Floor Statements

Mr. President, on rollcall vote No. 273, I voted no. It had been my intention to vote yea. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent to change the vote since it will not affect the outcome.

Mr. President, my colleague from Texas was just talking about how taxes go up and spending seems to increase. This week, we have had before us a bill that was going to be about 30 billion and then 52 billion and then 72 billion. Now it comes out, and it is almost $300 billion.

This is a piece of legislation that has had a variety of different names, and I have found it so interesting that it has had so many different names. Let's see. It has been called CHIPS, CHIPS+, CHIPS and Science, USICA, Endless Frontier, and ``China COMPETES.'' You know, it seems as if there was a name that was given whenever there was an occasion that you thought you could rename something and make it fit, and I know DC is just famous for having these bills with the acronyms and the fancy-sounding names. But when I talk to Tennesseans, it is so apparent they are tired of that. What they want are the facts. They want someone who is going to tell them the truth. What they know is that China is an adversary; they are not a competitor. They know that we have to work diligently to stay competitive with China and not let them get the upper hand. But when we talk about these issues, sometimes we lose sight of that big picture. I do feel that as we talked about the CHIPS bill and semiconductor supply chains, this is something we lost sight of.

You know, there are some of us who have worked on the issues of dealing with China going back into the early years of this century, looking at IP theft, looking at reverse engineering, looking at the way the Chinese Communist Party would dip in and grab up great ideas from American innovators and then off to the races they would go. We have a lot of companies that learned a lot of tough lessons trying to manufacture in China. And then we come up near the pandemic.

When I was over in the House and before that period of time, we had an issue and realized that our active pharmaceutical manufacturing was where? In China. We couldn't get penicillin. Why was that? It was because there was one factory in China that made that, and the factory had an explosion. So we had a shortage on that. Then we had an issue with Heparin, and we had some deaths that were caused by a tainted product that was coming out of a factory there.

So Senator Menendez and I had a piece of legislation that would have incentivized returning active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing to the United States. Then we got into the issues of the pandemic, and then everyone was saying: Critical supply chains--we need to bring them back. Indeed, that is something that is important to do. Chips are an important part of that. Our laptops, our electronics, our automobiles all need chips, and there was a shortage. People began to realize that our military aircraft, our radar systems, our major defense systems all needed the chips. But, likewise, we needed active pharmaceutical ingredients. We needed our telecommunications supply chains. We needed polysilicon. We needed ag chemicals. All of these are critical supply chains.

Personally, I was optimistic about the possibility that we were finally going to begin to unravel this relationship we have had with the Chinese Communist Party. I see it as a dangerous relationship. But, like many pieces of well-intentioned legislation, it became a victim of some of the same compulsion to squeeze money from the American taxpayer and put it into a very narrow silo.

So after more than 2 years of working on these issues and multiple failed iterations, what we have is a bill that spends about $300 billion and is a gateway to industrial planning. I know that many of my colleagues have read some of the postmortems on this, and people realize this wasn't about chips. It wasn't 72 billion. There was authorization language in there that was going to balloon this.

There was beefing up of the National Science Foundation, and we have National Labs that do a lot of that work. There were protections for U.S. manufacturing, some anti-China provisions, security provisions, that, guess what, poof in the night, a line drawn through them. They are out.

Wasn't that to be the purpose of this legislation? Of course it was. Let's bring the manufacturing back to the United States. And that is what we should have done. We should have looked at ways that we could bring manufacturing back across the range of critical supply chains.

We all know that China's control over our active pharmaceutical ingredients and other pharmaceutical products--that is a problem. Control over our telecom equipment--yes, that is a problem. Huawei equipment that we are having to rip out and replace in this country; telecom equipment that is part of our critical supply chain; control over our supplies of minerals and chemicals--for the Chinese Communist Party to control that, that is a problem.

So many who worked on this have spent 2 years looking at and working on supply chains and competition, and now what they have is legislation that invests billions of dollars in one industry, one industrial sector, and promises hundreds of billions of dollars more to the NSF that will duplicate many of those efforts that are already in progress at our National Labs and other DOE facilities.

So we are 2 years and $280 billion into this, and about $80 billion of that goes

into one industry. Honestly, it does not add up. We could have spent that time and a lot less money so much more wisely. We could have used tax credits to incentivize multiple industries to come home, to set up shop in business-friendly States like Tennessee and create thousands of jobs for American workers.

