Marsha Blackburn

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following interns in my office be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the Congress: Elizabeth McAlindon, Jordan Rupli, Steven Szucs, Alexis Vance, Mark Fraenkel and Boaz Campbell.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, the Senate is back in session, and still we have no indication from the White House or my Democratic colleagues that they have a plan to lower inflation. Tennesseans are frightened. You would be, too, if you consistently found more month at the end of your paycheck than paycheck at the end of your month. It is getting harder to stretch the pennies and nickels and dimes, and talking points aren't going to fix this problem. The White House keeps telling people that if they hang on just a little bit longer, they are going to be all right, but that is not how it works in the real world. In the real world, at a certain point, you run out of rope to hang on to. People are looking at this transition economy, and they are saying: What are we transitioning to? It is not what they want for their economic future. It is no longer a matter of just trying to make things work; you just can't pay the bills anymore. The gas tank stays empty or you go to bed hungry. Now, it is clear that Joe Biden and the Democrats know that the country has reached a tipping point, but rather than offering hope, they have settled into blaming everyone from congressional Republicans to foreign dictators for the problem. That is not what the American people want to hear. They know who got us in trouble, and they know it wasn't Vladimir Putin; it was Joe Biden and the Democrats. It is the people--the Democrats who are controlling every branch of government in this town. Yes, they have done it, and no amount of scapegoating will change the fact that the American people have been watching closely over the past year and a half, and they know things have gone terribly wrong. The Biden administration abandoned our recovery, spent trillions on a reckless spending spree, and then panicked when all that spending caused record-high inflation. No, it is not temporary. The country doesn't need a pep talk; they need Joe Biden and the Democrats to reverse course before we fall into a recession, if we haven't done so already. There are things the administration can do right now that will pull us back from the brink. It is time to take the taxpayer-funded credit card away. The American people can't afford what the Democrats are selling, and they wouldn't want it even if they could afford it. They know this is wasteful, out- of-control, reckless spending. Next, the President must stop expanding the size and power of the Federal Government. Stop hiring bureaucrats we don't need at salaries we can't afford to write regulations that only exist to take more money out of people's paychecks. Democrats would also be wise to get the regulators we do have out of the way--especially when it comes to the energy sector--restart the Keystone XL Pipeline, and make America energy independent again. Go back to drilling in Alaska, offshore, fracking. Return it all so that we once again are energy independent. Finally, there is something we can do right here in the Senate that would keep future spending and inflation in check. I have introduced legislation that would require a supermajority to pass a spending bill during times of high inflation. It is good common sense, so we should put it up for a vote. It is time for each of us to go on the record and let the American people know what our priorities are. They are tired of what they are seeing coming out of Washington, DC. I am glad they are paying attention. I am so pleased that Tennesseans are paying closer attention now than ever before. I do think that it is appropriate that President Biden, the White House, the executive branch, and the Democrats who are in charge of Capitol Hill go on the record and decide if they are going to stand with that ``Build Back Broke'' agenda, stand with the radical left, or are they going to stand for the prosperity and safety of the American people? Tennesseans know what the right answer would be. Whether I am in church, whether I am out at one of the grandkids' sporting event, whether I am at the MoonPie Festival in Bell Buckle, I hear it from everyone--this spending is out of control. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

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

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, this week, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. It says: 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 education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. For 50 years, those words have changed the lives of American women and girls and their families for the better. As a mom, I was able to watch my daughter excel on a more level playing field, and I look forward to watching my granddaughter do the very same thing. Today, more women than ever are competing for the awards and scholarships once reserved for men. And wouldn't you know it--more women than men graduate from college. In short, title IX means something to women and girls in this country. It has opened countless doors of opportunity. Today, I would like to invite all of my colleagues to join me in supporting a simple resolution celebrating the promise of title IX. It recognizes the 50th anniversary, it honors the work of women's rights activists who led the fight for equal treatment among men and women in education, and it encourages all women and girls in the United States to continue to pursue academic and athletic accomplishments if they so choose. I thank my colleagues in advance for joining me as we celebrate the women and girls in this country and all of their beautiful potential.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I wanted to talk for just a few minutes, if I could, about a bill that is coming to the floor. It is called the PACT Act. And this is something that those of us at the Veterans' Affairs Committee have worked on for quite a period of time. And we had worked diligently through what we thought was a prescribed and agreed-to process, and we are finding out that the majority leader is pretty much forcing this issue to the floor this week for a vote. And he is calling it ``the most ambitious and important expansion of veteran healthcare benefits that we have seen in decades.'' Now, Senators Schumer and Tester have, indeed, put forth a bill that when you look at it, when you hear the intent, a first glance at it, you say: Oh, this is exactly what we need to help our servicemembers. And, indeed, we all are just so grateful for the men and women who have served in this country, who have worn that uniform. But there is a lot to be said for bringing measures to the floor for passage when they are ready, when there has been agreement on critical importance. As the majority leader said, the biggest expansion of benefits that we have seen in decades. Now, many of us have worked for quite a period of time on the issue of toxic exposure and have worked on how best to make certain that when we address this, that you are going to get care to the veteran in a timely manner--they are not going to have to wait; they are going to receive the care that they need. So it is frustrating to me, as it is to many of my colleagues, to think about what could have been accomplished had the majority leader just done what he had promised to do and had allowed a thorough amendment process. We should all share the goal of making certain that legislation we pass that deals with our veterans, that deals with our men and women in uniform, is going to be a promise fulfilled and not a false promise or not a frustration. Yesterday, at Veterans' Affairs Committee, we had a hearing with our VA Secretary. We have had a terrible problem with case backloads on benefits in health services. Currently, the case backload is about 188,000. That is the backlog. That is what needs to be worked through. And in passing this bill that is before us today, the estimate is that we are going to add about a million cases to that. Now, I want you to put yourself in the shoes of a veteran who has suffered and is suffering with toxic exposure and has a rare cancer, has a respiratory disease, a cardiovascular disease, and is needing access to care. What you want is to be able to get that care. What you don't want to do is have to wait for that care. And that is why we needed to go through this amendment process: to address this issue of how a veteran is going to be able to access that care in a timely manner when they need the care because with some of these rare diseases, days and weeks and months become a life-or-death issue. So the access is important. The amendments that we proposed were as noncontroversial as you can get in these days. Now, the amendment that I had, which was one of the two amendments that we were to have on the Republican side--by the way, I said that, two amendments. That is what we were going to be allowed. It wasn't an open amendment process--two amendments, two things that would have improved the bill. I proposed an amendment that would have eliminated arbitrary bureaucratic hurdles for toxic exposed veterans, would have eliminated this from the long wait times at their local VA hospitals and clinics. Basically, it would have been that express pass that they need because it would have allowed them to seek care in the community if they could get it there faster than they could through the VA. Now, the reason for this is because I spend a lot of time talking with veterans in Tennessee. I have veterans who are a part of our team. They talk to me about the issues that many of their friends and their neighbors are experiencing or people who served in their unit or their battalion and how they need this care. Right now, if you are in the Nashville area, which is where many of our retirees from Fort Campbell and the 101st go for their care--if you are there and you are going to go to the VA over at Vanderbilt there in Nashville and request an appointment, your wait is 72 days. What if you are a veteran and you have a rare respiratory condition that is caused from a burn pit or from toxic exposure or you have developed a cancer and you are needing care, do you really want to have to wait 2\1/2\ months to be able to see a general practitioner for an appointment that will refer you to a specialist? Do we think that is fair to our veterans? Is that the way to treat them--to say, pick up the phone and call and then we will get you an appointment? By the way, it is going to be 72 days on the wait time, and then we will start the clock to try to get you into community care to get you to a specialist. My amendment would basically have said veterans can take that card out of their wallet, their VA card--they can show it at a care facility in their community, and they can get the care they need then. You are eliminating wait times for them. You are eliminating long lines. You are eliminating the frustration and the fear and the anxiety that comes as every day you think this cancer is growing, and I am being denied care because of the bureaucratic process. Our veterans ought not to have to deal with that bureaucratic process. They have waited a long time. So this amendment would have improved the bill. And I have it right here in my hands. It is really very simple. Section 121, ``Subtitle C-- Other Health Care Matters''--that is what is underneath--``REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE CARE UNDER VETERANS COMMUNITY CARE PROGRAM FOR TOXIC-EXPOSED VETERANS.'' And then it goes through, it strikes an ``or,'' inserts a semicolon, strikes the period at the end of the sentence and inserting ``or'' and adds ``the covered veteran is a toxic-exposed veteran.'' Pretty specific. It elevates the care that they need so that they do not have to wait because they have waited long enough. And they don't want to have to wait until the VA hires enough people to do this. Right now, if the VA is going to hire new nurses or doctors, do you know how long it takes them to get them hired? Ninety-seven days. Do they have what they need to meet this load? No, they do not. Now, in the private sector they can make these hires in about 16 days. And they do. And we have discussed these hiring process changes that need to be made in order to facilitate this care. Now, some have said: Well, you know, if we allow community care, in essence, that is privatizing--privatizing--the VA. No, it is not. It is not privatizing. What it is doing is saying the VA is seeking a better way to deliver a service in a timely manner to the people who have been promised the service. That is what the amendment would do. It would allow them to avoid that bureaucratic process to take that VA card to go get the care they need that day. But, no, because we have some who are so fearful that the VA or the Federal Government might lose some of their power, some of their control over your life, they will not agree to that. Now, the fiscal year 2021 NDAA included my K2 Veterans Toxic Exposure Accountability Act, requiring a 180-day study by DOD on toxic exposures at K2 to demonstrate more clearly the associations between exposure to toxic substances and negative health consequence experienced by K2 veterans. That is something that had a tremendous effect on many of our military men and women at Fort Campbell and there with the 160th, with the 101st. And I have worked with Senator Tillis on the Toxic Exposure in the Military Act, the TEAM Act, which was largely included in the PACT Act. And I worked with Senator Sullivan on the Veterans Burn Pits Exposure Recognition Act, which would concede exposure to a list of toxic substances, hazards, and chemicals common to burn pits for veterans who deployed to certain covered locations within certain corresponding periods. So I thank my colleagues who have put the effort in on this. I will say that I am very disappointed that my colleagues from New York and Montana decided no amendments. Senator Moran's amendment would have adjusted how that wait time is calculated to be more fair to our veterans. My amendment would have allowed them to immediately get the care they need, lifesaving care--lifesaving care. It would have allowed that immediate access. But we have chosen, it appears--or the majority leader and the chairman have chosen--to move forward without an amendment process that would be more fair and more responsive to our veterans. And at the same time, they are daring us to vote no on this bill. I would challenge them. Take a moment and let's return to the agreed-to amendment process and improve this for the sake--for the sake--and the livelihood of many of our veterans who are experiencing the effects of toxic exposure. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, one of the dangers of having a weak President is that our enemies will be able to test the boundaries that used to keep them in check. They want to see just how far they can push it before we start pushing back. Indeed, we have seen that in action during this Presidency. The threat of violence, crime, and of the dangerous influence of those who do not wish us well has crept into the American consciousness and made an already stressful time in our history even worse. Now, last week's news about what could be the largest migrant caravan yet hasn't helped the situation. We are all hearing about it. At least 6,000 people, probably 10,000 people, have set out from the Guatemala- Mexico border because Joe Biden invited them to come or so they think. That is what they heard. That is how they interpreted his actions. This is not up for debate. You can look at the reports on TV. Now, this is very shocking to so many of the Tennesseans I am talking to every single day. First, they say this is a massive national security and safety concern. It makes common sense that you would try to stop this, but more importantly because they know that this President isn't just abandoning the border; he is intentionally giving control of that border to international criminals, to cartels, to gangs, to people who do not wish us well. Now, what it appears to be is that for many of my Democratic colleagues and for this administration, this action of intentionally leaving the border open is there to keep the radical left happy. This is what they want, an open border policy. But that open border policy for terrorist organizations, fugitives, cartel mules, this is to them all about exploiting Joe Biden's terrible choices and making the chaos work in their favor. They will continue to push until they are stopped. And right now they are using this to turn these cartels into international organizations. Last year, 160 different countries came to that border. The drug dealers, they are all very happy with the way it is operating. In April, Customs and Border Protection intercepted more than 50,000 pounds of drugs--37 percent more than in March. Now, think about that, 1 month, a 37-percent increase. Keep in mind, this data only reflects what the CBP found. We know for a fact that every month the got-aways make it into the country undetected. And we have no clue what they have brought with them. Law enforcement officials in Tennessee have told me that around 80 percent of the drugs they seize contain fentanyl--fentanyl. That is what they are finding. It is coming right over the border and coming to a community near you, courtesy of the Biden administration. We also know that business is booming for the human smugglers, and this caravan is about to provide them some excellent cover. Over the course of 48 hours this week, Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley sector interrupted four separate human smuggling attempts, and that included 156 different people. That is right, 156 people in 48 hours. Now, that is just one example that we chose to pull out and share. I have heard a great many advocates on the left accuse Republicans of blowing the scope of these smuggling operations out of proportion, but here is what I will say. I say that just one person falling into the hands of the cartels is a problem. That is one person too many who is being subjected to drug trafficking, human trafficking, sex trafficking, being forced into a gang, being put on a bracelet that is going to track them until they pay their debt to the cartel. The people locking these migrants into shipping containers and stash houses without food or water--these are not people on a humanitarian mission. A good outcome is not guaranteed, and, indeed, it is quite the opposite. If the cartels guaranteed good outcomes, no one would be left for dead in the desert or die of heatstroke in an overcrowded truck. No one would have to work off their debt as a prostitute or a drug runner after they got here. But the cartels are after money. They are not providing humanitarian aid. So what do they do? They look at the ``welcome'' mat, and they see it as a way to cash in. In 2020, the National Human Trafficking Hotline reported more than 10,000 unique cases of potential human trafficking in the United States. Only 6 percent of those victims reported themselves as being U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. That is correct--10,000 cases and only 6 percent were citizens or legal residents. About 60 percent of those victims were female. More than 72 percent of them revealed that they had been forced into prostitution or some other form of sex work. Eighty-four percent of those sex trafficking victims were female. This problem doesn't begin and end at the border. End Slavery Tennessee reported that they just helped 207 potential trafficking victims in 2021. Now, that is one organization in Middle Tennessee-- one. Two hundred and seven trafficking victims in Middle Tennessee. You know, every town is a border town, every State is a border State, and every U.S. citizen deserves to know why this barbarity has gone unanswered by this administration. Remember what I said at the beginning of my remarks: Our enemies are watching. They are paying attention. They are looking for loopholes. They are looking for ways to exploit. They want to see how far they can push Joe Biden, how far they can push this administration, and so far, they have not found his limit. As the President and Democrat allies here on Capitol Hill contemplate how long they are willing to be pawns in this game our enemies are playing, I would advise them to just take a look at the data--at the data. Look at the reports from our own Federal and State Agencies. Go talk to the human trafficking organizations in your State. Look at the number of known terrorists whom our Federal Agencies have apprehended. Look at the drugs that are being seized at the borders, at the ports, and back in your hometowns. Look at the number of people Border Patrol has had to save from smugglers. And remember that you are not the victims here. You have the power to fix this. You could do something about this. You do not have to choose to let the cartels run unabated at the southern border, bringing thousands upon thousands of people to our border. You might be pretending that this situation on the border isn't getting worse by the day, but people can see with their very own eyes exactly what is going on. Tennesseans are watching. I think the American people are watching, and when it gets worse, and it will, they will never forget that you sided with drug dealers and with sex traffickers over your own citizens. I yield the floor.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, I want to concur in the remarks just expressed by my colleague, and we do honor our veterans. And Senator Moran serves as our ranking member at the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and we appreciate his leadership, as we all seek to honor that service and to fulfill the obligation that this great Nation has made to our veterans who don't shrink from service, who don't pass the blame. They get up every day and they execute on their mission, and I think it is important for each and every one of us to remember that our service should do honor to the service and the sacrifice that they have made.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, the Biden administration has made a name for itself in attacking the very institutions that they were sworn to protect. If you look at what is happening outside Washington right now, you can see the ripple effects of this institutional sabotage. There is inflation; there are shortages; there is crime; and there are drugs flooding our communities. This weekend, I was chatting with one of my politically independent- minded friends back home, and here is what she told me. She said: Everything the Democrats are doing is making my life harder. It makes things worse. Last Tuesday, I held a telephone townhall with a few thousand Tennesseans, and they told me the same thing. I spoke to a dad from Chattanooga, and something he said really struck me. He was telling me about how worried he was about his children's futures. He said the only common thread he can see tying all of this together is suffering. Think about that. Here is a dad--a dad--who is looking at the actions of the Democrat-controlled House, Senate, and White House, and to him, he is perceiving the intent as being to inflict suffering. He asked me what the goal was of all of this--referring, of course, to Biden's agenda. He couldn't figure it out, and I really don't blame him. No reasonable person can look at what the Biden administration has done and say that they feel like the administration has our best interests at heart or that they have a vision for the future of the country. What they do have is an agenda, a ``to do'' list, and it seems sometimes they struggle with that. To Tennesseans, this government, under this administration, with this leadership, is all broken. It is broken. Nowhere has this been more pronounced than in President Biden's refusal to support law enforcement, both down on the border and in our local communities. Since day one, the President has done everything in his power to sabotage the tens of thousands of people the Department of Homeland Security employs to secure the homeland. He has done this knowing full well that international criminal organizations, terrorists, and cartels are taking advantage of his lack of action. In fact, business has never been better for the drug dealers and the human traffickers. At times, they are raking in as much as $100 million a week. That is right. Who is profiting? It is the cartels that are pushing drugs, that are pushing fentanyl, that are pushing gangs, that are pushing sex trafficking; the cartels that have turned themselves into global organizations, bringing in people last year from 160 different countries to our southern border. To do what? It is to enter illegally, to claim asylum, to ask the U.S. taxpayer to finish the journey for them to wherever they are wanting to go. This is what the people are seeing. Now take a look at what is happening in our own backyard, if you will. In 2021, almost 108,000 Americans died from drug overdoses. About 4,000 of these were Tennesseans--all tragic losses. Law enforcement in Benton County, TN, told me recently that about 80 percent of the drugs they seize contain fentanyl, which, as we all know, is deadly even in very small amounts. Ask any law enforcement officer where these drugs are coming from, and they will tell you that the majority of this is coming across the southern border. The cartel mules are smuggling it right across that border. Our Border Patrol is overworked; they are underfunded; they are understaffed; they are working overtime. They are doing their best, but they can't get it all. They look at the surveillance cameras. They see the ``got-aways.'' They know that they are coming. If the Biden administration abandons their title 42 authority at some point in the future, it is going to get worse. We will have the equivalent of the population of a small town in Tennessee coming right across that border. In Tennessee, we have got 345 towns, and 90 percent of those are 18,000 in population or fewer. When you look at Connecticut, you have got 215 towns, and 87 percent of those are--you have got it--18,000 or fewer in population. If you look at the State of Maryland, there are 536 towns, and 458 of those are 18,000 or fewer in population. That is 85.4 percent. Now think about that number of people crossing the border every single day, and all that the traffickers--the drug traffickers, the human traffickers--and all of the gangs have to do is blend in. Come on in. I would like to say, until the Biden administration wises up and secures the border, every town will be a border town, and every State will be a border State. The problems associated with drugs and criminal activity don't stay in New Mexico or Arizona or Texas or California. They bleed into the rest of the country and into the hands of local law enforcement. They have enough to be dealing with. Here are some stats for you. In 2021, homicides in U.S. cities reached a near-record high. The number of law enforcement officers intentionally killed on the job was the highest since 9/11, and ambush- style attacks on police increased 115 percent. Meanwhile, earlier this year, the Biden administration floated the idea of using yet another Executive order to limit law enforcement's access to resources and Federal grant money. Between the ``defund the police'' movement and this halfhearted support from their President, it is no wonder that law enforcement officers are resigning or quitting or retiring in record numbers. I would ask the President and Secretary Mayorkas and my Democratic colleagues to listen to what those who have sworn to protect and serve are telling them, because they know what the Biden administration needs to do. This administration would be well-served to keep title 42 until we have a plan to replace it. Embrace the ``Remain in Mexico'' policy and do what law enforcement has asked for decades: build a wall. They need that barrier. Give them technology, better technology, and more officers and agents. That is what they need. They continue to ask for it. Give them what they need to do their job to protect this country. As it stands, Democrats have abandoned Border Patrol, abandoned local law enforcement, and according to my friends in Tennessee, they have abandoned we, the people. And the people are losing faith. They look at the White House and they have no idea who is in charge. They don't see their concern for the future reflected in the actions of the President or his staff who repeatedly corrects him. They don't see a vision for America. All they see is a to-do list, an agenda, that will fail them over and over again because it leads to more government control and less freedom for we, the people. I yield the floor.