Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following Senators be permitted to speak prior to the scheduled vote: Young for up to 5 minutes, Barrasso for up to 7 minutes, Stabenow for up to 5 minutes, and Cardin for up to 3 minutes.

Mr. President, during his State of the Union Address last week, President Biden spoke about solving the ongoing humanitarian crisis at our southern border, and he mentioned the name of Laken Riley. Laken Riley, as my colleagues know, lost her life--lost her life--because of that humanitarian crisis.

Laken was a 22-year-old college student. She was murdered by an illegal alien last month. The illegal alien had been previously cited for theft and shoplifting but was released.

Those who knew her described Laken as a shining light and kindhearted. Her calling in life was to care for others, and she was on her way to answering that calling, studying nursing at Augusta University, when she was murdered--murdered by a Venezuelan national who crossed our border illegally.

To Laken's family and friends: Your fellow Americans grieve with you. We are saddened by your loss. We pray and we hope that, in time, you will find comfort. We should all find comfort in the example that Laken leaves behind.

But let me not be the first to say--let me add my voice to the chorus of voices in emphasizing that words of condolence are not enough. It is far better for us to honor Laken's life by doing everything-- everything--within our power to ensure that no other family endures this or a similar tragedy.

So to President Biden, who said after his speech that he shouldn't have referred to Laken's murderer as an ``illegal,'' and to any of my colleagues who are offended by the use of that term: Let us dispense with misplaced outrage. Let's stop playing political word games. Let's speak as plainly as possible. The man who killed Laken Riley broke the law when he walked across our southern border. He shouldn't have been in our country. He was an illegal

immigrant. Had our border not been broken, had our immigration laws not been continually ignored, he wouldn't have been in Georgia, and Laken Riley would still be alive.

The man who killed Laken Riley was arrested in El Paso. He was then welcomed into the country with little obligation other than to follow the honor system, to show up for an appointment with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which he failed to do.

This is but one ripple in a wave--a wave--of illegal immigrants drawn toward and allowed into our border by design. In his first 100 days in office, President Biden signed 94 Executive orders to dismantle-- dismantle--his predecessor's border policies for the simple reason that those policies actually reduced illegal immigration. He ended the ``Remain in Mexico'' policy. He scaled back border enforcement. He revived catch-and-release. He halted deportations. He allowed title 42 to sunset. He abused our parole system, allowing millions of people into this country without proper vetting, overwhelming not just our law enforcement and communities along the border but also cities far from it, cities in my home State of Indiana. Last December alone, 300,000 people were processed at the southern border--an alltime high.

Mr. President, I would request 2 more minutes.

Mr. President, 9 million illegal immigrants have crossed our border during President Biden's Presidency. If only those among us would have spent as much time worrying about securing our southern border as they do about finding inoffensive terms to describe the man who illegally crossed it and then murdered Laken Riley.

For over 3 years, I have urged the Biden administration to reverse its border policies. Record levels of illegal crossings are a national security issue. We know that. But they are also a crime and drug use issue in the State of Indiana and across the country, tragically evidenced by Laken Riley's death. The chaos this administration's policies have caused isn't confined to Texas, nor is it confined to Arizona. Every State is a border State.

I appreciate the good-faith efforts of some of my colleagues--Senator Lankford most notably but others--to find bipartisan solutions to strengthen our border security. I will remain hopeful that we in Congress can find the path to improving our border security laws and to actually enforcing them. But the occupant of the Oval Office is not powerless to act.

At times, President Biden presents himself as a border hawk, waiting on Republicans to give him the tools to end the crisis he created. We should note: The President has routinely pushed the constitutional limits of his office in pursuit of political and policy goals, but now--now--he claims, when it comes to the border crisis, he is hemmed in from taking action by Congress.

Despite the tough talk, we regular Americans would be forgiven for concluding that this administration wants the crisis on our southern border to continue.

Prove us wrong, Mr. President. Fixing the border begins with you.

Mr. President, I rise today to salute Vermillion County, IN, on the occasion of its bicentennial, which occurred earlier this month.

I begin this tribute thousands of miles and an ocean away from West Central Indiana, in Iejima, which is an island off the coast of Okinawa. There in Iejima, in a park by the side of a road, stands a small monument made of white stone. There is a bronze plaque that is placed near its base, and it reads:

At this spot the 77th Infantry Division lost a buddy, Ernie

Pyle, 18th April 1945.

They weren't the only ones who lost a friend that day. No other writer so vividly captured the experiences of the American soldier or better chronicled the war that they fought during World War II than Ernie Pyle. The warmth and directness of Ernie Pyle's columns channeled the voice of the GI and communicated it clearly to the countrymen back home.

Pyle was by so many accounts America's greatest war correspondent. He was a shy farm boy from the town of Dana in Vermillion County. In fact, the house he was born in is still there. His writing style reflected his upbringing in the warmth of smalltown America and Hoosier common sense.

That monument that I mentioned near the spot he died is just one of the incredible things that Vermillion County's people have accomplished and how the values instilled there made them possible.

Now, I will allow that not all Americans have heard of this part of Indiana. After all, it is a small spot on the map, bounded to the east by the Wabash River--7 miles wide, 37 miles long--home to less than 16,000 citizens, but as Ernie Pyle's life demonstrates, we are all, each and every one of us, better off because of the Hoosiers who have called Vermillion County home.

They have done great things, and they have done them quietly, in and far away from their own communities. In fact, when our Union was in peril, our freedoms threatened, Vermillion County's residents answered the call again and again and again.

They fought in the siege of Vicksburg, suffered in the misery of Andersonville. Their bodies rest far from Vermillion County's Hoosier soil. They are in American cemeteries abroad. Their names can be found on the tablets of the lost. Their families still hold the Purple Hearts and hang the Gold Star banners.

These Hoosiers have not only defended America, but with their industriousness and creativity, they have contributed to all of our walks of life.

The area's first settlers discovered the richness of Vermillion County soil. Two centuries later, their descendants still work the land. In fact, hundreds of farms--many of them family-owned--help drive the local economy and feed our Nation.