This is what you call a missed opportunity. And, unfortunately, the new axis of evil--they are watching, and I think they like what they see. I think they like it. I think they like it when we don't appear to be focused, when we don't appear to take the steps to challenge them across the board. We are running out of time to truly unravel ourselves from the influence of the Chinese Communist Party.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following interns in my office be granted floor privileges until July 28, 2022: Alex Vogel and Katelyn Wall.

Mr. President, I appreciate so much the comments of my colleague. I think this shows you that whether you are talking about Wyoming and the people who are there or Tennessee, my State, the economy is one of the top issues people are discussing.

Joe Biden addressed the Nation just over a year ago, and he had all of these bold claims about how he expected the economy to respond to his what I thought were reckless taxing-and-spending sprees. He made this statement, and I am going to quote him because he was trying to make the point that inflation was transitory, that it was going to be temporary. Here is what he said:

I want to be clear: my administration understands that were

we ever to experience unchecked inflation in the long term,

that would pose a real challenge for our economy. While we're

confident that isn't what we're seeing today, we're going to

remain vigilant about any response that is needed.

Well, let's fast-forward a year from that very bold, brash statement, and we know that it was a falsehood that was meant to distract ``we the people'' while the President and the Democrats worked overtime to make things worse.

Now, this week, economists expect to confirm what we have known for a long time and, as Senator Barrasso was saying, what people are feeling in their personal economy--that the U.S. economy isn't just struggling, it is shrinking. Buying power for households is shrinking. Options and choices are shrinking. If the numbers say what we think they will, we will see the second consecutive month of a shrinking GDP and another month of runaway inflation. Just a few hours ago, we learned that consumer confidence dropped again this month. Expectations are down again.

These are the warning signs of a recession. The White House doesn't want us to say it. The pundits don't want to say it. But that is the reality that Joe Biden has created. Do you know who is saying it? Thousands of Tennesseans because they are living it every day.

Now, I would suggest to my colleagues that if they find themselves questioning this reality, they should get out of the city and spend some time talking to people who live in their State--people who don't exist in the political bubble, the people who are having to make a choice between filling up the gas tank and filling up the grocery cart. Go talk to the farmers and the truckdrivers and the small business owners, and listen to them when they tell you how very difficult life is right now. Talk to the moms and the grandmoms in those smalltown grocery stores and listen to them when they tell you how hard it is to keep their household running.

One of the many reasons this is so frustrating for Tennesseans is that under President Trump, economic success was pretty much a given. The country was recovering from the pandemic. We had a plan to repair our supply chains. The American people were starting to have hope that the dystopian nightmare they had been living through was finally over.

But it is clear to them that if we ever find any sort of success under President Biden, it is going to come as a pleasant surprise because right now they are not seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Every week, it is harder, whether you are trying to find baby formula or you are trying to find basic staples or you are trying to make some of those pre-back-to-school purchases for your children.

I talk to people every day. They worry about what is coming next because they cannot believe how fast the change has come about under the Biden administration. One of the things they mention is that Joe Biden and the Democrats have eliminated predictability and replaced it with certainty that whatever this administration comes up with next is going to be something that makes their lives worse.

When I go home and I talk to my friends at church or at the store, people ask me: Why is this administration doing this? How could they possibly be making such terrible decisions?

The answer is really quite simple. They don't believe that the purpose of the Federal Government is to serve ``we the people''; they believe its purpose is to control our lives from the moment we get up in the morning until we put our head on the pillow at night, 24/7, 365. They have a long history of using their power to incentivize dependency on the government, but this administration has taken it even further.

What they perceive is happening is that they are being punished-- punishing families, small businesses, and local governments that speak out by forcing them to pay for a socialist agenda that picks winners and losers. And who loses? Families. Small businesses. Local governments. They lose every single time.

At every stop so far on my 95-county tour, county mayors and other local leaders have described to me how this agenda has made planning for the future virtually impossible. Those are their words, not mine: It is impossible. A few years ago, they were focused on improving their communities, and now they are just praying that they will be able to keep providing basic services.

Fuel is too expensive. Construction supplies are too expensive. And if they are available, utilities are breaking the budget.

