Floor Statements

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the members of the 2023 Rowan Little League 10u Softball team for their recent victory in the Southeast regional championship. After winning the North Carolina State Championship, the team was provided the opportunity to compete in the highest competition in the 10u system. Over the regional championship weekend in late July, coaches Brett and Jacqueline Mulkey and Greg Deal took the 12-member team to Clarksville, TN, where the Rowan team demonstrated the hard work and sportsmanship its members had developed throughout the entire season. The teamwork and dedication put in by Graci Cooper, Zoey Correll, Peyton Mulkey, Stella Drew Smith, Abby Miller, Harper Deal, Jaylee Nixon, Jenna Smith, Kristen Johnson, Jaklyn Cottone, Kallie Clawson, and Nelson Leonard bring pride to their entire Rowan County community.

Please join me in congratulating the 2023 Rowan Little League 10u Softball

All-Stars on their remarkable accomplishment and wishing them many future successes.

Mr. President, I would like to take a few moments to remember the life and the legacy of Stuart Epperson, Sr., who passed away this week.

Stu was a native of Winston-Salem, NC, and he was a giant in the world of Christian broadcasting.

In 1972, he cofounded Salem Communications and then expanded it to include Christian radio stations across the country. He served on the board of directors of the National Religious Broadcasters Association, and he was named one of the 25 most influential evangelicals in America by Time magazine in 2005.

He dedicated his life to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible, whether it be through the mediums of mass communication or in person or as a father to the fatherless in tough neighborhoods. He was a pioneer, an innovator.

He was a dear friend to our family. We share our deepest condolences with his wife Nancy, his family, and his friends. He will be dearly missed. But because of his family's faithful Christian witness to our family, I personally look forward to seeing Big Stu again in Heaven.

Mr. President, I rise today to honor a distinguished North Carolinian and a dear friend, High Point University President Dr. Nido Qubein.

Dr. Qubein immigrated to the United States from the Middle East when he was 17 years old. He came to our country to pursue his education and attend college. Needless to say, his academic achievements were impressive, and they were an early indication of the success he would build in North Carolina.

He received his associate's degree in business from Mount Olive College, a bachelor's degree in human relations from High Point University, and a master's in business education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

My family and I have had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Qubein and his family and his wife Mariana for decades. We have been inspired by their dedication to education and their service to others.

During his career in business, philanthropy, and education, Dr. Qubein has been widely recognized for his work. He received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the Horatio Alger Association for Distinguished Americans designation, the Daughters of the American Revolution Americanism Award, and has been inducted into the National Speakers Hall of Fame.

But of all of his accomplishments, what he has been able to achieve for his hometown of High Point, NC, is perhaps his most indelible legacy. In 2005, High Point University trustees asked him to become its seventh President. Dr. Qubein decided to scale back his business career and to accept their offer to lead his alma mater. That decision launched a huge golden age.

What has happened under Dr. Qubein's tenure is nothing short of a complete transformation of High Point

University. Enrollment at the school has more than quadrupled--now over 6,000. Nearly every year, HPU has topped itself, increasing the number of students in each year's class. In 2005, HPU had three specialized academic schools. Today, there are 13, including dental, law, and engineering. In 2005, the university had 108 full-time faculty. Today, they have 500. In 2005, the university's endowment was just over $45 million. Today, it has quadrupled to $180 million. The size of the campus has skyrocketed by over 400 percent to 520 acres. Under Dr. Qubein's leadership, the university established a full-time, pro bono physical therapy clinic, as well as new schools for business, communications, law, natural sciences, health sciences, nursing, a school of pharmacy, a conservatory, and so much more.

All of this growth has led to this amazing fact: The percentage of graduates who either begin a career or enroll in graduate school within 180 days of earning their degree is 99 percent. That outcome is 14 percent higher than the national average.

The success is all the more exceptional because High Point University is an institution led by the values of its president. HPU is a God, family, and country institution. They welcome students of all backgrounds, but the values of faith in God and patriotism are at the core of what defines High Point University. They lead, and they lead with purpose.

