Floor Statements

Madam President, each year during Police Week, we honor the law enforcement officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their communities.

This year, we will add the names of four Ohioans to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial who laid down their lives this year and last year: Officer Timothy James Unwin, III, of the Springfield Township Police Department; Deputy Sheriff Marcus Zeigler of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office; Deputy Sheriff Joshua Hamilton of the Preble County Sheriff's Office.

Sadly, we know already of two names that will be added to the memorial next year: Jacob Derbin of the Euclid Police Department, who was senselessly ambushed and killed in the line of duty last weekend. He leaves behind a father who was part of the department, the same Euclid Department.

I spoke at length to the chief of police in Euclid last week. The young man was engaged to be married. His grandfather had also been a policeman at a suburban police department in Cleveland.

We also add the name next year of Lieutenant Rodney Osborne of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, who tragically died in an accident during a training exercise.

Each of these losses is a tragedy for a family, for a community, and surely for their fellow officers.

These Ohioans' lives are a reminder of the ideals we should strive for. We need officers who are true public servants in the best sense of the word, people who give themselves to the community, people like these brave men.

These Ohioans gave so much.

Officer Timothy James Unwin, III, was a Cincinnati native who dedicated more than 8 years to serving Ohio communities in both the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office and the Springfield Township Police Department.

In his free time, he enjoyed staying active and working on cars. His colleagues, friends, and family members remember his smile and remember his always positive energy. He was always helping others. He wanted to make the world a better place.

He lost his life in a tragic car crash while responding to a call for help from fellow officers.

Deputy Sheriff Marcus Zeigler began his career in the private sector working in security and defense before joining the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department. That is the Cincinnati area in Southwest Ohio.

He was proud to serve as a deputy. While he was only with the department for 9 months, he made an impression on his colleagues and his community. He always had a smile on his face. He was always happy to lend a hand. He was eager to grow in his career.

His family was the most important thing to him. Our thoughts are with his wife and his five children.

Deputy Sheriff John Hamilton was a former U.S. Navy Reservist and Army National Guard member who served in the Preble County Sheriff's team. He was known for his unwavering commitment to our country and to the Preble County community.

Deputy Hamilton is survived by his parents and his daughter.

We extend our condolences to them and all the loved ones these public servants leave behind--children who will now grow up without fathers, parents grieving children.

This year, we added the names of six officers to the memorial who died from COVID-19: Terrance Bateman, Anthony Cloyd, Mark Heinl, Billy Ihrig, Gerald Lynch, and Matthew Mitchell. We can't begin to repay the debt we owe these officers and their families, but we can work to protect more officers and the communities they swear an oath to serve.

That is why I work with colleagues of both parties on legislation to support law enforcement as they do their jobs. If we can help them do their jobs more safely, we all win.

Two years ago, I worked with my colleague Senator Grassley and Congressman David Joyce, my friend from Ohio, to pass legislation that provides Customs and Border Patrol staff with fentanyl containment devices. This keeps officers safe. We know how potent even a little bit of fentanyl is, even to the touch of the skin. This keeps officers safe and keeps evidence preserved for trial.

Now we are working to get cops and sheriff's deputies access to the same protection locally. That is why we introduced the Protecting First Responders from Secondary Exposure Act. It is also why Senator Cotton and I introduced the Providing Officers Electronic Resources Act, or POWER Act, to help State and local law enforcement organizations secure high-tech, portable screening devices to detect fentanyl.

I will keep fighting to make sure that police officers can retire with dignity. My bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act will ensure that Social Security benefits will be there when officers retire from a life of dedicated service.

One of the best ways we can keep law enforcement and our communities safe is by keeping fentanyl out of the country in the first place, something I have heard from law enforcement personnel at virtually every place in Ohio.

Four hundred Ohioans every single month die from fentanyl poisoning. That is not just a number. It means that 400 individuals with 400 individual families and 400 different neighborhoods have died.

That is why we fought to pass my bipartisan FEND Off Fentanyl Act. The President just signed it into law. It is going to help us target the entire fentanyl supply chain, from the chemical suppliers in China to the cartels that manufacture and transport the drugs in Mexico.

By going after the billions of dollars these traffickers make in illicit profits, we target them where it hurts the most: their bank accounts. It is why we worked with Ohio and national law enforcement to write this bill and to build a broad bipartisan coalition to get it passed.

This Police Week, let's offer more than empty words. Let's provide the support and resources that our men and women need to keep themselves and their communities safe. Although nothing can ever be done to truly appreciate the sacrifice so many have made by laying down their lives, we honor them by supporting their fellow officers.

We must get our officers the tools and the training they need to do their jobs and to build trust with the communities where we all live, the communities that they are sworn to protect.

Madam President, you joined us last year to do the reading we are doing today, so I am glad the Presiding Officer is here presiding today.

It is an honor to join my colleagues of both parties on the floor today to read Dr. King's letter from the Birmingham jail. I thank Senator Cassidy, who will go first, and Senators Casey, Lankford, King, Britt, and Butler, who will wrap it up, for joining me today for this annual bipartisan tradition.

Every year, we bring together three Republicans and three Democrats to read one of the greatest pieces of writing of the 20th century and reflect on the mission and the powerful words of Dr. King.

This year, our reading falls right after Workers' Memorial Day, which we marked on Sunday, a day when we honor all the workers killed on the job over the past year, workers who were injured, and workers who were injured and killed throughout our history.

Every year on that date, I am reminded of Dr. King's final trip--his second trip of the year, his final trip--to Memphis. He went to stand with Black sanitation workers striking for better pay and safer working conditions. They were some of the most exploited workers in the country, with unfair wages and unsafe conditions.

Months earlier, two Black workers had been killed in a tragic accident that surely could have been prevented. Mr. Echol Cole and Mr. Robert Walker had showed up to work in segregated Memphis, working in a segregated neighborhood. During their shift, a storm hit. Mr. Cole and Mr. Walker had to huddle in the back of the truck, surrounded by garbage, to shield themselves from the rain.

Segregated Memphis. Segregated neighborhood. Segregated sanitation truck, I might add.

