Floor Statements

Mr. President, I recall the first time I sat down with the late great Senator Bob Dole after I had been elected to Congress. And the purpose of that meeting was to get to know the Senator, but I had a big issue I was getting ready to vote on, and I wanted to get his advice. As I presented to him the legislation I was going to be voting on the next day, he stopped and looked at me, and he said: Roger, what you need to do is just go back to Kansas and listen to the people of Kansas. They will tell you the answer to that question.

So this August was no different than any break I have had. Like many of my colleagues, we went back to our home States. I went from Wathena to Wichita, from small towns to big cities, from the inner city to rural America; and we listened. We sat down with unions, small businesses, big businesses, folks from financial services, and farmers and ranchers. We sat down with leaders from public schools and private schools.

We had roundtables. We did multiple roundtables on childcare, homelessness. We sat down with multiple minority business owners, and we talked about the challenges they had, specifically about access to capital. We did roundtables on nutrition and healthcare.

In Abilene, KS, we celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Small Business Administration, founded by our 34th President of the United States, Kansans' own Dwight David Eisenhower; we participated in a DHS human trafficking event and in history. I thought I had seen all the history from Kansas, but we found two more locations that were underground railroads where they particularly housed freedom seekers-- one in the Quindaro Ruins of Kansas City, KS, and the John Brown cabin in Osawatomie.

But of all the things we did that I think is important was our fentanyl awareness campaign: One Pill Can Kill.

I am often asked about going from being a physician to a Senator and what is the difference. And I would describe that as a physician, I could impact maybe 30, 40, 50 people in one day; but as a U.S. Senator, I have the opportunity to impact thousands of people and to save lives. In this case, that is exactly what the goal of this One Pill Can Kill campaign was.

We thought that as kids return to school would be an ideal time to get out that message that, indeed, one pill--one fake pill laced with fentanyl--can kill. Our entire Kansas delegation participated, and I am grateful for their support. We had over 100 Kansas organizations actively participate as well, reaching out to their own networks. From law enforcement, the KBI was outstanding, the sheriffs; our community health centers; colleges; high schools; health departments--anyone we could get to, to get that message out that one pill can kill.

Every day, our staff did an incredible job of arming every one of the organizations with information to help get that word out. It resulted in thousands of social media posts across the State, and I am grateful for the local media--the newspapers, the radios, the television stations--that resulted in hundreds of articles that, indeed, one pill can kill.

And I think the story is easy to tell, and that is what we tried to do was just tell the story of fentanyl, how the cartel is alive and well across the State of Kansas; that they are lacing Xanax, Adderall, and Percocet with fentanyl, and even marijuana they are lacing with it; that this is now the No. 1 killer of young adults.

I am sad to say that most every day, we lose a Kansan to fentanyl poisoning. In fact, we are using Narcan 10, 15, 20 times a day. I talked to a fireman in Kansas City who said every day they are making runs because of fentanyl.

And again, we just wanted to share the story of where fentanyl is being sold, how its sold, its deceptiveness, and the efforts required to combat it.

I will just close with this: It is easier to get a fentanyl tablet and cheaper to get a fentanyl tablet delivered to your home than it is to order a piece of pizza. For a dollar a pill, you can now get fentanyl delivered to your home. And all it takes is just one of those pills to kill.

For the sake of our children, I pray that we can secure our borders, that we would stop the influx of fentanyl into Kansas and the rest of this country. And in doing so, we can save literally hundreds, if not thousands, of lives. Our weeklong campaign pushed us closer to that goal.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 874, and I ask that it be reported by number.

I ask unanimous consent that there be up to 4 minutes of debate, equally divided, prior to the rollcall vote.

Mr. President, every time our flag is unfurled, I would ask you all: What emotion is stirred in your hearts? Old Glory means many things to many people. Some stand and some kneel. Some salute her while others burn her.

Regardless of your sentiments, what no one can deny is that hundreds of thousands of Americans have died for this one flag that gives you the freedoms we all enjoy. Few, if any, Americans have died for any other flag.

As for me, every time this flag is unfurled, I think about my own family members who have served. My family has had someone from every generation serve under this one flag since the Civil War. Four of my grandfathers' grandfathers enlisted in the Union to preserve this Republic, three of whom died on a bloody battlefield. My mom's uncle served in World War I and was exposed to mustard gas in the Argonne Forest, and two of my dad's uncles stormed the beaches of Normandy. My own uncles and cousins have served. My father served. My brother served. I served. My son is serving. And we all serve under one flag. My family who served, that is what I think of when this flag is unfurled.

Look, many Americans have died to give you the freedom to honor or disgrace the flag as you see fit for your own home. Wouldn't you think that, to honor America and those who serve, especially for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and the Gold Star families, our country should honor one American flag?

I hope you will agree with me as patriots that it would be right and proper that on the buildings and grounds owned by we the people, only one flag, with reasonable exceptions--the flag so many Americans have fought and died for, the one flag that represents this idea of America--should be unfurled. This is exactly what our amendment does.

A vote against this amendment is a slap on the face of those of us who have served, and it is disrespectful to the families whose loved ones have died in defending this one flag and the Republic for which it stands.

