Floor Statements

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the life of one of Indiana's most iconic voices; Matt Bair.

For years, residents of Indianapolis and central Indiana relied on Matt Bair to get them to work in the morning and safely back home in the afternoon. As the beloved traffic reporter for 93.1 FM WIBC in Indianapolis, Matt not only provided listeners with information on which roads to take or avoid during their commute but also brightened their days with his good cheer and quick wit.

Matt's passing in August leaves a notable absence, not just for his family and colleagues at WIBC, but for his community as well. A graduate of Rochester High School and IUPUI, Matt started his career in broadcasting at his family's radio station WROI-FM in Fulton County. This was followed by 16 years at WIBC, a role he took seriously, particularly on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Year after year, he was up at 2:30 a.m. to help race fans find their way to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indy 500.

He loved his job, but maybe not as much as he was loved by his colleagues. They admired not only his humor but his honesty. Matt was candid about his own struggles with addiction in the hope that his experiences could help others battling the same illness. The Supporting Sobriety Podcast, which Matt cohosted and for which he received a Marconi Radio Award nomination, was one of the many ways he used his journey and platform to comfort and encourage others.

Matt was also an advocate and supporter of the Salvation Army Harbor Light Center and of Horizon House, an Indianapolis homeless shelter where he worked to build a library.

Matt Bair's voice will be deeply missed in central Indiana. He leaves behind so many friends and fans, as well as an enduring legacy of generosity and compassion.

Mr. President, 86 percent--86 percent. I am here today to reiterate my support for the Stop Insider Trading Act and urge my colleagues to support this important bill.

Recent polling suggests that 86 percent of the American people support this bill.

You see, in order to make the best possible policy decisions, Members of Congress are provided access to information that most Americans are not. We receive briefings. We write legislation. We serve on committees of jurisdiction over major sections of our economy. But serving as a Member of Congress comes with a responsibility to put public interests ahead of personal gain. We have an obligation to put the interests of the people we represent ahead of our own interests.

No Member of Congress should profit from insider information. There is a reason that can be difficult: Members who write the rules are also subject to them. Allowing Members to actively trade individual stocks creates an obvious conflict of interest. Even when no law is broken, the appearance of a conflict is damaging. It is damaging to this institution. It is damaging to public trust. It is damaging to our Republic. You know, it is leadership 101: Avoid the appearance of impropriety.

Without a doubt, some serving in Congress today benefit financially from the current system, but that should not prevent Congress from supporting a change that the overwhelming majority of Americans believe is needed and necessary.

It bears repeating: Recent polling shows that 86 percent of Americans favor banning Members of Congress from trading stocks. Eighty-seven percent of Republicans, 88 percent of Democrats, and 81 percent of Independents support banning Members of Congress from trading stocks. Republicans and Democrats disagree on so many issues these days, but Americans across the political spectrum agree that their elected representatives should not be able to use the privileges of public office for personal financial gain. This sentiment is echoed across Indiana, I know. I regularly hear from Hoosiers who are troubled about those serving in Congress profiting from their positions.

Here is the bottom line: The American people should not have to wonder whether votes in Congress are influenced by what is best for the country or by what is best for the investment portfolios of those serving in Congress.

The Stop Insider Trading Act will help ensure that Congress plays by the same rules as everyone else. It would prevent Members of Congress, their

spouses, and their dependent children from purchasing individual stocks and strengthen disclosure and enforcement requirements.

This legislation is a step in the right direction, and it is what the people we represent want us to do. Trust in Congress remains at an alltime low. Passing this bill supported by 86 percent of the American people will help restore some level of trust in Congress and those who serve.

Let's do the right thing. Let's support this 86 percent solution, and let's put an end to swamp trading today.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I rise today to recognize the upcoming retirement of a great Hoosier, Fred M. Fehsenfeld, Jr.

At just 29 years old, Fred became chief executive officer of the Heritage Group, beginning the third generation of family leadership at one of the Hoosier State's most innovative companies. He soon established an in-house research and development organization that helped expand the company into new industries, including specialty chemicals and fuels. Under his leadership, the Heritage Group evolved from a regional enterprise into a global leader, helping put Indiana on the map as a hub for innovation.

