Floor Statements

Mr. President, on May 4, 2019, 15-year-old Mason Bogard died after trying to mimic a choking challenge he saw on social media.

Three days earlier, his parents had found him unconscious in his room with a belt around his neck. There was nothing his doctors could do over that 3-day period to save his life. I am telling Mason's story today, with the permission of his mother, because it is so different from other stories.

I have shared a lot of these stories about the dangerous influence that online platforms have on our Nation's children. There is no evidence to suggest Mason was trying to hurt himself. This death was an accident.

We know this because after Mason died, his parents found a self- recorded video on his phone that had happened days prior to the accident. It shows him attempting the same viral challenge that killed him.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to speak with Mason's mom Joann about what she is doing to warn other parents about what is happening on these platforms.

Even before she lost her son, Joann knew about the dangers that social media could bring into her home. And she did everything in her power to protect her children from it. She used watchdog apps, physically checked their devices, and had candid conversations with the whole family about how dangerous content can be when it is popping up in your news feed.

At this point, I want to share what Joann told me about her efforts to make online platforms keep their promises about moderating and removing dangerous content like choking challenges.

And I am quoting Joann:

Shortly after Mason's death, I began searching for Choking

Challenge videos on all of the platforms. I searched for them

weekly and I have reported hundreds. But the typical reply

that I receive, if I receive a reply at all is--

And she quotes the social media platforms--

``We found that the reported content doesn't violate our

Community Guidelines. We understand that you may not want to

see this type content, and you have the option to block the

account that posted it.''

She went on to tell me that there was no process for an appeal, no way to push for answers from these so-called moderators. The videos stayed online. I would remind my colleagues that the response she is describing was generated after she reported videos of children strangling themselves in order to get clicks.

This is one woman's story about one precious child--her child--who died because an online platform, a social media platform failed him. But thousands of parents can tell you similar stories about how their children got caught up in viral trends or emotionally spiraled after encountering content that preyed upon their insecurities.

And while we know that social media isn't the only cause for this decline in mental health, we do know that things have gotten much worse since kids started spending so much time online.

According to the Pew Research Center, close to 60 percent of our Nation's youth have experienced some form of abuse online. It is safe to assume that at least that many have been exposed to content glorifying bullying, mental illness, and self-harm.

Between 2010 and 2019 teen depression rates doubled, with the largest increase among girls. The CDC recently produced data showing that adolescents are now the most likely age group to visit the emergency room for suicidal thoughts, with nearly one in three teen girls seriously considering attempting suicide.

Before the rise of social media, suicide by the young had stabilized and declined for decades. Now, it is the third leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 15 and 24.

The Consumer Protection Subcommittee, where I serve, has produced five hearings' worth of evidence showing that harmful content is readily available to minors, that online platforms are aware of this, and that they have made the conscious decision to ignore it. Think about that.

They have proved time and again that they will not follow through on their commitment to moderate harmful content unless they are forced to do so. So I think it is time that we force them to take action.

It is going to be a long road, and I am going to be blunt. When it comes to putting guardrails on Silicon Valley, there are a million different ways to get it wrong. But, over the years, Congress has learned some valuable lessons, and now we know how to fix the

problem, instead of just putting an expensive bandaid on that problem.

First, I am all for encouraging innovation, but let's be clear: The motto ``move fast and break things'' has a cost, and we don't want that cost to be imposed on our children.

We know that Big Tech will never hold themselves accountable to any acceptable safety standard. The creation of safety by design and the resulting accountability should be our goal.

Second, we want to make sure that these safety standards don't allow these companies to take their hands off the wheel once certain requirements are met. Verifying a user's age or obtaining parental consent for minors to use the platforms--that is important, but it will not stop children from getting bombarded with dangerous content once they are online.

And, finally, legislation must not simply shift the burden of controlling the spread of this dangerous content onto the parents. This is precisely what Big Tech companies have been doing for years, and it is not working. Parents want to be involved, but they cannot protect their children if the platforms keep moving the goalposts to protect their business models.

Unfortunately, when our children are on these platforms, our children are the product. These platforms data mine our children, and then they market that data.

We have seen proposal after proposal fail, but after years of talking to parents and tech companies and policy experts, we finally have the opportunity to support a bill that does get it right.

Last week, Senator Blumenthal and I reintroduced the Kids Online Safety Act. As of today, this bill has 33 bipartisan cosponsors and the endorsement of hundreds of bipartisan organizations because it does exactly what moms like Joann Bogard and other advocates have been asking Congress to do.

First, it would force platforms to give families the ability to protect minors' information, disable addictive product features, and opt out of algorithmic recommendations.

Next, it would give parents the safeguards needed to protect their kids online, as well as a dedicated portal to report harmful behavior.

Predatory content and content that promotes self-harm, suicide, and eating disorders--all of this that causes problems for our kids would become a problem that the platforms have to deal with--no more denial, no more deflection.

We also included requirements for annual risk assessments and access to datasets we can use to assess safety threats to underage users.

This is a very straightforward bill. It won't hinder innovation. It won't allow platforms to take their hands off the wheel, and it won't put the burden on parents to try to figure out how in the world to control the access their children have to this harmful content.

Our children are exposed to things in the virtual space that we would never allow them to be exposed to in the physical space. Over the past few years we have heard pundit after armchair pundit insist that it is time to treat our kids like grownups. But our children are not adults, and it is our responsibility to protect them so that, one day, they will have the opportunity to be grownups. Our children are being exposed to things that no reasonable parent would ever allow their child to know about these things.

If there is one thing we have learned during our hearings with the Consumer Protection Subcommittee, it is that simply encouraging more supervision is not enough. A high-tech permission slip just isn't going to cut it. If we want to keep kids safe online, we have to demand real accountability from these Big Tech social media platforms.

