Floor Statements

Reserving the right to object, as my colleague is aware, I have an outstanding request with the Commerce Committee, which

my colleague chairs, for us to hear testimony from Commerce Secretary Raimondo and Transportation Secretary Buttigieg or their Senate- confirmed leadership about the supply chain crisis.

I have been clear that until we hear from these Agency leaders, either in the Commerce Committee or in an open meeting, that I would be holding all Department of Transportation and Department of Commerce nominees from moving forward in an expedited manner.

We have had crisis after crisis due to the failed leadership of President Biden and his appointees. Just look at the inflation crisis caused by the Democrats' reckless spending that is hurting families and putting too many Americans in the position of deciding whether to fill their gas tank, heat their house this winter, or put food on the table.

Just this week, I spoke with a veteran in Land O' Lakes, FL. He is a small business owner, and he has seen prices on raw materials rise by 50 percent just this year. Even though he has seen greater demand, he is not making more money because of the rising prices.

If he tries to pass those costs on to his customers, he will lose business. On top of that, rising gas prices are making it difficult to afford taking his kids to basketball and karate practices.

I have also talked to an operator of a food bank in Osceola, FL. She used to see 15 families each day, and now she is seeing upward of 70 families each day.

Food prices have gone through the roof, making it more expensive for her to get food to give to people who are hurting at the very time demand is up. I talked to a mom in Punta Gorda, FL. Her gas costs have more than doubled, and her monthly grocery budget doesn't go as far as it used to.

Recently, she has started visiting her local food pantry once a month so she has enough to feed her kids. That is something she has never had to do before. These are real Floridians who are hurting. Thank goodness for organizations like food pantries and everyone else who is helping families who are struggling because the Biden administration has spent months doing nothing to solve this crisis.

In fact, they are actively hurting them as inflation rises to record highs and is threatening to rise even more as Biden pushes his reckless tax-and-spend agenda.

I cannot and I will not consent to allowing these nominees to move forward in an expedited manner. We should take a vote so every Senator can get on the record with their support or opposition to these nominees.

Therefore, Mr. President, I object.

Mr. President, I still can't understand, if the Biden administration is doing so many things, why wouldn't they want to come brag about it? Why wouldn't they want to tell all Americans exactly what they are doing?

The reason they don't want to do it is it is not getting better. I am still hearing day in and day out from people all over my State who are hurting because the Biden administration is not doing anything to solve the supply chain crisis.

Therefore, I object.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, you know, my father was an over-the-road truckdriver. He drove for Admiral Freight Line. My uncle was an over-the-road truckdriver. He drove for a consolidated freight line.

I watched the difficulties my father and my uncle had performing their jobs, and it was at a time when truckers weren't paid well, and, actually, most truckers were laid off by Thanksgiving because most of the goods were there for the Christmas season.

In my father's case, I don't remember a Christmas that my dad was actively working. So I think it is very, very important that we do everything we can to help truckers, and I am glad that truckers today are paid better than they were back when my father and my uncle drove.

My uncle actually died in a trucking accident. So I think it is very important that we do everything we can to support our truckers. And what I still can't understand is why the Commerce Committee does not want to hear exactly what the Secretary of Transportation or the Secretary of Commerce is doing to help our truckers. What are they doing to improve the supply chain?

You would think they would want to come down here to say exactly what they have done to make the life of truckers better so that we get more people in trucking rather than less.

So I think we should--I cannot allow these nominees to go forward in an expedited manner. Therefore, I object.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, you know, my colleagues keep talking about the infrastructure bill. The difference between their infrastructure bill and what we did while I was Governor of Florida is this: I actually spent our infrastructure money on roads, bridges, airports, and seaports, and, at the same time, we spent $85 billion in 8 years in one State doing that. We also cut taxes and fees 100 times, and we actually reduced our debt by a third, over $10 billion.

The infrastructure bill--the so-called infrastructure bill--had less than 50 percent of it in infrastructure. People said it was paid for, and it wasn't.

So I am glad people want to keep saying that it is a so-called infrastructure bill, but let's remember: It wasn't paid for; they said it was. And it wasn't all for roads, bridges, airports, and seaports, which is what they said it was in the beginning.

So, therefore, I object.

Mr. President, first of all, facts are facts. Less than 50 percent of the bill had anything to do with roads and bridges, airports and seaports.

We were told all along it was going to be paid for; it wasn't. The Congressional Budget Office confirmed that.

So facts are facts.

On top of that, the majority leader could have, if these were important nominees, as my colleagues keep saying they are, they could have filed cloture and done these nominees.

I mean, think of what we have done this last 2 weeks that we have been up here. Very few nominees have come through.

Mr. President, so I think my colleague doesn't understand that when you borrow money, you eventually have to pay it back.

The government doesn't produce income. It takes money from people. That means that when that bill--the so-called infrastructure bill--runs deficits, somebody's taxes are going up. Whether they go up today or tomorrow, they are going to go up.

And, by the way, it is part of why the Democrats had to raise the debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion, and that is $2.5 trillion that Americans families are going to have to pay for.

Mr. President, I would do what I did in Florida. I walked into a $4 billion budget deficit. I balanced the budget. I cuts taxes and fees 100 times. I paid off a third of the State debt. I never increased my State debt. I actually cut it by $10.5 billion. That is exactly what we ought to be doing here. We can't keep wasting money because somebody is going to pay for it.

Say again?

Absolutely.

Part of it. Last year, what we did was suspend the debt ceiling.

Mr. President, my experience is totally different than my colleague from Montana's experience.

My experience is you build your economy by growing jobs. You build your economy by investing in education, where you get a return. So, in my 8 years as Governor of Florida, we added 1.7 million jobs. We cut taxes and revenues grew. It allowed us to make record investments in education, in transportation, and in the environment. By the time I left office in Florida, we had the second lowest tuition of higher education in the country. According to the U.S. News & World Report, we were No. 1 in education, but we did it by getting a return on all of the dollars. We didn't do it by just spending money without getting a return.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object.

Let's remember why I am here.

For weeks, I have been asking the chair of the Commerce Committee to invite the Secretaries of Transportation and Commerce to come tell us what they are doing to fix this supply chain crisis. We still have 100 cargo ships off the coast of California. Is it getting better? No, it is not getting better. I was on a call this week, and I did not hear one thing that has been done to solve this supply chain crisis.

When I was the Governor of Florida, we had hurricanes. We had to work hard to make sure we didn't run out of fuel. To make that happen, what we would do is we would put everybody together. I often went to the ports to make sure that we got the fuel through, and we did. We got it done.

I have not seen the Secretary of Transportation go out to the Port of Palm Beach to solve any problems at all. I have not heard of anything the Secretary of Commerce has done to go out to California and solve this supply chain crisis. On these nominees, cloture could have been filed by the majority leader. For whatever reason, the majority leader decided not to do it.

Therefore, I object.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object.

First, I want to thank my colleague from Washington for holding the hearing with the airlines, and there are two things about that.

I was surprised that I didn't get a very good answer from the airlines about, did we get a return on the--what?--$54 billion we provided the airline industry? I was extremely disappointed that United Airlines was cavalier with the employees in my State who were basically let go or laid off without pay only because they decided not to get the vaccine for religious purposes.

In coming back to this issue, I still am waiting for the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Commerce to come to a public event so all of our constituents in my State can hear exactly what they are doing to solve the supply chain problem. I can tell you that I was on this phone call, and this problem is not getting better. There are still 100 cargo ships off the coast of California. I want to hear exactly what they are doing and so do the citizens of my State.

Therefore, I object.

Mr. President reserving the right to object.

I want to be clear. I like infrastructure. I spent $85 billion on infrastructure. With $10 billion a year, we had a dramatic increase in infrastructure. It is part of the reason we added 1.7 million jobs. I also did a lot of work to try to make sure we increased trade in Florida. We have 15 seaports. I believe in all of this.

I also believe we have a supply chain crisis right now. It is not getting better. I am shocked that my colleague does not want to ask the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Commerce to explain to the American public why this is not getting better.

Therefore, I object.

Mr. President.

Reserving the right to object, the one thing that has not been addressed is, if this were so important, why didn't my colleagues go to the majority leader--same party--and ask him to file cloture on these nominees?

I still also have never been told why, when I have been asking for this for weeks, these two Secretaries won't show up and tell my citizens why they can't solve the supply chain problem. Therefore, I object.

Madam President, we are less than 3 weeks away from Christmas, and Joe Biden has run this country into the ground.