Vermillion County has provided much else, though: leaders--leaders who have risen to Indiana's highest offices; but not just leaders-- explorers, actors, athletes, engineers, and, of course, one legendary journalist who was the voice of the American soldier and won the Pulitzer Prize.

The rich history of Vermillion County isn't simply characterized by a list of outbound citizens, though. It is also characterized by hopeful new arrivals.

At the end of the 19th century, the town of Clinton was a destination for Italian immigrants seeking employment in the nearby coal mines. They embraced their new home and their country, and they left a legacy in Vermillion County that is still visible and recalled every September. The Little Italy Festival is a 4-day celebration of Clinton's Italian heritage held almost every Labor Day since 1966. It is one of the most cherished local traditions.

With its small towns, their historic buildings, family businesses, its beautiful landscapes, and beloved covered bridges, Vermillion County is quintessential Indiana and quintessential America. But it is the Hoosiers who live there that we can celebrate on this anniversary.

A story Ernie Pyle recorded from ``good old Dana''--as he put it-- catches their spirit just as clearly as his reports from the front gave voice to the GIs. You see, when Pyle's mother suffered a stroke, she badly needed a hospital bed. There was only one in the entire county. It was the property of a family living 8 miles away. They were happy to loan it, but the Pyles had no way to transport their bed to their home. When he heard about this dilemma, one Claude Lockeridge, who lived just down the road from the Pyles, fired up his old Model T truck and drove 16 miles in the snow to fetch the bed.

It is a little gesture of kindness, perhaps, but a million of these are what makes America--and I would argue, it is what makes America great.

The occasion of its 200th anniversary is a fitting time not simply to honor Vermillion County but to remember--to remember how much our small towns and our local communities matter and how essential the decency, kindness, and patriotism found in places like Vermillion County is to our Republic.

To the people of Vermillion County, we join you in the celebration of your

bicentennial; we thank you for all you have done for our State and our country; and we look forward to the days ahead.

God bless.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, as a Senator from the State of Indiana, I just can't let February pass without offering a tribute to one of our State's favorite sons, Abraham Lincoln.

As we approach his birthday, we celebrate how Lincoln's story is perhaps the ultimate example of American opportunity. Lincoln spent the formative days of his childhood in the Hoosier wilderness, and he ultimately rose from the humblest of circumstances: a log cabin all the way up to the White House.

As President, he helped preserve our Union and end slavery, setting a course so that all Americans, regardless of race or circumstances, could follow his upwards path. Lincoln challenged America to honor the promise in its Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal. And he reminds us still today that if we fail to do so, government by consent of the governed cannot long endure.

I think all of us here in the U.S. Senate today can attest these are difficult times. We face all sorts of challenges, foreign and domestic; and therefore, our politics are difficult. But I would argue--and I do so here today--that the politics we are facing today aren't nearly as difficult as those that Abraham Lincoln faced.

During a week like this, where passions run high, we have had numerous

debates behind closed doors and on this floor, we should keep perspective, and we should avoid dramatic comparisons and take dire predictions with a grain of salt.

But concern about the national discourse which informs our political system is indeed well founded. Dialogue between Americans so essential to the maintenance of a democratic republic has coarsened and reached the point that at times, it scarcely resembles conversation. This form of estrangement leads to hurt feelings, separateness, civil dysfunction. And my fear and what brings me down to this floor--not just to honor a great man--I fear that this portends much worse divisions moving forward.

Abraham Lincoln knew this. He understood this dynamic. Decades before the Civil War, he identified a remedy in an address that upset the residents of Springfield, IL. You see, 19th century America was awash with passionate reform movements, much like today, in the great American tradition. Many of their followers sought to cure societal ills with great zeal and commitment.

One example was the temperance movement--sort of a dated term--but the temperance movement was a campaign against drinking the ``demon rum,'' alcoholic beverages. On February 22, 1842, the 110th anniversary of George Washington's birthday, Abraham Lincoln spoke to a gathering of reformers at Springfield's Second Presbyterian Church, as part of a temperance festival. It must have been a grand old time.

Lincoln was 33 years old. He was a member of Illinois' House of Representatives. And as he later said, he was ``an old line Whig.'' It was a political party whose base, to borrow a modern term, included members of social reform movements. But Lincoln did not use this occasion to curry favor with his base. No. Instead, Abraham Lincoln offered advice that is still relevant to us today.

The invitation to speak came from Springfield's chapter of the Washingtonian Temperance Society. This organization was founded 2 years prior in Baltimore by six friends, all recovering alcoholics. In a short period of time, the Washingtonians started a revolution in treating addiction. The society's numbers quickly swelled just a few years after its founding. Chapters spread across the country, into the frontier.

In the Washingtonians' success, Lincoln recognized a particular means of building coalitions and addressing intractable problems. At its core was something especially relevant, I would argue, in our era of addition by subtraction, as he put it, ``persuasion''--``. . . persuasion, kind, unassuming persuasion.''

Previous efforts to curb alcoholism, you see, as Lincoln recounted, were often self-righteous in their nature--perhaps that characterization sounds familiar to some when we reflect on the current discourse--self-righteous in their nature and impractical in their demands. Lest I sound quaint, that rings a bit true to me when we reflect on present-day Washington and the debates we sometimes have on this floor.

The Washingtonian's approach and expectations differed, and that is why they were successful. They damned the drink but not the drinker. Their cure, such as it was, was based in compassion, based in understanding, not condemnation. They saw a fellow citizen suffering from the disease as a friend in need of help, not a helpless sinner.

Lincoln contrasted the approach and effect of the Washingtonians with their predecessors, the older reformers. The older reformers, Lincoln recalled, communicated ``in the thundering tones of anathema and denunciation.''

Now, we are all, no matter our political persuasion, familiar with those ``thundering tones.'' The truth is, we are all guilty. We are all guilty of those ``thundering tones'' from time to time. And perhaps, from time to time, those thundering tones are appropriate and necessary, and they have a great deal of impact when used sparingly. We are all guilty from time to time, forgetting that we are erring men and women.