Last Congress, the Kids Online Safety Act passed out of the Commerce Committee 28 to 0. That is right--unanimous support. I would ask my colleagues on each side of the aisle to join me and Senator Blumenthal in calling for a vote so that we can finally push this bill across the finish line and provide parents the toolbox they need to protect their children from the harm in the virtual media.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Madam President, last month, I continued my annual 95-county tour with a swing through East Tennessee. Over the past few years, this area has experienced both economic growth and a population boom. So the people who live there have seen firsthand what can happen when Tennesseans are allowed to build and nurture a community free from the heavy hand of government.

But they also know how fragile that stability can be, and they are just baffled by Joe Biden's determination to ruin what they and millions of other Americans have worked so incredibly hard to build. In just over 2 years, Joe Biden and the Democrats have sabotaged our national defense, our border security, and public safety in the name of dangerous woke agenda items that prioritize mandates and intellectual conformity over the safety and security of the American people.

Tennesseans are worried about the rise of the new ``axis of evil.'' Joe Biden is allowing Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea to cross one line after another, and that is not going over very well. Neither is the Biden administration's neglect of a security risk that hits much closer to home.

So far this year, Border Patrol and other law enforcement officials have reported almost half a million encounters with migrants trying to illegally cross our border. Over the course of this fiscal year--now, the numbers I am going to give you are for this fiscal year. They have recorded 332 encounters with people who are on the Terrorist Watchlist. That is right. Three hundred thirty-two have been apprehended at the border. These are people who are terrorists. They are on the watchlist, which means, if you catch them, they cannot come into this country.

They have apprehended 330 dangerous gang members--that is MS-13 and that is other of these gangs--who are trying to get into the country, and they have seized almost 19,000 pounds of drugs.

Now, this is what we know, and we can only estimate how many other terrorists or gang members or criminals escaped into the country and how much deadly contraband did they bring with them because they are all in the category of ``got-aways.'' They are the people that you see on surveillance, but you cannot get to them. They are ``got-aways'' or they are people who, after the fact--you don't see them, but after the fact, you find things that they have left along their path as they have escaped into this country. So think about those numbers and who might be coming in.

Now, when you look at it, this is a total neglect of our most basic line of defense, and it might be easier to comprehend were it not for this administration's betrayal of local law enforcement. The President has denied that he supports the anti-police movement, but I would remind the President and my Democratic colleagues that acting on anti- police sentiment behind the scenes is still anti-police.

Making the job of law enforcement harder to do every day is anti- police; using the bureaucracy to undermine access to grant funding and lifesaving resources--that is anti-police; and deliberately leaving our border wide open to the drug mules, bringing fentanyl into our backyards--that is anti-police. Allowing the cartels and the human traffickers to run rampant, turning human trafficking from a $500- million-a-year business, which it was in 2018, to a $13-billion-a-year business--that is anti-police. The damage that this administration has done in just under 2\1/2\ years will take a lot longer than that to repair.

But simply answering one sweeping policy change with another won't magically reverse the ripple effects of this complete breakdown in orderly governance. Yes, we have to reverse policy, but we must also pay attention to the problems that have left local leaders, law enforcement officials, and families begging for help.

So let's kind of work through these issues, because they are of concern to Tennesseans. Tennesseans feel like this administration is seeking to normalize

lawlessness. They feel they are seeking to normalize lawlessness-- because of that open border, because of the sentiments and the actions that are anti-law enforcement. They are seeking to normalize lawlessness.

Now, at the border, the immediate solution, of course, is to eliminate incentives to illegal immigration, to fund the border patrol, and invest heavily in both a physical barrier and enhance technology.

Now, these are two things that the Border Patrol has been asking for about three decades. Give us a barrier of some type; and where you can't have a barrier, give us better technology.

Now, we also need to address the plagues of drug smuggling and human trafficking. The Biden administration's refusal to stand up to the cartels has turned every town into a border town and every State into a border State. Between August of 2021 and August of 2022, the United States lost more than 107,000 people to drug overdose. Now, 66 percent of these deaths were due to fentanyl. So 107,000 people lost their lives to drugs. They are coming primarily over that southern border. Talk to any law enforcement officer, they will tell you the majority of the drugs they apprehend are coming across that southern border. The majority of those drugs is fentanyl.

Now, I want you to think about this. We all know about World War I, the lives that were lost--precious lives; World War II, the lives that were lost; the Vietnam War; the Gulf War. Here are some stats for you.

In World War I, you had 116,516 U.S. citizens who lost their lives. In World War II, it was 420,200; in Vietnam, 58,220; the Gulf War, 383. So think about that and what we did to protect those lives. And think about what is happening with these drugs coming over that border and this administration not willing to close that border. And in 1 year--1 year--1--107,000 lives. Think about that. Why will this administration not step up, man up, and work to secure that border?

Maintaining the title 42 order will help us keep what little control we have over the cross-border drug trade. Tens of thousands of migrants are waiting for May 11 to roll around so they can flood the border. And we are watching that footage right now. I would encourage any of my colleagues who are not watching this footage, you need to log on and look at how people are coming up. El Paso, I think they have had 15,000 people over the weekend that have come to that border. The numbers are staggering. We are not ready for this.

Last week, my Tennessee colleague Senator Hagerty and I reintroduced the Stop Fentanyl Border Crossing Act, which would preserve the continued use of title 42 authority to remove illegal border-crossers and interrupt drug smuggling operations along the border.

The SAVE Girls Act, which is a bipartisan bill I introduced with Senator Klobuchar last month, has a similar goal of thwarting human trafficking operations.

Here is another stat for you. These are not my numbers; these are the administration's numbers. The State Department estimates that between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States every year. Most of these people that are trafficked across that southern border--that is what we are talking about here, that is the universe-- and they are looking at between 14,500 and 17,500. Most of them are women. And it is upsetting to realize that 90 percent--90 percent--of these women and girls become the victims of sexual exploitation.