In McNairy County, a 3-year supply chain delay on a new firetruck has frozen the flow of much needed grant funding. Local leaders were counting on that money to finish a few projects, get more first responders on the road, and lower the cost of living for the 30,000 people they are responsible for, but now they are stuck.

It is the same story for hundreds of small businesses and farms all across the State. We have farmers who decided not to put their crops in the ground this year because the cost of diesel, fertilizer, chemicals, and pesticides is just too high. Now think about that. The people responsible for maintaining our food supply are no longer able to supply food because this administration had other priorities. Retailers and other small business owners aren't faring any better. Because things are more expensive for them, they are more expensive for each and every one of us.

More and more often, Tennessee families are finding too much month left at the end of their paycheck rather than paycheck that is left at the end of the month. This has led to some hard choices, not just about the little luxuries they once enjoyed but about the essentials. Will they cook a balanced meal or will they pay the electric bill? Will they put gas in the car or do they need to send that money to school for their kids' lunch? No one should have to make these choices, but this is the reality for millions of families.

But President Biden and the Democrats aren't worried about that. It doesn't appear they have ever been. Once they took control of the Federal Government, they immediately started spending money on things that sounded great to their base but that the American people did not vote for and still simply do not want. They knew this would sabotage our economic recovery, it would drive inflation, but still they found plenty of money to start chipping away at their wish list.

They couldn't bring themselves to let America stay energy independent, so they canceled the Keystone Pipeline, and they sent the regulatory state after domestic energy producers. Indeed, 42 of the 69 regulations that this President has put in place have been focused on the energy sector.

Time and time again, President Biden and the Democrats have made it clear that their priorities do not align with the wants and needs of this country.

They gave a green light to the Green New Deal, to critical race theory in public schools, to an open border, and to force decimating vaccine mandates on the National Guard and the Reserves.

Meanwhile, the American economy has stopped dead in its tracks. This has to end. We are not just losing money; we are running out of time. The American people are beginning to feel this administration has abandoned them, that they are being punished. But they also want you to know that in spite of all that, they are not ready to submit to this agenda. They are concerned about their families and their communities. It is time to move away from this reckless, destructive agenda and choose the American people.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, America is facing a perfect storm of inflation, unsustainable energy costs, and supply chain chaos. Russia and Iran are circling the wagons.

Joe Biden is still finding new ways to put the American people last. In fact,

when it comes to getting gas prices under control, he has chosen to unleash a China-first policy rather than unleashing the power of American energy.

I have spent the past 18 months laying out in great detail how Joe Biden and the Democrats have damaged our credibility and enriched our adversaries. They undermined our economic recovery. They abandoned the border. They destroyed American energy independence. The list goes on and on, unfortunately. It appears that everything they have done makes life worse for ``we the people.''

Unfortunately, it is emboldening the axis of evil--Russia, China, Iran, North Korea. Under normal circumstances, Vladimir Putin's trip to Iran this week would be a cause for concern, but with the Biden administration in charge, it appears it could be just the tip of the iceberg because although Russia and Iran are competitors, especially in the energy sector, they are absolutely united in their hatred of the United States and in their desire to undermine Western interests.

When they look at the United States, they see a country whose President got a head start undermining those interests on day 1 of his administration, and you better believe they are ready to take advantage of this. They are ready for it. This week, look at what they have done. You had Gazprom, which is the Russian energy giant, and the National Iranian Oil Company come together and announce a $40 billion agreement to work together on oil and gas development and pipeline construction. They are reading the writing on the wall, and what they see is hesitation from the U.S. President to move us back to energy independence, where we were on day 1 of his administration, so they are making plans as to how they will work together and dominate the energy sector.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden has also sold about a million barrels of oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the Chinese Communist Party. When I have spoken with Tennesseans about this, they are furious. They cannot understand why he would make a choice to do this. The left has done their best to provide cover for the President, claiming that a million barrels is really nothing to worry about, but you know it is something to worry about. Our SPR has about 750 million barrels in it. We are drawing it down at about a million barrels a day. Plus, the President is now selling to our adversaries--selling it.

We did a little bit of research into what China can get out of a barrel of oil, and here is what we found: That gives you 20 gallons of gasoline; 12\1/2\ gallons of distillate, which is what we use for diesel fuel; and about 3\1/2\ gallons of jet fuel. To Tennesseans, this makes a big difference.

