Floor Statements

Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee considered several of President Biden's recent judicial appointments.

I would have thought that they would have figured out by now that they hit rock bottom a few months ago with some of these nominees that are not out of the mainstream, but they really are far left.

Here are some examples: Nancy Abudu, she endorsed political violence against conservatives; Todd Edelman used his authority to release a known criminal who then went on to participate in the murder of a child; Marian Gaston opposed residence restrictions for convicted child sex offenders; and DeAndrea Benjamin released violent criminals on bond, only to watch them offend again.

But not to be outdone, the White House has continued this trend with Seth Aframe's nomination to the First Circuit. The White House and Senate Democrats don't have a great track record when it comes to putting a nominee forward for this seat.

Back in February, I came to the floor to oppose Michael Delaney's nomination to the First Circuit bench. You will remember that Mr. Delaney threatened to expose a 15-year-old sexual assault survivor if she came forward with her story. That is right--he threatened to expose a 15-year-old sexual assault survivor if she went public.

Well, that was a shameful debacle. Everyone saw it. You would think the President's team would have learned their lessons. But I think we were wrong on that, because out of all the talented attorneys and judges that are in the State of New Hampshire, the President has nominated Seth Aframe, who is disturbingly similar to Mr. Delaney in his disregard for victims.

I want to walk you through two of the cases that Mr. Aframe prosecuted. And these cases are things that should disqualify him from ever having a seat on the Federal bench.

Now, the first case that we will go to is U.S. v. Carpentino. This involved a criminal defendant guilty of extreme sexual violence against a 14-year-old girl with a hearing impairment.

Now, this defendant kidnapped this precious child and took her to an abandoned motel in Vermont, and he raped her. This defendant had just been released from a 13-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting minors in particularly violent ways. In one case, he smothered a little girl with a pillow while he raped her. This is a violent repeat offender.

There was no doubt this person was a clear and present danger to the community. Despite all of this, Mr. Aframe, as the prosecutor in this case, recommended a sentence far below the probation officer's suggested guidelines. Can you even imagine hearing this? And then saying: Let's go light on this guy. Let's go light. Let's go easy on him.

Now, what we have learned is that it is clear that Mr. Aframe wanted the low sentence. And I will tell you why, and I am going to use his own words.

And I think when the Presiding Officer hears this, you will see, this is someone who is not qualified for the Federal bench. He wanted the low sentence. He wrote he wanted the low sentence.

And I quote, he said he felt the low sentence will ``incapacitate the defendant until he is in his 60s. Hopefully, by that time, the danger that the defendant presents will have subsided.''

Now, think about this. He wants the low sentence because at the end of that low sentence, the guy would be in his sixties and, you know, hopefully, by then he won't be such a danger. I tell you, imagine this: ``hopefully,'' using that. Can you imagine telling this little girl's family that, hopefully, this rapist won't do it again? Bear in mind, he had already been in prison for 13 years. He gets out, and he does it again. And Mr. Aframe is the prosecutor. What does he do? He wants a low sentence because the guy is going to be in his sixties and maybe he won't do it. Hopefully, he won't do it again. Hopefully, he won't be a danger. Hopefully, he will be too old and frail to go rape little girls. Unbelievable.

This is sickening. And this case alone should disqualify Mr. Aframe. But there is more. And let's go to this second case.

Mr. Aframe was the prosecutor in United States v. Smith. And this case, reading this made me absolutely sick to my stomach. It is repulsive.

Mr. Smith was found guilty of conduct connected to the manufacturing of child pornography. He created not one or two, but six videos of himself sexually abusing a 3-year-old girl. Six videos. The details of the case are far too disgusting to repeat aloud. But to be clear: He raped a 3-year-old girl on camera.

As prosecutor in this case, Mr. Aframe said the most poignant evidence of the harm this defendant caused was--and I quote--``the look of fear in the young victim's eyes.''

Poignant evidence, the look of fear in a toddler's eyes while somebody is raping her.

Despite this, Mr. Aframe recommended a 60-year sentence, nowhere near what this sick and depraved and disgusting human being deserved. Mr. Aframe noted that the perpetrator was a close friend of the victim's family. He worked to gain their trust for years just to commit these heinous acts, but Mr. Aframe still recommended a lenient sentence.

But what did the sentencing guidelines recommend? Life in prison. Mr. Aframe himself noted this in his sentencing memo, but when I pressed him under oath on why he refused to follow the guideline, he misrepresented the facts.

So let me set the record straight. The sentencing memo, that Mr. Aframe wrote himself, stated that the guidelines recommended a sentence of life in prison. That is what he should have gotten.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that a portion of that sentencing memo be printed in the Record.

I think it is so important that we include that in this. This should have been a life in prison sentence for what was done.

You know, I will say to my Democratic colleagues what I said about Michael Delaney's nomination: For the sake of men, women, and children around this country who are victims of sexual assault, join me in opposing this nomination if the President refuses to withdraw this nomination.

Someone who has gone light on sentences that affect these children. Someone who has committed crimes against these children and then they have sought to get lesser sentences against these pedophiles and predators, they have no place on the Federal bench.

Now, this week, my Democratic colleagues will have two opportunities to oppose individuals that I feel are unfit judicial nominees. The Judiciary Committee will mark up Mustafa Kasubhai to serve on the district court in Oregon. Now, there is a reason that, in my opinion, Mr. Kasubhai is not fit.

He has displayed a disturbing affinity for Marxism. This is something that we found in his records. Someone who is displaying an affinity for Marxism has no place on our Federal bench. So I would ask that our colleagues vote no on him.

Mr. President, it is my honor to officially congratulate the Country Music Hall of Fame 2023 inductees and welcome Bob McDill, Patty Loveless, and Tanya Tucker into country music's closest circle of friends.