I know President Biden thinks that Santa can solve his problems, but our supply chain is such a mess not even Santa Claus, with all of his Christmas magic, can fix it.

There are nearly 100 ships waiting to dock in California ports. About 40 of them are a few miles off the coast, but more than 50 are holding back farther in the Pacific. It looks to me like the Biden administration didn't like the visual.

I recently received a letter from a grandmother in New Smyrna Beach, FL. She is retired now but was a small business owner who has spent her life working hard to support her kids and grandkids.

I have the letter with me. In her letter she writes:

I am worried about inflation. I see prices of fuel,

groceries, and staples going through the roof. I see the

American standard of life declining. It is getting harder and

harder for families to make ends meet, buy a home, afford

medical care and higher education for their children.

She also tells me that Joe Biden's unconstitutional vaccine mandate is putting her husband at risk of losing his job, despite the fact that he worked throughout the pandemic as an essential worker.

She is not alone. She shares the exact same concerns as millions of Americans and businesses right now that are reeling from the impacts of Biden's socialism.

The Pantry of Broward County, FL, usually supplies meals to 500 families each month, but they weren't able to donate as many Thanksgiving turkeys this year because of skyrocketing prices.

And there are other terrible stories in the news across my State every day.

I heard about a single father of three in Clearwater, FL, who lost his job due to COVID, and at his new job he is having to stretch each dollar as far as it can possibly go as prices for meat, food, rent, everything goes up and up and up.

I heard about a woman who delivers groceries in South Miami. She is seeing prices going up and having to send pictures of empty shelves to her online customers to show grocery stores are out of so many products. She can hardly ever find any juice boxes for her own children.

These are the stories of real Floridians, and I could keep going because Florida families and families all across our great country are struggling as Biden's inflation and supply chain crisis rages on.

Now, most people, when they are in charge, they want to do something positive when a problem arises. When the families are struggling, leaders should want to solve a problem.

What is shocking is that even as ships wait in docks, in ports--wait to dock in ports and families are forced to count their pennies and sometimes even go without certain products, the Biden administration is doing absolutely nothing.

Secretary Raimondo and Secretary Buttigieg would rather play TV commentator than actually travel to California and solve some of these problems facing our distributors. Instead of coming to the Senate Commerce Committee to testify about what actions they are actually taking, they would rather stay silent. If they don't want to show up and do the job they signed up for, I have heard there is an opening at

Mr. President, reserving the right to object.

I am sure my colleague is aware that, last month, I sent a letter to the Commerce Committee--a committee on which we both serve--informing the chair that I would be holding all Department of Transportation and Department of Commerce nominees until the Senate-confirmed leadership from these Agencies testify about the supply chain crisis.

Right now, there are nearly 100 ships waiting to dock in California ports to unload their goods, but they are unable to do so because of President Biden's supply chain crisis. Christmas is just a couple weeks away, and families and businesses are facing empty shelves, shortages on goods, and higher prices. And, so far, Secretary Raimondo and Secretary Buttigieg have been too busy playing TV commentator to actually go to California and solve the problem.

It is long past time for the Biden administration to tell us what they are actually doing to solve this crisis and help American families.

I appreciate my colleague's partnership with me on the issues under the purview of the Commerce Committee. In fact, I am looking forward to next week, when the bill we are putting together will be considered during a Commerce markup hearing.

Given that we will be in session next week, I would urge my colleagues to join me in urging leadership from the Commerce and Transportation Departments that come before the committee and testify on what those Agencies are doing to combat and mitigate the supply chain crisis that is hurting so many families and businesses in Florida and across the country.

This isn't an unreasonable request. The Senate has oversight authority, and we can't allow Agency leadership to just ignore their responsibility to report to us on these issues impacting our constituents.

But if that is too much to ask, I am inviting Secretary Raimondo and Secretary Buttigieg to even just have an open, public meeting with me and my colleagues. But until we hear from Senate-confirmed officials responsible for this crisis in the Commerce committee, I will be objecting to all Commerce and Transportation nominees going through an expedited process here in the Senate.

This isn't personal. It is about accountability for Florida families. Therefore, Mr. President, I object.

Mr. President, since being elected to the U.S. Senate about 3 years ago, I have spoken often about the dangers presented by communist China. I have not been alone in this. Colleagues on both sides of the aisle--Republicans, Democrats, and Independents in this body--have been vocal about the threats we face from General Secretary Xi and his communist regime.

While we may not always agree on the solutions to the problems caused by communist China, I feel we are united in a truth: the good people of China are being brutally oppressed, censored, intimidated, and manipulated by the Chinese Communist Party--a regime that wants nothing more than to dominate the world and extinguish the democratic values and true freedoms we so proudly stand for.

Communist China's actions have repeatedly made this fact clear to all freedom-loving people across the world, and its latest attack on liberty and freedom of Peng Shuai demand our attention.

Ms. Shuai is one of China's most recognizable athletes. She is a three-time Olympian and was ranked the No. 1 doubles player in 2014 by the Women's Tennis Association. She has won championships at Wimbledon and the French Open and has represented her country at the highest levels of tennis competition.

So when she shared her story of sexual abuse by a former Vice Premier of the Chinese Communist Party last month on social media, it rightfully caught the attention of the world.

And communist China's reaction to these disturbing allegations have both shocked us all and completely verified all of our fears.

Instead of taking Ms. Shuai's claims seriously and investigating these allegations, the communist Chinese Government followed its authoritarian playbook--silence, deflect, and cover up.

General Secretary Xi and his Communist thugs are so thin-skinned, weak, and intolerant of any questioning of their conduct that the government immediately silenced and disappeared Ms. Shuai.

For more than 2 weeks, a global outcry arose, led by the Women's Tennis Association, asking ``Where is Peng?''

Then, communist China's state media released what it said was an email from Ms. Shuai to the Women's Tennis Association reversing her allegations. It read like a hostage note and only raised more concerns as to her whereabouts and safety.

Then, the communist Chinese Government shared a couple of videos of Ms. Shuai at various structured public events and staged two video calls with the International Olympic Committee. Shockingly, the International Olympic Committee didn't ask about her disappearance. They didn't ask about her allegations of abuse. But are any of us surprised?

I have been pressing the International Olympic Committee to speak up against communist China's genocide, attacks on democracy, and other abuses for 2 years. They have been completely silent.

The IOC's failure to ask these questions reveals it is more interested in appeasing the Chinese Communist Party and maintaining its good relationship with a genocidal communist regime than the safety of athletes.

I am not the only one who believes this. Last week, world renowned sports broadcaster Bob Costas appeared on CNN and told the truth that I have been sounding the alarm on. The IOC is in bed with communist China. It is disgusting, but that is the truth.

Fortunately, the Women's Tennis Association took real action to stand up for Ms. Shuai. Last week, the WTA announced it would be suspending all of its events in China until it was clear that Ms. Shuai was safe and in good health. The WTA is also calling for a full-fledged and completely transparent investigation into Ms. Shuai's allegations.

We should applaud the WTA for doing the right thing and showing the world how sport can stand up to an evil authoritarian communist regime. This is what courage looks like, and I believe it ought to be celebrated in this body. The IOC, on the other hand, is bending over backward to keep communist China happy.

We have American athletes and coaches traveling to Beijing in just weeks. It is terrifying. If communist China is willing to do this to its own citizens, how do we know Americans will be safe during the Olympics?

We must demand that Ms. Shuai immediately be freed from censorship, coercion, and intimidation, and that there be a full investigation into her serious allegations of sexual assault against former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli.

That is why I have introduced a resolution calling exactly for that.

I am thankful that Senators Lummis, Rubio, Braun, Hawley, and Cruz have joined me. The United States is the leading voice of freedom and democracy around the world. We cannot tolerate this kind of behavior, and I urge my colleagues to stand together today for human rights and help pass this good resolution.

Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 474, which is at the desk. I further ask that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Peng Shuai.

Mr. President.

Reserving the right to object, first, I thank my colleague for agreeing that--I think we all agree that what has happened to Peng Shuai is wrong, and I think we all know we have to stand up to what communist China is doing.

Here is my concern about Nick Burns: Until the day he was nominated by President Biden, he had had no problems with communist China. He has never stood up to communist China; he has taken money from communist China; he has always looked the other way.

So my concern is that we ought to have a vote on him because everybody ought to have the opportunity to talk to him and get his position. I have talked to him, and he has never ever said a word about the Uighurs, about the Tibetans, about what happened in Hong Kong, about stealing American technology. He has never done any of those things. So I don't know how it is going to help us.