More important than Fred's successful endeavors in business were his rewarding investments in talent. Throughout his career, Fred was guided by a simple principle: ``Bet on young people. They will surprise themselves.'' Guided by this philosophy, Fred helped build a culture rooted in trust, entrepreneurship, and community, to the benefit of countless employees throughout Indiana. In 2016, his daughter Amy began to take over leadership of the organization, establishing a rare fourth-generation succession for a family business. This commitment to building an organization designed to endure for generations epitomizes his belief that leadership is measured more by what one leaves behind for others to strengthen than what one accomplishes himself.

Fred's contributions to the State also extend far beyond his work on behalf of the family business. Alongside his wife Suzie, Fred has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to philanthropy, contributing to the improvement of communities in Indianapolis, throughout Indiana, and even around the world. This, along with his

mentorship of countless future leaders and service on the boards of organizations that strengthen Indiana's economy, environment, and civic life, demonstrates his lifelong dedication to service to our State.

For these reasons and more, Fred exemplifies what it means to be a Hoosier. It is my honor to recognize Fred for his distinguished career and congratulate him as he begins his retirement.

Mr. President, as you well know, we are debating the Protect College Sports Act--legislation about the future of college sports--but I wouldn't be doing my job as a U.S. Senator from Indiana if I didn't point out that the Hoosier State happens to be the capital of the college football world right now.

In one of the greatest seasons in the history of all college sports, the Indiana Hoosiers went undefeated last year and won the national championship. IU is back with a top-five team again this year and has a chance for another deep playoff run. And joining IU in the top five is the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who also look really good this season.

Whether it be in Bloomington or South Bend, we are hoping the championship trophy stays in the great State of Indiana this year.

This support for these two teams shows that Hoosiers love college sports, and we want to continue rooting for our favorite schools and athletes for generations to come, but the future of college sports is at a crossroads right now.

Congressional action is necessary to ensure that the NIL landscape is built on clear and fair rules and that it provides protections for both student-athletes and universities and ensures the longevity of not only college football and men's basketball but Olympic and women's sports as well. Without a Federal framework, the legal and operational uncertainty around this space will only cause our academic institutions and student-athletes to suffer. However, as with any legislation Congress contemplates, we have to do our due diligence to ensure it will work as intended.

In addition to the many Hoosiers that are or will become student- athletes, I have a diverse group of engaged stakeholders on this issue based in Indiana, including the NCAA, USA Track & Field, USA Gymnastics, USA Diving, and, of course, top-tier universities.

Throughout this process, I have stayed in close contact with these schools and organizations to make sure the legislation will work for them. I have also pushed reforms to this bill as it has gone through the process to ensure the interests of all Indiana colleges and universities, including our two Big Ten schools, are well represented.

I am pleased that this final bill is supported by Indiana, Purdue, Ball State, Indiana State, and numerous other colleges and universities across Indiana.

Getting to the finish line on a major piece of legislation like this isn't easy, and it requires a lot of work. I am particularly grateful to Chairman Cruz and Ranking Member Cantwell for their collaborative approach and willingness to make changes to the bill to address concerns raised by the Big Ten.

I know the Presiding Officer and so many other colleagues lent their voice and their labors to this effort, and I am most appreciative for all the breakthroughs for which they are responsible.

I am supporting this legislation because I believe it is the right approach to protect the future of college sports. I believe it is the right approach. So I urge my colleagues to support the Protect College Sports Act and strengthen this uniquely American institution.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I have 11 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize a living Hoosier landmark, Todd Family Farm.

For 150 years, seven generations of a single family have stewarded the same soil in Carroll County, IN. The Todd family first came to Carroll County as Baptist ministers and, in 1876, established their farm on what grew to be 4,500 acres of land. Subsequent generations of the family founded the Todd Hybrid Seed Company. From their homestead in Indiana, the Todds developed and distributed seed corn across America, strengthening the Nation's food supply and playing a key role in Indiana's agricultural economy.

It is very rare for family-run farms to endure for a century, let alone 150 years. This reflects the incredible and often difficult work of the Todd family across generations. Over that century and a half, the Todd family farm has survived transfers from one generation to the next, economic panics, a Great Depression, revolutions in agricultural technology, and, of course, fluctuations in commodity prices. Across those generations, members of the Todd family have also demonstrated a deep commitment to service, making sacrifices for their community, State, and country.