The truck malfunctioned. These two young men--36 and 30 years old, with wives and families and their whole lives ahead of them--were crushed. The White workers in the front of the cab were not, obviously.

Dr. King knew discrimination killed those men as much as their work conditions had. He understood the deep connections between civil rights and worker rights. He understood that all labor has dignity.

Until we have equal rights for all and dignity for all workers, our work remains unfinished. We have a long road left to travel. It is up to each of us to push our country further along that road. That is the message of Dr. King's words. That is why I ask my colleagues to join us on the floor every year.

He wrote on scraps of paper while in solitary confinement in April 1963 in the Birmingham jail, with only his memory to pull from. He referenced two texts again and again: the Bible and Howard Thurman--who was one of his important spiritual counselors--Howard Thurman's book ``Jesus and the Disinherited.''

My friend Dr. Otis Moss, who lives in Cleveland, told me Dr. King always carried these two books with him. Before every trip or speech or march, he packed them into his briefcase.

In his letter, Dr. King was responding to White moderate ministers who told him: Slow down. Don't move too fast. Don't demand too much all at once.

They told him wait and things would change, but Dr. King, at that point, knew better. He knew ``wait'' meant never. He knew progress only happens when you push and when you don't give up.

In the letter, Dr. King made that point more eloquently and persuasively than any of us ever could.

Senator Cassidy--Dr. Cassidy--was just standing here with Senator Butler and me marveling at the wisdom and the skill of his words, all inspiring us to write better on our account too.

The reading begins with Senator Cassidy of Louisiana. Thank you for joining us again this year.

Continuing:

I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and

Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few

years I have been gravely disappointed with the white

moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion

that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward

freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux

Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to

``order'' than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which

is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the

presence of justice; who constantly says: ``I agree with you

in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of

direct action''; who paternalistically believes he can set

the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a

mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro

to wait for a ``more convenient season.'' Shallow

understanding from people of good will is more frustrating

than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.

Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright

rejection.

I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that

law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice

and that when they fail in this purpose they become the

dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social

progress. I had hoped that the white moderate would

understand that the present tension in the South is a

necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative

peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust

plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men

will respect the dignity and worth of human

personality. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct

action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to

the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We

bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt

with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is

covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the

natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be

exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the

light of human conscience and the air of national opinion

before it can be cured.

In your statement you assert that our actions, even though

peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate

violence. But is this a logical assertion? Isn't this like

condemning a robbed man because his possession of money

precipitated the evil act of robbery? Isn't this like

condemning Socrates because his unswerving commitment to

truth and his philosophical inquiries precipitated the act by

the misguided populace in which they made him drink hemlock?

Isn't this like condemning Jesus because his unique God

consciousness and never ceasing devotion to God's will

precipitated the evil act of crucifixion? We must come to see

that, as the federal courts have consistently affirmed, it is

wrong to urge an individual to cease his efforts to gain his

basic constitutional rights because the quest may precipitate

violence. Society must protect the robbed and punish the

robber. I had also hoped that the white moderate would reject

the myth concerning time in relation to the struggle for

freedom. I have just received a letter from a white brother

in Texas. He writes: ``All Christians know that the colored

people will receive equal rights eventually, but it is

possible that you are in too great a religious hurry. It has

taken Christianity almost two thousand years to accomplish

what it has. The teachings of Christ take time to come to

earth.'' Such an attitude stems from a tragic misconception

of time, from the strangely irrational notion that there is

something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure

all ills. Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used

either destructively or constructively. More and more I feel

that the people of ill will have used time much more

effectively than have the people of good will. We will have

to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words

and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence

of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels

of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of

men willing to be co workers with God, and without this hard

work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social

stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge

that the time is always ripe to do right. Now is the time to

make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending

national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is

the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of

racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.

You speak of our activity in Birmingham as extreme. At

first I was rather disappointed that fellow clergymen would

see my nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist. I began

thinking about the fact that I stand in the middle of two

opposing forces in the Negro community. One is a force of

complacency, made up in part of Negroes who, as a result of

long years of oppression, are so drained of self respect and

a sense of ``somebodiness'' that they have adjusted to

segregation; and in part of a few middle-class Negroes who,

because of a degree of academic and economic security and

because in some ways they profit by segregation, have become

insensitive to the problems of the masses. The other force is

one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close

to advocating violence. It is expressed in the various black

nationalist groups that are springing up across the nation,

the largest and best known being Elijah Muhammad's Muslim

movement. Nourished by the Negro's frustration over the

continued existence of racial discrimination, this movement

is made up of people who have lost faith in America, who have

absolutely repudiated Christianity, and who have concluded

that the white man is an incorrigible ``devil.''

I have tried to stand between these two forces, saying that

we need emulate neither the ``do nothingism'' of the

complacent nor the hatred and despair of the black

nationalist. For there is the more excellent way of love and

nonviolent protest. I am grateful to God that, through the

influence of the Negro church, the way of nonviolence became

an integral part of our struggle. If this philosophy had not

emerged, by now many streets of the South would, I am

convinced, be flowing with blood. And I am further convinced

that if our white brothers dismiss as ``rabble rousers'' and

``outside agitators'' those of us who employ nonviolent

direct action, and if they refuse to support our nonviolent

efforts, millions of Negroes will, out of frustration and

despair, seek solace and security in black nationalist

ideologies--a development that would inevitably lead to a

frightening racial nightmare.

Madam President, I thank my colleagues from California and Alabama, Louisiana and Maine, from Pennsylvania and Oklahoma.

I urge my colleagues who weren't listening today to read the letter, Dr. King's letter from Birmingham jail. It inspires us today as it helped to move a nation almost 61 years ago.

I yield the floor.

Cloture Motion

Mr. President, I rise early this evening to recognize D. Taylor, a fierce labor advocate, a key partner in our fight for workers in this country, a friend who retired from his role as President of UNITE HERE earlier this month. Everything D. has done--and I have watched him closely; I have worked closely with him. Everything D. has done over the course of his career comes back to the dignity of work, the idea that hard work should pay off for everyone, whether you punch a clock, whether you swipe a badge, whether you work in an office, whether you work for tips, whether you are raising children, or whether you are caring for an aging parent.

