the BLM Montana/Dakotas office and constituents from the region, BLM officials stated that they are canceling quarterly lease sales at least through the end of calendar year 2021. Citing the administration's plans to appeal the district court ruling, State Director John Mehloff said, ``We'll probably, at earliest, would be able to hold an oil and gas lease sale late first quarter of 2022.''

That is disappointing, to say the least. Thankfully, North Dakota is taking action to protect our producers and America's energy security. I support the State's efforts in court and hope they are successful.

Madam President, I want to take some time to share some of my thoughts on this Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that we are debating today, and I wasn't intending to speak specifically to the amendment Senator Cornyn just brought up, but I just can't resist saying: Man, I wish you well.

I think when--a bipartisan solution, like Senator Cornyn and Senator Padilla have come up with, to provide flexibility to our Governors and our communities just makes all the sense in the world.

So I am looking forward to voting yes, and I hope we can get a resolution that allows at least 59 of my closest friends to do the same.

I want to start out by thanking Senators Portman and Sinema for providing such incredible leadership, and to the group of bipartisan Senators who negotiated and coordinated this incredible effort.

I also want to thank Senator Capito, who is managing, of course, this floor process, along with Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Tom Carper. The progress that they have made on this issue with the administration earlier this year, paired with the excellent leadership that they provided the committee, really exemplifies what is possible when we work together, and it has allowed us to get to this point.

Reviving America's roads and bridges is a longstanding national priority of Congress, and is one that has taken us too long to address. We need reliable, accessible infrastructure to operate locally and to compete globally; and as it currently stands, the bill before us is well positioned to meet that exact need.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act isn't perfect--no bill ever is--but it makes historic investments in assets that will benefit every American for many, many years.

I applaud the group for using the surface transportation bill that we unanimously passed out of the Environment and Public Works Committee as the foundation for this bill. As the lead Republican on the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, I know how much time and effort both sides of the aisle have put in to surface transportation reauthorization. The end result reflected the good work we accomplished, and it was the perfect building block for the package that is before us.

As you know, I was not an original part of this bipartisan negotiating group. However, when I was approached for my input, I made my top priorities clear:

One, keeping the permitting reforms in our bill--permitting reforms like the one-agency decision that was a rule that President Trump put into place, that President Biden removed his first day in office. It is codified in this bill for surface transportation;

Prioritizing dedicating funding to States and to their departments of transportation as part of the traditional formula for distribution;

Limiting the expansion of urban transit programs; and

Including the bipartisan bill that Senator Lujan and I introduced to clean up orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells.

I was glad to see these provisions, as well as our committee's Drinking and Wastewater Infrastructure Act, in the bill.

I also appreciate the use of unspent COVID-19 relief funds to help pay for these priorities rather than being used for paying people to not work and adding fuel to the fire of inflation. This does just the opposite.

I thank my colleagues for asking for my opinion, and I am even more grateful that they listened and included these provisions in our final product.

Infrastructure has been a priority for Congress because it is a priority for our constituents. America cannot succeed without a robust infrastructure from one coast to the other and all the places, like North Dakota, in between. We need roads and bridges to go from farm to town and from town to city, from city to city, and State to State.

We use ports and waterways and railroads to move the products that we produce to places they could otherwise never get to. We use rail and air to connect with family and friends and other business associates around the world. And we use broadband connectivity to facilitate transactions, both personal and business.

Infrastructure is foundational to our way of life, and it is the constitutional responsibility of the Federal Government to facilitate interstate commerce, including the movement of goods and services along our highways and byways and waterways and railways.

Rural States, like North Dakota, know this better than most. In fact, Rugby, ND, is literally the geographical center of the North American continent. We are landlocked, and we rely on our transportation infrastructure to get where we need to go and, more importantly, to move the products that we produce to where they need to get.

For example, North Dakota is the top producer of durum wheat, which gets ground into semolina flour, which becomes the main ingredient in pasta. The wheat goes from the field to a grain elevator by a farm road, to a mill by rail, and to a processing plant by both, and then it goes anywhere from a

grocery store in California to a restaurant in New York, or perhaps overseas to a market far away.

