Floor Statements

Mr. President, reserving the right to object.

I object, and I will give the reasons why. I am happy to explain all of the holds on my nominations, and I am glad to see my colleague, the Senator from Ohio, who will be here in just a moment to support these efforts.

My friend from Colorado says this hold is unprecedented. It is not unprecedented at all. In fact, there is very recent precedent. Just a couple of years ago, the junior Senator from Illinois, a Democrat, held more than 1,000 military nominations. The reason she held them was over one single officer she wanted promoted.

My colleague from Colorado threatened to do the same thing just a few weeks ago.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a news article from January 24.

The headline reads: ``Colorado [Democrat] threatens to hold Pentagon nominees over Space Command [Headquarters].'' That Colorado Democrat happens to be my colleague opposite me as we speak.

He has given us emotion and opinion. Let's talk about the facts.

Last summer, the Supreme Court returned the decision to regulate abortion to the States. In response, the Department of Defense claimed that this was a threat to the readiness of our Armed Forces. They said this without any evidence at all.

On July 15 of last year, Republican members of the Armed Services Committee asked Secretary Austin how the Department came to this conclusion. It wasn't until November that the Department scheduled a briefing with Senate offices to give us some answers. However, minutes before the briefing was scheduled to begin, the Department canceled.

On December 5, 2022, I sent a letter to Secretary Austin letting him know I would hold all civilian and general and flag officer nominees until we got some answers. Less than 24 hours later, we got answers. The answers were disturbing.

We learned the Pentagon intended to go well beyond what has been authorized by Congress. Federal law only allows the military to provide abortions in three very narrow circumstances: rape, incest, and threat to the life of the mother. Yet the Biden administration has turned the DOD into an abortion travel agency. They did it by using just a memo.

The Biden administration wants abortion-on-demand for not just those enlisted in our military but their family members as well. This would expand the policy to millions of people. Now, the American taxpayers are on the hook to cover nonchargeable paid time off and travel costs for abortions for our military and their families. Again, nobody voted for this. This goes beyond the law.

We still have a Constitution in this country to go by, and the Constitution is clear: Congress makes the laws. The executive branch enforces the laws.

Secretary Austin seems to think he can make a change in the law without going through Congress. It would be irresponsible for the U.S. Senate to allow an administration to walk all over the legislative branch. Secretary Austin cannot change the law by memo. Congress cannot be replaced by a post on the Department of Defense website.

In December, I warned the Department that I would hold their nominees if they tried to force abortion-on-demand on our military, and they did it anyway. The Department knew what the consequences would be. It was clear. This was their choice.

I will continue to hold these nominees until the Department of Defense follows the law or Congress changes the law. In the meantime, we should do our job and vote. If these nominees are so important to the Democrats, then the Democratic leader can find time to get them on the floor.

Frankly, I wish Democrats were this concerned about our enlisted servicemembers. We have a recruiting crisis in this country. The Army missed its recruiting goal by 15,000 last year. That is an entire division. One of the causes of this crisis is the policies of the Biden administration.

At yesterday's Armed Services hearing, I talked about the Navy's training materials. Many of these materials denigrate religious Americans, who are the majority in this country.

Democrats seem a lot more worried about these nominations than about our recruitment, the people who actually fight wars.

If Democrats are so worried about the nominations, then they can bring them up for a vote. We have more than enough time to vote on nominees. We have voted on plenty of nominees this year. That is about the only thing the leader has let us do so far.

I will continue to come down here and lay out the facts for as long as my colleague from Colorado wants to. We talked about this less than a month ago. The facts have not changed. My position has not changed. So I reserve the right to object.

I object.

Mr. President, on a lighter note than the majority leader's, I would like to talk about something a little different.

A couple of weekends ago, Americans across the country lost an hour of sleep to ``spring forward'' and reset their clocks for what we call daylight savings time. I am willing to bet losing that hour might have caused some friends back home in Alabama to have been late for church that day.

But the outdated practice of changing our clocks twice a year has many more consequences than the inconvenience of running behind, and Congress should make this year the last time we ever change our clocks by passing the Sunshine Protection Act.

Over the past 2 years, I have received many, many calls from people across Alabama to make daylight savings time permanent. Many Alabamians, including parents, seniors, farmers, citizens, and mental health professionals, have all reached out to my office in support of days of more sunshine in the evening--but not just Alabamians. Millions--I mean, millions--of Americans are ready to end the outdated practice of springing forward and falling back.

The idea of daylight savings time was originally known as wartime, W- A-R. It was first introduced as a temporary measure to conserve energy and better utilize resources during World War I. Now, nearly 100 years later, Americans' energy consumption has rapidly, rapidly changed. While adjustments to our clocks might have made sense when it first began, it does not make sense for modern times today.

That is why I joined Senator Marco Rubio and a bipartisan group of my colleagues to reintroduce the Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight savings time permanent. The bill would provide an extra hour of sunlight in the afternoon, which would be most notable during the dark and cold winter months.

Many studies have proven that extra sunlight in the evening can lead to improvements in mental health, physical fitness, economic growth, and overall well-being. It is a simple way we could positively impact the day-to-day life of all Americans and finally get something done that a lot of people really care about.

Shifting clocks can disrupt sleep patterns, but a permanent daylight savings time will help Americans maintain a consistent sleep schedule. Studies have suggested that the disruption of sleep patterns associated with the shift in time has increased the risks of cardiovascular disease and physical injuries. Northwestern Medicine found that the ``fall back'' and ``spring forward'' comes with a 9-percent spike in fatal car accidents and a 24-percent higher risk of heart attacks.

Additionally, the long-term effects linked to daylight saving time include weight gain, headaches, and depression. The time switch in the fall increases seasonal affective disorder every year.

A study published in 2017 found that the transition from daylight saving time to standard time increased--increased--the number of hospital visits for depression by 11 percent.

Permanent daylight saving time with extra sunlight in the evening will also encourage more physical activity, allow more time for people to go on walks, participate in recreational activities, and attend outdoor events. Kids will be able to enjoy more time outdoors after school with friends year-round, and older Americans will have more access to vitamin D.