I really agree with my fellow Tennesseans about this. When they look at this picture and they think about the President's big sale to Hunter Biden's friends in Beijing, they don't see a gallon of gas here and there. What they see is 20 million full tanks of gas. They see diesel fuel that our farmers need. Right now, with the price of diesel doubling, we have farmers in Tennessee who cannot get crops planted. They chose not to plant crops because of the cost of diesel, fertilizer, chemicals, pesticides. They see sabotage of their hopes and their dreams and their plans--their plans--for their family, for their business, for their farm.

As I have been out and about around the State and talked to Tennesseans, they have a message for this President, this administration, my Democratic colleagues. This is more than just a political disagreement. In their minds, and I agree, this is a national security risk--a national security risk.

We are making ourselves vulnerable. Giving any aid or advantage to our adversaries is wrong, and this has got to end. Joe Biden and the Democrats must abandon this China-first energy policy and return to an America-first policy.

Restart the Keystone Pipeline. Approve more energy infrastructure. Hold more lease sales. Approve drilling permits that are waiting for approval.

Let's get the regulators out of the way. Stall some of these 42 regulations that the President has put on the oil and energy sector this year. Let's do this. Let's advantage ourselves with American energy before it is too late.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, in its mission statement, the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center in Chattanooga, TN, highlights the values of patriotism, citizenship, courage, integrity, sacrifice, and commitment as central to the character of every Medal of Honor recipient. When put into action, these values culminate in uncommon acts of heroism.

Today, I have the privilege of recognizing two heroes whose valor on the battlefield earned them the Medal of Honor and the admiration of their countrymen: Charles H. Coolidge of Tennessee and Hershel W. ``Woody'' Williams of West Virginia. We lost Charles last year and Woody just a few weeks ago, but their legacies remain a celebration of the sacrifice, resilience, and service of the 16 million men and women who served in the Armed Forces during World War II and saved the world from the horrors of authoritarianism. The Senate came together and rallied around one final tribute to the era's Medal of Honor recipients, and on July 14, Woody Williams became just the seventh American to lay in honor in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. It was a lovely, fitting way to show our gratitude not only to Woody, but to all the World War II Medal of Honor recipients we lost before him.

I can think of no better way to keep this spirit of camaraderie alive than to put their legacies to work on behalf of younger generations who are just beginning to understand that the preservation of freedom for all humanity will require much more than bold words.

Liberty is not an act of sheer will, but a reflection within a people of the same values that prompted Charles and Woody to put themselves between their brothers in arms and enemy troops. On behalf of all Tennesseans, I thank these brave men for their commitment to the common cause of freedom and pray that all our Nation's leaders will endeavor to follow in their footsteps.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following interns from my office be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the Congress: Isabella Andrews-Zachry and Eliza Roddy.

Madam President, when we look back at the many failures of the Biden administration, what I believe is going to stand out is really their commitment to doing things that sound good to other Washington Democrats but really are not serving we the people well. In fact, after spending another weekend working with local leaders back in Tennessee, I will take it one step further and say that all Joe Biden and the Democrats have managed to do is find new ways to frighten we, the people.

Yes, indeed, they are afraid of what this administration is going to do next because everything the White House has done over the past 18 months seems to make their lives worse each and every day. And the thing that is so interesting, as I talk to Tennesseans, this is something where there is bipartisan agreement, whether it is crime in the streets or the drug situation--much of that caused by this open border that is out of control--inflation, the price at the pump, the price at the grocery store. It is quite a stunning record on how to make the lives of the American people worse.

Joe Biden and the Democrats have spent us into 9.1 percent inflation, and now, they want to tax us into a recession. The latest scheme is terrifying. Democrats are proposing a trillion dollars in new tax increases. This includes a crippling new tax on small businesses as well as a tax increase on low- and middle-income Americans, which, if you recall, is something that President Biden said he would never do.

The Democrats are prepared to push the economy off a cliff on behalf of a radical and radically unpopular agenda that the American people have repeatedly said they did not vote for and they do not want. According to recent polling by the New York Times, 77 percent of Americans believe that the country is heading in the wrong direction, and only 33 percent of Americans approve of the way Joe Biden is doing his job. If that is not an indictment of this latest inflationary spending spree, I do not know what is.

