Floor Statements

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, Saturday, November 11, is the anniversary of the end of World War I. Today we know it as Veterans Day.

On Veterans Day, we honor everyone who has worn the uniform of the United States of America. Alabama is proud that the Veterans Day tradition started in Birmingham, AL, in the aftermath of World War II. A local veteran named Raymond Weeks recognized the need for a day honoring all of our veterans.

In 1947, Raymond Weeks petitioned the Army Chief of Staff, a general named Dwight D. Eisenhower, for a national Veterans Day. Seven years later, General Eisenhower was President and signed it into law.

Alabama is proud of Raymond Weeks. We are proud to be home to nearly 400,000 veterans. And every Veterans Day, I am proud to come to this floor to tell my colleagues about a few of our veterans in Alabama.

The first I will mention today is Ron Skoneki from Montgomery, AL. He is the son of a Polish immigrant. He enlisted in the Air Force about as soon as he could right after graduating from high school. He served in Thailand during the Vietnam war. He helped repair and maintain aircraft for a strong defense. After 33 years of service, Lieutenant Colonel Skoneki retired. But he wanted to continue to serve, so he joined Alabama's wing of the Civil Air Patrol in Montgomery. He then served another 16 years helping to support the U.S. Air Force in a civilian capacity. Now at 87 years old, he is just as proud of his time wearing this uniform as he has ever been. And he should be.

I would also like to tell the Senate about CSM Joe Godwin of Mobile, AL. He wanted to join the military ever since he was 14 years old. By the time he was 17, he couldn't wait anymore; he got his dad's permission to join the Army.

He went on to serve in three wars: World War II, the Korean war, and the Vietnam war. He helped guard and transport Nazi prisoners during the Nuremburg trials.

Today, Joe is 94 years old. When people tell him he is a hero, he says that the real heroes are the ones who didn't make it back. He is a humble man. I think they are all heroes, anyone who served, and we ought to thank them today, tomorrow, and every day.

Finally, I would like to talk a little about SGT David Henry of Warrior, AL. Sergeant Henry has served as a firefighter and a paramedic. These experiences gave him skills that he used as a medic in the Iraq war.

His first deployment came when his son was only 6 months old. Sergeant Henry deployed again to the Middle East when his son was 3. He had to sacrifice to be an ocean away from his family during those crucial times of his son's growing up. He had to explain to a 3-year- old why Dad was going to be gone and he didn't know when he was coming back.

A lot of families know what that is like. Our heroes in uniform often serve as a family, and so, on Veterans Day, we thank their families, too, for their service. They are also making a huge sacrifice for our country.

Today, Sergeant Henry is back in sweet home Alabama. We are deeply grateful for his service to Alabama and to America.

Colonel Skoneki, Sergeant Major Godwin, and Sergeant Henry are just three examples of the 400,000 heroes who call Alabama their home.

The writer G.K. Chesterton once said:

The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in

front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.

You can see that in the lives of these veterans in Alabama. Our veterans fought because they believe in this United States of America. They believed America was worth fighting for and even, many, dying for. They laid down their lives for the people of this country, for millions of people they don't even know.

Everything we have in this country depends on a military that is very strong. Our economy, our security, and our way of life depends on our military.

President Ronald Reagan summed it up best when he said:

Veterans know better than anyone else the price of freedom,

for they've suffered the scars of war. We can offer them no

better tribute than to protect what they have won for us.

This Veterans Day and this Veterans Day weekend, I hope we will remember the price of freedom and those who have paid that ultimate price.

To all of our veterans, thank you for your service. Thank you for your sacrifice to ensure America remains a

country of freedom and opportunity for all of the many generations to come.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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Mr. President, reserving the right to object, there is no institution in the world I honor more than the U.S. military. I am thankful to every veteran all year long, not just on Veterans Day.

The Republican Party has been a pro-life party for half a century. We ought to be proud that we stand for life. We stand for the most vulnerable in our society, the unborn.