And just like every other commodity we produce, it requires a reliable infrastructure system that is safe and sufficient for every single mile on the journey.

The United States needs rural America, and rural America needs infrastructure. The personal needs it fulfills and the economic benefits it delivers are obvious. Rather than investing trillions of taxpayer dollars on government handouts to people to not work, we can spend money on putting people to work, revitalizing a system that directly benefits all of us, and that is what the plan before us would help accomplish.

It is not perfect--no bill is, as I said--and there are parts of it that I don't support, but there are parts, I know, that some of my colleagues do not support, even though they are top priorities for me.

Our Founding Fathers intended for Congress to collaborate and find common ground. Those are functions of our system; they are not a side effect. It is easy to imagine if every Founder had demanded to get everything they wanted and nothing else, well, then we would have had a king, and we may not have had the system of cooperative Federalism that we do today. And if enough of them believed that doing nothing is better than getting 80 or 90 percent of what they wanted or--then our more perfect Union would never have gotten started and had a chance to become that.

The inability to meet in the middle is not an excuse for inaction, especially when it comes to addressing not just the pressing needs of the American people here at home, but also protecting our standing as a country on the world stage.

We understand how important infrastructure is, but so does China, so does Russia, so do all of our adversaries who would like to see us continue to fall behind. The Chinese Communist Party would love to see America's roads and bridges crumble. They would be happy to let infrastructure get in the way of American production and allow for them to meet the needs of the global economy in our absence.

The bill that we have before us gives us an opportunity to help stop that from happening.

Now, while I am all for working across the aisle, that doesn't mean I will support bills that I fundamentally disagree with, like the $3.5 trillion-plus spending bill that Senate Democrats plan to cobble together after we finish this bipartisan infrastructure bill.

I oppose the Democrats' reckless tax-and-spend agenda, and I will join each of my Republican colleagues in opposing it and offering amendments to change its harmful outcomes.

That bill is completely separate from the bipartisan infrastructure bill that we are talking about today. They are not tied together, despite what rhetoric there may be otherwise. Both should be considered on their own merits separately.

What a shame it would be for Democrats to offer the American public a glimpse of bipartisanship and cooperation to only do an about-face and hold it hostage while they jam through a massive tax increase and growth of the Federal Government, adding to inflation.

I hope my colleagues will choose to build on this bipartisan success and resist the urge to follow the partisan whims of their political base.

As it stands, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act would be a significant win for our country. I know it would be for my State. So far we have avoided adding poison pills or derailing the process, and I urge my colleagues to keep it that way.

North Dakota needs safe and sufficient infrastructure. America needs safe and sufficient infrastructure. And the world needs the United States to have safe and sufficient infrastructure.

I urge my colleagues to keep the negative parts of the bill in perspective and to appreciate the opportunity we have today to make a difference for our constituents.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, it is a great honor for me to recognize a North Dakota hero who will celebrate his 100th birthday on August 20. Arnold Postovit of Tioga is one of our State's most treasured residents who has experienced many great moments in our State's and Nation's history.

Raised during the Great Depression on a farm near the town of Plaza, Arnold remembers days where the grasshoppers were so thick they blocked the sun. In an oral interview in 1999, this World War II veteran shared details about his military service.

Arnold graduated from Plaza High School and spent a semester at the University of North Dakota before deciding he wanted to be a pilot. This led him and a few friends to the Army recruiting center in Bismarck in the summer of 1940. With no openings in Army Air Corps units, he enlisted in the infantry and never left the 7th Infantry, 3rd Division.