The American people understand that one man and one party are in full control of the Federal Government and that Joe Biden and the Democrats are responsible for the uncertainty and fear that is now driving their decisions. Thank God Tennessee has strong, smart local and State leaders who take their jobs seriously, who work hard every day to represent the people of our great State.

I am about to wrap up my annual 95-county tour, and I can tell you that none of the county mayors and city managers that I have spoken to are worried about methane or proper pronoun usage. They just want to know

what we plan to do about inflation, energy costs, supply chains, crime, drugs, and the open border.

Jackson Mayor Scott Conger recently described for me the nightmare that is planning for the future of a midsize city in Joe Biden's America. Healthcare costs for police and firefighters are up half a million dollars. Between public works and public safety, fuel costs alone are projected to beat last year's total by $450,000. And utility and sanitation costs are already 10 percent over budget.

Now, Jackson and other cities in Tennessee don't operate like Washington. They are very conservative with how they spend the taxpayers' money, and they budget for the worst-case scenario. But even when they do have money to spend, Joe Biden's supply chain crisis gets in the way.

In Jackson, delays on new orders of police cars, trucks, construction supplies have put growth on hold. They even have had to delay and scale back plans for a new homeless shelter. City officials in Dayton told me that the cost of a foot of pipe has gone up $10 in a year, from $4 to $14 a foot. I would ask my Democratic colleagues how they expect local government to handle a 200-percent increase in something as basic as pipe. We know that is a trick question because there is no planning for instances like that. Covington Mayor Justin Hanson also had a message he wanted me to pass on for the record. Here is what he said:

The rising cost of goods and services is really hitting

municipal pocketbooks, especially at the gas pump. The rapid

inflation combined with supply chain issues are really

hurting cities like Covington. Parts, chemicals, fleet

vehicles . . . the list goes on. Some items ordered over a

year ago still aren't in our inventory.

But I think the most shocking example of how localities have suffered under these reckless policies is happening right now in McNairy County. Now, McNairy County is a rural county, and it has fewer than 30,000 people. But the county still had to pad their budget by $700,000 to cover fuel for the sheriff and other county-owned vehicles. That is almost a million dollars just to keep the police on patrol and the potholes filled.

We used to have such bright prospects. When Joe Biden and the Democrats took power, the economy was recovering. We were energy independent. And there was a plan to protect our supply chains. Now, instead of planning for the future, local leaders are working overtime just to keep their budgets from imploding.

Just a few short years ago, these same Tennessee leaders were focused on innovation and growth. Now, they are focused on survival. They know that the only way we will pull this country back on track is to halt inflationary spending, prioritize supply chains, and ramp up an Operation Warp Speed for energy independence.

But Joe Biden has taken us backwards. So, yes, the people are fearful of what this administration will do next. But they continue to say they will not be frightened into submission.

I would urge my Democratic colleagues to remember that.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, it is so interesting being home for July 4 and talking with Tennesseans, and it sounds like Senator Ernst heard some of the same things from her constituents there in Iowa.

But what came up a lot in our conversations was the feeling and the awareness that the Democrats and the media have spent the last few months trying to convince the American people that oil companies are to blame for Biden's energy crisis.

At one point, they even tried to blame the people running the local gas stations, all the moms and pops, but Tennesseans know whose fault it is. Tennesseans are smart. They are watching very closely. And they know that President Biden became responsible for their pain the moment he chose a radical, environmental agenda over the fully realized vision of American energy independence.

That is right, we were energy independent the day he took office.

So President Biden canceled the Keystone Pipeline. He canceled leases and energy infrastructure, and he got behind dozens of regulations that have made it almost impossible for American energy producers to do their job.

At the time, Democrats claimed this was all for the greater good. It is temporary. It is transitioning to the liberal world order. But I think any reasonable person would agree that what has happened is things have gotten worse--terribly worse.

If you don't want to take my word for it, talk to the local leaders who are responsible for keeping the lights on in their communities. City budgets are stretched thin. School budgets aren't doing any better. Parents want to know if the buses will keep running and what will happen in August if the schools can't afford to turn the air- conditioning on. Everyone wants to know what will happen to public transportation, to emergency services, and to law enforcement if the price of a gallon of gas gets too expensive. They have no idea how far the Biden administration will allow this to go, and that is what concerns them the most.

