Floor Statements

Mr. President, Marcelle and I have been involved with a wonderful charity for more than 20 years, with Marcelle on its board for over a decade. Tracy's Kids helps children with cancer or blood disorders cope with the emotional toll imposed by their disease and its treatment. Tracy Councill, the heart and soul of that program and a woman who has made a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of patients, siblings, and parents, is retiring after 31 years.

The following announcement by Matt Gerson, founder and president of Tracy's Kids, underscores the positive impact that she has made over the course of her career: ``Big News--Tracy is retiring from Georgetown after 31 years. Her service has been indispensable for the patients, siblings, and parents she helped guide through their darkest times. Her announcement is eliciting expressions of gratitude from the medical professionals with whom she served, and throughout the Art Therapy community she influenced.

``I recognized a long time ago that Tracy was put on this earth to do what she does. Because of the model that she developed at Georgetown, Tracy's Kids has fundamentally changed the standard of care for pediatric oncology in the region--and beyond. Her patience, compassion, commitment, and professionalism--along with that accent--have been invaluable to thousands of children and families.

``Tracy is as heroic to her admirers as better-known GOATs. Our Giant Of Art Therapy has trained and inspired generations of students who aspire to be as impactful. Grateful parents know that they could not have confronted the exhausting chapter of their lives without her. Part of her legacy will be paid forward by former patients who are now Art Therapists themselves--as well as the ones pursuing careers in art disciplines from jewelry making to film.

``She will still serve as the Tracy's Kids Program Director, and continue to teach, lecture, and publish on how to help kids and families develop strategies for coping with scary procedures, communicate with doctors and nurses, and express the fears that might lead to nightmares and social isolation.

``I knew nothing of Art Therapy when we met 25 years ago. If anything, I was a bit skeptical. But because of her, when you walk into a clinic served by Tracy's Kids you will likely see children with infusions in their arms, crayons in their hands and smiles on their faces. She has created environments where kids can just be kids--not `sick kids.' And because they feel so comfortable, patients and their siblings actually look forward to going to the clinic--a sentiment we hear over and over and find hard to believe each and every time.

``Please join me in wishing Tracy and Don the very best in their retirement and much success and enjoyment in the endeavors that lie ahead.''

Marcelle and I appreciate all she has done and also send Tracy and Don our best wishes.

Mr. President, veterans make a valuable addition to any workplace. Vermont companies know this, which is why most employers in the State do their best to recruit former servicemembers. But some go far beyond others in their commitment to employing veterans. Darn Tough Vermont is one such company. Since the Darn Tough brand was created in 2004, consumer interest in the company's famous socks has steadily grown. This is because of the dependability and durability their products are known for. But the nearly 500 employees at Darn Tough, a disproportionately high amount of which are veterans, are what ensures this reputation.

Darn Tough has always been committed to hiring veterans whenever possible. As a trusted supplier of the military, the company understands why it is former servicemembers stand apart from others when it comes to reliability, team orientation, and performing under stress. They know that hiring a veteran is not only a good thing to do; it is an excellent investment for an employer to make. This is why more than 7 percent of employees hired by Darn Tough over the last calendar year were veterans.

In November, the U.S. Department of Labor recognized Darn Tough for its commitment to hiring veterans by awarding them a 2022 HIRE Vets Medallion ``gold tier'' Award. The award is given to a company who can show that 7 percent of the people it hired in a calendar year are veterans. It can also be awarded to companies who retain more than 75 percent of their annual veteran hires for 12 months or more. Darn Tough exceeded the Labor Department's award criteria in both of these areas. Meeting these benchmarks is doubly impressive, considering veterans make up only 4.7 percent of Vermont's civilian labor pool.

I am always heartened when I learn of a Vermont business who receives honors for so clearly integrating Vermont's values into their operations, which is why I would like to recognize Darn Tough Vermont for leading the State in veteran's hiring and receiving the U.S. Department of Labor's 2022 HIRE Vets Medallion Award. Their commitment to producing the finest products and their demonstrated dedication to veterans make this company one truly worthy of our praise.

I ask unanimous consent that an article from VT Digger on this achievement be printed into the Record.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, a continuing resolution to March 10 is short-sighted and wholly unnecessary. It imperils our national security, and it ignores the real pain and consequences of inflation.