I yield the floor.

Reserving the right to object.

Madam President, I am certainly honored to be here and stand beside my colleague and friend, Coach Tommy Tuberville, as we work through a very, very challenging situation regarding our military nominations.

I have tried to listen to the arguments from my colleagues across the aisle, and one thing I want to just point out, a very simple solution, is to bring these to the floor and give us a vote on them.

I am happy to stay here tonight and vote. Happy to come in early tomorrow and vote as well. It is certainly something within the power of this body to do that. So that is one simple solution.

Next, I want to point out that the Pentagon is the one that picked this fight. They are the one that changed the policy. And in my opinion, this is an unlawful policy that they are ignoring the Hyde amendment, that they are using Federal funds to aid and abet in abortions.

As I dug a little deeper into this, I was shocked to find out that the Pentagon's policy allows more time off for an abortion than for a person who needs to go attend to a family funeral or to a marriage.

And I might add, of course, the military, I assume, is not paying for the travel of that soldier going back home to get married or to attend a family funeral.

There is lots of arguments why we think this is right, but I think the ultimate argument is why Coach Tuberville and I are here is that we believe in the sanctity of life, that we believe that life begins at conception.

I think if my colleagues across the aisle would sit and listen for a second, if you truly believe that life begins at conception, I don't see how you could support abortions, let alone using Federal dollars to pay for these abortions.

I remember my second year of medical school, and I was assuming I was going to be a family practice doctor. We had been married for about a year and a half, had our first baby. And the second that little girl made her first cries and I saw that bond between my daughter and my wife and every time I

delivered a baby since then, I have always just been amazed at that bond between a baby and a mom, that agape love that a mom shows a baby. It was at that moment that my daughter was delivered that I decided that that was what I wanted to do for a living.

As an obstetrician, a person who believes that life begins at conception, that is why this issue is so important to us. That is why this is such an important issue that we are willing to hold up these nominations.

I think what we are asking is a simple solution: Let's take these flag officers and these generals, and let's vote on them. We can take these on. I think there are only 250 of them or so. I think we can take those on, and then let's do them.

If not, we are asking the Pentagon to go back to the previous policy and stop their unlawful use of American taxpayer dollars violating the Hyde amendment for these abortions.

Bidenomics. Bidenomics. I think everyone knows that you don't give yourself a nickname. You don't get to do that. Your friends get to do that for you. Who could imagine back in grade school giving yourself a nickname? By the same token, you don't get to name an economy after yourself either. You have to earn it.

Just like JLo. Before there was JLo, there was Jennifer Lopez. For Jennifer Lopez to become JLo, she had to go out and prove herself. She had to become a great singer.

Before Taylor Swift was known as the Country Pop Princess, Taylor had to compose music, play instruments, and sing to the hearts and souls of millions of people across the world.

Margaret Thatcher, before she was the Iron Lady, she had to go out and earn that nickname because of her iron fist, the way she ruled her country.

Ronald Reagan, the Great Communicator. Could you imagine Ronald Reagan stepping onto his first stage telling you: Hey, I am the Great Communicator. It took him years to earn that nickname.

One of my favorites: Mr. October, Reggie Jackson. Reggie didn't get to name himself Mr. October. He had to go out and be a star player for the New York Yankees in October, not in May.

Derek Jeter--another great nickname, the Captain. Did Derek Jeter give himself that name? No, his teammates did.

Mr. President, you don't get to give yourself a nickname, and you don't get to name an economy after yourself. You have to earn it. The nickname this White House has earned for this economy is Bidenflation. He has earned it. It is deserved. When my grandkids and my great grandkids open up their history book and they get to the 46th President of the United States, the title will be ``Bidenflation'' and the subtitle, ``The Worst Economy in 40 Years.'' Certainly, it is the worst economy in my professional life time.

So when I say it is the worst economy, I want to start by saying I have not had one person in recent memory in the past 2 years who has come up and say: Hey, this economy is great. I just love that I am paying so much more to make a living. Whether it is food or groceries or housing, no one has come up to me and say: Hey, I love this economy.

It is actually just the opposite. I want to take a closer look. You may come up with some different conclusions, but you can't argue with these facts I am about to give you. The average Kansas family is paying $800 more per month just for basic needs--$800 more a month. When we gave them the tax cuts in the previous administration, the average Kansas family was able to put more than $2,000 back into their pocket. Now this administration is taking an extra $800 to pay for their basic necessities. I don't have to remind anybody that gas prices doubled under this President. Groceries are up 20 percent.

Utility bills. I can't tell you how many people called me to tell me: My utility bills have actually doubled compared to previous winters.

Housing, let's just take a minute and talk about housing. The average monthly payment for a person searching for a new home has doubled under this President. Let me say that again. The average monthly payment for a person searching for a new home has doubled under this President. The White House economy has made housing totally uncomfortable, especially for first-time home buyers.

Let's think about what the American dream is. I think every American dreams of owning a home--in Kansas, a truck and a fishing boat. But under this President, none of those are happening.