Joe Biden hasn't just failed ``we the people,'' he has sabotaged the pocketbooks of millions of Americans and given our adversaries a huge advantage.

The Democrats gambled on the Green New Deal. It is evident they lost. Their gas holiday was a gimmick, and that failed. Energy prices are through the roof, but they still pulled a million barrels of oil out of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and they sent it to communist China.

Now the President of the United States has gone hat in hand to Saudi Arabia so that he can beg for oil. He is even trying to cozy up to the Iranians with a new Iran nuclear deal, begging for oil. Our hard-fought energy independence is gone, along with our Nation's credibility on this issue.

The world is watching Joe Biden. They are watching the Biden blackouts that are really taking a toll on American energy and American consumers, and you and I both know that all the wrong people are seeing this as an opportunity to profit.

If the Biden administration continues to squander our country's resources, we will lose even more ground to the axis of evil. Russia still has a stranglehold on European energy. American supply chains are still hopelessly entangled with China. Iran is ready to steamroll Biden for that new nuclear deal. North Korea is deploying hackers to the West at an alarming rate. I don't think a Civilian Climate Corps has a chance in this match-up.

I would admonish the President to remember that the new axis of evil is playing by a different set of rules. Their only goal is to find our vulnerabilities and exploit them to try to take us down.

I would remind my Democratic colleagues that Biden's energy crisis is a vulnerability, and it is your duty to help lead the country out of it. Don't be complicit. Restart the Keystone Pipeline, open up those leases on Federal lands, get the regulators out of the way, and unleash American energy before it is too late.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, each year, the Ellis Island Honors Society recognizes individuals who have proved their commitment to our Nation through outstanding achievement in industry, education, entertainment, and the arts.

Today, I have the honor of congratulating my friend and fellow Tennessean Igor Babailov, one of this year's recipients of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Igor has earned a very special place in American culture through his work in philanthropy and the arts. A celebrated portraitist, he has immortalized on canvas Presidents, dignitaries, royalty, and even three Popes, and earned the trust of the world's most important curators. His philanthropic endeavors have changed the lives of veterans and helped children realize their full potential.

On behalf of the State of Tennessee, I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Igor and thank him for using his talents to make America a more diverse, innovative, and beautiful place to call home.

Madam President, it is my honor to congratulate Coach Lamar Rogers of Clarkrange, TN, on winning the Fred Russell Lifetime Achievement Award and joining the distinguished ranks of the National Federation of State High School Associations Hall of Fame.

Over the course of his long career, he has enriched the lives of young female athletes by helping them reach their highest potential. For 46 years, Coach Rogers has served as the architect of one of the most impressive and well-respected girls basketball programs in the Volunteer State, boasting a 1,289-290 record and eight Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association State championships. He is also revered--and feared--as the winningest high school girls basketball coach in Tennessee.

But more importantly, he is a mentor, a friend, and an inspiration to the next generation of athletes and educators, and I consider it my privilege to recognize him for his leadership. Congratulations, Coach.

Madam President, for over a year, officials in the Biden administration have operated under the assumption that if they keep repeating their far-left propaganda, they will be able to trick the American people into believing that everything is OK. Don't believe what you see. Don't believe what you are reading. Don't believe what you are hearing from friends and neighbors. Just believe us. Everything is fine. Prices aren't high. Crime is not high. The border is not open. Everything is just fine.

The problem is, Tennesseeans know better than to believe this. They have figured it out. They know the economy is not in a good place. They know high gas prices are not Putin's fault. They know that spikes in crime and drug overdoses--this is not normal. But most importantly, they know that standing aside and letting the country fall apart is not what a normal Presidential administration does; it is far from it.

The White House has worked overtime trying to convince the American people that reports of the chaos along our southern border are exaggerated. This is one of the most dangerous falsehoods the Biden administration has tried to sell, and here is why. In May--May, this month of May--this year, Border Patrol encountered more than 177,000 unique individuals trying to cross the border.

Border Patrol doesn't have the manpower or the resources to control this wave of illegal immigration. I know it. I think my Democratic colleagues know it. Certainly the ones who have taken the time to go to the border know it. And, no doubt, the Biden administration knows it.

As I said, in May of this year, 177,000 different individuals were encountered trying to cross that border. Now, Tennesseeans are very worried about this, and they want to know why the President is not worried about this. For goodness' sake, he has never taken the time to go to the border. He has had five decades to go down there and look at the border, and he has never taken the time to do it.