Simply put, Dr. Qubein has transformed High Point University from a small, little-known southern college into a nationally known and respected institution that now draws students from all 50 States and more than 50 countries around the world.

So on behalf of the citizens of North Carolina, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Nido Qubein for everything he has done for the city of High Point and the university that bears its name and for setting the standard for what it means to be an extraordinary American citizen.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, reserving the right to object, I object to S. 1297 for a simple reason: It would make it easier for unborn life to be ended.

Last year's Dobbs decision brought renewed hope to Americans who believe in the sanctity of each and every life, including life in the womb. After 49 years, a new culture of life has begun to take hold across our country. But this bill would actually take us backwards.

This bill would allow abortion on demand in pro-life States so long as the patient is from another State. This bill would expose doctors and nurses who work in religious organizations, clinics, and hospitals--it would expose them to costly lawsuits if they stand by their deeply held beliefs. This bill would violate the spirit of bipartisan Hyde protections by providing 80 million taxpayer dollars to the abortion industry.

I was elected to save as many unborn lives as possible, and this bill puts more unborn lives in danger; therefore, I object.

Madam President, over the last several years, much has been made about the digital divide that exists here in America. The more digital the economy becomes, the bigger the divide between big cities and small towns.

As someone who still lives on a family farm in Davie County in North Carolina, I have always made it a priority to stand up for North Carolinians who don't have the advantage of large population centers. Rural Americans across our State and our Nation shouldn't have their economic opportunities diminished because of their ZIP Code.

One of the biggest challenges we face in bridging the digital divide is politicalization. An example of this is the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment--or BEAD--Program. This program provides ``over $42 billion to expand high-speed internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment and adoption programs'' across the country, but once the Biden administration got a hold of this funding, they began funneling it toward their liberal wish list instead of toward commonsense broadband deployment.

Another example is the Biden administration's Notice of Funding Opportunity, which gives favorable treatment to government-owned networks over private ones, and they load up that funding with climate mandates that drive up costs for these communities. This is fundamentally the wrong approach.

At the end of the day, what rural Americans are looking for is pretty straightforward: They want the highest quality internet for the most affordable price as quickly as possible.

This is not the time or place for social agendas or for partisan distractions. We have to keep our eye on bridging the digital divide so that rural Americans have a fair shot at opportunities where they can achieve their God-given potential. This is just one more way we can build a strong nation.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to call up Senate amendment No. 134 and ask that it be reported by number.

Madam President, on March 13 of 2020, the Federal Government declared a national emergency concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 3 years later, on May 11, 2023, that declaration ended. And yet, to this day, billions of COVID dollars throughout the Federal Government remain unspent.

So let's be clear. Each and every one of those dollars came from a hard-working taxpayer, from a working family's budget. That is why my amendment would rescind an additional $17 billion of unspent COVID money.

If we really want the Fiscal Responsibility Act to live up to its name, the least we can do is to rescind the taxpayer dollars that remain to fight a pandemic that everyone knows is over. Every taxpayer dollar is sacred and should be treated that way.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, any remaining time?

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, it is my honor to rise today to speak on behalf of the citizens of the great State of North Carolina.

I wouldn't be here today without some very special people: the love of my life, Amy Kate; our three kids, Joshua, Kathryn, and Macy; and my wonderful parents, Richard and Sylvia Budd.

I wouldn't be who I am or where I am today without all of your love, your support, and your strength.

I also want to thank the dedicated members of my team, both my official staff and campaign staff, who have helped me along this journey.

As this voyage unfolded, I was always grateful for my fellow Senators, whose presence was a constant source of encouragement and advice. I want to thank Senator Richard Burr and Senator Thom Tillis for their service to this institution and to our State.