In Nashville, we like to say that ``it all begins with a song,'' but this year's songwriter inductee took those words to heart in a way that few ever have. Unlike so many songwriters, Bob McDill found his voice as a country music storyteller not through the slow burn of experience, but in a sudden burst of inspiration involving a late-night drive and a particularly raw George Jones lyric. Over the next three decades, he wrote more than 30 chart-topping hits and earned a reputation as one of the most prolific writers in Music City history.

This year's modern era artist inductee took a traditional path to fame, but for Patty Loveless, the fruits of her long years laboring through fairs, festivals, and bars to reach the Country Music Hall of Fame are anything but ordinary. Between 1998 and 2003, Loveless released 31 Top 20 country hits and topped the charts five times. Her elite vocal performances made her a star, but it is the skill with which her songs navigated life's most complicated questions that made her one of Music City's most relatable and enduring artists.

Country music would look and sound a whole lot different without Tanya Tucker, this year's veterans era artist inductee. By the time she turned 25, Tanya had enjoyed more success than many artists could ever hope to achieve. She created a sound so distinct and a performance style so irresistible that she maintained her hold on Music City through career setbacks that lesser artists could never hope to overcome. Between 1986 and 1997, Tanya sent 24 singles into the Top 10, and, in 1991, earned the honor of County Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year. In 2019 she came back with a vengeance and a new album that earned her two Grammys, the first of her career.

On behalf of the entire Tennessee delegation, I would like to express my gratitude to Bob, Patty, and Tanya for their passion, their artistry, and their wholehearted commitment to their craft.

Madam President, well, it is Country Music Month, and in Nashville, you will hear people say ``it all begins with a song.''

And, indeed, when we think about the playlists on our phones, when we think about the songs that frame our life, that is very true. And we love the fact that we get to celebrate the creative community every single year during Country Music Month. And this week, the Senate should pass a resolution that Senator Kaine and I have filed. It is designating October as National Country Music Month.

Now, Bristol, TN, Bristol, VA, right there on the State line, that is the birthplace of country music. So you have got a little bit of Tennessee and a little bit of Virginia, and we share that richness and that history. And what our resolution does is to highlight our States'--Tennessee's and Virginia's--rich, shared history of fostering creativity, of dreaming those big dreams, and then setting those dreams and thoughts to words and music.

The music that these artists, songwriters, and musicians create has had a profound impact not only on country music as a genre but on the evolution of American music.

Tennessee artists have the unique power to unite us as Americans. With that in mind, I want to thank my colleagues in advance for celebrating our creative community with us and helping designate October as National Country Music Month. But our work is not done. These musicians need our help getting paid for their art, controlling the business side of their careers, and protecting their intellectual property.

I want to highlight a few bills this body must pass to maintain our position as a cultural and artistic leader and a creative hub. The United States is the only democratic nation in the world where artists are not compensated for the use of their songs on AM/FM radio. Now, as I said, we are the only democratic nation that does not compensate these artists. Now, Iran and North Korea are two of the only other countries with this distinction.

Senator Padilla and I have introduced a bipartisan piece of legislation--the American Music Fairness Act--which would right this wrong and ensure performers are compensated when their songs are played on the radio.

Now, Senator Padilla and I could probably have a great discussion about, Does California have more artists and singers and songwriters or does Tennessee? But I think Tennessee probably has more of those artists and songwriters.

Now, not being paid for the use of their music on radio has been a decades-long injustice that hurts Americans at home and abroad. As I said, the United States is the only democratic nation that does not pay for that radio play. So the majority of foreign nations--those who already pay their own artists for radio airplay--currently withhold royalties from American music creators simply because the United States does not reciprocate by paying their performers. This amounts to a massive financial hit for our American artists.

Now, when you talk with them, what you will learn from different royalty rights organizations is our entertainers here are missing out on about $200 million each year in income to those musicians--$200 million a year. That is money that would come from other countries to our American artists if we were to pass the American Music Fairness Act.

(Ms. BUTLER assumed the Chair.)

Senator Padilla and I have worked hard on this. It is bipartisan. We think to not pay these artists is something that needs to be fixed, and that is why we should agree to get the American Music Fairness Act to the President's desk without delay.

Now, I also worked with the late Senator Dianne Feinstein--and, Madam President, we welcome you. We know you have big shoes to fill in Senator Feinstein's seat. Senator Feinstein and I often talked about the importance of keeping this American creative community here and keeping that community vibrant, and she and I worked together to introduce a piece of bill that is called the HITS Act. This is the Help Independent Tracks Succeed, HITS.

Now, this bill would allow independent music creators--including musicians, technicians, songwriters, and producers--to deduct 100 percent of recording production expenses in the year that those expenses are incurred. The Federal Tax Code already allows film, television, theater productions to do this, and there is no reason not to give our music creators this same benefit. Think about that. Somebody goes in; they book that studio time; they lay down those tracks; they lay down those vocals; you get a producer that produces it; the musicians play on it; the technicians come in and tweak this-- and they cannot deduct all of that expense. This is not fair, especially when you consider that TV, film, theater--they can all deduct 100 percent.

So Senator Feinstein and I worked on this, got it ready to go. This is another one that needs to pass. These two pieces of legislation really have something very important in common. They recognize that entertainment as a career is both a creative pursuit and it is a very fragile business model. It requires that those individuals be able to exercise their intellectual property rights to benefit from their creations.

And one of the top concerns I hear from entertainers and their teams is the extent to which AI will--and already has--damaged their businesses. So we have another issue that has come on. In addition to not being fully compensated, then these entertainers are looking at the impact that artificial intelligence is going to have on their business.

Now, Congress is already late to the AI issue. We all know that, and I am delighted that we are beginning to see bipartisan interest in moving forward some legislation on guidelines and guardrails for artificial intelligence.

Creators have already begun to see that their voices, their likenesses, and their styles of music are used without their consent. And the danger to their livelihoods is real because they are not being compensated for their music that is used to train AI models that are actually going to take away the ability for them to make money on what they have created.

