Floor Statements

Mr. President, on April 30, 2024, I missed vote No. 155, which was Motion to Invoke Cloture on Georgia N. Alexakis to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea. On May 2, 2024, I missed vote No. 156, which was confirmation of Georgia N. Alexakis to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. Had I been in attendance I would have voted yea. On May 2, 2024, I missed vote No. 157, Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to H.R. 3935. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea. On May 3, 2024, I missed vote No. 158, which was on the Motion to Proceed to H.R. 3935. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, these are dangerous times for our national security, and the actions we take here this week will shape the world that our kids and our grandkids grow up in.

Putin continues to wage a brutal war to annex Ukraine and has been making gains as Ukraine runs low on ammunition. Israel is under threat from not just Iran's proxy terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah but Iran itself. Just 10 days ago, we saw them launch hundreds of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones against Israel. China continues its aggression toward its neighbors in Asia as it renews its threats to take Taiwan by force.

Our partners and allies and the democratic values we hold dear are in real danger. That should be enough to compel us to act, but it is bigger than that. Iran, China, and even North Korea are helping to supply Russia's desperate war machine. China's President Xi is watching to see if we can hold together the coalition supporting Ukraine. He is judging what the cost would be if he were to invade Taiwan.

Our adversaries are testing us, and they see instability and dysfunction as an opportunity. That creates a real risk that one or more of these threats could boil over into a wider conflict that would be much more costly for the United States and potentially put more Americans in harm's way.

I spent yesterday at the Naval Air Station in Patuxent River, MD, with U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen. They shouldn't have to go to war years from now in Europe, the Middle East, or the Pacific because of a failure of leadership in Washington, DC, this week. That must be avoided at all costs.

So what do we do? We get our allies and partners--Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan--the weapons and ammunition to help them defend themselves; we modernize our own forces so our adversaries know they will lose any fight they pick with us; and we provide humanitarian support to those harmed by these conflicts, including innocent Palestinians in Gaza.

The Senate is once again preparing to vote on a national security bill that will accomplish these goals and meet the dangerous moment we find ourselves in, but let's get something straight here. We should have gotten this done shortly after the President proposed it in October. The Senate spent months negotiating before we ultimately passed it with 70 votes. And then the House--well, they let it sit for more than 2 months before sending it back to us with 311 votes.

It should disappoint all of us that partisanship and obstruction meant it took 6 months--6 months--for Congress to pass something that clearly the vast majority of us--in fact, 71 percent of us--in the Congress agreed on. Ultimately, bipartisanship will win the day. It will win the day in the House and in the Senate. But the delays have come at a real cost, especially on the battlefield in Ukraine.

There are a lot of factors that go into winning a war. Russia is a massive country, and even with its heavy losses, it can throw a lot of manpower at the problem to overcome and cover up its incompetent leadership, its culture of corruption, and its underperforming weapons systems.

At the same time, I have seen in my two trips to Ukraine since the war broke out that the Ukrainians have a remarkable spirit that can only come from a unified country fighting for its own existence. They are literally fighting for their own lives. But because of delays in getting this bill passed, Ukraine's fighters are desperately low on artillery shells, on missiles, and even on small arms ammunition. That is tying the hands of their commanders at the same time that Russia is revitalizing its war effort with increased domestic military production and a lot of help from China and Iran.

With the right equipment and enough of it, Ukraine can win this war. Passing this bill will allow us to transfer them more of the weapons, armored vehicles, and ammunition from our stockpiles that Ukraine needs to turn the tide, and then we will be able to replenish our own stockpiles with modern equipment to deter our adversaries from testing us any further. This is a win-win for us.

At a very dangerous time, this is what we must do to prevent further destabilization and conflict that will cost us more in the end. I know that a majority of my colleagues agree with me.

Let's not wait any longer. Let's not wait a day longer. Let's get this done right now and show the world that the United States continues to lead, continues to stand by our allies, and continues to be the strongest force for peace and stability in the world.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I would like to highlight an important provision, which Senator Sinema and I worked to secure within division A of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024. Within the budget for Defense-Wide Operations and Maintenance, $5 million is provided for the establishment of a permanent Center of Excellence for the John S. McCain III Center for Security Studies in Irregular Warfare.