I object to the modification, but I hope my colleague will agree that the resolution itself is worth it to go forward and just do it by themselves, and, over time, we will have a vote on Nick Burns.

Mr. President, this is pretty disappointing, all right?

My Democratic colleague said that he agreed with the resolution. I think it is time that we stand up for the Chinese citizens who are being oppressed by Secretary Xi.

What this resolution does is say that, you know, we have got to stand up to all the oppression in China, that we have got to stand up for Peng Shuai. The resolution says, you know, as for the athletes who are going over there, we have your backs. Yet, if you look at what is happening now, the Democrats are saying: We are not going to do those things.

I don't think that is right. I don't believe our platform in the Senate should be that we don't stand for alleged victims of sexual assault. I think, by not having this resolution approved today and having the Democrats block it, that that is exactly what we are saying.

So it is pretty disappointing. This was a basic resolution that said that we were going to stand up for Peng Shuai. I am very appreciative of what the WTA has done. I am very disappointed with what the NBA has done. I am disappointed with what the IOC has done.

I am also disappointed that the Senate, today, could not come to a resolution and simply stand up for somebody who has accused the Vice Premier of China of sexual assault. None of us would like that to happen to anybody in our families, and we don't want it to happen to anybody in this country. We ought to stand up for people in China just like we would want them to stand up for people in this country.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object.

First, I want to acknowledge my colleague's interest in the nominee for the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

I am not sure if my colleague is aware, but, last month, I sent a letter to the Commerce Committee, informing them that I would be holding all Department of Transportation and Department of Commerce nominees until the committee hears testimony from Secretary Raimondo and Secretary Buttigieg about the supply chain crisis.

Right now, there are nearly 100 ships waiting to dock in California ports to unload their goods, but they are unable to do so because of President Biden's supply chain crisis. Christmas is just a couple of weeks away, and families and businesses are facing empty shelves, shortages on goods, and higher prices. So far, as far as I can tell, I have only seen Secretary Buttigieg and Secretary Raimondo play TV commentator rather than actually go out to California and solve the problems.

It is long past time for the Biden administration to tell us exactly what they are doing to solve this crisis and help American families. Until we hear from Secretary Buttigieg and Secretary Raimondo in the Commerce Committee, I will be objecting to all Commerce and Transportation nominees going through an expedited process here in the Senate.

This isn't personal. It is about accountability. I look forward to hearing from Secretary Raimondo and Secretary Buttigieg and then going forward with these nominees.

Therefore, Mr. President, I object.

Mr. President, in reserving the right to object, throughout his Presidency, Joe Biden and his administration have shown a complete and total inability to place qualified and competent people in positions of power across the Federal Government. We have had crisis after crisis due to the failed leadership of President Biden and his appointees. I have absolutely no faith that Joe Biden's radical, far-left nominees will uphold the rule of law.

I cannot and will not consent to allowing these nominees to move forward in an expedited manner. We should take a vote so every Senator can get on the record with their support or opposition to each of these nominees.

Therefore, I object.

Mr. President, I object.

Mr. President, I object.

Mr. President, I object.

Mr. President.

I object.

Mr. President.

I object.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. 3263 and the Senate then proceed to its immediate consideration. I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, the crisis at the U.S. southern border is raging out of control.

Last week, I traveled down to the southern border to hear from local leaders, law enforcement, and our brave Border Patrol agents in Yuma, AZ. I saw the border at night and during the daylight hours with Arizona Department of Homeland Security Director Tim Roemer, Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot, Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls, and County Supervisor Jonathan Lines. I got to talk with Border Patrol in Arizona and heard from them about how hard this job has become thanks to Joe Biden's radical open border policies.

Let me just say that these men and women who work at the Border Patrol are our absolute heroes. In Yuma, Border Patrol agents are encountering illegal immigrants every day, some of whom are dangerous criminals, traffickers, drug cartel members, or even terrorists. Others are families who have been victimized by the cartels. I encountered a family from Haiti while I was there. I watched them cross the border through a massive hole in the border wall caused by Joe Biden's decision not to complete the already paid-for wall--not to complete an already paid-for wall.

These families are victims of the cartels. Once in America, many of them live a life of indentured servitude and debilitating debt in which they have to send nearly all of their money back to the savage cartels. Many of the children are trafficked, made to pose as the children of people they don't know. We know that so many women and children who make this journey are brutally victimized and raped, but, still, the cartels push these families across the border. It is all just money to them, and Joe Biden's actions are making the cartels richer.

I saw it firsthand last week. Dozens of migrants crossed into our country right in front of me while I was in Yuma, and we could see the savage coyotes watching them from across the river. That is what our brave Border Patrol is up against each and every day. There are about 200 Border Patrol agents across the entire Yuma Sector, but that same area is seeing more than 700 illegal crossings every day.

It is sad how many of our Democrat colleagues don't give these brave agents the respect they deserve, and they certainly are not getting it from the White House. So I want to be clear here on the floor of the U.S. Senate: In America, we respect our Border Patrol, we respect law enforcement, and we are incredibly thankful for their hard work and for their bravery. This was not my first time visiting the border since being elected to the Senate, but it was definitely the worst I have ever seen it.

Secretary Mayorkas testified in the Homeland Security Committee that the border is closed. He said the border is closed. He is, maybe, the only person in America who is going to say that. No one in this country believes the border is closed, and it is clearly not. I saw it with my own eyes, and many of the Members of this Chamber have seen it also. Secretary Mayorkas has repeatedly lied to me and to other Members, and he must resign now.

Just this fiscal year, there have been 1.7 million illegal border crossings. That is the highest ever on record. That means that, by the end of this year, about 1 out of every 150 people in this country will have come here illegally--this year.

In Florida, we are an immigration State, and we are very proud of it. We love immigration. It has helped build our State, but it has to be legal.

Illegal immigration threatens our safety, undermines our legal process, and hurts those who are waiting to come here through legal channels. But under Biden's system of open borders and illegal immigration, we are seeing dangerous individuals trying to come into this country.

Of the 1.7 million people apprehended, which does not even include the getaways, we know that more than 10,000 have criminal records. Now, if you are not going to be apprehended and you try to get away, are you probably more inclined to have some past record that you don't want the Border Patrol or law enforcement to know about? There are 10,000 of the ones apprehended who have prior criminal records. Nearly 1,200 have prior convictions of assault or domestic violence. There are 2,100 who have prior drug convictions. Nearly 500 have prior sexual abuse offenses. And the Biden administration can't even tell us where they are. They can't tell us where any of these individuals are, anything about what has happened to them, if they are being held or if they have been deported--nothing.

I want to be clear: These are dangerous criminals who can harm our families--American families--and even one is too many.

Along with those border crossings, our Border Patrol agents have seized more than 11,000 pounds of fentanyl in the last year--11,000 pounds. That is four times as much as was confiscated in 2019. Now, let's think about this: 2 milligrams of fentanyl is a lethal dose--2 milligrams--and 1 pound is enough to kill nearly a quarter of a million people. If you do the math, just the amount the Border Patrol has confiscated this year is enough to kill 2.5 billion people. There are 100,000 Americans who have died of drug overdoses this year; 100,000 Americans are dead because of drug overdoses just this year. That is 1 out of every 3,000 Americans. It is hitting Florida and every community across this country. Floridians, like everyone in this country, want to live in safe communities where their families can thrive and prosper.

Where is Joe Biden? He is missing. He is hiding from the crisis he created. I heard him say recently that he hasn't had time to get to the border. He didn't have time to get to the border. Well, I hope he enjoyed his vacation in Nantucket last week and had plenty of ice cream.

What makes you even more angry is that, while drugs and illegal immigrants are flowing in, Secretary Mayorkas has the audacity to come to the Homeland Security Committee and tell us that the border is closed when it clearly is not. It is shameful, and Secretary Mayorkas should resign.

Simply holding Mayorkas accountable isn't going to solve this crisis. We need to do more to make sure our laws are being upheld. This crisis and the administration's refusal to do anything about it is why I have introduced the Upholding the Law at Our Border Act. This simple bill would require the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security to investigate the vetting and processing of migrants apprehended along the southwest border and ensure that all laws are being upheld.

It is a simple question that the inspector general can and should answer: Is the Biden administration following all of the laws with respect to immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border?

My colleague said he wanted to change the immigration laws. In the meantime, you enforce the laws. When I was the Governor of Florida, I had to enforce all of the laws whether I liked them or not. That is exactly what the Border Patrol should be doing right now and what the Biden administration should be doing right now.