So in addition to not being paid for radio play, in addition to not being able to deduct production expense, now--here it comes--AI is going to mimic them and use name, image, likeness, voice cloning and take away more of their ability.

So Senator Coons and I have released a discussion draft on a piece of legislation to help protect these artists. It is called the NO FAKES Act. The NO FAKES Act would hold individuals, companies, and platforms accountable for digital replicas created or used without the consent of the individual that is being cloned or depicted in that replica. So it allows an entertainer to protect themselves, the replication of their voice, of their mannerisms, of their musical style.

Well, Hank Williams, Jr., has been quoted as saying, ``Country music singers have always been a real close family.'' He is pretty right about that. And just like any family, I love it when you see all of these entertainers who are, in essence, competitors competing for radio time and studio time and tours and dates on their tours. They are competing for it all, but they come together, and they let you know when they need something and when something needs to be done. And addressing this AI issue is something that needs to be done.

So I would encourage my colleagues to talk to entertainers in their States and talk with them about the American Music Fairness Act, the HITS Act, and the NO FAKES Act, and what it would do to give them that control over their art, their name, their image, their likeness.

You know, here in the United States, whether we want to argue about: Is Tennessee the biggest or does California have the most or is Virginia the

real home and who produces the most records and lays down the most recording? What we can all agree on is that the United States of America is the hub for entertainment. It is where everyone wants to come, and, of course, we like that ingenuity and that creativity, and we love it that artists come to Nashville and say: We want to record that Nashville sound. Let us keep this industry viable.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 15 minutes prior to the scheduled rollcall vote.

Mr. President, last week, the Biden administration proposed a spending package that included funding meant for humanitarian relief--$3.5 billion for migration and refugee assistance in Ukraine, Israel, and Gaza; $5.7 billion for the U.S. Agency for International Development. The Biden administration says that our money will pay for ``life-saving humanitarian programming in Israel and areas impacted by the situation in the West Bank and Gaza.''

We have two problems to address. First, the U.S. Government is scared to call the terrorist attack a terrorist attack. Second, this is just one more embarrassing example of the Biden administration's two-faced approach to the people of Israel.

I have spoken at length about the money pipeline between Iran and Hamas, but there is a similar pipeline that appears to be running between Hamas and the U.S. taxpayer. Every dollar we send that is earmarked for Gaza or the West Bank is another dollar Hamas can put into their pocket.

Last week, I spoke about the U.N. Relief and Works Agency and how this false humanitarian mission has been corrupted by Hamas and terrorist sympathizers. This has been confirmed by multiple NGOs, the media, Joe Biden's own advisers, and whoever published and then deleted this post from the UNRWA Twitter account.

Hamas stole those supplies and UNRWA covered it up. Remember, this is a U.N. body that pulls 93 percent of its funding from global government. In 2021 alone, UNRWA took $338 million from the United States, $118 million from the European Commission, and

hundreds of millions of dollars from individual European nations.

Since 2021, Biden has sent UNRWA a billion dollars. A billion dollars. USAID funds more than $21 billion worth of UN programming, and they sent millions of dollars to UNRWA. And now the President is ready to send them billions more. If the American people knew what their tax dollars were actually being used for, they would be outraged. And I believe it is time for them to know.

We know that Hamas steals UNRWA money and supplies and stores their weapons in UNRWA facilities. We also know that they fill those facilities with human shields. But something that hasn't gotten nearly enough attention is how our tax dollars are radicalizing the next generation of Hamas extremists.

UN Watch published a report in March exposing UNRWA-affiliated schools for what they are: indoctrination centers. Bear in mind, this is UN Watch that published this report and exposed the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees for what they were doing. One employee shared an Instagram post calling a teenage Palestine Islamic Jihad fighter who was killed in a shootout a ``little cub who fights like a thousand lions.'' That was an employee of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency who shared that Instagram post calling a teenage Jihadi fighter a ``little cub who fights like a thousand lions.''

A teacher posted a picture of Hitler with the caption:

Hitler, are you sleeping? Wake up, honey, there are still

some people you need to burn.

UN Watch also found official curriculum from last year celebrating Dalal Mughrabi. In 1978, she led a band of PLO terrorists in a massacre that left 38 Israeli civilians dead. Thirteen of her victims were children. Another piece of propaganda written for ninth graders described the firebombing of a U.S. bus as a ``barbecue party.'' One UNRWA teacher assigned seventh grade boys anti-Semitic poetry that urged the students to expel Israelis ``with blood and flesh'' from Palestine. All of this was subsidized by the American taxpayer.

Hamas is responsible for the October 7 massacre in Israel. But anyone who believes that Hamas is a solo actor is willfully ignorant. They have support. And right now, Biden's foreign policy is providing much of that support, not only through the money pipeline but through his absolute refusal to keep Iran in check. This isn't just a U.S. problem. It is a worldwide problem that we will not solve until the money stops flowing and Hamas is eradicated.

Fortunately, at least when it comes to UNRWA, accountability is built in. Global governments provide that funding, which means we can take it away. The United States needs to step up and lead.

I have introduced legislation to halt that funding until Iran is expelled from the U.N. and investigated for violations. We have to get this job done. Our legislation would accomplish two goals. It will destroy that pipeline of taxpayer dollars from the United States to Hamas and disrupt the Biden administration's policy of appeasement toward Iran.

Everything President Biden has done has made this world more dangerous. But nothing has had more immediate and catastrophic consequences for our allies than his refusal to treat the Iranian regime like the dangerous adversary that it actually is. He sent Robert Malley, Ariane Tabatabai, and other Iranian assets to renegotiate the failed nuclear deal. Administration officials allowed Ms. Tabatabai's security clearance to stand even after it became clear she was operating under the advice of Iranian officials. He agreed to hand over a $6 billion ransom payment and then insisted that the world's most prolific state sponsor of terror would dedicate every penny to humanitarian aid.