This Center, named in honor of the late Senator John McCain, would serve as a central hub for developing knowledge and understanding of irregular warfare through research, education, and external engagement across government, civil society, and foreign partners. Congress authorized the establishment of the Center in 2021.

Both Senator Sinema and I have had regular conversations with the Department of Defense leadership about the need to establish a permanent Center of Excellence, which by law, must be located at an institution of higher education that has a proven course curriculum and existing research functions focused on irregular warfare, competition, and asymmetric challenges in statecraft and has an established network with other academic institutions to enhance such functions. We have been assured that, as soon as Congress provided dedicated funding to enable the Center of Excellence to be established, the Department would begin the process of selecting the site of the permanent Center of Excellence. The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 provides this funding.

Therefore, we hope and expect that the Department of Defense will act, within the next 30 to 45 days, to begin the process of selecting a permanent Center of Excellence. We appreciate the attention the Department has paid to this important project, and look forward to receiving regular and positive updates as this process continues.

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

Madam President, 3 weeks ago, I stood here and spoke about the consequences of my Republican colleagues walking away from the border agreement.

After decades of crisis after crisis at our border, we had a chance to be the Senators who actually did something about it. We had a real opportunity, a real bill ready to be signed into law by the President-- technology to stop fentanyl, more than 1,000 additional Border Patrol agents, authorities and policy changes to prevent the border from being overwhelmed, visas to keep families together, and more. That is what Senators Sinema, Murphy, and Lankford worked on together for months, with both Democrat and Republican Senate leaders at the table and with the administration at the table, and that is what Senate Republicans turned and walked away from.

I said then that some politicians see more advantage in shouting about problems than actually solving them. Well, let's take a look at what has happened in the last 3 weeks.

A couple of my Republican colleagues traveled to Texas so they could record videos about how bad things were at the border. Neither of them supported the bipartisan border bill. Other of my Republican colleagues have stood on this floor giving speeches, pointing fingers at President Biden. They have done the same on cable news. President Biden supported the bipartisan border bill; they did not.

In fact, one of my Republican colleagues said in his floor speech the other day that he hasn't seen the two Arizona Senators on this floor giving

speeches about the border. To that Senator, I say this: That is because we are not here to just talk about the problem; we are here to do something about it.

By the way, that same Senator did not support the bipartisan border bill.

A group of House Republicans came to my State for what they called a ``factfinding tour.'' What more facts do you need? That it is bad? Of course, it is. It would be better if Border Patrol agents had the resources and staffing and policy changes from the bipartisan border bill we could have passed. That would have helped them. But the folks who went on that trip didn't want to vote for that bill. So, no, this wasn't a factfinding tour; it was just another photo op, because they would rather keep talking about the problem instead of solving the problem. Who does that help? It doesn't help Border Patrol--who, by the way, supported this bipartisan bill. It doesn't help border communities that desperately need some relief.

The problems at the border do not go away when you fly back to Washington, DC. They just don't. And they don't go away when the TV camera stops rolling.

In Arizona, these aren't just talking points; it is a challenge that we face every day that strains our communities, and it strains law enforcement. That is why I am not going to stop working to solve these issues with our border and our immigration system.

Because while anybody can talk about a problem, those of us here in this building have the power to actually do something about it.

That is our job. That is what we were elected to do.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, the Federal Government has failed Arizona and other border States for decades. And for decades, Congress has done nothing about it. As we have lurched from crisis to crisis, Arizona and other border States have always been hit the hardest.

This humanitarian crisis is bad for asylum seekers, bad for law enforcement, and bad for communities. The problem gets worse the longer it is ignored. And yet for decades, nothing has been done. I see it every time I go to the border. So have my colleagues who have traveled to Arizona to see it for themselves. I hear about it every time I talk to border mayors and sheriffs. And we talk about it every day here in the Senate and over in the House. In fact, there are few topics we talk about more while nothing changes.

