Floor Statements

Mr. President, I come to the floor today following the conclusion of Vice President Harris's border evasion tour to Guatemala and Mexico earlier this week.

As a physician, I have had the opportunity to do multiple mission trips to Mexico and Central America, and I have been to the border now three times. I have seen the crisis firsthand, which is why it was so concerning to me that in the early days of this new administration, they followed through on a number of campaign promises related to opening our border and curbing control measures put in place by the previous administration.

Just to be clear, the current administration issued multiple Executive orders and actions on immigration, including halting construction of the border wall, ending the ``Remain in Mexico'' policy, and reaffirming the White House's commitment to grant blanket amnesty to 11 million illegal immigrants residing in the United States. While President Biden and his administration appear surprised by the massive influx of immigrants and migrants encountered in the aftermath, this was a predictable result.

As described by the President of Guatemala, once the message from the White House changed to, ``We're going to reunite families, we're going to reunite children. The very next day, the coyotes were here organizing groups of children to take them to the United States.''

On March 24, after months of resulting escalating crises on our southern border, President Biden tapped Vice President Harris to serve as his border czar. In the 10 weeks that have passed since her appointment, the situation at the border has continued to worsen. In April, Customs and Border Protection officials made more than 178,000 apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border. In May, they once again made more than 170,000 apprehensions, marking the third straight month over that figure. These are 20-year records.

As demonstrated in an interview with Lester Holt this week, Vice President Harris considers these staggering

numbers a laughing matter. If she took her role seriously and actually visited our southern border, she would realize that Americans who live in border communities are not laughing. That is because their towns are being overwhelmed by migrants, and they feel their lives are in danger.

Now, the origin of these migrants has expanded as the crisis has gone on. In recent weeks and months, Border Patrol has encountered significant numbers of migrants from Ecuador, Venezuela, Cuba, and Brazil. While these arrivals have come from a wide variety of nations, the majority of the border crossings continue to come from Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

Despite years of foreign aid and assistance to the nations, this is a trend we have seen growing in recent years. Since 2018, Border Patrol has encountered approximately 5 percent of Honduras's population, 3.5 percent of Guatemala's, and roughly 3 percent of El Salvador's population. Now Vice President Harris is proposing to provide more than $300 million in regional humanitarian aid and a $4 billion long-term plan for Central America.

However, as this graph shows, there is little evidence to show that this type of cash injection will reduce migration from these Northern Triangle nations, and Biden administration officials acknowledge that even if these efforts were successful, it would take years or possibly even decades to truly make an impact. This is not the type of urgency needed to address this raging crisis on our border. This is simply throwing good money after bad money.

Let's take a look how policy impacts the border. This graph proves the cause of the crisis is policy, and aid has been ineffective in remaking the economy of the Northern Triangle. These economies need much more than intermittent aid infusion. I like to use the phrase ``trade not aid.'' Since entering into CAFTA-DR in 2005, the United States has increased trade between the United States and the other six countries in the agreement: Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. As of 2019, goods traded among the countries included in the pact increased by 62 percent. By working to expand trade in the region, the United States could boost capital investment and prosperity.

This type of productivity could result in further good job opportunities and encourage individuals in the Northern Triangle to remain home rather than pouring across our southern border. It also has the potential to reconfigure supply chains away from China and bolster our relationship with nations in our hemisphere at a time when China is moving to exploit developing countries.

I have seen the empty warehouses and jobs leaving Central America firsthand in Honduras on mission trips--a result of China entering the World Trade Organization. Through stronger trade agreements, we can help bring jobs back to our hemisphere, particularly those that would help address some of our medical supply challenges, such as making medical gowns, masks, and gloves. These could easily be made in Central America.

At the same time, it is absurd that this administration cannot chew gum and walk at the same time. Proposing $4 billion of taxpayer funds in an aid package, when their recently proposed $6 trillion budget request does not include funding increases for the missions carried out by the Department of Homeland Security along the border, is astonishing.

A final point, Vice President Harris keeps saying she wants to get to the root of the problem, and while White House policy has created the crisis at the border, the true long-term root of the problem is the lack of law and order in Central America, which leads to unstable economies.

The policies first put in place by President Obama and now by the current administration have enriched the cartels, further encouraged violence, and harmed Central American economies. By not truly addressing the roots, their policies continue to encourage migrants to make the long dangerous journey north.

We must continue to build a wall along the southern border and increase funding for technology, radars, towers, air assets, and others. We must also reinstate the ``Remain in Mexico'' program. Our Vice President, acting as border czar, must visit our southern border communities and the CBP agents and officers overwhelmed by this self- inflicted crisis.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I call up my amendment No. 1973, as modified, with the changes at the desk and ask that it be reported by number.

Madam President, over the past year, COVID-19 has spread to all corners of the world, killing more than 3 million people in its path, including more than 550,000 Americans. We were originally told this virus initiated in a wet market or that it may have come from a bat that directly infected a human. However, the preponderance of evidence now suggests this virus may have leaked from a lab in Wuhan.

With the World Health Assembly meeting this week, I ask this body to fully express support for a complete investigation into this outbreak. It is outrageous and inconceivable that a comprehensive investigation has still not occurred.

If China continues on its path of coverup, we must begin planning a full investigation, including with partners around the world. It would be utterly irresponsible to suffer through the worst pandemic in a century and not have the origins fully investigated.

Our bipartisan amendment will deliver the message that the Chinese must show us the data and be transparent with the world, and if they don't, we will fight to get to the bottom of this pandemic.