Let me explain, again, why I am doing this and how we got here and where we go from here. Nine months ago, the Pentagon announced that they would start using taxpayer dollars to facilitate abortion. The Pentagon is now paying for travel and extra time--time off--for servicemembers and their dependents to get abortions.

Let me remind everybody, Congress never voted for this. We also never appropriated money for this. There is no law that allows this administration to do this. In fact, there is a law that says they can't do this. It is 10 U.S.C. section 1093. It says the only time the Pentagon can spend taxpayer dollars on abortion is in cases of rape, incest, and a threat to the life of the mom.

So this is a policy that is illegal and immoral. This is about life, and it is also about the rule of law. It is about our Constitution. It is about whether we make laws at the Pentagon or whether we follow the Constitution.

This is also about the integrity of our military. The only thing in this world I honor more than our military is the Constitution itself, one that we all swore to serve.

I also feel really strong about the obligation to do something about this when the Constitution is attacked. I cannot simply sit idly by when the Biden administration injects politics in our military and spends taxpayer money on abortion.

The only power that a Senator in the minority has is to put a nomination on hold--the only power. I am not the first person to do this. Holds on nominations happen all the time. Holds on military nominations happen and have happened many times before. Typically, they don't last long because the Senator gets what he wants and negotiates, and then doesn't get what he wants. That is not what happened this time. Abortion is so important to the Democrats that they have not negotiated with me--zero.

This has been a long 9 months for us all. Every day this continues is a day that my Democratic colleagues think abortion is more important than these nominations.

I support many of these nominees. I agree that they are very, very important jobs. But we could have been voting on these nominees the entire time. I am not blocking all of these at once. Vote on them one at a time.

I have been talking about that. The Senate has had more than 90 days off this year. Each nomination could take as little as 2 hours. We confirmed three just last week. The nominees at the very top ought to be voted on anyway. They are very, very important positions. These jobs are too important not to receive the advice and consent of this body, the U.S. Senate.

I respectfully disagree with my colleagues about the effect my hold has on the readiness of our military supposedly--not being able to be ready because of people not in positions. But not one of these jobs is unfilled as we speak. Biden officials have been saying this for months, and nobody has explained to me what reasoning they come up with.

So the fact is, no jobs are going unfilled. Every job is being done. In fact, GEN Mark Milley, who just retired from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said recently that our readiness is the best it has been in years. Time and time again, generals and servicemembers have assured me that they are ready. I believe them.

I am going to keep my holds in place. If Senators want to vote on these nominees one at a time, I am all for it. I will keep my holds in place until the Pentagon allows me the opportunity to negotiate this change of law. This is about our Constitution, and it is about the right to life. They are some of the most important things in this world and very important to me.

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Mr. President, most servicemembers come from a military family like MSgt Bob Ammons of Ozark, AL. Born on an Air Force base to a career airman, Bob decided to follow in his dad's footsteps. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as an air freight specialist.

Bob did 14 assignments in 32 different countries during his 24-year- career. His skills in developing safety strategies ensured many American airmen returned home safely from their missions overseas. Bob climbed the ranks to becoming a senior munitions inspector and missile inspector, where he was in charge of ensuring all missile systems were ready for combat.

After retiring from the military in 1998, Bob decided to make Alabama his

home. Now, he uses his time volunteering across our State. He started by volunteering as a volleyball, softball, and basketball coach in Dora, AL. Now, he volunteers with veterans and faith groups in the Wiregrass. Bob and his wife are actively involved in Post Oak Baptist Church in Ozark. Bob helps fix donated appliances for the Dale County Baptist Association's thrift store. He also serves as a service officer for Chapter No. 94 of the Disabled American Veterans, where he helps veterans with benefits and medical appointments.

Bob is also very involved with Friends of Army Aviation, helping inspire future generations of aviators and supporting aviator veterans. Friends of Army Aviation President Doc Holladay says that Bob ``works tirelessly and consistently on any job that he is assigned. There is no hill too high for a climber like Bob.''