I recently had the Builders Association from Kansas in my office--the largest number from that group I ever had--all with long, long faces. I knew their concerns before they even gave them. I hear it every day, every week when I am back home. I hear it from friends. I hear it from family members, business owners, union workers, senior citizens. I really hear it from my senior citizens that the cost of living is just unbearable. Young families with kids starting off--maybe that first job out of high school or out of college--those are the ones that are being stung by Bidenflation. There is no one immune from it.

Before they could go through their list of concerns, I asked them a serious question: Is there any policy remaining that this White House could implement that would hurt their business more? Was there one policy the White House hasn't turned over yet that could hurt their business more? And they sat there silent--crickets. They couldn't think of one more thing this White House could do to hurt their business. They don't have workers because the White House pays more to stay home than go to work. They need lumber, they need nails, they need bolts, they need plumbing supplies, heat and air. If they could get them, those are all through the roof.

Interest rates. Nothing kills housing like higher interest rates. Of course, we know the higher interest rates are a direct reflection of Bidenflation. Just to state it very briefly, Bidenflation has made housing unaffordable. Think about this. This government spends millions--perhaps billions--of dollars on affordable housing, but inflation has destroyed any gain that we made recently.

Mr. President, you are not Ronald Reagan. You should not put your name on something that is a miserable failure. Reaganomics gave us a great opportunity--perhaps the greatest economy of my lifetime. But your economy--why would you put your name on the worst economy in nearly half a century?

No matter what you say, no matter how you spin it, you are not going to convince the folks back home that this economy is good. They are smarter than that. Americans know otherwise.

Bidenflation--that is the title of the chapter in the history book.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise in support of Senator Kennedy's resolution of disapproval of the ATF's stabilizing brace rule. This rule is a dangerous attack on every American's Second Amendment rights.

I want to start by telling you why this is important. Where I live in Kansas, typically we will have one sheriff or a deputy on call at a time, and he is covering an area of 60 by 40 miles, so often the nearest law enforcement officer is 45 minutes to an hour away.

Like many States, we are seeing an uptick in the rise of crime, with fentanyl flooding across our border. Twenty tons of fentanyl has been seized. We can't imagine how much came across this open border. But along with the fentanyl and the open border, we are seeing crime on the rise. More and more families feel afraid that they are not secure. Even my own wife 2 weeks ago asked me to take her out to our family gun range and give her some lessons on how to handle a weapon as well.

By the way, women's favorite weapon for self-protection is a short- barreled rifle. It is what they feel comfortable with. It is not loud. It is easy to control.

Why are we trying to punish Americans who just want to defend themselves and practice their Second Amendment rights?

In complete disregard for Americans' constitutional rights, President Joe Biden enacted an unlawful rule banning stabilizing braces--known commonly as pistol braces--allowing the ATF the full authority under the law to prosecute millions of Americans for firearms they purchased perfectly legally. Through Biden's rule, millions of responsible gun owners suddenly have become felons.

As law-abiding Kansans get the book thrown at them under this Second Amendment power grab, the President's own son commits an actual gun violation felony, and he walks away with a sweetheart deal. I ask you, what type of message does that send to law-abiding American gun owners across the country? This is wrong. Americans realize this is a double standard.

Sadly, this egregious policy uniquely impacts our Nation's disabled veterans who use a pistol brace to handle their firearms. For some of these individuals who risked their lives for our freedoms, a pistol brace is the only option for safe and effective firearm use. But under this ruling, the constitutional right to bear arms is null and void if you use a stabilizing brace to operate a firearm.

That is why the President bypassed Congress and carried out his gun- grabbing agenda through the regulatory state, demanding his ATF use a misguiding interpretation of the National Firearms Act to enforce this heavyhanded policy.

Let me be clear. The National Firearms Act does not--does not--give the ATF the authority to ban pistol braces. Congress has not, nor should it ever, give the ATF this power.

This rule represents the largest gun grab in American history, potentially impacting as many as 40 million responsible gun owners. We refuse to accept the supersized AFT's unconstitutional power grab, and I am proud to stand here with Senator Kennedy and defend Kansans' and Louisianans' Second Amendment rights.

I will continue to stand firm here with all of my colleagues and oppose this executive overreach by the ATF.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today to thank Dr. Susan ``Sue'' Peterson Thomas for her many years of service to the State of Kansas and Kansas State University--K-State--as well as honor her for all that she accomplished during her career.

The daughter of a dairy farmer and former mayor of Abilene, KS, Sue began her journey at K-State as a student, where she graduated with a bachelor of science degree in political science and history. She would go on to earn a master of public administration degree from the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from K- State.

Sue's service to the State of Kansas began in 1978, where she worked for Mike Hayden during his time as the speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives and Governor of Kansas. She also served on the transition teams for Governor Hayden and Governor Sam Brownback.

Sue would go on to work for her alma mater, beginning her distinguished career at K-State in 1989. During her 33 years of service to the university, Sue worked her way up to chief government relations officer, where she was directly responsible for all university liaison activities with the State and Federal legislature. She also served as a political science instructor since 1992, where she taught Kansas politics and government to over 1,000 students.

