Floor Statements

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, veterans' mental health is one of the most unspoken struggles our brave men and women in uniform endure after serving our country. Many struggle silently and alone, which is why suicide has become a leading cause of death among our veterans. Combating the mental health crisis for Alabama veterans has become the No. 1 mission of U.S. Army SPC Ashlie Combs of Rainbow City.

Ashlie enlisted in the Army in 2003 after graduating from Bay Minette High School. She grew up in a military family, so she knew the hardships of military life. But the September 11 attacks made Ashlie want to do her part to protect our great country. She deployed to Iraq in 2007, where her team carried out multiple search and rescue missions in order to make sure no soldier was left behind as the war was winding down.

Ashlie and her husband eventually relocated back to Alabama, where she realized there was a lot to be done in making sure veterans aren't left behind when it comes to their mental health. She got involved in various veterans' organizations from the American Legion to her local VFW post, where she connected with vets from all different walks of life. Along the way, she got involved in the local veterans treatment court, where she has spent countless hours helping set vets up for success. Ashlie goes to great lengths to see veterans through their treatment from start to finish.

She recently received her graduate degree in counseling from Auburn University so that she can do this kind of work full-time. Her goal is to bridge the gap between mental health care and affordability to receive care for those who truly need it. September is Suicide Prevention Month, and we are fortunate to have veterans like Ashlie who use their experience to help veterans struggling with their mental health. It is my honor to recognize Ashlie Combs as the September Veteran of the Month.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call with respect to the cloture motion on the motion to proceed to H.R. 6500.

Mr. President, when it comes to the military, there is no such thing as working 9 to 5. You are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. For U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer David Bedford of Wilmer, he still has this mentality about serving others.

A Mobile County native, David learned about military service from his father, who was a World War II veteran and Purple Heart recipient. In 1969, David followed his father's lead and enlisted to train as an Army pilot. After completing his training at Fort Rucker, David deployed to Vietnam in 1971, where he flew Huey helicopters more than 1,500 hours for resupply and transportation missions. He describes his most satisfying missions as those where he brought mail to troops on the frontlines, a small way to help put a

smile on their faces during a very dark time.

David attributes his safe return home to the many prayers of his wife, mother, family, and friends. He had a special gift waiting for him when he came back to Alabama: a baby girl who was born while he was deployed overseas. David and his wife Theresa had two more daughters and raised their family in Mobile County while he finished his degree at the University of South Alabama. After graduating, David began working in the county school system, eventually becoming a counselor and helping students navigate life's challenges.

David saw his job as more than just a 9 to 5, but as a way to invest in the lives of his students and help prepare them for the real world. Both David and Theresa have found a multitude of ways to partner together and serve the surrounding community. Through their involvement in the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program--otherwise known as RSVP-- they frequently volunteer at community events and help seniors in the area prosper. David and Theresa are also members of the Christian Motorcycles Association, where they use their love of motorcycles to share their faith with other veterans. He also is a member of the Patriot Guard Riders, supporting Gold Star families and reminding them that they are not alone.

David's generosity of his time has truly made a difference that spans far beyond our State. It is my honor to recognize David Bedford as the August Veteran of the Month.

Mr. President, I want to talk about a subject people just love to talk about. I have come to the floor to talk about a big scam in our country. It is happening in broad daylight before our very eyes. Politicians here in Washington know what is going on, but they refuse to speak about it. They are too worried about getting reelected in most cases, and they think telling the truth about the scam will hurt their chances of staying in power.

Well, here is the sad truth: For decades now, the American people have paid into Social Security each month without having any idea if they will ever see a cent of the money they put in.

Since being signed into law in 1935 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, our great President, Americans' money has been going in the front door of the Federal Government and then going right out the back door. Your dollar doesn't grow, and it doesn't come back to you or your children. It is a big, gigantic, blown-up Ponzi scheme, and the last time I looked, people who do Ponzi schemes usually go to jail.

Every American is forced to participate in it. You have no choice. You don't have a say in the matter. Whether you are 17 or 67, more than 6 percent of your paycheck is taken out by the Federal Government to pay for Social Security--your so-called retirement. That might not seem like a lot, but to millions of Americans struggling to live paycheck to paycheck, that 6 percent is a huge sacrifice.

Americans have been paying into this program for years, only to see a fraction of what they have been promised. It really makes you wonder how this government-approved Ponzi scheme is legal.

The truth is that this ``retirement savings'' program is 100 percent broke. It is absolutely broke, just like our Federal Government--$40 trillion in debt. The Social Security trust fund is projected to run out of its reserve money in 2032--just a few years from now. You know, when these funds are depleted, senior citizens could see a cut in their monthly check up to 22 to 25 percent of their benefits. On average, that is $500 a month.

You know, if the Federal Government were to try to save the program, it would most likely mean that your taxes would skyrocket.

Mr. President, 38 percent of mandatory spending within the Federal budget annually goes toward the failing Social Security Program. Yes, the money you send up here, 38 percent a year goes to Social Security-- not the money that you already sent because, guess what, it has been sent and it has been spent and scammed out of our system. It is not there. In other words, almost $1.6 trillion every year of your taxpayer dollars is being spent on a program that is currently scheduled to go bankrupt in 6 years. So basically, the money you send up here has been spent and now is nowhere to be found.

The Social Security Program is the single largest program we are wasting our tax dollars on--the biggest. It is a mind-boggling program to say the least, but don't worry, it gets worse.

After decades of having Social Security taken out, millions of Americans have to pay taxes when they go to collect their Social Security. Yep, you heard exactly right. After you pay taxes and you put it in there for savings for many years and you get it back, guess what--you have to pay taxes on it now because our former President and former Senator, Mr. Joe Biden, when he was a Senator in 1983, got the great idea of, let's tax Social Security. What a scam. Depending on which tax bracket you are in, between 50 percent to 85 percent of your benefits can be taxed by the Federal Government.