But Lincoln suggested a gentler alternative: ``It is an old and a true maxim,'' he reasoned, ``that a `drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall.' '' That is how the Hoosier put it.

It is that drop of honey, Lincoln continued, which draws men and women to our sides, convinces them we are indeed friends. Friends--this from one of the most intelligent, successful, effective, polemicist debaters, litigators, and politicians in all of human history; he regarded his opponents as friends.

And this, in his words, is ``the great highroad'' to their reason:

[W]hen once gained, you will find but little trouble in

convincing his judgment of the justice of your cause, if

indeed that cause really be a just one.

Some Lincolnian humanity mixed in with age-old wisdom.

Now, across our politics and in our media, we seem so convinced sometimes of our justness, of our cause, that it has become in vogue to cancel--a modern term, ``cancel''--the other side and chase away those on our own who do not see them, that other side, as enemies--tribalism, unleashed.

Where does this tribalistic impulse to cancel and ostracize lead us? It is an easy way to get booked on television these days. It is guaranteed to increase the number of social media followers you have. It might even rile up a rally or a crowd from time to time. But Abraham Lincoln, before the age of social media, predicted exactly where this would lead us.

Deem a fellow citizen a foe ``to be shunned and despised, and he will retreat within himself, close all the avenues to his head and his heart . . .''--it is human nature and, therefore, unchanged and unchangeable. ``Such is man,'' he continued, ``and so must he be understood by those who would lead him, even to his own best interest.''

Abraham Lincoln believed that the American Revolution defied human history by proving men and women capable of governing themselves. Our original birth of freedom led to the design of a republic, a republic in which citizens decide what is in their best interest. Determining it often requires passionate, loud, angry debates properly circumscribed by a social, moral, ethical framework. It includes a balance with generous measures of trust and understanding. An absence of this balance gives way to discord, and that discord makes us all weaker-- collectively weaker, even individually weaker.

On the surface, Lincoln's speech in 1842 was about a means of combating alcoholism and achieving reforms. Look deeper, though. Its passages still today illustrate how we can continue to prove history wrong together. Remember--remember the power of reason even in our most passionate arguments. Find the empathy to form a bridge to our estranged countrymen--they are out there--and allow forbearance toward those among them we may disagree with--forbearance.

Abraham Lincoln relied on these values throughout his career even in America's darkest hour. They remain vital to our national harmony and to our common good. So, as we mark the occasion of Lincoln's birthday in 2024, we should call on these values once again.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Yes.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Rick Fuson, who is retiring after 40 years of devoted work for the Indiana Pacers.

Rick Fuson is a lifelong Hoosier. He was born in Indianapolis and attended Indiana University, where he played football and earned his degree in political science. Rick began working for the Pacers organization in 1984 as director of special events, and he rose steadily through the ranks. He was promoted to executive senior vice president of Pacers Sports and Entertainment in 2001, chief operating officer in 2008, and president and CEO in 2014.

During his 40 years with the Pacers, Rick has played a vital role not just in reshaping the Pacers organization, but in revitalizing downtown Indianapolis. He helped oversee the construction of a new arena, now known as Gainbridge Fieldhouse. And he promoted it not only as the home of the Indiana Pacers, but as a multipurpose venue that could bring considerable economic opportunities to the Hoosier State.

His roles as a longtime executive board member of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, Visit Indy, the Downtown Indy, Inc., and many other organizations have put him at the center of the capital city's evolution into a global center for live sports and entertainment, arts and culture, and business.

In retirement, Rick and his wife Karen hope to spend more time with their children and grandchildren. It is my honor to thank Mr. Fuson for his tireless devotion to the Indiana Pacers and the city of Indianapolis.

Mr. President, I rise today to honor the service of Mr. James M. Cooper to Indiana's State banking system and in recognition of his retirement from the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, or CSBS. Jim has been an essential member of the CSBS team for over 10 years, first leading the CSBS policy and supervision team and, for the past 18 months, serving as president and chief executive officer of CSBS, bringing direction, leadership, and compassion after the sudden death of former CSBS president and chief executive officer John W. Ryan.

During his tenure, Jim helped to advance the State system's strategy for strengthening and streamlining State regulation, known as Networked Supervision, and provided stability during a time of stress for the banking system. Jim brought innovation to State supervision and CSBS's core mission, particularly advancing data and analytics for the State system.

In Jim's 40-year career, he proved himself to be a dedicated public servant to the State of Indiana. After graduating from Hanover College in Hanover, IN, he had a distinguished 30-year career at the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions, where he served as deputy director from 1994 to 2013. In that role, he oversaw the supervision and examination of all State-chartered depository institutions in Indiana, including banks, credit unions, corporate fiduciaries, savings banks, and savings associations.

Throughout his career, Jim has worked diligently to ensure a safe and sound financial services environment, including during the most tumultuous times in our economy. During the great recession and the more recent 2023 bank closures, Jim showed his steadfast ability to manage a difficult situation and minimize the effects of disruption within the industry.

I know Jim will be missed by CSBS and the entire State banking system, and I wish him the best in his retirement.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the 40th anniversary of the Center for Excellence in Education, CEE.

When Admiral Rickover and Joan DiGennaro founded CEE in 1983, they set out on an ambitious mission to nurture high school and university scholars towards esteemed careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics--STEM. Since its founding, CEE's renowned Research Science Institute has collaborated with brilliant scholars from all 50 U.S. States and an impressive 61 countries. Further showcasing CEE's impact, the USA Biolympiad competition has had over 10,000 students participate, with the U.S. team achieving many gold medals. Additionally, the Teacher Enrichment Program and STEM Lyceums provide transformative learning opportunities for teachers, especially those in underserved and rural areas.

As an honorary trustee of CEE, I am consistently impressed with the organization's unwavering commitment to advancing STEM education. Through my lens as a legislator, I recognize the critical importance of STEM education as we navigate the challenges posed by global competitors in domains spanning advanced mathematics, artificial intelligence, and biosecurity. STEM will undeniably shape the future economy, and I wholeheartedly commend CEE's efforts to inspire and equip our youth with the necessary skills for a flourishing future.