And in the hours following the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, he insisted that there was no connection between Iran and Hamas and their terrorist acts. Never mind that a week later, Hamas leadership met with the Iranian foreign minister in Qatar.

Biden's foreign policy is fatally flawed; that has become evident. And if we don't force him to reverse course, he will further endanger the American people and our allies and our safety and security.

I yield the floor.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Madam President, I know that we are all watching what is happening with Israel and then also looking at how that affects our national security. And in doing this, one of the things we have paid attention to is what is happening at our southern border.

As you look at the numbers there, it really is quite frightening to see how people from all across the globe are coming to our southern border. Indeed, last year, we had individuals from 176 different countries that came to our southern border. Among this number, there were hundreds of gang members, there were thousands of convicted criminals, and there were individuals of interest--names of interest-- that our Border Patrol watched, and, indeed, there were people on the Terrorist Watchlist.

Last year, in 2023--that is, our fiscal 2023--there were 151 apprehensions of individuals on the Terrorist Watchlist. Now, this number is really quite a dramatic increase. In 2022, there were 98 individuals on the Terrorist Watchlist who were apprehended at the southern border. In 2021, there were 15. And in 2019, there were zero-- not a one.

Now, as you look at these numbers and as you look at what is happening here, it is natural to think: What has caused this uptick in terrorists that are coming to our border? If you are going to be honest about these numbers, what you would have to do is say: OK, what has changed from 2019 to 2021 and 2022 and 2023? And in a sane world--which maybe this is not a sane world right now--it would lead you to look at this administration's border policies: the ease with which people can come to the border, raise their hands, and claim asylum; the way the cartels have expanded around the globe as global businesses, indeed, moving human trafficking from having been a $500 million-a-year business in 2019 to today, this year, $150 billion--``billion'' with a B. Those are the numbers that we are dealing with.

And for terrorists who want to get in this country--and I would say it is not a stretch to think they are coming here to do us harm--maybe they are saying: It is the easiest way. You can claim asylum. You can grab a child and say you are bringing your child to America for a better life.

But the numbers are not my numbers. They are not Republican numbers. They are not Senate numbers. These are the numbers that come from the Department of Homeland Security. This is what they have logged.

Now, the other thing that we have to look at is that in fiscal year 2022, DHS reported that 2.4 million individuals tried to force their way across the southern border. And, indeed, we have to say that. And, in that, we also have an additional 600,000 ``got-aways.'' Those are the ones who can be seen on surveillance but they can't get to.

Those are pretty hefty numbers, and those are the 2022 numbers. In 2023, the numbers are even above that. It is impossible to control an influx of this magnitude, which means it is also impossible for us to control the collective threat that this poses to our country. Because, in those ``got-aways,'' how many are terrorists? How many are gang members? How many are drug traffickers? How many are sex traffickers? How many of those ``got-aways'' are coming to inflict harm on our cities, our towns, our communities, and our citizens?

Now, what has concerned me and what concerns so many Tennesseans--and I hear it regularly--last night, I did a cell phone townhall, which I enjoy doing and hearing firsthand from Tennesseans, spending an hour taking questions, answering their questions. And what really bothers so many of them is our President and his administration's unwillingness to acknowledge the very existence of the threats that that open border brings to us. It jeopardizes our safety and our security and, I would say, even the security of our allies.

We have got a lot of adversaries in this world. We all know that. When you look at Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, we know we have got adversaries. You look at what is happening with Hamas in Israel, in those horrific attacks there. And we can say our adversaries may be sadistic, but they are not stupid. They know the border is open.

They know that we are practicing--this administration is practicing-- a foreign policy of appeasement. And maybe that is the reason that even this month what you saw was 2,000 Chinese, 100 Russians, 35 Pakistanis, and 30 Iranians coming to our southern border; coming in the country illegally; coming, saying they are claiming asylum.

Does this make us safer? No, it doesn't, when you do not know who is coming into this country and their intent.

Now, Hamas has noted the confusion in our foreign policy and the lack of clarity. They saw it when President Biden withdrew troops from the

CENTCOM area. They saw it. So what we did when we withdrew those troops was, effectively, to leave Israel surrounded by their worst enemies.

They have also noted Biden's record of appeasing hostile regimes. When Biden chose not to enforce--and this is important to note--this administration, this National Security Director, this President chose not to enforce oil sanctions against Iran. They did this knowing this would end up benefiting Hamas, Hezbollah, and the terrorist groups that are the proxies for Iran.

The President also knew that $6 billion in a ransom payment would free up even more money for terrorist groups, more money for Hamas, more money for Hezbollah. That is the hallmark of this administration: looking the other way, appeasing Iran, and doing it at cost to the American people. Since 2021, President Biden has funneled $730 million to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

Now, this agency, which has been around for decades, what they have become is a ferociously anti-Semitic organization that has a long history of employing people that--guess what--they are associated with Hamas. And Hamas has a history of stealing money from this agency and using the agency's facilities to store weapons.

Now, does that sound like humanitarian aid? Does that sound like money going to the purpose for which it was given? Of course not. And that is why, in 2018, President Trump halted the funding to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees.

Well, President Biden comes in and guess what he does. He turned that spigot back on, running wide open, even though he knew it was pretty much as good as writing a check to Hamas, a terrorist organization. And, by the way, we declared and recognized Hamas as a terrorist organization. We as a country did this in 1997.

So, you know, there are things we can do. And I have introduced legislation to halt funding to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees until Iran is expelled from the U.N. and until we investigate their crimes--what they are doing with this money, how it leads to death and destruction--because they are giving it to these terrorist organizations.

Iran gives Hamas about $100 million a year--$100 million. They also provide them with the weapons and armor and ammo and with supplies and training. We also know that Hamas has grabbed aid this week for State kits, medical supplies, food. It is not going to the people, the Palestinians; it is going to Hamas for their efforts.