The dignity of work has guided D. Taylor through his whole career as he fought to unionize industries that have long been overlooked with workers who have long been underpaid and ignored.

For the past 12 years, D. served as President of UNITE HERE, a union that represents workers across the hospitality industry. Its members work in airports, in food service, in hotels. They make textiles; they serve on Amtrak trains; they cross the Nation.

It is not a coincidence we have seen momentum in the labor movement while D. has been at the helm of UNITE HERE. So often, where we have seen unprecedented union growth, D. and his members have been on the frontlines organizing, invigorating, calling for change. This generation--this youngest generation now--is quantifiably, certainly, the most pro-labor generation of our lifetimes.

Under D., UNITE HERE has become one of the fastest growing trade unions in the country. Despite a pandemic that devastated workers in hospitality, D. has actually expanded UNITE HERE. He focused on southern States and right-to-work States--much harder States to organize than the Presiding Officer's State of Maine or mine in Ohio-- not that it is easy in those States with Federal law but even harder in those southern States.

Workers, traditionally, haven't had a seat at the table. During his time as president, D. oversaw the union's organizing of 140,000 service and hospitality workers in over 1,000 workplaces across the country. Because of D. and UNITE HERE, these workers now have a union card. That means higher pay; it means better benefits; it means safer workplaces; and it means something that many don't think about: It means more control over your schedule.

I remember being in Nevada at the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which D. built into a powerhouse. That union is an inspiration for workers everywhere. They had a massive banner on the wall that said ``One job should be enough''; that workers should not have to have two and three jobs to support their families.

``One job should be enough.''

I remember--this wasn't directly about D., but I will never forget this discussion I had in Cincinnati. I was at an AFL-CIO dinner. There were a number of people--probably 300 people there. And there was one table where there were four or five middle-aged women. I sat down--they had an empty seat and said: Join us. And I sat down at the table and said: Tell me your story.

They said: We just organized custodial workers. We had our first contract--1,200 custodial workers negotiating with the downtown business owners in Cincinnati. They said: We signed our first contract.

I said: What does that mean to you?

A woman said: I am 51 years old. It is the first time I have a paid one-week vacation.

Those are the workers so often that D. Taylor organizes--workers who are generally low-paid, workers sometimes without healthcare, workers often without vacations, workers that have no say over their schedule. Those are the people that D. worked with. D. always said: One job should be enough. That is what he fought for.

He first got involved as a college student while working in a local restaurant. He joined the union. He eventually became the shop steward for that local. After graduation, he moved to Nevada to work on a UNITE HERE strike. He quietly moved up through the ranks, eventually leading the union in a 7-year--the famous 7-year Frontier Casino strike, one of the longest successful strikes in labor history. D. became a key player in negotiations with some of the largest casinos on the strip.

He became an institution at UNITE HERE. As a head of the Culinary Union, he built a coalition of service workers. He showed the country there is no reason a service job can't be a good job where you are respected, make good wages, and build a career.

As Gaming Division Director, he led casino workers across the country to victory, organizing new members and leading new strikes. He went on to be the general vice president of UNITE HERE before being elected as union president.

All along the way, he became known for that constant refrain: ``One job should be enough.'' Let me say that one more time: One job should be enough. For everybody in this institution, that is kind of the way it is. But for far too many low-paid workers, they have to work a second job or third job to pay the rent, to support their kids, to just get along every day.

He has fought to make that rally cry a reality by transforming standards for work in hospitality and services. It has meant securing higher pay. It has meant fighting for contracts with affordable, quality healthcare that workers have access to and can navigate their way through. It has meant standing up to layoffs. It has meant helping tens of thousands of workers get their jobs. Because of D., workers across the country are in better jobs with better pay and better benefits.

I have had the privilege of working with D. on many issues, including fighting for the Senate's dining workers. Believe it or not, the people who served us in this institution were making very suboptimal wages-- some, barely enough. One man I met when I was involved in this actually lived and worked here all day and lived and worked at a homeless shelter all night. Imagine that.

One job should be enough.

They served the Senate during a pandemic, during a violent insurrection. Every day, they fed Senators and staff and tourists from Ohio and Maine and all over the country. Yet fewer than one in five of them, at that time, could afford the health insurance plan that was offered to them.

Together, we fought to make sure the new contract honors the dignity of work with the pay and the benefits and the respect that Senate dining workers deserve and have earned--that all workers deserve and have earned. It wouldn't have happened without D., without UNITE HERE, without the Senate dining workers who used their voices and their collective power to secure a better contract. That is just one example.

In every role, at every opportunity, D. has fought to turn jobs that traditionally have come with low pay and minimal benefits into careers where people can build a life and see a future--simply the dignity of work, where their work has dignity. For that, we are grateful for D.'s tenacity, for his advocacy. And for his leadership, we are grateful.

In retirement, D., of course, will keep fighting for workers as chair of UNITE HERE Health, and he will support the union and gaming industry. He will never fully retire.

I look forward to working with his successor, Gwen Mills, the current secretary treasurer of UNITE HERE, the first-ever woman president in this union's history to be elected to an international union; the first-ever woman in this union's history to ever be elected international union president in a union that has a huge number of women, as you know.

If you love this country, you fight for the people who make it work. That is

exactly what D. has done his whole life. It is what UNITE HERE has done. It is what I will continue to work with my colleagues to do in this body.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise to honor COL William J. Cavanaugh, his contributions to the Air Force Research Lab at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH, and his distinguished 31-year service in the U.S. Army. Colonel Cavanaugh was instrumental in the design and architecture of the AFRL Bio Acoustics Lab anechoic chamber. Seventy years after its completion, the anechoic chamber is still used today and the research done works to save the lives of our servicemembers on the battlefield. The American Institute of Physics featured Colonel Cavanaugh in their oral history and highlighted Colonel Cavanaugh's far-reaching impacts on the scientific community.

In December of 2022, the Ohio Legislature's 134th Generally Assembly adopted HCR 32 to recognize ``Colonel William J. Cavanaugh for his contribution to the design and architecture of the United States Air Force Research Lab Bio Acoustics Laboratory, and for his outstanding and enduring service to our nation.''