It is my honor to recognize and congratulate the Center for Excellence in Education on its 40th anniversary.

Mr. President, we are back here again on the floor of the U.S. Senate. It is early in the morning. Why are we down here?

We are down here to keep faith with those officers in the military, members of their families, and those who will follow them--that when members of our military spend their entire professional lives building up experiences--leadership experiences, experiences in battle-- obtaining multiple degrees, making countless sacrifices back home, that their careers won't be interrupted by politics that they have got nothing at all to do with.

Let me go through five areas: first, areas of agreement with my good friend--and he is my good friend, Senator Tuberville. I sit right next to

him, and I have a lot of respect for Senator Tuberville. He and I share agreement on pro-life principles. We are both, in every respect--our policies, our convictions, our public statements, our past history-- strongly pro-life. I don't think anyone questions that.

We also believe that the President's actions as it relates to these policies--the ones that he and I find objectionable--to transport our servicemembers out of State to obtain abortions using taxpayer money is patently illegal. We think it should be challenged.

Second point: We do have disagreements on this, but they are tactical disagreements, not grounded in principle--tactical disagreements that we are trying to find alternatives to. The reason I don't think this current approach is even constructive is because, as many of my colleagues have already stated, it punishes those brave servicemembers who didn't develop the policy and can't change it, and that, therefore, breeds a lot of frustration and even cynicism about our elected officials.

Fourth, this is a dangerous time, something I underscored last time I was down here to talk about this. It is a time of war. The United States blessedly is not involved in that war actively. We don't have boots on the ground, but we have been actively resourcing our friends and partners. It is a dangerous and precarious time for our friends. God forbid, some sort of escalation occurs. We don't want to get pulled into that. We have a porous southern border. We need our best team on the field.

And the last point I really want to emphasize tonight is that this is personal to me. This is personal to this U.S. Senator. I proudly represent the people of Indiana in this institution, but I have a history serving in other areas, serving with other individuals.

I proudly graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1995, and, this evening, I will be calling to the floor from the Executive Calendar the names of seven individuals who have been nominated for the rank of rear admiral (lower half).

They were classmates of mine. Our class is really proud of these individuals. I think there is broad acknowledgment that they have earned this opportunity to lead at the highest level in the best military that ever was, and I want to do my part to give them that opportunity. I am asking Senator Tuberville to do his part.

``Non sibi sed patriae.'' It is the motto of the class of 1995. ``Not self, but country.'' ``Non sibi sed patriae.''

So I am asking an exception to be made for my classmates here, these seven individuals and seven patriots of whom I am quite proud.

So, Mr. President, with that in mind, I call to the floor Executive Calendar No. 104, CAPT Kurtis A. Mole, to the grade of Rear Admiral (lower half).

Captain Mole enlisted in the Navy in 1988, becoming a cryptologic technician and attending the prestigious Defense Language Institute, or DLI, in Monterey. Captain Mole went on to attend the Naval Academy, earning a commission in 1995 as a surface warfare officer.

After his redesignation as a cryptologic warfare officer in 2000, he went on to serve in many positions, including the senior cryptologist for the USS Kittyhawk Strike Group, the information officer for the commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, the information warfare commander for USS Ronald Reagan Strike Group, and the commanding officer of NSA/ CSS Hawaii.

Captain Mole has been deployed multiple times to the Arabian Gulf and the Western Pacific--an amazing career.

And we can confirm this nomination by voice vote right now.

And, therefore, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of the following nomination: CAPT Kurtis A. Mole to be Rear Admiral (lower half) in the U.S. Navy, under Calendar No. 104; that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, I do hope the President of the United States and Secretary Austin heed the entreaties of my esteemed colleague representing the State of Utah.

With that, I call to the floor Executive Calendar No. 105, CAPT Thomas J. Dickinson to the grade of Rear Admiral.

Captain Dickinson was also a classmate of mine at the U.S. Naval Academy. He was commissioned in 1995 and became a surface warfare officer.

He has held numerous positions, most with a high level of expertise. These include his time as a weapons officer and combat systems officer aboard the USS The Sullivans and commanding officer aboard the USS Barry. Most notably, during his command tour of the USS Barry, he completed a 9-month ballistic missile defense deployment in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and earned the Battle Effectiveness Award, being recognized for its crew's high levels of sustained proficiency and readiness.

Captain Dickinson is currently serving as the commander of the Naval Surface Warfare Center and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in an acting capacity until his promotion is processed.

We can confirm this nomination by voice vote tonight, right now. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of the following nomination: CAPT Thomas J. Dickinson to be Rear Admiral (lower half) in the U.S. Navy under Calendar No. 105; that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that, if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, there are now tens--tens--of Americans watching us on C-SPAN2, captivated, I know, by the presentation this evening. I think they are perhaps divided. Some may look upon these proceedings and think: What a functional U.S. Senate. Every voice must be heard. Every perspective must be delivered. Every phrase must be uttered.

Others will say, perhaps, it is dysfunction, perhaps there is an effort to obfuscate.

I don't know what they will conclude, but I do know that I intend to continue reading through these brave patriots' class of 1995 U.S. Naval Academy graduates who have been nominated to the grade of Rear Admiral (lower half). And we are very proud of it. And I hope they can be confirmed later this evening.

So I will be proceeding and reading each of their biographies, fused together, indeed, in a strength, without any intervening parliamentary request which might be seized upon for C-SPAN viewership.

Navy CAPT Neil Koprowski to the grade of Rear Admiral. Captain Koprowski has served in the U.S. Navy since receiving his commission in 1995. Did I say it? 1995. He has held numerous operational assignments, including commanding officer post of the USS San Antonio and the USS Kearsarge. Captain Koprowski currently serves as the commander for U.S. Naval Forces Korea and U.S. Navy Region Korea, a posting that handles the highly competitive regional challenges we face today.

Captain Koprowski has also received many awards in his career, including the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Joint Service Commendation Medal.

CAPT Lincoln M. Reifsteck to the grade of Rear Admiral. Captain Reifsteck has served his country since graduating from the Naval Academy in 1995.