The SAVE Girls Act would authorize an additional $50 million in grant funding to prevent the trafficking of women and girls and protect children who have been smuggled across this border. Why are we doing this? Because it is our local law enforcement--they are the ones who are on the front lines in this. They are the ones who are conducting rescues and pulling these women and girls away from these traffickers, away from these pimps, that are rescuing them and getting them to safety.

We all know that no bill, no matter how effective, can stop these criminal enterprises entirely, just as no amount of policing or community support can eliminate local crime.

Still, our police departments are in trouble. Tennessee is no exception. In April of last year, the Knoxville Police Department was 10 percent understaffed.

As of last December, the Nashville Police Department was 193 officers short. Morale is a problem, but so is a lack of funding and resources.

So in March, Senator Ossoff and I introduced the bipartisan Filling Public Safety Vacancies Act, to provide a one-time emergency boost in funding to help departments hire officers and sheriff's deputies.

The bill conditions this funding on the implementation of new vetting procedures not currently required by Federal law. I have also introduced a series of bills that would protect schools from becoming key targets for criminals.

The SAFE Schools Act would establish a $900 million grant program to train and hire safety officers and to increase physical security at our schools.

The bipartisan Enhancing K-12 Cybersecurity Act would provide resources and information to schools that will help prevent cyber attacks and establish a better system for tracking cyber attacks nationally.

I want to emphasize again that many of these bills are bipartisan. We could pass them this week, and they would each make a difference right away in places like the State of Tennessee. There are things that our citizens want to see done.

There is no good reason to delay these bills. They would help to make our communities safer. It would be another tool in the toolbox for our local elected officials and citizens who want to see our schools and our community safer, who want our law enforcement agencies to be able to hire and train more police. They would be pro-law enforcement, pro- safety, pro-security principals.

This administration's refusal to govern and their neglect of our most basic institutions has left Tennesseans really unsettled. They worked so hard to build what they have, and they cannot believe that they are looking at an administration that would seek to tear it down. They are frightened of how quickly things have become so out of control.

They deserve better than an uncertain future controlled by a President who is asleep at the wheel and a Congress that refuses to put politics aside and work in the best interest of the American people.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, 108 years ago on April 24, 1915, Ottoman Turkey began the systematic killing and deportation of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople. Between 1915 and 1923, an estimated 1-and-a-half million Armenians fell victim to one of history's most ruthless and notorious genocides. Most who survived eventually emigrated to different parts of the world, forming a widespread diaspora. The American people have a proud history of recognizing and condemning the Armenian genocide and have provided relief and a new home to many of the Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians who survived this campaign of mass extermination. Today, Armenian Americans are a vital part of the cultural fabric of the United States.

As we commemorate this dark period, I would encourage my colleagues to remember that atrocities like the Armenian genocide are almost never spontaneous events. They typically follow a period of human rights violations, discrimination, and violence against specific groups who often share a racial, ethnic, religious, or social identity. Most recently, we have seen this in the Chinese Communist Party's inhumane treatment of ethnic minorities, including the persecution of Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Mongolians and dissenters in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and further abroad. Our foreign policy should recognize this, fight denialism of past and current crimes, and emphasize the preservation of human rights rather than relying on eleventh hour action that comes far too late for vulnerable populations.

On behalf of all Tennesseans, I offer this solemn recognition of the Armenian genocide and ask my colleagues to join me in pledging to fight the forces of evil still causing so much pain and suffering around the globe.

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

Mr. President, just before Easter, the Biden administration released a report that they claim vindicates their role in our disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, but rather than laying out the facts and embracing accountability, the Biden administration returned to its default setting of blaming Donald Trump for their problems. They claim that because Trump did not provide them with a plan for every contingency, the Biden White House should be allowed to wash its hands of the mess they have made.

Now, you would think that anyone who witnessed mothers throwing their children over barbed wire fences and into the arms of our soldiers would at least hesitate before making excuses for the terrible decision making that led to those images. Biden and his team are kidding themselves if they think we have forgotten what happened. But the American people are not fooled. They remember that it was Joe Biden who chose to close Bagram Airfield; that it was Joe Biden who set an arbitrary evacuation deadline even though his military generals begged him not to do this; and that it was Joe Biden who surrendered control of Karzai International Airport and handed over the names of American citizens, green card holders, and our Afghan partners--handed this information over to the Taliban.

We saw the catastrophe unfold at the airfields and in the cities, and we see what the Biden administration has done. They have ignored it ever since. Afghanistan fell back into the Dark Ages. Twenty-three million people are going hungry. Twenty million Afghan women are subjugated under the Taliban's medieval boot.

On the day the evacuation officially ended, there were at least 4,000 Americans left behind--that is right, left behind--in Afghanistan. Today, our best guess is that there are around 175 still stranded there. Some of them are being held captive by the Taliban. Seventy- eight thousand of our Afghan partners remain in hiding, many being hunted by the Taliban. Yes, that is the mess that this administration and Joe Biden made.

And on his way out the door, Biden also left behind at least $7.2 billion of American weaponry, including aircraft, vehicles, and guns, some of which have cropped up in the hands of militants in other countries. That is $7.2 billion of

equipment, part of the $80 billion investment there at Bagram Airfield.

And what did Joe Biden do? Here you go, Bagram--the investment in training, the investment in the troops, the investment in infrastructure, and all of that equipment.

Just imagine for a moment that you are one of our allies watching all of this unfold. It would cause you to be worried--and rightfully so.

Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan damaged America's image on the world stage and sent once-strong alliances into a tailspin. Some of our most important allies now believe that the United States is weak, that we are unreliable, and that we are undependable.

This is what has emboldened what I term the new axis of evil--China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. They think they have got running room because of the way the Afghan withdrawal was conducted.