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, there was some sobering data that came out from the CDC last week. It was a new set of preliminary data on overdose deaths. Last year, we lost almost 108,000 people to the ravages of drug abuse. Almost 4,000 of those 108,000 were Tennesseans. Those 2021 numbers are the worst that we have ever seen, and I am concerned because it seems that my Democratic colleagues and their friends in the White House are not seeing the big picture on this issue. Now, the White House claims they have a plan to address the drug crisis in this country, but they have intentionally ignored a key vulnerability when they do this. It is as if they are turning a blind eye to a key component, to a key contributing factor, of this drug crisis, and they are refusing to talk about it. It is the reason that crime is on the rise in most of our American communities. It is also the reason it is easier for drug dealers to get their hands on fentanyl than on just about anything else, and it is the same reason that human traffickers now are pushing people--the sex trafficking gangs, the labor gangs--into communities all across this country. Indeed, every town is a border town and every State a border State because of this key vulnerability. They don't want to talk about this because I don't think they want to admit that they have been so wrong. Of course, that vulnerability, whether you are talking about drugs, whether you are talking about crime in the streets, all comes down to talking about that wide-open southern border. Don't take my word for it. Go talk to sheriffs in Tennessee. They will tell you that, with the open border, they are seeing the results of that on their streets and in their counties. Indeed, one of the sheriffs I visited with last week said 80 percent of the drug overdoses, 80 percent of the apprehended drugs in their county--fentanyl. Why is it there? The southern border being wide open. This is an area in which Tennesseans are wanting to see something done, and they can't figure out why the Democrats won't make a priority of securing the southern border when they want to talk issues that stem from what is transpiring at the southern border. They feel that the Democrats are deliberately sabotaging our economic recovery, our recovery from the pandemic, and they are making bad situations worse because they won't talk about the root causes. The Biden administration never was interested in securing the border. Indeed, he hasn't been to the border. In fact, their official policy from day one has been: Let's make that southern border more insecure. Isn't that amazing? You have an administration and you have a DHS Secretary who don't believe in a secure border. The radical left didn't like the optics of border security, so Joe Biden stopped building the wall. Even though everything is purchased and it is there--the wall can be completed--he chose not to secure our border, and he stopped building the wall. The radical left wanted to change the definition of ``asylum'' without bothering to change the law, so Joe Biden threw away the ``Remain in Mexico'' policy. The radical left wanted their sanctuary cities back, so Joe Biden tied the hands of immigration officials. Go talk to them. They will tell you what they are no longer able to do, which is abide by the rule of law-- the laws that are on the books. With each Executive order that he signed, Joe Biden sabotaged Border Patrol and law enforcement, putting Americans in danger, and turned even more vulnerable women and children into victims of the sex trafficking trade. You have to ask yourself whose side the Biden administration is actually on when it comes to the issues of crime, when it comes to the issue of protecting women and children, because I can't think of a single law-abiding American who is better off for all of this. But I do know that the cartels are happy because they are the ones who control the southern border on that Mexico side. You cannot cross that border into the United States unless you have gone through the cartel, so they are having to work out a way to pay their fee to the cartel, endangering their lives, seeing drugs pushed into this country. Last year, Border Patrol intercepted thousands of pounds of deadly drugs and repeatedly interrupted equally deadly migrant trafficking operations, but we will never be able to account for the ``got-aways'' who escaped into the country with their drugs and their human cargo intact. The level of self-sabotage has a purpose. The Biden administration has made it clear that they are willing to risk lives and livelihoods to prove their commitment to what they are calling ``compassion.'' Let me ask you this, Madam President: What is compassionate about women being pushed into the sex trade, little girls being sex trafficked, children being thrown into gangs? What is compassionate about that? That is what is happening because of this open southern border. This is insanity. The cartels last year brought people from 160 different countries to our southern border. Those are stats from the Border Patrol. We know that, right now, they are anticipating bringing people in at the end of title 42. They are already working globally--globally--in order to hit these numbers. This is insanity. According to the Biden administration, we can't secure the border and stop the flow of drugs, but the Federal Government can hand out fresh crack pipes to those with addiction. And as much as they tried to say, no, that was incorrect, we have all seen the photos. According to the Biden administration, we can't allow shipments of perfectly safe, foreign-made baby formula into American communities. We can't process those waivers, they say. That could possibly be dangerous. We can't get a baby formula plant open in Michigan because the FDA is busy; they have other priorities. Meanwhile, parents are scrambling, trying to find formula for babies who have to have specific formulas. This is not compassion; this is a tragedy. I saw a friend this weekend. She calls herself independent-minded, leans more moderate Democrat. She said: You know, we have always been a government of, by, and for the people, but right now, what do we see happening? We see this government using people to get power for themselves. That is what is going on. People realize this administration is void of priorities. The saddest thing about all of this is that the Biden administration, I think, knows what needs to be done. Many of my colleagues and I have been talking about it, that there should be priorities to secure this Nation and our sovereignty. Priority No. 1 right now should be to keep title 42 in place until three things happen. First, DHS needs to present a thorough and specific plan that would enable American officials to handle the anticipated 18,000 people per day who Border Patrol is saying will come to our border if those restrictions are lifted. Right now, it is about 6,000 people per day. Now, 18,000--I looked it up. Illinois has 1,466 cities, and 1,324 of those cities have 18,000 or fewer citizens. That is their population. So that is the equivalence that we are talking about. Our friend from Colorado was just on the floor. There are 482 cities there, and 439 of them have 18,000 or fewer citizens. We have Alaska. We have 355 cities in Alaska, and 350 of them have 18,000 or fewer citizens. It is like a new city in Alaska or Colorado or Illinois or Tennessee every single day. So DHS needs to come through. Second, Chairman Durbin must summon Secretary Mayorkas to a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee so that we can subject that plan that has been missing to scrutiny. Third, they need to consult with Congress to give Border Patrol and law enforcement the manpower and resources they need to execute the plan. Then and only then should we consider title 42. Priority No. 2 is to stop playing politics and embrace President Trump's ``Remain in Mexico'' policy. We know for a fact that it helped control the influx of asylum seekers, which, in turn, took the pressure off our limited resources at the border. Priority No. 3: The Biden administration must stop denying reality. Finish building the wall, which is what Border Patrol has been asking for for decades. Give them a physical barrier. Give them more officers and agents. Give them more technology so they can protect our Nation and our citizens. That is how we would get that border under control. As I said, it affects crime in the streets. It affects drugs and fentanyl. This affects our citizens, our families, who are heartbroken--heartbroken--by loss of lives to drugs, to crime. There is a starting point. There is a way to make a difference. But if this administration wants to do something about crime, if they want to do something about the drug crisis, they need to start it at the southern border. I yield the floor.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, it has been a wonderful weekend in Tennessee. We had the annual West Tennessee Strawberry Festival out in Humboldt, TN. Quite honestly, I think the strawberries were better and sweeter this year than ever before. There was wonderful strawberry shortcake and deserts. It was a wonderful weekend. It provided such a great opportunity to talk with parents and to hear from Tennesseans, from moms and dads about things that were of concern to them. I had a mom make a comment to me that I think each of us should listen to and take to heart. I know the Presiding Officer knows how hard a parent's job is because she is a mom. I look at my children and my grandchildren, and I thought about this lady's comment. She said, you know, when she was growing up, she felt like that when she came home, that was the safe harbor; that is where she knew she was going to be safe. But today, she said she feels like many times, the enemy is within those four walls because of what children are exposed to online. Like many parents, she began to pay more attention during COVID, and what she has found out has just astounded her. Like many parents, she feels the hardest part of her job is keeping her children safe and providing them with the environment that helps them grow into the very best person they could possibly be. I really related to that. My husband often would say: We need to teach our children how to love and how to laugh and how to work and how to pray. That is something that we have done. We have raised our children so that they would love one another and their fellow man and love this country and appreciate the opportunities that we are given. We have raised them to believe in their faith and to exercise that faith every single day. We have also taught them and reared them to believe in a very purposeful life--always giving more than you take and leaving things in better shape than you found them. Now, as Chuck and I reared our family, what we didn't want to do was hand down a bunch of mandates to the kids and not give them explanations. What we tried to do was to teach them and give them the knowledge that they would be able to function without us and would develop that discernment and make those wise decisions. I know that that is something that most parents do: teach those children so that they can make wise decisions on their own and leave the door open so when they feel threatened or vulnerable, they know they can come to you and talk about it. On this point, Big Tech and the radical left have one thing in common. Their interests are best served if parents are not spending time parenting, because what Big Tech and many of the radicals are doing is using social media platforms to take children who are vulnerable and then push them into actions on social media platforms. It is, indeed, a toxic environment for our children on these platforms. That online element is at the top of a long list of things that have parents really worried about what is going on in this country. Summer is coming on, and parents are paying attention to this. They are looking at other concerns. Inflation has absolutely decimated their savings accounts. When I talk to Tennesseans, sometimes they will talk about how much money they could save during the Trump years, and they are glad they did because inflation is now eating away at those savings that they had banked. Crime in the streets and drugs in our communities have turned the nightly news into a horror show. People cannot believe the way crime has grown. Much of it is driven by that open southern border. Parents are telling me that they are a little bit unsettled that they can't trust what their kids are learning in school in that those lessons are going to be in line with history, with civics, with reality, and this bothers them. It is why we are seeing school board races as the hot races of this year. It is why we have--whether it is Virginia Beach or San Francisco--people being tossed off of school boards. It is because what they were teaching was not in line with our Nation's history. But, when it comes to the influence of tech, that is where parents feel like they are surrounded. As I said, there is a mom who said she once thought, inside those four walls, there was safety; but now she feels that it is not because of what they are seeing. It is difficult for parents to understand how all this screen time is affecting their children because Big Tech keeps changing the rules to fit their business strategies. Mind you, that business strategy is, How many eyeballs can they capture, and how long can they hold them? because that means they make more money on the ads that they sell. Indeed, Instagram admits they are an ad company. They are an ad company. They make money by getting you to watch them. The longer you watch or the more deeply you run through a thread, they are making more money. I would remind my colleagues that many of today's parents grew up alongside the tech companies, and now they are watching these tech companies have a stranglehold on their children's lives. They are the Facebook early adopters, many of today's parents of young children. This means that they learned a long time ago that online interactions bring out the worst in people. They know that ``once it is on the internet, it is there forever'' is true, and they probably wish their digital footprints were a little bit smaller now that they have children and are looking at it as parents. The point is these parents are not anti-tech; they are pro-tech, but now their kids are falling into the same traps that they did. They are overwhelmed because Big Tech is actively sabotaging their attempts to pull their children to safety and away from so much screen time. They know that the people who run these social media companies have zero desire or incentive to control the flow of toxic content into the timeline of underaged users. It is just too lucrative an operation for them to give up. As I said, they need those eyeballs; they need them glued to the screen. Now, when I and other members of the Consumer Protection Subcommittee presented executives from Instagram with