It is fitting to honor Colonel Cavanaugh for his lasting contributions that have saved the lives of our men and women in uniform. Sites from the National Veterans Memorial and Museum to the National Museum of the United States Air Force have all commemorated Colonel Cavanaugh and his work. As we expand and support the vital work that Ohioans continue to do at Wright-Patt and the Air Force Research Lab, it is important to ensure that future generations learn about past leaders, including Colonel Cavanaugh, and the difference they made for our State and our country.

Today, I join a grateful State and a grateful nation in thanking Colonel Cavanaugh for his dedication and service to Ohio and our Nation.

I thank the Presiding Officer from the State just north of mine.

Mr. President, I rise today to honor a longtime member of my staff, Diana Baron, as she celebrates her 25th year serving the people of Ohio.

Diana is a dedicated public servant, a caring colleague, and an effective and indispensable member of my staff. She is on the floor right now wondering why we got her in here. I see the surprise on her face, but the camera will not show that.

Despite growing up in Oklahoma City, graduating from Tufts University in Boston--a school she still dearly loves--Diana found her way to this Ohio office 25 years ago. We are lucky that she stayed.

Today, new staff are always surprised to hear that Diana isn't from Ohio. She knows more about our State than almost anybody I know. Over the years, we have given her the title of ``Honorary Ohioan.''

She joined our team serving Ohioans back when I worked down the hall, when I represented the people of Lorian, Elyria, Medina, and Wadsworth, in that part of northeast Ohio. She worked her way up. After a few years serving as a legislative assistant, Diana was ready for something new.

As we moved to the Senate, Diana led the way. With her command of logistics, her efficiency, and her work ethic, she found a role that suited her perfectly and suited us perfectly: director of scheduling-- one of the most important offices, as all of my colleagues know, in the U.S. Senate. She has been leading the way ever since. From making sure I can meet with every Ohioan possible to making it all over the State to roundtables and plant tours and picket lines and speeches and events, Diana is behind the scenes making it happen. Surely--pardon the cliche--she keeps the trains running every day, every hour. She navigates ever-changing vote schedules in this body, getting staff the information they need to do their jobs. You always rely on her to get it done.

We don't always make it easy. My staff, I--none of us makes it easy. There is always another event to schedule, something to change, a meeting with an Ohioan who drops by at the last minute, or a different corner of the State to visit when I am home every weekend. Day to day, messages go long, traffic slows us down, but Diana keeps at it. She is always thinking three steps ahead of each of us. She comes ready, if plan A doesn't work, to do plan B; if plan B doesn't work, to do plan

Madam President, I want to recognize an important milestone: the 90th Anniversary of the Export-Import Bank--EXIM--of the United States.

The Export-Import Bank was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt by Executive order on February 2, 1934, ``to aid in financing and to facilitate exports and imports and the exchange of commodities between the United States and other Nations.'' Its mission and work are equally as important now as they were back then.

EXIM contributes to our Nation's economic growth by supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs for America's exporters and the workers that make up the supply chains for our exports across the country.

Congress first authorized the EXIM Bank as an independent Agency in 1945, and we have continued to support the Bank's work under its charter ever since. In 2019, Congress recognized the critical role EXIM plays by passing a historic, 7-year reauthorization with bipartisan support. I contributed to that reauthorization legislation as the ranking member of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and now, as the chair of that committee, we have continued to support the Bank's work that creates jobs in Ohio and around the Nation.

Under the leadership of Chair Reta Jo Lewis, the first Black woman to lead EXIM, First Vice President Judith Pryor, Board Member Spencer Bachus, and Board Member Owen Herrnstadt, the Export-Import Bank has expanded financing for American exporters. During the last fiscal year, EXIM approved $8.7 billion in transactions, $3.5 billion more than the previous fiscal year. These transactions supported more than 40,000 jobs across our Nation, including many in Ohio.

Small business authorizations in fiscal year 2023 totaled $2.0 billion with 1,339 transactions authorized for the direct benefit of small business exporters.

EXIM also supports American workers in strategic industries. In the 2019 EXIM reauthorization bill, I helped establish the China & Transformational Exports Program, C-TEP. Congress directed EXIM to use the C-TEP program to prioritize financing for American exports in 10 critical areas, such as artificial intelligence, renewable energy and energy storage, wireless communications, and semiconductors. EXIM financing will help American manufacturers and exporters compete against Chinese exports that receive enormous financing from the Chinese Government, and the C-TEP program will help American companies unlock a new generation of jobs and economic growth.

EXIM supports secure and resilient supply chains. EXIM launched its first domestic financing initiative called ``Make More in America.'' By providing new financing for American companies that manufacture goods for export and new financing for their suppliers, we can bring more jobs back to our shores and strengthen our supply chains.

I have visited businesses in Ohio that depend on the Export-Import Bank to sell their products around the world, companies like NeoGraf Solutions in Lakewood, which manufactures graphite-based products used in cars, buses, and batteries, and Crown Battery in Fremont, which designs, manufactures, and distributes batteries, chargers, and accessories for various industries. Both companies rely on EXIM to help them compete in international markets. And in Southwest Ohio, the birthplace of aviation, GE Aerospace's engines are sold in jets around the world with the help of EXIM financing.

For decades, Ohio lived with the consequences of bad trade and tax policy that encouraged corporations to send production overseas in search of ever-lower wages. The Export-Import Bank is critical to bringing those supply chains back home by supporting Ohio manufacturers that want to expand production and exports. EXIM's job is to grow American businesses in the face of competition--often unfair competition--from countries like China.

The Export Import Bank will certainly face challenges in the future. EXIM must continue to manage risks associated with providing financing to projects worldwide, and both the Bank and Congress will need to further examine EXIM's role in monitoring and assessing the impacts of financing to balance the Bank's mission of supporting U.S. jobs through exports with environmental, security, and other policy considerations. EXIM can face these challenges and expand its support of American manufacturing.

I also want to note for all Senators that, since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $8 billion of revenue for the U.S. Treasury.

I applaud the work being done by EXIM's dedicated workforce as they continue to help U.S. companies and U.S. workers not only compete, but win across the global economy.