Now, in the first 2 weeks of fiscal year 2024, Border Patrol captured 30 Iranians, as I said a few minutes ago. Now, they were trying to come across the southern border; two of them, Terrorist Watchlist. Now, this is this month. This is in the last couple of weeks. And we have gotten reports of at least two more Iranians on that Terrorist Watchlist that have tried to come in.

So since last Monday alone--Monday a week ago--we have had 19 Iranians and 17 Syrians that tried to sneak into this country over the southern border.

So I would just ask my colleagues, my Democratic colleagues: Why do you think the terrorists--why do you think these people feel so emboldened? Whether it is the Iranians, the Pakistanis, the Russians, the Chinese, why are they flooding to our border to gain illegal entry into our country to evade our immigration laws, to fly under the cloak of darkness and get in here on U.S. soil? Why are they emboldened? Does this not worry you? Does this not cause you to say it is an imperative that we secure this border?

You know, right now, as we have looked at what is happening around the globe and, specifically, as we look at what has happened in Israel, you have got 1,400 Israelis who are dead; you have got 31 Americans who are dead; you have got individuals from dozens of other countries around the globe who are dead, who are injured, who have been taken hostage and have faced a horrific circumstance. We cannot let this pattern of neglect continue in our country. We cannot continue to make our Nation and our citizens vulnerable. We cannot let attacks happen on our soil. It is time that we close that southern border.

I yield the floor.

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

Madam President, well, we all know what has happened since October 7. Hamas has launched more than 6,000 rockets into Israel. They have sent more than 1,000 terrorists across the border to murder civilians. This is the most devastating slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. They have killed more than 1,400 Israelis; 291 of them have been soldiers. They have taken 199 hostages, including an unknown number of Americans. This was also one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in our history. They killed 30 U.S. citizens, and 13 are still missing or are unaccounted for.

Israel is the victim. Even the Biden White House has acknowledged that. This hasn't stopped several of my Democratic colleagues from calling for a cease-fire. All of this, also, has not stopped Black Lives Matter and other pro-Palestinian groups from glorifying the mass slaughter of Jews.

Students for Justice, in Palestine, called it a ``historic win.''

Jews in New York, Atlanta, Washington, DC, London, Berlin, and so many other cities around the globe are once again living in fear.

Just this weekend, protesters in Nashville, TN, refused to condemn the horrific violence against the Israelis. Instead, they insisted that these innocent people had it coming because their government's politics don't line up with the radical left's talking points.

This is, indeed, insanity. If we allow these positions to define our foreign policy, we put the lives of Israelis and Americans and our allies in danger.

The United States designated Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization in

1997. Their stated goal is to destroy the State of Israel through jihad. Over the years, we have seen them commit acts of violence so depraved that allies to the so-called Palestinian cause deny them entirely rather than attempt to rationalize them. We know, right now, that 600,000 Gazans have been evacuated but that they have trapped more than enough women and children to use as human shields. Absolutely despicable.

We also know that they use international aid money not for humanitarian aid but to fund their efforts, their war efforts--their jihad. Iran is the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism and sends $100 million annually to Hamas. That is in addition to supplying them with technology, logistical support, and weapons.

When the Biden administration announced their plan to give the Iranians access to $6 billion in frozen assets, we knew exactly what that meant for Israel. The constant refrain from the Biden administration is that there is ``no direct link to Iran regarding this attack.'' It is time for whomever wrote that talking point to turn on the news, to look at the pictures that are on the screen, to listen to what you are hearing from the Ayatollah and some of the Iranian officials who are, by the way, meeting with Hamas leadership in Qatar.

In the first hours of the attack, the Biden administration projected nothing but weakness. They deleted multiple tweets calling for a cease- fire. It took the President almost 12 hours to make a statement. This sent a very clear message to our enemies. It also sends a message to our allies.

We can start by giving Israel what they need to eradicate these terrorists. Last week, I sent a letter urging President Biden to support Israel in all possible ways. Under President Trump, we cut aid to the Palestinians because the Palestinian Authority used that money to reward terrorism. In 2021, President Biden reversed that policy, and since then, he has sent more than $730 million to the Palestinians, even though he knows there is a high risk. We know money is fungible, and we know what Iran does with their money--they fund terrorism; they fund their proxies.

And, while we are at it, let's start treating Iran like the dangerous state sponsor of terror it is. Last week, I led 19 Senate Republicans, in a letter, calling on President Biden to permanently freeze Iran's access to that $6 billion. We should send those dollars to Israel to pay for the damage that Hamas has done. There should be no more backdoor deals with Qatar, no more silent agreements, no more quiet agreements. Let's have a formal agreement that will stop the backpedaling and will stop the intentions to release that money, which is what they will do when the media attention on this issue dissipates.

None of this will matter if we don't root out the incompetence and malicious influence in our own government. Last week, I sent a letter to President Biden demanding the immediate removal of Jake Sullivan as his National Security Advisor. He was wrong about Afghanistan, the Middle East, and that nuclear deal with Iran in 2015. He has got to go, as do the Iranian assets that President Biden has given top secret security clearances to.

Last month, I stood right here and described how President Biden sent Robert Malley, Ariane Tabatabai, and other operatives to negotiate the failed Iran nuclear deal. Now, Mr. Malley and Ms. Tabatabai have been involved with the Iran Experts Initiative, and then the President gave them top secret security clearances and sent them to negotiate on the Iran deal. This has to stop.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that these letters be printed in the Record.

Madam President, we all have a choice here: Will the United States act with courage or are we going to sit quiet and allow this barbarism to continue?

Israeli forces report that Hamas bound boys and girls before shooting them in the head--children who were bound and then shot in the head. They found families who had been burned alive. There are reports that young women had been raped and then mutilated. Hamas turned a music festival into a killing field. The beheadings of babies--we have heard those reports. These will live in infamy.