It really is pretty simple for ``we the people,'' the citizenry of this country--the issue of whether the Democrats wish this country well is no longer up for debate. They know that the left has abandoned them, the people. They know that. They are seeing it every single day, whether they are shopping for groceries, filling up the car. They see it. They see it by the crime in the streets, the gangs. They know it. They see it with the human trafficking and the suffering and the drugs that are killing precious American lives.

Now, unfortunately, President Biden lost the opportunity to persuade the American people otherwise on day 1 of his administration when he chose to turn the American Southwest into a free-for-all. Since then, things have only gotten more dangerous.

During the first 4 days of this month, law enforcement officials arrested 3 members of MS-13, an 18th Street gang member, and multiple convicted sex offenders as they tried to enter the country. On July 6, they seized more than 1,000 pounds of meth from one single smuggler-- that is right, one smuggler. Do you think the drug dealers are emboldened? Think about that--1,000 pounds of meth. So far this year, they have seized almost 8,000 pounds of fentanyl, which is enough to kill a small country.

Here is the question I would pose to the President: How many people and how many pounds of drugs made it in while Border Patrol agents were busy with the smugglers and criminals they managed to catch? Where did the ``got-aways'' go? What did the ``got-aways'' have with them?

Well, that is a rhetorical question. We know exactly where they went, and we know what they have with them. Do you know what, Madam President. They are coming to our own cities, communities, towns, our own backyards.

My Democratic colleagues may be happy to ignore the problem, but on behalf of Tennesseeans, I will not ignore the problem. The threat is too great.

If you ask any law enforcement officer--any--they will tell you that this issue of the southern border is a matter of life and death. Not just on the border but in each of our 95 counties in the State of Tennessee--in each of our towns and cities--this open border is a matter of life and death. In Tennessee, our sheriffs and police chiefs want the border secured.

I have got to tell you, to so many Tennesseans, it is laughable-- laughable--that a White House spokesman would stand behind that podium and look at the people and say: ``The border is secure.'' Who do they think they are talking to? Do they think that people are not watching the footage? Whether they are watching it on TV or streaming it or looking at it on social media, they can see that this border is not secure. They are talking to friends and relatives who live in a border State, who live along that border, and they are telling them some of the horrific stories that they are witnessing every single day in their communities.

We know for a fact that the cross-border drug trade is alive and well. Who is getting rich off this open southern border? Take a guess. It is the drug cartels--the drug cartels--with enormous profits growing into a global organization. That is right--global.

So far this year, people from 150 different countries have come across our southern border. Chinese nationals are not trying to come in here on a visa. They don't wish us well. The Chinese Communist Party is hard at work. The Chinese Communist Party is paying the cartels $50,000 a pop to get people into our country that they want to by bringing them across the southern border.

The Tennessean, which is our newspaper in Nashville, TN, recently reported a truly horrific story about a multimillion-dollar crime ring that is operating right out of Middle Tennessee. That is right. The drug cartels are not fearful because Joe Biden has the welcome mat out: Border open.

The kingpin was working directly with the Sinaloa drug cartel. That is the one that primarily has the Arizona border. That is the one that is bringing a majority of the drugs through Arizona. They like to focus on fentanyl.

The traffickers who are working underneath this hoodlum are as brutally violent as their friends down in Mexico. We know they are responsible for multiple horrific assaults, kidnappings, at least one murder, and the mutilation of a 22-year-old woman. They are also linked to a local gang who terrorizes the streets of Nashville. That is right, a drug kingpin working directly with the Sinaloa cartel. That is what they are doing in Tennessee.

The violence does not stop at the border. The violence in this country increases because of that open border and because of the unwillingness of this administration to do anything about it. This violence is bleeding into every town, every State, and it will not stop until we have leaders in the White House and an administration who are willing to put themselves in between these monsters and the American people.

The fact that we can't talk about this without provoking hysteria in the ranks of the Democratic Party tells me we are heading in the wrong direction, but don't take my word for it; just read a number of polls that are out there. I hope the President takes to heart that 33-percent job approval rating that the New York Times reported on today. That is about as significant a message as could be sent to this administration. Only 33 percent of the American people approve of what this administration is doing.