Longer daylight hours in the evening have proven to stimulate economic activity, as well, because people are more likely to shop, dine out, and participate in other activities.

COVID lockdowns, which were very recent, and their crippling economic effect throughout the country underscore how valuable our small businesses are for local economies and our entire Nation as a whole.

The agriculture industry is also greatly affected by daylight saving time, as more sunshine during working hours means more time to work on their crops, which could translate into a more profitable bottom line. It could also decrease expensive energy consumption on farms by reducing the need for artificial lighting and heating.

It is estimated that the time change costs the U.S. economy more than $400 million in lost productivity annually.

Alabama, along with 17 other States, has already passed legislation to end the outdated practice of changing our clocks--17. However, the Federal Government must act to make those laws go into effect.

Congress should listen--should listen--to the people and pass the Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight saving time permanent before we readjust our clocks again next fall. The change would improve our health, bolster our economy, benefit our farmers, and put America on the path to a brighter future.

It is time for America to move forward and stop falling back.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that Will Bridges, in my office, be granted floor privileges until May 1, 2023.

Reserving the right to object.

The Senator from Colorado may have good intentions, Madam President, but he is wrong on the facts.

I am holding the DOD nominations because the Secretary of Defense is trying to push through a massive expansion of taxpayer-subsidized abortions without going through this body, without going through Congress.

Three months ago, I informed Secretary Austin that if he tried to turn the DOD into an abortion travel agency, I would place a hold on all civilian flag and general officer nominees. Other than a couple of calls to my staff to ask whether I was serious, the DOD leadership has yet to call me directly and justify this action. In fact, they have not explained this decision to Congress despite multiple letters, more than a dozen from my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee.

Secretary Austin's new abortion policy is immoral and, arguably, illegal. If he wants to change the law, he needs to go through Congress.

The DOD refused to answer questions or justify this policy for months last year. When they finally answered our questions after another nominee hold, the policy was exposed for what it really is: nothing but a political charade to appease the left. These holds have no real impact on military readiness or operation. The military wasting time and resources to coordinate abortion trips hurts readiness, not the Senate using regular order to vote on nominees.

If my colleague cared about military readiness, maybe we would go after more of the ridiculous policies that have led to our lowest--our lowest--recruiting numbers in decades. But my hold does send a message that the Secretary is not--and I repeat--not above the law, and he cannot ignore lawmakers who are demanding his organization abide by the law.

I object, and I will continue to object to any nominees as long as this illegal new abortion policy is in place. I am holding the military accountable. Others are holding our national security hostage by forcing their agenda where it doesn't belong.

Americans want a military focused on a national defense. And that is what I am fighting for. For these reasons, I object.

Mr. President, I think we got a little offtrack here.

In getting back to the objection a little bit, I don't think there is anybody here who said it has anything to do with doing away with abortion. The Department of Defense has had, for years, a policy about abortion in the military. My problem is, they have changed it. And the last time I looked, the people who make the laws are not on the Supreme Court and not in the Pentagon--it is this place right here. We make the laws. They have done abortions for years in the military for rape, incest, and harm to the mom--through health. They want to change this to where a third party has said thousands and thousands would start getting abortions and not just military personnel but also their dependents.

This is about who is paying for this. The American taxpayers shouldn't be told they have to pay for abortions. That is not the way it is written. The military should not be paying for abortions. So, as we got offtrack there a little bit about what we were talking about, we are talking about a new policy based not on facts but on conjecture from the Department of Defense that they are going to do it on their own without coming through this body.

Now a little bit about SPACECOM, as the good Senator from Colorado brought up.

You know, it is unfortunate that Members from States that weren't really even running for SPACECOM headquarters are trying to tack on completely unrelated political issues to a fact-based decision. SPACECOM's and the DOD's abortion policies have nothing to do with each other. I don't recall abortion being part of the Air Force's selection process a couple of years ago when they called me and said: Coach, we are going to put SPACECOM in Huntsville, AL. The decision to put SPACECOM in Huntsville was based on facts and facts alone and evidence of what was best for the military and for our country and our national defense. That is the reason they chose it. That decision was then reconfirmed by multiple independent studies over the last couple of years.

The DOD's inspector general and the GAO confirmed that Huntsville was the No. 1 location for SPACECOM based on things like workforce, existing infrastructure, education, and the cost of living. Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville is, far and away, the best place for SPACECOM. This is not my opinion. It is fact. It is fact from several studies. Attempts to change that with progressive talking points are shameful and purely political. It is really a shame.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, since coming to Washington 2 years ago, I have learned a lot about the Senate and about how Washington works. Politics can, at times, be like a game. While we may be on different teams politically, we should all be focused on winning for all American people. If there is one thing I know about in my last 40 years as a coach and educator, it is trying to win and how to win.

Fifty years ago, we discovered a winning strategy for all of American female athletes. It was called title IX, probably one of the most successful pieces of legislation that has ever come out of this body. Signed into law in 1972, title IX's 37 words empowered women to win by leveling the playing field and providing them access to the same opportunities as young men.

I believe those words are worth repeating today to remind this body of their importance:

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex,

be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of,

or be subjected to discrimination under any educational

program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

Those sometimes on the left argue that allowing males to compete against females makes sports more inclusive. I don't believe that. The opposite, to me, is true. Forcing females to compete against males destroys the level playing field created by law. It would exclude young women from the safety and fairness that they deserve. Title IX's success would be undone if this continues to happen, and that success that title IX is and has been is undeniable.

Since its enactment, participation in female sports has increased by more than 600 percent. Think about that now. In 50 years, because of title IX, the participation in women's sports has increased 600 percent, and the number of female college graduates in the United States increased dramatically from 8 to 40 percent. You don't see things like that happen. Title IX has afforded many women the opportunity to receive athletic scholarships and become our engineers, our doctors, our lawyers, and our leaders, without the burden of having college debt.

Sadly, title IX is being attacked by activists who care more about politics than what is best for women and girls. The U.S. Department of Education is caving--is giving in--to progressive activists and moving ahead with plans to force schools to allow biological males to share locker rooms and compete in women's sports. This irrational and unprecedented move comes despite record numbers of educators, parents, and athletes who have voiced their concerns about the disastrous impact that this would have on female athletes of all ages.