Alabama is fortunate that Bob chose to use his talents to make our State a better place to call home. I am proud to recognize Bob Ammons as the November Veteran of the Month.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Reserving the right to object, I want to start by thanking my colleagues for their service in the Armed Forces in the greatest country ever. There is no institution in this world I honor more than the U.S. military. I am thankful to every veteran in this country.

I also want to note that I respect my colleagues' strong pro-life voting record. The Republican Party has been the pro-life party for half a century. We ought to be proud that we stand for life. We stand for the most vulnerable of our society: the unborn. I know my colleagues here share that conviction. The disagreement we are having today is about tactics.

Let me explain why I am doing it, how we got here, and where we go from

here. Nine months ago, the Pentagon announced that they would start using our taxpayer dollars to facilitate abortion. Let me say that one more time. Nine months ago, the Pentagon announced--announced by memo-- that they would start using our taxpayer dollars to facilitate abortion. The Pentagon is now paying for travel and extra time off for servicemembers and their dependents to get abortions.

Congress never voted for this. We also never appropriated the money for this. There is no law that allows them to do this. In fact, there is a law that says they can't do this. One more time: There is a law that says they can't do this, created in this room. It is 10 USC, Section 1093. It says the only time the Pentagon can spend taxpayer dollars on abortion is in cases of rape, incest, and threat to the health of the mom. So this is a policy that is illegal and immoral. This is about life, and it is also about the rule of law. It is about our Constitution. It is about whether we make laws at the Pentagon or whether we follow the Constitution.

This is also about the integrity of our military. The only thing in this world I honor more than our military is the Constitution. We all swore to uphold the Constitution. I also feel very strongly about the obligation to uphold it every day in this room. I cannot simply sit idly by while the Biden administration injects politics in our military--again--injects politics in our military from the White House and spends taxpayers' dollars on abortion.

The only power that a Senator in the minority has is to put a hold on a nomination--the only thing. I am not the first person to do this. Holds on nominations happen all the time. Holds on military nominations have happened many, many, many, many times before. Typically, they don't last as long because the administration will work with a Senator until the issue is resolved. But that has not happened this time. Zero negotiation.

Abortion is the most important thing to the Democrats that they have, and they won't negotiate. One more time: Abortion is the most important thing the Democrats have, and they will not negotiate.

This has been going on for 9 months. Every day this continues is a day that Democrats think abortion is more important than the nomination at our military. I support many of these nominees, and I agree that these are very, very important jobs. But we could have been voting on these nominees the entire 9 months.

The Senate has had more than 90 days off this year, not including weekends. Each nomination could take as little as 2 hours. In fact, tomorrow we will be voting on three of the most important nominees that we forced the leader of the Senate to bring to the floor. The nominees at the very top ought to be voted on anyway. These jobs are too important not to receive the advice and consent of the Senate.

I have to respectfully disagree with my colleagues about the effect of my hold on readiness. My hold is not affecting readiness. The Biden administration has been saying this for months, but nobody has an explanation. Nobody. The fact is, no jobs are going unfilled. Every job is being done. In fact, GEN Mark Milley said recently that our readiness is the best it has been in years. Time and again, generals and servicemembers have assured me that they are ready to go. I believe them.

I am going to keep my holds in place. If Senators want to vote on these nominees one by one, I am all in. I am happy to do that. But I will keep my hold in place until the Pentagon follows the law or the Democrats change the law. This is about our Constitution. This is about the rule of law. That is what we are about in here. It is about the integrity of our military. It is about keeping politics out of the military. I did not put it in the military. Joe Biden and Secretary Austin put politics in the military. And it is about the right to life. These are some of the most important things in the world to me. And so I object.

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Senator, that was the type of negotiation I have been looking for, for the last 9 months. Nobody--zero--has come to me with any alternatives to bypass to get this done.