He trained with a mortar unit in Washington State, going on manuevers and practicing boat landings on Puget Sound. In January 1941, he was transferred to Fort Lewis and was on leave in Tacoma on December 7, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. In early 1942, he trained near San Diego for several months, which included desert maneuvers. Traveling by train to Virginia, it was in November 1942 when his battalion boarded the USS Thomas Jefferson and landed in North Africa 3 weeks later. There, he was was among those who conducted night patrols around Casablanca. Following more training, Arnold and his division sailed the Mediterranean Sea toward Tunis to prepare for the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. His landing craft infantry came under heavy German machinegun fire as they came ashore. He also saw action in Palermo and Messina, Italy, where he remembers heavy fighting and the cold weather at Christmastime.

``We were young and tough,'' Arnold recalled in 1999. ``There was a lot of rain and we got sick from being wet and from the dysentery that would break out.''

His life would change after his unit landed behind German lines in Anzio, Italy, in January 1944. Hitler sent some of his best battle- hardened troops to push back this surprise attack by the Allied Forces. On February 6, German troops captured Arnold and a dozen other soldiers. He was transferred to a nearby POW camp that held many other American and British soldiers.

A few weeks later, trucks took him and other POWs on a 4-day trip to northern Germany to the Stalag 2B camp. After a few months, he and 16 other soldiers were taken by train to a working farm, where he did general farm work for nearly a year. In the spring of 1945, as Soviet troops invaded Germany from the east, Arnold and a thousand other soldiers were marched west across Germany. They came close to the North Sea and kept warm in nearby barns during the cold nights. After marching 600 miles, Arnold and some other soldiers saw an opportunity to escape to a nearby small town near the Elbe River on April 12. They hid in abandoned buildings and the next morning flagged down a small American plane that was flying over. They were told to stay where they were because American troops would be marching through later that day. When they connected with the Americans, the first thing the soldiers did was throw those thin and sick prisoners of war cans of C-rations to eat. Eventually, they were flown to Le Harve, France, and went to nearby Camp Lucky Strike, where released prisoners of war were taken to regain their health. Arnold was among other North Dakota soldiers who then sailed with thousands of others to Newport News, VA, on a converted transport ship.

Following his Army discharge, Arnold returned home to farm with his father, who by then lived near White Earth, ND. He planted the crops and

his father took care of the livestock. Married 6 years later, he and his wife Marjorie raised a family of five children. Although it was difficult to adjust after his wartime and POW experiences, Arnold made the best of his opportunities and cherished being an American. ``After you lose your freedom, then you understand what freedom means,'' he said. ``Americans are free, even if we sometimes think we aren't.''

In May 2009, Arnold participated with other North Dakota World War II veterans in an Honor Flight that took them to the World War II Memorial and other sites in Washington, DC.

Arnold Postovit is one of 60,000 North Dakotans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. Of those, nearly 2,000 gave their lives for our freedom in this largest and deadliest conflict in world history. With only some 500 World War II veterans still alive today in North Dakota, the heroism of every single one of them is appreciated more than ever.

Throughout his life, Arnold has embodied the best of the Greatest Generation. He has lived a meaningful life, sharing his story as a World War II soldier so the rest of us can better understand and appreciate the selfless service and sacrifice each and every veteran has made. On behalf of all North Dakotans, I wish Arnold Postovit a very happy 100th birthday on August 20 and many more years of health and vitality. As he celebrates with his family and many friends in Tioga on August 22, I honor him as one of North Dakota's most exemplary citizens.

Mr. President, I want to congratulate the newest recipients of the North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, who are being honored in their hometown of Grand Forks today. They are Monique Lamoureux-Morando and Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, better known as the Lamoureux Twins.

Before the rest of the world knew them, these identical twins made a name for themselves in North Dakota. Those of us with children their same age who competed with them on soccer and hockey teams were well aware of their talents.

Monique and Jocelyne grew up in a hockey family. Their father was a goaltender for the University of North Dakota team, and they joined their four older brothers in learning the sport at an early age. Girls' hockey was not well developed in the 1990s, so they played on boys' teams, leading one of those teams to a State championship when they were 12 years old.