I congratulate the Agency on its 90th anniversary and look forward to EXIM's future.

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

Mr. President, we have an opportunity. We have an opportunity to come together to cut taxes for American families in my State and for the families of more than 500,000 children, and to cut taxes for American manufacturers.

The deal negotiated by Finance Chairman Wyden, a Democrat, in the Senate and Ways and Means Chairman Smith in the House, a Republican, along with their colleagues of both parties, has overwhelming bipartisan support. It passed the committee in the House 40 to 3. It passed on the House floor with 357 votes.

When does that happen here? It is how Congress is supposed to work.

We talk with the people with whom we serve. We hear their concerns, and we act. Families are dealing with costs that are far too high because corporations continue to raise prices to pay for executive bonuses and stock buybacks and higher profit margins.

I often think of this, because I hear, when my wife and I are at the grocery store near our church in Brecksville, when I am out talking to people at a roundtable, or just at an airport, people talk about high food prices. One of the reasons--the biggest reason--when people go to the grocery store, they realize they are paying for stock buybacks and executive bonuses.

The American manufacturers have been telling us they can't compete with countries like China without more investment in research and development, but expiring provisions mean the Tax Code isn't rewarding that kind of investment as much as it should.

I heard in Ohio from people in East Palestine. I am going for, I believe, the ninth time there next week. They are worried. This is the place, the community in Ohio on the Pennsylvania border in eastern Ohio, where the Norfolk Southern train derailed, causing all kinds of hardship for people. But people in East Palestine are worried, they tell me, that they can be hit by a surprise tax bill for the payments they rightly received from Norfolk Southern after the derailment last year. It is unacceptable. People in East Palestine have endured enough.

So we came together to write a bipartisan, consensus bill that does all of those things. At a time when Washington seems pretty broken, we have an opportunity to come together and show the American people we can get things done. We can cut their taxes, we can support their businesses, we can help keep intellectual property in this country, we can help create jobs, and we can help families.

The expansion of the child tax credit will help Ohio working families keep up with rising costs, including all the extra expenses that come with raising kids. It has broad support. Everyone--from the Nuns on the Bus to the National Association of Evangelicals--supports expanding the child tax credit.

I know the Presiding Officer, the Senator from Arizona, and I have talked about how important the child tax credit is.

It supports work. The nonpartisan scorekeepers at the Joint Committee on Taxation confirmed that this bill won't reduce work.

When I hear from Ohio parents, the No. 1 thing they say they use their tax cut for is childcare, so they can work. We know how expensive childcare is.

Also, when we passed this child tax credit--it is a tax cut for working families, where 90 percent of children and the families of 2 million children in my State benefited from it. We passed it 3 or 4 years ago, and it expired, unfortunately. But I got letters from families all the time saying: Now my daughter can play soccer, and we can afford the school fees. Now my son can be in a school play and afford the fees. Now we can maybe go to a movie once a month. These are all the kinds of things that families living on the edge or families not quite living on the edge contend with. It gives them that.

It is key for Ohio manufacturers that invest in research and innovation. It is expensive. It is vital for keeping up with global competitors. These tax credits will allow Ohio companies to compete.

Last month, I did a news conference with two longtime friends of mine, two former Ohio Republican Congressmen, Steve Stivers and Pat Tiberi. Steve Stivers is now president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and Pat Tiberi is now CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable. They both talked about how crucial these tax cuts are for Ohio businesses.

They are a major priority for American companies, as my Republican colleagues in the Senate have made clear to us all year. That is why Chairman Wyden and many of us worked with Republicans to write a bill that is a win-win for everybody. It is a true bipartisan process from the start. It includes ideas that have support from both parties.

Take the lookback provision in the child tax credit, allowing parents to use the previous year's income to make sure they get the maximum possible tax cut. This is an idea that Senator Cassidy from Louisiana and I worked on together during the pandemic. We got support from both parties. This will make this bill work better. It will enable this bill to help children and families more. It is the same option that corporations have in the Tax Code. Why not make it available to families? Corporations often do lookbacks to look at the year before in calculating their taxes. Why wouldn't we make it available to families too?

The way Chairman Wyden and Chairman Smith negotiated this bill is how we should do this. We listen to the people we serve.

I know that Chairman Wyden spoke with a number of Republican members on the Finance Committee. He spoke with me often during this process as we worked on both the R&D tax credit and the child tax credit.

I know that Chair Smith worked with members of both parties on his committee. That is why he passed it out of his committee 40 to 3. Imagine 40 to 3 on a tax bill in a Congress that has difficulty getting a consensus and getting things done.

We made sure Members of both parties were in the room in these negotiations or were in the room in terms of having discussions. We got something done that brought people together. It supports families. It supports businesses. It includes priorities of both parties. It supports work. It supports American innovation. It won't add to the deficit. It is paid for by cracking down on fraud. There is no reason not to pass this deal.

I mean, again, 357 votes in the House, overwhelming bipartisan support in the committee, then in the House--there is no reason to wait other than playing politics. We see it far too often here.

We need to move. Tax season is underway. Families and businesses need these tax cuts now. Why would we walk away from a bipartisan bill that we could pass today if Members would put aside egos and politics and all that too often gets in the way. Let's come together to cut taxes for working families and cut taxes for Ohio manufacturers.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, today I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Warren Copeland, an Ohioan, an educator, a man of deep faith, and a dedicated public servant, who passed away this January.

Warren Copeland's life and career are the epitome of public service. He believed in justice and opportunity for all, and worked every day toward that goal. He was one of the longest serving mayors in Ohio history, representing the people of Springfield from 1990 to 1994 and, again, from 1998 to 2023. Warren retired in November 2023 during his 35th year as mayor. He also served on the city commission from 1988 through 2023. Springfield was lucky to have Warren at the helm.

Warren put the people of Springfield and the good of the city first. He was dedicated to his community and cared deeply for those in it. Over the course of his career, Warren achieved so much and helped make Springfield the vibrant community it is today. For members of the community, Warren was a constant; he rarely missed local events and was always there if you needed him.