The Department of Education, President Biden, and my colleagues on the left in Congress have ignored those concerns because they care more about appeasing activists and the progressive left than actually protecting young women. I just can't understand this. It is shameful.

Beginning next year, coaches will be forced to decide between opening up locker rooms to biological males or face dire consequences. Allowing biological males to compete against young women is unfair, it is unsafe, and it is wrong. We can't look Americans in the eye and honestly say we support female athletes if we stand by as they are forced into uncomfortable settings they do not deserve, and we can't tell young women we want them to succeed if we allow the radical left to push them to the sidelines of their sports and take away their future opportunities for scholarships and fair competition. It is not the American way.

If you visited my hometown of Auburn, AL, on a Friday night over the past few months, you would see an arena--thousands of people--full of excited young girls watching the Auburn gymnastics team. Many of them dream of becoming Olympic gymnasts--gymnasts just like Suni Lee, who is an Olympic Gold medalist.

Others make the trip to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa to see the World Games and to see Montana Fouts on the mound, aspiring to one day become a star softball pitcher at a higher level.

Our girls and young women should be able to continue to dream and compete. Taking away their title IX protections by twisting the law could strip those opportunities for female athletes across our great country.

Since 2003, biological men have won 28 women's sports titles. Let me read that again. Since 2003, biological men have won 28 women's sports titles. We have all heard from athletes like Riley Gaines, the college swimmer who, this past year, bravely spoke out after being forced to share a locker room and the awards podium with a swimmer who had the unfair advantage of swimming in a male body.

Over the weekend, we learned that a judge in Minnesota has ordered the U.S.A. power lifting teams to allow biological men to compete against female power lifters.

Where will this end? When will we step up and say enough is enough? Congress must act to save title IX and make sure competition is safe and fair for everyone, including girls and women. This is why, last week, I reintroduced the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. This legislation would require institutions to recognize an athlete's gender solely based on what it is at birth or else be banned from receiving Federal funding.

You know, it sounds absurd even to me to say, but, sadly, this legislation is now necessary to preserve title IX for current and future female athletes. It is really sad.

I am thankful for those colleagues here in the Senate who have joined me in standing up for women's sports, and I hope that others will join our efforts in the future.

We have to save title IX. We have to save young girls and women to be able to participate on the same level, with the same funding and access to coaches, as men. Millions of young girls and women are looking to us in this body and to the people across this country, looking to us to stand up for them and that starts with action to ensure that the playing field remains level for generations and generations to come.

This Senate must take up this crucial legislation and help every young woman and young girl in this great country that we live in.

Madam President, I yield the floor.

Madam President, for some veterans, serving their country meant foregoing their own dreams so that millions of Americans would have the opportunity to pursue theirs. That is true for U.S. Marine Cpl Jimmy Sullivan of Foley, a star linebacker at Vigor High School in Mobile, who always dreamed of playing football for Coach Paul ``Bear'' Bryant at the University of Alabama.

But when the offer letter came from Coach Bryant, Corporal Sullivan knew that he could not accept because he saw the many Americans who were dying in the Vietnam war. So instead of following his dream to play college football, he dropped out of high school to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps at the age of 18.

The two-time Purple Heart recipient recalls several close calls during his 2 years in Vietnam, but a particular experience stands out in his mind. One foggy day while transporting deceased

American soldiers, Corporal Sullivan heard a voice repeatedly tell him to turn around. After looking around, he finally turned to discover an enemy soldier waiting in the bushes to attack him. Despite receiving multiple gunshot wounds from the encounter, he still believes that voice saved his life, making him one of the few from his company who returned home alive. Through it all, when you ask him about his military service, his response is ``I wouldn't change ONE thing.''

Not one to be idle, Corporal Sullivan became an operator for Chevron Oil Company and now works as a security guard for Sidwell Protection Services. In addition to being a beloved ``Pop,'' Corporal Sullivan is actively involved in his congregation at Bibleway Assembly of God Church in Foley, where he serves as a deacon and helps in community outreach efforts. His grit and courage is an inspiration to us all.

I am proud to recognize Corporal Sullivan as the March Veteran of the Month.

Madam President, last week, like many of us in here-- many of my colleagues--I spent time meeting with a lot of great folks back in my home State of Alabama. It was great to be home. It was great to be able to share the progress my office has made in the first 2 years, as well as my vision and priorities for the 118th Congress.

I visited Huntsville, AL, and had the opportunity to meet with some of the leaders in defense, education, and business. This included stops at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center; Alabama A&M University, one of the top HBCUs in the country; and other important sites, including businesses in Madison County, AL.

But I would like to take some time today to speak specifically about one stop on my trip that opened my eyes to a subject we should talk about more often in this Chamber. The National Children's Advocacy Center in Huntsville is a global leader in services, investigations, and counseling for children who suffer physical and sexual abuse. The center's work is important, and I am proud to share that work today.

I think we can all agree that we want our kids to have access to all the opportunities that this great country provides. Unfortunately, many children in Alabama and across the country are robbed of the opportunity to thrive and pursue their dreams because of abuse and neglect.

During my visit, the center's executive director, Chris Newlin, shared that 1 in 10 American children today will be victims of abuse before the age of 18. This is horrific, it is unacceptable, and it is embarrassing to our country. These kids don't know what it is like to have a carefree childhood or loving families who support their goals. They aren't able to devote energy to school, join in team sports, or have fun because their only goal in life is just to survive. Not only are they robbed of their childhood, but many times they are robbed of their adulthood as well.

Studies show that there are several long-term effects of child abuse. These include delayed brain development, lower educational success, and limited career opportunities. Victims are also more likely to suffer from future abuse, drug usage, and medical complications. Additionally, they are less likely to own cars, buy homes, or engage in business, making them less likely to be able to support a family in the future.

Nearly 600,000 kids in the United States were abused in 2021. To repeat that, 600,000 kids in the greatest country on the face of the Earth were abused in 2021, with the most common form of abuse being neglect.

Child abuse cases in Alabama have increased throughout the years, with more than 12,000 victims reported in 2018, costing the State of Alabama $3.7 billion. Now, that is up $1.5 billion from just 3 years earlier. The cost is outrageous. And while we are still collecting data from the past few years of COVID--and we know how bad that was--we all know that those numbers are going to be outrageous.