This week, we had a real and rare opportunity to actually do something about it. There was a real plan, a real bill ready to be passed and signed into law by the President. We got here because for months, Senators Sinema, Murphy, and Lankford worked together on a bipartisan agreement almost every single day for months. If we passed it, we would get more Border Patrol agents, more technology to stop fentanyl, more asylum officers to quickly screen asylum claims, and more judges to bring down this massive backlog of cases. That would make a real difference. If we passed it, we would have an updated asylum system, authorities to prevent the border from being overwhelmed, and more visas to keep families together.

We would have a more secure and fair process at the border. That is what all of us want, and it should be no surprise that we got this plan thanks to Republicans and Democrats just working together. It was the product of tough conversations and compromise--in other words, the way legislation is supposed to happen. And it came together in an agreement that was not going to just address the border, but also the biggest challenges in our national security.

This is a perilous time. The decisions we make here, now, will shape the world that our kids and grandkids grow up in. As Hamas and other Iranian-backed militias threaten stability in the Middle East, this agreement included support for our ally Israel and aid for civilians in Gaza.

And as China expands its influence in order to offset U.S. power in the region, this agreement included support for Taiwan and other partners in the Pacific to strengthen their own self-defense.

Finally, as Putin wages his illegal war to annex Ukraine and destabilize Europe, this agreement included desperately needed weapons and ammunition to support Ukraine in their self-defense. I have traveled to Ukraine twice since Russia invaded nearly 2 years ago. As someone who has fought in combat myself, I was struck by the bravery of their citizens and soldiers in this existential fight that they are facing. Over the course of the last 2 years, armed with support from us and our European allies, they have decimated the Russian Army significantly, degrading their combat capabilities. This is a huge benefit to our own national security, and it came about without putting a single American in harm's way.

But our previous aid package for Ukraine ran out last year. So this week, we faced a choice: either provide Ukraine with more support to keep beating back Russia or leave it without the weapons and ammunition it needs and invite Russia to regain momentum. If that happens, Putin could set his sights on another target, threatening a wider conflict that will be much more costly for the United States.

That would be a disaster.

I am relieved that we found a path forward to prevent that by advancing these national security priorities on their own. But I am baffled by how we got here. We took a pair of votes this week--one that included border security and support for allies and one that was just support for our allies. It was a lack of support from my Republican colleagues that meant the first vote with border security failed--this, after months of working on a compromise to finally do something about this issue.

Every Senator faced a choice, an up-or-down vote. That is why we are here: To make tough choices in service of our country and to make easy choices when they are right in front of us.

Supporting our allies is an easy choice. Securing our border is an easy choice. I understand the politics. I know some politicians see more advantage in shouting about problems than solving them.

Well, I will tell you this: If you come back to my State to do TV interviews at the border, you better be ready to explain why you chose politics over addressing this crisis that is staring you in the face. If you can't do that, don't come back because this isn't just a political talking point for me or for Senator Sinema or for my State. It is the reality that we live with every single day.

That is why, even after this setback, I won't stop working to fix this issue at our border and fix our broken immigration system. But make no mistake, this is a shameful week for the Senate. The American people are watching. They were hoping that Congress could overcome political divides for once and actually deliver. That didn't happen. The Senate failed them.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, today I rise to recognize Peggy Goldwater Clay for her 20 years of service as the chair of the board of trustees of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation was established by Congress in 1986 to serve as a living memorial to honor the lifetime work of Senator Barry Goldwater, who served his country for 56 years as a soldier and statesman, including 30 years in the U.S. Senate. Peggy Goldwater Clay is Senator Goldwater's youngest daughter.

During Mrs. Clay's tenure, she enhanced the visibility and national reputation of the foundation by successfully promoting its mission and goals of seeking to identify, encourage, and financially support college sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise of becoming this Nation's next generation of research leaders in the fields of natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics.