Without funding from a full-year omnibus appropriations bill, the NDAA we passed this evening is a broken promise, the bipartisan PACT Act goes underfunded, and VA medical care falls at least $7.5 billion short.

While some of my colleagues are quick to raise the alarm about our southern border, a CR into March does nothing to address the influx of migrants at our border now. It does nothing to help communities ravaged by drought, hurricanes, flooding and fire. While families feel the pain of inflation, a CR into March does nothing to provide them with relief.

We have a bipartisan, bicameral framework in place that should allow us to complete an omnibus appropriations bill early next week. A CR into March asks us to abandon our work without offering a different or viable alternative. I urge my colleagues to reject that proposal and allow us time to complete our work.

Vote on Motion to Concur

Madam President, I am going to take the prerogative as President Pro Tempore to speak because I know the distinguished Republican leader has already spoken, and I, of course, would have yielded to him had he not.

It is always hard to say goodbye to friends, especially one as good as Senator Shelby, and one with whom I will walk out of here arm in arm.

But I would say that we have to think about the time when this body and Nation are as divided as ever, Senator Richard Shelby's tenure exemplifies a commitment to cooperation and fairness.

I have seen that not only in his public life, and what we see on the floor, but I see it in meetings we have in his office or my office, quiet meetings between the two of us, knowing we will always keep our word.

And so I would say at the conclusion of the 117th Congress, the Senate will lose a skilled leader and a true Senator of his word. That has been the way with our decades of service together.

Senator Shelby's legacy, one marked by his intellect, his integrity, will undoubtedly persist in this body and throughout the country.

My great mentor when I came here as the junior-most Member of the Senate was Robert Stafford of Vermont. Senator Stafford was Mr. Republican from Vermont, and he took me under his wing, and he said to me: Patrick, always keep your word, but you find you will be the best Senator if you learn to work across the aisle. You can work with people of integrity, both Republicans and Democrats, and you will find, among both parties, you will develop close friendships.

But more than a fellow Senator, I am proud to consider Senator Shelby one of those great friends.

The reference we have seen before to distinguished Republicans and Democrats--of course, we are all called distinguished Senators, but we consider in my family, in my house, some more distinguished than others but for different reasons. And a devotion to public service is ingrained in Senator Shelby's character.

After he obtained his juris doctorate, Senator Shelby served as the Birmingham city prosecutor--I always like Senators who have been prosecutors--and an Alabama State senator.

I never got elected--or the opportunity to be elected as State senator.

But he began in 1978 his congressional career by serving Alabama's Seventh District in the House of Representatives, and for the last 36 years, Senator Shelby tirelessly served Alabamians in the Senate--a person when they think of whom they look to, they look to him.

And he has been fortunate to serve with some very good Senators from his State that have been friends of mine, a couple on the floor today.

He built an impressive resume. He served on the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Intelligence Committee and the Banking Committee and the Rules Committee. And on the Appropriations Committee, Senator Shelby fought to allocate Federal dollars to key institutions and infrastructure across Alabama, but he did it openly and honestly. He should take great pride in his reputation as a leader who has truly improved the lives of his constituents--something Senators should do.

And as two of the most senior Members of the Senate, I worked alongside Senator Shelby for decades. We spent countless hours working to pass the annual appropriations bills.

Together, we negotiated the end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

And I remember, Senator Shelby, you and I sitting there and deciding: OK. We have an agreement ending the longest shutdown, and we told our leaders--a Republican leader and a Democratic leader--that we had worked out an agreement and here are the details. And they said, if you two have worked it out, that is good enough. And within hours, the longest shutdown ended--Senator Shelby coming on the floor announcing and me having the honor of joining him.

We also share memories from traveling the world together on a variety of key diplomatic missions.

Now, during that time, we had long discussions, candid discussions, open discussions. Thank God, discussions did not have a record, as we discussed what could be done better and should be done better in the Senate.

We formed a great friendship. Our wives--his wife, Dr. Annette Shelby, my wife, Marcelle--also had that friendship. And Dr. Shelby was able to quietly give history lessons on every single place we went to and would have--you remember this, Senator Shelby. The Senators and spouses were with us of both parties and would just sit there and quietly listen to Dr. Shelby--Professor Shelby.

This came in very handy once in a visit to Cuba, where the leader in Cuba, President Raul Castro, was looking at us with suspicion, concern. Dr. Shelby talked about the Cuban students she taught at Georgetown, and, you remember, the whole atmosphere changed, and we all got along well after that.