This endurance reflects a spirit of hard work and resourcefulness, as well as a commitment to community. This tradition began when the Todds first reached Carroll County and continues to the present day. Their contributions to Indiana, our Nation, and future generations represent a legacy worthy of recognition. Congratulations to the Todd family for earning the Hoosier Homestead Program's Sesquicentennial Award.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following Senators be permitted to speak prior to the scheduled rollcall votes: Young for up to 5 minutes; Warnock for up to 5 minutes; Cassidy for up to 10 minutes; Wyden for up to 15 minutes; Paul for up to 20 minutes; Shaheen for up to 5 minutes; Blumenthal for up to 10 minutes; and Risch for up to 5 minutes

Mr. President, Russia has been condemned for years, but what it has not yet faced is a cost high enough to change its course.

Senator Lindsey Graham understood that. The bill he left us, his final legislative legacy, does not stop at symbolic penalties or mere gestures. It is a strategy. It is a strategy to impose real costs on those sustaining Russia's war machine.

Lindsey, who was a friend of mine, understood what it would take. Not another statement of outrage, but a serious plan, a plan to make continuing this war more costly than ending it.

And it starts with an uncomfortable truth: We cannot choke off the war chest while Russia's largest customers keep replenishing it, even as those same governments insist they want the war to end.

The United States, however, has leverage--enormous leverage. Access to our market carries enormous weight. Our allies know this, our adversaries know it, and the governments buying Russian energy certainly know it.

But we should remember that tariff threats of this magnitude do not stop at the doors of a Foreign Ministry. They have real-world consequences. They can reach factory floors, farms, small businesses, and family budgets here at home.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't act. We should act. But if Americans might absorb some of these costs, they deserve a policy that is transparent, disciplined, and tied to well-defined objectives.

That is why Congress has a responsibility--a responsibility to ensure that these authorities remain focused on their intended purpose, with clear standards governing when additional pressure is warranted and when demonstrated progress should be recognized.

The bipartisan support for this legislation sends a clear and a very important message: The pressure authorized here is directed at the countries financing Russia's war and must remain tied to that mission-- full stop.

The goal--and the result Congress should demand--is a race to the bottom among Russia's largest energy buyers, with each country competing to cut its purchases faster than the others.

But a race only works when every participant knows the rules, when every participant understands the objective, and trusts that meaningful action will be recognized.

If countries buy more Russian energy, if they conceal transactions, or if they help Moscow evade sanctions--well, the President has every right to increase pressure, and he will have my encouragement.

At the same time, if countries cut those purchases, stop enabling Russia, and demonstrate the change with real evidence, our policy should respond accordingly--that is how leverage produces action instead of simply imposing costs.

And as this legislation moves forward through the process, I look forward to working with Chairman Crapo and the administration to keep these tariff authorities focused on the threats Congress intends to confront--the very threats Lindsey Graham worked so hard to confront.

This bill presents a simple proposition: Countries may finance Russia's war or they may enjoy the benefits of access to the U.S. market, but they shouldn't expect to do both without consequences.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, Americans are aware that many of the products we buy and sell in this country are manufactured in China, but fewer may know that most of the Chinese goods come across the ocean and into our ports on Chinese ships--whether they are flying the Chinese flag, whether they are owned or operated by Chinese companies, or are even built in Chinese shipyards.

But what may come as a shock is that those same ships could also carry deadly weapons. That is right. Hidden among the shipping containers carrying appliances, clothing, and household goods, might well be missile launchers and drone launching systems. Arriving undetected, they could target our cities, destroy our infrastructure, and kill our citizens.

This is a possibility American leaders must prepare for now. Naval analysts confirm that China is retrofitting cargo ships with deadly weapons: long-range strike and surface-to-air missiles, drone launching systems, and radar and tracking systems.

A large percentage of these vessels coming in and out of our ports are owned and operated by firms with direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party. What if one of these ships arrived in one of America's largest ports? Now, the best case scenario is our intelligence community would detect the weapons, enabling the Coast Guard to intercept and seize the Chinese ship. That is the best case scenario.

But there is a far more alarming possibility: An armed Chinese cargo carrier slips in, undetected, and it launches devastating attacks on the port, destroying vital infrastructure and killing hundreds, and possibly many, many more.

The Port of Houston is, for example, one of the largest by tonnage in our country. It is home to the world's largest petrochemical complex and a quarter of America's oil refining capacity.

The explosions caused by a Chinese attack on the port would send clouds of carcinogens into the air and over nearby communities. Meanwhile, America's energy supply would be devastated, causing painful shortages and draining the economy of millions of dollars a day.

A similar disaster could play out at any of our other major ports-- Los Angeles, for example, our hub for transpacific trade; or Hampton Roads, VA, the east coast's deepest harbor and home to the world's largest naval base.