We cannot allow this to continue in the United States of America. Fortunately, we have people in our State of Alabama who have made it their mission to help victims of child abuse.

Founded in 1985, the National Children's Advocacy Center, also called the NCAC, is stepping up to save lives and offer hope to thousands and thousands of young people. The NCAC in Huntsville has established more than 1,000 children's advocacy centers in the United States and in 41 countries around the world.

Their work serves thousands and thousands of kids every year, like 7- year-old Benji, who was found unconscious by his grandmother and rushed to the hospital. There, it was discovered he had broken fingers, a broken rib, countless bruises, and old bones that had been broken but never fixed. Doctors determined Benji was also sexually abused.

That night, Benji left the hospital with Julie, who would eventually become his new foster mom, and arrived at the NCAC the very next morning for evaluation. Thanks to the work of the dedicated and selfless professionals in Huntsville, Benji now has a safe and loving home. He has made tremendous strides in playing with other children and bonding with family members and their new family kitten, and trusting his adoptive mother was a huge benefit.

Benji's therapists say he continues to show more confidence and will likely graduate from therapy in just a few months. There is no telling how many Benjis there are out there in our world today.

The center's reach does not end in Alabama. It has expanded around the country and across the world. In 2021, over 30,000 child abuse professionals from 50 States and 17 countries received NCAC training, and more than 400,000 children were served. That is just in 2021. Alabama's network of children's advocacy centers now includes 47 different locations that have conducted tens of thousands of counseling sessions each year. And, thanks to their work, more abusers have been brought to justice. Communities with children's advocacy centers have seen a 196-percent increase in felony prosecutions of child sexual abuse.

I am confident their work will continue to make tremendous impacts in our local communities in Alabama and around the world.

So we all have a duty to stand up for our kids. That is our responsibility. Children are our No. 1 commodity in this country. They will become the next generation of educators, nurses, doctors, lawyers, engineers--even Senators, and maybe even President.

And if we are going to have a strong future, we must make sure we protect and empower this next generation. I commend the team of the National Children's Advocacy Center for their commitment to giving kids a fighting chance--a fighting chance--to overcome unthinkable hardships that most of us never had to realize.

By stepping up to help those who have been left behind, the Center gives kids the opportunity to dream and pursue better lives. I hope we all join this group in doing our part to rescue child abuse victims. I will continue to fight for kids in Alabama and all across our great country, because they deserve it.

And I want to thank the National Children's Advocacy Center for reminding me that we all have a part to play in protecting and serving those who need it most.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, before I get into the topic of my speech today, I just put a tweet out about what I think about the surveillance balloons, which are very, very concerning, being on the Armed Services Committee.

You know, the Chinese surveillance over our skies is very concerning but also the fentanyl from China pouring across our borders every day that is killing 300 Americans a day, that is also very concerning and also the 800-percent increase in Chinese nationals crossing our border every day.

So I think we have got a lot of problems other than just balloons flying around our sky. We need to recognize that. We need to start understanding we have an adversary in China that is our biggest, and the President of the United States--he obviously needs to protect our air, but he needs to protect our borders. We are having people die every day.

What is the most important? The most important thing is protecting the sovereignty of our country, and that is our borders and the sky and protecting our people on the ground, especially from this deadly drug.

So I just wanted to say that before I get into my speech because I know it is important. China is our No. 1 adversary, and we need to start watching every part of it and still watch these balloons fly around the sky that we have no clue of what they are doing or why they are here.

Mr. President, I am proud to recognize U.S. Air Force veteran Master Sergeant Dawn Smith of Notasulga. Sergeant Smith joined the Air Force immediately after graduating high school when a recruitment poster caught her mom's eye. Once she learned about the opportunities available to her through military service, Sergeant Smith felt that it was the right path for her.

Sergeant Smith was stationed at several posts during her 20-year career. She started as a missile maintainer, but retrained as an eyecare technician. As a tribute to her dedicated work ethic, she was selected as a noncommissioned officer academy instructor. Even though the military isn't a traditional, 4-year educational route, she described it as a ``continuing education'' experience.

After she retired from the military, Sergeant Smith started a cattle operation named Lone Oak Farm with her husband Tim, who also served in the Air Force for 23 years. She credits the ``no-fail'' mentality learned in the military for helping her succeed as a first-time farmer. The Smiths have grown their operation from 2 cows to 35, and now, they sell fresh beef to families across Alabama.

Sergeant Smith is truly a ``lifelong learner'' who is always willing to share her knowledge and experiences with others. That is why she is proud to be a 4-H agent assistant for the Tallapoosa County School System, where she teaches ag-related skills to more than 1,000 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders each month. And twice a year, she works with high schoolers, helping them learn how to work with their hands and grow their own produce.

Now, Sergeant Smith helps develop new curriculums for students, including a ``Respect for the Flag'' lesson that teaches the American flag's history, meaning, and how to properly care for it. Sergeant Smith credits the military for giving her greater awareness and compassion for the needs of others around the world. She went to Guatemala for the first time on a medical mission while in the service, which inspired her and her husband to continue mission trips to Guatemala and Alaska after their retirement.

Alabama is grateful for Sergeant Smith's service and proud to recognize her for the February veteran of the Month.

Mr. President, today, I want to begin by recognizing a former colleague of mine and some of Alabama's student athletes.

The Saint James Academy Trojans in Montgomery, AL, recently won the Class 3A Football State Championship for the first time in the school's history. The team, no doubt, put in many long hours on and off the field to prepare for this great, historic achievement. Winning is always fun, but the lessons learned about dedication, discipline, and perseverance will stay with these young men and coaches forever.

I also want to extend a special congrats to the Trojans' coach, Jimmy Perry, on the State championship and on his recent retirement announcement. What a way to go out.

I first met Coach Perry when I hired him in 1999 to be the director of football operations at Auburn University. It was clear then that he had a very bright future ahead of him in the world of coaching, and it is fitting that his coaching career has ended with this historic victory.

So congratulations to Coach Perry and his team at Saint James Academy. I wish them all the best and the coach all the best in future endeavors.