Last year, I introduced the Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act to stop the unjust double tax on Social Security benefits. Thankfully, the One Big Beautiful Bill included senior deductions that significantly reduce Federal taxes for the majority of retirees. Thank goodness.

In a day and age where the cost of living is skyrocketing, our seniors should not experience a second tax on their Social Security when they have already paid tax on that money. If we must keep this outdated program, the least we can do is to ensure that senior citizens don't get slapped with a double tax.

Despite what millions of Americans have been tricked into believing, it turns out that paying into Social Security does not entitle you to a fixed pot of money. Everybody thinks: We are going to pay in, and I am going to get a lot of money in the end. The sad reality is that many Americans won't see a cent of the money that they paid into Social Security.

Basically, Social Security is just, folks, another tax--a tax on both employees and employers since most companies have to match the 6 percent that their employees are forced to pay out of their paychecks. Yeah, they double the tax.

This is socialism. It is highway robbery. And for the last 60 years, we have known this program was going under, but no one up here has been willing to fix it. In fact, Social Security is known as the third rail of politics that no one up here is allowed to talk about.

Don't talk about Social Security because we don't have a solution, and we might lose our jobs.

In fact, Social Security is known as that third rail because nobody will touch it. It is taboo to talk about Social Security. But my question is: Why? Why is that? We work for the people. We work for the taxpayers. We have known this program was going bankrupt for years. It has been a disaster since day one.

When millions of Americans are going to reach retirement age soon, we had better look out. They are expecting to get their money. They are expecting to get the money that they paid into Social Security for years. They are going to get screwed over with nothing left, and this is going to be a serious problem.

The Social Security scam doesn't stop there. As you know, Joe Biden welcomed tens of millions of illegals into this country with open arms. They said that our borders are closed. Yep, after they let 20 million people in that shouldn't be here. These aren't nice people either, most of them. Many of them are rapists, murderers, drug lords, and gang members. Well, it turns out, the Biden administration and Alejandro Mayorkas, our great Homeland Security Director, they weren't just letting these illegals into our country without vetting them; they were handing them Social Security and Medicaid benefits as they were coming into the door.

Welcome to the United States of America. We are broke, but we are going to give you money. We are going to give you a Social Security number.

It is no wonder we are broke. While millions of Americans will never see the Social Security benefits that they worked hard to pay into throughout their career, illegals, they are getting money. They are getting rich off the money that Joe Biden said that they could have. It is disgusting, but it is not surprising. This is our Federal Government.

So why aren't we allowed to talk about it? It is almost like the system was set up to fail from the get-go. I caught a lot of flak when I brought this up in a hearing just a few years ago.

What is this guy talking about? We are going to get Social Security.

Yep. If you believe that, I got beach land I will sell you out in Arizona.

If every single American had invested the money that they are forced to pay in Social Security each month into a stock--if they had done that, they would have gotten 10 times the money that they put in, if it was just invested in the stock market.

But do you know where it was invested in? Most people don't know this. Your money, when it comes here, is put into Treasury bonds that have very low returns--very, very low--not even close to anything that you would ever invest in yourself. That is where your money goes.

Don't be naive. The reason Social Security is invested in bonds is because it is being used to basically prop up the Federal Government.

We are broke. We don't have any money. Please send more. Can we raise the Social Security tax and just tell them they are going to get more money at the end?

Folks, it is a scam. If this money had been invested in the stock market, again, you would have had 10 to 15 times more money. It is embarrassing, but apparently we are not supposed to bring that up.

To his credit, President George Bush tried to save Social Security in 2000. He tried to privatize a lot of this money. If we had just done that--if this body in here would have just said: OK, we know we screwed it up for 40 years. Let's go ahead and do it. Let's get out of this jam.

They didn't want any part of it because they wanted to steal the rest of the money, and that is exactly what is going on.

He suggested that younger workers divert their portion--young workers divert their portion--to a money market account that would pay for theirs in the future and ours today, those of us that are close to the Social Security. But, of course, the DC swamp up here,

they shut that down fast: Let's don't talk about Social Security. It is taboo. It is a dang shame. The program might not be on the verge of bankruptcy today if they had just invested part of the young people's money into the market.

But you have to remember, the government relies on your money for their slush fund. The Federal Government stopped working in your best interest a long, long time ago. The average taxpayer earning the median wage is paying approximately $3,500 to $4,500 annually into the Social Security Program. Over a 40-year work period, that is around $140,000 to $180,000. That could have gone toward a 401(k), and you would have had money to retire on. People would be seeing much greater returns.

We had better start figuring this out, folks. We had better start figuring it out. This group up here, a lot of them say: I am going to be gone. I won't have to worry about it.

Somebody is going to pay the price.

It won't be long until people will be coming right around this building going: Where is my money?

Do you remember January 6? Yep. January 6 was a pretty bad day. I was here. I sat right over there. It was my very first day here. I was thinking: What a disaster I have gotten into.

Well, if you start telling people, ``You are not getting your Social Security money,'' it is going to get ugly. And I don't blame them--not one bit. We are $40 trillion in debt. There is no sign of it slowing down. The bottom line is we need to get bureaucrats and politicians out of this mess, stop the Social Security scam, let people really know what is going on, and give the money back to the people.

We need to make sure Americans get what they were promised, or we need to come up with an alternative solution that would allow Americans to make their own retirement investments. Give them their money, or let's put it in a money market account. The stock market is booming.

It is far past time Washington, DC, starts working for the people that we are supposed to represent. What a thought. That is mind- boggling, isn't it? Why would we do that? We work for ourselves up here. We don't work for the people. It is ridiculous. It is a scam. Not for special interests. Not for career politicians entrenched in bureaucracy or for Washington elite pet projects.

Instead of spending money we don't have on things we don't need, why don't we put the money back into the American people's pockets and tell them the damn truth: We stole your money, but we are going to try to get your money back.

Not only is it in America's best interest to do this; it is the right thing to do.