I thank Senator Gillibrand for introducing this amendment with me and ask that all Senators join us in approving it, and we hope, we believe, that this can pass with a voice vote.

Thank you. And I yield.

Madam President, I am here today to talk about the origins of the COVID-19 virus. I want to stop and thank the scientists and journalists who risked and in some instances gave their lives to get the genetic sequence of the virus and some hints of its origin out to the rest of the world to give us a fighting chance.

I also want to thank the NIH and Dr. Francis Collins, whose team was able to stabilize the virus within a matter of weeks and share that technology with the world. This helped to quickly launch the success of Operation Warp Speed, as well as other research for testing, anti- virals, and vaccines.

But now here we are 16 months into the most catastrophic health disaster of our lifetime, and we still have more questions than answers. At least 3 million lives have been claimed by the virus, and we still don't know its origin. More specifically, we don't know its geographical or biological origin. The world deserves to know and needs to know where and how it started. Was it naturally occurring, or was it made in a lab?

I am here today to tell you, the preponderance of evidence suggests that this virus leaked from a lab in Wuhan. But first let's look at the mounting evidence suggesting that COVID-19 is truly a supervirus, the product of lab manipulations, including viral gain of function. In order to do this, we need to look at the world history of two similar events and the great work of scientists surrounding the containment of SARS in 2002 and MERS in 2012.

For SARS, it took 4 months to find an intermediate host, a civet, a raccoon-looking mammal. Yes, it only took 4 months to prove that the SARS virus went from a bat to a civet to a human. Significantly, scientists found 24 viral ancestors to SARS, as the virus

spontaneously mutated from a virus that would not easily attach to human cells into a more lethal virus.

For MERS, it only took 9 months to find the virus occurring naturally in bats, and the intermediate host was camels.

Yet, with COVID-19, here we are some 16 months later, and we have no intermediate host and no COVID-19 found in a live bat. The Chinese tell us they tested over 80,000 viral sequences and have come up empty. Coincidence?

No precursors, no grandfather or great-grandfathers, nothing close to resembling COVID-19 has been found in nature. As a matter of fact, the closest virus we know of to COVID-19 is RaTG13, which has called the Wuhan Institute of Virology home for several years. This virus was supposedly from bats in Yunnan and transported by scientists to the Wuhan viral lab, but of course the Chinese won't hand the virus over to the world now for further study.

Is it possible that RaTG13 could have been manipulated into COVID-19? Some experts would say yes. And we know, based upon the words of the WIV researcher, Dr. Shi, that the WIV had eight similar viruses to RaTG13, but China won't share those either. What are they hiding?

Here is another interesting feature of COVID-19. It likes humans more than bats. As a matter of fact, it doesn't harm bats. So the CCP propaganda claims this virus comes from bats, but it doesn't like bats. Riddle me that.

Furthermore, no ancestors of COVID-19 have been found. Recall what typically occurs in nature is multiple mutations, just like with the SARS infection. We should be able to find multiple mutations as the virus goes from bat loving, to an intermediate liking animal, to human liking, to human loving. We would certainly welcome contrary evidence from the Wuhan labs.

Now if you will, forgive me for being a bit of a biology lover, but as a physician, I think we have to consider just how utterly ferocious and seemingly too perfect for nature this virus really is

COVID-19 has a very unique spike protein made up by two units. The first unit has an amazing affinity for human lung cells. It sticks like glue to human lung cells even if you only get a small whiff of it, and it uses the same human lung receptor that researchers in the United States and WIV have been working on together for viral gain of function and similar lab techniques for years. Perhaps this is just another coincidence.

To be fair, I really do think all the research has been done with the best of intentions to develop vaccines for a possible future epidemic. For all I know, the research already done may have significantly sped up the success of Operation Warp Speed.

Next we need to discuss one last point about this protein spike and how it interacts with human lung cells. And if there is a smoking gun, this is it. Remember I talked about this spike, this crown having two components, two units. Well, it just so happens that the human lung cell has a special cleaver, a cleaver that can recognize--you guessed it--a perfect spot on the COVID-19 spike. Bats don't have this ability, but human lung cells do.

Anyway, what happens is, after the COVID-19 virus attaches to the human lung cell like glue, the human lung cell cleaves the COVID-19 in this perfect spot, and only after this cleavage occurs can the virus dump its genetic makeup into the human cell and take over the human genetic machinery.

Now, just don't forget your ninth grade biology class. A virus needs another organism to reproduce, and this COVID-19 virus, once it grabs a human lung cell, it is not letting go until it takes over and starts to multiply like rabbits. After one cell grabs hold and dumps its genetic content, a chain reaction occurs that really reminds me of a nuclear chain reaction. Once viral replication ignites, it is next to impossible to stop.

There are more microbiology nuances we could talk about and why this supervirus is not seemingly a virus from Mother Nature, but I think you get my point. Yes, I could be wrong. I hope I am wrong. But only the Wuhan labs have the data to prove me wrong, and I am afraid the data that would prove me right or wrong has been forever destroyed.

The geographical origination of this virus is much less complex to discuss. Today, all evidence points to the geographical start of this virus from or in very close proximity to the Wuhan labs. The wet market origination theory has been completely dismantled and is really nothing more than the usual CCP propaganda and coverup that we have all seen too often.