Mr. President, last week, I spent time on the floor urging my colleagues to prioritize freedom in the 118th Congress. By learning from the mistakes of overregulation in the past, we can focus on creating a brighter future and a more prosperous future for all Americans.

We should be doing everything we can to fix the problems created by the government and get Americans back on their feet by unleashing our economic potential and opening doors of opportunity. Unfortunately, too many here in Washington are still focused on growing the size of government and adding regulations they say will save the environment. However, very rarely does making the government larger benefit the American taxpayers and the American citizens of this country.

For decades, fans of Big Government have used climate change warnings to grow their power--for decades, for as long as I can remember. They have claimed we are near the edge of a climate cliff--a prediction they know is impossible to prove and has never come true. Of course, they claim the only solution to this cooked-up crisis is for you, the American taxpayer, to sacrifice even more of your freedoms to tackle this so-called climate dilemma. This sacrifice won't come from the elites, who flew their private jets to Switzerland just a few weeks ago--the ones who are crowing about this. They flew, just a couple of weeks ago, to lecture, while they were there, the working families of this country. No. These sacrifices are expected to be made by average, hard-working American taxpayers. That is what they want.

They want you to give up your affordable gas for imported fuel that is

triple the cost. They want you to give up your ground beef for overpriced and underwhelming meat substitutes. They want you to give up affordable, abundant clean energy we could produce right here in America for the enormous cost of green energy policies. They even want you to be banned from cooking on gas stoves because how you cook in your own kitchen is now the government's business. They want our farmers to cut back and worry about emissions while they are focused on feeding the country and the rest of the world, which is a huge priority. Most importantly, they expect you, the American taxpayer, to foot the bill for their radical climate agenda--obviously.

Well, I think I speak for most Americans when I say: No way. We should say ``no way'' to overpriced electric cars that are made with cobalt, processed and sold by China, and plugged into a charger that is powered by fossil fuels anyway. How do we come up with electricity? By fossil fuels.

We should say ``no'' to fake meats--products that taste as bad as their price and that will eventually kill our livestock producers' way of life. What are we trying to do--put our farmers out of business? Exactly. That is what the climate agenda is about, even though, as we all know, our food security is national security, and we should be promoting domestic food production by protecting our Nation's farmers in every possible way we can--in every way.

We should say ``no'' to unreliable energy sources and the skyrocketing utility bills we are seeing today because America cannot operate and achieve economic success without fossil fuels. It is impossible. I don't know what we are trying to prove. We will come back, but, hopefully, it is not at the sacrifice of the American taxpayers.

We should say ``no'' to trillions and trillions of taxpayer dollars spent on an agenda that is based only on the rantings of failed candidates like Al Gore and John Kerry, global elites at a ski resort, and a European teenager who needs to go back to school and learn to read and write and learn math and stay out of politics at her age. That agenda is based solely on fearmongering and unproven theories-- unproven--but that is how the left likes it. That is how they use fear--to push policy. Their agenda ignores reliable clean energy sources, like nuclear and natural gas that should be viable, but that does not fit their narrative. That is the reason they don't talk about it.

They know nuclear energy--nuclear energy--is the answer, but the climate change group who continues to bark about this, they don't want answers. They don't want to talk about nuclear because the problem itself is too valuable for their pocketbooks and politicians' ambitions. Instead, their narrative has created a growing--growing-- group of Americans and people around the world who now genuinely believe they should live in fear every day. We are teaching it in our schools, we are teaching it in clubs, and it is wrong. These are the folks who throw soup at famous paintings while gluing themselves to the wall and shut down city streets and major highways, calling themselves climate activists.

For standing here on the Senate floor calling this out, some may call me a climate change denier, so I want to be clear. As a conservative, I believe in protecting our environment, conserving our natural resources, and doing what we can to make sure Americans live in a clean, safe environment, in clean communities that will last for generations to come. But I do not believe that we need to give up our livelihoods, our way of life, our access to affordable food and energy because of false claims that we are just a few years away from extinction. These claims are simply not true, and repeating them is dangerous. Instead, I believe we should be investing--investing heavily--in American energy production because we already produce some of the cleanest energy on the face of the Earth.

Giving up our cars, our farms, and our affordable gas prices will do nothing--will do nothing--to stop the changing climate. It has done it for millions of years, and nothing we can do is going to stop that. In fact, in recent years, the United States has only been responsible for about 11 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions--11 percent. In comparison, China, a country with zero plans to cut back, is responsible for 27 percent of global emissions. China's total emissions of greenhouse gases in 2019 were more than our country and every developed country in the world combined.

Our adversaries, like the Chinese, have no plans--they have no plans--to cut back their usage because their economies are growing thanks to affordable energy. In 2020 alone, China invested almost $475 million in coal projects. That was in addition to the 1,100 coal powerplants they already have in use--almost four times the number we have in the United States. Guess what. They are building 350 as we speak. They are not slowing down. Their emissions level will continue to increase rapidly.

Meanwhile, our country's emissions have fallen by about 17 percent since 2005, thanks--now, think about this--thanks in part to our turn to abundant, cleaner sources, such as natural gas, of which we have a 200-year supply already under the ground in this country as we speak. We couldn't use it in 200 years. But we refuse to dig for it, and we refuse to use it.

Not only can we produce the world's cleanest natural gas, we also have the ability to produce the cleanest nuclear power in all of the world--the cleanest. We have refused to use it. We want to import the dirtiest oil, refine it here in our country, and pollute our country because we are too stubborn to use our own.

That will eventually change. It always goes back around. We will use our energy and in just a short period of time. But the climate extremists running the current administration's energy policies would rather beg foreign countries and make deals with dictators whose countries produce all that dirtier oil. It makes no sense.

Blaming the United States for a global problem we didn't create is unfair to whom? The American taxpayers.

Importantly, the energy that we can and should produce at home is terrible for our own economy--that is what they are saying. It makes no sense.

We have to be able to do two things at once: Help our economy thrive and promote innovation that leads to cleaner energy production. We can do two things at one time, but a cult-like obsession with climate alarmism is making us weaker and poorer in the name of a problem created by politicians.