As a leading voice in the bipartisan Ohio Mayors Alliance, Warren offered guidance and advice to new mayors. He served as a mentor and supporter for many of his counterparts across the State. I had the privilege of working with Warren and appreciated his dedication to our State. We fought together to protect manufacturing jobs in his city and region. He knew that good jobs with a living wage are the key to strong communities.

Warren also served his community and lived his faith as a professor of religion and the director of urban studies at Wittenberg University. Warren was an accomplished scholar with a master of divinity from Christian Theological Seminary and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He joined Wittenberg faculty in 1977 and continued teaching throughout his time as mayor.

During his time at Wittenberg, he helped to establish the Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Civic and Urban Engagement, where he served as faculty director. The center and Warren supported students as they explored careers and interests connected to community service. He cultivated partnerships that were beneficial for his students and for Springfield, including with our mutual friend former Congressman Dave Hobson. Warren shared his wisdom and knowledge and passion with class after class. He taught his students to be engaged citizens who embody the values found in the Beatitudes and in Matthew 25, values that Warren championed throughout his life of service.

Today, we recognize Warren's commitment to Ohio, we honor his life of service and faith, and we recommit to the example of service he set. Because of Warren, Springfield is a better place, and Ohio is a better place. We are grateful for his leadership and his service.

Our thoughts are with his wife Clara, his three children, and seven grandchildren and all those who were blessed to know Warren.

Mr. President, I rise today on a pretty solemn occasion in Eastern Ohio. Frankly, I rise today to recognize a town in Eastern Ohio, one that most of my colleagues probably didn't even know existed a year ago.

On February 3, 2023, less than a year ago, 38 railcars from a train spanning 1\1/2\ miles--think about that: a train spanning 1\1/2\ miles--derailed and overturned right outside the center of East Palestine, OH. Flames flared and thick, black plumes of smoke billowed into the sky. Toxic chemicals started spewing into the air and the water and the ground. We saw the footage. We all saw that footage that dominated the news. People read the articles. They scrolled through it on social media.

Americans watched it, but the people of East Palestine lived it. They had to pack up and evacuate their homes in the middle of the night. They didn't know if the air they were breathing and the water coming from their faucets was safe. Their lives were turned upside down.

My job is to always, always fight for Ohio. When disaster struck, we got to work.

Residents in the surrounding area needed air, water, and soil testing. We secured it.

They needed initial health screenings. We made it happen, and we got the Centers for Disease Control to support a free health clinic.

They needed answers and help with cleanup. We got that done.

Local business owners and farmers and manufacturers needed investment to keep their community alive. We delivered through a loan program through the Department of Agriculture.

Now, essentially, the reporters have packed up and the cameras left the community to chase the next big story, but the people of East Palestine are still there, trying to move forward. Over the last year, I have visited East Palestine a number of times. Our staff is there even more often. Each time, we ask residents what we can do.

They want the contamination cleaned up completely. They want continuous monitoring of the air they breathe, the water they drink, and screenings to see if their long-term health has been impacted. They want assurance that they won't be hit by a surprise tax bill this season, and we included a provision in the bipartisan tax deal to guarantee that--that tax deal that included breaks for our research and development and the child tax credit, voted out of the House Ways and Means Committee 40 to 3.

We are fighting for all of it. We are not giving up. We will keep asking and listening and making sure they get what they need.

As we sat at roundtables of their local businesses and toured the health clinic and walked through the fields of their family farms, I had the privilege of getting to know better this town and the people who call East Palestine home.

They have a rich history. For decades, this community, this county, manufactured ceramics in this area, and their economy boomed. And like my hometown of Mansfield, when bad trade deals shipped those jobs overseas and the factories closed their doors, the community came together and persevered.

I listened to their family stories, their hopes for their hometown, and their concerns for its future. In every visit, every conversation, every interaction, I saw determination and heart. When I think about East Palestine, I don't just think about a train derailment; I think about the resilience they have shown the world. I think about firefighters who were first on the scene that night of the derailment, having no idea what they were exposing themselves to; but that was their job. And all but one at the fire department--the chief is the exception--all but one of them is a volunteer. They have returned to work every day, despite what they found, to serve their community.

I think about the parents who fought to make sure the town will still be their home and where their families feel safe. I think about the business owners and farmers and manufacturers working to resume pre- derailment operations, and I have no doubt they will.

The people of East Palestine want the support and the compensation they are owed. They do not want this derailment to define them. I don't want that either. I don't want any other community in Ohio or around the country to have to deal with a disaster like this ever again.

Make no mistake, this derailment was preventable. The train barreled past sensors that raised the alarm, but Norfolk Southern didn't tell the crew to stop. Norfolk Southern laid off a third of their workers in the last decade. Now, they are trying to take even more crew members off trains--trains that can be miles long and carry dangerous chemicals.

Understand that in the 10 years leading up to this, a third of Norfolk Southern workers were laid off. There were stock buybacks, big dividends for the executives, and look what happened to public safety. The company is known to rush safety inspections--inspections that could help spare communities from disaster.

It paints a picture of a company culture obsessed with profits at the expense of safety and the communities their trains pass through. It is the Wall Street business model: cut costs to boost your stock price, cash out millions in executive bonuses, dole out eye-popping stock buybacks--the people of East Palestine be damned.

We aren't letting Norfolk Southern get away with it again. We aren't going to let them dismiss another vibrant heartland town as collateral damage. We have to make sure it doesn't happen again.

One month after the derailment, Senator Vance and I teamed up to introduce the bipartisan Railway Safety Act to hold big rail companies accountable and to stop a disaster like this from ever happening again.

I spent last year advocating for rail safety across Ohio in cities and towns that have had train derailments. It is not just East Palestine. It is Steubenville. It is Ravenna. It is Sandusky. It is Springfield. It is Massillon and more. All had Norfolk Southern derailments within a year of the East Palestine crash. Each one of these communities is another reason why we must get this commonsense bill across the finish line and hold Norfolk Southern accountable.

After the derailments in Sandusky and Springfield, Norfolk Southern refused to pay what they owe. When local leaders came to us, we demanded they make their payments; and, finally--of course, reluctantly, because it affected their bottom line--they did.