I could say so much more, and I will later, but I wish both you, my dear friend, and Annette the best in the next role of life. I will miss you. This will not be the same place without you, and it makes my leaving here that much easier.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, and I will, but let me explain why. The bill offered by my colleague on the other side of the aisle is shortsighted and premature.

We have been working on this omnibus for months. I would have been happy to, among the 50 or 60 Senators of both parties, if they had sat down and talked to me about what might be in it. I would have been happy to have heard from him, too, but I know he had other pressing duties and didn't have time to.

But I am afraid it would unnecessarily punt our basic responsibilities even further down the road. Vice Chairman Shelby, Chair DeLauro, and I continue to trade offers and negotiate an omnibus spending bill with the Democrats and Republicans who have worked with us, and we believe we are close to a bipartisan, bicameral agreement. Reaching this agreement now is important for Americans in every State across the country.

I know in my State of Vermont, in my hometown--my farmhouse in Middlesex, VT--it was 20 degrees. Next week, it is going to get colder. With

the cost of natural gas and heating oil up more than 25 percent, families across my State are sitting down at their kitchen tables trying to figure out how they are going to afford to heat their homes and feed their families. Groceries are up more than 10 percent. They are making these decisions right now because they do not have the luxury of simply kicking the can down the road. They need assistance now, not months from now, if at all. They are not the ones who got the benefit from the huge Trump tax cut which increased the deficit but gave money to the highest level of income in our country.

Reaching this agreement now is important because in my home State, opioid deaths are on pace to surpass last year's grim toll. I don't think there is a Senator on this floor who hasn't seen opioid deaths go up in their State. We have seen it throughout the country. And I am not going to stand in the way of blocking money that might help bring those opioid deaths down because Vermont is not alone in this fight against this scourge. You cannot name a State in this country, if they are honest, that is not facing this scourge. Communities across the country host grieving families and people struggling with addiction who need new resources now, not months from now, if at all. That is Republicans, Democrats, Independents, everybody.

These communities are also pleading for resources to support State and local law enforcement. Having spent 8 years in law enforcement, I know what is needed. In fact, most of my friends on the other side of the aisle claim to support law enforcement. Well, if they really mean it, they should pass an omnibus agreement now, which would mean we could get more than 1,500 more police officers on the streets and provide law enforcement new and needed resources now, not months from now, if at all.

Our Nation's veterans need us to act now. Everybody claims they are in support of them--as I am, as our Presiding Officer is, as most Senators are. If we do not do our jobs, the bipartisan PACT Act will go underfunded and VA medical care will fall at least $7.5 billion short. Our Nation's veterans deserve to have the promises we made them fulfilled now, not months from now, if at all.

Victims of natural disasters like Hurricanes Ian and Fiona need us to act now. A continuing resolution would delay aid to these communities by at least 6 weeks.

Now, this week, the Senate will pass the NDAA. It will receive bipartisan praise because of what it says for our armed services. Well, I would remind my colleagues that the NDAA makes many promises, but without an omnibus appropriations bill, it is a broken promise; $76 billion for national defense will be left on the Republican cutting room floor--$76 billion for national defense will be left on the Republican cutting room floor.

I could take up the entire day talking about why this short-term CR is a dereliction of our sworn duty, a failure for the American people, a temporary solution that promises to run headlong into even more difficult problems.

But I will end by saying that Vice Chairman Shelby, Chair DeLauro, and I are close to an agreement. The American people sent us here to do our jobs, not kick the can down the road, not make statements on the floor, but to do our work.

So for these reasons, I object.

Madam President, I have spent more than 30 years working to build closer relations with Vietnam, a country where 58,220 Americans and an estimated 3 million Vietnamese died in a war that never should have been fought. In 1975, as the newest member of the Armed Services Committee, I voted to end funding for the war, a vote that caused the largest newspaper in Vermont to predict that I would never be reelected. The citizens of Vermont reelected me seven times, and that vote is among the ones I am proudest of.

The war was a disaster for both countries, and for 20 years after the war ended, the U.S. maintained a trade embargo against Vietnam which only formally ended in 1994, shortly before diplomatic relations were restored in 1995. That historic step toward reconciliation was due in large part to the advocacy of two American veterans, Senators John Kerry and John McCain, and the involvement of key Vietnamese diplomats such as Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Co Thach, and Nguyen Manh Cam.