Beijing wasted no time normalizing relations with the Taliban by offering multimillion-dollar investments through the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. The CCP knows what it is doing here. Afghanistan has $1 trillion in untapped resources that communist China has already signed a deal to extract. Since then, they have increased their aggression against Taiwan and elsewhere around the globe, and the Biden administration has had very little to say about it--an emboldened China going after the $1 trillion in lithium in Afghanistan--rare-earth minerals, Afghanistan. That is why the Chinese Communist Party has inked that deal.

Oh, what did they do with it? Let's make chips. Let's make batteries.

Oh, what are we making those batteries for? Electric vehicles.

How about that? How about that? This is what has emboldened the CCP.

Afghanistan was a disaster. It was based on the decision making of this administration. So the CCP is encouraging Russia, Iran, and North Korea to join them in that axis of evil and push to global dominance.

The CCP even let a spy balloon sashay all the way across this country. We know it pulled intelligence. We know it went across much of our critical infrastructure.

What did my colleagues across the aisle have to say? Not much. Not much. They don't want to challenge the CCP and communist China, and Russia and Iran and North Korea. It makes you wonder.

Meanwhile, North Korea has leaned into their ballistic missile program, and Iran has openly celebrated a dangerous milestone: They are now technically capable of building multiple nuclear weapons. That is right. They are pushing their nuclear development program.

Not to be outdone, just 6 months after Biden surrendered to the Taliban, Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine and launched the biggest land war in Europe since World War II. This is not a coincidence.

Biden knows he has no one to blame but himself and his officials for this. This is the mess they have made because of the decisions that they have made.

But there has been no accountability. There has been no justice for the 13 servicemembers murdered by terrorists during those final chaotic days in Kabul. I think it is clear that, if things keep going the way they are, there won't be accountability because this administration will not admit they made a mistake.

If there is any truth to be gleaned from the administration's report, it is that Joe Biden hasn't learned any lessons from what will certainly be remembered as one of the worst foreign policy disasters in our Nation's history.

The Biden administration will go down in history for failing our allies and our partners. They are questioning--they are questioning--if they should be our ally and partner.

The Biden administration will be remembered for destroying what was a robust economy, kowtowing to social justice warriors, and, of course, committing to outrageous policy proposals that insult the intelligence of the American people.

The Department of Homeland Security's recent budget request is no exception to the rule. This year, instead of asking for more money to equip law enforcement and secure our southern border, Joe Biden and Secretary Mayorkas decided to undercut that mission by $600 million. That is right. The border is wide open. We have a Secretary of Homeland Security who does not believe in securing the homeland. So what does the Secretary and the President do? They cut the budget for securing the border by $600 million. This is something that is so unfair to our Border Patrol.

We are only halfway through the fiscal year, and already Customs and Border Protection has recorded more than 1 million migrant encounters at the southern border. That is right--1 million that they have encountered. That is not counting the ``got-aways''--the ones they can see but can't get to, or the ones that later they find where they have been but they could not get to them, didn't know about them. This is 1 million encounters on that border.

They have also seized 105,000 pounds of drugs, including enough fentanyl to kill several cities--almost 11,000 pounds of fentanyl in 5 short months. And get this: They caught 268 gang members, more than 11,000 criminal noncitizens, and almost 300 terrorists trying to sneak into this country.

Those are not my numbers. Those are not some pundit's numbers. Those are the stats that are coming from the Department of Homeland Security and the Border Patrol. Those are their numbers. They are telling us this.

Do people agree with this? Do they think this is secure border policy?

Listen to these numbers again: 105,000 pounds of drugs, 11,000 pounds of fentanyl, 268 gang members, and 11,000 criminal noncitizens. Those are people who have been convicted of crimes. These are the people who are being turned out of the jails in countries. Last year, 176 different countries had people present at that southern border. This year, so far, you have got 11,000 criminal noncitizens and almost 300 terrorists trying to come into this country.

Ask yourself a question: What in heaven's name do you think they are coming here for? Why are they sneaking into the country? Do you think it is because they know they wouldn't be able to come in? Do you think they are coming for a job, or are they coming to do us harm?

We should be outraged--outraged--and concerned.

Alarms should be blaring at the Department of Homeland Security. Right now, the Biden administration is just rolling out the red carpet. They are issuing an open invitation. Indeed, they said: We have got an app to make it easy for you to come. Go on your iPhone. Sign in on the app. We will be waiting for you when you get here.

Does that sound like securing the country? Criminal noncitizens, terrorists, gang members--these are the people who are coming in, cartel smugglers who are taking this administration up on their invitation: Come on in.

Every year, in Tennessee, I visit with each one of our 95 counties. I am on the ground in every county in the State. And this year, without exception, there are mayors and sheriffs and other officials who I am speaking with, talking with principals, talking with citizens. And do you know what? Border security comes up in every single one of these meetings, and the reason it comes up is because of this administration's policies turning every town into a border town and every State into a border State. And now it is the local officials and local law enforcement officers who are left to deal with the broken policies of this administration.

If you ask them what the biggest problem is, they are going to tell you: Well, Marsha, it connects back to the border because the drugs we are apprehending are coming across the southern border, and 95 percent of those drugs, they are fentanyl, and that drives crime in our communities. There are gang members coming into these communities.

Now, here is a great example of this: Hamilton County, TN. That is Chattanooga, a great city. And their district attorney, Coty Wamp, and Sheriff Garrett there in Hamilton County were showing me some pictures from one of their drug busts. Well, these are rainbow fentanyl pills that were specifically manufactured to look like OxyContin--rainbow fentanyl.

Now, officers there in Chattanooga found more than 1,000 of these pills in a single search. That is enough to take

out the entire city of Chattanooga, TN. They weren't expecting to find fentanyl when they were executing that warrant, but that doesn't mean they were surprised. This is a persistent problem in Chattanooga.