I was also inspired by the Senators who are no longer with us, whose lasting imprints are signatures in these desks. As I open this desk, I see the signature of the late, great Senator Jesse Helms. He was one of our State's most legendary leaders, and I can only hope to be as fine a Senator for North Carolina as he was.

I also look to Senator James Broyhill, whom we lost just this year. He was a great friend to our family for decades, and his commitment to public service is one that I am going to try to emulate for as long as I hold this office.

As someone who was born and raised in North Carolina, I want you to know that it is a part of me. It is in my bones.

But you really don't know your State until you have visited every corner of it. Our State has 100 counties, and during our campaign, I visited each and every one of those counties, some of them multiple times, and not just the ones with the high populations or the ones with the big TV markets. It was that 100-county tour that helped me fall deeper in love with my home State, and I am going to be a better Senator for having done it.

But of all North Carolina's counties, one is near and dear to my heart, and that is Davie County. I was told a while back that I was the first U.S. Senator to come from Davie County. I owe a lot to the place that I call home.

It is the values of small North Carolina counties like mine that are my values too, and those aren't just another set of policy issues. North Carolina values are about how somebody goes about their daily life. It is about faith. It is about loyalty to our family and to your friends. It is about being a man of your word. It is about being honest. It is about being reliable. It is about working hard. And it is about serving others.

Our State's motto is ``esse quam videri,'' or, in English, ``to be rather than to seem.'' To put it another way, we tend to walk the walk more than talk the talk, and that is the sort of spirit that I want to endeavor with me during my time here in office.

In the relatively short time here in the Senate, I have been to 11 countries. I have met with ambassadors and with foreign leaders, and I have been able to visit and thank American troops stationed overseas.

One of the big lessons I learned is this: For as much importance as we place on our international standing--and, believe me, we should-- what is most important is that we don't lose our way here at home. We need to be an America that is worth defending, and everything we do here should be about creating a strong Nation. But we should not seek strength without purpose, and our purpose is clearly laid out in our founding documents. And it has been taught the hard way, through nearly 250 years of lived history, witnessing what works and what doesn't.

Winston Churchill once famously observed that ``Americans will always do the right thing, only after they have tried everything else.''

In the last few years it seems like, well, we tried everything else-- a lot of bad ideas, and there are some big things that aren't working.

We live in a culture that, unfortunately, extenuates all the ways each and every one of us is different, instead of all the things we have in common. And it is these differences that are used by some to drive us apart, drawing lines based on race, gender, or bank accounts.

In recent years, far too many members of America's next generation are being indoctrinated with a sense of victimhood and despair instead of being encouraged with vision and with hope. That indoctrination has real-world consequences, and we have seen it borne out in disturbing national trends.

Less than 40 percent of our country says they are extremely proud to be an American. The rate of churchgoing and a belief in God now sits at historic lows. One in 10 Americans suffers from depression, and depression among young adults is particularly acute. One CDC study revealed that 42 percent of high school students felt so sad or hopeless in the last few weeks that they could not go about their daily business.

Among young adults, substance abuse is at an alltime high. Rates of suicide have increased, and more than one in five high school students has seriously considered attempting suicide. These numbers should shock our national consequence, and it should serve as a wake-up call for change.

Despite these discouraging statistics, we don't have to reinvent the wheel to know how to get back on the right track. Instead of teaching the next generation of Americans to wallow in all the things that their country has done wrong, we need to be celebrating. We need to be learning and building on all the things that we have done right. Simply put, we need to teach our kids to love our country, not to hate it; to have a spirit of gratitude and not one of disdain.

Great nations succeed when their citizens not only have a focus on what makes them great but also when we collectively keep our eyes on what creates prosperity and human flourishing. But when we give our government too much power, the less freedom each individual has over their own life. Less freedom means you have less money and less opportunity to achieve your God-given destiny.

When the government stops us from responsibly producing energy, for instance, and then attempts to dictate our consumption habits, it makes life harder and more difficult for hard-working citizens, and it stifles our Nation's strength.