I yield the floor.

I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call with respect to the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 436, S. 4784.

Mr. President, I have come to the floor several times over the last year to warn of the looming threat about Islam infiltrating the United States of America.

You know, I know there are people who sometimes roll their eyes when I talk about this, but I express serious concerns about what Islam teaches and how it is incompatible with our Judeo-Christian values.

This is why I say that Islam is not a religion. It is a death cult.

Don't believe me. Just look at the report that came out recently in the United Kingdom. This report, which I have a picture of behind me, made international news: the ``Rape Gang Inquiry Report.''

This report, of which I have a picture--this isn't a flimsy report. It was introduced into Parliament by Rupert Lowe, who had a successful career in finance before running for Parliament in 2024. It is also cosponsored by five other Members of the UK Parliament.

The explosive report says that Muslim rape gangs are operating in over 40 percent of the United Kingdom. The report details how White British girls are being trafficked and exploited by Muslim men across the United Kingdom. The report claims that there have been at least 250,000 victims who have been trafficked by these third-world Muslim immigrants.

You know, the report describes a consistent pattern for the Muslim rape gangs. Girls as young as 11 were groomed with gifts, alcohol, and drugs. They were picked up from schools, from care homes, and subjected to gang rape, trafficking, torture, forced Islamic conversion, and lifetime trauma. These are some of the worst things that you can possibly imagine that really make you sick to your stomach, but it is real, and it is happening to hundreds of thousands of young women across Europe.

The report states that, roughly, 87 percent of those convicted in the child sexual exploitation cases ``bore distinctively Muslim names.''

Surprise. Surprise.

That is because these heinous acts are acceptable and even encouraged under the teaching of Islam. Islam teaches that Muslims are superior to nonbelievers, and it enables Muslim men to treat non-Muslim girls as property--as property--available for sexual abuse.

The doctrine of Muslim superiority is drawn from documents written by Muhammad, which clearly state that Muslims are superior and have a duty to ``correct'' nonbelievers. For example, in one part of the Quran, it says that Muslims are the ``best of peoples for humanity'' as long as they maintain faith in Allah. At the same time, Muslims are taught to be hostile toward non-Muslims.

In addition, Muhammad taught his followers that men are superior to women; that men can marry women without consent as young as 6 years old; and that men can sexually abuse and rape non-Muslim women. It is their right, they think.

Where is the outrage from the so-called feminist groups on this issue? They are nowhere to be found, unfortunately.

The report goes on to say that there was a deliberate failure in the United Kingdom to protect victims or to stop this from happening. Police discouraged reporting, destroyed evidence, and sometimes even shielded the evil men who were doing this to young women.

The National Health Service discharged victims without making sure they had a safe place to go home to. Schools excluded victims rather than protected them. Taxi licensing authorities renewed permits for drivers without bothering to check if they were involved in any of the trafficking of victims. The major political parties, along with the UK Government, willingly--willingly--turned a blind eye to the blatant sex trafficking happening right under their noses--all in the name of being politically correct.

Let me be clear about this: By refusing to address the Islamist sex trafficking of hundreds of thousands of innocent girls, the UK Government enables these sick criminals.

Folks, Europe is gone. Just go over there and visit. They have fallen victim to mass migration, which is wiping out the cultural identities, security, and foundations of their countries.

Did you know that the No. 1 most popular name of baby boys born in the United Kingdom now is ``Muhammad''? It has been that way for 3 years. You would think it would be ``Charles,'' after the King, or ``William,'' after the next in line to the throne. No, it is not. The millions of Muslims who have moved to the UK are having babies, and they are naming them after the most popular figure, which now in Europe is Muhammad.

This is a takeover--a hostile takeover.

I have said this many times: Europeans have the right to fight in the streets to take back their countries. They have got to fight back. We saw an example of this last week in Scotland. A Scottish man took matters into his own hands when he reached a breaking point. He knew his government had sold him out. There was no one to protect him or his family from violence from these Third World Muslim migrants. It wasn't there. There was no protection.

To be clear, I am not advocating for violence, but this will soon be the reality in every European country if they don't start sending foreigners back to their home countries as soon as they possibly can-- ASAP. When a government imports millions of Third World Muslims who refuse to assimilate and who actively want to destroy any semblance of Western civilization, people are going to start taking matters into their own hands. That is what usually happens.

I wish I could say that the United States is immune to such dangers, but, sadly, what is happening in Europe is a foreshadowing of what is to come here in our own backyard if we are not careful. Under the Obama and Biden administrations, Third World Muslims flooded--flooded-- American cities like Minneapolis; Dearborn, MI; and parts of Virginia with one goal in mind--one goal--to radically change the ethnic, religious, and political makeup of our country, the United States of America. That is their plan. They are doing it in Europe. Now they are coming here.

Thanks to Barack Obama and Joe Biden, the enemy, folks, is now inside the gates.

You would have to be stupid to think that what is happening in Europe couldn't happen here. ``Oh, it can't happen in the United States.'' It is happening as we speak. The same cult ideology that empowered the human trafficking of White women in the United Kingdom is alive and well here in the United States of America.

In the 1980s, the Muslim Brotherhood created a blueprint known as ``The Project,'' outlining a long-term plan to establish Islamic dominance worldwide by infiltrating Western institutions. That is their plan. ``The Project'' explicitly instructs Muslims to create parallel societies within their host countries and to reject all assimilation into Western culture.

Since 1986, Herndon, VA--not too far from here--has been home to the International Institute of Islamic Thought. Think about that--just down the road. This institute was established with the sole purpose of eliminating Western influence in every field of human knowledge. We are talking science; we are talking history, psychology, and politics. Then they would rebuild it. They

are changing it so it will be from an Islamic viewpoint. It is not our viewpoint. It is not our history. Simply put, they are taking advantage of our laws and, ultimately, are destroying our country.