Did I mention he and I were classmates?

He has held numerous assignments, including as the commanding officer of the USS Hampton, the division chief of the Nuclear Operations Division for the Joint Staff, and commodore of Submarine Development Squadron 5.

Captain Reifsteck currently serves as the branch head of the Undersea Warfare Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.

CAPT Frank A. Rhodes IV has also been nominated to the grade of Rear Admiral. CAPT Frank Rhodes has been serving in the Navy since 1995. He graduated from the Naval Academy. We were classmates. He served in numerous positions, including commanding officer of Strike Fighter Squadron 81 and the air wing commander of Carrier Air Wing 3.

Captain Rhodes has been serving in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations for over 4 years, where he has been the Carrier Strike Aircraft and Weapons branch head and the executive assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations.

Then we have CAPT Forrest O. Young, also nominated to the grade of Rear Admiral. Captain Young served in the Navy for almost 30 years. He graduated from the Naval Academy. We were, of course, classmates. And he thereafter became an accomplished fighter pilot. He held operational commands around the world, including time as commander of Strike Fighter Squadron 105, commander of Carrier Air Wing 5, and time as an instructor as a Navy Top Gun.

Captain Young most recently served as director of Aviation Officer Career Management and Distribution Division, Navy Personnel Command.

CAPT Craig T. Mattingly, also nominated to grade of Rear Admiral. Over Captain Mattingly's 28-year career, he has led squadrons on deployments supporting EUCOM, AFRICOM, and CENTCOM, areas of responsibility as commander of multiple task groups.

His major command tour was commander of Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11. During his tenure as commodore, CPRW-11 supported global initiatives to include the inaugural INDOPACOM deployments of the MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aerial System and P-8A Poseidon Advanced Airborne Sensor, as well as the P-3C Littoral Surveillance Radar System.

Mattingly's most recent assignment was serving as senior military adviser of the Secretary of the Navy. He has accumulated more than 3,900 flight hours in the P-3 Orion and P-8 Poseidon aircraft and served on teams that have received various awards and recognition.

He, too, was a classmate of mine, class of 1995.

And I am most hopeful each of these individuals can, ultimately, be confirmed, as my good friend and respected colleague, with whom I share deep pro-life convictions, Senator Tuberville contemplates a more constructive policy.

We have visited in that regard. He is working hard toward that end. I know he wants to accomplish that.

Having offered that thought, I am going to yield to Senator Ernst of Iowa.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 15 minutes prior to the scheduled rollcall vote.

Mr. President, days before he died, Frederick Knefler composed a letter of instruction to be read once he was gone. There was, he wrote, to be no memorial service or expensive coffin. His funeral should be private and simple, attended only by a handful of fellow Hoosier veterans. When it was lowered into the ground, his body should be wrapped in an American flag.

Republics such as ours are uncommon. It is of great value for us, its citizens, to recall our blessings, and it is our heroes who provide that reminder. Although he was born an ocean away from America, Frederick Knefler dedicated his life to defending those blessings. He was one of those heroes. As a contemporary remarked after his death, ``No descendent of a Mayflower Pilgrim was ever more wholly or intensely American than he.''

As we mark Veterans Day, his story is worth sharing. He was a Jewish immigrant; one of the soldiers who saved our Union; a private citizen who spent his final days building a still-inspiring monument to their example.

Before he ever set foot in America, though, as a teenager, he had already fought in a civil war, the Hungarian Revolution. Its failure and the sorry state of liberty across Europe inspired Knefler to look elsewhere for freedom. He found it across the Atlantic. He and his family arrived in New York and then settled in Indiana in 1850. There, they were among the earliest members of the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, the city's first and today its oldest synagogue family.

Knefler fell in love with America. He embraced its laws, customs, and institutions. He even taught himself English by reading Shakespeare. Then he moved on to military history and tactics.

In 1861, when the Southern States deserted the Union, Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers to form an army to bring them back. Knefler, whose adoration of America was equaled only by his hatred of slavery, answered the call. He vowed he wouldn't do a day's work until the war was over and the Nation reunited.

True to his word, he left his job as a clerk and enlisted in the spring of 1861, after the bombardment of Fort Sumter, and he didn't return to civilian life

until the summer of 1865, after the surrender at Appomattox Court House. He joined Indiana's 11th Regiment, serving as lieutenant to Lew Wallace, and then was promoted to colonel of the 79th Indiana Infantry.

Knefler's language was notoriously gruff. In fact, Governor Oliver Morton was so offended by his profanity that he was hesitant to offer him a military appointment.

He was a man of strong opinions. ``A talk with him was like a stiff breeze,'' a friend once said. His men labored greatly under relentless discipline and constant drilling but came to admire their leader. And he whipped the 79th into a formidable fighting machine.

From their organization in Indianapolis in 1862 till they mustered out in Nashville in 1865 as part of the Armies of the Ohio and then the Cumberland, these Hoosiers saw action:

At the deadly Union victory at Stones River, which helped embolden Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation; at the disaster at Chickamauga, which sent a damaged Army of the Cumberland into retreat; with William Tecumseh Sherman, as he marched through Georgia, captured Atlanta, and cut off Confederate supplies, leading to Abraham Lincoln's reelection and the South's defeat.

But it was in November 1863 from the foot of Missionary Ridge that the 79th ascended into history. You see, at that time, the Army of the Cumberland was cornered and cut off in Chattanooga. Winter neared; rations were low; soldiers were starving and disheartened. The Confederate Army arrayed its artillery and waited for the Yankees to surrender. Jefferson Davis himself even arrived to take in the scene and predicted that victory was near.

As Knefler recalled, the ``gift of prophecy'' was not the Confederate president's strong point. Desperate to break the siege, General Joseph Hooker's men climbed and took Lookout Mountain on November 24. On the following afternoon, the 25th, Union soldiers mounted an offensive, and they cleared the rebels from the base of Missionary Ridge.