That is how I approach this job. I listen to the people we serve. Here is my message to the people of East Palestine and every single Ohioan from Cincinnati to Ashtabula, from Toledo to Athens, and everywhere in between: I will continue to fight for Ohio every single time. When disaster strikes, we show up. We find ways to make sure every community gets what they need. We fight to make sure these tragedies never happen again.

I have told the people of East Palestine--and I keep telling them-- that I am there for the long haul. I can count the number of times that people said: Well, nobody will come back once the cameras leave.

Well, the cameras have mostly left. I have been there eight times. I will continue to be there. I will continue to fight for the people of Columbiana County. I will always fight to hold Norfolk Southern accountable. I will always fight to make our railways safer.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the scheduled vote occur immediately.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

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

Mr. President, this is not the speech I really ever wanted to give. I appreciate being recognized to give it.

I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Pam Rosado, a longtime member of my staff, dedicated public servant, and advocate, whom we lost last week.

I have known Pam from the community in her work as an advocate for unions and for social service agencies, and especially for people individually. And then she joined our office more than 4 years ago. I will get to that.

She embodied the true meaning of service. She spent her life fighting for others. She understood and supported the whole idea of dignity of work. She bettered our State. She bettered our country. She touched so many lives along the way.

She joined our staff in the beginning of 2019--almost 5 years ago--as a constituent advocate on our casework team.

We don't think about it enough around here, but the foundation of our work in these jobs--the foundation of our work--is individual service to individual people. We look at, you know, taxes and Medicare and Social Security and foreign policy and Ukraine. All of those things obviously are important. It is what we are elected to do. But, fundamentally, these jobs are about helping individual people when they have an issue--whether it is Social Security, whether it is Medicare, whether it is a passport, whether it is a tragedy in somebody's life-- and we cut through redtape and do that.

Nobody, nobody represented that service--and I have a lot of people in my office who represent that service, and a lot of people, on their first day, they understand the importance of individual service. We just interviewed someone who joined our staff this week. I interviewed her several weeks ago, and what made me want to hire her is she said the most important thing in these jobs is helping people one at a time, individually. We forget that in this job far too often.

Pam joined our office about 5 years ago. Not long afterward, we were taking on a record caseload as Ohioans dealt with the effects of the pandemic. Too many workers were reaching out. So many people were reaching out to our office for assistance. The world was an uncertain place.

Pam was a rock for Ohioans. She was a rock for other staff persons because she had already had a life of service and, especially, was a mentor to young people in the office. And she was a source of hope. She made things happen.

We have calculated this. She worked on 1,331 cases in those 5 years. She was a relentless advocate, known for quick responses in care and handling. And for every case, she provided a space for Ohioans to be heard and showed unwavering kindness.

In letters people sent us and descriptions people gave of Pam during the time and since her death, the word ``kindness'' comes back over and over and over again. Humility is the foundation of virtue, and I would say kindness is too. And Pam understood that. She didn't bring that to our office; she had lived her life that way.

Ohioans were lucky to have Pam on their side. We were lucky to have her on our team. For some Ohioans, she resolved disputes with the Veterans Administration or the U.S. Postal Service. For others, she helped secure a federally compliant driver's license. One Ohioan shared that, because of Pam, he was able to return to his union job as a driver for UPS. And those jobs, because they have an effective union-- something Pam understood--those jobs have good pay, good benefits, good retirement--again, because of an effective union at the bargaining table. Pam understood all of that, but this was a gentleman who needed a little bit of help to return to that job.

In the numerous notes she received, they thanked her for her dedication and determination in seeing her cases through. They wrote in for different reasons. Every letter shared heartfelt gratitude and warm wishes. In reading those letters, it is clear the impact that Pam had. Again, ``kindness''--we heard that word over and over.

``After receiving help from Pam,'' one Ohioan wrote in--I mean, people, after they get help, most of them don't think about writing in because we are the government, even though we are individual people in the government, and the caseworkers are doing what they do. But people don't think to write in. But an unusually high, an inordinate number of people wrote in to thank Pam Rosado.

This one Ohioan wrote:

There is tremendous value in being able to speak with a

kind and understanding person after hours on the internet.

Then he wrote:

You are exceptional, Ms. Rosado.

My staff and I couldn't agree more. She was exceptional. She cared deeply for the people in her life, strangers whom she met through our office--or never met, only online or on the phone or a few coming in. But she cared deeply for the people in her life.

She was closest to her family, her friends, her colleagues, and, of course, every Ohioan who reached out. And action always accompanied that care. She wanted to help everyone have a better day, a better life. That makes a difference for so many Ohioans and so many of our colleagues.

To my staff--to the person, I believe--Pam was more than a coworker. She was a friend. She believed in her colleagues. She lifted them up. She knew our job was to help people individually, including coworkers.

Her joy, her spirit were infectious. She lit up every room she walked into. This past November, in a meeting that we did with all members of the staff, she greeted everyone with excitement as she reconnected with colleagues.

We have offices all over the State: Cleveland and Columbus and Cincinnati and Lorain. So they don't all see each other all the time.

And she met new members of our team. Whenever a staffwide email went out announcing a departure or a new hire--we have had members, people on our staff--it seems to be happening a good bit--who are called up to serve in the military or they are National Guard people, or whenever somebody leaves for a better job or retires or whatever it is, she was the first to respond with heartfelt congratulations, words of encouragement, and--several people told me--a smiley face emoji. She made every member of this office feel appreciated and welcomed, and that warmth touched each of us.

In the Cleveland office where she worked, her laugh filled the halls as she spoke with constituents and colleagues. When you heard her, you couldn't help but smile and laugh too. She made a difference for every member of our staff and for so many Ohioans. Our office is a better place because of Pam. Ohio is better because of her.

It wasn't just in our office. Throughout Pam's entire life, she served others and fought for others.

She served the community in a number of ways. She served on nonprofit boards. She was an active member of her church and community, and she was a mentor to aspiring advocates and policymakers.

Before joining our office--and this was the first time, I believe, years ago; I believe it was the first time I met Pam--she was the political director of the Service Employees International Union, a union that typically represents people who are not the highest income workers. They are people who, because they have a union, make a living wage and have the kind of benefits that unions bring. She was their political director.