Now we know without any doubt that multiple infections predated the January 2020 event surrounding the wet market theory, and all these infections can be traced to a close proximity of the Wuhan labs. In fact, U.S. intelligence reports recently confirmed what we have known for months--that some WIV researchers were hospitalized as early as the fall of 2019.

Just to be clear, these bats that are known to harbor this family of viruses have a range of some 50 miles but live in caves in Yunnan Province approximately 1,000 miles away from Wuhan. The chances of a bat carrying this highly infectious virus 1,000 miles away without leaving a trail of infections between Yunnan and the WIV would be like the same person walking from New York to Kansas and being struck by lightning seven times and surviving.

Again, China has the evidence to prove these theories wrong, and I welcome that data. As a physician, a Senator, a father, and a grandfather, we have to assume and prepare for the worst and judge the situation based upon the body of evidence that best describes this event. We have to get to the bottom of this regardless of whose fault it is or isn't. We will need to know how to forgive. We will need to make others take responsibility. But what we can't do is keep burying our heads in the sand, which is why I am calling on the U.S. delegation to the World Health Assembly meeting this week to do everything in their power to ensure that a full and unrestricted international scientific and forensic investigation into the origins will be authorized and also for a parallel comprehensive, bipartisan Senate investigation into the origins as well.

When that is finished, we need to take up the guardrails for viral gain-of-function studies. But in the meantime, the American people-- really the entire world--deserve to know the answers to the origins of the COVID-19 virus.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, earlier this month, the Department of Labor's jobs report showed an uptick of the unemployment rate to 6.1 percent and employers only adding 266,000 jobs, despite widespread projections of approximately 1 million jobs to be gained in April.

To call this a dismal jobs report would be an understatement. It was the worst jobs miss since 1998. Yet it is not

surprising considering the many conversations I have had with Kansans throughout my travels. I have heard constantly how employers are struggling to find people for open jobs, largely because folks are staying at home due to the increased unemployment dollars and the stimulus checks that Democrats continue to push.

Earlier this year, Democrats forced through legislation--without any Republican support--that provided $300 more per week in Federal unemployment benefits. This additional benefit, when coupled with the extended unemployment benefits offered by States, already means that the average recipient is making $15 to $20 per hour to stay home.

Democrats have made it more profitable for many Americans to stay unemployed. That is because these policies are not intended to help our economic recovery. They are intended to reform our American system and create more dependency on the government.

This leap toward socialism comes at a time when our Nation is on its way to reaching herd immunity and businesses are emerging from government-imposed lockdowns. Now President Biden has delivered them a government-funded labor shortage.

I recently heard from a wonderful small business in my hometown of Great Bend, KS, that are short-staffed by some 70 employees--that is 70 employees they are short-staffed. They are unable to match the strong incentive to stay home provided by the Federal unemployment benefits in order to rehire their workforce. The company's mission is to provide educational and work opportunities for people with developmental disabilities, giving nearly 200 individuals in the area the independence, inclusion, and training that they need to achieve success. This labor shortage directly affects their ability to meet the needs of the people they serve.

I have heard stories from manufacturers across Kansas struggling to recall their workers, despite offering generous benefits and high-wage jobs or restaurants remaining closed because they don't have enough employees for their basic operations.

Homes aren't being built because of a lack of labor, and hotels are turning away business because they don't have employees. One company even shared a story of offering a high-skilled and high-wage position only to be turned down because the prospective employee claimed they were comfortable on unemployment, and the hours clashed with the local bowling league.

We have seen the broader supply chain begin to feel the impacts, as a lack of truckdrivers means that building materials, computer chips, and common household goods like toothpaste and toilet paper can't reach their destination, or food processing plants are short-staffed and turning out less product than usual, driving up the cost for consumers.

Coupled with the trillions of Federal dollars that have gone out the door so far, we are beginning to see inflation. In fact, the Department of Labor's recently released consumer price index for April showed the largest spike in inflation since 2008.

There are a record 8 million jobs--that is 8 million opportunities waiting to be filled across this country. In my home State of Kansas, we have 57,000 job openings, and the March labor report shows over 58,000 Kansans received unemployment insurance.

While there are certainly people who need access to increased unemployment benefits during the heart of this pandemic, unemployment insurance was never meant to be a permanent salary replacement.

Rather, the benefit is meant to provide temporary assistance while folks get back on their feet. The government should not be in the business of creating lucrative government dependency that makes it more beneficial to stay unemployed rather than return to work. That is called socialism.

Nearly half of the States have halted the additional benefits, and I have called for the Democratic Governor from my home State to do the same. Unfortunately, no State in the Union with a Democratic executive has stepped up and dropped the benefits, despite many of these States having the highest unemployment rates in the country. Instead, Democrats in Congress are moving to make the enhanced benefits permanent.

For all these reasons, last week, 15 of my colleagues joined me in introducing the Get Americans Back to Work Act, which decreases Federal unemployment benefits to $150 per week at the end of May and then fully repeals them altogether at the end of June. Not only will this help get people back to work but the savings generated can be used to pay for roads and bridges.

Let me close by saying ``work'' is not a four-letter, dirty word. A job brings dignity and purpose to all who have one. Over the past year, we have made great strides to develop safe and effective vaccines. Because more Americans are getting their shots, we have seen COVID cases decline to nearly a quarter of where they were in January. Now is the time for folks to get back to work, to get our kids back in school, and get our economy back to prepandemic levels.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, on January 20, President Joe Biden gave his inaugural address to the American people, saying that in order to overcome the challenges we face as a nation and ``to restore the soul and [to] secure the future of America requires more than words; it requires that most elusive of things in a democracy: unity. Unity.''