Now, neither of these situations is inevitable if we cut our reliance on Chinese vessels and we decide to make American ships again.

You see, the United States was once home to the world's largest commercial fleet, numbering 4,000 ships. Today, we manufacture only a handful of commercial vessels each year. China can build over a thousand. In total, the United States has fewer than 100 ocean-going commercial vessels; while China, they have nearly 6,000, the largest fleet in the world.

Letting our maritime industrial base continue to rust is a great risk. It doesn't just give China control over global supply chains and levers to constrain America's policy options; it presents the Chinese Communist Party opportunities every day to sneak weapons into our cities.

We have a choice. We can do nothing and invite a potential economic and national security disaster, or we can rebuild our fleet. We can end our dependence on Chinese ships, and we can open up a new era of American ship building.

I choose the latter. I choose restoring American maritime dominance.

The SHIPS for America Act is the best way to accomplish this. The bill will encourage the construction of new ships and shipyards through tax incentives. It will deliver deregulation and permitting reform to reduce costs and speed the delivery of new vessels. It also will modernize training programs at our maritime academies and recruit a new generation of mariners.

And the SHIPS Act will establish a maritime security trust fund to finance these programs, plus an expansion of the U.S.-flagged international fleet to 250 ships by the mid-2030s.

Now, we have a strong champion in President Trump, whose Maritime Action Plan is consistent with this bill.

China is retrofitting its commercial ships into covert warships. The evidence is clear. So too is the risk of allowing these vessels to dominate global trade and fill our ports because we have no ships of our own.

But we have a plan to protect our ports and people, to build and launch a new fleet manned by American mariners, flying the Stars and Stripes. And Congress should pass the SHIPS Act without delay.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life of a truly one-of-a-kind Hoosier Carol Mitchell Popp Bennett, who passed away on June 27, 2026, at the age of 96.

Born in Indianapolis in 1930 and raised in the wake of the Great Depression on a small family farm, Carol quickly found a creative outlet in making marionettes and puppets. Her passion, creativity, and skills created ample opportunities: By high school, she led a statewide tour of puppet shows, and she produced a children's television show on a local Bloomington affiliate during her studies at Indiana University. Before she knew it, Carol and her marionettes were featured in a national magazine, crowned Miss Indiana, and interviewed on the Ed Sullivan show during her trip to New York to win first runner-up in the Miss America Pageant.

After graduating from Indiana University, Carol met H. Leslie Popp, Jr., in Fort Wayne. The couple soon married and Carol followed her husband on his deployment to serve in the Korean war. She continued her artistic endeavors during this period, working with the U.S.O. to arrange entertainment for the families of American servicemembers in Japan. Upon the couple's return to Fort Wayne, Carol started Indiana's first live children's educational television program, the ``Carol and Corkie Show,'' for which she was honored by the Indiana Historical Society as an Indiana Community Builder in 2020.

Carol's contributions to the Fort Wayne community extended far beyond the ``Carol and Corkie Show.'' She was a substitute teacher in the region for 13 years and a volunteer with the Trinity English Lutheran Church's women's group for more than a decade. She served on the boards of the Fine Arts Foundation, Fort Wayne Ballet Angels, and IU Friends of Music, and was an active leader in the Junior League of Fort Wayne and Fort Wayne's Girl Scout and Cub Scout communities, all while continuing to use her creative talents as a professional interior designer for more than 20 years.

In her retirement, Carol continued to pursue her passions for art and education by illustrating shows for the Fort Wayne Philharmonic's Children's Concert Series and working with her sister to illustrate children's instructional books. She married Carl Bennett in 1989, and the couple enjoyed their retirement traveling and wintering in Bermuda Dunes, CA, where Carol continued to serve others by leading an art group and participating in the Coachella Valley Art Guild of Palm Springs.

Carol's legacy lives on in her extensive family, including her sister Elaine, daughter Catherine, and more than a hundred stepchildren, nieces, and nephews spanning four generations. It is my honor to recognize Carol for a lifetime well-spent using her talents and abilities in service of others in the Fort Wayne area, across the Hoosier State, and even around the globe. In these and many other ways, her memory and legacy will live on for years to come.

Mr. President, I rise today as the son of a small business owner. I rise as someone who has seen how hard an entrepreneur must work to get an idea off the ground, to build a business, to keep it solvent, and to work year after year through ups and downs, to make sure one can put enough food on the table for one's family and all of one's employees' families. And I rise today in support of Senator Ernst's Protecting American Taxpayers Act.