In short, ``The Project'' outlines a long-term plan to establish Islamic dominance worldwide by infiltrating and eventually taking control of the nation that they are in. This document is operational, and it has a manual that has guided Muslim Brotherhood networks for several decades.

It isn't just getting here; it has been around a long time. You are seeing parts of their plan play out today in several States, like Texas, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York. You know, even my State of Alabama has become a focal point of the Islamic Network's goal of destroying Christianity and of eliminating Western society.

The RAIR Foundation recently uncovered some disturbing facts about the Birmingham Islamic Society in my State. Their so-called Islamic Society admits to being 100-percent rooted in Sharia law. It has got ties to the North American Islamic Trust, which is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The RAIR Foundation's research also claims that the Birmingham Islamic Society has employed imams with direct ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The mosque's constitution reveals that every aspect of the mosque's operations, memberships, finances, and even the personal affairs of its members is subject to Sharia law. The Birmingham Islamic Society's constitution declares Sharia to be the supreme authority over the entire organization. To them, Sharia overrules all of our Federal, State, and local laws.

I know the State of Alabama has passed a law to prohibit State courts from enforcing or considering any foreign international or religious law if it violates the U.S. or Alabama Constitution. I trust the Alabama courts will look into this as soon as possible in Birmingham.

You know, I have talked many times about how Sharia law is fundamentally incompatible with our Constitution and our society. It has no place--no place--in the United States. We are living in a dangerous time during which people are afraid to say the truth because they don't want to be canceled or talked about. Bad things start to happen when good people sit idly by and do nothing to address the problems that are plaguing our society today. We can't stay silent. If we do that, we are no better than the leaders of the UK, who sat on their hands while 250,000 young girls were raped and trafficked-- 250,000. What is wrong with these people? The young girls were raped and trafficked just over the last few years.

For too long, people have tiptoed around the issue. They have been afraid to hurt somebody's dang feelings or to make somebody uncomfortable--but the time for being politically correct had better be over. The truth is that radical Islam extremists want every single freedom-loving American to convert to Islam or be killed by the sword. That is what they study and believe.

Thanks to President Trump, our borders are secure. We are stopping mass migration and are turning away people who want to hurt our country when we have got them here already. This action is saving our country right now, but it only takes the next Democrat-Communist President to reopen the floodgates to mass immigration.

The disease of Islam has been allowed to fester and spread in our country for a long time. The mullahs are just waiting until they are in the majority to take our country and force Sharia law on everybody who lives in the United States of America.

Folks, it is coming.

So the question is, Will we continue this path and end up like the UK and the rest of the European countries, or will we say ``Enough is enough,'' and refuse to give up our country to the enemy?

I was glad to see President Trump officially designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, but that is not quite enough. I am calling on President Trump to ban the Muslim Brotherhood from this country. They don't need to be here. They are our enemies. They are inside the gates. We also need to ban Sharia law on a Federal level, not just on a State level. This hateful, murderous ideology has no place in our country. It is growing, and we are not saying anything about it. It doesn't need to be here now--it doesn't need to be here ever--and we had better wake up.

I yield the floor.

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

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

Mr. President, the Book of Proverbs tells us that ``without a vision, people perish.'' For SGT Leo Finn of Cullman, AL, he has had a clear vision for his life from day one. Leo feels he was ``born to serve in the military'' and spent 36 years serving our country in the Army and Army National Guard. Leo's conviction to serve has been an asset to our country during some of the most troubling times, including the Vietnam war and War on Terror.

Shortly after finishing college in Cullman, Leo enlisted in the Army. He quickly deployed to Vietnam, where he spent the next 2 years in the fight against communism in Southeast Asia. Upon returning home, he married his wife of 54 years, Sandra, and relocated back to Cullman where they have spent the last five decades working and raising their family. Leo remained in the

Army, eventually transitioning to the National Guard, while keeping up two to three other full-time jobs.

He deployed a second time in the early 2000s to Afghanistan, where he served as a platoon sergeant, sharing this same sense of purpose with those in his company. From Alabama to Vietnam to Afghanistan, Leo has made the Yellowhammer State proud. Now, he stays involved in the Cullman community through his membership at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church and his local VFW Post.

Over the last few years, Leo has faced cancer head-on, but it hasn't slowed him down or made him lose his vision. He faced his diagnosis with the same philosophy he faced our enemies abroad: with bravery and without fear. It is no wonder that his friend and colleague Joe Black speaks so highly of Leo after all he has endured, saying: ``His dedication, professionalism, and commitment to duty set an example for everyone who had the opportunity to serve alongside him. Leo Finn represents the very best of the Alabama National Guard and the generation of veterans whose sacrifices helped preserve the freedoms we enjoy today.''

I am thankful for Leo's calling to serve our State and country through all the challenges he has faced. It is my honor to recognize him as the July Veteran of the Month.

Mr. President, I want to bring up a subject today that is close and dear to my heart. You know, four things that made this country strong--make it the best country in the world--is God, family, military, and sports.

You learn a lot of things out of those four. It makes us strong, and we have kept that pretty much in that order for a long, long time.

But I would like to say today that I think most--even some of my colleagues in here today--college sports is in trouble, not just men but also women. Before I was elected, I spent 40 years coaching. I coached girls basketball. That was a thrill. I coached college football for a long time as assistant and head coach--best job I ever had.

But it is not about championships or packed stadiums or television. It is the best job because you had an opportunity to help people--young people--get them on the right track. And that is what sports does.

As a coach, you are just not calling plays on Saturday. That is just a small part of the job. You are helping young people prepare for life after the whistle. You are teaching discipline, accountability. You are teaching young men and women how to make a good decision under pressure, how to handle success and how to handle failure and how to keep their word when things get bad.

But above all, you are helping them to succeed in the classroom. You are making sure that they go to class, stay academically eligible, and leave school with something more than a letter jacket. That is what college athletics is supposed to be about.