The historians have a phrase to describe massacres like this. It is ``Holocaust by bullets.'' It is inconceivable that any of my colleagues could tolerate the demands that Israel surrender to terrorists.

It is time for this President, his advisers, and all of our colleagues--all of our colleagues--who told the Israelis to stand down to take a good, hard look at where complacency and appeasement gets us. Look at Gaza. Look at Iran. Look at Afghanistan. Look at China. Look at our own southern border. Since October 1, Border Patrol has apprehended 30 Iranians. That is since the 1st of this month, this year. This is who the Border Patrol has apprehended: 30 Iranians, 60 Syrians, 35 Pakistanis, more than 100 Russians, 285 Afghans, and 2,000 Chinese-- trying to cross our southern border undetected.

Now, do they all mean us harm? Probably not, but we cannot know that for sure because this administration refuses to acknowledge the possibility that terrorists are coming across this southern border--246 apprehended since Joe Biden became President. What are we doing? What are we doing? How do we know the intentions of those 30 Iranians? 2,000 Chinese? 100 Russians? Is there a guarantee they are not here to kill us?

The job of Hamas: kill people. You have watched them do it with glee. Terrorists, what do they do? They set up terror cells. They wait to strike to kill you--to kill you.

I have got to tell you: This administration needs to grow a spine. They need to grow a spine, and they need to be solid and resolute that they are going to protect this country and our citizens and our allies. And our enemies are going to know that they are an enemy, because we will treat them like that. We have got a choice: We can show courage; we can surrender; we can practice appeasement. But that is the choice.

This country needs to show courage and leadership. I hope that this body and this administration will choose courage and leadership.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, Tennessee is home to the world's most talented singers, songwriters, musicians, and composers. The music that these gifted artists create connects with us on such a personal level that sometimes it is easy to forget about the dedicated industry professionals working behind the scenes to make sure we hear it.

Doug Howard has been at the center of Nashville's music industry since the 1970s, first as a student, and then in the worlds of publishing and recording before heading back to academia. Last year, he retired from his role as the dean of Belmont University's Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music, and earlier this month, he received the Mulloy Award of Excellence for his important impact on the entertainment industry and his notable service to the Belmont University music community.

Over the years, Doug has not only nurtured this community's creative spirit but empowered them to take ownership of their craft. The fusion of artistry and business acumen that he helped foster at Belmont and in the careers of up-and-coming music professionals has, slowly but surely, changed the way artists and fans alike think about the presence of music in their lives.

On behalf of all Tennesseans, I want to thank my friend Doug Howard for his dedication to Nashville's music community and congratulate him on receiving this latest, tremendous honor.

Mr. President, today it is my honor to congratulate the women of the General James Robertson Chapter of National Society Daughters of the American Revolution on their organization's 100th anniversary.

The General James Robertson Chapter was founded on October 16, 1923, by Maria Kirkman ``Queenie'' Woods Washington, a Nashville social icon who could trace her family's roots back to President George Washington. Queenie served as the chapter's first regent and immediately set high standards for her fellow members. Their early emphasis on historic preservation, education, and patriotism laid the foundation for what has become one of the Volunteer State's most active service organizations.

I am honored to count myself among the approximately 100 women of the General James Robertson Chapter who today honor that singular commitment to service. And it is my hope that the love of country that drives our membership will inspire future generations of Tennessee women to put their talents to bear on behalf of students, Active-Duty servicemembers, and their neighbors in the greater Nashville community.

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

Mr. President, last week, I came to the floor and brought forward the proof that the Biden administration allowed an Iranian influence operation to infiltrate our government, and they compromised one of the most sensitive weapons negotiations in our Nation's history. It was only after the media and Senate Republicans exposed this ongoing threat to our national security that the Biden administration agreed to investigate it.

So, as I said, last week, I sent a letter to the Pentagon, demanding to know why Biden administration officials granted these operatives top-secret security clearances and sent them to negotiate with the very adversaries that they once worked for.

But, today, I want to remind my colleagues of another influence operation that we have known of for a long time which requires no security clearance and no special access to government documents.

For years, TikTok has been under scrutiny for its ties to the Chinese Communist Party. We know that this company openly violates basic privacy

standards, puts user data in the hands of the CCP, and subjects U.S. users to Chinese influence operations. Almost 100 million Americans have this app on their phones.

And the Biden administration? They have very little to say about this. In fact, the President himself has embraced it as a tool to rehabilitate his failed policies with young voters. He has invited TikTok influencers to the White House.

Still, my colleagues and I have made it impossible for the Biden administration to totally ignore the threat. TikTok has been in negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. It is known as CFIUS. They are in negotiations on a potential framework called Project Texas that will supposedly keep Americans' data secure and make it impossible for Beijing to manipulate the flow of information in the app.

A core component of these discussions involves measures to separate TikTok from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. But, of course, we are already seeing the CCP find creative ways to get around that firewall.

As you know, they have a habit of doing this with their propaganda schemes, whether it is Confucius classrooms, Confucius Institutes, Sister Cities programs, or a social media app, TikTok.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that this year, TikTok has transferred many high-level executives from ByteDance to TikTok in the United States. These executives are leading major divisions at TikTok, which provides the CCP with a significant degree of influence over the way they do business.

The personnel changes undermine TikTok's independence from ByteDance, and there is no chance that this happened by accident.

It is clear what TikTok is doing. They are repurposing ByteDance employees to masquerade as TikTok employees, undercutting the guardrails against Chinese espionage.

We know that with the Confucius Institute, many of these professors who came our way were indeed connected and sent there by the Chinese Communist Party.

Over the past 3 years, it has become clear that we cannot rely on the Biden administration to follow through on its promises to protect and defend this country and the citizens of this country. They fall behind repeatedly, especially when it is politically inconvenient to do so.