I end the quote.

And he says for a second time: ``Unity.'' In fact, he mentioned the word ``unity'' nine separate times throughout his inaugural remarks. Unfortunately, that ``unity'' President Biden preached about is nowhere to be found.

One hundred days in office, and there has been zero bipartisanship from the

White House on any major issue. We have seen zero effort by the White House to take any Republican idea or concept seriously. In fact, they have done very little to reach across the aisle, engage Republicans, or have a serious conversation with us.

They have shown that they are not interested in bipartisanship, as they continue to jam through their radical agenda and seek power grab after power grab.

We have seen a record number of Executive orders, the first partisan COVID relief bill, steps to grant DC statehood to tip the powers of scale, a directive that threatens private property rights--the cornerstone of our democracy--an attempt to federalize elections and destroy election integrity with H.R. 1, threats to eliminate the filibuster, increased gas prices for Americans at the pump, efforts to pack the Supreme Court, disguised measures to pass the Green New Deal, calls to defund police, mandates to allow biological boys to compete in girls' sports, and tax increases on all Americans, and much, much more.

Things are changing in DC. History will record President Biden as having spent more money than any other President in U.S. history in his first 100 days. I am warning everyone: Grab your wallets. History will record President Biden's misguided policies as making our Nation less safe, having created a health crisis, a national security crisis, and a humanitarian crisis at the southern border.

What I hope to hear from President Biden this evening is not likely to be covered in a speech. He is going to try to explain to us--even though our economy is recovering and we just borrowed and spent $2 trillion from our grandchildren--why we now need to spend another $2 trillion and why he needs to raise your taxes to do it. He is going to try to describe the legislation he wants passed as a so-called infrastructure bill, when less than 5 percent of it is going toward roads and bridges.

He is going to try to convince Americans of something that is a misnomer and not a truth. What he won't tell you is this is a recipe to kill Kansas jobs and an economic catastrophe for this Nation.

Last week, President Biden signed into law a bipartisan bill I introduced, alongside Senators Bill Cassidy and Tina Smith, to lower prescription drug prices for the American people. Additionally, we unanimously passed a bill out of the Ag Committee regarding carbon markets. These are both great examples of the unity the President spoke of in his inaugural address--Democrats and Republicans coming together to deliver solutions for the American people.

These are good first steps, and in case there is more opportunity for bipartisanship, let me tell you where we can and should start. We can start with an infrastructure package that actually rebuilds our aging roads, bridges, and waterways; invest in future generations and ensure high-speed internet for all Americans and incentivize innovation. We can start with staying the course laid out by Operation Warp Speed and get more shots in people's arms so we can reach herd immunity sooner rather than later. We can start with people getting back to work and finally unleash our economy to prepandemic levels, and we can start getting all our kids back in school.

As President Biden said in his inaugural address, ``This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward.''

If he truly puts unity above all else, we can accomplish great things for the American people, for it is unity that will see this country come roaring back, not President Biden's radical, partisan ways that have further divided this Nation.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, simply stated, President Biden's so- called infrastructure plan helps China and hurts hard-working Americans. Let me say it again. This bill helps China and hurts hard- working Americans. Less than 5 percent--that is how much of this $2 trillion infrastructure proposal actually goes toward building roads and bridges in the United States. Instead, this partisan proposal is loaded with Green New Deal pet projects and an abundance of spending that stretches far beyond recognition of what hard-working Americans define as infrastructure.

This is not the first time we have seen Democratic attempts to redefine the traditional meaning of words. In recent weeks, the White House has also moved to change how people perceive bipartisanship in Congress. No longer do our colleagues across the aisle need to secure Republican votes in order to successfully pass a so-called ``bipartisan'' bill. One obscure poll with cleverly worded questions that helps to garner bipartisan support from the respondents will do the trick. It is a manipulation of words that would allow President Biden to try to ram through this radical agenda and sell it to the American people as fulfilling his campaign promise of unity.

President Lincoln once said: ``You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.''

The American people won't be duped by Washington doublespeak. I hosted five townhalls this past weekend, and Kansans have their eyes open to what is in this bill. Kansans understand that while this bill provides $115 billion for roads and bridges, more than half of over $2 trillion is devoted to green energy projects and the elimination of fossil fuels.

Among these green provisions is $170 billion for electric car chargers and tax incentives for purchasing electric cars. It also calls for electrifying one-fifth of the Nation's school buses and all 650,000 of the U.S. Postal Service's delivery trucks, which will result in driving up costs to Americans.

When unveiling this infrastructure plan, President Biden mentioned China six times as he attempted to sell it as a way to compete with China. However, this rapid jump to electric vehicles does the opposite and will benefit China more than many hard-working Americans. That is because China leads the world in manufacturing 80 percent of the materials needed for batteries and will continue to do so. Of the 136 lithium-ion battery plants in the pipeline between now and 2029, 101 are based in China.

China mines 64 percent of the world's silicon and makes 80 percent of the world's polysilicon with coal-generated electricity--the key component to solar panels. This bill will serve as a boon for China while decimating our domestic oil and gas industry, which helped us achieve our long-held goal of energy independence in 2019.

This bill will harm our general economic output by taking $2 trillion out of the private sector. We should really be calling this package the ``grab your wallet bill'' or ``raise your taxes bill.''