Thank goodness, a great sheriff and a great DA working together-- great officers--they conducted this bust, and this is what they found. And we have great local law enforcement all across the State of Tennessee. And they will tell you that fentanyl overdose deaths are occurring at such a rate that law enforcement does not have all the resources they need to investigate all the cases.

Now, this is just one story from one law enforcement entity in one city; but the danger is, this is occurring in every city, in every county, in each of our States. And it is happening because President Biden and my Democratic colleagues have refused to support securing the border, and they refuse to hold themselves accountable for the humanitarian crisis that this has created.

When Secretary Becerra testified before the Finance Committee about the Department of Health and Human Services budget request, he betrayed the same disregard for basic human decency as Secretary Mayorkas had. He used the opportunity to push his woke agenda items rather than focusing on poor operations of the Agency. Frankly, it is sad that there is even a question about whether a Senate-confirmed secretary is familiar with his own job description, especially when he can't answer basic questions about what is happening at the Agency he, supposedly, controls.

At the end of February, the New York Times reported that over the course of Joe Biden's Presidency, his administration has lost--that is right, lost--more than 85,000 children who were under the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. You heard me right. This administration has lost 85,000 children who were under the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. To be clear, this is the office within the Department of Health and Human Services that is directly responsible for unaccompanied children who come across the border. And now we know that this Agency has lost immediate contact with one third of the children they are responsible for.

The Times also reported that the Office of Refugee Resettlement may have approved sponsors who were under investigation for labor abuses and that case management officers may have been aware of children in dangerous situations but chose to do nothing.

During his hearing, I asked Secretary Becerra about this, frankly, horrifying revelation, and he did exactly what his compatriots have done when confronted with their failures: He feigned ignorance. He claimed he had never heard of those 85,000 missing children.

Joe Biden and the Democrats might be happy to pretend that we don't have a problem down on the border, but the American people are not pretending that this is not a problem. They watched President Biden throw away border security policies that were working in favor of an open-borders agenda that benefits no one except the drug cartels; the sex trafficking rings that are abusing women and girls; the human traffickers that are smuggling people, preying on people, and physically, mentally, emotionally, drugging and sexually abusing them as they make their journey.

It is time to put politics aside and get serious about securing this border, and I encourage my colleagues: Please, join us in securing this border. Join us in saying let's enforce the laws we have on the books. Join us in saying let's eliminate the policies that incentivize breaking the law. Let's stand for the rule of law.

Earlier this year, I introduced the Stop Taxpayer Funding of Traffickers Act, which would prohibit anyone charged with drug or human trafficking from receiving Federal government benefits while they await trial. We could pass this bill today, and we should pass it because it would make a difference.

When I talked to local law enforcement, when I said, ``What would be a way to help?'' this is the idea they gave me. It is a problem that they have because many of these traffickers are getting government benefits, and we need to stop that today.

We should also return to the ``Remain in Mexico'' policy. We should end catch-and-release. And last but not least, let's get back to building that barrier. Border Patrol has told us for 30 years they need a physical barrier where they can have a barrier, and where they can't, they need better technology, they need more officers, more agents, more manpower and resources so that they can do their job, so they can protect this Nation's sovereignty, so they can protect our citizens.

That is it. These are the things that would be a solution to helping rid this country of this fentanyl crisis, to helping rid this country of the gangs, the terrorists that are flooding into our country, the criminals coming into this country. This is something that should have bipartisan agreement. We should do this.

Now, the Biden administration has touted its various White House staff and Cabinet nominees as being the most diverse in our Nation's history, but they all have one thing in common: Their priorities are at odds with what the American people are saying they want.

Secretary Mayorkas refuses to do his job and secure the border, even though local law enforcement officials are begging him for help. Secretary Becerra can't be bothered to offer so much as a talking point on behalf of 85,000 missing children. Attorney General Garland has weaponized the law against conservatives and created two tiers of justice: one for the liberal elites and one for everybody else.

Biden's nominee to lead the FAA withdrew in disgrace. His most recent nominee to the FCC has dedicated her career to violating the First Amendment. His Transportation Secretary is perpetually missing in action. And the Pentagon has yet to hold anyone accountable for one of the worst foreign policy disasters in American history. And, yes, that would be Afghanistan.

The mainstream media loves to complain that the American people have lost all faith in institutions, but I would ask that media to just stop, look at what Joe Biden's government has done to the country, and ask themselves: Are we safer and more secure than we were 4 years ago?

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I rise today to honor a fellow Tennessean, a great American, and an exceptional member of the U.S. Air Force.

Lt. Col. John D. ``Ike'' Fesler has distinguished himself through his professional character and dedication by serving this Nation in uniform. A leader and expert communicator, he has provided distinguished service to our country while assigned to the Air Force Senate Liaison Office. He is an outstanding leader and the perfect airman to represent the Air Force on Capitol Hill. Ike has honorably served in the Air National Guard and Navy for over 27 years in both the enlisted and officer ranks; during this time, he has led hundreds of airmen in support of U.S. Air Force missions worldwide.

Throughout his career, Ike has demonstrated exceptional, unrivaled officership. During his time as director of operations, course director, and flight commander at the Academy of Military Science, Maxwell AFB, AL., he commissioned more than 150 Air National Guard officers. Ike spent 4 years in the White House Military Office, his last title being Director of Staff, Policy Plans and Requirements, a position where he led the human resource operations for a 250-person organization comprised of five military services, five billet sponsors, and numerous contract client partners, ensuring execution of Presidential continuity of operations were uninterrupted. Additionally, in direct support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, Ike was the deputy chief, public affairs at the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center, ensuring our fallen heroes were provided the dignified treatment they deserved.