Since the late 1980s, the Congress has approved funding for a number of humanitarian programs in Vietnam to address the harmful legacies of the war. We have provided many hundreds of millions of dollars to locate and destroy landmines and other unexploded ordnance, to assist people with severe physical and cognitive disabilities resulting from UXO accidents and exposure to Agent Orange, to clean up former U.S. air bases contaminated with dioxin, and to help Vietnam locate and identify some of its hundreds of thousands of missing soldiers and civilians. Each of these initiatives has been carried out in close cooperation with the Government of Vietnam, including its Ministry of Defense. Next year, we will embark on a unique project to create new exhibits at Vietnam's War Remnants Museum, to tell the story of this postwar cooperation.

These efforts have succeeded due to the vision and support of many people, including Bobby Muller who founded Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation--VVAF--and led the first group of American veterans back to Vietnam in 1981, President George H. W. Bush, and Sr. Lt. General Nguyen Chi Vinh. And they have opened the door to U.S.-Vietnam cooperation in many other areas, including higher education, public health, climate change, and regional security.

I mention this for context and to highlight the key role played by one person who has remained out of the limelight. Thao Griffiths, a Vietnamese woman originally from the small rural community of Ha Giang in the isolated, ethnic minority region of Vietnam bordering China, deserves special recognition.

Thao, a gifted student, was sent to school in Hanoi, graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, became a Fulbright Scholar and received her master's degree at American University in Washington, was awarded an

Eisenhower Fellowship, and for 9 years served as the first Vietnamese citizen and the first woman to direct VVAF's programs in Vietnam. I was introduced to Thao by Bobby Muller 17 years ago, and since then, she has become a trusted source of invaluable advice for me and my staff. Even more than that, she is a friend to me and to my wife Marcelle, who once had the exhilarating experience of riding around the city of Hanoi on the back of Thao's motor scooter. Anyone familiar with Hanoi traffic knows what that means.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that none of the war legacy initiatives that have played such a central role in building a comprehensive partnership between the U.S. and Vietnam would have progressed as they have without Thao's constant encouragement and thoughtful advice. Fluent in English and a networker extraordinaire with unlimited positive energy, on a first name basis with many of Vietnam's top civilian and military leaders, academics and artists, and U.S. and foreign diplomats, Thao has helped build bridges between key players in both governments in ways that I doubt anyone else could have. For the past decade and a half, Thao has, more than anyone else, helped to smooth the way for the leaders of both governments to keep striving to deepen and expand our relations by overcoming distrust, bureaucratic obstacles, and cultural differences. Her efforts have had a profound and lasting impact on our relations, our mutual understanding, and on the lives of the Vietnamese and American people.

This work has been among the things I am proudest of having had a role in during my 48 years in the Senate. On behalf of myself and my wife Marcelle, I want to express my deepest appreciation to Thao Griffiths for her invaluable help in making it possible.

Madam President, in 1986, when much of Central America was embroiled in armed conflicts in which hundreds of thousands of people, overwhelmingly civilians, were killed, a group of parishioners from the Franconia, NH, Congregational Church established Americans Caring Teaching Sharing--ACTS. They traveled to Honduras to support peace and justice through community development, beginning in the small subsistence farming village of El Rosario in the highlands of northwestern Honduras.

Since then, ACTS has become a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization involving hundreds of volunteers who have contributed thousands of hours to ACTS' mission of improving the lives of people in rural Honduras through community projects focused on basic healthcare, nutrition, sanitation, education, agriculture, and economic diversification. ACTS is governed and sustained by volunteers. Teams travel to Honduras several times a year, for a week or 2, to help move the projects forward.

Over the years, the program has expanded to include about a dozen communities surrounding El Rosario. ACTS has developed a close working relationship with the villagers, who are the visionaries for progress. The villagers set the priorities and perform much of the labor. ACTS volunteers provide the technical skills, guidance, material resources, and hands-on help. The result has been a successful example of sustainable, community development in one of the most neglected, impoverished parts of the country.

In addition to the Honduran communities in which ACTS supports projects, it has developed partnerships and associations with many U.S. and Honduran organizations, institutions of higher education, and foundations.