You know, the Apostle Paul, when he wrote to young Timothy, warned him to watch out for the love of money, for it is the root of all sorts of evil. But in this town, the root of all sorts of evil seems to be modern and monetary theory, the supposition that the national debt doesn't matter and that government spending should be the driving force behind the economy instead of individuals and private businesses.

But the problem with this is that a bigger government with endless spending creates economic stagnation. It convinces people to accept financial mediocrity, instead of incentivizing innovative and creative members of society to take risks, to fail, and to get back up and try again for a better tomorrow.

We need to be creating an economy that rewards risk-taking and allows people to be working toward their American dream. But it is government that too often stands in the way of that dream.

It was the trillions of pandemic spending that caused the inflation that now eats away at the buying power of each and every consumer, and it was the limitless spending of the last quarter century that has created a Federal budget so out of whack that the basic goal of balancing our country's checkbook, well, it is politically toxic to consider.

Looking to government as our economic savior is simply not the solution. Capitalism, open markets, a free and moral people--that is the formula for success, success that our country saw not too long ago. And we could surely recreate it if we have the right leadership that lightens the regulatory burden on America's job creators. The stronger that we are here at home, the more leadership that we can exert on the world stage. That is what is missing today, a strong and a confident America.

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August of 2021 was nothing short of a national tragedy and disgrace. Not only did it result in the devastating loss of 13 servicemembers and the abandonment of countless citizens, but it put American weakness on full display. We were seen by our enemy as hapless, shortsighted, and not willing to change course when the facts on the ground called for a change.

In speaking with allies and international leaders, I heard over and over again that it was the Afghanistan debacle that caused our allies to wonder if they can even count on us anymore. They wonder if, when the going gets tough, we would be more likely to cut and run than stand by their side, as they have stood with us. That undercuts America's standing in the world.

As we see the results of weakness across the globe, a Russian dictator is blatantly invading its neighbor or unleashing unspeakable chaos and suffering on innocent civilians, or we see China, led by a brutal communist government, growing more aggressive not only toward Taiwan but blatantly launching spy crafts over the U.S.

mainland, buying up critical infrastructure inside the United States and stealing the intellectual property of U.S. citizens. Iran and North Korea are spinning up their centrifuges, cracking down on their own people, and making threats to the security of their respective regions. At our own southern border right now, we have a historic humanitarian and national security crisis. But instead of pursuing what used to be a nonpartisan imperative to secure the border, the current administration is retreating from their responsibility to protect and defend this country.

All of this chaos is the result of America being a diminished country, all too willing to cede the stage and to let others lead. That is not the way that the world will find peace and security. Peace is achieved through American strength, and it is American weakness, instead, that provokes evil. Our country must return to the principles of clarity and purpose, a willingness to act when the situation calls for it, and the strength to follow through when we face obstacles.

As a country, we can have anything that we want, as long as we act with wisdom and conviction. And, ladies and gentlemen, we know what works. We have done it before, and you can bet that we can do it again. Despite all the things that are broken right now, none of them can overshadow the uniquely American ability to overcome a challenge.

Each and every day, I am filled with a tremendous sense of gratitude that I live in the United States of America, and I believe that millions of people out there, they feel the exact same way.

In the final analysis, it is our shores that welcome 1 million legal immigrants every year. It is our country that is viewed by millions as a place where they can shed an old life and they can start again.

People vote with their feet. In the United States of America, we are still the last and best beacon of hope on this planet. All we have to do is keep it that way.

At the end of the day, we must seek to be a nation that empowers every citizen, ensures human flourishing, and preserves freedom for each and every individual to pursue their American dream.

I am going to leave you with this. My No. 1 goal during my time in the U.S. Senate is to create a strong nation, to build strong families, and to be of service to others; to make other people's lives better, to do just what I said that I was going to do.

That is how I have lived throughout my life, and that is the kind of Senator I want to be.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today to support Senator Vance's resolution of disapproval for the District of Columbia's anti-police law.

