Floor Statements

Madam President, I rise today to honor the life of Sally Lugar, who passed away peacefully amid the love of family and friends on May 2, 2024.

Sally was a proud, lifelong Hoosier. She was born in Martinsville, IN, on June 12, 1934. After graduating high school, she attended Purdue University and earned a degree in home economics. While at Purdue, she was a varsity cheerleader, president of her dorm, and spent 3 years on the Debris, the Purdue yearbook. After graduating, she taught english, health and science, and physical education at Muncie Central High School.

Sally married Thomas R. Lugar on April 12, 1958, and they were blessed with three children, five grandchildren, and one great- grandchild. When Tom passed in 2018, they had been married for 60 years. Sally and Tom were avid travelers who loved experiencing new cultures and creating new lifelong friendships. She loved connecting with people and serving her fellow Hoosiers. In the last 60 years, Sally served more than 30 central Indiana nonprofit organizations. She did this while managing

a family farm in Morgan County and raising three children.

Her service included active engagement with the tennis community and extensive involvement with the greater Indianapolis community. In the tennis world, she served as the president of the Central Indiana Tennis Association; held leadership positions with the Western Tennis Association, WTA Junior Development Committee, National Junior Tennis League; and co-founded the Indianapolis Junior Development Fund.

Sally was a leader in central Indiana, holding positions with the Junior League of Indianapolis, Day Nursery Auxiliary, Methodist Hospital Task Core, WINS, Teachers' Treasures, Purdue Consumer and Family Sciences Alumni Association, Purdue President's Council, YWCA, Progressive Club, WFYI, Propylaeum Historic Foundation, Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumnae Association of Indianapolis, and Daughters of the American Revolution, and she was an active participant in many other civic and charitable organizations.

Sally loved her family and relished every family gathering. She loved Tom and her children deeply and was extremely proud of their accomplishments. She taught right and wrong, honesty, fairness, and respect. I know Sally will be missed dearly by her family, her community, and the whole State of Indiana, and we celebrate her remarkable life.

Madam President, 100 years ago this week, a legend was born. One hundred years ago, the champions of religious freedom refused to back down in the face of intolerance and hate. One hundred years ago today, the University of Notre Dame earned the moniker the ``Fighting Irish.''

On May 17, 1924, thousands of members of the Indiana chapter of the Ku Klux Klan gathered in South Bend, IN, for a rally, a rally called by their infamous leader D.C. Stephenson. The target that day for their despicable and misguided message of ``true Americanism'' was the Catholic institution of the University of Notre Dame, the young men who attended the university, and the Holy Cross priests who taught at it.

In the years that immediately preceded that fateful day, the KKK had watched with despair as Coach Knute Rockne and his football ``Ramblers'' had barnstormed across the country, winning praise for their fighting spirit and the university.

We can't forget that at the time, Catholics were a major target for the KKK in the Midwest, and Notre Dame's success on and off the field was an affront--an affront--to the Klan's false message of superiority.

So the KKK gathered outside the Golden Dome for what was to be a 3- day rally, complete with parades and speeches and dances and no small amount of overtly violent intimidation. You see, they weren't used to anyone standing up to them. They weren't expecting anyone to stand up to them. And little did they know that the mostly Irish Catholic student body across the street had no intention of being intimidated.

Little did they know that the students were so animated that the university president, Father Matthew Walsh--a World War I veteran--had been trying in vain to tell his students to stay safe and to shelter in the school.

Little did the KKK know that on that day, the intended aspersion that the student body had co-opted as their preferred nickname--the ``Fighting Irish''--was about to reach a national audience.

As the story goes--no doubt colored with some apocryphal additions over the years--the Klansmen began arriving in South Bend and hundreds of students marched out to meet them. At first, the students almost playfully offered to assist the Klansmen in finding lodging and food, sometimes leading them down allies, other times leading them back out of town.