The legislation calls for the largest corporate tax increase in decades and will put the tax burden on American companies toward the top of the developed world list. This will make American companies less competitive in the global market. It is a recipe to kill the economy at a time when our Nation is still recovering from COVID. It will also negatively impact our economy in the long-term.

According to projections from the Penn Wharton Budget Model, as a result of this partisan legislation, overall GDP will be decreased 0.9 percent lower in 2031 and 0.8 percent lower in 2050. Hourly wages would be down by 0.7 percent in 2031 and 0.8 percent in 2050.

Perhaps what is most disappointing is that this bill demonstrates that gone are the days when infrastructure packages were an opportunity to build bipartisan bridges. Thanks to Republicans' control of the Senate and reaching across the aisle, the two most recent bills governing spending on roads and bridges both passed with overwhelming bipartisanship support before they were signed into law.

So in case there is still an opportunity for bipartisanship, let me tell you what I am for. I am for a package that, No. 1, reaches across the aisle and rebuilds our aging roads and bridges; next, incentivizes innovation, invests in future generations, ensures high-speed internet for all Americans, and reforms our permitting process so that when we say ``shovel-ready,'' we really mean shovel-ready, as opposed to going through years of permitting and driving up the cost of the project.

Look, pre-COVID, we had the strongest economy in my lifetime, thanks to Republican-led policies put in place over the last 4 years. Lower taxes and deregulation resulted in historically low unemployment rates, as well as energy independence and affordable energy costs. We need to get back to these policies and not continue the onslaught of harmful redtape, proposed tax increases, and unprecedented spending sprees.

The future of our children and grandchildren depends on it.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, today I am honored to stand on this hallowed Senate floor and share my gratitude for and the priorities of the people of Kansas.

I want to start by thanking the people of Kansas who believed in me and sent me here to represent them. It is an honor of a lifetime to follow in the steps of heroic Kansans who preceded me in this legislative body. That includes sharing this tour of duty with my long- time friend whom I have admired for decades and now my senior Senator, Jerry Moran, as well as legends of this Chamber, my mentors Bob Dole and Pat Roberts.

But before I continue, I want to say a special word of gratitude to my family for all of their support. I would not be here today without the support of my wife of 37 years now, Laina, our four children and their spouses, our three grandchildren, as well as my parents, brother, sister, and extended family, who in so many ways have contributed to our campaigns and the work we have done in Congress. I am grateful for their understanding, their unwavering support, and sacrifice of privacy and family time, but, mostly, I am grateful for the values they passed on to me.

I am grateful for the many teachers, coaches, pastors, and personal friends who inspired me and gave me a solid foundation of values that have seen us through tough times. These values provided the foundation for me, a fifth-generation farm kid, to become a first-generation college student and live my American dream as a physician in rural America.

And these values have become pillars, the sturdiest of which in my life are faith, family, community, education, and hard work--a faith that you live in your heart, not wear on your shirt sleeves; a family that loves and stands beside you no matter what; a community where everyone looks out for each other; an education that is the great equalizer, leveling the playing field for all; and, finally, a belief in hard work that paves the way to achieve your American dream.

As I traveled Kansas this past year, I carried these pillars with me while I heard from people all over the State, and they gave three very clear priorities: No. 1, provide for their safety, health, and security; No. 2, to bring back our jobs and economy; and, No. 3, to protect our values and our God-given, inalienable rights.

I am here in the Senate to do just that, to fight for the people of Kansas,

for all Americans. But more than anyone else, I am here to fight for our children and grandchildren. And like another great Kansan, the 34th President of the United States, Dwight David Eisenhower, the decisions I make will be most guided by the impact they will have on future generations, not by tonight's news or the simultaneous tweet that goes out as I raise my thumb up or down. History will be the judge of my decisions, not social media.

The motto of the 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army, the Big Red One, housed in my home State of Kansas is ``No Mission Too Difficult. No Sacrifice Too Great. Duty First!''

It is with this fighting attitude I intend to fully fund our military; secure our borders; as the son and brother of veterans, and as a veteran myself, honor our commitment to those who protected our freedoms and values; and as the son of a police chief, fully support our law enforcement.

I am so grateful for all law enforcement officers, including those here at the U.S. Capitol. They put their lives on the line every day, and we join the entire Nation in mourning those heroic officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice keeping us safe.

While we too often hear calls to defund the police and weaken our military readiness, we are still a nation of law and order, and we must advance President Reagan's philosophy of peace through strength.

Pre-COVID, we had the strongest economy in my lifetime, thanks to Republican-led policies put into place over the last 4 years. Lower taxes and deregulation resulted in historically low unemployment rates, as well as American energy independence and affordable energy costs. With agriculture being responsible for 40 percent of the Kansas economy, these policies, along with strong trade agreements, provided the tools necessary to ensure our farmers, ranchers, and producers remain profitable and our rural communities prosperous.

But here is what concerns me today. Like my grandma often told me at the family supper table, there are three things you can count on from the current majority party: They will spend a lot of your money. They will raise your taxes. And they will increase regulations. Just like my grandma warned, within the first 3 months of this new administration, we have seen an onslaught of harmful redtape, proposed tax increases, and an unprecedented spending spree.

Fighting government redtape and working to ensure Kansans keep more of their hard-earned money as a means to harness job growth and help our economy recover will be what I work for each day.

Lastly and most importantly, as this is what is keeping me up late at night, I was sent here to protect the Kansas values I was raised on. These values are still held by the majority of Americans, and many of us are tired of being canceled, censured, and lectured to.