When lives are on the line, when seconds count, members of law enforcement are there putting their lives on the line to protect and serve their communities.

Backing the blue is especially important now, as rogue prosecutors and activist judges undercut those who are out there fighting crime. We see big cities implement policies that make the already difficult job of crime-fighting that much harder. Consequently, crime in our country has risen. Our streets are less safe. Our citizens' safety is under constant threat.

A prime example of this overreach is right here in Washington, DC. Last year, the DC City Council passed a so-called comprehensive policing and justice reform package. The package contains provision after provision that hamstrings the police in this city. It limits the tactics they can use to control unruly crowds and riots, and it buries them in paperwork before they can even execute a constitutional search. It strips cops of the power to review body cam evidence, and it allows for their names to be released to the media before an investigation can even begin.

And what has happened since this act went into effect? Well, in the first full year that this law was in effect, DC's homicide rate reached nearly a 20-year high. In just the first 4 months of 2023, there have been over 250 carjackings and an increase in robberies throughout the city.

DC's chief of police recently reported that the average homicide suspect is arrested 11 times before committing murder. Now, it is striking that DC is making it harder to arrest these criminals before they commit such heinous acts. And, at the same time, the District's police union has reported that the department ``has lost over 1,200 police officers while only replacing 700.'' The force is poised to be at its lowest number of officers since the 1970s.

Congress has the authority and the responsibility to ensure public safety in the District; and, furthermore, the symbol of our Nation's Capital under siege from crime is one our country cannot and should not tolerate. As politicians in this city push anti-police laws, it is incumbent upon our country's national leaders to stand up to these legislative attacks on law enforcement.

Now is the time for elected officials to express their full and complete support for the police. We need to fund them; we need to back them; and we need to push back against false narratives.

Strong nations support law enforcement because these are the men and women who stand on that thin blue line between safety and chaos. For the sake of law and order in our Nation's Capital, I stand in support of Senator Vance's resolution.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I rise today to highlight the desperate need to cut redtape and to get America building again. When I go all around North Carolina and I meet with builders and contractors, I am told by them that it is too hard to build and to complete critical projects in the United States and in North Carolina right now.

We are struggling to build the infrastructure we need to achieve energy dominance, to bridge the digital divide, and to attract good- paying, reliable manufacturing jobs back to our shores.

The primary stumbling block in this effort is one of our government's own making. Radical environment groups are going well beyond what is necessary to ensure a clean environment. They are weaponizing the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, to indefinitely delay critical projects by filing frivolous lawsuits.

Now, I hail from a State that cares deeply about the environment: clean air, clean water, a livable planet. I believe Americans of all political stripes share that goal. However, the changing dynamics of global commerce and the global threat environment require Congress to make it easier to secure our energy security, to export our vast energy resources to keep our allies' energy safe, and to give our industries a chance to compete against China.

What Congress must do is to add a ``shot clock,'' if you will, to NEPA reviews and limit opportunities for repetitive lawsuits that cause these very important projects to sit idle. We should follow the example of our House colleagues and pass legislation focused on unleashing American gas and oil production, expanding our capacity to export liquefied natural gas, and easing the path for other forms of energy like nuclear to come online and to keep America competitive in the 21st Century global economy.

I stand ready to work with all of my colleagues on solutions to get America back in the business of building large projects and tackling large problems.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I rise today to support Senator Tuberville's Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.

For more than half a century, title IX has expanded opportunities for women and girls from the classroom to the playing field. According to the Women's Sports Foundation, our country went from a ratio of 1 in 27 girls playing sports in 1972 to 1 in 5 today. We went from fewer than 30,000 female collegiate athletes in 1972 to nearly 230,000 female athletes today. That is progress that should be celebrated.

However, women's sports are fundamentally undermined when biological males are allowed to compete against them. There are biological differences between men and women. If we ignore those differences, we threaten future opportunities for female athletes and the entire notion of women's sports. It is unfair, it is unsafe, and it is unacceptable. That is why Senator Tuberville's bill is so important. It simply ensures that title IX protections are clearly defined by a person's reproductive biology and genetics at birth.