As chair, Mrs. Clay promoted the foundation's modernization, effective communication, innovation, and collaboration with Tribal colleges, community colleges, 4-year universities, and other institutions.

She approved, with unanimous board support, the technological improvements of the foundation's application process that transitioned it from paper to online applications and from in-person to virtual review. This effort greatly reduced the costs of processing the nominations received by the foundation from colleges and universities in all 50 States and U.S. Territories.

Mrs. Clay encouraged and approved a 2014 survey of Goldwater Awardees, revealing that the outcomes desired when the foundation was established by Congress are being fulfilled; the survey showed that upwards of 70 percent of those who had been awarded Goldwater Scholarships had gone on to obtains Ph.Ds. in natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics and that a similar percentage had pursued research careers in these critical fields.

She approved the inception of the Goldwater Scholar Faculty Mentor Award, a collaborative initiative between the Council on Undergraduate Research and the foundation that annually recognizes an outstanding faculty mentor of the Goldwater Scholars.

Mrs. Clay endorsed a proposal, submitted by the foundation's president, that resulted in a $9 million grant from the Department of Defense Education Program. This grant enabled the foundation to nearly double the number of scholarships it awarded from 2019 to 2023.

Also, during her tenure, Mrs. Clay helped establish the Barry Goldwater Educational Support fund, a scholars alumni organization known as the Goldwater Scholar Community, a new undergraduate research internship initiative, and a strategy to enhance the diversity of Goldwater Scholarship Awardees.

The foundation received a direct $2 million congressional appropriation in 2022 to further support its scholarship awards. In 2021, Congress reauthorized the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. These accomplishments would not have been possible without Mrs. Clay's efforts.

I, along with the board of trustees of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, express sincere gratitude and profound appreciation for Peggy Goldwater Clay's long, tireless, and inspired service as chair of the board of trustees.

Mr. President, today I rise to recognize the recipient of the 1 millionth Child Development Associate--CDA-- credential. Jada Vargas is an Arizonan who is dedicated to serving her community as an early childhood educator, and I am very pleased to recognize her achievement.

Jada lives in Whiteriver, AZ, and is a member of White Mountain Apache Tribe. She also serves on the White Mountain Apache Youth Council. A recent high school graduate, Jada said she realized she wanted to become an early childhood educator after a career and technical education course that allowed her to work in a childcare center at her high school. Now, she is headed to college to study education--and, with her CDA, already has a leg up.

Early exposure to the early childhood landscape was clearly critical for Jada as she thought about her next steps after high school. And it couldn't have come at a more needed time. The childcare industry, which already standing on unsteady legs, took a heavy hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. We asked early childhood educators to be heroes as so many worked to keep their doors open so parents could do essential work. Early in my time in the Senate, I voted to pass the American Rescue Plan, which provided $39 billion in support for childcare.

I hear from Arizonans that this funding was transformative, that childcare assistance was critical to keeping their doors open and lights on to serve families. Today, the funding provided through childcare stabilization grants has expired, yet challenges remain in finding and retaining early childhood educators. The market is still broken. Too many children remain stuck on waiting lists without the essential early education that we know makes a long-term difference.

Research tells us that if a student can't read well by the time they are in the third grade, they are more likely to drop out of high school. That has an impact on our productivity, our economy, and on our military. Early childhood educators like Jada are often the

ones who are helping children develop the skills to become readers, preparing them for the years of education that lay ahead.

This is a worthwhile investment. High-quality childcare is imperative to strong communities, and I am committed to working with my colleagues to provide long-term stability and support to this industry. Part of that is finding ways to encourage more folks to dedicate their lives to the next generation--and as a CDA holder, Jada is part of that solution. She wants to return home once she finishes her education to, as she puts it, be a light to the children in her community. We are grateful to her for her hard work and dedication to the children and families she will serve as a CDA holder, and I hope to see many more Arizonans follow in her path.