It is the kind of question everyone in this body should be interested in: Is the executive branch doing its job in following and enforcing the laws that the legislative branch has passed?

When the executive branch doesn't enforce those laws, they should be held accountable.

This was a simple bill to find out if the Department of Homeland Security is following all of the laws. It is pretty simple: Follow all of the laws in place as they relate to immigration and customs enforcement on our southern border. Yet my colleague objected to finding out just this basic information.

There is clearly a crisis on the border, and we all know it. Instead of ensuring that the laws that this body has passed are being enforced and doing something about the influx of drugs that are killing American citizens and traffickers coming into our country, my colleague wants to hear nothing about it.

There were 100,000 Americans who died of overdoses this last year. Every person who dies of an overdose impacts a family. It seems the Democrats in Washington would rather stick their heads in the sand and pretend that nothing is wrong.

I want to ask my Democratic colleagues: How do you explain 100,000 lives lost in drug overdoses to a parent who just lost a son or a daughter, and how do you explain Biden's decision to open our borders to our brave Border Patrol agents?

Our Border Patrol agents have no idea why these decisions are being made. I wonder if any of my Democratic colleagues has talked to a family who has lost a son or a daughter to a fentanyl overdose or has talked to a member of Border Patrol recently. Or do they just have to follow the lead of the ``open borders'' Biden, and they can never object to whatever Biden wants and can ignore our laws and our law enforcement?

We have already seen that Joe Biden's policies of open borders and amnesty have been a total disaster for our Nation. He has laid out the welcome mat for traffickers and cartel members and has ignored U.S. laws that are designed to keep American families safe--to keep American families safe--including not fully enforcing title 42.

It is clear that law enforcement in Yuma and across our southern border need help, and every day that Joe Biden and Secretary Mayorkas fail to provide it, they fail the American people. Secretary Mayorkas doesn't work for Joe Biden. He works for the American people, and he needs to do his job and secure this border.

It is a shameful decision to forsake the responsibility the American public has entrusted to Members of this body and to this executive branch. Enforce the law. It is a decision to stand against our Border Patrol agents and our law enforcement, who are putting their lives on the line every day to keep dangerous drugs and violent criminals from entering this country. That is their job, and they need help in doing it.

We can't let this stand any longer, because the American people deserve better than having 100,000 people, this last year, dying of drug overdoses.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, as empty shelves grow more and more common, prices are surging higher, and small businesses can't access the goods they need to serve their customers. Joe Biden's supply chain and inflation crises are devastating for so many Americans, but it is our poorest families--those on low and fixed incomes, like mine growing up--who are hurt the most.

Just last week, we saw the new CPI inflation data come out. Rates are the highest they have been in more than 30 years. Every month, when I see Biden's new inflation numbers come out--and they are always worse than the month before--I think about my mom. Growing up, I watched my mom struggle every day just to put food on the table and make ends meet for our family. Now countless families across America are dealing with that same struggle today all because of Joe Biden's reckless, socialist policies, like his unconstitutional vaccine mandates. These policies are fueling inflation and the current supply chain crisis, but Biden and his administration do absolutely nothing to fix it.

Throughout my years in business and 8 years as the Governor of Florida, I learned that, when you are trying to solve a problem, the best place to start is by bringing people together. When hurricanes devastated Florida, and we had to deal with restoring power and communication services and getting resources where they were needed most, we brought people together and got to work to solve problems, but you don't see any of that with this administration.

Just look at inflation. I have been talking about inflation nonstop all year, and it is getting worse and worse and worse. Biden has totally ignored it. His administration has attacked people like Larry Summers and me. Larry Summers is a Clinton-Obama appointee who warned early on that reckless spending was going to fuel a massive inflation crisis.

Now we are seeing the same thing with Biden's supply chain crisis. I have called on Commerce Secretary Raimondo and Transportation Secretary Buttigieg to come before the Commerce Committee and testify about what they are doing to resolve this problem. They haven't shown up. We haven't had a single hearing on this crisis in the Commerce Committee. I have seen them on TV dismiss the severity of the problem. I was surprised to see that Secretary Buttigieg had time to attend a bill signing but still hasn't been to California to get working on the massive supply chain issues that are stranding dozens of ships off the California coast.

Unlike the Biden administration, I am not going to sit around and play TV commentator. Families in Florida expect and deserve more than that. That is why I was proud to partner with my friend and colleague Congressman Carlos Gimenez to introduce the Supply Chain Emergency Response Act to get products flowing to American families and businesses again. Our legislation is simple and common sense. Congress passed the CARES Act to help our economy survive the effects of COVID and the economic lockdowns. We know that much of that money remains unspent and that it could be used for far more important purposes.

We also know that there are dozens of ships waiting to dock and be unloaded at California ports right now. Our bill would redirect $125 million of unspent, unobligated CARES Act funds to help pay for the costs of moving cargo ships, which are waiting to dock on the west coast, through the Panama Canal, so they can dock along the east coast, including in States like Florida. I am going to be clear. This bill does nothing to mandate that ships be redirected to the east coast. It simply provides an option and the funding to offset some of the costs. The bill would also allow Governors to use their unspent and unobligated CARES Act funds to offset port fees and other related State-level expenses. It is the pretty simple idea of using the money meant to help with the economic recovery to actually help with the economic recovery.

Just last week, at the Port of Palm Beach, I had a meeting with port and business leaders who are seeing the delays and effects firsthand. Their businesses are hurting and are left waiting for weeks and months for the resources they need to run their businesses and serve their customers. We need a solution, and Florida's ports are ready and able to help with this crisis, and with the holidays getting closer and closer, we can't waste any more time.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 3224, which is at the desk. Further, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Madam President, I appreciate my colleague, and I am proud to serve on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation with her.

Just remember, what we are talking about here is a supply chain problem, and let's not ignore a very important fact. That committee has not held a single hearing on this crisis.

I have been calling for Secretary Buttigieg and Secretary Raimondo to testify in the Commerce Committee on Biden's supply chain crisis for weeks and haven't seen one bit of action taken to make that happen. I don't think we can wait any longer. American families can't wait any longer.

Biden's supply chain crisis is hurting American families everywhere right now. The President's failed policies and unconstitutional vaccine mandates are stifling business growth, crippling our supply chain, and fueling his--his--inflation crisis. Restoring our supply chains is critical to getting the American economy rolling again and something President Biden doesn't seem to understand, but we need solutions.

I actually feel sorry that my Democratic colleagues have to cover for the President's failures instead of actually helping the American people. Passing this bill today would have given us the opportunity to provide some needed relief in the supply chain and help lower costs for American families who are worried about whether they will be able to afford Thanksgiving dinner and Hanukkah gifts and holiday gifts.

We need solutions now, and today's inaction is a perfect example why the American people don't trust Washington to get anything done.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, in December, President Biden promised he would not require Americans to be vaccinated or require that they carry vaccine passports. Less than 10 months into his Presidency, I think he must have forgotten what he said, breaking promise after promise and going back on his word. How can the American people believe anything he says?

Americans are sick and tired of the government telling them what to do and are more than capable of making the right choices to protect themselves, their families, and their neighbors. But now, because King Biden has gone back on his word or forgotten what he said, millions of Americans are facing an ultimatum: Get the vaccine or lose your job. For companies, it is either make your employees get the jab or lose your Federal contract.

This is a complete overreach of power. Biden wants to control our lives and make the government be the authority in every area of your life. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that Biden has this power--nowhere.

Listen, I had COVID. I am grateful that I was able to get vaccinated. I hope that all Americans talk with their doctors and consider making the same decision. It is a personal decision every individual gets to make, but that is not how President Biden sees it. That is why I introduced multiple pieces of legislation to push back on these unconstitutional vaccine mandates.

I have introduced the Freedom to Fly Act to prohibit the TSA from requiring Americans to show proof of vaccine or produce a vaccine passport and protect the privacy of American families. I don't believe that the Federal Government has any business requiring travelers to turn over their personal medical information to catch a flight.

I introduced the Stop Mandating Additional Requirements for Travel Act to prohibit the feds from requiring Americans to wear masks on public transportation like Amtrak or on airplanes.

I also introduced the Prevent Unconstitutional Vaccine Mandates for Interstate Commerce Act, which would prevent Federal Agencies like the Department of Transportation from requiring proof of vaccination for companies trying to do business across State lines.