During her time at K-State, Sue was responsible for multiple different projects that have had a tremendous impact on the university. She was instrumental in securing State funding to renovate Farrell Library and add 153,000 square feet of new space to the library on K- State's Manhattan campus; she coordinated the successful legislative effort to merge the Kansas College of Technology in Salina into K-State, forming the K-State Salina campus; she led the efforts to secure State and Federal funding for the construction and equipment of Pat Roberts Hall, the home of K-State's Biosecurity Research Institute. The fruits of her labor culminated at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility's ribbon-cutting ceremony this last May, which she worked tirelessly on, helping pass multiple pieces of legislation that were crucial to the State's efforts to land the facility adjacent to K-State's campus in Manhattan.

Throughout her career, Sue has been recognized at the local, State, and national levels. She has been awarded the prestigious Marvin D. ``Swede'' Johnson Achievement Award, the Flinchbaugh Family Wildcat Pride

Award, and the Career Excellence Award from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities' Council on Governmental Affairs.

Sue officially retired from K-State on April 7, 2023, after 33 years, 8 months, and 6 days of service to the university. I now ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the distinguished career of Dr. Susan Peterson Thomas, as well as thank her for all of her work on behalf of the State of Kansas and Kansas State University.

Madam President, for the past 6 years, my staff, my family, and I have traveled to every corner of the State. We have crisscrossed it multiple times. We have been in every county in Kansas multiple times--town halls and roundtables and listening sessions. In fact, just last week--the last week we were on break--we probably made a dozen stops. At every one of those stops, at every one of those roundtables, I can guarantee you the subject of high-speed internet came up.

Together, we built solutions to address the challenges our rural areas are facing. Together, we built hospitals, municipal water facilities, grocery stores, and critical infrastructure in our State's communities. But despite all of these achievements, many Kansans agree that one job is still not finished, and that is the crucial task of building out high-speed broadband connectivity to every part of the State.

Nothing highlighted the inadequate infrastructure for high-speed broadband across Kansas more than the COVID-19 lockdowns. Our schools and businesses across the State were shut down. Hundreds of thousands of Kansans were sent home to do their jobs and schoolwork. A lackluster internet connection impacted children's education across the State and many families' ability to keep up with remote work.

Rural broadband's impacts go far beyond the classroom for our Kansas communities. In today's quickly evolving cyber world, adequate internet connection is a necessity, not just a luxury. Doctors at my alma mater, KU Med Center in Wichita, are trying to offer clinical trials to rural Kansan participants through secure video checkups. Having a premier healthcare virtual consultation option in communities where there is a shortage of access to quality care can save the patient hours of driving and, in many cases, save their lives.

In addition to healthcare benefits, having high-speed internet brings our farming techniques into the 21st century. In rural areas, the capability of using the best technology available in farming practices depends on a reliable internet connection. Precision agriculture internet apps allow farmers to monitor conditions--hour by hour, second by second--more effectively in the field, and they can track crop yields and feed the world, producing more food with less--more food with less water, more food with less fertilizers.

By utilizing this latest farm equipment, our State's farmers and ranchers are able to leave the land cleaner, healthier, and safer than when we found it.

Madam President, the call for a strong internet connection across Kansas has only grown. That is why I rise

today to highlight the importance of broadband expansion.

There is still so much work to be done to get rural America up to speed, and I realize this work will never be done, just like our roads and bridges that were amplified so much in the 1950s and 1960s. We still have to go back and repair those roads and bridges. There is always one more road and bridge that we need to go back and fix, and that will be the rule with high-speed internet. There is always something bigger and faster out there that we need to keep pace.

I am proud to have played a role as a member of the Kansas House Agriculture Committee in 2018 when we drafted the farm bill, which directed both the USDA and FCC with dollars to fund new and innovative ways to connect rural residents.

In 2018, we authorized the ReConnect Program at the USDA, which awarded funding for broadband connectivity services to under- and unserved areas. ReConnect provided $5.2 million to connect over 1,300 households, 16 businesses, and 23 farms in Kansas during its first round of funding.

In 2023, we introduced a new effort in the 2023 farm bill, with my colleague and fellow member of the Senate Ag Committee, Senator Peter Welch of Vermont. The ReConnecting Rural America Act provides a minimum speed of 100/100 high-speed internet build-out speeds, prioritizing long-term broadband infrastructure in our most rural communities.

Every Kansan I have spoken to has voiced the need for symmetrical speeds in their community and for increasing investments in fiber to be made by providers. By bolstering broadband infrastructure for our rural communities, we are able to stay up to speed with what is happening in the rest of the world.

Through these Federal efforts, combined with the administration of funds at the State level, I believe that we are getting closer than ever to making a real impact in rural broadband connectivity. Still, we must stay dedicated to the task at hand and ensure that this infrastructure is built to last.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following GAO opinion letter be printed in the Congressional Record:

Matter of: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and

Nutrition Service--Applicability of the Congressional Review

Act to Food and Nutrition Service Policy Memorandum CRD 01-

2022, Application of Bostock v. Clayton

County to Program Discrimination Complaint Processing--Policy

Update

File: B-334411

Date: June 5, 2023.

Madam President, I call up my amendment No. 110 and ask that it be reported by number.

Madam President, I rise in support of Marshall amendment No. 110 to put an end to the culture of lawlessness at our southern border embraced by our President.