I mention this to provide context and to highlight the extraordinary dedication and leadership of Dean Seibert, long-time resident of Norwich, VT, and professor emeritus at the Geisel School of Medicine, who has been affiliated with ACTS for over 20 years and led the organization for most of that time. He has visited El Rosario as team leader over 30 times. This year alone Dean traveled there three times. Some might find that remarkable, since Dean celebrated his 90th birthday in August. To those who know Dean, it wasn't remarkable at all. His enthusiasm and dedication are indefatigable.

Dean has long had an interest in community development and the challenges of providing healthcare to people of different cultures and traditions. He has worked with the Tohano O'odum, Navajo, Hopi, and Pueblo tribes in the American southwest, and he provided care to flood victims in the Mosquito Coast area of Honduras after Hurricane Mitch, to war refugees in Albania, Kosovo, and Liberia, to earthquake survivors in Pakistan and Haiti, and to flood victims following the Indonesian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. He received the Albany Medical College Alumni Humanitarian Award and the Geisel School of Medicine John H. Lyons award for humanism in medicine.

If that weren't enough, in the past year, Dean has played a central role in creating a new nonprofit, Honduran Tolupan Education Program-- Honduran TEP--devoted to building libraries and providing other basic services in half a dozen marginalized Tolupan indigenous communities in the mountainous province of Yoro. Honduran TEP is based on the recognition that literacy and access to educational resources are fundamental to enabling the Tolucan to develop their communities and defend against corrupt entities that threaten their cultural survival.

In the Congress, we talk a lot about leadership, about what it means, about its importance. We talk about how the Senate can and should be the conscience of the Nation. When I think of Dean Seibert and what he has done in his life, how he has used his medical training and experience, combined with his commitment to social justice, for the betterment of others born into extreme poverty or victims of tragic losses, I can't think of a better example of leadership and conscience.

For much of Honduras' modern history, the U.S. has propped up corrupt, abusive governments and provided their security forces with training and equipment to support poorly conceived strategies to combat drug trafficking and stop migration. The consequences for the Honduran people and Honduras' democratic institutions have been devastating. For the most part, it is not a history to be proud of.

But all Vermonters should be proud of Dean Seibert and ACTS' and Honduran TEP's volunteers for showing a different face of America to the people of Honduras--a face of generosity, compassion, opportunity, and hope.

Madam President, in 1988, after speaking with Bobby Muller, a Vietnam veteran who was wounded and later founded the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation--VVAF--to help alleviate the suffering of Vietnamese and Cambodians who were badly injured in the war, I met with President George H. W. Bush and Secretary of State James Baker at the White House.

At the time, the United States and Vietnam did not have diplomatic relations. Vietnam's economy had been devastated by the war, but the U.S. had a trade embargo against the country which remained in effect for another 15 years. There were many hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese who had been severely disabled due to war injuries, with no access to rehabilitation services. President Bush and Secretary Baker and I agreed that it was in the interest of the United States to begin reconciling with Vietnam by addressing some of the worst legacies of the war and that the way to begin was to use what later became known as the ``Leahy War Victims Fund,'' administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development, to provide artificial limbs and wheelchairs to victims of landmines and other unexploded ordnance--UXO.

That initiative, beginning in Vietnam, was expanded over the years to many other countries whose people have been harmed by armed conflict, and it continues to this day. One of the implementers of the Leahy War Victims Fund in Vietnam, starting in the early 1990s, has been Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped--VNAH--whose founder and president, Ca Van Tran, left Vietnam as a refugee in 1975 with hardly a penny to his name. Over many years, through hard work and perseverance, Ca became a successful businessman in the United States. After returning to Vietnam and seeing

the ongoing suffering of people who had no access to prostheses or wheelchairs, he founded VNAH. Since then, VNAH has carried out successful projects in multiple provinces and was instrumental in working with the Vietnamese authorities to write Vietnam's disabilities law, the first of its kind in the country.

Ca became a good friend to me and my wife Marcelle and to my staff. We have visited VNAH's projects in Vietnam, which now assist victims of Agent Orange as well as injured survivors of UXO accidents. The difference that Ca and VNAH's superb Vietnamese staff have made in the lives of the severely disabled and their families cannot be adequately described in words. People who lost one or both legs, who were crawling on the ground for years, finally received an artificial limb or wheelchair and their dignity restored. Parents, children, and siblings with cognitive and physical disabilities so severe they cannot speak, walk, sit up, feed, or clean themselves now have better care.