Mr. President, a great privilege of my job as a U.S. Senator is having the opportunity to meet young people who are eager to serve. Talented young leaders like those featured in the Summer 2023 edition of ``Public Service Review'' inspire me, and I am hopeful their stories will inspire others. This edition features insightful reflections from aspiring public servants with diverse backgrounds and interests who are passionate about serving their communities, their country, and the world.

The 10 authors featured in the Summer 2023 edition are Jamya Davis of Xavier University of Louisiana, Lydia Sigman of George Mason University, Rohini Achal of the University of Washington, Christopher Robinson of Mississippi State University, Mateus Voltolini of the University of Southern Maine, Samina Patel of Georgia Institute of Technology, Tatyana Mayo of Howard University, Julia Comino of American University, Brina Ratangee of Vanderbilt University, and Tony Ruan of Yale University, whom I had the pleasure of having in my office as an intern and speaking with for his article.

The ``Public Service Review'' is produced by the Stennis Center for Public Service, and the Summer 2023 edition is available at www.stennis.gov. I encourage all to read it.

Mr. President, this week, NASA Associate Administrator, former astronaut, and my friend Colonel Robert Cabana announced his retirement, effective December 31, after more than 38 years of public service to NASA. In his current capacity as Associate Administrator, Colonel Cabana served as the Agency's highest ranking civil servant, third highest ranking NASA official, and the senior adviser to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. Colonel Cabana's legacy, among many things, includes a significant contribution to the Nation's human spaceflight program and decades of energetic leadership at the Agency. On a personal level, he played an important leadership role within the astronaut corps, including as chief of NASA's Astronaut Office when I was as an astronaut and during my selection and early years at NASA. I am honored to congratulate Bob on his retirement and thank him for his many years of service.

Born in Minneapolis, Bob graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, became a naval aviator, and graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1981. During his military career, he logged over 7,000 hours in more than 50 different kinds of aircraft. He retired as a colonel from the U.S. Marine Corps in September 2000.

Bob was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1985 and went on to log 38 days in space during four shuttle missions. He piloted the Space Shuttle Discovery on missions STS-41 in 1990 and STS-53 in 1992. During STS-53, the crew conducted microgravity research experiments that helped pave the way for future operations aboard the International Space Station. He commanded Columbia's STS-65 mission in 1994, and in 1998, his final flight, he commanded Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-88, which was the first International Space Station assembly mission.

The International Space Station has been orbiting Earth about every 90 minutes and conducting groundbreaking science since November 2000 thanks to the contributions by Bob during STS-88. While at the Johnson Space Center, he served as the lead astronaut in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory, Mission Control Spacecraft Communicator-- CAPCOM--and as the director of Flight Crew Operations Directorate.

He went on to serve as the Deputy Director of the Johnson Space Center, the Center Director of NASA's Stennis Space Center, and then the Center Director at the Kennedy Space Center in 2007, where he led its transition from retirement of the space shuttle to a multi-user spaceport once again launching NASA astronauts to low Earth orbit and, for the first time, doing so with commercial partners. He served for more than a decade at the Kennedy Space Center until Senator Nelson called him up to headquarters in 2021.

And as Associate Administrator of the Agency, Bob has led NASA's 10 Center Directors, as well as the Mission Directorate Associate Administrators at NASA Headquarters in Washington. He has been the Agency's chief operating officer for more than 18,000 employees and oversaw an annual budget of more than $25 billion.

Bob's many achievements have been recognized with induction into the Astronaut Hall of Fame and being named an associate fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. He has received numerous personal awards and decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award. He also is a recipient of the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement's National Space Trophy.

Thank you and congratulations to Bob for your many years of service, your dedicated leadership at NASA, your contribution to our Nation's spaceflight program, and your inspiration to us all.

Mr. President, we are in complex and dangerous times.

Ukraine is fighting off a Russian invasion. Israel is defending itself against Hamas. American soldiers have been attacked by Iran's proxies. China is watching closely and testing the United States and our allies. We need our military to be stronger and more focused than ever. However, because of one Senator, our military is being severely hamstrung.