I cannot in good conscience support this debt limit deal and saddle my grandchildren with this $4 trillion in additional debt.

This bill misses the mark, and, perhaps, what is more frustrating is that it does not give a single cent to securing our border--zero dollars to addressing the greatest, most immediate national security threat to our Nation.

This past weekend alone, the Border Patrol made over 13,000 apprehensions. There were over 4,000 ``got-aways''; and they seized 118 pounds of meth, 14 pounds of fentanyl, and apprehended 6 sex offenders and 5 gang members.

We have a crisis unfolding at our southern border, and it is happening right now in plain sight. It is impacting every community across the country. I will not sit here, form committees, and pray about it. We need action today.

I am proud to introduce my amendment today and hope you will vote yes and support it.

Madam President, ``The border is not open.''

``The border is not open.'' That is what DHS Secretary Mayorkas told the American people repeatedly. I guess that is pretty easy to say when you are sitting in your office in Washington, DC, but I rise to tell the truth to the American people.

Just recently, I led a group of Senators to the epicenter of this crisis in Brownsville, TX, on the eve title 42 was being lifted. Why Brownsville, you might ask, because that is where the cartel had moved the mass migration to. I reckon that was the easiest way to get all the people from Venezuela that they had recruited to come to America; that was the easiest, the most economical route to get them to the border was from Venezuela to Brownsville, TX.

I have to tell you, it is worse than I expected. The scene was bleak; the morale was at an all-time low. And there was no sign of this crisis ending anytime soon. At least that is what was going on, on our side of the border. On the other side of the border, these migrants were celebrating. They were having a party. The worst part of their journey was over.

We toured Camp Monument. Now, Camp Monument was a park just weeks before, but the Border Patrol had come in there and set up an emergency command post.

Now, again, the DHS Secretary is telling us the border isn't open, but this is what the Border Patrol told us: Just the day before, 11,000 illegal migrants had been recorded at this location alone and more than 3,000 ``got-aways'' the same day--3,000 ``got-aways.'' If you put those two together, that is the size of my hometown, Great Bend, America.

Now, we saw this week with the arrest of the Afghani on the Terrorist Watchlist in California, these ``got-aways'' undoubtedly include terrorists, convicted criminals, and the cartels' drug smugglers.

In fact, something, again, new on this trip--this was my fourth trip to the border--something new, they were averaging 90 Chinese military- aged nationalists crossing in the Rio Grande Valley every day, 90 Chinese nationalists every day crossing our border.

Probably the saddest thing I have heard about from the Border Patrol is they shared the horrific situation and the repeated sexual assault young women are enduring to come here. They compared it to a never- ending cycle of ``sex slavery''--that was their term--sex slavery by the cartels. In fact, the cartel had made $13 billion last year in the sex trade industry. And they told us that these young ladies enter a lifetime of debt to their criminal traffickers. So many other people turned into indentured servants.

These smugglers are also bringing in lethal fentanyl that is poisoning our children, 300 young adults dying every day in America from fentanyl poisoning brought across our southern border.

The data we received--and the briefing was given to us by the Border Patrol, by local law enforcement, and the CBP--do not reflect a border that is closed, far, far from being closed. It is a border that has been erased by failed leadership in the White House.

Under the current circumstances, only 10 percent of the Border Patrol agents are actually tasked with securing the border, only 10 percent of them are doing the job they were hired to do. The other officers, they are tasked with running the refugee camp, acting as nurses and social workers.

But it didn't have to be this way; it doesn't have to be this way. On every trip, I have asked the Border Patrol: What do you need? And in past trips, they have talked about, ``We need more doctors; we need more dentists; we need more help, more cooks.''

But this time, they didn't ask for more officers or resources. What they specifically asked for were policy changes from this administration. They asked for policy changes from this administration. These are people on the ground. These are the people who have been doing it--again, multigenerational officers whose fathers and grandparents had patrolled these same borders. They asked for policy changes.

Secretary Mayorkas has stripped them--the Border Patrol--of the tools they need to secure our border. What they asked was to reinstate the ``Remain in Mexico'' policy and end catch-and-release. It is that simple.

This could be all accomplished with the President's pen. He created this crisis. He can end it.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, I rise in support of our CRA disapproval of the Department of Homeland Security's public charge inadmissibility rule.

Last week, I had the honor of leading a trip with several of my fellow Senators to Brownsville, TX, to see the border crisis up front and firsthand for myself--the border crisis created by Joe Biden--as title 42 was coming to an end. We met a lot of people on the trip, and I want to share some of their thoughts, some of their concerns.

We met a young former marine officer who said he felt safer in Afghanistan than he did in southern Texas right now.

Local residents were bracing for the impact, with 170,000 people just across the border waiting to come across with the end of title 42. Families are gearing up to protect their families against the cartels, very specifically.

We met a fifth-generation rancher who was leaving his family ranch and moving his family into town, and even that night, he was teaching his wife how to load a 410-gauge shotgun to protect their family.

We met officers. Many of these officers were multigenerational--their fathers, their grandparents had served on the border--and they said it was worse than they have ever seen in their lifetime.