In recent years, Ca has had to cope with his own health challenges due to separate motor vehicle accidents both of which were due entirely to the negligence of other drivers. At one point, his own mobility was limited to a wheelchair. Yet as soon as he was physically able and Vietnam relaxed its COVID restrictions, Ca went back there to explore ways to expand VNAH's activities.

Ca has been an inspiration to me and to countless others in this country and in Vietnam. He overcame immense challenges as a refugee, and when he was financially able, he devoted his life to helping others far less fortunate. Although originally from the south, through sheer perseverance and dedication to helping others, he overcame the suspicions of the authorities in Hanoi. It is in no small measure thanks to Ca Van Tran and VNAH that the Leahy War Victims Fund became what it is today.

As I prepare to retire after 48 years in the Senate, I want other Members of Congress to know about Ca Van Tran. He is an exceptional example of the life-changing difference that one compassionate, dedicated person has made to overcome some of the painful legacies of the war in Vietnam.

Madam President, I rise today to celebrate the 90th anniversary of World Learning, a nonprofit organization based in Brattleboro, VT, that is dedicated to building stronger human connections through people-to-people exchanges, international education, and global development programs.

World Learning is more than Vermont's window to the world; it is its door. Its history is deeply rooted in the Green Mountains of southern Vermont. The organization is guided by our State's values of tolerance and interest in the world, living a purposeful life through serving others, and building communities by welcoming newcomers with empathy and dignity.

I am proud that World Learning's impact extends well beyond Vermont. World Learning through its School for International Training--SIT-- administers more than 90 development programs in over 30 countries, teaching English to refugees, expanding STEM training opportunities, and increasing job opportunities for young adults from all backgrounds. World Learning's youth, academic, and professional exchanges bring over 2,000 emerging leaders annually to the U.S. from nearly 160 countries for degree and nondegree programs and professional development and networking opportunities. These programs build enduring ties between future leaders and their U.S. host communities and place American culture and values front and center.

In 1932, World Learning--at that time known as the Experiment in International Living--established the first program in the country to enable young Americans to study abroad and engage in intercultural communication. Through the Experiment, students first lived in the homes of families from the countries where they studied. The then- radical idea, of the ``home stay,'' as the Experiment's founder Dr. Donald Watt put it, is how people would ``learn to live together by living together.''

In the immediate aftermath of World War II, the Experiment sent young Americans across the Atlantic to Western Europe as peacemakers to assist in rebuilding war-ravaged communities across the continent. These young Americans became our Nation's first generation engaged in international community service and international volunteerism.

At the height of the Cold War, President John F. Kennedy asked young Americans to serve their country in the Peace Corps and build human connections and a greater understanding between nations and people. The Experiment was the inspiration behind the vision of international service by Kennedy and Sargent Shriver, the first Peace Corps Director. Shriver was a participant in the Experiment, traveling to Germany and Austria in 1934, and then leading other youth groups for the organization in 1936 and 1939. In 1964, another prominent innovator, Dr. John A. Wallace, founded SIT, an extension of the Experiment, and directed SIT until 1978. Jack was a good friend whose leadership at SIT built on the Experiment platform with programs that sent thousands of young learners around the world. Over time, World Learning has helped design and launch nearly 70 Peace Corps projects and train volunteers for service in more than 30 countries.

The Experiment also rose to the challenge of supporting the U.S. State Department in the largest refugee training and resettlement program in history, assisting more than 250,000 South East Asian refugees at processing centers in Thailand and Indonesia. They led skills assessments, English language instruction, and cultural orientation training. They demonstrated once again the organization's steadfast commitment to building human connections, healthy communities, and peace.

That commitment continues today, at World Learning's headquarters in the town of Brattleboro, where they welcome refugees and support their integration into communities around southern Vermont. As the first stop in Vermont for newcomers from Afghanistan, Ukraine, and elsewhere, World Learning brings together staff, faculty, alumni, and neighbors to offer language, cultural orientation, and friendship in a program that is a national model for effective refugee integration.

I have covered a lot of history in these remarks. That is to be expected when one speaks about World Learning and its many contributions over the past 90 years. This is a time when the world needs what World Learning offers and does best. Many of the challenges we face in my State of Vermont are the same challenges seen in towns and provinces in countries around the world, such as climate change, resettling refugees, combatting infectious diseases, protecting democracy, and the list goes on.