She advocated for the United Labor Agency. She organized and taught classes to future union leaders about the history of the labor movement. Something, my God--I know that some people in this body don't think we should teach history, and many don't even think of the history of the labor movement. She understood that if you know the history of the labor movement, you know the history of the middle class, you know the history of the dignity of work. She taught about the fight for good jobs, good benefits, and what their union card means.

She dedicated a decade of her career to leading outreach for Policy Matters Ohio. She made sure their efforts were grounded in what workers needed and reached as many Ohioans as possible.

Her colleagues at Policy Matters recognize Pam's integral role in making the think tank and the labor movement what they are today. They recall Pam's ability to make things happen, whether it was planning a last-minute event or helping to secure an Ohioan's deserved interim benefits.

That ability made her an indispensable member of our team. Frankly, it made her an indispensable member of any team that she interacted with or was a part of.

Her legacy will be upheld by her friends, her family, and every member of our staff. We honor her memory. We grieve for her mother and her family. We will honor it by continuing her public service, her activism, her advocacy, and the work we believe in and she believed in, as we fight for Ohioans with her tenacity and dedication.

Today, our thoughts are with Pam's family, her friends, those who knew and loved Pam, my staff, all who had the privilege of working alongside her, and all who had the privilege of benefitting from her work. And that was a huge number of people in a State of 12 million.

This office will be forever grateful for our time with Pam. We will miss her every day. I am grateful for my years of time with Pam, on and off, in her different roles, and we were thrilled to have her as a member of our staff.

May she rest in peace.

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

Mr. President, everything we do here should come back to the dignity of work, the idea that hard work should pay off for everyone, no matter who you are, no matter where you live, no matter what kind of work you do. When work has dignity, people have good jobs, a secure retirement. They can count on Medicare. They can count on Social Security to be there for them.

That is why we, 2 years ago, saved the pension of 100,000 Ohioans who worked their whole lives to earn a pension and peace of mind in retirement. That is why we are still fighting for Delphi retirees who lost their pensions through no fault of their own. That is why we will always--always--fight back against attacks on Social Security. Making sure that all Americans have a secure retirement shouldn't be a partisan issue.

Social Security and Medicare are two of the most popular and unifying institutions in the country. Social Security is our government's promise to working men and women--a promise that they will, in fact, be able to retire with dignity.

Support for Social Security cuts across party lines, geographic lines, and racial lines. Americans want not only to protect Social Security and Medicare, they want to make it stronger. Martin O'Malley, whom we confirmed last night, understands this. As Commissioner, he will make sure that the Social Security Administration is accessible and responsive. He will ensure we are keeping this bedrock promise to the American people.

We need to do our part in this body too. It means passing my Social Security Fairness Act to repeal restrictions from two old laws that are preventing more than 3 million Americans--about 250,000 people in my State alone, including Ohio law enforcement--from receiving the Social Security benefits they have earned.

Ohio first responders put their lives on the line to protect our communities. They paid into Social Security just like everyone else. All these Ohio workers are asking for is what they have earned; that is, the dignity of a secure retirement.

We need to pass my bill to reform the supplemental security income-- so-called SSI--program's outdated restrictions that punish people for working and saving, preventing 8 million Americans with disabilities from building a better life for themselves. It hasn't changed in 40 years. We should update it.

If these Americans have even $1 more than $2,000 in their savings account or $3,000 for married couples--not very high, frankly--all their SSI benefits are taken away. With these outdated rules, there is no way to save for an emergency or plan for the future or, in essence, have agency over your own life.

There is broad support for this; it is not partisan; it is not ideological. At the committee I chair, the Banking and Housing Committee, I asked the CEOs of the eight largest banks if they supported this change, and every single one of them said yes. Every single one endorsed my bill. The big banks and I don't agree on much of anything, but we do agree on this.

By passing our bipartisan bill to update this outdated program, we also can fix the root cause of the SSI overpayments and clawbacks that have been hitting too many Ohioans. This has gone on for far too long and has hurt too many Ohioans, who--again, through no fault of their own--have been forced to deal with the issue of overpayments because of the SSA's outdated policies. Ohioans shouldn't be paying for the government's mistakes.

Martin O'Malley, our new Commissioner, made it clear to me in a one- on-one meeting that he is committed to working with us to finally address the root causes of these overpayments; and by increasing the asset limit, we are addressing what the SSA calls the leading cause of overpayments--stopping them before they ever go out in the first place.

These bills are bipartisan. They provide real fixes to real problems for hard-working Ohioans. People who don't have special interests are speaking out on their behalf. They have us, and it is what we should be--those who are speaking out for them. For years, they have watched politicians give corporate tax cuts; they have watched Wall Street bailouts, in many cases in this body while plotting to cut their Social Security.

In the end, it is about whose side you are on. I will always fight to protect Social Security and to make sure Americans get the retirements that they have earned.

I yield the floor.

I reserve the right to object.

Madam President, I agree with my colleagues Senator Manchin, Senator Barrasso, and Senator Risch. We need energy independence, whether it is West Virginia natural gas, Wyoming coal, Ohio solar, or whatever you do in Idaho.

OK. It means stopping Russian uranium imports into the United States. It means expanding our domestic enrichment capabilities. We need to do both. It is a matter of national security. It is a matter of economic security.

There are Ohioans doing important work with companies like Centrus and Oklo in Piketon in Southern Ohio. In an industry like this, they need the support to get off the ground and be successful--not far from Senator Manchin's home State.

If we do this right, it will mean good jobs in the energy industry in Appalachia, where union workers have powered our economy for generations.

To do that, we have to pair these policies together: stopping Russian imports and--and--investing in the domestic enrichment industry and all the jobs and opportunities that come with it.

My question is--and I will then drop my objection, of course--to ensure the action we take today is successful, Senator Barrasso and Senator Manchin, do I have your commitment to work together to pass real resources to strengthen our domestic supply chain?

Thank you.

With your leadership, we took an important step forward in the National Defense Authorization Act we passed last night. I thank Senator Risch for his work on that. We need to finish this job.

I want to see American companies--in Ohio--enriching uranium in the United States, creating jobs, supporting communities like Piketon, Waverly, Pike County, making our energy supply more secure.

I withdraw my objection.