As a legislative liaison in the Air Force Senate Liaison Office from April 2021 to April 2023, Lieutenant Colonel Fesler performed his duties well and without reservation supporting the 117th and 118th U.S. Congresses. His strategic thinking and foresight helped to strengthen and improve our national security. Ike accomplished this utilizing his in-depth Air Force knowledge with numerous engagements between Congress and the Department of the Air Force. Ike expertly conveyed Department of the Air Force positions on the Air Force Future Design that included the future bomber, tanker, and fighter force. Ike's direct support provided the U.S. Senate critical information necessary for two National Defense Authorization Acts. His efforts helped solidify the U.S. Space Force, ensure the confirmation of the 26th Air Force Secretary and ensured the Department of the Air Force's support of the National Defense Strategy in our return to great power competition.

Lieutenant Colonel Fesler planned and led numerous delegations for members of Congress on visits all over the world. In fact, I became acquainted with Ike in the run up to my recent official visit to Europe. Anyone who has attended one of these delegation trips knows that while the planning is stressful, the execution is downright arduous. But Ike persevered with a smile, gave 100 percent, and the trip went off without a hitch. Due to his direct involvement and stewardship of this delegation and others like it, Members of Congress were able to make informed decisions on issues of national defense, tech policy, and other culturally significant questions and of course ensure the Department of the Air Force was properly resourced and funded, along with their brothers and sisters in arms across the Armed Forces.

After serving in this crucial role for the past 2 years and becoming a fixture on Capitol Hill, Lieutenant Colonel Fesler will retire from Active-Duty service. Ike has sacrificed much in service to our Nation. I am thankful for Ike's service and his work with my office and the Senate over the past 2 years on issues of vital importance to the United States. I salute this American patriot whose selfless service has kept our country safe and strong.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the following interns from my office be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the Congress: Makayla Rae Ross and Jacob Tipton.

Mr. President, today Tennesseans are mourning the loss of one of our most faithful public servants. On March 20, Williamson County District Attorney General Kim Helper passed away after a brief illness, leaving behind a legacy that prioritized family, community, and the pursuit of justice.

Before she died, Kim dedicated her life to the practice of law. She worked for the Volunteer State for 25 years, rising through the ranks at the State attorney general's office before her 2008 appointment to the position of district attorney general for the 21st Judicial District. The people of Tennessee were so pleased with the work she was doing that they elected her to the post three times, most recently last year.

When she wasn't doing her part to keep her community safe, Kim spent time improving it alongside the other members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Lodge No. 41 of the Fraternal Order of Police, the Keep Tennessee

Beautiful Advisory Board, the Williamson County Republican Career Women, the Leadership Franklin Alumni Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, and Beta Sigma Phi Sorority. One can only imagine the heroic effort it took to work through all the obligations on her calendar, but that was the way Kim liked it. She will be dearly missed by all those who benefited from her knowledge and expertise; but in addition to being a model leader, Kim was also an excellent teacher. I look forward to seeing the young professionals she mentored fill the considerable space she has left behind. If they are anything like Kim, we can expect them to do the job with gusto.

On behalf of all Tennesseans, I offer condolences to Kim's husband Gerry, her daughters Abby and Renee, and her many friends and ask my colleagues to pray that the memory of this happiest of warriors will serve as a source of comfort for all who loved her.

Madam President, I so agree with my colleague from West Virginia and her comments about this budget.

Here it is. I would encourage our citizens to pick it up and give it a read and look at some of the things that they are going to find in here. I think they are going to be aghast at what they find in here-- $477,000 to the IRS for equity training so that they can put an emphasis on equity. These are just some of the porked-up things that you are going to find in this left-leaning, radical, unrealistic wish list of a budget that this administration has brought forward. It really is a blueprint to socialism. Let's put the government in charge of everything, your life from daylight to dark every time you are out and about. Let's have control over your gas stove, over your washing machine, over your showerhead, over your toilet flusher. That is what my colleagues on the left see. That is their goal--control over the people, governing by the elite for the elite. That is what they are all about. But I am going to drill down a little bit on this funding request for the Internal Revenue Service.

Now, President Biden is expecting the IRS to go to work, getting not just a few dollars but getting $4.7 trillion in new taxes. Imagine that. Tennesseans do not want to pay the government more of their hard- earned paycheck. They don't want to give it up to a government that is wasting that money because they realize it is our children and our grandchildren, our precious ones, who are going to have to pay the cost for this. It is compromising their futures on programs they don't want, with money we don't have.

Why are you seeing all these tax increases? You are seeing them because the spending is out of control--a $6.9 trillion budget; $4.7 trillion in new taxes; a budget that in year 1--year 1--the deficit for year 1 is $1.8 trillion. That is how far out of balance this budget is. That is why this thing is a wish list. It is a wish list of programs.

If you want to see how the left views the world, pick it up and give it a read. If you want to read in those words how little respect they have for the American people, for hard-working taxpayers, pick it up. They want your money.

Now, on the IRS, the IRS--in this fiscal year, 2024, they will increase their appropriations to $14.1 billion. That is a $1.8 billion increase from the 2023 enacted level. And we know that in the Inflation Reduction Act--what did the IRS get? Oh, $80 billion. How about that? So the IRS now is going to have $94.1 billion to spend.

Well, let's just ask the question: What do we think the IRS is going to use this money for? Do we think they are going to use it to make the Agency more user-friendly? Do we think they are going to use it to have people pick up the phone and say: Hi, I am your friendly IRS agent. How may I help you today?

We know that is pipe-dreaming. That is not what they are going to do.

Eighty billion dollars, plus a record $14.1 billion in an appropriation. They are going to use this money for what? More audits. Because why? President Biden wants $4.7 trillion--with a ``t,'' trillion--in new taxes.

Where do we think he is going to get this money? Oh, they like to say, it is going to come from corporations. It is going to come from extremely wealthy individuals and billionaires. But you know what, there is a problem with the math on that. The numbers just don't work. It doesn't add up.