I acknowledge we all need to be woke up sometimes--woke up for church on Sundays, woke as a child to help milk the cows on my grandparents' farm--but we certainly don't need the woke mob to shake us out of bed every day.

Like all nations of people, we make plenty of mistakes and we have room to grow, but we Kansans are still proud of our American history. Rather than cancel it, we should embrace it. America has accomplished incredible things and defeated enemies of freedom. We should be proud of our history, hang onto it, and learn from it.

God has given our Nation enormous bounty and blessings to help feed the world, maintain peace, and protect human rights. America has been called upon to be the salt of the Earth and remain a bright, burning candle, not hidden under a bushel.

I believe our country will not fall from another military giant, nor will it succumb to economic failure created from foreign lands. Our greatest risk of failure comes from falling under our own weight if we continue to ignore the self-evident values our forefathers taught us.

Indeed, if we continue paying too much attention to silly hyperbole, social media hype, and political correctness, this Nation will struggle and not be the leader of the free world we were intended to be.

Before I leave the subject of values, I want to share how important and personal the sanctity of life is to me. I had the honor, as an obstetrician, to deliver over 5,000 babies, and I promise I will work as hard in this Chamber to protect the lives of the unborn and our children as I did in the delivery room all those years. I will always lead on this issue and protect our values.

Leadership is the quality I most remember my dad looking for and praising in others, and I have always tried to study and emulate great leaders. To this end, as I sometimes wander the Capitol looking for solitude and inspiration, I am struck by one of my favorite paintings hanging in the Capitol Rotunda.

In this portrait, the artist depicts General George Washington, shortly after the Revolutionary War, surrendering his commission as an officer. And behind Washington, resting on an otherwise empty King's throne, are the robes of a King, the robes he declined.

The leadership lesson is that great leaders don't seize more power when they see the opportunity. Three months into this 117th Congress, it appears that the power grab General Washington declined is now the majority's primary modus operandi. We have seen a record number of Executive orders, the first partisan COVID relief bill, steps to grant DC statehood to tip the scales of power, an attempt to federalize elections and destroy election integrity with H.R. 1, and now a commission to study expanding the Supreme Court.

Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz watching the grains of sand dropping through the hourglass, additional partisan priorities remain on standby while the timing of dropping the ultimate power grab--the elimination of the filibuster--is carefully weighed.

The filibuster is meant to force both parties to work together to come up with long-lasting policies which help Americans. Without it, we will see tax laws and many other policies go up and down like a roller coaster, creating uncertainty and making it impossible for long-term planning.

We are witnessing what may be the most blatantly hypocritical policy switch we have ever seen, as most all Senators and the President have been on record previously in support of the filibuster. This flip-flop appears to be all in the name of greed and power.

So while I come to the Senate intent on fighting against efforts to weaken our security, harm our economy, and diminish our American values, I also want to discuss what I am for.

My favorite memories of growing up were spent in the great outdoors with the people I love the most: my friends and family. Make no mistake, I will do everything in my power to leave this world cleaner, safer, and healthier than I found it, and this can be accomplished while at the same time maintaining affordable energy.

Whether it is environmental policy or economic policy, we need to level the playing field, both at home and abroad. We must prioritize jobs for Americans, secure our supply chains, and continue to develop fair and reciprocal trade agreements. We must lower the cost of quality healthcare for all Americans. We must stop intellectual property theft, along with economic coercion, forced technology transfer, and cyber espionage.

We must stop counterfeit products and illicit drugs from entering our Nation. In addition, we must stop all censorship, especially the censorship of conservative thought that is under attack.

For our grandchildren's sake, we must modernize our policies surrounding Big Tech and social media before they engulf our society.

So this Nation, still very young in the scheme of world history, we have our challenges, but as long as we stay true to our American values, we will get more right than we get wrong. But we have to learn to forgive our pasts and forgive each other.

Over this Easter break, one of my sons told me something that made my heart go pitter-patter. He said:

Dad, capitalism keeps America at the tip of the spear.

Capitalism keeps America at the tip of the spear. You know, he was spot on. American innovation, our pioneer spirit, and hard work will always lead the way and bring victory over totalitarianism and singular thought and rule.

Each and every American youth and young adult has their own story to write, and my job here is to ensure everyone has their shot at happiness and

their shot at their American dream. While we cannot guarantee happiness for any of them, those of us in this Chamber can pave the way with an abundance of opportunity.

As the dreams and stories of so many Americans are interweaved, this American portrait--this tapestry of blues and grays, of pastels and earth tones--will keep this Republic in good shape. It is our diversity that makes us great. As long as we pass on our American values that have seen this Nation through so many dark nights, we will succeed through current and future trials and conflicts.

May God bless this great Republic.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to complete my remarks.

Madam President, I thank the gentleman, my neighbor from Oklahoma, for yielding. And I thank the gentleman from Maryland, our chairman of the Small Business Committee, for his cooperation.

Our amendment will allow farmers and ranchers categorized as a partnership, including LLPs, S corps, to utilize gross income when calculating their PPP maximum loan amount.

It is no secret that our Nation's farmers and ranchers have faced incredible difficulties through the COVID-19 pandemic when we literally couldn't pay people to come get our cattle and hogs. In December, we made changes to allow farmers to use gross income in calculating their PPP loan. Before it passed, the payments were based on farmers' net income. This net income number is often low or negative because of the amount of depreciation farmers claim on equipment. These changes were helpful and provided assistance for much of the agriculture industry.