While playing hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep School in Minnesota, they were named to the U.S. Four Nations team as high school juniors in 2006. Three years later in 2009, the hockey world became more aware of these twin powerhouses from North Dakota. While playing collegiate hockey for the University of Minnesota, they made the World Championship team that won the Gold Medal in Finland. They then transferred to the University of North Dakota to finish their college hockey careers and that December were named to the 2010 Olympic team.

They have played on three Winter Olympics women's hockey teams, the first two in Vancouver, Canada, in 2010 and Sochi, Russia, in 2014, where the U.S. team won Silver Medals against Canada. It was on February 18, 2018, in PyeongChang, South Korea, when the sisters were at the center of what is considered one of the greatest moments in U.S. Olympic history.

With 21 seconds remaining in regulation play, Monique scored the tying goal--again against the Canadian women. Jocelyn then sealed the win in the sixth round of the tie-breaking shootout. Her now famous ``Oops, I did it again'' shot scored the goal and brought the women's Olympic Gold Medal home to the United States for the first time in 20 years.

After 14 years as members of Team USA hockey, in February they retired from their golden careers. While on Team USA, Monique skated in 135 games and scored 143 points, and Jocelyne skated in 137 games and scored 138 points. From 2009 to 2018, they played in every major International Ice Hockey Federation event. They have brought home an impressive number of medals, including one Olympic Gold, two Olympic Silver, six World Championship Gold and one World Championship Silver. They made history in North Dakota in 2014 for being the first State athletes to win multiple Olympic medals.

The Lamoureux Twins have been widely praised by teammates and coaches for their perseverance and adaptability. Often noted when describing them are their work ethic, focus, grit, determination, attention to detail, class, respect, and integrity. They have been called humble, tough, and generous. They have a clear sense of right and wrong and are always challenging each other to be better. One sportswriter described the Lamoureux Twins as ``having work ethics that would put a combustion engine to shame.''

These young women have been witness to and instrumental in the growth of women's hockey on and off the ice. Today, with women's hockey much more prominent than it was 20 years ago, they sponsor and conduct hockey camps to better train girls and women players. In 2017, they were among those on the U.S. national team who threatened a boycott before the Women's World Championship to highlight the need for better financial support and benefits for women team players.

Today, Monique and Jocelyne live in Grand Forks with their husbands and young families. They published a book, ``Dare to Make History,'' earlier this year, and they have established a charitable foundation to support underprivileged children through education and by promoting gender equality and internet access for low income families.

The North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award was established in 1961. It recognizes North Dakotans who have been influenced by the State in achieving national recognition in their fields of endeavor, thereby reflecting credit and honor upon North Dakota and its citizens. It was named after President Theodore Roosevelt, who credited his time living in North Dakota for influencing his success later in life. We can only imagine what his reaction would be to the accomplishments of Monique and Jocelyne. As only the 45th and 46th recipients, at age 32, they are the youngest to be honored with this highest award given by the State, and they have a lifetime ahead of themselves for even more impressive achievements.

Mr. President, on behalf of the citizens of North Dakota, I congratulate Monique Lamoureux-Morando and Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson on receiving the North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award today. You are true champions.

Mr. President, it is a great honor for me today to recognize a North Dakota legend who is celebrating his 100th birthday on June 4. Lynn Aas, of Minot, is one of our State's most treasured residents. With his engaging personality and deep commitment to public service, Lynn has experienced many great moments in our State's and in our Nation's history.

Lynn was raised during the Great Depression on a farm near the town of Benedict, 40 miles south of Minot. He earned law and business degrees from the University of North Dakota, managed a medical clinic, served in the North Dakota Legislature for 8 years, and was a delegate to the State's 1972 Constitutional Convention. He and his late wife Beverly raised four sons. To this day, Lynn remains active in his community.

With all that has been so remarkable about Lynn's life, it is his service during World War II that resonates the most with those who know him. Like with so many other young North Dakotans, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 changed the course of Lynn's life.