It would; it would be a good starting point. We can sit down and work this out, but we can't do it without negotiations. That is

what I was saying earlier. There have been zero negotiations. There has been no give. It has all been take--three 1-minute calls with the Secretary. I haven't talked to him since June. There has been no more conversation. So how do you work out a problem without communication?

Reserving the right to object, first of all, I would like to correct something my colleague just said. Not one time in my life have I ever said anything about anybody in our military was a desk jockey. I don't know where he got that from. I guess that is a military term. I would not do

that. I would not disrespect anybody in any job in the military that they have ever done. So I just want to set that story straight with people who will write a little bit about this disagreement tonight.

But with that, I object.

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Madam President, I object.

Madam President, I object.

Madam President, I object.

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Madam President, I object.

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Mr. President, I come to the floor today to express my strong--very strong--support for Israel. On October 7, Israel was suddenly and deliberately attacked by a group of terrorists. Now, they didn't attack military institutions; they attacked citizens--citizens in Israel. It has been described by some as Israel's 9/11 or Israel's Pearl Harbor.

They killed women and children. They filmed themselves, and they broadcast it on the internet. They were proud. They were very proud of what they were doing. They killed more than 1,400 innocent people. This includes more than 30 Americans. Sometimes that is forgotten by our mainstream media.

This is the largest terrorist killing of Americans since 9/11. More than 100 people--100 people--are still held hostage by Hamas, and this also includes Americans.

So we need to do two things: First, we need to get the hostages out. That is very, very important. It has been too long. Then, we need to ensure that this never happens again.

You know, Israel can do both of these things. Israel has a highly--a very highly--advanced military and a highly advanced economy. The only way to ensure that Hamas cannot ever attack again, as Israel says, is to wipe them from the face of the Earth.

This is Israel's mission, and we hear this from their leaders every day. The role of the United States in this conflict should be to support and supply.

So let's first talk about support. Over the last 2 weeks, we have seen the leftwing protest against Israel and support of Hamas. It is hard to believe, but it is very, very, very true. We have seen them overseas in London and in Sydney, but we have also seen them here in the United States on college campuses.

To me, that is absolutely disgusting. I will just mention a few examples. Students at Harvard--at Harvard, mind you--defended Hamas for what they did. Next, they will be complaining about not being able to get jobs. I wonder why they won't be able to get jobs, especially in places like Wall Street.

Students at the University of California, Long Beach, handed out fliers with pictures of Hamas. The list goes on and on. But this tells us a lot about the state of our education in this country.

I was involved in education for 40 years. I can understand it. These kids don't know the first thing about the Middle East or about foreign policy. A

lot are not taught this. But they have been marinated in woke ideology since grade school at a lot of our public schools. Leftwing groups are siding with terrorists because of this.

Today, there are protests happening here at the Capitol, right here on Capitol Hill. The appropriations hearings with Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinken have been repeatedly--repeatedly--every few minutes, interrupted by leftwing, pro-Hamas protesters. Pro-Hamas leftists shut down a building in the House just a couple of weeks ago--shut it down. Now they want to shut down the Appropriations Committee. Many of these groups are funded by Democrat dark money groups.

These leftwing groups are calling for a cease-fire over in Gaza. This is like calling for a cease-fire after Pearl Harbor, as some of the leaders in Israel have said.

To me, a cease-fire is a surrender. A cease-fire means Hamas gets to kill civilians without any consequences after what they did on October 7. Every single Democrat in the Senate needs to condemn these leftwing groups--everybody. We all need to condemn these groups.

The left is making excuses for these terrorists. It is immoral, and it is un-American what is going on across our country and with these protests. We need to ensure that terrorists never ever attack anybody like this again. This requires, again, wiping off Hamas from the map. And as you listen to the Israeli leaders, that is exactly what they plan to do.