You see, as chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship--a committee on which I proudly serve--Senator Ernst has really been relentlessly focused on and has been a tireless advocate for combating fraud and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly--responsibly.

So I want to thank Senator Ernst for her good work on this important legislation and for her ongoing efforts to shine a spotlight on waste, fraud, and abuse. I am especially proud that in this package is found my Assisting Small Businesses Not Fraudsters Act.

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

Mr. President, Americans don't appear to agree on very much these days, but there is at least one thing on which the American people can agree; it is this thing that brings the American people together. Our citizens, no matter their politics, don't trust their leaders.

The list of institutions that Americans have lost faith in is long. We know this. We also know that Congress is at the bottom. In fact, over 80 percent of Americans disapprove of the job we are doing in this building.

The legislative branch is the foundation of representative government. It is urgent, it is essential that we earn the trust of the American people back.

You see, we are charged with putting the interests of our constituents over our own interests. We are their voice. And yet many of the people we represent believe we are failing to honor that basic commitment.

It is no wonder many are losing faith, losing trust. We are their voice. A faith in government has eroded over decades. There are many causes. A lot of fingers can be pointed. There is plenty of blame to go around.

And we know that the task of restoring trust is going to be a long- term project. But I am here today to argue that there is an immediate step that we need to take to restore a measure of trust in this institution, and it is imminently achievable.

We can prevent its Members from using their positions of public trust to enrich themselves, to enrich their families, by banning stock trading among Members of Congress.

You see, as lawmakers, we write and pass bills that significantly impact the market. We do it on a daily basis. We sit on committees of jurisdiction that oversee entire sectors of America's economy. We have access to briefings and updates on a regular basis that provide nonpublic market information.

There is little to prohibit Members of Congress from using such privileged information to guide their personal selection of stocks.

In fact, in the last two decades, Members have made trades conspicuously timed around market-moving events, events shaped by information they had access to or legislation that they helped advance. Of course, this creates a direct conflict of interest between public duty and personal financial interest. And it is also a troubling double standard.

Most people say isn't insider trading a Federal crime for all Americans? And it is, but when it comes to Members of Congress trading on information gained through public service, enforcement is quite rare and very difficult to police.

So it is no wonder many Americans are convinced that the market is rigged for a privileged set of citizens who can manipulate it for their gain.

Now, to be fair, in 2012, Congress made some headway in addressing this unfairness. They passed the STOCK Act. This law, get this, mandates that lawmakers report stock trades over $1,000 within 30 days of the transaction. But the enforcement mechanism and initial fine of a mere $200 is virtually toothless.

So, the underlying problem remains, and it should not. Today, roughly 200 Members of Congress own shares in publicly traded companies.

Many of them, most of them, are good people. They are ethical people. They came here for all the right reasons, and many have not lost their way. And among those 200 Members, many sit on committees that craft policy for and conduct oversight on the very industries in which they invest.

In an era of deep partisanship, most Americans--no matter their political beliefs, their party, their underlying ideology, the geography in which they live, their gender, their age--they see this as a problem. How much of a problem?

Well, according to a survey conducted by the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy, 86 percent of our population supports a prohibition on congressional stock trading.

There aren't many issues like this. In a divided America, this could unify America. Our Congress could be unified by exercising the will of the American people and banning Members of Congress from trading stocks.

What do Republicans say? Mr. President, 87 percent of Republicans think this is a problem, think we should ban Members of Congress from trading stocks. You go across the country, almost 9 out of 10 Republicans you talk to will say we should do it.

And why have we not? What about Democrats? Mr. President, 87--88 percent, rather, of Democrats, almost 9 out of 10. Independents--81 percent.

So, listen, there are two bills that we already have. I don't need to draft a new bill. Let's recognize our colleagues' handiwork and get something important done.

Two bills that would accomplish this in the U.S. Senate: The first bill, the Stop Insider Trading Act, would just prevent Members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from trading individual stocks, and it would strengthen disclosure and enforcement requirements. And unlike current law, the bill would impose meaningful financial penalties for violations. Under this bill, lawmakers who fail to comply with the law's mandates would be fined the greater of $2,000--probably still not enough but enough maybe to get it passed through the Senate; we can increase it later--be fined the greater of $2,000 or 10 percent of the investment value, plus the forfeiture of any net gain realized from the sale.