The Senator from Alabama, Mr. Tuberville, has a policy disagreement with the Pentagon. However, instead of addressing this policy, he has decided to singlehandedly shut down what has historically been a bipartisan process to promptly confirm military nominees.

My Republican colleagues made this very clear last night. His decision isn't affecting just a handful of positions; he is currently blocking 367 admirals and generals, and that number continues to grow. That has left members of our Armed Forces stranded and unable to get the promotions they have earned. It has put their lives and the lives of their family members on hold.

Today, we will vote to confirm three of them: the Chief of Naval Operations, the Air Force Chief of Staff, and the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. They are the top officers in the Navy and the Air Force and the No. 2 officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Now, that may seem like progress, and the Senator from Alabama may say that this is an example of how the Senate can confirm military nominees one by one, but here is the thing: The new leaders of the Air Force and the Navy won't have anyone confirmed as their No. 2s. So they will have to do two of the highest ranking jobs in their services at the same time--their new jobs and their old jobs. That is because of Senator Tuberville. With hundreds of admirals and generals awaiting promotion because of his holds, it is impossible for the Senate to catch up by doing this one by one.

In the Marine Corps, the situation is even more serious. Over the weekend, we learned the terrible news that Gen. Eric Smith, confirmed just last month to lead the U.S. Marine Corps, suffered a medical emergency. General Smith was in the same position--forced to do two jobs at once. Today, we will confirm his deputy, who will have to immediately step up to be Acting Commandant of the Marine Corps for as long as General Smith is recovering.

It is an outrage that it takes an urgent vote of the U.S. Senate to fill a leadership gap at the top of the U.S. Marine Corps. That is the result of this blockade, and it is what we risk across our military leadership if, God forbid, another service chief has to step away from their job.

The Senator from Alabama doesn't think this does real damage to our military readiness. He either doesn't know what he is talking about or he doesn't care. At this very minute, the brave men and women of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit are aboard the USS Bataan, the USS Carter Hall, and the USS Mesa Verde just south of Israel in the Red Sea. This is our quick reaction force, trained to evacuate civilians in conflict zones. Those marines are in a dangerous part of the world at a dangerous time, prepared to do a very dangerous job. They deserve fully

staffed and focused senior leadership, able to advise the President while also giving the best guidance to their commanders. For 4 days this week, within arm's reach of a war, they didn't have it because of one Senator.

The solution is clear, and it has been clear since day one: The Senator from Alabama must remove his hold on our admirals and generals. We wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for him. He can stop this today if he wants to. If he continues to refuse, it is just too dangerous to wait for him to do the right thing. There is a proposal for the Senate to make a temporary change that will allow us to vote on the bulk of these nominees at once. It is designed to put our national security ahead of all else by addressing the dangerous circumstance these holds have put our military in.

Now, I have talked with many of my colleagues--Republicans and Democrats--about this fact, and I encourage everyone to give it serious thought. At what George Will called ``the most dangerous U.S. moment since World War II,'' the Senate must consider whether it will allow the U.S. military to be without hundreds of confirmed admirals and generals and to be just one illness or accident away from once again having a service branch without senior leadership because, to me, that is a pretty clear choice.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, over the weekend, Congress narrowly avoided a government shutdown. It is ridiculous that it got this close. While we avoided this disaster for now, I am disappointed that partisan dysfunction prevented Congress from extending U.S. support for Ukraine at such a critical time.

As Ukraine continues their counteroffensive and their most recent aid package is drawn down, we must work quickly to get Ukraine more of the weapons and support they need to beat Putin, because, make no mistake, that is what this is about--whether Vladimir Putin comes out the other side of this emboldened or defeated.

Our military leaders have made clear that China's and Russia's aggression are the top threats that we face. While President Xi of China watches, Putin has authorized cyber attacks against the United States and proven himself a war criminal willing to invade his Democratic neighbors and intentionally--intentionally--murder women and children and abduct Ukrainian youth from their parents in an effort to recreate the Soviet empire.