Israel is going to be able to do this. They are going to be able to do it themselves. They are not going to need our help, but they will need supplies. We need to ensure that they have what they need to wipe Hamas off from existence.

I support sending Israel more weapons if they need them. But, unfortunately, there is already an effort to tie Israel funding to Ukraine funding right here in this building.

President Biden sent over a request for a supplemental funding bill just this past week, and it includes $14 billion for Israel. But it also includes $60 billion for Ukraine. That is $230 million a day. That is four times as much for Ukraine than it is for Israel. The war in Ukraine has nothing do with the war in Israel. Israel is our No. 1 ally. Sometimes people forget that. Ukraine is not our No. 1 ally. They are not even in NATO.

The war in Israel is about killing terrorists who want to kill not only people in countries like Israel but also Americans. There is no reason Ukraine and Israel aid need to be in the same bill. I am against that. I am for funding Israel, first and foremost. So we need to vote on them separately. We ought to support Israel, and we need to supply Israel. We need to stand with them as they take on the terrorists. It is going to be a very, very tough and grueling job, but we support them.

Mr. President, although she is just 25 years old, Specialist Rachel Roney-Rivera's life has been all about breaking barriers. A native of Beauregard, Rachel enlisted in the U.S. Army on her 18th birthday, using her interests to become a paralegal for the National Guard.

After finishing her military service as an E-4 specialist, Rachel decided to use her experience to pursue a career in law enforcement. She graduated top of her class at the police academy before

joining the Chambers County Sheriff's Office. Rachel has proven to be a vital part of the force, including becoming the first woman to be selected for the SWAT team. She now serves as a sex crimes investigator, helping families during some of the most difficult times in their lives. Chambers County Sheriff Jeff Nelson says that Rachel, ``puts 110% into every case to bring resolution and justice.''

Rachel's presence in the community extends far past her investigative work. She also serves as a self-defense instructor, where she helps empower women in East Alabama with confidence and defense training techniques. But that is not all--Rachel is also preparing to graduate with her bachelor's degree in psychology from Columbia Southern next spring. She is studying for the LSAT, hoping to become an attorney one day. In addition to being a full-time deputy and student, Rachel is also a proud full-time mom to a 4-year-old daughter.

Her story inspires Alabamians young and old about what can be accomplished with hard work and determination. I am honored to recognize Rachel as the October Veteran of the Month.

Mr. President, 2 hours ago, Senator Schumer announced that we will be voting on the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Army Chief of Staff, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

It is about time. I have called for individual votes on these nominees for almost 6 months. Instead of voting, Democrats have spent months complaining about having to vote. They want to use floor time for things like liberal judges, like the one we confirmed a couple of hours ago.

Senator Schumer could have confirmed these nominees a long, long time ago. We have had more than 80 days off this year in the Senate, not including weekends. Yet Senator Schumer is outraged that we are voting on these nominations.

As I have noted before, the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was given a floor vote in 2018. The current nominee for that position, General Brown, was given a floor vote for his current position not long ago. Despite what Senator Reed and others have said, there is nothing wrong with a floor vote on these nominations.

I ran for Senate so I could vote on behalf of the people of the State of Alabama. I didn't come up here just to outsource my job to the Pentagon or the White House. Yet that is exactly what Democrats want to do. That is the current position of Senate Democrats.

The Constitution says we make the laws here in Congress, not in the Pentagon and not in the White House. So this is not about me. It is about the Senate and the Constitution. This is a win today for the legislative branch of government. Voting gives all Senators a voice for their constituents.

The Constitution says that the Senate is to ``advise and consent'' to the President's nominations. Over the last 6 months, Democrats in this Chamber have actually complained that the Senate has too much power. Senator Schumer made reference this afternoon to proposals by Democrats to make the Senate weaker. Senate Democrats have been more than happy to go along with executive overreach when a Democrat is in the Oval Office.