Then, without orders, they spontaneously--Knefler said they were guided by a ``mighty impulse,''--they spontaneously followed the retreating enemy up the steep ridge. When the Confederates looked down, they saw a flood of blue rising up. The Rebels unleashed shells, shot, and rifle balls down the mountain. Soon the entire ridge was enveloped in a cloud of gray smoke, shooting off lightning bolts of musket fire. The 79th, joined by another Indiana regiment, the 86th, charged up through it.

Through the fierce fighting and incredible determination, they took Missionary Ridge. They sent the enemy into retreat, and they broke its lock on Chattanooga.

That defeat heralded, as a rebel lamented, the death knell of the Confederacy. General Ulysses S. Grant later recalled that Frederick Knefler was the first field officer to reach the top of Missionary Ridge.

At the conclusion of the conflict, Knefler was breveted as Brigadier General, the highest ranking Jewish officer to fight in the Civil War. This Hoosier returned to Indianapolis. He settled into private life. He practiced law. He advocated for fellow veterans.

Fittingly, the final years of his life were dedicated to the construction of a monument to them in Indianapolis.

In 1895, when the long-discussed project reached an impasse, Indiana appointed Knefler to lead the board of regents responsible for rescuing the project. Knefler threw himself obsessively into the work, raising money, scrutinizing design plans, fixating on details, dealing with temperamental artists.

When a sculptor complained the model of a figure representing ``peace'' was not wearing an overcoat, as he intended, Knefler reminded him that when the Union men came home in 1865, it was summer. ``Who ever heard of a soldier wearing a big overcoat in July?'' he snapped at the sculptor.

Because of Knefler's exertions and urgency--he desperately wanted the monument finished while veterans of the Civil War remained--the Soldiers and Sailors Monument was dedicated on May 15, 1902. On that day, bands played, battle flags waved, soldiers marched, statesmen delivered speeches, and crowds wept at the foot of a towering column, built of Indiana limestone, of course.

Among the thousands of attendees, Knefler was absent. He had died the year before. But in the days leading up to his death, stricken with disease, he worked to honor his promise that the monument would be ``as great a work of art as the world ever saw.'' He didn't live to see it complete, but that work of art would have been neither great nor completed without him.

Folks, we don't celebrate Veterans Day in order to venerate war but, rather, to reflect on its horrible cost. But we also honor our veterans like Frederick Knefler on this holiday for the same reason we build monuments to them, doing these things reminds us what is precious, and that what is precious is fragile.

For over two centuries, this Nation, however imperfectly, has been a rare outpost of freedom, an outpost of tolerance in a world where both, throughout history, were the exception, not the norm.

Look to the monument Knefler worked so hard to raise, the focal point of Indiana's capital city. On its crown sits a brown statue of Lady Victory, her arm outstretched, the torch of liberty in her hand. Below stand statues of the Hoosier soldiers and sailors, who risked and gave their lives to protect it, to preserve the sacred pledge that all men are created equal.

This Nation, with its singular values, has endured thanks to our veterans. Men and women--to use Knefler's words--of ``heroic mold,'' who have ``held it with fire and steel.''

So on Veterans Day, we give them our deepest gratitude and our pledge, our pledge to do our part to guarantee what they have held is never lost.

Mr. President, I thank the President for the recognition.

Let me begin with the obvious because I think Senator Graham did a great job of laying out what is at stake. He offered multiple arguments for why these amazing patriots who dedicated their professional lives to defending our safety, our security, our way of life should be promoted and should be promoted this evening.

But a different take is just to begin with the obvious: We are in the midst of the most complicated and, therefore, the most complex and perilous security environment that I have ever experienced in my adult lifetime, certainly.

Israel, our closest friend, our ally, is at war. Ukrainian freedom fighters remain at war against our adversary, Russia. We have a porous southern border. Last month alone, we had 18 individuals apprehended who are--just those who were apprehended--who are on the Terrorist Watchlist. There are all sorts of concerns about what might happen in the Indo-Pacific amidst this environment. We need a fully staffed, fully competent, fully engaged, and focused security establishment.

We need these individuals to be put in place to assume the jobs that they are prepared for. So the security environment is incredibly dangerous. That means Mr. Tuberville's constituents in Alabama, my constituents in Indiana, and Americans all across the country, all across the world, their safety and security is in danger amidst this perilous time. So that is unique, but what is also unique is the number of holds.

My friend--and he is my friend. He is a genuine friend. I have got a lot of respect for this man, Senator Tuberville, to my right. But the number of holds is certainly extraordinary. I think he would concede that because he is also a smart colleague.

The length of the holds is extraordinary as well, but the tactics here, this is something that Senator Sullivan, who showed great leadership on this issue, Senator Ernst, myself, and many other colleagues have questioned. I am fervently, I am passionately, I am unapologetically pro-life in conviction and in deed. My reputation is untarnished, and it is unambiguous in that regard.

So I have every interest in seeing that we assume a smart tactic, a smart game plan, if you will. And to hold responsible, effectively, 300 nominated patriots who ought to be pinning on a star or another star right now--hold them professionally responsible for this and, by extension, to undermine the safety and security of the American people during this perilous time just doesn't make any sense to me.

Instead, it makes more sense for us to hold accountable someone whom the President has nominated to fill the policy position at the Pentagon who would actually oversee implementation and administration of this horrible policy. I said that publicly, and to the extent Mr. Tuberville would remain open--to put it indelicately--to taking that hostage, I would be open to that tactic. But because that is not the case, we have a disagreement here, and it is going to have to be reconciled. I know Senator Tuberville wants to be a good teammate, a good pro-life teammate and a good national security teammate. There is an opportunity here for him to agree to at least--to at least--allow the following patriot to be confirmed this evening.

Mr. President, I call to the floor Executive Calendar No. 131, VADM Karl Thomas, U.S. Navy, to be Vice Admiral and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session for consideration of the following nomination, Executive Calendar No. 131, Karl Thomas, to be Vice Admiral and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Director of Naval Intelligence; that the Senate vote on the nomination of this esteemed individual, with whom I visited when I was in Japan earlier this year, without intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider would be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Madam President, I call to the floor Executive Calendar No. 238, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Kruse, U.S. Air Force, to be Lieutenant General and Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

General Kruse currently serves as the Director's Advisor for Military Affairs at the Office of the DNI. This is a post he has held since 2020. One need not have me explain to them--especially if they are tuned in to matters of national security--the importance of our Defense Intelligence Agency at a time like this.