Whether Putin is successful in Ukraine has serious implications for U.S. national security. Up to this point, this invasion has been a massive strategic failure for him. He underestimated the courage and the fight of the Ukrainian people to defend their homeland, which I have seen firsthand in Kyiv. He also underestimated the will of the United States and our allies to quickly and effectively support Ukraine.

Over the course of the now 20-month war, we have sent Ukraine the equivalent of a small fraction of our yearly defense budget. This has included guns, artillery, ammunition, tanks, missile systems and more. It has also included the training on how to use and maintain these systems. Now, as it should be, this support has been carefully evaluated and targeted based on what Ukraine needs most on the battlefield. It is not a blank check. It is tracked closely. I have seen this myself during two visits to Poland and Ukraine. It has also had the impact of allowing us to modernize our own stockpiles.

Think about what this support means for our own national security. Russia's massive army is now a shadow of its former self. They have lost thousands of armored vehicles, tanks, and artillery pieces. They've lost hundreds of aircraft. They are experiencing the limits of their own power, and they have resorted to forced conscription of their own citizens to fill their ranks.

China is watching this, and they are witnessing the staying power and the strength of the coalition that we lead.

Ukraine is on the move, making steady progress in a counteroffensive to take back their country. Russia is losing.

Now is not the time to let up. It is time to push forward. A majority of Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate agree. We know that. So, while partisan dysfunction got in the way over the weekend, we have got to work together to extend the support that Ukraine needs. For the sake of Ukraine's freedom and our own national security, we must get this done--and quickly.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, placing holds on hundreds of military promotions over a single policy disagreement is unconscionable. It is harming our national security, and it is going to have cascading effects for years. Not only will military services be left without confirmed leaders, but our senior leaders are going to have to do multiple jobs at once. This will disadvantage the services at every level and leave less experienced members to have to step in to fill their bosses' shoes.

As someone who served in the navy for 25 years, I want to paint a picture of what that looks like in the real world. Operations plans-- they will not get updated. Now these are the plans that prepare us for military conflicts, for humanitarian disasters, and any conflict we face around the world.

Operations and exercises will suffer because they lack an expert at the head of the table who can weigh strategic risks and who is empowered by Congress to make critical decisions.

We won't have confirmed senior leaders at the table in places like Africa, where we are trying to strengthen ties and security cooperation with our partners to counter violent extremists and the rising influence of Russia and China.

And speaking of China, we won't have confirmed senior leaders at critical posts in the regions in that region of the world where they are empowered to bolster our capabilities.

And let's not forget, these holds are preventing the promotions of military leaders in Alabama. There are a lot of really important units who operate out of the Redstone Arsenal, including the Missile Defense Agency, which is responsible for developing U.S. defense against incoming ballistic missiles.

The Missile Defense Agency's next Director is one of those officers at Redstone who is waiting for his third star before he can officially assume this new role. The Senator from Alabama is preventing that.

Do we really want a leadership gap at the Missile Defense Agency?

And, lastly, I have to mention that this tactic treats our military servicemembers and their families like political pawns. Let me tell you, this isn't just like holding up a promotion like in any other job. This blockade of military promotions is hurting military families who are having to put off moves to new assignments across the country or across the world.

That means a military spouse cannot start a new job. It means a new school year starts without military kids who are stuck at their last base and don't know if they are going to be able to maybe try out for the sports team or join a club.

Now, I know from experience just how hard these moves are. They are hard for military families, and that is under the best of circumstances, let alone when they are stuck in the middle of this.

As our military faces recruitment challenges, this stunt--and this is a stunt--is making a decision easy for a military family who has supported their servicemembers, maybe for decades, to finally say that they have had enough. Maybe they will choose to retire instead of assume yet another unknown, brought to you by the Senator from Alabama, or maybe a junior servicemember--maybe that person--decides not to make a career in the military because they see so much uncertainty as their bosses are treated like political pawns. These holds are going to have cascading effects. It is going to get worse and worse. This is not just some abstract idea.

Let me talk about a few of the military leaders whose promotions are being blocked.