evidence that they were actively enabling predatory content, they claimed our evidence was anecdotal. Parents know this was a falsehood, and so do we. By its very nature, Snapchat is a predator's dream; TikTok is a hot bed of foreign propaganda; Twitter is a free-for-all, and they are going to stay that way as long as their executives keep making money. They are following the dollar. Of the service they provide, they continue to say: Well, it is free. The service is free. The sad thing is, it is our children who are the product. Our children and their usage online--that is the product that these tech companies are using to make money and pad their pockets. All you have to do is look around at the state of discourse in this country to know what this kind of exposure will eventually do to an impressionable child, especially after isolation from school lockdowns during COVID. This isn't a question of bridging a generational divide. Parents understand that they need to be involved in their kids' lives. They want to be involved in their children's lives. It is sad and hurtful and devastating when they are not involved. They accept that times change and that they will have to do their research if they want to keep up and make certain that they are keeping their children safe, but they will never accept Silicon Valley's argument that they aren't smart enough to understand what is going on. Unfortunately for Silicon Valley, the Senate has done the impossible and rallied behind bipartisan legislation to give parents and kids more control over their online experiences, and you are right--Big Tech is fighting back. Back in February, Senator Blumenthal and I introduced the Kids Online Safety Act. Here is what it would do: First, it would force platforms to give minors the ability to protect their information; disable addictive product features; and opt out of algorithmic recommendations. Next, it would give parents the ability to help control their kids' online experience as well as a dedicated channel to report predatory behavior. Predatory content and content that promotes self-harm, suicide, and eating disorders to minors will now, indeed, be a problem for these platforms to deal with--no more denial or deflection. We also included requirements for annual risk assessments and access to datasets we can use to assess safety threats to underaged users. It should be obvious by now that American parents have had enough of powerful people trying to control their children. They have said no time and again to the Biden administration's radical socialist agenda. They have said no to the racial politics the unions want to inject into public school curriculums, and now they are saying no to Silicon Valley. I think it is our duty to give them the help that they are looking for. I urge my colleagues to join Senator Blumenthal and me and support the Kids Online Safety Act and to do this in support of parents. They are not going to let this issue go. When I talk to moms, this is one of the things they talk about the most: as I said, inflation, the border, crime in the streets, drugs on the streets, and Big Tech and the harm it is bringing to our children. They are going to stay on this issue because they know their children's lives and safety depend on it. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, it has been over a year since Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and the Democrats took control of all the government here in DC. They like the fact that they have got their hands on the drivers, and they are enacting their policies. But what is so interesting, as my colleague from Iowa was pointing out, is they continue to try to blame Donald Trump and Republicans for the issues that are in front of us. Just a few years ago, if you would have asked me how I would evaluate a government that spent their way into inflation--recordbreaking inflation--surrendered our border to the drug cartels, and abandoned two Embassies, I would tell you that that sounds like an administration that is in disarray. I think most people would believe that to be a fact. But here is the problem: We have moved beyond disarray. Tennesseans feel like it is more like a catastrophe. This is not mere incompetence at work. Joe Biden is earning his disapproval rating that he was joking about at the Correspondents' Dinner last week. He knows that it is, indeed, low--some of the lowest ever. The fact is that President Biden and Vice President Harris have had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year, and they did this to themselves. And now their allies in Congress are ready to make things even worse. They are doubling down. This is what happens when you try to force an agenda filled with pet projects that the American people are telling you they do not want and, as taxpayers are saying, ``You can't afford this.'' This is what happens when you really have no vision for the future of the country. It is all about power, all about control. Last month, the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics released a poll showing that this distinction between agenda and vision actually matters to people. They found that 56 percent of young Americans, ages 18 to 29, disapprove of Joe Biden's job performance. That is correct; 56 percent disapprove. And just last spring, 59--that is right, 59-- percent of young persons were still in his corner. Look at what is happening. Look at that flip that is taking place. The measure of success or failure for this administration shouldn't come down to how many boxes they can check off their wish list but how many young Americans look at what they are doing, and they say: I can't support this. This does not give me hope. This does not look good for my future. Indeed, 56 percent of young Americans, ages 18 to 29, disapprove of the Biden agenda. Right now, this age group, they are losing hope. That same Harvard poll shows that their top concern isn't the environment; it isn't abortion or Roe v. Wade; it is the economy. And why wouldn't it be? The current inflation rate is 8.5 percent. Last year, it was 2.6 percent. How can anyone be expected to plan for their future if they are struggling to plan for next week's grocery run? They are paying a premium just to live. Meanwhile, the President is asking them to sacrifice even more so he can check some more boxes on his to-do list that is all about this leftist agenda. It is not about the people; it is about power; it is about control. Young Americans--and I would say all Americans, Tennesseans--deserve better than this. They deserve leaders who have a vision for the future of this country, who have the God-given common sense to see it through. Joe Biden and the Democrats have been in power for more than a year. The window for blame-shifting and excuses is closed. It is shut. It is time for the President to abandon this self-destructive agenda and give the American people a fighting chance at reclaiming their own vision for the future. I yield the floor.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, I call up my motion to instruct conferees which is at the desk.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, if we continue to ignore the threat posed by the digital yuan, Beijing will use this technology to increase its surveillance capacity, avoid U.S. sanctions, and threaten the dominance of the U.S. dollar in the global trade. This is the reason for this motion. This motion would require the managers to include a simple provision that will require OMB to work with our executive Agencies to put some much needed security measures in place. We cannot afford to look the other way while the CCP increases its own global power at the expense of the free world and is looking for opportunities to use the digital yuan to increase surveillance. I urge a ``yes'' vote on the motion. Vote on Motion

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, it is my honor to officially congratulate the Country Music Hall of Fame 2021 inductees. This past weekend I was fortunate enough to attend their Medallion Ceremony and help welcome The Judds, Ray Charles, Eddie Bayers, and Pete Drake into country music's closest circle of friends. Naomi and Wynonna Judd, 2021's Modern Era Artist inductees, were one of country music's most cherished duos. The story of how they became The Judds reads like something out of a movie script: a mama and her daughter change their names, move to Nashville, and land a record deal after a chance encounter with a hit producer. I, like thousands of their fans, was absolutely heartbroken when Naomi's life came to an end just 1 day before she was to receive her medallion, but her story lives on in the generations of female artists she inspired and through Wynonna's ongoing, stunning contributions to country music. Few artists in living memory have taken more risks and earned more respect than Ray Charles, 2021's Veterans Era Artist inductee. Ray's timeless contributions to the past, present, and future of country music have inspired generations of rising stars to stake their own unique claims in the rich and diverse traditions of the genre. Ray's career should serve as a gentle reminder to us all that while conformity may make for an easier journey, the creative heart rarely finds solace or joy in following in another's footsteps. This year, the Country Music Hall of Fame honored not one but two musicians who fundamentally transformed the sound and feel of modern music and set country musicmaking above the rest. Eddie Bayers, one of 2021's Recording and Touring Musician inductees, is an undisputed master of his craft. He is a first call drummer, a revered instructor, and one of the industry's most coveted human metronomes. For more than 50 years, he has laid the groove for the world's most beloved artists, and I am so pleased to see him finally take his place in the spotlight. Pete Drake, Bayers' fellow 2021 Recording and Touring Musician inductee, used his unparalleled skill on the pedal steel guitar to turn already great musicians into chart-topping legends. He forever changed the way artists in all genres thought about pedal steel, and his version of Alvino Rey's ``talking'' steel guitar, dubbed the ``talk box,'' made its way into some of rock `n roll's most iconic and instantly recognizable records. On behalf of the entire Tennessee delegation, I would like to express my gratitude to Naomi, Wynonna, Ray, Eddie, and Pete for their passion and artistry. The world is a far more vibrant and beautiful place for having experienced the gift of their music.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, today I honor a superb leader, liaison, and soldier. After a year of service with the Army Office of the Chief, legislative liaison, as the chief, Army Senate Liaison Division, COL Scott Wilkinson was selected to serve as the deputy commanding officer for Support with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell. On this occasion, I believe it is fitting to recognize Colonel Wilkinson's distinguished service and dedication to fostering the relationship between the U.S. Army and this Chamber. Colonel Wilkinson grew up in an Army family. He received his commission in 1994 as the Distinguished Military Graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ROTC program and his undergraduate degree from Harvard University. An aviation officer by designation, Colonel Wilkinson has led our Nation's young men and women at home and abroad, most prominently as the chief of staff for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, located at Fort Bragg, NC, and commander of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, located at Fort Campbell, KY. Colonel Wilkinson has also served in multiple command and staff positions within the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Known as the Night Stalkers, soldiers of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment are highly trained and have been actively and continuously engaged in the combat operations since October 2001. The Army has consistently relied upon Colonel Wilkinson for his exceptional leadership and unparalleled work ethic. He has deployed widely for training across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; operationally in support of Operations JOINT ENDEAVOR and JOINT GUARD in Bosnia-Herzegovina; and to combat in support of multiple contingencies and named operations including ENDURING FREEDOM, FREEDOM SENTINEL, IRAQI FREEDOM, INHERENT RESOLVE, and YUKON SCEPTER. Colonel Wilkinson has excelled in numerous other leadership positions in the Army, most recently as the chief, Army Senate Liaison. In the Russell Senate Office Building and around the globe, Colonel Wilkinson continued the tradition of strengthening Army relationships with Members of Congress and their staffs. Over the course of the last year, Colonel Wilkinson provided support to multiple congressional delegations to locations within the United States and to various countries around the world. He became a trusted adviser and friend to many of us. He distinguished himself by going above and beyond the call of duty to facilitate and successfully execute each and every trip, despite any number of weather, aircraft, and diplomatic complications. This June, Colonel Wilkinson departs Washington, DC. This Chamber will feel his absence. I join many past and present Members of Congress in my gratitude and appreciation to Colonel Wilkinson for his outstanding leadership and unwavering support of the missions of the U.S. Army. I especially recognize his patient and supportive family, Mrs. Mindy Wilkinson, and his two daughters, Blakely and Parker. I wish this Army family the best as they move to Fort Campbell.