Previously, Mr. Kruse served as the Director for Defense Intelligence for Warfighter Support in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.

Prior to his OSD and interagency roles, General Kruse served as the Director for Intelligence at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, deployed as Director of Intelligence for Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, and served as Senior Special Advisor for the Commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

He has commanded Air Force units at all levels across seemingly every geography, and he has deployed on multiple occasions to combat theaters around the globe.

Feeling good about this one. We can confirm this nomination by voice vote right now.

Feeling really good, Senator Tuberville.

It is for that reason that I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of Executive Calendar No. 238, Jeffrey A. Kruse to be Lieutenant General and Director, Defense Intelligence Agency.

I further request that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that, if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Well, I call to the floor Executive Calendar No. 188, Lt. Gen. Kevin B. Schneider, U.S. Air Force, to be General and the Commander of Pacific Air Forces.

General Schneider has been serving as the Director of Staff for the Air Force since 2021. He has commanded at all levels, including a combat wing in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. General Schneider is a command pilot with more than 4,000 flight hours, with 530 combat flight hours on multiple airframes. He has also earned numerous commendations, including the Bronze Star and the Air Medal.

We can confirm this nomination by voice vote right now. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of the following nomination: Executive Calendar No. 188, Kevin B. Schneider, to be General and the Commander of Pacific Air Forces; that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Madam President, that being the case, I call to the floor Executive Calendar No. 107, Lt. Gen. James W. Bierman, Jr., USMC, to be Lieutenant General and the Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies, and Operations for Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps.

General Bierman has held numerous command postings, most recently serving as the Commander of the Third Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Forces Japan. He has shown a true commitment to service in this posting, ensuring that marines remain prepared to face any future threats. General Bierman has also deployed multiple times, including to Afghanistan and Iraq, where he led marines in combat operations. His many commendations include the Bronze Star with Combat Distinguishing Device and the Legion of Merit.

We can confirm this nomination by voice vote right now. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of the following nomination: Executive Calendar No. 107, James W. Bierman, Jr., to be Lieutenant General and Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies, and Operations, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps; that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon

the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Having heard that objection, Madam President, I call to the floor Executive Calendar No. 132, Lt. Gen. Michael S. Cederholm, U.S. Marine Corps, to be Lieutenant General and Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

General Cederholm has been Deputy Commandant for Aviation since July 2022, a position he held with high distinction. He has held many operational assignments, including in U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command and as a TOPGUN Instructor Pilot. He has flown operational tours in all aircraft that the Marine Corps has to offer. General Cederholm has held numerous other assignments, including the deployments in furtherance of Operation Enduring Freedom, Joint Task Force Southern Watch, and Iraqi Freedom. He has also served in many Commanding Officer postings, including Commanding General of Task Force Baltic Watchtower and Commanding General of 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.

We can confirm this nomination by voice vote right now. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of the following nomination: Executive Calendar No. 132, Michael S. Cederholm, to be Lieutenant General and Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force; that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Madam President, I am going to make one further attempt.

I call to the floor Executive Calendar No. 84, RADM George M. Wikoff, USN, to be Vice Admiral and Commander, Fifth Fleet.

Admiral Wikoff currently serves as Acting Commander for Naval Air Forces. He began his career serving as a naval aviator, moving up to command Strike Fighter Squadron 211, Strike Fighter Squadron 122, Carrier Air Wing 3, and Carrier Strike Group 5. Among many command assignments, General Wikoff has notably served as the Commander of Strike Fighter Squadron 211, Carrier Air Wing 3, and Strike Fighter Squadron 122. His shore assignments include a posting at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, as a TOPGUN Training Officer, as Battle Director at the Combined Air and Space Operations Center in Qatar, and many other critical postings.

We can confirm this nomination by voice vote right now. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of the following nomination: Executive Calendar No. 84, RADM George M. Wikoff, to be Vice Admiral and Commander, Fifth Fleet; that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Eddie Hughes on 60 years of service at UPS.

Eddie Hughes was born in Mt. Pleasant, MS, and moved to Indianapolis to take a job with UPS in 1963. His only hiatus came from 1965-1966, when Eddie served his country in the U.S. Army. Originally a package handler, Eddie became a UPS driver in 1968, a position he still holds to this day. During his 55 years in his current role, Eddie has driven an estimated 4.62 million miles making deliveries to Hoosiers. He has joined the company's ``Circle of Honor,'' a distinction given to drivers who have amassed more than 25 years of safe driving.

Eddie and Mary, his wife of 42 years, live in Indianapolis. They have two adult children, William and Mary Elizabeth.

It is my honor to congratulate Mr. Hughes and his family on this remarkable milestone.

Madam President, throughout their history, the children of Israel have known persecution and sorrow. They have lived in exile and enslavement. They have faced bigotry and violence. Entire nations and civilizations have sought to extinguish them and vanished, but the Jewish people remain, and, against all odds, millions of their descendants gathered together in the Holy Land and founded a nation.

Today, Israel is a vibrant democracy in the Middle East and a strong ally of the United States of America. Many people of faith would say the existence and perseverance of the State of Israel is itself evidence of divine providence.

Yet, even today--even today--Israel faces existential threats. On October 7, Hamas terrorists carried out the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust: the slaughter of 1,400 people; the decapitation of babies; the execution of grandmothers; and the taking of nearly 200 hostages, including children, women, seniors, and American citizens. Thirty Americans were among the murdered--30 Americans. Many of our fellow citizens have friends and family in Israel.

Regardless of our faith, we are all, I know, heartbroken for the loss and sickened--sickened--by the cruelty. And, on behalf of the Hoosiers I represent, I want to express my deepest condolences to the people of Israel as they mourn and pray and bury the dead.