The President of the United States has nominated RADM Frederick W. Kacher to be a vice admiral in the U.S. Navy and the Commander of the Seventh Fleet. The Commander of the Seventh Fleet is not going to be able to take over as a confirmed vice admiral in that job. He has spent 31 years in service in 29 different duty assignments. By the Senator from Alabama, he is being treated like a pawn.

The President has also nominated Rear Admiral Douglas G. Perry to be a vice admiral in the U.S. Navy. He is currently the Second Fleet's Commander of the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk. He has spent 34 years in the U.S. Navy, and the Senator from Alabama is treating him like a political pawn.

The President has nominated Rear Admiral Yvette M. Davids to be a vice admiral in the U.S. Navy and the Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy. She has spent 34 years in service. She was the Commander of a carrier strike group. Now the Senator from Alabama is treating her like a political pawn.

The President has nominated Rear Admiral Brendan R. McLane to be a vice admiral in the U.S. Navy and Commander of the Naval Surface Force of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. He has spent 33 years in service, and the Senator from Alabama is treating him like a political pawn.

The President has nominated Rear Admiral Daniel L. Cheever to be a vice admiral in the U.S. Navy and also the Commander of the Naval Air Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet. I served in the Pacific Fleet aboard an aircraft carrier. Rear Admiral Cheever spent 35 years in the U.S. Navy, and he was also the Commander of a carrier strike group. He is now being treated like a political pawn.

The President has nominated VADM Charles B. Cooper II to be a vice admiral in the U.S. Navy and the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Central Command. How critical is that? He has 34 years of service, but he is being treated as a political pawn.

The President has nominated Rear Admiral Robert M. Gaucher to be a vice admiral of the U.S. Navy. He is currently the Commander of the Naval Submarine Force and all of our submarines in the Atlantic Fleet-- attack and ballistic missile subs. He has spent 32 years in the U.S. Navy, and the Senator from Alabama is treating him like a political pawn.

The same is true for Rear Admiral Shoshana S. Chatfield. She has been nominated to be promoted to a vice admiral and to be the U.S. Military Representative to NATO's military committee. She has spent 35 years in uniform, and the Senator from Alabama is treating her as a political pawn.

The President has also nominated Rear Admiral James P. Downey to be a vice admiral in the U.S. Navy and Commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command. The Naval Sea Systems Command is all of the engineering and development. The Presiding Officer knows, being a Senator from Virginia, how critical it is to have somebody in this post who is confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The Senator from Alabama is treating the rear admiral as a political pawn.

The President has nominated Maj. Gen. Roger B. Turner, Jr., to be a lieutenant general in the U.S. Marine Corps and the Commanding General of the III MEF. I believe the Presiding Officer's son serves in the U.S. Marine Corps. The III MEF in Japan is not

going to have a confirmed general. He has spent 34 years in service.

Finally--not finally; I have a few more. By the way, there are another hundred sitting over here on the bench.

The President has nominated VADM William J. Houston to be an admiral in the U.S. Navy--a full admiral--while serving as the Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion. This admiral is in charge of all of our nuclear reactors, and he can't get promoted after spending 33 years in the U.S. Navy because Senator Tuberville is treating him like a political pawn.

Finally, the President of the United States has nominated MG Tony Hale to be a lieutenant general. Now, I know Major General Hale. He is currently serving as the Commanding General and Commandant at Fort Huachuca in my State of Arizona. He has spent 29 years in uniform. He has been in 18 different duty assignments--six in support of combat operations. The Senator from Alabama is treating MG Tony Hale as his political pawn.

I have been here for 2\1/2\ years. There is not something I have felt more strongly about than this, and I don't think the Senator from Alabama gets it. I mean, this blockade of military promotions is doing real damage to our national security right now, it is doing great harm to military families, and it is going to have cascading effects for years. Every single day that this continues, the consequences--the consequences--of this get more severe. So I urge my Senate colleague from Alabama to remove his hold on these nominations so that the Senate can perform its constitutional duty to enable our military readiness and our national security.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that Ashley Daniel in my office be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the day.

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