It is supposed to give young people the opportunity to compete at the highest level and have an ultimate goal. But the ultimate goal that I always taught my players--and I think most coaches have--is not just the sports end of it but get a good education.

College athletics should be a pathway to a degree, a meaningful career, and a better future long after the final whistle blows.

The lessons learned through sports--discipline, accountability, teamwork, perseverance--they really matter. But they are the most valuable when paired with education that prepares young people for life beyond the playing field.

This is why the term ``student-athlete,'' not ``athlete-student,'' is spoken in athletics in college sports. Athletics should support education, not replace it. Education must come first.

I retired from coaching 10 years ago, in 2016. A few things have changed in the world of college sports since that time. A series of court decisions, State laws, NCAA rule changes have opened the door for student-athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness--often called NIL. It has been a popular topic for now 10 years.

And let me be clear about this. I think it is great that students can profit from their name, image, and likeness. I am all for it. I was for them making money when I was coaching. They should be able to benefit from the value that they create.

For years, everyone around college sports made money--schools, conferences, television networks, sponsors, coaches--while the athletes were told they could not make any money. That needed to change, and it did.

NIL is here to stay. No one should be trying to take money away from student-athletes. It is here. But NIL is only one part of what has changed.

The transfer rules changed along with the NIL. Used the right way, the transfer portal is a good thing. It can help a young person find a better fit and a better opportunity and a fresh start. But without any real rules around the transfer portal, it has turned into something else entirely: constant, year-round roster turnover.

The scale of the problem is hard to put into words. I have never seen anything like it. Last year, more than 10,500 college football players entered the transfer portal--10,500--1 year. More than 3,200 of those were in Division 1. Division 1 is the highest level of college football. There are only about 130 Division 1 football teams, and each program can offer up to 105 scholarships.

So those 3,200 players are enough to empty out 30 complete programs of the 131. Think about that. It is amazing. That is like every football program in the ACC and the Big 12 losing its entire roster at the same time.

And this is not just a football problem. In 2025, more than 1,500 men's college basketball players entered the transfer portal. A Division 1 basketball roster typically has 15 scholarship players. That means the number of Division 1 basketball players entering the portal in a single year is equivalent to more than 100 full basketball teams.

On the women's side, more than 2,500 basketball players entered the portal, including more than 1,000 Division 1 players.

That is not a few students looking for a fresh start. These numbers tell the story. What used to be rare has become routine. When I was coaching, you used to be able to develop a young person over a 4- or 5- year period and send them out in the real world as a man or woman with a degree, an education. And that is what it is about. I think we will all agree to that.

When I was coaching, you used to be able to develop a young person and saw them grow up every day. Now, you are lucky to keep a player one season, and I think that is what we are all talking about today--the relationship between athletes, coaches and teammates and schools are becoming shorter and more transactional.

Too often, short-term financial incentives are driving decisions that should be about education, personal development, and finding the right fit for a student-athlete's future.

Coaches can't build a program when the whole roster turns over from one season to the next, and that is what we are seeing. Schools are now forced to spend more time and resources recruiting their own players than coaching them, developing them, or helping them succeed in the classroom. They are not getting degrees now because of the transfer portal.

And the young people caught in the middle have no idea whether the team they just committed to will even resemble the team that they signed with. Young people are being treated like free agents instead of students.

And while older players bounce from school to school chasing the next paycheck, it is the high school student-athletes--both young men and women--who are paying the price. In other words, these high school students aren't getting the scholarship offers like they used to. The transfer portal is squeezing high school athletes out of opportunities.

We may not know the exact number, but the trend is clear: Thousands of roster spots are now being filled by older transfers instead of high school recruits. A scholarship that used to go to an 18-year-old with their whole future in front of them is now going to a fifth- or sixth- year senior who has already had his shot or her shot two or three times over.

This system is hurting the very people college athletics is supposed to serve. It has created a culture that rewards chasing the next opportunity, instead of honoring commitments, persevering through adversity, and finishing what you started. That is what sports is about.

It is not good for student-athletes; it is not good for schools; and it is certainly not good for college sports.

The NCAA spent years standing on the sidelines while these problems got worse, failing to provide leadership from the NCAA or meaningful reforms needed to protect student-athletes and preserve college sports. They stood around and watched. I saw it personally.

As a result, Congress now is being asked to step in, and that is what we are here today for.

But the Federal Government, if it gets involved, we need to be very clear what our role is and what our role is not. Congress should not run college sports. That is the first thing I want to say. We cannot run college sports.

Congress should not manage television contracts, dictate conference alignments, or write department budgets. We can't do it. Congress should not decide how much money student-athletes can earn. That is not our job.

Our role should be limited to setting clear rules for eligibility, transfers, and scholarships so student-athletes and families, coaches, and schools know what the rules are and can plan accordingly. That is where Congress can help, and that is where Congress should stop.

Two weeks ago, a bunch of colleagues here rolled out a bipartisan bill that aimed to fix some of these problems. I respect the work that they put into it. I know it all too well. I know they are trying to solve a serious and very, very hard problem. It is almost impossible. But I think their bill goes too far. Trust me, if I thought it would work, I would support it.

Unfortunately, it gets too deep into the business of universities, conferences, athletic departments, while doing far too little to give the student-athlete the stability and clarity that actually they need.

It claims to address the transfer portal and eligibility, but it is riddled with loopholes and waivers that gut those rules before the ink is dry.

Let me be clear, you cannot do waivers for eligibility and transfer. You can't do it. It opens the door for endless lawsuits, and they are coming by creating new avenues for student-athletes to sue schools, conferences, and the NCAA. It opens the door to student-athletes being classified as ``employees,'' which leads to unionization and the end of college sports as we know it.

It does not do enough to protect women's sports, which is an issue I have come to this Senate floor to talk about many, many times before.