In August 1942, Lynn had just finished his first year of college when he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He began basic training in March 1943 and became part of the 193rd Glider Infantry Regiment of the 17th Airborne Division. Following intensive training stateside, he boarded a ship in Boston in August 1944 heading to Liverpool, England.

Lynn's first combat experience was the Battle of the Bulge, one of the costliest battles in American history, with more than 80,000 U.S. casualties, including 19,000 American soldiers killed. His division and unit were flown to France and transported by trucks to Bastogne on December 24, 1944. His platoon entered combat on January 7, fighting in deep snow, frigid cold, and heavy fog. Beginning with 55 troopers, Lynn was one of only 5 survivors to leave the frontlines 3 weeks later.

The end of January brought his first 2 nights of sleep under a roof in 5 weeks.

In February, his platoon fought along the Siegfried Line on Nazi Germany's border.

Later in March, he participated in Operation Varsity, the last large- scale Allied airborne operation of the war. There, he was towed in a glider and landed behind enemy lines near Wesel, Germany.

Lynn's combat days ended on March 25 when he was wounded in his left arm by shrapnel. Following extensive recuperation back in America, Lynn remained in the Army another 5 months until he was honorably discharged on November 1, 1945.

For his valor and commendable 18 months of service during World War II, he was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals, in addition to the Glider Badge, Combat Infantryman's Badge, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, European Campaign Medal with one Bronze Arrowhead and three Bronze Campaign Stars, and the World War II Victory Medal.

Later in his life, Lynn attend reunions of the 17th Airborne Division. In 1999, he visited Europe with other 17th Airborne Division veterans, visiting the locations where they had fought more than 55 years earlier.

In 2015, he visited Belgium again to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. As one of the official representatives from the United States to this observance, Lynn was greeted by many grateful Belgians who had not forgotten what American soldiers did to liberate them from Hitler's tyranny.

In 2017, the French Government awarded Lynn its highest honor, the Knight of the Legion of Honor medal--an award created by Napoleon in 1802. It was my great honor to be at that commemoration. The letter from the French Government notifying Lynn of this award carried these poignant words:

73 years ago, you gave your youth to France and the French

people. Many of your fellow soldiers did not return but they

remain in our hearts. . . . You saved us. We will never

forget. For us, the French people, you are a hero. Gratitude

and remembrance are forever in our souls.

Mr. President, Lynn Aas was one of 60,000 North Dakotans to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. Of those, nearly 2,000 gave their lives for our freedom in this largest and deadliest conflict in world history. With only some 500 World War II veterans still alive in North Dakota, the heroism of every single one of them is appreciated more than ever.

Throughout his life, Lynn Aas has embodied the best of the ``greatest generation.'' He has lived a meaningful life, sharing his history as a World War II soldier throughout so the rest of us can better understand and appreciate the selfless service and sacrifice of every veteran.

On behalf of all North Dakotans, I wish Lynn Aas a very happy 100th birthday on June 4 and many more years of health and vitality. As he celebrates with his large family and many friends in Minot, I honor him as one of North Dakota's most exemplary citizens.

I yield back.

Mr. President, I want to honor a Grand Forks firefighter for receiving a national honor by the VFW. Saving lives is what firefighters are called on to do as part of their job every day. But in the case of Logan Schonart, his lifesaving act went much beyond that.

When members of the Grand Forks Fire Department heard Rick Aamot, their former batallion chief, was suffering from kidney disease and needed a new kidney, they were concerned enough to look into how they could help. Because it can take years to find a donor, they joined in the search to find one. Schonart was among those who took a test for compatibility, and his test showed he was a match. Having worked together for nearly a decade before Aamot retired, Schonert thought enough of him to step forward and offer to be his donor.

Schonert was not looking for publicity about his successful kidney donation to Aamot, but he spoke out about it to encourage others to consider doing the same if the opportunity presented itself. In recognition of his generous lifesaving act, Schonart was named the 2020 North Dakota VFW Firefighter of the Year and earlier this month was named the 2021 National VFW Firefighter of the Year. The award was presented May 7 at the Grand Forks Fire Station.