Something new on this trip: We were told that 90 Chinese military-age nationalists are entering illegally every day in South Texas.

As we all know, over 6 million people have entered the country illegally since President Biden took office--6 million people. That is twice the size of my home State of Kansas. Another 1.5 million people have evaded apprehension and entered the country--``got-aways,'' as they call them on the border.

Thousands upon thousands more continue to overwhelm the borders. I think we all realize our immigration system is broken, but rather than fix the problem, this administration continues to point fingers and find ways to ignore or abuse our laws to provide pathways for illegal immigrants to come here.

Many of the people crossing our border will get to roam freely throughout our country. They leave our intake facilities with a cell phone and a court date, a court date that is 4 to 5 years from the date they entered. I think we are all kidding ourselves if we think these folks will ever show up for those dates in 5 years. Despite breaking our laws, they will be long gone, settled into communities across the country. In fact, on our trip, law enforcement officers told me 90 percent of the migrants are not showing up for these court dates so far.

Sure, they are going to seek citizenship down the road. There is no doubt about that. And open border colleagues across the aisle will no doubt call for amnesty for all of them. We expect President Biden will support that. He has said that as much himself, broadcasting across the globe that you can take advantage of the benefits we provide, despite breaking our laws.

I think it is fair to say Americans have the most generous legal immigration standards in the world, but we have to draw the line somewhere.

Since the 1800s, our Nation has required foreign nationals seeking admission to the United States to show that they can care for themselves without becoming a public charge or burdening the taxpayers.

Most nations require you to have a job before you come into their country. We just don't want you to become a public charge if you want to become a permanent citizen. Being a public charge is a ground of inadmissibility under our immigration laws.

Let me say that again. Being a public charge is a ground of inadmissibility under our immigration laws.

Congress specifically directed the executive branch to consider various factors when allowing people into this great Nation. These factors include: age, health, family status, assets, resources, and financial status, along with education and skills.

Indeed, as recently as 1996, Congress clearly declared in a policy statement included in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 that self-sufficiency is a basic principle of U.S. immigration law and should continue to be a governing principle in the United States.

Specifically, the Immigration and Nationality Act makes an alien who is an applicant for a visa, admission, or adjustment of status inadmissible if he or she is likely at any time to become a public charge. The public charge ground of inadmissibility, therefore, applies to aliens applying for a visa to come to the United States temporarily or permanently for admission or adjust their status to that of a lawful permanent resident, with some limited exceptions.

We need an immigration system that welcomes the best and the brightest, but we need to limit the cycle of chain migration. Again, we need some type of guardrails. While we open our hearts to asylum seekers, we must also build a merit-based immigration system that considers that immigrants' potential contributions to our economy, to our communities, and our future. We don't want a system that rewards idleness and reliance on taxpayer-funded benefits.

Under the previous administration, the Department of Homeland Security issued a rule that would have required immigrants seeking to remain in the country to be self-sufficient. But under President Biden, the regulations have changed.

Now, my hope is to override the Biden public charge rule today with a vote here in the Senate. The Biden administration's public charge rule makes a mockery of the law and the intent of Congress to ensure that immigrants are self-sufficient.

According to an estimate by the Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform, at the start of 2023, the net cost of illegal immigration for the United States at the Federal, State, and local levels was at least $150 billion.

Again, since the start of 2023, the cost to taxpayers, $150 billion.

Now, this number is going to increase drastically if this rule stands. Our resolution of disapproval would rescind the Biden public charge rule and, hopefully, spur this administration to come to the table and craft a solution that will ensure the self-sufficiency of immigrants and protect American taxpayers.

I encourage my colleagues to vote to support this CRA of disapproval, to introduce some sanity into our immigration system.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, on National Police Week, we celebrate our law enforcement officers, but it is also important to pause and honor those who gave their lives in the line of duty and to pause and remember the families they left behind.

Last year, I stood in this Chamber as we unanimously adopted the National Police Week resolution and honored the 576 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2021. Today, I take this moment to honor the 246 brave men and women who were killed in the line of duty in 2022. In order to rightfully honor these men and women who lost their lives, we must continue to demand policies that will make our communities safer and, by extension, our officers in the line of duty safer.

This topic is incredibly personal to me. My father was a chief of police in our hometown of El Dorado, KS, for 30 years. Here is a picture I share of my father in 1965, a proud new police officer with our family dog and police officer dog, Rinny.

On more than one occasion, my dad put his life on the line to protect our community, and on many other days, he would tell stories of the bravery and courage of his officers when responding to an emergency. These were all my friends, but they were heroes in my eyes, as well, and always will be remembered as such.

But, today, I am sad to report that our men and women in law enforcement feel demoralized. They are constantly put in a no-win situation, and their own city governments are setting them up to fail. In short, like my dad told me recently on a fishing trip, law enforcement officers know this White House and many mayors and city councils do not have their backs. They feel abandoned, and they feel like they get no respect, even to the point of being wrongfully shamed.

These brave men and women need our support now more than ever. Democrat-run cities have demonized law enforcement, making it harder for our men and women in uniform to do their jobs. And, sadly, their dangerous rhetoric and policies are emboldening criminals at the expense of our officers.