The bottom line: Female athletes should compete against other female athletes. It is that simple.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, our country is in the midst of the worst border crisis in our history. Since President Biden took office, there has been more than 5 million illegal crossings at the southern border.

I have been to the border multiple times, and I have seen this crisis firsthand. In fact, the last time I was there, I was touring a heavily trafficked sector with off-duty Border Patrol officers. As we were driving along, the officers spotted a couple of cartel members. One of the officers turned to me, and he apologized. He said: I am sorry, but I am going to have to go on duty now. He went over and he apprehended and he arrested the cartel members there, right on the spot.

This is just a small taste of what they have to face each and every day. We have to keep these men and these women in our prayers, and we must give them all the tools that they need to keep our homeland safe.

Beyond the rampant lawlessness, the crime, the human trafficking, one of the worst aspects of this crisis is the devastating amount of drugs that are pouring into our country.

The last annual numbers showed that over 100,000 Americans died just last year from drug-related overdose, and about 90 percent of those were related to fentanyl.

This crisis has gotten so bad that fentanyl-driven overdose deaths are now the leading cause of deaths for those who are between 18 and 45 years old. And this is perhaps the worst statistic: Children under 14 years old are dying of fentanyl poisoning faster than any other age group.

The drugs that come through the border cause unspeakable harm back in communities in North Carolina. To many, they are only one or two degrees away from a personal tragedy with a name having to do with illegal drugs.

I routinely talk to sheriffs all over the State. I recently went to all 100 counties, and I talked to a lot of those sheriffs. Many of them told me that every single county in North Carolina

is now a border county because of President Biden's policies.

In fact, a recent drug bust in Iredell County, just north of Charlotte, uncovered enough fentanyl to kill 250,000 individuals. That is poison from just one traffic stop in North Carolina.

It begs the questions: How did we get here, and what can be done?

We got here at precisely the moment that President Biden stopped enforcing the law at the southern border. President Biden stopped building the border wall on his first day in office. He has reversed policies to quickly deport criminal illegal aliens. He refused to get tough on sanctuary cities that don't obey Federal law. He ended the ``Remain in Mexico'' policy. And next month, he will end title 42 with no plan on how to manage the impending surge.

The story of President Biden's border crisis is one of preventable tragedies compounding day in and day out. And if the White House won't act to stop it, then Congress should.

The very first bill I introduced as a U.S. Senator is called the Build the Wall Now Act. It requires border wall construction to restart immediately, it removes all legal roadblocks to construction, and it unlocks $2.1 billion in unspent funding.

I have seen for myself the idle heavy equipment just sitting there, the concrete and the steel that have sat unused since January 20 of 2021. My bill simply orders the Biden administration to use those supplies and finish the job.

When I spoke to those border agents, they told me that they really need a wall and, yeah, they need funding but that what they really need is an administration that has their back. And right now, they don't have that.

Securing the border used to be a bipartisan issue. So I would call on President Biden to stop ignoring the border crisis, suspend any partisanship that is stopping him from doing what we know would stop this suffering, and for the sake of our law enforcement, for our parents, for our children, we need this administration to change course so that we can save lives.

Madam President, I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, taxpayers should not be forced to fund the taking of unborn life. That is why I voted in favor of Senator Tuberville's resolution to overturn the Biden administration's rule that allows the VA to perform abortions up until birth. Using taxpayer- funded VA facilities to perform abortions is a clear violation of Federal and State law, and it is a clear abuse of Executive power.

The American people may have different views on abortion, but the majority of Americans agree: Their hard-earned tax dollars should not be used to pay for it.

All told, the VA admitted that this rule will allow at least 1,000 taxpayer-funded abortions each and every year. That is unacceptable, and that is why this rule must be overturned.