It also sets a permanent cap on revenue sharing for student-athletes. And worst of all, this bill drags the Federal Government into decisions that should be made by schools and conferences, not up here--the DC bureaucrats--including how conferences are structured, how games are scheduled, how media rights are managed, and how athletic departments are run. We can't do that. We just can't do it.

In other words, their bill is 111 pages. It pulls the Federal Government deep into the day-to-day operations of college sports. This is not the direction we should be heading. I commend them for working on it, but if we get to go this far, we will be creating more problems than helping.

Congress should focus on fixing eligibility and transfer rules, not inserting itself into matters that universities and conferences and athletic departments are fully capable of handling on their own. That is what they are hired for.

In the years since I came to the Senate, I have heard from student- athletes, coaches, athletic directors, presidents. They have all been in my office: You got to do something. You got to do something.

But we have got to do the right thing, and the concern I hear more than any other is simple: College sports needs a clear, consistent rule for the transfer portal and eligibility. That is where the problem is. And that--and only that--is where the Federal Government should get involved in.

College athletics has thrived for more than a century without folks from DC trying to call the plays. It does not need a Federal takeover. It needs a few clear, commonsense rules that restore stability and predictability, and then Congress needs to step aside.

That is why I have concerns about the approach that my colleagues have here today. That is the standard I use when I read the Protect College Sports Act. I respect what my colleagues are trying to do. I know they are trying to do the right thing and trying to solve a problem.

We have all heard it. My phone rings all the time, and I am sure theirs does, too, being as they are from the Commerce Department, which it usually goes through their committee.

But their bill tries to do too much. We are way too much in the weeds--way too much in the weeds. We are making it too complicated. We are talking about college sports here. We are not talking about the NFL or the NBA.

You know, I am not the only one with concerns. Dozens of athletic directors, coaches, commissioners, university leaders--they are all stepping in and talking about this and the bill in its current form.

Congress should try not to manage every part of college athletics. It should focus on the issues that need clear national rules: eligibility and scholarship protection. That is exactly why a few months ago I introduced the Student Athlete Act. My bill is simple. You get 5 consecutive years to play five seasons. We don't need 30-year-olds playing against 18-year-olds. That is a disaster.

You need one penalty-free transfer, no questions asked. And after that, if you want to transfer again, you can transfer, but you go back to the old rule: You sit out a year, and then you get to play at that school you transferred to.

So save it for where you really need it in a transfer. People say: Well, when the coaches leave, they should be able to leave.

Yes, they can. That is the reason you got one transfer. Don't use it to make $50,000 more. Use it when you need to use it, if you ever need to use it, because if you transfer, your chance of getting a degree goes down 50 percent.

And, again, what we talked about earlier: It is about academics first. Before the NIL, if you transferred, you sat out a season, and that is the reason we should do that again. One free transfer, sit out a season. You go No. 2 or No. 3 and so forth on down the line.

More athletes--they will stay in school and they will go to class and they will work towards a degree.

My bill also protects student-athletes by making sure that scholarship commitments made to them are honored. They are honored as long as they remain in good academic standing.

You know, the Student Athlete Act follows the same basic direction President Trump laid out in his eligibility to transfer Executive orders, but we all know that Executive orders only last as long as the President is in office.

This is not a partisan or controversial bill. It is very simple, common sense. Let's make this happen.

So unlike the 111-page bill my colleagues are pushing, mine is short, simple, does not involve a Federal takeover of college sports. My colleagues intend to object to this today. I understand that.

If they do, I want to ask them just one question: Why is a simple fix on eligibility and the transfer portal something all of us can't do? And then after that, we either try to help or we give them direction-- the NCAA--to do it on their own.

College sports are facing a five-alarm fire. It is getting ready to be over with as we know it. We do not have time to waste.

So, Mr. President, I move today to ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be discharged from further consideration of S. 4177, the Student Athlete Act of 2026; that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; that the bill be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

I agree with a lot of the things my colleagues are talking about--especially about the five-alarm fire. It is in trouble.

He just brought up a lot of names of people supporting this bill. They don't understand how this place works. They don't understand the significance of when you add those rules, it is a Federal law, and when we get involved in it, if you look at everything else we do, most of the time, it doesn't work.

We are only going to have one chance here, and I brought this 5 for 5, one-time transfer, no waivers. If you don't do it that way, it ain't going to work. If you give waivers to people, you have problems. We are giving one transfer. If you give waivers for everything--``My grandmother had a cold when I was a sophomore''--and they are going to hear it. If they don't get a waiver on that, they are going to go to a Federal judge, and it is going to end up the same way we are doing it today. It is a god-awful mess.

If we want to fix 80 percent of the problems without the Federal Government getting into it, you have 5 years to play, 5, and one transfer. No waivers. No Federal judge can get involved. But if you give waivers, there are going to be more lawsuits than you can ever imagine. It is going to be a disaster.

Senator Cantwell said something about revenue sharing. You know, they passed a rule a couple years ago that there is $20 million of revenue that goes to the college athletes. OK, $20 million a year. That is revenue sharing. Do you know who gets the money? Football players at every university. It doesn't go to women. It doesn't go to basketball or softball or baseball. It goes to the men's football team. It is a disaster.

All I am saying is watch what you are doing, and I am telling my friends calling me that are in coaching and conference commissioners: Read this well. If you are for this, then it is going to be your last chance.

I hope it works. If it passes, I hope it works. I go to a college football game every week. It is my life. I hope it works. But we damn sure better know that it is going to work if we pass it because you are not going to be able to retract it. It is going to be the law of the land--the law of the land. And it is not going to change, I am telling you right now.

I would consider voting for this if there were no waivers and 5 years' eligibility because I know what that affects. I know how that is going to work. I have seen it. These kids are going to run straight to a Federal judge, and they are going to give them leeway, and they are going to give them that extra year, and then you don't have a law.