You don't have to look any further than our own Nation's Capital. In November of last year, here in Washington, the DC Council voted to dramatically reform the city's criminal code to favor the rights of the offender during a crime wave across the District. The legislation eliminated mandatory minimum sentences for most crimes and lowered the maximum penalties for crimes such as carjacking and robbery.

The reforms to the city's criminal code came as the city's crime crisis hit a fever pitch.

Listen to this. Our Nation's Capital had 203 homicides in 2022--our Nation's capital, 203 homicides. Carjackings have tripled since 2019. This year, so far, violent crime is up by double digits. Last year, a physician was murdered after he tried to prevent a carjacker from stealing his car. A city council candidate had his car stolen at gunpoint. More recently, a Senate staffer was brutally attacked and stabbed in the head in broad daylight.

I remain fearful for my staff as they walk from their homes to the Capitol. Just recently, I gathered with a group of Senators to discuss policy, but the topic of discussion soon became the safety of our employees and what we could do to help ensure their safety.

With the culture of lawlessness on the streets being embraced by the DC City Council, at a time of low morale and increased crime, it is no wonder why the city has lost over 1,200 officers over the last 2 years, a number that is growing each day.

We need to stop here and talk about the culture of lawlessness started by this White House. It started during his campaign with a summer of applauding violent riots and vandalism.

After being sworn in, the administration purposefully and shamelessly opened our borders, and, even now, this administration turns their heads to violent criminals and terrorists crossing our borders. And with the Democrats embracing cashless bail in Joe Biden's America, we are now not only a country without borders but also a lawless society, where criminals roam the streets and fentanyl poisons our children.

This Nation must change its course before it is too late. To preserve this union, we need law and order. Our Republic will not survive without it.

H.J. Res. 42

I rise today in support of Senator Vance's motion to nullify the DC Council's Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022. By passing this resolution, we can now join our House colleagues in firmly rejecting the council's antipolice, pro-criminal laws and reaffirm our support for our heroic law enforcement officers.

I urge all of my Senate colleagues and the White House to choose people over politics by joining our efforts to

improve public safety in Washington, DC.

With its passage, we can send a clear message to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: We in the Senate will not stand by while our law enforcement officers are vilified and cut off at the knees when trying to do their job.

And with its passage, it will make Washington, DC, a safer place for the millions of visitors who pilgrimage to this great Capital to petition their elected Members of Congress, to regale in our history, and to celebrate our freedom.

This is a bill that makes DC safer, but it also sends a message to the entire country--a message that we want safe streets, we want safe communities, we want safe schools, and we want to do it in a bipartisan way.

Let's signal to every county, every city, and every State that Washington, DC, will no longer be soft on crime and cater to criminals.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I am proud to stand with my friend, the senior Senator from the great State of Alabama, as he continues to fight against the Department of Defense's attempt to circumvent Congress and ignore existing Federal law which prevents the Department of Defense facilities from being used to provide or facilitate abortions for servicemembers.

The policy is immoral, taking the Department of Defense abortions from less than 20 per year to over 4,000 abortions annually.

It is beyond me why the White House wants to pick this fight. The policy is illegal. It forces taxpayers to subsidize abortion in violation of Federal law. The policy is outside the Department of Defense's mission to uphold and fight for life, not destroy it.

The Biden administration and Senate Democrats claim this is harming our military readiness. With policies like this, they continue to destroy recruiting. If readiness was truly a concern of theirs, they wouldn't have discharged 8,000 troops for choosing not to take the COVID vaccine, a vaccine with minimal benefits to an otherwise healthy, young population.

Look, this policy is wrong, and until the military gets back to providing for our common defense and out of the business of abortion, I will proudly stand with Senator Tuberville.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to use a prop during my remarks.

Madam President, today, I rise in support of S.J. Res. 9, providing for congressional disapproval of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's rule regarding the lesser prairie-chicken under the Congressional Review Act.

Since I was 10 years old, my family has enjoyed hunting prairie chickens. As a matter of fact, the first bird I ever shot, the first time I ever went hunting, 10 years of age with a 20-gauge single shotgun, I was able to down one of these beautiful birds.

But last November, the Fish and Wildlife Service ignored decades of voluntary conservation efforts and published a rule lifting the lesser prairie-chicken species as endangered and threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Enacted in 1973, the Endangered Species Act, the ESA, was created to protect species believed to be on the brink of extinction. Today, the consequences of this law reach far beyond its original intent. If saving species were the only

consideration, then this administration wouldn't be listing the lesser prairie-chicken whose population is considered stable in my home State of Kansas.

I ask you, was the ESA made for the good of human kind or was human kind made for the good of the ESA?

Make no mistake about it, the listing of any species adds more rules, more hoops to jump through, more time and costs from everyone, from our farmers and ranchers, our oilfield workers, and our utility linemen who are building out new power poles and electric lines to get wind- generated electricity out to more populated States.

The ESA is just another weaponized tool that this President uses to attack rural America. This move is not surprising, considering the President recently vetoed the bipartisan resolution to strike down the WOTUS rule. This White House continues to push policies and resurrect taxes that disproportionately hurt rural America.