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, well, I think, from the President's comments at the Correspondents' Dinner the other night, it may have taken a year, but, finally, the President and the White House are starting to realize that they have lost the American people when it comes to their agenda. I think it is because you can only betray someone so many times before they stop giving you a 2nd chance, a 3rd chance, or even a 15th chance at doing something. After 16 months of alternating between anger, confusion, and fear, all Tennesseans can do is just have a laugh at what the White House is saying and how they are trying to spin what is actually happening and how they are trying to tell you that what you are seeing is really not what you are seeing. They know--the American people know; Tennesseans know--that much of what you hear coming out of this administration is coupled with a threat; it is coupled with a falsehood; sometimes it is even coupled with a mandate. Joe Biden has lost what little control he had, but rather than reexamining his priorities, he has decided to cause as much pain as he can before the Democrats lose power. This is a pattern. The Biden administration doesn't lead; they mandate. They don't come to Congress and say: Let's do this or that; they throw out an Executive order. Then, when those mandates and orders that they are tossing out like they are candy backfire, they come about this by trying to inflict as much pain as they can. When business owners pushed back on pandemic mandates that made their survival impossible, this administration didn't relent; they doubled down. They just accused everybody who disagreed with them of being a danger to their communities. We all heard the stories: Oh, they are putting profit over people. Oh, they don't care about their communities. They just want to keep the doors open. But no--what they wanted to do was serve their communities. When parents asked questions about what their kids were learning in school, the Justice Department threatened to throw them in jail if they protested curriculum influenced by critical race theory and other radical ideologies. When the administration saw their climate panic message wasn't resonating anymore, they came out with a plan to double down again and take away the few transportation and energy options people could still afford. Their response to historic levels of inflation is to tax and spend the American people into submission. See, this is the way they do it: If you are a parent, you show up to ask questions about what you are seeing your child study. Then they want to report you and say: You are the one who is causing a problem. Isn't it amazing how this administration has allowed cancel culture to infiltrate everything that they do? It is their way or the highway, as we would say in Tennessee, because they plan to run over you; they plan to cause pain. This is not governing; it is punishment--punishment for your beliefs; punishment for your actions; punishment for standing up for the Constitution, for democracy, for freedom of speech. They are going to punish you. Now, I thought that the administration had hit rock bottom with their response to the recordbreaking inflation they created, but their plan to address Joe Biden's border crisis has been what has taken the cake. It is foolish, and it is dangerous. The situation along our southern border is bad, and it is getting worse. Just this weekend, I spent some time out in West Tennessee. I was over in Benton County, which is the northwest corner of the State, and talked with Sheriff Kenny Christopher. He told me that his officers are finding fentanyl in about 80 percent of the drugs they seize. Everything is laced with fentanyl. This is marijuana, heroin, gummy bears--everything. Fentanyl is on the loose, running wild. Between 2020 and 2021, 64,000 people in this country died from fentanyl overdoses, and 2,014 of them were Tennesseans. Where is this coming from? It is coming right across that southern border. It is so important to note that this is a problem that escalated after Joe Biden became President. The cartels knew, with the Border Patrol, that Donald Trump had its back but that now, with Joe Biden, it is running wide open. Every town is a border town, every State a border State. We are losing control over the flow of drugs. The cartels are in control of that southern border. You don't come across without them. Nothing comes across without them. They are so emboldened that every law enforcement officer I meet with can tell you what cartel hub--that is right, cartel hub--here in this country, on U.S. soil, is setting up their drug trafficking, human trafficking, sex trafficking operations. Control is lost at that border. In March, CBP recorded more than 220,000 encounters with people trying to illegally enter the country. Fortunately, they were able to use title 42 and expel about 100,000 of those 220,000 individuals. Title 42 has been a lifesaver for the Border Patrol. Don't believe me. Go ask them. They will tell you: That is a lifesaver. They have used it more than 1 million times to deny entry and ease the strain on their limited resources. They need it. They need title 42, and they will tell you they need title 42. So, of course, the Biden administration is getting ready to take title 42 away. Let's just open that border up. It is endangering our sovereignty, endangering our people. Every town is a border town, every State a border State; but let's throw caution to the wind, open the border. Come one, come all. We had 160 different countries come across that border last year. Let's see if we can break that record this year--that is what this White House is saying, total disregard for the American people. Because if you take away title 42, you are going to see not 6,000 illegal entries a day, you are going to see 18,000 illegal entries a day. They know that this is what will happen. And do they have a plan? No, they don't have a plan. They are expecting that 18,000 people a day. That works out to over a half million a month--a half million a month. Now, you know, Secretary Mayorkas admitted last week in his hearing that he just didn't seem to have a plan, but he was expecting this to happen. In Tennessee, we have 345 cities, towns, and villages--345. Out of those 345 cities and towns, 90 percent of those towns have a population of 20,000 or less; so it is the equivalent of the population of a typical Tennessee town coming across the southern border every day. How long can we sustain that? Your State of Illinois, Madam President, you all have about 1,200 towns and cities that are incorporated. You have got 102 counties. Out of those 1,299 incorporated towns and cities, 90 percent of those, likewise, are 20,000 or less in population. Or if you had a half million a month, that is equal to a Naperville, Aurora, and Rockford together. How long could Illinois sustain that? See, this policy not only affects the border with the United States and Mexico and those towns and communities and counties, it is every county in this country. When Mayorkas was speaking last week over in the House, what he didn't do was confirm that the administration has a plan to reduce illegal immigration or, indeed, if they care at all about securing the border. Imagine that: a Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security who does not believe in a secure border. You cannot make this stuff up. You can't make it up. For weeks now, a bipartisan group of Senators has pressed the Department of Homeland Security for their plan to secure the border, to secure this country. And for weeks, they have ignored our concerns. As of today, Chairman Durbin has no plan to summon Secretary Mayorkas for a hearing so we can ask him directly. Last week, however, things escalated during a hearing at the House Appropriations Committee when the Secretary confirmed that the administration is considering pulling staff and resources out of the VA-run facilities and sending them to the border. This is crazy. It is not part of the Department of Veterans Affairs' ``Fourth Mission'' to help the Biden administration save face. But even if it was, the VA is already struggling to serve veterans. We are on the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Our case backlog for benefits, for healthcare, is over 260,000 cases. And you are going to take resources and medical personnel and administrative personnel and do what with them? Send them to the border. Getting basic care through the VA has become almost impossible. You hear it. I hear it. We all hear it from our veterans. And they know that these facilities are understaffed. This is why they are wanting to go to community care. And the Agency is experiencing a 15-year high in turnover for nurses. And what does this administration do? They say: We are going to take the people left working in VA healthcare and administration, we are going to shift them down to the border because the Border Patrol needs some help. Meanwhile, the people who have put on the uniform and have fought for this Nation can't get healthcare. And this administration acts like they don't give a ripping flip about any of it: the veterans, our Nation's sovereignty, securing the border, protecting our citizens, eliminating the impact of drugs that are flooding our streets. To make our veterans suffer, that is unconscionable. The administration knows that border encounters have consistently increased since the day they took power--they know this; they have watched it--and it appears that they have intentionally and purposefully allowed it. They know that as long as the border is open, that people from all around the globe are going to come. As I said, 160 different countries last year; of that, 42 known terrorist watch list individuals--42 of them. But rather than keeping title 42 in place or embracing ``Remain in Mexico'' or building a wall or giving the Border Patrol the resources they have asked for years to defend this border, this administration has decided the way to go about this is to let the veterans suffer. If they have waited 3 months, 6 months, a year, they can wait a little longer. That is their thought: Take the resources out of VA and send it to the border. There is nothing compassionate about this narrative. There is nothing caring. There is nothing right about this narrative. You know, it is the reason that--as the President said, he knows his approval rating is low. He knows there is a reason for it. He is not doing anything about it. He is choosing not to do anything about it. He is choosing not to shift his priorities. I will tell you, I have spent a lot of my adult life in the greatest creative community on the face of the Earth. We are surrounded by some writers and storytellers. And I would say that for some of the great authors and storytellers in the neighborhood, they couldn't mash together a plotline as convoluted as this one, because people would say that would never happen in the United States. You would never see us purposefully running up inflation or running up the cost of energy or opening our southern border and allowing terrorists and drug dealers and sex traffickers and human traffickers and gangs to run in. You would never knowingly allow cartels to set up shop on U.S. soil. You wouldn't do that. But this administration has, and they did it because they know pain is the point. Suffering is the point. We are going to do this to you. It goes back to what I said many weeks ago. We, as conservatives, have a vision for better days, for hope, for opportunity for all, for preserving the freedom of this great Nation, for preserving our rights, for protecting faith and freedom and families and hope and opportunity. And I fear that my Democratic colleagues, they have got an agenda. The agenda is what we are going to do to you in order to push a Marxist socialist agenda. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

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

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, last week, my beautiful mother Mary Jo Morgan Wedgeworth passed out of this world and into the arms of our Lord. She left with all those who were blessed to know her a lifetime of wonderful memories and a legacy of love, friendship, and service. My mother was a lifelong resident of Laurel, MS. During her youth, she was the 1944 winner of the National 4-H Club Girl Achievement award and the President's Trophy. This was awarded to her at the National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago. She continued to be an active participant in Mississippi 4-H Club programs, serving in numerous leadership roles and always serving as a local 4-H club leader. She served on the Mississippi 4-H Club board and as president of the Mississippi Extension Service Homemakers and FCE Club. She was a member of First Baptist Church and active in women's programs and Sunday school. She especially loved providing beautiful flower arrangements made with cuttings from her garden for church events. She was active in the Mississippi Council of Garden Clubs, where she served as president, and the Deep South Garden Club Council as a nationally accredited flower show judge and in the Waynesboro Drive Garden Club. She was known for her entertaining and educational programs on flower-arranging, gardening, and recycling. In 1987, she was honored by Keep America Beautiful with the lifetime achievement award for her exceptional efforts to keep our Nation beautiful. Some of her efforts included working to develop the Avenue of Magnolias at each of Mississippi's interstate State-line entrances and also the garden club wildflower program. In 1976, she was honored with the Mississippi Volunteer Activist award for the thousands of hours she gave in volunteer service to her community. Indeed, her community activism began early with organizing victory gardens to support America's efforts during World War II. She was active in the Jones County Republican Party, holding various offices and serving as chairman of both the Jones County Republican Women and the Mississippi Federation of Republican Women. She was a docent for the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, where she so enjoyed giving tours and teaching children about the collections at the museum. For decades, she served on the board of the Red Cross and always had helping hands to assist victims of hurricanes and disasters who sought shelter from the storm. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, she and my father Hilman welcomed and served meals to hundreds who fled to the Red Cross shelter in Laurel. Throughout her long life, my mother strung together more than a few pearls of wisdom for the benefit of her 3 children, 7 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren, but the one that rests at the top of my mind is this: ``Leave things in better shape than you found them.'' Whether it was through the flowers in her garden or the gentle encouragement that banished my fear and doubt, my mother took her own words to heart every day of her life. I will miss her terribly, but I find comfort and inspiration when I remember that the world she left behind for me is a far more beautiful place today than it was when she made her grand entrance 97 years ago.