Democrats have spent the last 6 months attacking me for standing up to an illegal and immoral new policy. Many of these attacks have been wrong on the facts. First, they said I was leaving important jobs open. That is false.

Then they complained that we have acting officials in many important roles. They claim that generals and admirals just can't do the job as an acting official.

Senator Reed came to the floor 2 weeks ago and said we ``have no effective military leadership'' in several branches of the military right now. One member of the House said the military is ``paralyzed.''

I don't even think the Pentagon would defend these accusations. Democrats still have never shown me one fact to show that we were behind on readiness. It is just not true.

Just last week, GEN Charles Flynn, our top Army general in the Pacific, said he hasn't noticed any challenges because of the hold--not any. Over the weekend, the outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Milley, said our readiness is better than it has been in years.

This hold is not affecting readiness.

If Democrats want to complain, then they should look in the mirror. I don't control the Senate floor; the Democrats do.

In a typical week, we work 3 days. Those aren't the kinds of hours people are working back in my home State of Alabama. This is one of the least productive Senates in our lifetime.

Democrats can't have it both ways. Either they can confirm these nominees through regular order or they can stop complaining about acting officials.

Democrats say there is a large backlog of nominees. They say it would take a long time. Well, I agree. It has been a big backlog. But, again, Chuck Schumer allowed the backlog to build up over 6 months. It is his fault.

We could have been confirming one or two a week over the last 200 days. It would have taken us just 4 hours of voting each week.

But we didn't do it. We took another angle of just sitting back and watching. Chuck Schumer refused again and again and again.

We don't have a lack of leadership in our military. We have a lack of leadership right here in the U.S. Senate.

Despite the lack of leadership, Senators are perfectly capable of voting. Voting is our job. That is why we were sent here.

So to be clear, my hold is still in place. The hold will remain in place as long as the Pentagon's illegal abortion policy remains in place. If the Pentagon lifts the policy, then I will lift my hold--easy as that. That has been my position from the very beginning.

I am not afraid to vote on these nominees or on all of these nominees. I came here to this Chamber to vote, and I reserve the right to seek another cloture petition on the nominees in the future.

So that is where we stand today.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, this is my third year serving on the Senate Ag Committee. This is my first time getting to work on a farm bill. The farm bill comes around every 5 years. It sets national policy on agriculture, nutrition, conservation, and forestry.

In less than 2 weeks, at the end of this fiscal year, the current farm bill will expire.

In 2018, this bill had a pricetag of $867 billion, right--$867 billion 5 years ago, in 2018. Now, we used to think that was a lot of money, but the upcoming farm bill is almost double that amount at roughly $1.5 trillion. This is the first trillion-dollar farm bill in our Nation's history.

The enormous pricetag of the bill is driven by an 84-percent increase in SNAP, or Federal nutrition assistance, and a 58-percent increase in conservation programs--in other words, a huge increase in welfare and climate spending. Most of this new spending does not offer support for farmers.

The $559 billion increase in SNAP funding was done directly by the Department of Agriculture through updates to the Thrifty Food Plan. In other words, nobody in Congress voted for this. The $35 billion in conservation funding was done through the Inflation Reduction Act of last year. Democrats are pushing through priorities that cater to climate activists and lead Americans to become dependent on welfare benefits. Approximately 82 percent of the upcoming farm bill goes to SNAP, commonly known as food stamps. Four percent goes to conservation.

Just yesterday, we hit $33 trillion in debt for this country--yes, I said that--$33 trillion. That will be picked up--this tab--by our grandkids and their kids.

This graph here, developed by the Farm Bureau Federation, showcases the enormous increase in nutrition spending and the steady decline of farm spending over the last 50 years. As you can see, SNAP spending has almost doubled what it was 5 years ago. How is this even possible? Has poverty doubled in our country in the last 5 years? Of course, it hasn't.

The poverty rate has been between 10 and 20 percent during my lifetime--10 to 20 percent. We spent $20 trillion in the war on poverty, and we have not even moved the needle. What does that mean? That means we are not doing our job. All we are doing is we are paying for somebody else to do it. So it doesn't work.