For over 20 years now, Federal, State, and private landowners have voluntarily collaborated with Fish and Wildlife Services to conserve the lesser prairie-chicken and its habitat.

These partnerships have already resulted in conservation agreements covering roughly 15 million acres of potential habitat for species. To list the bird now, after all the conservation effort, sends a message to stakeholders that no matter how much good work you do, the hammer will still fall, the heavy-handed government will still step in and list species under the ESA and attempt to regulate your industry out of existence, all in the name of climate.

The Federal Government thinks it knows best when it comes to conservation, but this law continues to fail its most basic mission: recovering and delisting species. Despite billions of dollars spent in the name of the ESA, less than 2 percent of all listed species have been removed from its ESA protection since 1973--just 2 percent.

Through a combination of public and private efforts, the lesser prairie-chicken is better protected now more than ever. Listing them as threatened or endangered will not provide any additional conservation benefits above what already exists.

As this chart shows, while the prairie chicken numbers tend to follow rainfall, they have been growing since the Obama administration first attempted to list the bird in 2014.

No one in this body wants to see this beautiful bird go extinct. As a matter of fact, we are fighting to preserve it. My hope is that one day, once again, my grandchildren can hunt lesser prairie-chickens like their great-great-grandfathers did.

No oil producer, no rancher, no farmer, no wind energy producer wants the demise of the lesser prairie-chicken. That is why voluntary partnerships have worked and are working. Just like all my fellow Kansans, I am committed to saving our environment for future generations.

To share some wise words from one of my friends:

We are passengers on this planet, not captains.

We need to continue to work with Mother Nature, not punish hard- working Americans. A listing of this species now will only slow down and drive up the cost of our wind energy exports from Kansas, which shares many of the same range. The listing will also push oil and gas development to countries that have long track records of violating human rights or the extraction of these important and necessary energy sources in a manner much more harmful to the environment than those utilized by American producers.

Whether it is gas or diesel or wind energy, this decision to list the chicken would increase the cost of energy. It would federalize millions of acres of ranch lands and expand the regulatory burden on our farmers and ranchers, ultimately, increasing the cost of food. But for what? An attempt to protect the species by an Agency that has only successfully recovered 2 percent of the species that it has listed.

No, thanks. The local communities have and will continue to do what is best for the bird and, more importantly, for the environment through ongoing, proven conservation efforts--conservation efforts passed on from one generation of farmers and ranchers to the next.

This administration ignores the impact that overregulation has on American industries. And I hear this from everyone who visits my office. The costs of this administration's rules and regulations already outpace the last two administrations combined, with $363 billion in rules so far. Since January 1 of this year alone, that number is $148 billion.

Under this administration, the annual paperwork burden on businesses has increased to over 220 million hours. Since January 1, that number is approaching 50 million hours--indeed, a redtape of nightmare for businesses.

This resolution is one of many vital steps the Senate GOP is taking to unleash the economy from the bureaucratic harassment that the White House has deployed. I am asking you to join me in applauding, rather than punishing, voluntary conservation efforts and support the joint resolution for congressional disapproval of the lesser prairie-chicken listing.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I rise today to honor and celebrate the life and legacy of Mr. Ernie Barrett, synonymously known as Mr. K-State.

Ernie was born in Pratt, KS, on August 27, 1929. He is a proud graduate of Wellington High School, where he led his basketball team to their first State championship in 1947. He was recruited by the likes of the University of Kansas and Oklahoma State, but chose to attend Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS, beginning a lifelong affiliation with the school and town.

During his 3-year collegiate career, K-State won two Big Seven Conference titles in 1950 and 1951. As a First Team All-American for the 1951 season, Ernie led the team to the school's first and only NCAA National Championship game appearance. Ernie earned two degrees from K- State, a bachelor's in physical education and a master's degree in journalism.

He would go on to be selected by the Boston Celtics with the seventh overall pick in the 1951 NBA draft. However, he would not join the Celtics for another 2 years, as he proudly served his Nation in the U.S. Air Force from 1951-53. Despite a yearlong hiatus from professional basketball, Ernie played under legendary head coach Red Auerbach for the 1953-54 and 1955-56 seasons. He was a key contributor to two Celtics teams that reached the Eastern Division finals in both of his professional seasons.

Following his professional basketball career, Ernie came back to K- State as an assistant basketball coach where he helped lead the school to five Big Eight regular season titles in his 6 years as a coach. His service to K-State was not limited to the basketball court, as he would go on to serve as assistant athletics director, director of athletics, university consultant, and director of development throughout his career as a university administrator. A legendary fundraiser and promoter for K-State, his efforts contributed to the development of Bill Snyder Family Stadium, R.V. Christian Track and Field Complex, Bramlage Coliseum, Tointon Family Stadium, Colbert Hills Golf Course, as well as many other projects that have greatly impacted the students of K-State and the residents of Manhattan, KS.

After 75 years of service to K-State, Ernie passed away on April 21, 2023. His list of accomplishments are endless, and his impact on K- State, and Manhattan, KS, is timeless. There will certainly never be another Mr. K-State.

I now ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life and legacy of Mr. Ernie Barrett, as well as celebrate his tremendous impact on Kansas State University.