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, from the second that they wake up in the morning to the moment they put their heads on the pillow at night, the American people are burning through cash. And, as I have spent the last 2 weeks talking with Tennesseans, talking with people in the real world, this is a sentiment that they continue to talk about. Now, they know inflation is real. It wasn't temporary. It wasn't something that was just a problem for the rich. It is a problem that hits every single individual, and the spin that is coming out of the White House really is not resonating with hard-working taxpayers anymore. When I am out and about in Tennessee, people are talking about inflation, the border, and the sense of despair that they see taking over their communities. And they cannot get over the lengths to which this White House and this administration have gone to try to convince them that everything is OK, you don't have anything to worry about, and things are better than they have ever been. They can't believe it. They can't believe that this administration is living in the land of denial, because they know that this message doesn't add up with the reality of their lives, and they have spent 16 months digging themselves out from under massive gas and grocery bills. Every time they fill up the tank or they fill up the grocery cart, they know that it is probably more than 8 percent inflation. Every time they go to the hardware store, they see it. When they are buying a gallon of paint or fertilizer for their garden, they see it. And the few discretionary dollars they used to allow themselves for some new clothes or the occasional food delivery now go to essentials, and, even then, they still are making tough choices. As I said, from the second they wake up in the morning to the moment their heads hit the pillow at night, the American people are burning through cash almost as fast as Joe Biden and the Democrats are burning through our taxpayer dollars. The Biden administration might not take this seriously. They may say: We will just go print more money. Look at the amount of debt they have run up. Tennesseans do take this issue seriously, and at this point, they laugh at the alternate reality coming from DC, and they know that the ``Putin price hike'' is something that is so divorced from reality. It wasn't enough for Joe Biden to abandon his responsibilities. He had to take the extra step of exploiting the more than 2,500 innocent civilians Vladimir Putin has murdered in Ukraine. It is just disgusting. But that is the Democrats' playbook--isn't it?--never let a crisis go to waste; pick up words that you can use in your spin. If the White House had stopped to think about what American taxpayers do when they are broke, when they have gotten to the end of their money before they get to the end of their month, when they have debt rolling over them, then the White House might have realized that now is not the time to spend more money on programs that the taxpayers do not want. Now, every Tennessean who has good common sense--we have got hundreds of thousands of them--they know that nobody would commit to a self- destructive agenda just because they thought they could force somebody else to go pick up the tab and pay for it. It doesn't make sense, but that is what this administration is doing, and I think this is one of those things that, in their playbook, they think sounds great. But with the American people, this is going to backfire. And through all of this, the President has shown the people who he is and what priorities really matter to him. Instead of exercising some much needed self-control, he decided to beg for the Green New Deal, wasteful social spending, and an election takeover. His allies in Congress have even come back to Washington ready to make a deal with the devil to resurrect his ``Build Back Broke'' agenda. In the interest of bipartisanship, I would like to offer some thoughts to my Democratic colleagues. Next time that you go home, go over to the grocery store and ask a busy mom who is holding a shopping list in one hand and digital coupons on her phone in the other just how they are managing through this inflation crisis. Ask them: Do you think it is stuck at 8 percent inflation? Do you think it is closer to 15 percent inflation? Then, follow their advice, because I can guarantee you that they will choose to give you an earful. They are about fed up. There are thousands of moms and grandmoms who know what they are doing, and, more importantly, they know how they are going to spend every single penny that they have itemized in their budget for groceries, for gas, for the summer garden. They know how they are going to spend that money. They wish Washington would be as careful with taxpayer money as they are being with their hard-earned dollars. It really makes them shake their heads when they hear that the caretakers of the most powerful Nation in the world have no vision for the future and no plan for how to get us to a vision. All that this administration and the White House and the Democrats-- who, by the way, are in charge of all the government here in Washington, DC--all they have is an agenda. They have got a to-do list. They are wanting to check the boxes, and that agenda is heavy on spending and light on everything else that matters to the American people. And, by the way, all that heavy spending is not Federal Government money, mind you. It is money that is coming out of the pockets of hard- working taxpayers--every penny of it. We know border security isn't on the Biden administration's list of priorities. It is not on the to-do list. It is not on the thinking- about-it list. In the alternate reality that this White House is operating in, the only immigration policy that matters is guaranteeing an open border-- the sooner they can get it, the better. They are all about it. We all know how well that policy has worked out so far. On behalf of a lot of Tennesseans back home, I would like to inject a little reality into this conversation also. Since day one of this administration, Joe Biden has done everything in his power to sabotage the Border Patrol and local law enforcement officials. His open borders rhetoric invited massive caravans of migrants to overwhelm the border. And just when we thought things couldn't get worse, he turned his back on President Trump's successful ``Remain in Mexico'' program. As a result, last month, encounters along our southern border were up 33 percent. That is right--up 33 percent in 1 month. CBP regularly seizes millions of dollars' worth of meth, fentanyl, and heroin that would have otherwise landed in ``Small Town, USA.'' And, now, President Biden wants to abandon title 42, which is the last best defense we have against this wave of illegal immigration. We already know that if he goes through with this, he will lose control of the border to the cartels. The Border Patrol estimates that 18,000 people a day will try to make it across the border. Now, currently, there are 6,000 people a day. Those are record numbers. Think of what is going to happen if 18,000 people a day are rushing our southern border. Now, let me give you a little perspective on this. Tennessee has 345 towns and cities. So we checked to see how many of these towns and cities are 18,000 people or less. Well, 90 percent of the towns and cities in the State of Tennessee are 18,000 people--18,000 residents or fewer than that. Now, think about that. It is like a Tennessee town--that number of people coming across the border every day. I would think that, you know, that it is the same thing, Mr. President, in Michigan. I don't know the number of towns and cities you have, but I would imagine that the majority of those are there also, 18,000 or fewer residents. Think about this impact. How many days can you do that? How many weeks? How many years before you completely disrupt what is going on in your towns, in your State? I have to ask you: What is so compassionate about subjecting 18,000 people a day--18,000--to the risk of exploitation by a drug cartel? And what is so compassionate about standing by while 18,000 people a day risk death by exposure in the desert? Is sticking to your talking points worth the lives of National Guardsmen like Bishop Evans, who drowned last week while trying to rescue migrants crossing the Rio Grande River? The decision to abandon title 42 is dangerous, and, frankly, anyone who supports it should be ashamed of themselves. Last month, I joined several of my colleagues on a letter to Chairman Durbin, asking him to allow the Judiciary Committee to get some answers about how the administration plans to deal with this. The committee must use its oversight authority to summon Secretary Mayorkas for a hearing so he can explain his plan to prevent chaos on the border. If that plan exists, we don't know about it. But, certainly, tripling the number of people per day at the southern border is going to create a chaotic situation. I want to make it clear that this use of our oversight authority is the bare minimum, and, as of now, Chairman Durbin has not indicated that he is willing to meet this very minimum bar. We must not allow the administration to hide behind their title 42 talking points. The American people won't stand for it because they know that until Joe Biden secures the border, until he puts back in place the ``Remain in Mexico'' policy, until he keeps title 42, every town will be a border town and every State will be a border State. When I am in Tennessee and talking with Tennesseans, what we know is that they are like a lot of people all across this country. They don't trust their government to have their interests at heart. They don't take the actions of their government seriously because in the Democratic-controlled government--all branches here in DC--they don't seem to take their jobs seriously. They are certainly not looking out for the American people. They are not taking actions that are going to reduce the cost of a gallon of gas at the pump or the cost of food at the grocery store or the cost of paint, the cost of fertilizer, the cost of tools--the list goes on and on. But what they do believe is that it is time for this administration to make inflation, to make border security, to make the sovereignty of this Nation a priority and to begin to build a vision for this Nation, not just a to-do list. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I have come to the floor today to go into a little bit more detail about why I will not be voting for and in favor of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation to the Supreme Court. Now, as we have all heard and as we appreciate, there is no doubt that Judge Jackson is highly educated; she has an impressive resume; she is cordial; she was very gracious with her time, but as I listened to her responses over a 2-day period of time, I was really dissatisfied with the specifics. As I got home to Tennessee and talked to Tennesseans, they had wanted to hear specifics from her and were disappointed that she did not come forward with those specifics. My colleague Senator Durbin, helpfully, pointed out this morning that Judge Jackson did, indeed, make the rounds up here prior to her hearing. Yes, indeed, she did do that. She came to my office, and we spent about an hour together talking about her record. I, of course, didn't give her a list of questions to study, but I did clue her in on some of the things that I thought were going to be important for us to discuss. Some are items we had discussed when she came before us for her appellate court hearing. Some of those things we never got a complete answer to, but we needed to get that complete answer. This is a lifetime appointment, and it was disappointing that we did not, even now, get that complete answer. What I have learned is, normally--as we at Judiciary Committee conduct these hearings for judges for the Federal bench, for Supreme Court nominees--they walk into the hearing room, and they are prepared. They kind of come loaded with their remarks and their answers. They have a general idea of what is going to come their way from different ones of us because we have spent the time meeting with them individually, making certain that they know what is going to be important. So there is no doubt she knew that I was going to press her on her lack of a clear articulation on a judicial philosophy, and she knew that there were concerns and criticisms of her record and some of the decisions that she had made. She knew that we would ask tough constitutional law questions about abortion, substantive due process, and interstate commerce. And I know that I--and I think most of my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee--would say that I expect nominees to be familiar with all of these things, to have an opinion and be willing to share that opinion. This is an appointment, as I said a moment ago, a lifetime appointment to the highest Court in the land. This is not supposed to be an easy process. This is to be tough questions that are appropriately placed. You know, tough questions are not attacks. Tough questions are placed in search of answers--answers for the people we represent. But instead of showcasing what we were told was her extraordinary prowess for the law, Judge Jackson's hearing turned into a showcase of things that she just did not want to talk about. My Democratic colleagues have spent a lot of time trying to provide cover for her, but the fact of the matter is that at the end of this week, the majority leader will ask us to green-light a Supreme Court nominee who has not articulated a judicial philosophy, who filibustered her way through basic constitutional questions, and who repeatedly pled ignorance of the most controversial items in her record. We have received Judge Jackson's responses to our written questions, and unfortunately she still is refusing to open a window into her thinking. I asked her again about her ruling in Make the Road New York v. McAleenan, which focused, in part, on how a judge should interpret a statute that grants an agency ``sole and unreviewable discretion'' under the rules available. When Congress wrote those words, I am sure we believed that ``sole and unreviewable discretion'' meant exactly, precisely that this law was sole and unreviewable. But rather than focusing on the plain meaning of the text, Judge Jackson took it upon herself to evaluate and reject the DHS rule in question and establish a nationwide injunction. Well, as we all know, fortunately, the DC Circuit overruled her. But the question remains: How in the world could any judge read those words and decide Congress wanted the opposite result of what Congress specifically said, ``sole and unreviewable''? But in a show of lack of respect for Congress and what Congress explicitly said because she disagreed with the policy, what did she do? She picked it up; she basically tore up that policy; and she did what she thought--what she thought--was best. In her written response, Judge Jackson offered no new information, but because she tends to editorialize in her opinions, we can still glean some insight from what she had to say about the DHS case. She suggested that the Department of Homeland Security's position was a ``terrible proposal'' that ``reeks of bad faith'' and ``demonstrates contempt for the authority that the Constitution's Framers have vested in the judicial branch.'' Those are her words. I think that language might give us a hint as to why she ignored the statutory text. In Tennessee, Tennesseans look at that and say: Well, that is the work of an activist judge. They are trying to legislate from the bench. They didn't like what Congress did, so they said: We are going to pick it up; we are going to toss it out; we are going to do what we think that policy ought to be. That was the effect of that ruling because she ignored the statuary text. I have lingering questions about other times Judge Jackson has used this type of rhetoric to signal her policy disagreements. Again, Tennesseans say that is judicial activism. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she used a written judicial opinion to advocate for the mass release of all 1,500 criminals in the custody of the DC Department of Corrections. That is right, the release of all 1,561 detainees--all of them. During her hearing, she claimed she was merely repeating one of the attorney's arguments, but we went back and we read the opinion. And when we read the opinion, it is very clear: That was not accurate. If you take her words at face value, you will get the impression that she believes a mass release--a mass release of detainees, of criminals--a mass release is appropriate during the pandemic. So if you look at our past pandemics and if you say, ``Well, a pandemic is going to come around; we are going to have something every 5 or 10 years,'' I think it is reasonable to question her judgment on this. What happens when you have the next Spanish flu or the next SARS? What happens the next time there is a pandemic? I think American citizens, I think Tennesseans want an answer on that. Why would someone think, ``Open the doors and release them,'' and then lament that they are not able to release all of them? I have questions about her record of being lenient with criminals. Over the course of her career, Judge Jackson has developed a disturbing habit of granting leniency to dangerous criminals. She released a man who murdered a U.S. marshal and gave a reduced sentence to a criminal who was known for attacking police officers. She undersentenced child porn offenders at every available opportunity--not once or twice but every time. If the guidelines gave her discretion, she used it to go easy on pedophiles. She looked for ways to go easy on dangerous drug offenders and, at one point, she actually apologized to a self-described fentanyl ``kingpin'' for his harsh sentence. That is of concern. It is of concern to many moms whose top issues right now are inflation, open borders, crime in the streets. They are worried about that. They are worried about what is happening. She had the opportunity to clear this up, but at no point did she offer a reassuring explanation of why she so consistently used her discretion to tip the scales not in favor of victims but tipping those scales in favor of criminals. On this point, we are not questioning her methodology; we are questioning her judgment. When I was back home in Tennessee this weekend, everyone wanted to talk about Judge Jackson's inability to define the word ``woman.'' The media has spent a great deal of time mocking that question, and I will tell you, that is quite all right because out there in the real world, people care about how she chose to respond to that question. Their position is that if the media felt justified in mocking the very fact that I did ask that question, why did Judge Jackson have so much trouble answering that question? As my colleague Senator Cruz mentioned this morning, we have journalists today running around the Capitol, demanding that Republican Senators answer the question. Why aren't they asking the same of Judge Jackson? Every day, Tennesseans are subjected to this assault on common sense, and they are not interested in playing along with this. Why, they want to know, is the left so terrified to confront how the American people define the word ``woman'' and ``womanhood''? And why would my Democratic colleagues continue to prop up a nominee who squandered her hearing by dodging questions and claiming ignorance of her very own record? Tennesseans aren't interested in playing politics. They just want the Democrats to reveal what rule book they are using because Tennesseans want to see constitutionalist judges on the bench. They want people to call balls and strikes. They want people who believe in equal treatment under the law, equal justice for all. They see what is happening in our country. It is frightening to them. For a long time now, radical activists have wanted to handpick a Supreme Court Justice. Some of these dark money groups that are all there helping the left, they said: Give us your money. We will make certain there are Federal judges and a Supreme Court Justice who are progressive. In the meantime, we have seen them make inroads in the media, on school boards, and in some of the country's most respected universities. So Tennesseans are very familiar with what happens when activism begins to replace common sense. They are very familiar with the tactics of the left that continue to try to diminish freedoms of individuals and give that power to the government. That is why they want constitutionalists on the Court, not activist judges who are there to take up arms in the culture war. They don't want an agenda. They don't want to hear about a methodology. They want proof that Judge Jackson has a vision for America that is rooted in the Constitution. They want to have proof that this is somebody who believes in preserving our faith, our families, our freedoms, preserving hope and opportunity for all. They want somebody who is going to say: I believe in the American dream, and I am going to preserve the right for every girl and boy to live their version of the American dream. Unfortunately, just like the President who nominated her, Judge Jackson has provided no evidence of that vision. I am a ``no'' vote on her confirmation. I yield the floor.

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

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, last week, the Biden administration announced their truly incomprehensible decision to suspend the use of title 42 authority along the southern border. Now, this is just the last in a long line of decisions that this White House has made that defy both reason and a mountain of evidence suggesting they are about to make a deadly mistake. Even with those title 42 protections in place, this February was the worst February for illegal immigration and border crossings in almost 20 years. The past year was the worst year for illegal border crossings since at least 1960, and according to public reports, the Department of Homeland Security predicts that it is only going to get worse. We will soon see the crossings increase. They are preparing for up to 18,000 attempted border crossings per day. That is right--18,000 attempted crossings per day. Now, I want to put this in perspective for you. About 90 percent of the 345 towns in my State of Tennessee have a population smaller than 18,000 people-- smaller than the number of people DHS expects are going to try to enter the country illegally every single day. This is chaos. This is border chaos. Think about this: That is like a small Tennessee town every single day of the week, of the month, of the year. So we have to ask ourselves, how long can we sustain this? And when we look at this border that is in chaos and 18,000 a day--a small town a day coming into the country, trying to claim asylum, illegally entering the country. And we have evidence that this is going to escalate sooner rather than later. And this is the moment that the Biden administration chooses to strip away one of the most important and effective border control tools that we have at our disposal--take it away just as we know that people are coming to the border in record numbers. And how do we know this? We know that the cartels are now working in countries all across the globe. They are doing this because they are saying: Hey, now you are really going to get in. Pay up. Make the cartels richer because you know this, President Biden--he is all for doing away with the border. He is all for opening that border up and saying: Come on. Come on. I think that we have to keep in mind a few things. Now, when you keep that in mind--those 18,000 people a day--think about the new set of statistics that we have coming from Border Patrol this month. So far this year, CBP officers in Memphis have seized more than 2,500 pounds of drugs. You know, I had a sheriff tell me: We used to look at drugs in grams and ounces. Now it is all in pounds because of the quantities coming across this border because of Joe Biden's policies. During the last 2 weeks of March, officials in El Paso seized more than 100 pounds of drugs and arrested 37 fugitives. Those fugitives weren't petty criminals. Among them were a murderer, a pedophile, a fraudster, a counterfeiter, and multiple drug dealers. Yes, that was 2 weeks, and that is what they had right there in El Paso. These are the ones they could identify. And, in addition to the drugs, 37 fugitives from justice were trying to enter our country and escape justice in their country. It is an open door. This is dangerous--very dangerous. On March 29, in a separate drug bust, Border Patrol seized more than $400,000 worth of meth, fentanyl, and heroin. That is right. That was 1 day, one drug bust. And over the course of a 24-hour period ending on March 30, Border Patrol stopped five migrant smuggling events and arrested 140 people. Now, I thought it was interesting that CBP chose to use the term ``migrant smuggling'' for that one, but I think we should call it what it is: It is human trafficking--5 human trafficking events, 1 day, 140 people. You know, I just have to say, what in the world does this administration think is going on at that border? Why will the President not go down there? Why will he not empower people to do their job? Why will he not build a wall, put surveillance, apprehend people, turn them back? But to knowingly let them come into this country, to know that cartels are working around the globe, that they are going to get rich on this--it is kind of like the Biden bonus for the cartels. The doors are open; bring them. This is unbelievable--absolutely unbelievable. These drug dealers and human traffickers spend their days running back and forth across that border under the watchful eye of the cartels. The cartels are in control on the Mexico side of this border. You do not come across unless you have paid the cartel. And those cartels are going to use those 18,000 people, the equivalent of a Tennessee town--90-percent of our towns are 18,000 people or less--coming across, being used by the cartels as human shields. What kind of compassion is this? What kind of protection for the American people is this? It is disgusting. We know that these cartels are going to be able to push these people into the interior, and then those people are going to lose themselves in this wave of humanity, because that is what they have been doing for the past 15 months. Meanwhile, here in Washington, Democrats have spent 15 months attacking border security as a racist barrier to their open borders agenda. Their spin isn't rooted in reality, but neither is their current ambition to throw open the border in the name of optics. I want to be clear here. If the Democrats indeed abandon title 42, they might bump up their approval numbers with the liberal base, but they are also inviting a humanitarian catastrophe on a massive scale. Yes, indeed, as I was out in East Tennessee, up on the Upper Cumberland Plateau, this Friday, what I heard from every single law enforcement officer, every county mayor was that, now, because of the human trafficking, the gangs, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, every single town is a border town. Every State is a border State, because all these people coming across the border are coming to your community with their drugs, with their gangs. And if we empower the cartels and open the floodgates to drug dealers and human traffickers, we are not just putting our own communities at risk, we are endangering the thousands of women and children that these criminals are hiding behind because they are trafficking them. So much for their optics. I think it is clear by now that the Biden administration is almost entirely controlled by the activists who helped him gain power. When people back home ask me to describe what it is like working in the Senate these days, I tell them it feels like a food fight between liberal special interest groups. The Democrats are just throwing spaghetti against the wall, waiting to see what sticks. Now, they have made a real mess, but they can't seem to gain traction on anything. So why is that? Well, because the reality of the situation in New York and California and Illinois tells the people all they need to know about what is in store for the country if the Democrats get what they want. They are working with a truly miserable track record. Take a look at it: 7.9 percent inflation. The prices are going up, whether it is at the gas pump or the grocery store. Zero commitment to border security-- we are seeing that played out in realtime. Embassies in Afghanistan and Ukraine are left to rot. That is right. He pulled people out. He pulled people out and left a lot of our people behind--and a nominee for the Supreme Court who is proudly untethered to the Constitution. Joe Biden really has earned that 55 percent disapproval rating; hasn't he? Unlike our friends in the mainstream media who think this is all a joke, the American people are taking this very seriously. For them, common sense isn't political. It is practical, and it is necessary. They don't need an activist or a journalist or a comedian to tell them what they believe. They know everything that Joe Biden and his administration and the Democrat control of the House and Senate-- everything they have touched has turned to dust, is on a downward slide--everything. Just look at this. Look at what they have done in a very short period of time. They also know, when it comes to our Supreme Court Justice nominee-- people in Tennessee know what a woman is. They don't need a biologist to tell them. They know that reckless government spending is making their life more expensive every day and, in some cases, unaffordable. And they know full well because many of them have worked, been a part of our military, volunteered to serve. They are people who have come home, and they are working in law enforcement. They know and will tell you that peace comes through strength, not through surrender, and they are not going to tolerate a government that claims ignorance of all this, that wants to do happy talk and say: Everything is going to be just fine. Don't believe your eyes. Don't believe your eyes. Don't believe that price at the gas pump. Oh, the grocery store shelves, they are full--even though the produce aisles may be mostly empty. They know that the woke mob is knocking at their door, and they know the consequences and what it means to them. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, earlier this week, I gave some examples of how the media is covering for Judge Jackson's lackluster performance in her Supreme Court confirmation hearing. I am not sure who they think they will persuade with these unhinged attacks, but what I do know is that the subtext has come through loud and clear for Tennesseans. It is: Sit down, shut up, stop questioning authority; and if you don't, we are going to come and get you. That is what these headlines are basically saying. Last night, I hosted a telephone townhall with more than 30,000 people across middle and east Tennessee, and they have rejected the message that they are seeing in these headlines. It is really pretty simple for them. The harder the media pushes and tries to shut them up, the more they are pushing for accountability, especially when it comes to protecting the future for their children and their grandchildren. As I am sure many people will recall, during a line of questioning in Judge Jackson's confirmation hearing, I asked her a very simple question. All I wanted her to do was define the word ``woman.'' She told me she couldn't answer the question because she wasn't a biologist. If we had not been in the middle of a committee hearing, I would have thought that this was a joke. But we were in the middle of this committee hearing, and it wasn't. It was a very deliberate signal to a very specific group of individuals. Of course, our friends in the media sensed this was going to backfire, as it did, so they flew into damage control mode. But I think it is safe to say they overplayed their hand on this one. According to this particular outlet, science says there is no simple answer to what a woman is. Don't question the science. That sounds familiar, doesn't it? We have heard that a lot lately. They went to great lengths to refute a simple fact that every single American learned in their grade school science class. Judge Jackson's answer and the media's panicked defense of it were both completely divorced from reality. I have spoken at length about how Judge Jackson's total lack of a judicial philosophy causes these kinds of problems. But my Democratic colleagues and their activist friends still seem to be under the impression it is unreasonable to ask a Supreme Court nominee about her approach to interpreting the law. This makes no sense. Without that philosophy--without that basic standard--you cannot achieve stability or predictability, which are two things Judge Jackson repeatedly told us are important for a functioning judicial system. I have serious questions about the nominee's refusal to engage us on this question. But what worries me more is her refusal to acknowledge that when it comes to law, not everything can or should be up for debate because political activists demand it. Our legal system is built on a foundation of definitions and rules, which are two equally important components. In this case, if we concede that the definition of ``woman'' is too controversial to nail down, how can we demand equal justice under the law for victims of sex discrimination? Furthermore, how could the Supreme Court determine standing for any case regarding a gender-based rule? To take it even further, if words no longer matter, are the definitions of other protected classes up for debate? If so, which ones? And if not, then why not? Whose standard are we using here? Think about that. I hear from Tennesseans every single day who feel like they are fighting a losing battle against the erosion of our basic values. Their government is drowning in debt. The crime rate has gone from bad to absolutely terrifying. And classrooms have become battlegrounds in the culture war between woke bureaucrats and parents who just want to rear their children as they see fit. Slowly but surely, activists are forcing themselves between parents and their children, stripping words and institutions of their meaning and using their power to eliminate dissent. It is no way to run a classroom, and it is no way to run a country either. But right now, these parents I am talking to are looking at Washington and seeing the left use these same tactics to convince whoever gives credence to these unhinged headlines that reality is somehow up for debate. They are not going to tolerate it anymore, not from Congress, not from the White House, and certainly not from the Supreme Court. I think it bears repeating that the purpose of the Supreme Court is to interpret the law, not to take up arms in a culture war. I cannot in good conscience give my endorsement to a Supreme Court nominee whose first instinct was to chip away at the very foundation of the law rather than challenge the expectations of radical political activists. I yield the floor.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

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

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, well before we gaveled in to last week's Supreme Court confirmation hearing, our friends in the mainstream media had made it clear what the approved narrative was going to be. According to them, we were supposed to talk about what a historic moment it was and what a historic nominee Judge Jackson is. My Democratic colleagues on the Judiciary Committee spent most of their time focusing on the approved talking points memo, but those of us who didn't play along were punished in print. But, back home in Tennessee, these unhinged attacks by the media went over like a lead balloon, and I think my Democratic colleagues would benefit from listening to what people outside of Washington, DC, have to say because they--the people--are the ones who will bear the practical consequences of what happens here in DC. Now, on Thursday, my Democratic colleagues declared victory for Judge Jackson, but Tennesseans I talked to this weekend still have a lot of questions. They expected more from her. They don't appreciate being called racist for saying they expected more. They wanted her to answer tough questions about the Constitution. They wanted assurance that a Justice Jackson would protect their constitutional rights. They have no problem with having a former public defender on the Court. That could even be a good thing. But they wanted her to account for her record of granting light sentences to dangerous criminals. Why did she choose to let some of them out of jail on compassionate release? I asked those questions, and I commend all of my colleagues on the committee who dug in and did the same thing. Many of my Democratic colleagues, on the other hand, accused us of ``tarnishing'' their historic moment. But Tennesseans didn't see it that way. They say it was the Democrats who tarnished the proceedings by ignoring their duty to vet Judge Jackson, who is up for a lifetime appointment to the highest Court in the land. They feel it was the media that tarnished the moment by politicizing--politicizing--the hearings. Now, I cannot support Judge Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court, but I am withholding my support for reasons my Democratic colleagues and the media have chosen to ignore. For all the focus my colleagues placed on ``judicial philosophy'' in previous confirmation hearings, I had hoped that Judge Jackson would come ready to tell us about hers, but she didn't. Instead, she came armed with a methodology that spoke to the thoroughness of her process but said very little about her approach to constitutional interpretation. After the hysteria that broke out during Justice Barrett's hearings about the so-called dangers of originalism, I thought we might discover what sort of jurist my Democratic colleagues think would be more effective than a constitutionalist. But oh no--to ask that--you are not supposed to do that. But, suddenly, judicial philosophy meant nothing. As I said, don't ask that question. What role the Constitution plays in Judge Jackson's ``methodology'' meant nothing to them. Don't ask that question. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is not a subject the American people are willing to ignore. They want you to ask the questions and get answers. They don't expect to agree with a Justice 100 percent of the time, but they do expect those nominees to adhere to a standard. They want a constitutionalist, not a judicial activist, and at this point, they have no idea what rules she will follow if indeed she is confirmed. All we can do is look at her record. Judge Jackson spent a lot of time defending her work. Tennesseans are just as worried about what she was trying to distance herself from. What did she want us to not know? Associations are important. You can tell a lot about a person by looking at who their friends are, and, as it turns out, Judge Jackson has some pretty controversial friends. Over the past few years, we have seen progressive activists use critical race theory to try and redefine our history and change the way Americans view their place in the world. It is a pernicious philosophical lens, and the effect it has on kids in the classroom is weighing heavily on the hearts of Tennessee parents. Now, in her hearing, Judge Jackson brushed aside my questions about her views on CRT. She wrote it off as an ``academic theory,'' which it is, but my questions were about how she may or may not apply that academic theory to her decisions. Why does she choose to give that academic theory the same weight as administrative law or constitutional law when she is making those decisions? One particular item she tried to distance herself from is her praise for the so-called progressive curriculum at Georgetown Day School, where she sits on the board. Here is what she said in the winter 2019 edition of the school's magazine. Since becoming part of the GDS community 7 years ago, I have witnessed the transformative power of a rigorous progressive education. As Judge Jackson pointed out, Georgetown Day is a private school--an elite private school. They can teach what they want, and parents can choose to take their kids out and go elsewhere if they don't like it. But here is the wrinkle. It is getting harder for parents in Tennessee to do that because so-called progressive education is taking over public schools also. And part of that progressive education requires getting in between parents and their children. Here is why it was so important to air this out during a confirmation hearing. We were examining a nominee who has spent nearly a decade on the bench yet cannot describe her fundamental approach to the law--not her approach to deciding cases or sentencing criminals but to reading and interpreting the Constitution. So when Tennesseans hear a nominee refuse to answer these questions-- when she gives an opening statement and talks about how she makes decisions by starting from a point of neutrality, by looking at the facts of the case, by looking at precedent, you have to say: Where does the Constitution fit into your decision? At the same time that she is practicing that methodology of deciding cases, she is associating herself with philosophies meant to divide children from their parents. They feel entitled to know what role these associations are going to play in her decision matrix. Questions are not attacks, and that is a point that needs to be made. To ask questions is not an attack. How do we keep our Nation free and strong? We do it by robust, respectful debate. That requires that you ask questions of individuals who come before you, that you ask questions of individuals who have a different opinion than you have or who hold a different political or governmental philosophy than you hold. Questions are not attacks. Challenging the application of CRT in elementary school classes is not ``racism.'' Standing firm on the definition of ``woman'' is not ``transphobia.'' This isn't personal. We are talking about a lifetime appointment, and the people deserve to know who this nominee is and what she believes. I thought it was so interesting that so regularly through the hearing, people would reference her background and her family and the strong connections as part of what makes her who she is and informs her decisionmaking and how important that is. The letters of support to her all mention that. But if you question some of this, then the media, then my Democratic colleagues say that is an attack. No, my friends, it is not. It is not an attack because words have meaning. You don't leave words like ``parenthood'' and ``womanhood'' up for interpretation. You know what they mean. Judge Jackson had 3 days to convince this country that her methodology--not her judicial philosophy but her methodology--can help her answer these questions. In my opinion, she failed at that task. In this building, I don't speak for myself; I speak for the people of the great State of Tennessee. I cannot in good conscience give their endorsement to a nominee who by all accounts is legally and constitutionally adrift. What is her standard? We still don't know. What keeps her grounded in the law? We are not sure about that one either. What keeps her from infusing politics into her rulings? We don't have an answer for that. Those are things that, this weekend, Tennesseans would say: I want to know this. My Democratic colleagues don't want to talk about this; neither does the media. They have spent their time whipping up people, looking for outrage, looking for click bait. But here is what I will say in conclusion: Every single one of Judge Jackson's contemporaries have been more than happy to answer these questions. They do regularly as they have come before us for Supreme Court confirmation hearings. So why will not Judge Jackson? I yield the floor.