The only way you can fix this bill, the only way you can fix college sports is 5 for 5, one transfer, no exceptions, and let's go play. But you start giving exceptions and waivers, it is going to be a madhouse, and lawyers are going to make a ton of money. That is who is going to get rich here--not the athletes but the lawyers.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, in addition to accepting the call to serve our Nation's military, many of our veterans have also accepted an even higher calling: being a parent. But what is more is many of them were also influenced to serve by their own parents. That is true for Senior Airman Larry Thomas of Eufaula, AL. As the son of a WWI veteran and the brother of a WWII veteran, when the call to join arms came for Larry, he knew he had to do his part and join the Air Force.

Larry took time off from earning his education at Auburn University to valiantly serve the United States when we needed it the most. He spent 4 years in the early 60s at Eglin Air Force Base in northwest Florida serving our country at the onset of the Vietnam war. During those four years, he supported flight operations and even earned a Presidential Unit Citation for his squadron's help in the first-ever human orbit around the earth in 1962.

But finishing his degree was always in the back of his mind, especially after he met and married his late wife Jean, who was a lifelong educator herself. Larry and Jean married in Walton County, FL, and welcomed home their first two of three sons Channing and Sean while there. After Larry left the Air Force, he kept his promise both to himself and his wife and finished his degree; he graduated from Troy in 1969 exactly 10 years after his high school graduation. The Thomas family finally relocated back to Larry's roots in Eufaula and welcomed their third son Derek in the 70s. And Larry has never left. He went on to work in various roles in textile mills, sales, and more over the next three decades, all the while instilling many of the values he learned from the Air Force in his sons. Whether it be discipline, decision making, keeping your word, working hard, or maintaining order, Larry's time in the uniform was not confined to himself but a shared bond between all the Thomas boys.

To Larry, being a good father, husband, and grandfather is the most important role he has ever had--and his time in the military helped shape him into a father. After retiring in 2011, he has stayed involved in the Eufaula community by serving on the board of directors of the Eufaula Housing Authority and as a part of the vestry at St. James Episcopal Church. He is truly a pillar of his community, but more importantly, of his family.

In June, we celebrate Father's Day. We appreciate the fathers--like Larry--who have helped instill patriotism in the next generation. It is my

honor to recognize Larry Thomas as the June Veteran of the Month.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object.

January 6, 2021 was my first day here on the job in the U.S. Senate. Let's be clear about what happened that day. Let's go back and look at it. Democrats and the deep state, they hated Donald Trump so much that they orchestrated a coup against our government. Let me explain this.

It first started with the tampering of the 2020 Presidential election results to oust President Trump and to install the woke globalists' favorite Joe Biden.

As a result, great American patriots gathered in Washington to peacefully protest the illegal tampering of the 2020 Presidential election.

When the leader of the Democratic Party at the time Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the deep state learned that Trump supporters--and we all knew it--were headed to Washington, DC, to peacefully protest the fraudulent 2020 Presidential election results, they saw a great opportunity.

Speaker Pelosi spearheaded the true January 6 insurrection. This has all been proven to be true. Everybody knows it. She said it on tape. She admitted the responsibility for massive security failures that day. The deep state infiltrated the crowd with antifa and intelligence community members who would instigate trouble and massive chaos.

The FBI has confirmed that there were 274 FBI agents in plain clothes at the Capitol here that day.

Then Speaker Pelosi set up Capitol Police to fail by refusing to bring the National Guard in as backup; she admitted that. And then, of course, Democrats placed all the blame on President Trump and Republicans. I can remember it vividly that night, about midnight, we all took the blame here. After we came back that night, the Democrats called all the Republicans in this room everything that you can imagine, here on this floor. It was clear that they were planning that day that they were going after President Trump.

But the Democrats' plan to destroy President Trump and his supporters didn't end that day on January 6; for the next 4 years, President Biden and the Democrats did everything they could to arrest, harass, bankrupt, deplatform, and even tried to kill the former President of the United States Donald Trump, not to mention the Biden DOJ abusing their power by wasting almost $3 billion in taxpayer funds to go after innocent--innocent--Trump supporters, fraudulently imprisoning them to intimidate their political opponents and the greater MAGA movement.

Hundreds, and I mean hundreds of innocent patriotic Americans sat behind bars for the past 5 years over this made-up witch hunt. Now, there were some guilty, but a huge number of them were vastly innocent. They even arrested grandmas for making phone calls on the Capitol steps, and the only person who died that day on January 6 was Ashli Babbitt an unarmed Air Force veteran who was shot that day in this very building. Ashli Babbitt was wrongfully killed on January 6, 2021. The Federal Government admitted it, and they actually paid money to her family, paid money. In the legal settlement they paid money.

Lives were ruined. Families were torn apart, careers were destroyed, all because lunatics on the left in our country would not let it go, and anyone who was involved in it was arrested.

So before we quickly try to pass a bill with a nice-sounding title, we ought to read what it actually does. Democrats claim this bill is about stopping so-called rewards for January 6 rioters, but in reality, the legislation says if the Federal Government prosecuted you, Congress can't even ask if the prosecution was fair, if the sentence was appropriate, if the evidence was handled properly, if detention conditions were lawful, or whether the government threw the book at you because you were a supporter of a political opponent. You can't even ask that.

This bill treats prosecution--prosecution--as proof, and that is not how American justice works. That is not how our justice system works.

Thankfully, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and the Trump Department of Justice established a standard--a standard--and lawful process to hear from American citizens who suffered lawfare or weaponization under the Biden administration. If they were wronged, the Trump administration will provide compensation from the Anti- Weaponization Fund. But if S. 3582 is passed, it would eliminate that process for American-loving Trump supporters who were wrongfully convicted before their claims are even reviewed.

In the future, the Federal Government--because of this bill--would be empowered to target a group of people, prosecute them, and make sure they never receive relief no matter what the facts. And there were some bad things that went on.

Radical Democrats and the deep-state folks do not like this country, and they dislike it so much--the way it is run--that they will do whatever it takes to weaponize our judicial system against anyone who opposes their globalist agenda. That is why I will not consent to this bill that treats prosecution as proof and blocks individualized review. That is not how this country works.