I am calling for commonsense solutions. Let American companies produce more energy. Recognize the benefits of clean energy, like natural gas and nuclear--that is the answer. Stop scaring people into depression by warning of the great climate extinction. Fear is a terrible thing to use. It is not true.

We should focus on solutions that will actually help our people. Last year, I introduced the Restoring American Energy Independence Act. This bill would have reversed President Biden's shutdown of American energy and returned American energy to full production. Of course, it went nowhere with a Democrat-controlled Senate. It didn't get to first base. I hope to see this legislation and other sensible energy solutions put forth in this Congress.

Sooner or later, we are going to use common sense, we are going to start looking after our country and the American taxpayer, and we are going to get off this high horse of thinking we have all the answers, when we do have them here, and it is our American energy.

I hope to see this legislation and other sensible energy legislation and solutions put forth in this Congress. We have to do something. We can't keep punishing the American citizen and the American taxpayer, because if we keep our energy policies woke, we are going to go broke. This country is going to go flat broke. We are going to lose our farmers, we are going to lose small businesses, our prices are going to continue to rise, and it seems like nobody cares.

We better start taking care of the American people. If we unleash domestic production, we can produce clean energy, we can make it more affordable, and we can make life a lot simpler and better for the American people and also our allies. Let's wake up and smell the roses.

Madam President, it is great to be back with my Senate colleagues this week. It has been a while. But we need to get a lot done in this year's new Congress.

As a new Congress is getting underway, our country faces many problems, many problems that we need to address. However, as we look ahead to what we can accomplish this Congress, we also need to look back and learn from the past. Having the courage to recognize and address problems prevents us from making problems and continuing the same thing in the future.

It is high time we take a look back at the devastating impacts of some of the Federal and State government policies in response to COVID- 19 and the pandemic. Most importantly, we have to focus on education. We have to look at the toll the lockdowns have taken on our country's youngest citizens.

Unfortunately, like many issues in DC, the COVID crisis was weaponized for some political gain. The government misused emergency measures to grow its control over Americans' daily lives. Hopefully, those days are over.

This time 3 years ago, COVID was making its way around our country, through the States and through the communities. Of course, in the early days, we knew very little about the virus and how to respond to it, so leaders in both parties, leaders across our States and our communities, called for a pause in daily activities to get control of the spread of COVID-19. But what we didn't know then was how long that pause would last, not just in some areas but all over our country. And we certainly didn't know that our response could end up being worse--the response that we had being worse than the actual COVID that was running across our country.

We are just now starting to understand the impact of COVID-related lockdowns. They weren't just extreme, they were deadly in some areas.

Research led by a professor at the University of Chicago exposed the deadly impact of lockdowns by analyzing the excess death rate in our country during the use of these lockdowns. The ``excess rate'' is a term used to describe the number of deaths above historical norms--or how many more Americans died than we would typically expect to pass away during any given year. So those were balanced up and looked at from the years of COVID to the years past.

According to the data from the CDC, the number of non-COVID excess deaths reached almost 100,000 people in 2020 and in 2021. The hundreds of thousands of non-COVID excess deaths during the pandemic can be mainly attributed to shocking increases in accidents, overdoses, and death from alcoholism and homicide. Those causes disproportionately impacted minorities and low-income Americans--the same groups lockdowns were often billed and made to protect.

The number of deaths from hypertension and heart disease and diabetes also skyrocketed during the pandemic. This was especially true for America's young people. In total, excess deaths among young adults throughout the pandemic were 27 percent higher than they should be, according to historical records of years past.

It does not take a scientist to draw the connection between lockdowns and all the excess deaths that we have had the last 3 years. Not only were Americans kept out of gyms, parks, churches, social settings, and family gatherings, they were forced to skip routine doctor visits, surgeries, and in-person medical treatments out of fear. And fear was the main weapon used against the American people. As a result, mental and physical health plummeted.

While lockdowns across the country slowly ended, the deadly repercussions did not. For example, through the middle of last year, overdose deaths per year outnumbered the total number of military deaths in the past 60 years.

The truth is, the physical and mental health consequences of overreaching lockdowns will be measured for years and years to come.

Locking Americans out of school, work, church, and social contact had disastrous impacts on our economy, our education system, and our society as a whole.

We all saw businesses across the country go under as customers were kept away and the daily hum of our economy was silenced.

As kids were forced into virtual schooling, an entire generation of Americans lost months and even years of valuable educational opportunities. Research conducted by the global consulting firm McKinsey found that COVID-related school disruption left students 5 months behind in math and 4 months behind in reading. Students who were already underserved were hit even harder by school closures. High schoolers were left more likely to drop out and less likely to pursue further education after the lockdowns. And more than 35 percent of American parents were left ``very or extremely concerned about their children's mental health.''

Today, our schools are facing a shortage of teachers, months of instruction still missing, and a mental health and behavioral crisis among our country's students. It is a pandemic.

As someone who spent decades myself as an educator and a coach, who fostered the potential of young adults, I am committed to ensuring we never inflict the damage on our school-age kids again, no matter what.

I bring up these sobering facts on health and education to call on this body to join me in this commitment in this Congress to do away with what we just did. We have to evaluate it. We cannot keep going forward this way.

This is especially important as some influential people in our government, media, and public health circles continue today to call for measures that disrupt our society in ways we know have terrible consequences.

The Biden administration is hellbent on keeping the COVID-19 public health emergency that is still in place. We still have it today.

Just last week, President Biden extended the emergency declaration because of the extra power it gives to the Federal Government, and he does that for another 90 days.

Attorneys for the Federal Government were in court asking an unelected judge to reinstate the national mask mandate for air travel just in the last few weeks.

Keep in mind, this body, in a bipartisan manner, voted to end the emergency declaration just this last year--

something we should do again in this Congress.

But even though the President himself has deemed the pandemic over, bureaucrats are obsessed with keeping this charade going.

Enough is enough. We must be the barrier between the American people and tyranny because tyrannical orders, like the COVID lockdowns, are dangerous to every citizen in this country.