Last month, I introduced legislation to prevent vaccine mandates from being tied to a few of our Federal assistance programs, like Medicare, Social Security, food stamps, and public housing. I hoped everyone in this Chamber would have agreed that we shouldn't force struggling American families to choose between Social Security disability checks and a personal health decision.

Most Americans would be shocked if a politician said it is acceptable to deny someone health insurance or food stamps simply because of their vaccine status. Sadly, Madam President, this is exactly what happened on this floor last month. All I did was request that Americans, regardless of vaccine status, should be able to access a few of our most essential government programs. My Democratic colleagues disagreed every time. The Democratic Party leaves no room for disagreement. They leave no room for compromise. I think it is shameful.

But unlike Joe Biden and Democrats in Washington, I don't believe that government knows better than the American people. My parents didn't have much of a formal education, but they worked hard and made the choices they felt were right for the health and well-being of our family.

As Biden tries to control the lives of every American family, our economy is suffering. Inflation is already skyrocketing, and these vaccine mandates are going to add to it.

Only weeks ago, the Federal Reserve published its latest Beige Book report. In the report, the Fed found that vaccine mandates were widely cited by businesses as a reason for low labor supply and hiring and retention issues. The Federal Reserve admitted what I have been warning about for weeks: Joe Biden's unconstitutional vaccine mandates are causing higher turnover, driving Americans out of their jobs, and further fueling the devastating supply chain and inflation crisis plaguing American families.

When I think about the impact of vaccine mandates, I think about my dad. My dad was a truckdriver. Anyone who has driven trucks or has been close to someone in that line of work knows how demanding the job can be. There is already a driver shortage in this country, and we can't afford to lose any more due to unconstitutional vaccine mandates.

Consider first responders. Dozens of Massachusetts State troopers are threatening to resign over vaccine mandates. Los Angeles County could lose up to 10 percent of its police force. Chicago may see up to 50 percent of its police refusing to comply with vaccine mandates. Seattle is preparing for a mass exodus of officers in the coming weeks due to people who are quitting over vaccine mandates.

For the past several months, we have been seeing rises in violent crime and problems in retaining police officers. We should not add to that ongoing problem by forcing police officers to choose between their jobs and taking a vaccine.

I have called on Secretary Raimondo and Secretary Buttigieg to come before the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to explain what they are doing to prevent U.S. supply chains from completely crumbling under Biden's failed policies and mandates. Sadly, I haven't heard a word from them, but I do see them on TV all the time. These people love to get on CNN and be commentators. That is not their job. Their job isn't to just point out a problem; their job is to fix it.

Now, we have all seen the disruption that this virus has caused. Many of us know someone who has fallen extremely ill or who has died because of COVID. That is why I am very appreciative of all of those who have worked so hard to develop the vaccine. But I am 100 percent against these unconstitutional mandates.

Being vaccinated is a decision every American gets to make for himself. It is an authoritarian overreach by King Biden to threaten people with job loss unless they get the vaccine. Think about it. Why on Earth would a President do something they know is going to cost someone their job?

Our job within government is to provide people with good information so they can make informed decisions and help create jobs, not kill them. But we are seeing that everything Joe Biden does makes things worse for families and businesses in Florida and across our great country. It is time he rescinds his proposed unconstitutional vaccine mandate.

I yield the floor to my colleague from Tennessee.

Mr. President, older American workers are a vital source of economic strength. Before the pandemic, there were more seniors in the workforce than there were 20 years ago, and men and women age 55 and older lifted the overall labor force participation rate by a substantial margin. During the pandemic, more than 3 million seniors retired early, and millions more are considering early retirement. These losses harm seniors' retirement security by reducing their income and benefits.

That is why today, with my good friend Senator Rubio, I am introducing the Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act, which would repeal the Social Security retirement earnings test. The earnings test is a confusing work disincentive. It says that you lose half your Social Security benefits if you earn more than $18,960. Then it gives your benefits back at full retirement age. The problem is that many seniors know their benefits will be cut if they make too much money, but not that they will be replaced later. They treat the earnings test like a 50-percent tax and work less to avoid it.

When I have spoken to small business owners in South Carolina they have made clear to me that the earnings test is in fact a disincentive for many older workers, and it harms their businesses. Older Americans want to earn just enough that they fall right under the threshold so their benefits don't get cut, which makes it harder for small businesses to hire them even on a part-time basis. It is not surprising that research shows the earnings test reduces labor force participation by more than 3 percent.

The earnings test also deepens inequality. It punishes lower-income seniors who need Social Security benefits and earned income to get by. And if you need Social Security benefits and earned income to meet caregiving responsibilities or pressing financial obligations or because you have a lower life expectancy, the earnings test says no, you have to wait until you reach full retirement age, whether that is 65 or 67.

Many seniors just can't wait that long, and the economy can't either. The Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act will give these older Americans the freedom and flexibility they need, promote work, and help employers and workers find arrangements that work best for them.

Thank you.

Mr. President, older American workers are a vital source of economic strength. Before the pandemic, there were more seniors in the workforce than there were 20 years ago, and men and women age 55 and older lifted the overall labor force participation rate by a substantial margin. During the pandemic, more than 3 million seniors retired early, and millions more are considering early retirement. These losses harm seniors' retirement security by reducing their income and benefits.

That is why today, with my good friend Senator Rubio, I am introducing the Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act, which would repeal the Social Security retirement earnings test. The earnings test is a confusing work disincentive. It says that you lose half your Social Security benefits if you earn more than $18,960. Then it gives your benefits back at full retirement age. The problem is that many seniors know their benefits will be cut if they make too much money, but not that they will be replaced later. They treat the earnings test like a 50-percent tax and work less to avoid it.

When I have spoken to small business owners in South Carolina they have made clear to me that the earnings test is in fact a disincentive for many older workers, and it harms their businesses. Older Americans want to earn just enough that they fall right under the threshold so their benefits don't get cut, which makes it harder for small businesses to hire them even on a part-time basis. It is not surprising that research shows the earnings test reduces labor force participation by more than 3 percent.

The earnings test also deepens inequality. It punishes lower-income seniors who need Social Security benefits and earned income to get by. And if you need Social Security benefits and earned income to meet caregiving responsibilities or pressing financial obligations or because you have a lower life expectancy, the earnings test says no, you have to wait until you reach full retirement age, whether that is 65 or 67.

Many seniors just can't wait that long, and the economy can't either. The Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act will give these older Americans the freedom and flexibility they need, promote work, and help employers and workers find arrangements that work best for them.

Thank you.

Mr. President, right now, American families are worried. The White House thinks inflation is a high-class problem. I clearly imagine the price of Prada bags has gone up, but what the White House continues to miss is that inflation is killing the buying power of Americans on low and fixed incomes.

Across America, families are going through grocery store aisles, seeing higher prices, and having to figure out what they can afford to eat this week. Folks are passing by gas station after gas station, looking for lower prices--to no avail. These aren't just headlines and stories; these are real families who are living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to keep up.

I grew up poor. When my parents' bills went up, it made it more difficult for my family. When gas prices went up, it meant we had less food to put on the table. None of us would wish that on anyone, but that is exactly what is happening in Biden's America--high prices on food, high prices on gas, empty shelves and supply shortages, skyrocketing debt, and Big Government overreach--and that is just the start. Energy prices are through the roof.

Let's take a look at the rising cost at the pump.

Just this week, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel ran a story with the headline: ``Gas prices hit their highest levels since 2014. When will we get a break?'' As gas prices keep rising, the message from Florida couldn't be more clear.

Last week, the national gas average was $3.36 a gallon. It was $2.16 per gallon this time last year. That is a 55-percent increase in just 1 year. If you are driving a car, that means you are seeing an extra cost of about $800 annually. If you are driving a truck, that means you are probably seeing an extra cost of $1,400 annually.

More than 5,000 gas stations across the country are charging more than $4.50 a gallon. In one California community, gas was nearly $8 per gallon last week. That is insane. Prices may go up even more as forecasters warn that oil could rise to more than $100 a barrel.

But rising costs don't stop at the pump; they follow you home. For the nearly half of U.S. families who use natural gas to heat their homes, it is going to cost them $746 just to stay warm during the winter months. If you are using electric heat, prepare to spend more than $1,200 on your electric bills. Reports show that, this winter, home heating prices are going to rise by more than 40 percent for homes that use heating oil, more than 30 percent for homes using natural gas, and 54 percent for homes using propane. Factor in the rising cost of meat, diapers, milk, and other everyday items, and things are looking pretty dire for the American family.