Mr. President, I congratulate Logan Schonart on this national honor recognizing a firefighter who exceeds professional expectations and demonstrates community service and professional achievement. As the 2021 National VFW Firefighter of the Year, he sets an extraordinary example for all of us demonstrating what selfless sacrifice looks like.

Mr. President, as another school year comes to a close, I want to recognize the students at one North Dakota school for their accomplishments in a remarkable program. Students in Linton operate my State's first and only high school radio station. KLHS AM 1620 is a full-fledged AM station that went live in 2017. Since then, it has given students hands-on experience in broadcasting, interviewing, and news writing.

KLHS and now KLPS play rock, oldies, and country music and feature local weather, news, and sports. It is all done by the students enrolled in the Linton High School radio broadcasting classes who write and produce all programs heard on the air. While mastering broadcasting, they also learn to operate a console board and other skills like speaking, articulation, production, script writing, and interviewing.

These Linton students have also attended the annual national conferences of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System, and their accomplishments have been recognized with many awards. At this year's conference, the Linton students took home 20 Golden Microphone Awards, in categories such as best promotional event, most creative show, best station logo, best sports play-by-play, and best website.

I also want to salute the founder of the Linton High School program, longtime State radio veteran Jay Schmaltz. The idea for a high school broadcasting program originated after he became the supervisor of the Emmons County alternative education programs. Today, it is the most popoular elective class at the school and remains the only high school radio station in North Dakota.

Mr. President, there are many good jobs in broadcasting in North Dakota and around the world. These Linton High School students are receiving a head start in the professional world of communications and will be able to apply the valuable skills they learn in many directions in their future professions. I commend Linton High School for offering such a valuable program and Jay Schmaltz for his dedication to its success, and I congratulate the Linton High School broadcasting students for recognizing the value of learning a skill that will benefit them the rest of their lives. I know we will be hearing much more from these broadcasting entrepreneurs for many years to come.

Madam President, I am pleased to have joined my Republican colleagues on the floor today. I associate myself with all of their comments, especially the speech just delivered by my friend from Wyoming, and demonstrate my strong support for a significant investment in America's infrastructure.

You know, as my colleagues have said, infrastructure has been one of the most bipartisan policy areas in Congress over the decades, and rightfully

so. I mean, we are obligated to provide for the national infrastructure.

As the lead Republican on the EPW Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I am committed to doing my part. I am confident we can accomplish this on a national level and in a strong bipartisan fashion.

As has been said, 2 years ago, under the leadership of Chairman Barrasso, EPW unanimously passed America's Transportation Infrastructure Act. It was the most substantial highway bill yet in our history. It authorized hundreds of billions of Federal dollars to maintain and repair America's roads and bridges, and it made reasonable regulatory changes--very important regulatory changes--so that projects wouldn't get derailed by endless bureaucracy.

It also maintained the current formula for deciding how States will receive the Federal funds. This funding formula ensures that States with small populations but expansive road systems, like North Dakota and Wyoming and Oklahoma, receive sufficient resources to update their roads and bridges within their borders. It is States like ours that feed and fuel the country. So not only does the traditional funding formula protect the interests of rural America, it protects all of America.

The movement of goods and services in support of our economy and the consumers cannot reserve a few thousand miles here and there of interstate for gravel. Interstate commerce requires a transportation system that is safe and sufficient for every mile. The pavement can't end in Minneapolis and get picked up in Seattle. For food to get to your table requires thousands of miles of safe, reliable roads, bridges, rails, and waterways.

My State of North Dakota is literally the center of the North American continent and is a top producer of dozens of crops and other food items. For example, we are the very top producer--by a long ways, by the way--of durum. Durum is the wheat that is ground into semolina flour, which is the main ingredient in pasta. So if you love cooking spaghetti in your kitchen or ordering penne at your favorite restaurant, you have to get the durum off the field in North Dakota to the elevator, where a train or a truck will pick it up and take it to the mill, where it will be ground into semolina before getting on another truck or train to the pasta plant, then to the grocery warehouse in another State, where it catches a ride to a distribution company or a retailer before it gets put into a pot of boiling water on its way to your plate in your Manhattan apartment or your favorite Los Angeles restaurant.