I am just one of many Vermonters who takes immense pride in World Learning's history of bringing people together to develop innovative solutions to shared challenges and to recognize our common humanity. I thank World Learning--its staff and faculty, alumni, and participants-- for their achievements and important ongoing efforts.

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

Mr. President, I am worried that we are heading toward another unnecessary, manufactured crisis because our current government funding is set to expire in 8 days. So I want to take a moment and talk about how we got here, and the path forward.

In fiscal year 2022, Leader McConnell required parity between defense and nondefense funding. This was a requirement that we met--Democrats and Republicans--and it provided the commonsense framework that allowed us to finish our work.

Now, the Republicans have abandoned this framework, demanding steep cuts to programs that the American people rely on. The cuts will be more painful as inflation continues to squeeze pocketbooks. Heating, cooling, food, and housing--these costs are becoming more expensive.

They have justified this change of tactics by claiming that Democrats spent $700 billion in reconciliation bills and that this should negate the need to provide parity to nondefense programs. Well, of course, there is an obvious flaw in that kind of reasoning. The spending that they are talking about was to meet an unprecedented crisis that killed more than 1 million Americans and threatened to collapse the global economy.

Did people expect us not to defend Americans at that time?

The bills were meant to get us out of the pandemic, get the Nation healthy, and get our economy back on track, and I believe they are accomplishing that goal.

Would anybody say they wish we had not spent that money?

They weren't meant to fund the basic functions of the American Government in fiscal year 2023; they were meant to take care of the dangers of the pandemic that killed 1 million Americans and threatened the collapse of the global economy.

Now, we Democrats do agree with our Republican colleagues that inflation threatens the national security. We all agree on that. But nondefense programs face an equal threat and demand an equal response because of inflation, and if we have inaction on the Republican side, that threatens bipartisan priorities and programs--priorities and programs that both Republicans and Democrats support.

Without an omnibus, the bipartisan CHIPS law--remember the CHIPS law? That passed this summer. It will help our country compete with China. Well, it won't be funded, and that competition languishes. And our promise to our veterans will be broken as the bipartisan PACT Act would go underfunded. VA medical care would fall at least $7.5 billion short.

Without an omnibus, those who are opposing the omnibus or those who, by inaction, won't support getting an omnibus before us will defund the police by slashing assistance to local law enforcement and keep 1,500 police officers off the streets and out of our communities. In the face of a surge in domestic violence, it will be the inaction of those who are not helping us get an

omnibus bill through that will leave the bipartisan reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act without the new funding it needs.

Remember when I and others rewrote the Violence Against Women Act? We added the LGBTQ community, we added the Native American community, and we added money to go after those who are predators of children.

Now, Republicans may want to blame Democrats for stifling the economy, but it is their position that will shortchange funding at our ports of entry and strangle the flow of commerce and the economy's ability to grow. You can have rhetoric, but then reality catches up. And you need the money to fund our ports of entry, or we all know the effect it will have on the economy.

And if they do not join in this, it will be Republicans who turn their backs on small businesses by not providing the SBA with the resources it needs to help small businesses thrive.

And sending men and women to the Moon, that funding is going to be delayed.

For months, the Democrats have asked our Republican colleagues to join us at the negotiating table, and for months we were met with dead silence. At this very moment, my door and the doors of my staff are open. They can join us in this work at any time.

Time is running out. We have to move forward. I have stayed here the past several weekends to be available for any kind of negotiations people want. So, to move this forward, I would hope we would have had a bipartisan bill on the floor by now.

On Monday, Chair DeLauro of the House and I will introduce an omnibus bill that we believe is fair and bipartisan. It will fully fund defense at the NDAA level, and it will provide the needed increase to nondefense programs to both stave off inflation but especially to help the American people.

And to show our good faith, we eliminated the so-called poison pill riders that Republicans have objected to, and we firmly believe this bill can and should earn the votes of at least 10 Republican Senators. So I think it is a reasonable path forward.

The money runs out on December 16. I think it would help if my Republican friends accept yes for an answer. There is plenty in here for both Republicans and Democrats to declare a victory.

But most importantly, the American people can declare victory. Each side will get a large part of what they want, but the most important part, the American people will get what they need. We should call this an American bill. It is not a Republican or a Democratic bill; it is a bill for America because if we don't do it, we are going to have a continuing resolution at last year's level, with no adjustments for inflation, with real-life consequences that would entail.