However, when one KKK leader evidently became wise to the ruse and pointed a pistol at a student who had intended to pull down the unsacred cross of lights hung in a downtown third-floor window, well, as they say, all hell broke loose. Klansmen who chose to fight quickly met their match and scrambled out of town. Students grabbed produce-- yes, even potatoes--from a local vegetable stand and hurled them at the cross, taking out all but the uppermost bulb.

At that very moment, legendary ``Four Horsemen'' quarterback Harry Stuhldreher launched an impossible shot. He threw a potato 40 feet in the air at the bulb, successfully darkening the last unholy light.

Moments later, the rest of the Klansmen were run out of town, tails between their legs. A subsequent exchange the next day led to another rout by Notre Dame running the record to 2 and 0 against the Klansmen that weekend.

That weekend, in describing the Notre Dame student body's takedown of the most vaunted KKK chapter in the country, several national papers seized on the ``Fighting Irish'' moniker that had previously only been applied to the football team.

If you are interested in more details about that fateful weekend, Notre Dame alum Todd Tucker has written an acclaimed book entitled, ``Notre Dame vs. The Klan.''

Events like the one that took place in South Bend, IN, often prove to be historical inflection points.

In early 1924, intolerance and hatred were on the rise in the country, not just in Indiana but from coast to coast. For many, it was easier to give in to the fear of an uncertain future than to work to build a better community.

But Indiana and the country were soon to turn a corner, and the timing couldn't have been more poetic. Rockne, Stuhldreher, and the rest of the ``Fighting Irish'' football team would pull off a perfect 10-and-0 season later that year en route to the 1924 national championship. And the Indiana chapter of the KKK would quickly fizzle after the rape and murder conviction of its leader, D.C. Stephenson, the next year.

As for the university itself and its brave and proud student body, it would be 3 more years before Father Walsh would reluctantly give in to the wave that started that May day in 1924 and officialize the nickname the ``Fighting Irish.''

But make no mistake, it was 100 years ago this week, in an act of defiance against religious intolerance, that the ``Fighting Irish'' truly came into being.

So on this day, we remember their bravery in exercising their most basic of American freedoms as we celebrate the day they put the fight in the University of Notre Dame ``Fighting Irish.''

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that DeMark Schulze, a State Department Pearson fellow from my office and a 2005 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, be granted floor privileges until August 3, 2024.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to use a prop during my remarks.

Mr. President, you might be surprised by the guest book of a museum in a small town in Indiana. Inside it are names of visitors from all 50 States and from much farther away--other countries, other continents, places like Italy, France, Japan, and New Zealand.

They have made their way to Milan--Milan, IN. And they have done so because here is where the heart of Hoosier Hysteria lives. It is the greatest basketball story ever that has taken place. It happened there 70 years ago this week, March 20, 1954, at the Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis: the finals of the

Indiana High School Basketball Tournament, the Indians of Milan High, enrollment 161, versus the Bearcats of Muncie Central, enrollment 1,660. Fifteen thousand fans are in the bleachers, with thousands more Hoosiers listening over the radio. It is the fourth quarter. The game is tied at 30; 18 seconds on the clock. Milan inbounds. Senior Bobby Plump gets the ball. He fakes left, dribbles right, pulls up, knocks down a 14-foot jump shot just as the clock expires. The nets come down. The celebration starts.

The next morning, the new State companions headed home. They are in a fleet of Cadillacs along Indiana's county roads. There was no interstate or highway connecting Indianapolis to Cincinnati, the closest city to Milan.

Hoosiers were awaiting along the way in Greensburg, in Shelbyville. They were holding signs. They were waving. State Road 101, which led back home, was lined with cars and cheering fans for 13 miles. And 40,000 people were waiting in little Milan, IN, even though at the time, the town had only 1,100 residents. This is Hoosier Hysteria. This is what the people of Indiana are so excited about every March.

That year, in 1954, as the players from Milan rolled into town, two members of the team, Ray Craft and Kenny Wendelman, hopped on the roof of their Cadillac with the championship trophy between them. The procession ended near Milan High. That is where that trophy remains today.