So, today, Senator Blumenthal and I sent a letter to the CEO of TikTok demanding to know how many of his employees are former ByteDance employees? What are their jobs? What are the security protocols and other rules that are going to be imposed on these transfers? These are questions that we need the answers to.

We also want to know if these personnel changes were disclosed to CFIUS before the Wall Street Journal published its article.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have the letter printed in the Record.

Mr. President, we know that popular opinion would have each and every one of us believe that the threat posed by TikTok just isn't that serious. And we know from experience that the White House dislikes challenging popular opinion. After all, we hear: This is just an app the kids like to use. This is just a silly app with videos. This is an app that is putting up challenges. There is nothing wrong here.

But what we do know is that TikTok gathers all of this information. They have insight into the virtual ``you.'' Once they are on your phone, they are following where you go, what you do, gathering keystrokes, and building that profile. We know this information leaves the United States, and we know this information makes its way to Beijing.

Why do they think they need this information on U.S. citizens? Why do they think they need to follow U.S. citizens? All of this is a reason that CFIUS is reviewing TikTok.

This country can no longer afford to take the word of our adversaries at face value. Self-propaganda--that is what the Chinese Communist Party is all about. They see that as a way to infiltrate our society, to infiltrate public opinion, to infiltrate and to influence elections.

This is not the first letter Senator Blumenthal and I have sent to TikTok demanding transparency, and I would imagine this is not going to be the last.

I know it is very difficult to accept that a silly video app that is liked by 100 million Americans could possibly pose a threat to our national security, but we believe that it does.

I would remind my colleagues--indeed, anyone who has not deleted this spy app from their phones--to, please, recognize the threat that is there and do not provide your information to one of our greatest adversaries.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I join my colleagues on the floor this morning to pay tribute to Senator Feinstein and to remember her warmth, her generosity, her kindness, and the way she really loved to elevate women. It didn't matter what your party was; it didn't matter where you came from; when you achieved, she loved to recognize that.

As I came to the Senate from the House and in being the first female from Tennessee to serve in the U.S. Senate, she talked about the likeness of that experience for her as breaking barriers and being the first female mayor of San Francisco and being the first woman from California to hold a seat in the U.S. Senate. So I always appreciated that she pushed forward with elevating women and encouraging women.

Of course, as we all know, she loved to gather the women of the Senate together for dinner or for a photo to make certain that we recorded our gains here in the Senate and that we had a place to share our stories of what we were experiencing, because we all know there were times that she had incurred different unkind words from people who thought that she should not be in that position. So we appreciated that of her.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to work with her on the Senate Judiciary

Committee. She and I spent quite a bit of time working on issues that pertained to our Nation's creative community. This was a community that she truly celebrated. She loved the fact that people could create a song out of a thought or a few words that they heard.

We worked together to protect those rights, the entertainers, and to make certain that, as we worked on the HITS Act, as we worked on intellectual property issues, that our innovators and our creators were going to have that constitutional right protected to benefit from those creations.

We all know--and I know many of my colleagues have mentioned today-- of her fondness for the Senate and for the institution. We will remember that as we wish her family well and wish them protection during this time of loss and sadness.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Madam President, on June 27, 2014, an email was sent to an individual who works with Iran's Foreign Ministry. The sender of that email was seeking advice on whether she should attend a workshop on Iran's nuclear program hosted by Ben-Gurion University in Israel.

The sender wrote:

I am not interested in going, but then I thought maybe it

would be better that I go and talk, rather than an Israeli

like Emily Landau who goes and disseminates disinformation. I

would like to ask your opinion, too, and see if you think I

should accept the invitation and go.

In a normal world, we would chalk this up to an academic seeking politically charged advice from a mentor. But I became concerned when I learned that this individual who wrote that email, who was actively seeking guidance from individuals within the Iranian Foreign Ministry, now has a U.S. Government Top Secret clearance and works within our Defense Department as the Chief of Staff for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict.

Just to be sure we are following this, this is a U.S. citizen who wrote to someone inside Iran's Foreign Ministry to seek advice on going to a conference in Israel and speaking at that so that they would speak instead of someone who was pro-Israel. They were asking their advice.

Well, this individual is Miss Ariane Tabatabai, and that email was not the last one that she sent to her friend who was there in Iran's Foreign Ministry. She also wrote him a few weeks later, on July 10, 2014, to let him know that she was offering testimony to Congress on the Iran nuclear deal and needed some advice on how to handle it.

To be sure that we are continuing to follow this, she is going to be speaking to Congress, and she is asking the advice of someone inside Iran's Foreign Ministry on how she should handle her testimony before the U.S. Congress.

Now, some of my colleagues may have seen the Semafor article detailing these communications and the extent of Iranian influence operations against the United States. It contained details about the Iran Experts Initiative, referred to often as the IEI, which was a brainchild of the Rouhani administration.

It tasked a handful of second-generation Iranians with planting pro- nuclear Iran ideology in Western think tanks and writing propaganda demanding compromise with Tehran.

So the IEI is a part of Iran's soft propaganda. It is very intentional. We know that they were using this to push pro-Iran stories. It wasn't a casual operation. The Iranian Foreign Minister and his nuclear negotiating team were involved in creating this group-- creating this group--there to support pushing the nuclear complex, the nuclear buildup in Iran.

Well, Miss Tabatabai was a part of the core group of the IEI, as it was referred to--that tight-knit core group. Remember, this is the Iran Experts Initiative. And from what we can gather, by all accounts, she was very good at her job. We know this because we have now seen emails between the Iranian officials in charge of this propaganda mill boasting about the success of their propaganda mill.

And just a few years after Tabatabai made a name for herself, pushing propaganda for Iran, the Biden administration invited her to take a seat at the table as part of Robert Malley's Iran nuclear negotiating team.