Where are they going to get it? They are going to get it from small business manufacturers, from Main Street merchants, from the restaurants in your community. They are going to go get it

from the manufacturing plant in your community. How about the HVAC contractor? How about the plumbing company? This is where they are going. Sound familiar? Of course it does because it is the middle- income earner who gets hit every single time. Every single time without fail, they are the ones who get hit by the tax increases the Democrats are wanting to push forward.

Now, we know the IRS is not going to make that Agency more friendly. We know it is not going to be there to protect you, the hard-working taxpayer. But we do know that what they will do is wallop you upside the head and say: You owe this money. We are going to audit you.

It is going to happen time and again.

On top of all of this, inflation is soaring. Grocery prices are up about 20 percent; gasoline prices, 45 percent; natural gas prices, 43 percent. Electricity prices have increased 24 percent, and clothing prices are up 12 percent. But in this budget, there is nothing addressing inflation. There is nothing that is going to bring inflation down.

There is not a lot of attention paid to crime in the streets or gangs who are coming across the border or the fact that the chief of the Border Patrol said today that they do not have--the United States does not have operational control of the border. There is not a cent there to build that wall, but there is money in there to pay for attorney fees for illegal immigrants.

It is the wrong set of priorities, not what the American people are wanting, certainly not what Tennesseans are wanting to see, and not the accountability and transparency the American people expect from their government.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask for consent to speak for up to 20 minutes prior to the scheduled rollcall vote.

Mr. President, every year, I meet with local leaders and citizens in all 95 Tennessee counties, and with each visit, I am more and more encouraged by the changes I see. Low taxes, pro-business policies, and less invasive government have encouraged growth that my Democratic colleagues are not seeing back in their States. But still many areas of Tennessee are hurting, and those that

aren't are feeling the negative effects of inflation and broken supply chains.

What has happened over the past few years is proof that these Tennessee families and businesses are much better at spending their own money than the Federal Government is at spending taxpayer money. They have to be because if they were as reckless with their paychecks as the Biden administration is with taxpayer funds, they would have gone bankrupt a long time ago.

When they saw what the President put together in his latest budget request, they were not surprised, but they were incredibly discouraged at the idea of another year of Federal spending that leaves our southern border vulnerable and guarantees another year of unsustainable inflation.

Joe Biden and the Democrats have made it their mission to tax and spend this country into oblivion, but adding insult to injury is their commitment to ignoring the actual problems the American people are facing on a local level: inflation, drugs, crime, and continued supply chain problems.

During my recent visit with officials in Cannon County, they had a lot to say about how this failure to govern has affected their ability to follow through on even the most basic public works projects.

Like many distressed counties around the country, Cannon County received emergency funding during the pandemic. They put it toward short-term projects that, for this community, were really a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity to grow.

But here is the problem: Over the past 2 years, my Democratic colleagues have spent so much money and driven inflation so high that any progress Cannon County leaders could have made with those projects has been completely washed out by the overall effects of inflation.

For Joe Biden and the Democrats, this is something that is easily brushed aside, but for the people of Cannon County, it means that something as essential as a water project is stalled indefinitely.

The topography of Cannon County makes it pretty hard to bring water in, but with this particular project, they would have been able to install a water line from neighboring Warren County and alleviate the pressure on their water supply. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it would have provided relief.

But, now, inflation and supply chain breakdowns have turned this project into a nightmare. Local leaders are questioning the construction estimates because they change or expire before their contractors can get their hands on the right materials. This means that by the time those materials come in, the county may not be able to pay for the work, and on and on it goes. There is no light at the end of the tunnel.

The White House can spin this all they want, but this is not how business normally works. Joe Biden and the Democrats have embraced dysfunction at every turn and Tennesseans--they are the ones who are suffering.

Our wide-open southern border has come up in every single county meeting I have taken since Joe Biden took his oath of office, and, over the past few years, we have watched the situation become increasingly dire.

Every town is a border town, and every State is a border State, including Tennessee.

When I was in McMinnville, earlier this year, local leaders described to me in great detail how the Biden administration's refusal to secure the border has pushed local police to the breaking point. For a town that small, the people of McMinnville should not be suffering from so much crime. But the flow of drugs is out of control, and the law enforcement officials I spoke with can trace it from their neighborhoods to the closest cartel distribution hub in Atlanta and then down to the southern border.

They find fentanyl in just about every drug that they seize--deadly fentanyl. Overdoses caused by marijuana laced with fentanyl are common now, something that just a few years ago would have been rare if not unthinkable.

The rampant availability of drugs has caused a crisis among teens and young people, who are now using at such a rate that law enforcement has nowhere to house juvenile offenders. Fentanyl, the leading killer of Americans age 18 to 45. Fentanyl, the fastest growing killer of children under 18 fentanyl. Fentanyl that is flooding across our southern border--14,000 pounds apprehended last year by Border Patrol. That is enough to kill 3.3 billion people--3.3 billion people.

This is why every town is a border State. It is why every single local law enforcement official is saying: We need help. Secure that southern border.

When I have talked to them about what they need to get a grip on the fentanyl issue, they have told me the same thing that local officials are telling other Members of this body: Secure the border and make the resources available so that we can get a grip on this. They need to hire more law enforcement officers. They need to give them better pay and training, and they need to expand antidrug programming for younger children. As sad as that is, they are the ones who are being introduced to and affected by these drugs.

You could visit any county in the United States and probably hear very similar stories from local officials who have worked hard, kept their own spending in check, and who have done their best to plan for the future of their communities. They love their communities. They are worried about crime. They are worried about drugs. They want more choice and options for education. They want security in their local streets.

Officials in the White House and here on Capitol Hill know what their policies have done to these local leaders and to the American people. They also know that the President's budget request doesn't reflect what they need or even what they want.

They are asking for relief. They are not asking for new programs. They are not asking for pie in the sky. They are not wanting to see more bailouts. They don't need more mandates.