Last week, President Biden said he ``doesn't have a near-term answer'' for reducing gas prices. He doesn't appear to have a long-term answer either. In the meantime, he expects families to just hang tight while he does nothing until next year, when things will magically get better.

We all know President Biden likes to play the blame game. This time, he is blaming OPEC for not pumping out more foreign oil. Remember when America was energy independent? Not anymore, thanks to Joe Biden. He has done everything in his power to cut off America's domestic supply and resources needed to warm our homes and run our cars.

In his first month in office, he cut the Keystone Pipeline permit and killed thousands of American jobs. Then he suspended new oil and gas leasing and drilling permits for Federal lands.

He filled his administration with people who have been longtime advocates of a carbon tax, including Treasury Secretary Yellen, which would only make the current problem worse. He has others, like Interior Secretary Haaland, who want to completely ban fracking.

Oddly enough, he supported Russia's getting the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline, which gives Russia a massive win, and he has put us back into the Paris climate accords, which are already ruining Europe. European countries are scaling back on oil and gas production to meet the Paris Agreement. In Portugal, electricity prices have tripled over the past 6 months, and Germany's prices are three times the U.S. average. Across Europe, they have to rely on energy imports from Russia.

Instead of pursuing a path of energy independence, Biden continues to push ridiculous energy policies in his massive $5.5 trillion spending package that will cut our legs out from under us and cause America to become even more dependent on Russia and the OPEC countries, and he is relentlessly pursuing a reckless tax-and-spending spree even though we know reckless spending causes inflation.

These effects might not be felt by President Biden, but I can tell you that, since Biden took office, more families across the State of Florida and across the Nation have felt the pain of having to count their pennies.

For the sake of American families, we need to figure out what the heck is going on. This is why I have introduced a very simple bill to get to the bottom of these sky-high prices. I am thankful for Senators Marshall, Lummis, Capito, Johnson, Moran, and Blackburn, who have cosponsored this legislation.

The GAS Price Act will simply require the Energy Information Administration to report publicly to Congress on any Federal Agency policies or regulations that it determines will cause energy prices to rise. All my bill does is ask a Federal Agency to provide important information to us in Congress with a statement of facts on what is causing rising energy prices since President Biden was sworn into office. Then we can take this information, see what needs to be fixed, and help the American people. That is it. Let's tell Americans why this is happening, and let's figure out how to fix it. It is as simple as that.

I am sure none of my colleagues would disagree to keeping Congress informed about new rules or policies that have a negative financial impact on families in our great State.

Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 3086, which is at the desk. Further, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President.

That would be interesting if it was true. When you think about it--and you can look at oil prices, and they are international oil prices--it is illogical to believe that the American oil companies want to spend the transportation dollars to send the oil overseas if they could sell it in America.

So, first off, I am truly shocked that my colleague would say those things. I am shocked that he would object, but I get it. I know my Democratic colleagues have to bend over backwards to protect the Biden administration's disastrous energy policies. But I find it hard to believe they would go so far as to object to having basic transparency. Maybe, if what my colleague said was true, then my bill would show-- they would come back and say: Yup, that is exactly what happened.

My bill would simply provide us with greater insight into the cause of rising gas and energy prices in the United States.

We must be committed to making the American dream work for everyone, ensuring that every family, including poor families, have a chance to get ahead.

I think about my mom and dad. I watched them struggle to make ends meet. This inflation, these gas prices, food prices, all these things, are hurting the poorest families in this country. When you get very little, like we did, and prices go up--gas prices, food prices--it means it is a very difficult time for these families. Hard-working families are trying to get by.

We need to provide more information to Congress so we can make good decisions to figure out why these gas prices are going up the way they are.

So I am disappointed that my colleague would object to a simple way of trying to figure out exactly what has happened here, why gas prices are going up, and what should Congress be doing to make sure that doesn't continue.

I yield the floor.

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

Madam President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 2997, which is at the desk. Further, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Madam President, this time last year, we still didn't know how much longer this pandemic would last. We didn't know when the vaccine trials would be completed. Thankfully, by December, the vaccine had been approved and brought normalcy back to the lives of many Americans. The Trump administration worked with public and private partners, doctors and scientists across our country to develop a safe and effective vaccine in record time. It was a feat of science, and it was an example of what Americans can do when we are working together.

I had COVID, and I am grateful that I was able to get vaccinated. I hope that all Americans talk with their doctors and consider making the same decision. It is a personal decision every individual gets to make.

That is not how President Biden sees it. Lately, the Biden administration has decided to try and take this decision out of the hands of the American people. With this recently announced unconstitutional vaccine mandate for private businesses, King Biden again is saying that government knows best and has taken choice away from families in Florida and across the country.

That is not what the American people expect government to do. Government's role is to give Americans all the information and data it has so they can make the right decision for their individual family.

That is exactly what I did when I was Governor of Florida. In the face of life-threatening hurricanes, I made sure Florida families were informed. I went out and made sure everyone knew exactly what to expect and how dangerous the storm could be, but I didn't issue mandates because that is not what governments should do.

When I was Governor of Florida, we had the Zika healthcare crisis, which impacted newborns. Rather than placing mandates on pregnant women or restricting their travel to areas with local transmission of Zika, we simply informed Floridians, worked to be as transparent as possible, and offered free Zika testing to all pregnant women in Florida.

But, again, that is not the approach--that is not the approach--Joe Biden has decided to take. President Biden has decided that threatening corporations and businesses and misleading the American people is a better option.

It is dishonest and authoritarian, and it is no way to lead a nation. Americans should be free to make choices they feel are in the best interests of their own health and the health of their loved ones.

In December, President Biden promised he would not require Americans to be vaccinated or require that they carry vaccine passports. But here he is, less than 10 months into his Presidency, breaking promise after promise and going back on his word.

How can the American people believe anything he says? Americans are sick and tired of the government telling them what to do and are more than capable of making the right choices to protect themselves, their family, and their neighbors.

But even as there are some of us in this Chamber who disagree about national vaccine mandates for private businesses, I wanted to try to find some common ground. Food stamps, supplemental assistance for women, infants, and children, and free and reduced lunch programs are programs run through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and provide food to hungry families and are some of the most basic of programs our government provides to those in need.

For kids who are at school and who come from families who are struggling, I am saying you shouldn't have to be vaccinated in order to eat. Or for families who have trouble putting enough food on the table, I am saying you shouldn't have to be vaccinated to get groceries.

I wish--I hoped--my colleague would agree. I offered a simple bill to say that families who need food stamps and additional support for women, infants,

and children shouldn't have to be vaccinated in order to have a full stomach.

I was a poor kid growing up. My parents struggled to put food on the table, but my colleague is telling families like mine growing up that they don't care about their personal choices: If you want to be able to eat, you have to get a shot.

This is ridiculous. This is un-American. This is an attempt by President Biden to take over every aspect of your life. I am not going to stand for it. The American people are not going to stand for it.

I hope every household in America sees what happened on the floor today.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Madam President, I want to talk about two things as we are waiting for Senator Wyden.

First, I have been hearing all across the State of Florida, people are really concerned about the Democratic proposal basically to look at everybody's bank accounts.

The latest is that the proposal will take it from looking at every $600 transaction or $600 account to $10,000. Well, if you look at it, almost everybody has a $10,000 account because what they are talking about is cumulative dollars.

So why does the IRS want to look at everybody's accounts?

It is for one reason. The one reason is to take more dollars out of somebody's pocket.

We can't let this happen. We have a right to privacy in this country. We should be able to not have to tell the government everything we buy. If you want to buy a sofa or anything, you shouldn't have to tell the Federal Government.

So I completely oppose this significant overreach by the Democrats trying to look into everybody's bank accounts, because that is exactly what it would do.

Supply Chain

Madam President, the second thing I want to talk about is the supply chain. We have a significant problem in the supply chain. Not only do we have a big problem, but if you look at what is going to happen with regard to the vaccine mandate, it is going to cause even more problems.

My dad was a truck driver. If he had to choose, he would have a tough choice if he wasn't comfortable, for whatever reason, getting the vaccine--and I took the vaccine and I had COVID--then he is going to lose his job, which is going to impact a lot of American families. It is going to cause the supply chain to be in worse shape, and it is going to cause even more inflation.

So with President Biden's recently announced unconstitutional vaccine mandates for private businesses, the President is saying government knows best and is taking choice away from families all across our country, but clearly my State of Florida.

That is not what the American people expect government to do. The government's role is to give people information. Give them the information and let them make good choices. They will make good choices.