As it has since its founding, against alliances of far larger nations and armies, this country, which is four times smaller than Indiana, will defend itself, and America will be here for Israel and support its right to confront this violence, this barbarism. We will do this because our values are the same: dedication to liberty and order, to tolerance, and to human dignity.

Make no mistake, the days ahead will be difficult. As Members of this body know too well, Israel is still under threat, and the risk of additional fronts opening up is real.

Over the past several days, I have been heartened by the strong bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate for the people of Israel. During this time of peril, this body cannot succumb to isolationism. We cannot abandon Israel any more than we can abandon our friends in Ukraine or Taiwan. On urgent matters of national security, we are stronger when we stand together, and in the difficult days ahead, we will work to support the people of Israel. I know we will continue that spirit.

Relatedly, I call on the Biden administration to consult and closely work with this Congress to quickly fulfill--

quickly fulfill--any urgent Israeli requests for assistance and do all we can to fully support Israel.

Now, colleagues, the Constitution of the United States lays out our responsibilities. Congress--Congress--has an important constitutional role in determining how the United States will respond to any additional acts of aggression.

As we support and stand with our allies, we also must be crystal clear about what has happened. The attacks on the people of Israel orchestrated by Hamas were barbaric, depraved--they were evil. Long supported by the Iranian regime, Hamas's stated mission is to destroy the Jewish people.

That is right--at the core of Hamas burns an age-old sickness: anti- Semitism. It was the twisted inspiration for their massacre. This broken thinking, this horrific ideology liberates not a single life; instead, tragically, it will cost only more, including those of innocent Palestinian civilians.

For the past 15 years, many peacekeeping Palestinians in Gaza have had their lives upended and exploited by the Hamas terrorist group. We acknowledge their suffering. We hope for change.

Those in our media, on our college campuses, or even those serving in government who ascribe the actions of Hamas to anything else other than hatred; those who are so quick to decry injustices elsewhere but place murder and rape in some sort of perspective; those who provide context for savagery; those who sigh that both sides are equally guilty--to all of you, I say you are providing cover for monsters.

The world view of Hamas must be added to the rollcall of evil ideologies that failed to destroy the Jewish people. And that is why we must stand with Israel. That is why. But that alone is not enough. You see, the murder of thousands of Jews brought reminders of the Holocaust and echoes of Russian pogroms and so many centuries of trials and tragedies. So we must also stand vigilant against and always oppose anti-Semitism wherever it appears, whatever movement it is attached to, whatever banner it marches underneath.

In these difficult days, we echo the old prayer sung across synagogues to the Jewish people:

May God have mercy on them and remove them from distress to

relief, from darkness to light, from subjugation to

redemption, now, speedily, and soon.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, ``Let us all strive to make selfless service great again.'' Lt. Col. Kent Lundy opened this Chamber in prayer today.

When the Constitutional Convention reached an impasse in the summer of 1787, the oldest delegate offered a suggestion to the assembled. Rather than searching in the dark for truth, Benjamin Franklin reasoned they should instead begin each day's work with an appeal through prayer to the ``Father of Lights'' to illuminate their path. Without his assistance, Franklin argued, ``[w]e shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to the future age.''

With that divine assistance, none of these ever came to pass, blessedly; that we stand in this institution that they built, guided by the Constitution that they wrote, is surely proof of it and proof of his blessings. We still need them. We need those blessings over our work here, over our Nation.

I am honored that, today, that appeal was made by one of Indiana's own. An airman pastor, Lt. Col. Kent Lundy has long served his Nation and the communities he has called home. He wears the uniform of the Air Force as a member of the Indiana National Guard. He is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. Chaplain Lundy has been a member of the Indiana Air National Guard for 16 years, 12 of which were with the 122nd Fighter Wing in Fort Wayne as a chaplain.

He has been deployed overseas twice, and for the last 4 years he has been on Active Duty with the 181st Intelligence Wing in Terre Haute,

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Koch Enterprises, a fifth-generation Hoosier company, on its 150th anniversary.

Founded in 1873 as a tin shop, the Evansville-based company now employs more than 2,600 people in 13 States and four countries. The George Koch Tin Shop stayed afloat in the early years by doing repairs and manufacturing cookware, but soon, the business grew and diversified. When George Koch died in 1903, his three sons took over and renamed the business George Koch Sons. During World War II, the company supported the war effort by building a new manufacturing facility and fabricating parts for LST ships and aircraft wings and engines. In 1999, the company reorganized to Koch Enterprises, Inc. The organization currently has eight subsidiaries and is the ninth largest private company in Indiana.

Koch Enterprises' core values include integrity, respect for people, customer focus, continuous improvement, and community involvement. Indeed, the Evansville area and the State of Indiana as a whole has benefited from that spirit of community involvement. Koch employees are encouraged to volunteer for local charities and have logged more than 20,000 hours annually in recent years. Additionally, company Chairman Bob Koch has been a driving force behind the completion of Interstate 69 and helped establish Signature School, which is consistently ranked as one of the top high schools in the country.

It is my honor to congratulate the Koch family, the company's leadership, and the thousands of Koch employees who have contributed to our State over the years.

I call up my amendment No. 230, and ask that it be reported by number.

Mr. President, Congress has passed an annual Defense authorization bill for the past 62 years. This body--both parties-- takes seriously the threats our servicemembers face and the sacrifices their families make.

To date, the Department of Defense has executed five audits--five audits. No uniformed service has returned a clean audit, nor have major offices and agencies within the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

By setting this deadline, we communicate Congress's seriousness on this issue. We also communicate to the Secretary of Defense that we believe this should be a priority of his and that we will hold him responsible for failing to meet this deadline. In 4 years--4 years--we must have a clean audit.

As the Department undergoes an extensive vital modernization and seeks to take care of its people, policymakers must be able to debate and consider the Department's budgetary priorities in a transparent manner with

all the facts at our disposal. My cosponsor, Senator King, and I believe DOD is doing the right things to be able to complete a full, clean audit in the next 4 years. This amendment serves as a commonsense communication of intense seriousness and urgency to the Department in a practical manner.

I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I request a voice vote.