Unfortunately, certain farm and ranch partnerships, many of which are small family partnerships, were left out of changes made in the program in December. I believe Congress intended to include partnerships; however, the SBA, interpreting the statute we passed, did not. They made it crystal clear, short of legislation, they would not include partnerships under this new interpretation.

My amendment, in a nutshell, would let farmers categorized as a partnership use gross income rather than net income for the PPP loan. I encourage all my colleagues to support this amendment and help our farmers during this difficult time.

I yield back to the gentleman from Oklahoma. Thank you.

Mr. President, I rise today to keep fighting for those who are still hurting from this plague. I am fighting for those who have yet to receive the vaccine, and I am fighting for those who are not back to work. I am fighting to protect Medicare dollars.

But do you know who I am really here to speak for today? My three grandsons. I actually received a phone call this morning from two of them--actually, a FaceTime--and they wanted to share a story with me of a fish they caught last night. I am here to protect their future and to make sure that someday their grandkids will be able to call them and talk about a great moment in their lives.

Certainly, I am here to fight to get our children back to school, but do you know what I believe is the largest threat to their future, to their dreams, and to their success? It is the national debt. It is not just a threat to their education. It is a threat to the infrastructure they will be using for the next 20 years of their life, as well as a threat to the national security of their families.

Now, without question, I am here to fight for those who need the help now, but I am also called to help the future of our country, and our children and our grandchildren are the future of this country.

As everybody in this room knows, we have already borrowed $4 trillion--$4 trillion--from our grandchildren to fight this virus. But over $1 trillion remains on the sideline and is yet to be spent. Now, my suggestion is, Why don't we start by repurposing those dollars and target them where they are needed the most, which is exactly what we would do in the business world from which I came very recently?

Look, this great American economy is coming back. The long, dark, cold winter is almost over. Unemployment is under 4 percent in Kansas and many other States, and it looks like we are going to have a strong first-quarter GDP number.

Now, as an aside, I have to highlight, though, the way this partisan bill is written, it rewards those States that overreacted and totally shut down their economies and their schools. Bailing out mismanaged States at the expense of taxpayers is simply not American.

If this administration and our Governors do their job, we can have nationwide herd immunity by April or May, and, by summer, our economy can be back to prepandemic levels, all without borrowing another $2 trillion from our grandchildren. That comes out to $6,000 to each child and to each one of your grandchildren--$6,000 we want to borrow. So walk up to your children or to your grandchildren and say: Hey, we want to borrow $6,000 from you to help bail out some mismanaged governments.

So, listen, we truly want to help those who need the help. And I ask my colleagues across the aisle: Why do you want to borrow another $2 trillion from our grandchildren and only spend 9 percent--only 9 percent--on direct COVID relief? We simply cannot print enough money up here to solve these problems long term unless we lock in on the real, most pressing challenges.

This is what we need to do to defeat the virus, and it is very simple: get shots into arms, get people back to work, and get our kids in school. If we do these three things, our economy and Republic will come booming back.

Call this bill in front of us what you want: a boondoggle, a Christmas tree--a Christmas tree decorated with earmarks as ornaments and full of so much pork, it is dripping grease.

My friends across the aisle focused 91 percent of their attention in this bill to pay for things like a bridge from New York to Canada and an underground railroad project in Silicon Valley, money for Planned Parenthood, and stimulus checks for illegal immigrants and violent criminals.

Now, you can argue for this loan from our grandchildren, if you would like and if you don't care about their future, but at the end of the day, we are trying to borrow $2 trillion from our grandchildren to spend on partisan pet projects, and I will never agree to that.

Let me stress once more what I am for: getting vaccines into arms, getting people back to work, and getting kids back to school.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I would like to submit this statement for the record regarding the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. The statement reflects my thoughts on this complicated constitutional matter and its implications for future impeachments.

In 1787, the Articles of Confederation were failing, and our young Nation was struggling to address the many challenges it was being confronted with in its infancy. A collection of independent States, the newly formed country experienced much difficulty with the regulation of trade and commerce, foreign affairs, and other basic domestic civil issues. With calls for disunion multiplying, delegates to the Constitutional Convention met to deliberate and forge a new government and with it an Executive to help centralize the powers necessary to form a strong republic. Having just shed the bonds of the British Monarchy and its infringements upon the liberties the delegates so desperately wanted to protect, there was much skepticism toward this idea. In order to abate these concerns, the Constitution's Framers provided for a means of removing an Executive, a Presidential impeachment.

After much debate over particular wording, article II, section 4 of the Constitution adopted by the delegates reads: ``The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.''

This is the fundamental impeachment provision contained in the Constitution and provides the primary evidence as to why the lone Article passed out of the House as well as the subsequent trial in the Senate, was unconstitutional. As this section shows, impeachment refers to ``the President'' and other officials, and it provides that that they shall be ``removed from Office.'' Donald J. Trump is no longer the President of the United States and therefore can no longer be removed from office. He is a private citizen.