My parents didn't have much of an education, but they could make good choices. They figured out what was good for our family.

These decisions should be up to individuals, not government. That's why I asked consent to pass S. 2997, and, unfortunately, the Senate Democrats objected. I hope we can find some common ground.

Unanimous Consent Request--S. 2998

Madam President, I hope everyone here believes you should not have to receive a vaccine in order to obtain a Social Security check or Social Security disability check. Forcing families to choose between receiving Social Security and choosing to get vaccinated is a terrible choice.

That is why I introduced legislation to protect Social Security recipients and ensure that Biden won't be able to strong-arm them into compliance with his unconstitutional mandate.

As if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 2998, which is at the desk. I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, well, clearly I am pretty shocked. By objecting to this bill, my colleague is suggesting that it is acceptable for the government to deny Social Security checks to American seniors and checks to those who are physically disabled because they have made a personal medical choice to not receive the vaccine.

This is not farfetched. The Biden administration is already doing it to companies, and people are out of a job. The Social Security system is meant to help those who have spent their lives working in this country, and disability checks are designed to help those who cannot work. These checks are not a tool for government to impose its will on the people, just as it shouldn't be the position of the Biden administration to require companies to enforce the vaccine mandate.

But if you are on Social Security or your parent is receiving Social Security checks, this is what my colleague is suggesting by blocking this legislation: Get the vaccine or go broke.

As we all know, prices are going up, and the Social Security Administration just announced a record cost-of-living increase in benefits to keep up with Biden's inflation crisis. Individuals dependent on Social Security still need to get gas and groceries to survive. By objecting to this simple bill, my colleague is comfortable offering an ultimatum: Get the vaccine or go broke. It is wrong--it is wrong to the core--and the American people know it.

Unanimous Consent Request--S. 2999

Mr. President, perhaps my colleague may agree with me on a different point--that vaccine mandates shouldn't be tied to participation in Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP. There are more than 60 million Americans on Medicare and more than 80 million Americans receiving Medicaid or CHIP assistance. These programs are important for ensuring that our families, our seniors, and our kids can stay healthy and have access to a doctor. No one should be deprived of healthcare because they have chosen not to receive the vaccine. It would be simply unethical to do so. It seems like pretty common sense.

My proposal would protect individuals on Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP from any overreaching vaccine mandates, like the President has done with

companies, and ensure that a personal medical decision does not strip them of the access to healthcare they need.

Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 2999, which is at the desk. I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, first of all, let's remember that the President is requiring a vaccine mandate if you have a job. So there are people there who are going to lose their job because they, for whatever reason, are uncomfortable getting the vaccine. So this is not farfetched.

I thought my colleagues had gone too far by suggesting it would be acceptable for the government to tie vaccines to Social Security checks, but this is another level of insanity. My colleague is comfortable denying healthcare to someone because of their vaccine status. It is really quite ironic because for the past 10 years, we have had Democrats falsely claim Republicans want insurance companies to be able to deny coverage based on preexisting conditions. But here we have it right here on the Senate floor--Democrats are doing exactly what they have falsely accused Republicans of. They want to be able to deny healthcare to Americans who have not received the vaccine.

Does anyone really think that denying healthcare to people who don't want to get the vaccine for whatever reason is truly in the best interest of public health? What do you do when someone is a bit hesitant on the vaccine? And we all have met people like that. For my Democratic colleagues, the answer is simple: Take away their healthcare.

Do you need to refill your arthritis prescription? It seems Democrats want to make sure that pharmacists charge you more unless you get the shot. Maybe it is time to get your physical. If you have been on Medicaid, you are left with two options: Either get the shot or go home because the Democrats don't want you to get your ears checked or your blood work completed unless you have met their standard of getting the shot.

Whether you like it or not, some people are not comfortable. It doesn't matter how poor you are; they are willing to strip you of your health insurance and take away your ability to get your prescriptions unless you get the vaccine.

The American people know these choices are wrong, and the fact that my colleagues stand by their decision I think is outrageous.

Unanimous Consent Request--S. 3000

Mr. President, now, hopefully, we can get to some common ground. I think our colleagues disagreed on some of these things, but let's see if we can find another one they will agree on, and that is access to housing.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development provides a wide variety of housing programs meant to help individuals and families in need of a home and those who are struggling and down on their luck. They help with everything from loans to first-time home buyers to homeless shelters and housing assistance. More than 5 million people currently receive some kind of housing assistance from HUD.

I can't imagine anyone would think that the government should mandate vaccines for Americans who need to have basic access to housing or be able to limit, if you don't want to get the vaccine, your access to housing.

Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 3000, which is at the desk. I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, well, first off, the Senator might not know I grew up in public housing, so I do have a little bit of knowledge about public housing, and we had public housing for my constituents as Governor of Florida. So I watched my friends struggle to make do.

Let's all remember that President Biden promised us that he would not require anybody to get the vaccine or require vaccine mandates, and that has clearly changed.

So, you know, my parents didn't have much of a formal education, but they worked hard, and they made the best choices they could with the information they had, and they focused on the well-being of our family. So it is baffling to me that my colleague might be willing to tell a family like mine that a vaccine was a precondition to have a roof over their head. I am surprised that Senate Democrats are willing to look in the eyes of struggling families and say: We can't help you unless you have been vaccinated first--which is actually going on right now when you are telling people in this country that if you don't get vaccinated, you lose your job. You will lose your job, so you will not be able to pay the rent; you will not be able to afford your house; you will not be able to afford to put food on the table. That is exactly what is going on. So this is not farfetched.

These HUD programs were not meant to be used to force somebody to get a vaccine. So I am shocked that my colleague would object.

My colleagues have objected to several proposals. All my proposals are designed to make sure that there is no government overreach. Why is this important? Because let's remember, Joe Biden promised he would not require anybody to get a vaccine, and he went back on that promise. I don't believe anybody sitting on this floor should ever be in a position to say that they are OK with somebody not getting in a government program because they haven't had a vaccine--food assistance, Social Security, healthcare, or housing, any of them.

Now, look, I want to be clear. I had COVID. I got the vaccine, and I hope every American will consider getting the vaccine. But it is a decision that every American gets to make. They should talk to their doctor and make a decision for their family, and our government should never be in a position to tell somebody to get a vaccine.

We can't give people an ultimatum to comply with unconstitutional mandates or go without anything--Social Security, healthcare, housing, food benefits, or a job--which is going on all across this country right now. It is a gross overreach by the Federal Government at a time when we need more information and more compassion, not mandates from an administration more focused on advancing its socialist agenda than looking out for every American.

So, unlike Joe Biden and Democrats in Washington, I don't believe the government knows best. I grew up in a family--and my parents didn't have much of an education, but they did the best they could for our family. They worked hard. They made choices to make sure we all stayed safe. They didn't rely on a government program other than to get information. They were trying to get good information from the government and make their own choices.

So with that, I am very disappointed that my colleagues would disagree.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, on rollcall vote No. 414, I voted no. It was my intention to vote yea; therefore, I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to change my vote since it will not affect the outcome.

Mr. President.

Mr. President, I would like to thank Senator Tuberville for leading this very important effort.

I want to be very clear. What President Biden is proposing here is as close to policy from communist China as we have seen in the United States. In oppressive regimes like Cuba and communist China, we have come to expect a surveillance state where the government has access to every part of a person's life. Now Joe Biden wants to bring that here to America.

Let me explain what the Biden administration and Democrats in Washington are proposing. Democrats want to open your bank account to Federal agents. Under Joe Biden's America, the Federal Government's authority would be vastly expanded so the IRS can get a look at any account over $600. The madness doesn't stop there. This new rule from Joe Biden would also require banks to report every transaction of $600 or more. Does anyone honestly think the Federal Government will keep your private information safe?

Want to buy a bed? Here comes the Federal Government. But say you want to buy a new shotgun. Hunting season is coming up. Again, here come the feds. How about giving money to your favorite charities; supporting a cause or a political candidate you care about; for childcare or paying for mental health counseling? Perhaps you are just selling off a little furniture and want to put your profits in a savings account. For every one of these transactions I have just described, the government is going to come take a look.

Every American should be disgusted and furious by this insane overreach of the Federal Government. Think about the private, personal information the government would have access to. It is incredibly intrusive, and Joe Biden wants to make it nearly limitless. Again, does anyone honestly think the Federal Government would keep your private information safe? I understand that families are angry. I have heard from more than 18,000 constituents over just the last 2 weeks about how disgusted they are with this plan.