That is why we included the formula in the last highway bill when I was in the House. It is why we kept it in the highway bill at the committee level last Congress. And there is every good reason why we ought to include it now.

Under the leadership of Chairman Carper and Ranking Member Capito, EPW has had two hearings reiterating the importance of investing in America and dealing with the solvency of the highway trust fund.

It was disheartening to read a news story earlier this week and see how many of my colleagues are urging the President to not work with Republicans and to go it alone on infrastructure. One even said he was worried that Republicans would ``never show up.'' Well, here we are. We have shown up.

Like I told Chairman Carper just last week, I believe we should go big. We should aim high. This is a tremendous opportunity to pass a major bill that will benefit our country as a whole and the States we represent. We cannot let one of the most bipartisan policy areas in Washington get derailed now because a narrow majority in the Senate decided to pursue a partisan, shortsighted goal instead.

I am committed to advancing an infrastructure package that is bold, bipartisan, and meets the demands of the moment, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

I yield the floor

Madam President, 12 days ago, on April 3, we brought sad news of the passing of Douglas Burtell, of Bowman, ND, the last known World War II veteran residing in my State from the legendary 164th Infantry Regiment of the North Dakota National Guard. Tomorrow would have been his 97th birthday, April 16. I join in remembering and honoring him and the generation of heroes he represents to our State and to our Nation.

Douglas Burtell joined the National Guard in Fargo at the age of 16. In February of 1942, 2 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, this Casselton native was among the 1,723 young men to mobilize in the 164th Infantry Regiment. Ten months later, the regiment sailed into history as the first U.S. Army unit to offensively engage the enemy in the Pacific when they landed at Guadalcanal on October 13, 1942. There they reinforced the 1st Marine Division and spent more than 600 days in the combat zone until August 1945.

His talent for illustration was noticed at the national regiment headquarters, where he was trained in intelligence and reconnaissance. There he interpreted aerial photography, analyzed captured materials, and drew maps based on patrol reconnaissance reports. His service included combat on the Philippine Islands, Bougainville, and Guadalcanal, and he received the Purple Heart after being wounded in action.

Returning to North Dakota after the war, Mr. Burtell earned his high school GED, attended art school in Minneapolis, and spent much of his life in lumber, millwork, and camper sales in Fargo. He spent his last years living near his daughter in Bowman, ND.

Often attending reunions of the 164th Regiment Infantry Association, he was present at its final gathering in October 2017. He helped relatives of other veterans with research about the war experiences of their loved ones

And he painted throughout his life, generously sharing his work with friends. Mr. Burtell's artwork helped tell the everyday stories of the soldiers as they fought their way through the South Pacific. His illustrations are a lasting testament to the heroic contributions of the 164th Infantry Regiment to World War II. He was honored in March when North Dakota Adjutant General, Major General Al Dohrmann announced one of his sketches would be featured on a new recognition coin. Other artwork is etched in granite on the 164th Infantry Regiment Memorial located at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery near Mandan, which is now Mr. Burtell's final resting place.

Madam President, on behalf of all Dakotans and a grateful nation, I offer my deepest condolences to Douglas Burtell's family and friends, including his daughter and son-in-law, Barb and Steve Conley, his two granddaughters, and five great-grandchildren.

Today, with most of our World War II veterans now gone, Mr. Burtell's artwork preserves the faces of so many brave North Dakotans and exemplifies their patriotism and dedication.

The 164th Infantry Regiment's motto in French, ``Je Suis Pret,'' ``I Am Ready,'' inspires today's North Dakota National Guard motto of ``Always Ready, Always There.'' God bless the memory of Douglas Burtell and the brave soldiers of World War II who were always ready.

I yield the floor.