You remember Robert Malley. He was the lead negotiator on the 2015 JCPOA--or, as we commonly call it, the Iran nuclear deal. And then, in 2021, Biden named him the U.S. Special Envoy for Iran. It was his job to bring the United States and Iran into compliance with the failed nuclear deal.

Now, this is a tweet from June of that year sent by a high-ranking Russian diplomat whose job it was to help reimplement this deal. It shows the U.S. delegation at the negotiating table, hammering out the details with the Iranians.

And that is Ms. Tabatabai on the end in the pink blazer. She was not a background player. She was someone who had a seat at the negotiating table.

For almost 3 years now, I have come to the floor to implore President Biden and his advisers to just pay attention to the blatant information warfare against our country that is being carried out every single day by the new ``axis of evil''--Russia, China, Iran, North Korea.

Now, we have seen this take many forms. We see it with the remaining Confucius Institutes that are still in our country. We see it on TikTok. But for the most part, Biden has chosen to ignore the risk these influence operations pose to our country.

Now, we know his administration found a willing participant in an Iranian-influenced operation. He hired her. He gave her a U.S. Government top-secret security clearance and sent her to negotiate with the very officials that once she worked for.

Remember, she was a part of the Iran Experts Initiative. This is beyond poor judgment. This is dangerous. It is also rather unthinkable.

I would also remind my colleagues that earlier this year, her former boss and colleague, Robert Malley, was placed on leave after the State Department suspended his security clearance. They had reason to believe he was mishandling classified material.

Yesterday, we learned that the Pentagon is going to review Tabatabai's links to Tehran. But that is not sufficient. I want to know how it could be possible that the Biden administration found nothing of concern when they vetted her.

That is why I have sent this letter over to the Pentagon demanding answers to these questions. The American people deserve to know. How in the world someone who had worked for the Iranian Experts Initiative had been a part of what was called the core group--how could they possibly get a security clearance?

But, you know, considering the links to which this administration has gone to appease Iran, I imagine their response will be just as satisfying as the other that some of my colleagues and I have received in our attempts to exercise oversight over some of these foreign policy and national security issues. The American people deserve answers.

I ask unanimous consent that my letter to the Secretary of Defense regarding the foreign contacts of Ariane Tabatabai be printed in the Record.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, in March of 2021, I came to the floor and spoke about Xavier Becerra's abysmal record before voting to confirm him as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Here is what I pointed out to my colleagues: He had no meaningful experience in public health, no meaningful experience in running a large-scale logistical operation, and a career's worth of hostility toward basic constitutional rights. My colleagues across the aisle didn't listen on this, and now his record as Secretary is worse than anyone could have imagined or predicted.

My colleagues who helped confirm him entrusted him with the lives of some of the world's most vulnerable children. Unaccompanied minors who are apprehended by Border Patrol are transferred to the care of Health and Human Services. This is clearly a big job considering that the Biden border crisis has led to over 300,000 encounters with unaccompanied children at our Nation's southern border. I am sure that these precious children thought they would finally be safe under the care of Health and Human Services and the sponsors they were ultimately going to be released to.

But Secretary Becerra proved what we already knew; that he was not up to the challenge of such a large Department with such expansive authority and that he had no experience that was relative.

Without explanation, HHS loosened the vetting requirements for sponsors, eliminating certain background checks and reviews of the children's files. Since then, HHS has lost contact with more than 85,000 of these children.

Back in February, the New York Times released a horrific expose showing how these children have since been trafficked and exploited for labor--and these are only the stories of the children that the reporters could find.

Think about the enormity of the situation: 85,000 children. They cannot locate them. They do not know who is in charge of them. They do not know if they are dead or alive. They do not know if they are working in a processing plant or a manufacturing plant, or if they are being trafficked for sex, or if they are in a labor gang, because they cannot find these children.

And they decided to loosen the vetting requirements: Vetting takes too long. We need to speed up the process.

That is the mess that we find coming from Health and Human Services and its Secretary, Chief Officer Becerra.

If you have any doubt that Mr. Becerra has direct knowledge of this crisis, look no further than his own words. That same New York Times report referenced an audio recording taken during a staff meeting with the Office of Refugee Resettlement. That is a department within Health and Human Services.

When Becerra was admonishing his staff about their lack of speed in vetting sponsors and discharging these children into their care, he said:

If Henry Ford had seen this in his plants, he would have

never become famous and rich. This is not the way you do an

assembly line.

If that doesn't convince you, listen to the whistleblowers who begged

Mr. President, today I honor the life of a truly extraordinary Tennessean.

If you ask the people of Athens, TN, to describe the life and legacy of Burkett Witt, most of them will immediately point to his more than three decades of public service to the town where he was born and raised. But I like to go back even further to the true beginning of his public service. Beginning in 1949, he began connecting to his community through food at the helm of Bo and Pete's Southern Soda Shop at Tennessee Wesleyan College. Those who knew him--and in some cases, worked for him--remember his strong work ethic and credit his mentorship as inspiration for their own personal and professional growth. The value of that influence, of course, did not go unnoticed. In 1971, Witt became the town's first African-American elected as a member of the city council. It is worth noting that at the same time Witt made history, the people of Athens did, too, and ousted three incumbents from the council. It was time for change.

In 1983, Witt made history again when he became the first African- American mayor of Athens--and indeed, one of the first African-American mayors in Tennessee. After 4 years in the top post, Witt stepped back into his role on the council, where he served with dignity for 33 years. When Tennessee Wesleyan granted Witt an honorary doctorate of public service in the spring of 2014, Witt's longtime friend Paul Watkins described him as ``a one of a kind in our world,'' and I could not agree more.

On behalf of all Tennesseans, I want to recognize Burkett Witt's stunning contributions to the Volunteer State and offer my prayers and continued support to the generations of young Tennesseans who will benefit from the lessons his legacy will teach them.