This administration has normalized things that even 5 years ago would have shocked the conscience of your average Democrat. We talk about spending in trillions of dollars now--a

trillion here and there, $6 trillion for COVID, and let's spend another $2 trillion on ``Build Back Broke.'' The numbers just keep piling up. We talk about apprehending 170,000 people at the border in a month--not in a year but in a month. We talk about drug seizures in measures of pounds, not ounces.

I was talking with one of our sheriffs in Tennessee, and we were talking about this issue.

He said: You know, Marsha, we used to apprehend drugs, and it would be in grams or it would be in ounces, and now nearly every seizure is in pounds.

That is the change. The drug cartels are not fearful of being caught or stopped at that border. They have figured it out.

Sadly, this is life in Joe Biden's America, but none of this--none of it, nothing, not one part of what you are seeing in Joe Biden's America--is compatible with an optimistic vision for the future, with that phrase ``a more perfect Union,'' ``equal justice,'' ``equal opportunity''--none of it. Why? When Tennesseans look at what Joe Biden and the Democrats are doing, what they are seeing is a political machine acting like they are on a deadline. They are burning through an agenda that the American people did not ask for and they definitely do not want.

Do they want higher taxes? Absolutely not.

Do they want an open border? They have said time and again, no.

Do they want higher crime? No.

Do they want drugs--fentanyl--killing 71,000 Americans in a year? No. No.

Do they want the highest inflation that we have had in 40 years? No.

Do they want a foreign policy that doesn't work? We have a disaster in Afghanistan. We have the Chinese Communist Party, after we have Russia and Putin out here, acting like they are in control. We have the axis of evil--Russia, China, Iran, North Korea--out trying to recruit friends and allies into their axis of evil to not wish us well. Is that what the American people want? No, it is not.

Do they want mandates? Do they want lockdowns? No, they do not. That is not what they want.

The people of this country still have a vision for the future, but it is hard to keep hope alive when the people in control of the government have, obviously, lost control of this country.

I love going around Tennessee, and I love having great conversations with people who will tell you they are Democrats or Republicans. They want to know if the Democratic Party is delusional. Are they obsessed with a socialist agenda? Are they out of touch with what it feels like to not have money to fill up the gas tank, to not have money to buy that full bag of groceries?

The idea that their President would allow our border to be open to drug cartels and smugglers to take advantage of us, the people, terrifies Tennesseans, but it is also something that makes them angry because they know Joe Biden could do something about this if he wanted to. They know that the Democratic Party, which runs everything in this town--the House, the Senate, the White House--could do something about this if they chose to.

Law enforcement, Border Patrol, and advocates who work with drug addicts and the victims of human smuggling are in almost unanimous agreement on a few points.

First, what I have heard from them is this President, President Biden, must keep title 42 in place until there is a plan for how they would replace it. Title 42 is essential. This President must embrace a Remain in Mexico policy, and this President must do what the Border Patrol has asked to be done for three decades, and that is to build the wall and give them the tools they need to get their job done. These are all of the things that President Biden could choose to do right now.

So why is he refusing to take action?

If you know, the American people would really like to have an answer because they look at the chaos coming from this administration, the chaos at the border, and the chaos on our streets, and they know that this country deserves better.

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.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following interns in my office be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the Congress: Elizabeth McAlindon, Jordan Rupli, Steven Szucs, Alexis Vance, Mark Fraenkel and Boaz Campbell.

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

Mr. President, this week, we are celebrating the 50th

anniversary of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. It says:

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex,

be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of,

or be subjected to discrimination under any education program

or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

For 50 years, those words have changed the lives of American women and girls and their families for the better. As a mom, I was able to watch my daughter excel on a more level playing field, and I look forward to watching my granddaughter do the very same thing. Today, more women than ever are competing for the awards and scholarships once reserved for men. And wouldn't you know it--more women than men graduate from college. In short, title IX means something to women and girls in this country. It has opened countless doors of opportunity.

Today, I would like to invite all of my colleagues to join me in supporting a simple resolution celebrating the promise of title IX. It recognizes the 50th anniversary, it honors the work of women's rights activists who led the fight for equal treatment among men and women in education, and it encourages all women and girls in the United States to continue to pursue academic and athletic accomplishments if they so choose.

I thank my colleagues in advance for joining me as we celebrate the women and girls in this country and all of their beautiful potential.