As we get to work this Congress, I hope all my colleagues will join me in recognizing the tough realities I have just laid out. We cannot continue to do this, and we can't do it again. We have to commit to defending freedom in every circumstance. We have to learn from our past mistakes.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, as we near the end of the 117th Congress, we are also preparing to say farewell to some of the body's most dedicated public servants.

Among those is Alabama's own Richard Craig Shelby.

I have known Senator Shelby for many years, but I have most enjoyed getting to know him as a colleague and a friend in Congress.

You know, his help and guidance have been invaluable to me since I came to the Senate 2 years ago. It was quite the transition from college football to politics, but I jumped into the ring because I care deeply about the future of our Nation, and I realized very quickly so does Richard Shelby.

My transition to public office was supported by some great advisers who shared my belief in America. Chief among those allies is Senator Shelby.

Even though he is a lifelong Alabama fan and pulled against me for 10 years, we still became friends.

Congress is like a football team. It has a lot of great players in different positions, but to come together, form a game plan, and get some wins for our country, those players need good coaches.

Senator Shelby has been one of the best.

Born in Birmingham, Senator Shelby graduated from the University of Alabama and the Birmingham School of Law, becoming a city prosecutor in Tuscaloosa. For all my Auburn folks back home, at least we can all agree that Senator Shelby is one of the finer things to come out of Tuscaloosa.

Senator Shelby has represented Alabamians in Congress since 1979 and has served in the Senate since 1987--always keeping an eye on the future and the other eye on the people he has been serving.

To say Senator Shelby committed his career to the betterment of his State and the Nation would be a huge understatement.

His retirement is well-earned, and his work should be celebrated.

So, today, I want to honor the countless hours--countless hours--he has spent fighting for Alabama and the many achievements he has championed for the betterment of all Americans.

Senator Shelby's work has hit almost every corner of Alabama.

No. 1, his focus on national defense, manufacturing, infrastructure, and education will be the hallmarks of his legacy.

First, Senator Shelby's commitment to our State's defense industry is second--and I mean second--to none.

His support for America's military and his belief in the abilities of Alabamians cemented our State's role as a leader in America's national defense infrastructure. In nearly every position he has held in the Senate, he has used the tools available to bolster our armed services and utilize resources Alabama offers.

More recently, as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Subcommittee on Defense, Senator Shelby delivered billions in crucial defense funding. His efforts helped significantly expand the capabilities of Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL. Redstone Arsenal has grown from a U.S. Army base to a collection of crucial facilities for our national defense and the Federal Government.

The resources and responsibilities secured by Senator Shelby for the Redstone Arsenal increased its capabilities, missions, and tenants. Behind the fence at Redstone Arsenal today, we have the Army Materiel Command, the Army Aviation and Missile Command, the Missile Defense Agency, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the Missile and Space Intelligence Center, and the expanding presence of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Under Senator Shelby's leadership, the FBI's presence in Alabama will be its second largest, only behind Washington, DC.

Along with myself and the entire Alabama delegation, Senator Shelby has also been instrumental in the work to permanently relocate U.S. Space Command to Redstone Arsenal--a move we hope to applaud after an official announcement by the Air Force in the very near future.

Second, thanks to Senator Shelby's commitment to bringing jobs and industry to Alabama, our State has also grown into one of the country's leading manufacturing hubs.

After a visit to Germany by Senator Shelby in the 1990s, he played a key role in bringing Mercedes-Benz and their suppliers to Alabama. Fast-forward a couple of decades, and today there are more than 40 German suppliers in West Alabama alone. The impact of the automobile industry's Alabama migration has been huge for the workforce and the economy thanks to Senator Shelby.

He was also crucial in recruiting suppliers for Airbus and its South Alabama manufacturing plant in Mobile, which added hundreds of millions of dollars to our economy and created thousands of very, very quality jobs.

His work to establish manufacturing centers at universities helped make Alabama home for many aerospace and defense companies, resulting in thousands more jobs and countless opportunities for growth.

Third, that growth would not be possible without solid infrastructure, which Senator Shelby has helped build for decades.

Alabama's vast and unique geography presented certain challenges for infrastructure but also many opportunities. Senator Shelby's ability to both foresee challenges and imagine opportunities has made him an invaluable tool throughout our State's growth.

A lot of that growth has stemmed from our State's coastline and the Port of Mobile, one of the largest in the country. Now, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working on a project to deepen the Mobile Ship Channel, allowing bigger ships to navigate Mobile Bay. With Senator Shelby's guidance and support, the Port Authority and terminals have steadily expanded the Mobile terminal, making it one of the fastest growing in the Nation.

As a key player in Senate appropriations, Senator Shelby has secured many dollars for Alabama's infrastructure, upgrading highways, airports, and bridges.

Fourth, all of this growth in defense, manufacturing, infrastructure, and more would mean nothing without the talented men and women who serve in our military, lead our companies, and pioneer the new industries driving economic development. That talent and those ideas are cultivated through education, and Senator Shelby believes in the value of quality education--even at Auburn University. He is the product of an Alabama public school and a State university. His personal experiences instilled in him a deep respect for the role of public education and a desire to make it the best it can be.

To make sure our State was on par or leading other prestigious educational institutions, Senator Shelby fought to support and invest in Alabama schools. He delivered hundreds of millions of dollars to Alabama's universities to build math, science, and engineering complexes. These top-tier facilities have helped to bring students and experts from around the world to Alabama.

Today, Airbus works closely with the University of Alabama's engineering program--a relationship that is the perfect example of connection between premier education, talent, and economic opportunities. Senator Shelby understands that relationship and its benefits, as does his wife, Dr. Annette Shelby, a decorated professor and lifelong education advocate. That understanding has driven his priorities throughout his career and helped Alabamians along the way.

There are a lot of big personalities, big decisions, and big egos here in Washington, DC, but it takes commitment, humility, and patriotism to make a difference in the lives of others. Senator Shelby is a giant in the Senate because he never forgets about the things that matter the most, the little things, the things that are most important to everyday Americans back home. They have supported him for decades because he has always had their backs.

As we bid farewell to Senator Shelby, I encourage all my colleagues to honor his legacy by following his example. Put your family, your country, and your principles first, and the rest will fall into place.

We all know public service is not just a burden of time and effort for the servant; it is also for their families.