I would hope no Republican wants that because if they do, we end up with a continuing resolution that lowers funds of everything from defense to nondefense programs. It damages our economy; it damages our defense; and they will have only themselves to blame.

I would hope it won't be a case of who passes blame of a disaster but rather a case where we come together and say to America: You can declare victory.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, we have so many things going on in Washington these days, with just about everything from budgetary matters to wrapping up this session of the Congress.

I was delighted today to take a step back and, in my role as President pro tempore, introduce today's visiting Chaplain. I am always pleased to introduce the Chaplain, usually Dr. Barry Black, sometimes visiting ones, but this one is special.

He is the bishop of Burlington, which, really, the diocese covers all the State of Vermont. His name is Christopher Coyne. He knows our part of New England. He was born in Woburn, MA, and graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a B.A. in business, St. John's Seminary in Boston as a Master of Divinity, ordained a priest in June 1989, but then has fulfilled significant roles, both in the diocese where he originated and with the Vatican in Rome. And I will talk more about that at another time.

But he was elected chairman of the Committee of Communications of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. And when the bishops met, the voice you often heard was Bishop Coyne because of his credibility, his honesty, and the fact that he would give very direct answers.

And then Pope Francis named him bishop of the Diocese of Burlington, and he was installed in that January 29, 2015, and brought a new, really, wave of enthusiasm into the Catholic diocese in Vermont. He made it a point to go around the State meeting with people.

I would tell a personal story. I was at an event in Burlington on Veterans Day. I was going to be speaking there. And a jogger came up and tapped me on the shoulder. It was the bishop. He was out doing his morning run and walk. But it is something that is interrupted all the time because he will stop and talk with everybody, and they want to talk with him.

He is the kind of bishop every diocese should have: approachable, honest, good for the community. He has reached out to the Jewish community, the Protestant community. It has brought enthusiasm on both sides.

I see our distinguished majority leader on the floor who has been working hard the last few days on too many things, but I know he will get us through it, and I will do my part on the appropriations.

Mr. Leader, I just wanted to say a word about our distinguished visiting Chaplain Bishop Coyne, taking advantage of the privileges of the floor, sitting over there, and I will yield the floor and yield to you.

Madam President, while the distinguish leader is still on the floor, let me thank him for those remarks. And I know Marcelle will thank him too. Of course, our spouses have spent a lot of time together, and we know who the real leaders are in the house.

I think of what the leader has said, and he speaks of the time when we worked together. And I appreciate very much--I have told him privately, but I will say it publicly: I have appreciated the friendship and the work together.

We did go back and forth over a period of years. Part of the time he was chair, and part of the time I was chair, but in a very, very important subcommittee.

In Foreign Ops we had everything from foreign aid to a lot of the things we did around the world. But that bill would pass on the floor, oftentimes on a Friday afternoon, when everybody would say: Bring it up; we have got to get out of here.

And it passed, virtually, unanimously. We would work out a couple of differences. First, we talked about them, and then they were gone, and off we went.

I remember speaking at a symposium put together by the distinguished leader, and I was given and presented with a Louisville Slugger with my name on it. Now, throughout the course of any Senator's career, and certainly one of 48 years, you get presented with a lot of things, which you thank people for, and you put them in the closet or the attic. This, I would tell the distinguished Senator, has stayed in public view in my office ever since I came home with it. And I loved showing it off at a time when we have to be back together on more things. But we have on that. You talked about the landmine legislation and the war victims legislation, and I appreciate your work on that, Mr. Leader.

And it reflected such good in this Senate but also the people who were helped by it. There are no eradicating landmines, there is no victim of landmines that is going to come in and say: Well, we can support your next campaign.

No, they don't even know who we are. They know we helped them.

When the leader talked to me about Burma, I finally got educated on Burma. And I was an easy sell--I think he would agree on that--because of the case he made but also because of the history he gave me.

I don't want to hold up the Senate. I will speak longer about these things on the day I leave, which will be soon.

I look forward to leaving because Marcelle and I can be back home all the time, but I will miss so many friends I have made--the well over 400 Senators I have served with. And I think the distinguished leader has served with hundreds also. Some were here for a long time. Some were here for, sometimes, I think, in a couple of instances, a matter of a month or two. I prefer a long time to a month or two. It is easier to get to know each other.

I will speak further about this. But I was honored to be on the floor when this happened.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.