Yet I never hear my Democratic colleagues consider how we fight poverty. We just give out money. If my colleagues on the left cared about poverty, then they would want better results. But nobody wants better results here. They want votes. Welfare spending--if we would ever get it in our heads--welfare spending does not lift people out of poverty. Are we ever going to realize that? It simply makes people more comfortable remaining in poverty, and that makes it wrong. It makes it wrong for this body that we continue down this path of poverty and not helping poverty.

Food stamps are supposed to help people stay afloat while they work to become self-sufficient, help them get through tough times--not a free walk in society. It should not be an incentive to stay home other than to train and want to get a job, but that is exactly what it has done. Making someone dependent on government is not helping them; it is hurting them.

The whole purpose of the farm bill is supposed to be to help farmers. What an idea. Yet $7 out of $8--$7 out of $8 in the farm bill is for something else. Our farmers depend on crop insurance; commodity programs such as the Agricultural Risk program--ARC, as we call it--and price-loss coverage, which is the PLC program; and disaster programs to help them deal with difficult crop yields, markets, and rising input costs.

Farmers can't control the weather or the price, and that is the reason they need help. We have to remember farmers put food on the table. But there is a lot of people who don't understand that.

These are some of the hardest working people in America, and they have too little to show for it. Back home in my State of Alabama, I have heard the struggles facing our row croppers and our specialty crop producers. They need help to deal with inflation and rising input costs. Farm production costs have increased--have increased 28 percent since Joe Biden took office less than 3 years ago. That is embarrassing. How in the world can we increase prices 28 percent in this country in 2\1/2\ years and expect the people in this country to survive, the hard-working people? Farmers included.

Fuel and fertilizer are 60 percent to 130 percent higher than they were in 2021. Folks, we can't survive with that; but my colleagues on the left are not even concerned about it--not one bit. We are just going to cut back on digging oil and gas and buy it from other countries and charge the heck out of taxpayers in the United States of America for oil and gas that we can produce here.

Other farm expenses like land, cash rents, labor, and equipment are all adding up. As a result, net farm income is projected to decrease by roughly 23 percent this year. Costs are up, incomes are down, and farmers are struggling to survive.

We are on a direct collision in this country of closing our farmers out and having to completely depend on other countries for our food and other things that we eat. Think about that--completely depend on other countries.

We just found out going through this COVID crisis that we were completely dependent on other countries for our drugs. We said: We have got to overcome that. We have got to redo that. Now, we are doing the same thing to our farmers. We do away with our food, it is over, because if you think prices are high now, they will be completely a lot higher than they are now.

The only thing that is keeping our farmers afloat is called the Farm Safety Net, but the current support levels for title I commodity programs, like cotton, peanuts, and soybeans, are not high enough to sustain our farmers over the next 5 years.

In other words, this safety net is a level of pricing. If the price goes under a certain amount, we help our farmers overcome that cutback where they can survive. The problem is, that safety net price has not risen since 2012. And we don't think the prices haven't gone up? We have lost our minds.

If we don't raise those reference prices--and right now, my colleagues on the left don't want to raise our reference prices for farmers--we are going to be buying all of our food and everything we eat from other countries. It is coming. We have got to raise our reference prices.

We have got to help out our farmers. These programs and these reference prices allow farmers to continue clothing, feeding, and fueling every citizen in this country and a lot of other countries.

Now, we don't need to idly sit by while our hard-working producers work tirelessly and barely survive under this Joe Biden economy. I ask my colleagues--I beg my colleagues--on the left to wake up, open your eyes, and support our farmers and fight for this farm bill. Raise the reference prices. Help them out. Because if we don't,

there won't be a need for another farm bill. Our Nation's food security is going to depend on it, and the lives of all American citizens are going to depend on it.

I yield the floor.