The second bill, the Restore Trust in Congress Act, would prohibit Members of Congress from trading individual stock. It would establish guidelines for Members to divest existing holdings within a defined period. It would also empower congressional ethics offices to enforce compliance through meaningful penalties.

Now, look, there is no easy or quick way to restore complete trust in Congress, faith in this essential institution of democratic government. But prohibiting Members of Congress from leveraging their positions of public trust for personal enrichment would go a long way. I think most Americans would acknowledge that it would be a meaningful step toward that goal.

Passing these bills will ensure stock trading comes to an end in Congress and help restore trust in us, those who

serve. I would even call it--as a personal matter, it would be a gesture of self-respect for politicians to embrace this reform. It is what the people we represent want.

So I just ask my colleagues: Let us be beyond reproach. Let us avoid all appearances of impropriety. Let us not disappoint the American people again. It is time to ban Members of Congress from trading stock.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I have four requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mr. President, I cannot be the only Member of this body to notice that several words and phrases are used a lot less on the Senate floor these days. Among those words and phrases are ``open borders,'' ``illegal crossings,'' ``catch-and-release,'' and ``migration surges.''

You see, these terms have been dropped from our debates and are no longer in the news because President Trump and Republicans in Congress helped largely close the border--close the border to illegal immigrants.

With support from this President and this Republican Congress, our law enforcement personnel ceased catch-and-release and stopped the record migration surges.

This--this--is what the American people elected us to do: to end the chaos at the southern border and block the flow of illegal immigrants into our communities. And we did these things so effectively, it has almost gone unnoticed.

Of course, there were some Members who denied there was a crisis in the first place. There were all sorts of commentators who decided to look the other way. The numbers from one administration to the next tell a different story, though. Let's revisit those numbers.

From 2021 to 2024, over 10 million illegal immigrants crossed the southern border, and this was by design. You see, President Joe Biden paused deportations. He laxed requirements for asylum seekers. He ended construction of a border wall. If you go down there today, you see remnants of it. He suspended ``Remain in Mexico.''

The previous administration created an influx of illegal immigrants and, in the process, endangered public safety and taxed resources in communities along and far from the border.

These policies also undermined Americans' faith in legal immigration. They undermined faith in legal immigration. Yes, my constituents understand we are a nation of immigrants, but our faith was shaken because the previous administration prioritized lawbreakers over those who wished to come to America legally and embrace our values.

As soon as he was inaugurated, President Trump increased the number of troops along the southern border. He began deporting illegal immigrants, and he reinstated ``Remain in Mexico.''

And Republicans in Congress, we did our part too. In the Big Beautiful Bill passed by this Congress and signed into law by President Trump a year ago, we increased resources to secure the border and to combat drug smuggling and human trafficking across the Nation.

The bill contained funding for additional Border Patrol agents. As a result, the screening and vetting of illegal immigrants increased markedly. And we increased funding for the Department of Justice, and that enabled the hiring of additional immigration

judges to clear out the backlog of asylum cases.

Now, today, the results speak for themselves. These numbers are compelling. They are breathtaking. In November 2024, there were 106,333 reported border encounters. In January 2025, the number dropped to 61,465. Think about that. From November 2024 to January 2025, the number dropped from over 106,000 to 61,000. It was down to 8,000--8,326 to be exact--by the next month.

And a year later, in April 2026, apprehensions on the southern border were 94 percent lower than the monthly average during the Biden administration presidency. Imagine that: 94 percent lower.

What about the seizure of drugs? The seizure of drugs--cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and marijuana--has increased, by weight, 60 percent--60 percent--since just April of 2024. And we just marked an entire year of zero releases at the southern border.

Now, a nation that does not control its borders--that cannot enforce its laws--is a nation that willingly surrenders its sovereignty or, as Ronald Reagan once put it:

A nation that cannot control its borders is not truly a

nation.

Abandoning our right to determine who participates in that process-- indiscriminately allowing all comers to enter our country--it endangers our citizens, it burdens our taxpayers, and it makes a mockery of the rule of law.

It is also dangerous to the immigrants themselves, many of whom perish on their way to our southern border. Americans realized this, even if some of their leaders did not. And this is why President Trump and congressional Republicans acted with a bias for action so that we might end the border crisis.

And how can you tell? The relative silence in the mainstream media and on this floor from many of our Democratic colleagues tells you all you need to know.

I yield the floor.