So to Dr. Shelby, thank you for your steadfast service to our State alongside your husband.

Senator Shelby, thank you for your mentorship over the past 2 years. I will use these lessons learned by serving with you for the rest of my time in the Senate and beyond.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, for more than 60 years, Congress has passed the NDAA to ensure our Armed Forces are able to keep Americans safe.

The Armed Services Committee agreed on a robust, bipartisan bill in June--June. What I don't understand is why it took 6 months to schedule a vote on this critical bill. Waiting until the last minute to pass the NDAA is playing a game of chicken with our national security and with the American servicemember. I know most of my Democratic colleagues in both the House and Senate did not control the timing of this bill.

But Senator Schumer did. And he decided to wait so long that our chairman and ranking member were forced to conference the bill prior to it coming to the Senate floor. So let's not wait until December 2023 to get the NDAA to the floor. Let's get the fiscal year 2024 NDAA to the floor in regular order--because the consequences of playing these games with the NDAA are severe.

If Congress keeps the DOD guessing about when we might pass the NDAA, it hinders our ability to keep up with China, assert our dominance in space, keep command of the seas, and restock our missile defenses. If we fail to pass the NDAA or kick this to next year, we should keep in mind the consequences. There will be no raise for servicemembers and no spending increases to keep up with inflation. In short, we would be in a very dangerous situation. Providing for our common defense is one of the few responsibilities mandated by the Constitution for this body.

As the House moves forward with the NDAA this week and the Senate considers the bill next week, I hope my colleagues will come together to put our common defense over partisan politics. Producing the military equipment and facilities outlined in the NDAA requires a huge supply chain. And the pandemic revealed America's concerning dependence on foreign adversaries for items we used to produce in the U.S.

Our military is dependent on imported tungsten, cobalt, and rare earth elements. In addition to the military, our Nation's food supply depends on imported materials for fertilizer. Our energy supply chains are dependent on imported aluminum, copper, graphite and uranium. All of these have been listed by the U.S. Geological Survey as ``critical minerals'' in 2018 and most recently in 2022. Many of these maxed out at 100 percent imports to the U.S.

In fact, we import 100 percent of our supply of 14 of the 35 critical minerals as defined by the Department of the Interior. That means our domestic production of those minerals is zero. And our dependence on foreign countries is growing.

Where are we getting our imports? Mainly from Russia, China, and their surrogates. We are importing these materials from a country waging brutal and unprovoked war on one our allies and another country with a human rights abuse record that is too long to fit into my time today. All the while, America boasts these minerals in abundance right here in the U.S. This is a disgrace.

America's enormous mineral wealth is sitting right under its citizens' feet in vast tracts of Federal and State lands. This is a tragic irony similar to the perceived oil ``shortages'' in the 1970s and skyrocketing energy prices we face today--even though America is endowed with near limitless oil and gas wealth. It is a self-inflicted crisis, and we are in the same boat with ``critical minerals.''

Instead of using what we have at home, we are importing them by doing business with nations that run counter to everything we value. Two of our largest suppliers are China and Russia.

As you can see on the chart, we depend on these adversaries for huge amounts of our supply of materials we need to produce everything from batteries to pharmaceuticals. That means, when it comes to critical minerals, we are buying from countries that don't have humane labor standards. Child labor, forced labor, slave labor--it all exists as I speak--and the American consumer is subsidizing it.

We are buying from countries that don't value our high environmental standards. China consumes six times the amount of coal as the United States. And that figure is growing, not shrinking.

We are buying from countries that don't value freedom and democracy. Both Russia and China use our courts, our laws, our press, and our freedoms to erode trust in our most sacred institutions.

We are buying critical minerals from countries that are outright adversarial to the America, that seek to topple our place in the world. America earned her place in world affairs through blood and treasure. And we have maintained that world order to the betterment of human kind. The spread of American democracy and capitalism has lifted more humanity out of misery and poverty than any other system of government or finance the world has ever seen. In 6,000 years of recorded human civilization, no system has ever brought comfort, security, and dignity to so many.

Yet our Nation's economic and national security apparatus is at serious risk today, just as in the 1970s, except the stakes are higher given today's unstable geopolitics. According to experts at the U.S. Geological Survey, other Western industrial economies--some of whom provide critical minerals to the U.S.--are also vulnerable to global mineral supply chain manipulation. Most of those countries are also reliant on imports, making their economies somewhat ``fragile''--but none more so than the United States.

The U.S. shuns its mineral wealth rather than wisely and responsibly producing critical minerals from America's vast geologic bounty. It is possible to mine critical minerals in an environmentally responsible way, like they do in Canada and Australia. These two allies are wise environmental stewards because they know how to both extract needed minerals and protect their environments. We can protect our environment and the national interest at the same time.

Just look at uranium. Clean nuclear energy powers 20 percent of America's power needs. In my home State of Alabama, it powers a full third of our homes and businesses. Uranium powers our aircraft carriers and submarine fleets, keeping America and our allies safe. America has uranium in abundance, but our nation's uranium mining industry is on life-support at 0.1 percent of global production.

So where do we buy it from? America's uranium is almost totally imported from Russia, Kazakhstan, Namibia, and even from China. Over half of the world's uranium production is in the hands of our adversaries. The International Energy Agency reports that of the 31 reactors built in the past five

years, 27 are of Russian or Chinese design. This is a completely avoidable national security emergency.

Our minerals are wealth, real wealth--worthy of innovation and use for power generation, for medical practices, in university and national laboratory reactors, and for commercial fields of research. We need critical minerals to support and defend the world's largest, technology-based, environmentally friendly economy.

We need 21st century critical mineral independence. To get there, we must disrupt the status quo of the permitting and over-regulation. We need to open modern, technology-driven, environmentally friendly mines.

There is a fast-approaching day when we will no longer be able to count on foreign imports. The necessary sanctions we have placed on Russia highlight the dangers of foreign dependence. Natural resource issues matter to the American people.

The mineral wealth located on vast tracts of federal lands belong to us all. This wealth gives us the ability to use our natural resource endowment to help secure America's critical mineral supply chains. It is essential to our economy, independence, and safety that this nation secure its critical mineral supply chains.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.