What they need is relief--relief that will address inflation, relief that will address supply chains, relief that will address the drugs and the crime that is flowing across that southern border.

These are issues they look at as root causes of rampant, out-of- control crime and out-of-control spending that has stalled growth in many communities.

They won't be able to do that until Joe Biden and the Democrats realign their priorities with those of the American people.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, it is an honor to join my friends in Bradley County, TN, as they gather for the centennial celebration of their beloved library.

The Cleveland Bradley County Public Library is more than just a repository for books and historic documents. When a dedicated group of local leaders first opened its doors in 1923, they did so knowing that there were no taxpayer funds available to support their vision of the library as a hub for local life. Not to be deterred, the community came together. Organizations like the Kiwanis Club held fundraisers to ``keep the lights on,'' and the Women's Club held annual ``book showers'' to keep the shelves full.

That dedication to the pursuit of knowledge and community continues to this day. I want to thank Bradley County Mayor Gary Davis, city of Cleveland Mayor Kevin Brooks, and the library's many employees and patrons for supporting this unique and essential institution. I believe I speak for all Tennesseans when I say that I cannot wait to see what the next 100 years holds for you.

Madam President, I am so pleased to come to the floor today in support of Senator Hagerty's legislation. It is so appropriate that we take this up, and I look forward to supporting the legislation as we vote later today and seeing this move to passage, seeing this become law, and seeing this add to protection for the citizens who live here in DC.

Over the past few years, our Nation has certainly witnessed a devastating increase in violent crime. Compared to mid-2019, America's largest cities have experienced a 50-percent increase in homicides and a 36-percent increase in aggravated assaults. It is unimaginable that, given the rise in violence in this country, the elected officials of the DC City Council think it is a good idea to reduce the amount of jail time for violent and deadly crimes. This includes carjackings, and Senator Hagerty referenced one that was taking place in front of the protesters who were out there because they opposed this bill.

Now, these crimes are rampant here in our Nation's Capital. In fact, as of this morning, the Metropolitan Police Department tells us that motor vehicle theft is up more than 100 percent compared to last year. Homicides are up 33 percent. If you look at the direction those stats have gone over the past 10 years, it is not encouraging--incidences of sex abuse up 120 percent, property crime up 30 percent.

You don't have to live in the District to know that something has taken hold here, and reducing penalties for terrorizing innocent civilians is not the way to break free. Citizens should not feel unsafe in their communities, no matter where they live.

Today's vote is about protecting the people from this failed leadership, but it is also about holding the DC City Council accountable for prioritizing a cynical political maneuver over the safety of the very people they represent. This body has made a name for itself, this DC City Council, this legislative body for the District of Columbia. They have made a name for themselves because they have cherry-picked some violations and have chosen to impose some truly ridiculous restrictions on what District residents can and cannot do. They don't deserve the benefit of the doubt here.

Right now, the council is ready to retreat, but it would be a dereliction of our duty as Senators to allow them to do that. That is why we are supporting Senator Hagerty in his resolution of disapproval and in his work to stop this foolishness from the DC Council.

We also have a duty to update and improve existing laws to combat criminals as their tactics evolve.

Earlier this year, I introduced the REPORT Act, which will go a long way in helping law enforcement tackle child exploitation online. The past few years of hearings with the Consumer Protection Subcommittee have made it clear that we need to modernize our child safety laws.

The explosion of social media and the expansion of underage users is making these children vulnerable to predators, and law enforcement simply cannot keep up with what is happening online while they are out trying also to find the burglaries, the robberies, the carjackings.

Once the Senate passes the REPORT Act, online platforms are going to be required to report all child sexual abuse material found on their sites to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's CyberTipline. Current law makes that step voluntary, but that standard is not working. We have to change it, and we have to make violating that new standard really hurt.

The bill significantly increases fines imposed on platforms that refuse to do this bare minimum. It also requires platforms to report child sex trafficking and enticement crimes. Current law imposes no obligation--none, zero--on platforms to report those materials, which means that most of these crimes are, unfortunately, going undetected.

The last two pieces of the bill will help law enforcement and advocates work together to bring down predators. It includes my END Child Exploitation Act, which extends the retention period for possession of abusive material to 1 year. This will ensure that law enforcement has enough time to access the evidence held by these companies and then prosecute the offenders. It also makes it clear that the vendors working with NCMEC, minors, and parents who report to the CyberTipline won't be held liable for possessing child sexual abuse material.

I am so pleased that so many of my colleagues have come to the floor today to talk about the rise in crime. The backlash against the DC crime bill highlights the fundamental difference between the left's priorities and the priorities of the American people. Anybody with a bit of common sense would look at the DC City Council's proposal and ask: Why would they even consider sending such a weak-on-crime message? It is an invitation to criminals to come and carry out their crimes.

It is time for the left to revisit their priorities and start paying attention to what the crime stats are telling them. The status quo isn't working, but surrendering to violence, lawlessness, and despair isn't the answer either.

On the Federal level, my Democratic colleagues need to support Federal, State, and local law enforcement and demand that this President nominate experienced judges.

Here in the Senate, we can help by making sure that police departments are able to hire, train, and equip officers with the tools that they need to do their job. Last Congress, Senator Hagerty and I introduced the Restoring Law and Order Act, which would have repurposed the billions of dollars the Democrats handed to the IRS and used that money to support law enforcement and eliminate the rape kit backlog.

We can also modernize existing laws that are no longer working. I welcome my Democratic colleagues to come talk with me about how the REPORT Act will help catch child predators who are taking advantage of new technology to find their victims.

I encourage them to join Senator Hagerty and me in restoring law and order, and I encourage each of them to stand today with Senator Hagerty, vote for his resolution, and take a stand against the warped priorities of the DC City Council.

I yield the floor.

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