The next morning, the crowd was gone. The small town, its quiet had gradually returned. In the days that followed, members of the team graduated. They went off to college, pursued careers. They drifted apart. Coach Marvin Wood took a job up in New Castle.

The passage of time brought other changes--not all of them welcome, of course. Little Milan, like so many towns across the country--it is facing challenges. And the single class basketball tournament system that gave small town teams like Milan a shot at the title is no more.

Some of the schools that played in the 1954 tournament are gone. Milan, it hasn't won another championship. Though, it must be said they made it to the semi-State back in 1973.

Despite this--or possibly because of it--the Milan Miracle is as inspiring as ever. Yes, it is the tale of the little guy, the underdog, David versus Goliath, the smallest school to ever win the single class tournament. Literally, in fact, Muncie Central's average height was 6- foot-4. Milan was 5-foot-11.

This story is so much bigger than that, so much bigger than basketball or even Indiana, for that matter.

Milan's players always note that their championship run in 1954 wasn't a lightning strike. It wasn't even a stroke of good luck. No, the Indians made it to the final four the previous year. Most of the players had known and practiced with each other since grade school. They played tough. They were coached well. Perhaps most importantly, they had faith--faith in their teammates, faith in one another, faith in that community that they represented, faith that merit and hard work would be rewarded, faith that, just maybe, their dreams would be satisfied.

Bobby Plump's last shot is still talked about around the country, really, but certainly, back home in Indiana. That is the moment we remember. But it was the culmination of a lot of hard work, dedication, and teamwork. And it happened because of the support of families, friends, and neighbors.

Milan was a place where, when a student needed a winter coat, locals--they took up a collection at the drugstore. They bought that coat. It is the place where the kids who didn't have a lot of money could eat for free at Rosie's. The ones from nearby Pierceville who often had to walk to school, they could count on rides from friends.

In a different era, when the world seemed so much smaller, the local basketball team was, at least for the month of March, the world--the world--every one of these teams, the celebration of your togetherness, your community, your opportunity to show your stuff.

Even a water shortage in the spring of 1954 didn't dampen Milan's or Ripley County's excitement for the Indians. In fact, as an area newspaper reported: ``water or no water, Ripleyians want Milan to bring home the crown.''

Apart from what happened on the hardwood at Hinkle Fieldhouse, the memory of Milan lasts because--because their team and town symbolizes what keeps all of our communities together, what lifts our hopes and fuels our dreams, even when it feels like hopes and dreams are all we have.

That trophy that I mentioned, that trophy in the newly refurbished lobby of Milan High's gymnasium, today is a symbol of more than just a State championship. Oh, it is so much more.

You see, it is proof of how much we all can achieve when we work together towards a common goal and resolve to hold our own, no matter the odds, no matter how insignificant others might say we are or think we are. It is an inspiration still across small towns and struggling places waiting on their own miracle, where the basketball team brings people together and makes them feel proud of the places they call home. This--this is why we still celebrate little Milan beating mighty Muncie Central 70 years on. It is why we will, I believe, for the next 70 years too.

Of course, for those who haven't already figured it out, this is the story that inspired ``Hoosiers,'' a beloved movie written and directed by a pair of Hoosiers.

You see, visitors regularly come to Indiana in search of the movie's fictional Hickory, hoping to find the small town epicenter of Hoosier Hysteria. But what they are really searching for is right there in Ripley County. It is an actual town with a real history and a tradition to be proud of and, dare I say, replicated.

They will recognize it by the basketball goals in driveways, the backboards on barns, the black water tower with white lettering, prominently reading: ``STATE CHAMPS 1954''--it is still there. I have seen it many times, the historical marker commemorating the Milan miracle and that museum that celebrates it right there in the center of town.

As a newspaper declared back in 1954:

In basketball, Little Milan is the new capital of Indiana.

I think that is about right. Well, 70 years later, it is still the capital, and the Indians will always be champions.

I yield the floor.

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.