Biden wants to expand the surveillance state of the Federal Government to target every American family. Ninety-five percent of American households have a bank account, and this policy will have impacts on every single one of those accountholders. But it is not just banks; Joe Biden is expanding the Federal surveillance state to monitor your finances across the board. They will be watching your local credit union and your PayPal and Venmo accounts. They will even be watching to see how you spend and earn cryptocurrency. This is an outrageous violation of Americans' privacy.

I think the Democrats are also hearing from their constituents. Recent reports say the President and Democrats in the House are looking at raising the threshold from $600 to $10,000. That would still hit many Americans families.

We are not just talking about checking accounts; this applies to savings, retirement, and investment accounts. You name it, the feds want to take a look.

Again, I am not describing something in Cuba or communist China; I am talking about what Joe Biden and the Democrats want to do right here in the U.S.A. I can't wait for my Democratic colleague to explain why President Biden is even proposing this. How can you possibly justify to the American people that the IRS should be snooping around in their bank, retirement, or investment accounts?

There is only one explanation, and it is simply terrifying. The Democrats want to control how you spend your money. Democrats want to control your expenditures, your charitable and

political giving, and your investments. The more power Democrats can grab from American families, the more control they think they will get over each and every American.

This all boils down to Joe Biden and the radical left bringing the American people under the thumb of his socialist tax-and-spend agenda. After all, how else is he going to be able to squeeze every last penny out of American families' bank accounts to pay for his socialist plans?

Here is how the Democratic Party works: They refuse to audit our Federal Agencies that year after year send billions in improper payments to the wrong people, which they rarely ever recover. They refuse to hold their government accountable for reckless waste and massive debt. But they want to put the magnifying glass on hard-working families who are just trying to live their dreams.

Under Biden's socialist regime, it is rules for thee but not for me. How is that different from communist China, where the government lives in opulence while their citizens live totally dependent on the government in poverty?

I will not stand for this outrageous plan. No American should tolerate this unprecedented overreach. I am proud to support Senator Tuberville's legislation and hope every one of my colleagues looks at this for what it is: communist China-style totalitarian surveillance.

I yield back to Senator Tuberville.

President Biden ran on a promise to be a unifying moderate. He promised to bring America together. On the campaign trail, he promised to ``shut down the virus, not the country.'' As we have seen with his vaccine management, the opposite has happened.

Joe Biden and Democrats in Washington have adopted an agenda of systemic socialism focused on expanding government and Federal control. In Joe Biden's America, the government knows better than the people, and President Biden has shown that he is eager to use government mandates to keep families in check.

President Biden's latest vaccine mandate for private companies tramples on the personal freedoms of Americans. This unconstitutional order will push more Americans out of the workforce, devastate our economy with product and service shortages that cripple supply chains, and throw America into a stagflation crisis not seen since the 1970s.

By forcing some working Americans to choose between keeping their jobs or doing what they believe is best for their health, Biden's mandate hurts the people he claims to help--workers, low-income Americans, and seniors on a fixed income, who will all be either hit with higher unemployment, higher prices, or a shortage of available goods.

When I think about the impact of burdensome government regulations, I think about my dad. My adopted father was a truckdriver. Anyone who has driven trucks or been close to someone in that line of work knows how demanding that job can be. It is hard work, and it is one of the most critical jobs in our country. Truckdrivers are like the offensive linemen of America's supply chain--often overlooked but absolutely essential to getting things moving. Our country is already experiencing a significant shortage of truckdrivers. We can't afford to lose any more.

Of course, trucking isn't the only industry that will be affected by Biden's unconstitutional mandate; nearly every sector is under the gun. In an economy where simply keeping shelves stocked is an everyday challenge, losing workers in almost any critical industry will have a catastrophic impact across our supply chains and drive prices even higher.

Just this week, a month and a half before Thanksgiving, Amazon began already giving Black Friday discounts on goods because they expect so many delays and shortages on goods. That means families who have to wait for holiday bonuses before they can go shopping are going to be facing ``out of stock'' signs online and in stores.

Joe Biden needs to answer this question: How is he going to fix this? How can Joe Biden guarantee that our supply chains won't completely crumble under his failed policies and mandates?

In fact, I urge President Biden to have Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo testify to the Commerce Committee on the shortages we are already seeing and the shortages that we anticipate.

Ensuring the stability of American supply chains requires the urgent attention of the Biden administration. As a member of the Commerce Committee and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion, I know this testimony from Secretaries Buttigieg and Raimondo would be useful in understanding how this will be addressed.

We are already starting to see major supply issues. Seafood restaurants in Miami are seeing price increases of 50 to 60 percent on fish. Furniture stores in Florida are seeing wait times of 6 to 8 months before they can deliver certain products. Florida grocery stores are warning of product shortages as customers are starting to see empty shelves.

Small business owners and families aren't able to afford those kinds of drastic increases, but if President Biden has his way, those transportation difficulties are going to become even worse and prices will rise even higher. Right now, rising prices on everyday goods are forcing American families to make hard choices.

I have said it on this floor countless times, and I will say it again: Reckless government spending causes inflation. The reckless spending agenda of Joe Biden and Democrats here in Washington is having disastrous effects on families across our country.

We can never forget that, as inflation worsens and prices surge higher, it is the poorest Americans and those on fixed incomes who are hurt the most. There are single moms wondering if they can put an extra few gallons of gas in the car and still afford to put dinner on the table this week or moms like mine who took on odd jobs to make ends meet and watched the smallest price changes at the grocery store to make sure we could still get by.

If President Biden actually spoke with small and midsized employers and hard-working families instead of big banks and CEOs, he would learn that massive Federal mandates won't help us get our economy back on track. His Big Government mandates will only hurt us.

I want to be clear. I got the vaccine. I had COVID. And I encourage every American to talk with their doctor and consider doing the same. But getting the vaccine is a choice every American

gets to make for themselves. We can't give people an ultimatum to comply, quit, or get fired. It is a gross overreach by the Federal Government at a time when we need more jobs, not less; lower prices on everyday goods, not higher.

Unlike Joe Biden and Democrats in Washington, I don't believe that government knows better than the American people. My parents didn't have much of a formal education, but they worked hard and made the choices they felt were right for the health and well-being of our family. They relied on government to keep them informed, and they made their own choices. That is how government should work.

That is what I did when I was Governor of Florida. In 2016, Florida was faced with the Zika virus, which impacted newborns. Rather than placing mandates on pregnant women or restricting their travel to areas with local transmission of Zika, which we knew where they were, we simply informed Floridians. We worked to be as transparent as possible and offered free Zika testing to all pregnant women in Florida. That is how the Federal Government should deal with COVID. The government's role in public health is to inform and support, not mandate.

Our country has seen labor shortages caused by Democrats' failed policies of rewarding unemployment, paying people more to stay at home than to get back to work. Energy prices are surging, and inflation is raging. American families can't afford more of President's Biden's radical policy decisions that are inflicting lasting damage and driving our economy backwards.

Restoring and strengthening our supply chains is a critical step in getting the American economy rolling forward.

It is time for President Biden to acknowledge that massive, unconstitutional mandates on private companies won't do anything but hurt American business and throw gasoline on the already raging inflation crisis he has created.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object.

First, happy birthday. Is it your birthday?

As my colleague knows, the Census Bureau performs critically important functions to collect accurate and timely data. Unfortunately, I am concerned that this nominee will politicize the Census Bureau and will not perform his duties in a fair and unbiased fashion, which this position demands.

I cannot and will not consent to allowing this nominee to move forward in an expedited manner. We should take a vote so every Senator can get on the record with their support or opposition to this nominee. Therefore, Mr. President, I object.

Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 2895, introduced earlier today. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

First off, I am disappointed my colleague objected. I think No. 1 is this is unconstitutional. First off, President Biden promised he wouldn't be doing this. This is unconstitutional.

Here is what it is going to do. If you talk to businesses around this country, they are already struggling to get people back to work because of excess funding that has been provided. And now we are going to tell a bunch of people that you can't come back to work because you haven't been vaccinated. We are going to tell people, you can't get on an airplane because you haven't been vaccinated.

This is wrong. This is not what the Federal Government ought to be doing. They ought to do what I did when I was Governor. You give people the information and feel comfortable that the American public will make a good decision.

I think this is a mistake. I hope my colleague will change her mind. And I hope this President will not continue down the path of requiring Americans to get vaccinations, because I don't think it is fair to Americans and I think it is unconstitutional.

I yield the floor.