I yield the floor.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the life of my fellow North Carolinian, Paul E. Fisher. Mr. Fisher was the driving force behind F&M Financial Corporation and F&M Bank for almost 60 years. He was a tireless community leader and volunteer until his passing on October 30, 2020.

As Chairman and CEO of F&M Bank, Mr. Fisher believed that community banking offered an opportunity to improve the quality of life for all his clients and the communities he was privileged to serve. He volunteered on the NC Banking Commission for a decade and was President and Treasurer of the NC Banking Association, in addition to serving two terms as Dean of the NC School of Banking.

Forever tied to the success of F&M Bank, Mr. Fisher was better known for his warm heart and decades of local fundraising efforts to build the Saleeby-Fisher YMCA, The Rowan County Chamber of Commerce's Gateway Building, the Rowan Helping Ministries homeless shelter, the Rowan Educational Foundation, the Bell Tower Green Park, as well as a myriad of other facilities and causes ranging from the arts, healthcare, human needs, and youth. He always wanted to leave the world a little better than he found it. His drive to plant a tree under whose shade he will never sit was his most telling attribute.

Over his nearly 83 years, Mr. Fisher had a very simple recipe for life: show up, find a way to be useful, and love with all your heart. He was grateful for the friendship and love shown to him by the people of Rowan County, the State of North Carolina, and all those who helped him along life's path.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to commend Mr. Paul E. Fisher of F&M Bank and Salisbury, North Carolina for a lifetime of service to his community.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Davidson County for celebrating its 200th anniversary.

Geographically located in central North Carolina, Davidson County's residents have had an immense impact on the state's development throughout the years. Nestled in the Yadkin River Valley, it was established in 1822 when historic Rowan County was divided along the banks of the Yadkin. The new county was named after Revolutionary War Brigadier General William Lee Davidson, a patriot who was killed at the Battle of Cowan's Ford fighting for our nation's independence. In the centuries both before and since, the land has been the home of other American icons, from legendary frontiersman Daniel Boone to NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Childress.

The people of Davidson County are fortunate to have a proud history of agriculture and textiles that formed the bedrock of their economy. Known as the ``Barbeque Capital of the World'', Davidson hosts the annual Lexington Barbeque Festival which attracts as many as 200,000 visitors to the area each year. The County is also now home to robust sectors in modern manufacturing and is well-positioned for future success. Communities like Davidson County are what makes the Old North State the best place to live, work, and raise a family.

Madam Speaker, please join me in congratulating the people of Davidson County on their bicentennial anniversary. It is my sincere hope that the county will continue to prosper over the next two centuries and beyond.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember North Carolina state Senator Stan Bingham, and to recognize his many years of faithful service to the residents of Davidson, Davie, and Guilford counties.

Born in Winston-Salem in 1945, Stan Bingham was a remarkable figure exemplifying much of what it means to be a resident of the Old North State. After earning a degree in forestry from North Carolina State University, he founded the Bingham Lumber Co. in 1979 in his adopted hometown of Denton. Stan was a fierce proponent of Davidson County and its residents. From 1990 until 1994, he served his community on the Davidson County Board of Commissioners, and in 1995, he formed the weekly local newspaper, the Denton Orator. In 2000, while still working as a businessowner and publisher, Stan was elected to the North Carolina Senate.

Serving eight terms in the state senate, Stan was a giant in North Carolina's legislature. He was a problem-solver, an individual who was convicted in his beliefs yet willing to work across the aisle to accomplish what was best for his constituents. He was instrumental in the successful effort to amend the state constitution to prohibit convicted felons from running for Sheriff, and he proposed the state's Good Samaritan Law to ensure overdose victims receive the medical care they need. Thanks to his help, the Davidson County communities of Wallburg and Midway have become incorporated townships. Stan was a friend to everyone, and he was always eager to help in any way he could.

Madam Speaker, please join me in a moment of silence for state Senator Bingham, in recognition of his many years of service to the people of North Carolina.