Further evidence that Donald Trump is no longer the President and therefore that this trial is unconstitutional can be found within the Senate's impeachment authority: Article 1, section 3 provides that ``When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside.'' Chief Justice John Roberts did not preside over the impeachment trial, and instead that role was filled by the senior Senator from Vermont, Patrick Leahy. In a statement, Senator Leahy himself stated that the President pro tempore of the Senate ``has historically presided over Senate impeachment trials of non- presidents.'' These facts demonstrate that Chief Justice Roberts declined to preside over the trial because he did not believe that he had a constitutional role and that Senator Leahy acknowledged that Donald Trump was no longer an officeholder. Finally, article 1, section 3 provides, ``Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor.'' This reiterates that removal from office must occur before that person is disqualified from holding an office again. If the Founders had intended that disqualification be a separate judgment, then the Constitution would have clearly stated ``or'' rather than ``and.'' The Constitution does not give the Senate the authority to try a private citizen or to remove him from an office that he no longer occupies.

It also does not give the Senate the authority to disqualify him from an office that he was not removed from.

I voted to acquit former President Donald Trump of the charge of inciting

an insurrection for the January 6 Capitol riot because of these basic concerns surrounding the constitutionality of the proceeding. The impeachment of a private citizen, driven by political obsession, sets a very dangerous precedent. What would prevent a Republican-controlled Congress from impeaching former President Barack Obama or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? What about historical Presidents such as George Washington, whose pivotal legacy no longer appears to meet the moral standards of contemporary times? While the political retaliation against the President is certain to continue now that he is out of office, I am proud to have been a part of the minority in the Senate to stand up to this type of unconstitutional behavior and to acquit Donald Trump.

Mr. President, point of order. Can you read the motion back to us?

Mr. President, I send a question to the desk.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Freedom of speech and the freedom to protest are provided in our Constitution. While I share the same frustration many Americans have over the Presidential election, the violence and mob rule that occurred at the U.S. Capitol today and across the country over the past year are unacceptable, and I condemn them at the highest level. Like all of us in the Chamber, I am thankful for the heroic law enforcement officers who worked feverishly to restore order so that we get back to the electoral certification process.

During my 29-year career as an obstetrician and gynecologist, too often I had to sit down with patients and give them a very bad diagnosis. It might have been a young mother of three whose three babies I delivered, now with metastatic breast cancer, or perhaps another woman with advanced cervical or ovarian cancer, all of which have very challenging prognoses. But before I sat down with each one of those patients, I carefully reviewed all the labs, their x rays, and the pathology to make sure I had the facts straight, but at the end of the day, my final recommendation was always going to be a recommendation from my heart.

I want my fellow Kansans and all Americans to know that I have given as much consideration and thought surrounding the issue of objecting to a State's electoral college votes as I did considering the treatment plan for a serious health concern, and today's decision once again is from my heart.

Mr. President, I rise today to restore integrity to our Republic, and I rise to do it knowing that many of our colleagues are all concerned for current and future generations. We must restore faith and confidence in one of our Republic's most hallowed and patriotic duties: voting.

There is no question our U.S. Constitution empowers State legislatures to execute free, legal, and fair elections. Unfortunately, in several States, the clear authority of those State legislatures to determine the rules for voting was usurped by Governors, secretaries of state, and activist courts. Our laws and Constitution should always be followed, especially in a time of crisis.

I don't rise to undo a State's legally obtained electoral college votes; rather, I rise in hopes of improving the integrity of the ballot to hold States accountable to the time-proven constitutional system of the electoral college.

This is why I urge the formation of an electoral commission to give constructive suggestions and recommendations that States can take to make our elections once again safe, free, and fair after a year of jarring irregularities.

We must and will have a peaceful transition of power.

To all my fellow Americans, I have no doubt that our Republic can grow stronger through this difficult day.

May God bless this great Republic.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I yield the floor.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table H.R. 3401, with the Senate amendment thereto, and concur in the Senate amendment. This bipartisan bill passed the Senate with 84 votes and could be sent to the President's desk for his signature today.

Madam Chair, I rise today because American farmers, grain handlers and exporters, as well as their customers around the world, depend on accurate, timely and cost-effective delivery of mandated impartial third-party Official inspection and weighing services administered by the Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) and its designated and delegated agencies. It is essential that the U.S. Official grain inspection and weighing system be recognized widely around the world for its impartial, consistent, reliable and timely measurement and certification of quality attributes and weights. The availability of accurate FGIS inspection results is also important to enable buyers and sellers to determine grain value and to facilitate market price discovery. Further, Official export inspections provide transparency and market information to the entire value chain that contribute to an efficient marketplace, while supporting food security and sustainable supplies.

I share the concerns of many of my colleagues about language included in the committee report by the Majority for H.R. 3055 that puts Congress in the middle of an ongoing labor dispute, even going so far as to urge that USDA not require its grain inspectors to cross a picket line. This language is extremely troubling, and Congress should not be including it in any final committee report for the Agriculture Appropriations bill. Thankfully, the Minority was able to include its concerns about the situation which I would like to include in the Record:

``In addition to overall funding concerns, Republican Members of the Committee were disappointed by several policy provisions. Some of the provisions encourage violation of federal law or Congressional intent, at a minimum. For example, the Majority included language under the heading of the Office of the Secretary relating to Grain Export Inspection. The language ``strongly discourages USDA from requiring its grain inspectors to cross a picket line''. Such language is irresponsible when the Grain Inspections Act clearly obligates inspectors to conduct inspections unless the Secretary were to waive the requirement for safety reasons. Using USDA inspectors in a labor dispute and interfering with the export sales of U.S. product during an already turbulent international trade environment is completely unnecessary.''

Our producers, grain handlers, and the agricultural value chain as a whole has worked tirelessly to grow market share around the world and Congress should refrain from instructing USDA not to perform important services that are statutorily obligated under the Grain Standards Act.