For that reason, I object.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, you know even the most hotly debated issues in this building pale in comparison to the American soldiers who have sacrificed their lives to give us the freedoms to debate and disagree in the first place.

Later this year, America will celebrate its 250th birthday. Most democracies, they don't even come close to that. They don't survive that long, but our great country has survived because of the brave men and women who have answered the call to defend our freedoms at home and all across the world.

Sadly, some of our Nation's heroes never return home. Alabama has numerous memorials across our great

State to honor our own fallen heroes. The USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, AL, hosts more than 400,000 visitors annually where they learn more about our military and those that served.

The city of Trussville, AL, is home to the Fallen Warrior Monument which honors Alabama servicemembers killed since 9/11, and Huntsville is home to one of the largest Memorial Day parades in the country.

These landmarks and events help tell stories of daughters, sons, husbands, wives, mothers, and fathers who answered the call to defend our country at home and abroad not knowing what their future might hold. You know, stories of mothers who hug their children and husbands who kiss their wives without knowing if it was their last time.

Next week, we recognize Memorial Day. Many will use this as an opportunity to grill out and go to the beach, but this isn't just another day off or another long weekend. It is a day to honor these fallen heroes and reflect on their sacrifice.

Today, I would like to recognize two fallen heroes from my State of Alabama: Alex Klinner of Auburn and Jeffrey Hall of Huntsville, along with their families.

Honoring Alex Klinner

Mr. President, earlier this year, we lost six servicemembers in a refueling mission, including three members of the 99th Air Refueling Squadron based at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base in Birmingham, AL. Among those were this young man 33-year-old Auburn native Alex Klinner.

Alex joined the Air Force in 2017 through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps from Auburn University after graduating from Auburn in 2016 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He deployed four different times in just 7 years, logging more than 563 hours in combat zones or support roles.

But as impressive as his pilot skills were, Alex's brother-in-law James said that he shone the brightest in his role as a husband to his wife Libby and a father to his three young children.

Alabama continues to mourn the loss of a hero gone way too soon. But Alex's legacy of faith, family, and freedom will continue to live on.

Honoring Jeffrey Hall

Mr. President, SSG Jeffrey Hall of Huntsville is another Alabama soldier whose life was cut short in service to our country at the young age of 28. Jeffrey's mom Annette said that he was destined to serve in the military. She recalls him as an energetic and headstrong child and a wonderful big brother to his sister Emily.

Jeffrey started showing an interest in being a soldier when he was only 3 years old. He was fascinated with army uniforms and always wanted to dress up as a soldier.

Annette and her husband Charles encouraged Jeffrey's dreams. She said they must have bought out every army surplus store in North Alabama to give Jeffrey whatever military gear that he could find to use and to wear.

As soon as Jeffrey graduated from Huntsville Christian Academy in 2000, he set out to make these childhood dreams a true reality. After Jeffrey made a great soldier, he became a jumpmaster, a pathfinder, and a sharpshooter receiving numerous awards for his accomplishments, including Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

He had just re-signed for another 4 years in the military when his vehicle hit an IED in Afghanistan on June 1, 2009, the day before his second wedding anniversary with his wife Allison. Jeffrey experienced the joys of fatherhood for only 6 months to his daughter Audrey Faith before he deployed. She was only a year old when he was killed.

Annette decided to honor her son's sacrifice by starting an American Gold Star Mothers chapter. This chapter connects and supports more than 40 mothers across 18 counties in North Alabama and the Tennessee Valley. They also raise awareness for the sacrifices made by Gold Star families, including with a float in Huntsville's Memorial Day parade each year.

Annette repeatedly says it is a joy to speak of her son because she never wants to forget the life he lived or the sacrifices he made for his country. Her and Charles are heroes for raising their son to love this country and continuing to carry on the same sense of patriotism even after Jeffrey's untimely death.

Memorial Day

Mr. President, John 13:15 says:

Greater love has no one than this: [than] to lay down one's

life for [his] friends.

Alex Klinner and Jeffrey Hall both know the danger and knew the danger involved with their mission, and they did it anyway. They left the safety of their homes so we could sleep safely in ours. They were fathers, sons, husbands, brothers, and friends; but to us, they are American heroes.

We owe them our full gratitude. We also owe our gratitude to the Klinner and the Hall families. The loss they have to live with every day is unthinkable. We continue to hold them in our prayers this Memorial Day and Memorial Day weekend.

As Memorial Day approaches, I hope we will take the time to honor Americans fallen along with all of our brave Gold Star families around the world.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, 31 years ago Alabama lost a legend, Randolph County Deputy James Mark Windsor, who was killed at the young age of 28 years old in the line of duty on May 6, 1995. Deputy Windsor answered the call to serve his community with courage and humility, dedicating himself to protecting the people of Randolph County and the great State of Alabama. East Alabama is undoubtedly a better, safer place for families in our great State because of the work of Deputy Windsor. Though his time in law enforcement was tragically brief, his impact and sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Deputy Windsor served as a reserve deputy for 2 years before attending the police academy and becoming an active deputy with the Randolph County Sheriff's Office. After only 4 months as a full-time deputy, he made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. His willingness to step forward and serve speaks volumes about his character, sense of duty, and commitment to others.

As the anniversary of his passing comes around each year, it is important that we remember Deputy Windsor's life and impact that he continues to make in his community. The people of Alabama remain forever indebted to him and to all law enforcement officers who put themselves in harm's way in service. His bravery lives on in the lives of his family and friends.

My wife Suzanne and I extend our heartfelt prayers to Deputy Windsor's family, friends, fellow deputies, and all those who knew and loved him as they celebrate the legacy Deputy Windsor has left behind. May they find comfort in knowing that his sacrifice will never be forgotten, and may God continue to bless the memory of Deputy James Mark Windsor.