Marsha Blackburn

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, before I begin my remarks that I wanted to speak on today about law and order, I do have a couple of comments I wanted to make that came to mind as my colleague was speaking. You know, I think that they are suffering not only from Trump derangement syndrome but a little bit of Democrat amnesia. I think they have forgotten that under Joe Biden, inflation hit 9 percent. It was the highest it had been in over four decades. They didn't seem to be concerned about costs or affordability, and every single day, Republicans work to get down the cost of gas and groceries. Every single day, we work on affordability. Even a year ago, we had not one single colleague from the other side of the aisle--not one--vote for the Working Families Tax Cut, the Big Beautiful Bill. They all voted against it because they wanted a $4 trillion tax hike. Now, why did my colleagues on the other side of the aisle vote in lockstep--every single Democrat? They want more money, more of your money that they can spend. They want to control it. They want you to give them the power so they can micromanage your life. Inflation? They are all for it. When you talk about prices going up, they are all for it. Even Barack Obama said: Oh, your electric bills are necessarily going to go up because I am pushing the Green New Deal. And, boy, did they ever. So I think that it is interesting. I wish that they would actually focus on the issue of affordability. I wish they would actually work with us when it comes to getting costs down, but they don't because they want more of your money. Isn't it so interesting? They never get enough of the taxpayers' money. It is a gimme, gimme, gimme every single day. Money and power-- they are all about it.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, we are looking at Memorial Day weekend and certainly on Monday taking that time to pause and reflect on the brave men and women from Tennessee and, indeed, across the entire country who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defending our freedoms right here. Tennessee is really so blessed to have a very strong military community. In our State, we have more than 400,000 veterans that call Tennessee home. They, indeed, enrich our communities with their records of service and sacrifice. We also have several major military installations in our State. There is Fort Campbell, which primarily sits in the State of Tennessee. There is Arnold Engineering Development Center, an Air Force base which is in Tullahoma. In Millington, we have the naval air station. We also have our Army and Air National Guard facilities across our State. To each and every one of these individuals that call Tennessee home, that raise their hand, take that oath, and serve, we say thank you. It is an honor to represent so many servicemembers and veterans in our State. These veterans and servicemembers do represent the best of what this Nation has to offer. They are leaders, public servants, warriors who put their lives on the line every day. And the loss of any single one of them is deeply felt in their home communities and across our State.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, here in DC this week is Police Week, and we are reflecting on the brave men and women who serve us in Tennessee and also across this country, where they are serving our communities every day with courage, with integrity, and with honor. We so appreciate their service. Every day, they put their lives on the line to protect their families, their friends, their neighbors. They enforce the law, and they keep the peace; and for that, they deserve every American's enduring gratitude. Few places better capture the magnitude of their sacrifices than the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial that is here in our Nation's Capital. Engraved on that memorial are the names of every fallen officer in our country going back to the year 1850. This memorial contains 24,775 names. This week, 363 heroes are being added, including 3 from Tennessee: Hugh Carlen of Putnam County, whose watch ended February 24, 1912; James Hood of Jonesborough, who fell in the line of duty August 26, 1928; and Deputy Sheriff Justin Bradford Mowery, of Blount County, whom we tragically lost on December 28. This week's candlelight vigil will provide a powerful moment to reflect on their sacrifices and their stories and those made by the thousands of other officers on the Roll Call of Heroes. There is a reason our officers are called the thin blue line: They are the only force separating us from chaos, disorder, and anarchy. They take pride in their responsibility, but to do their jobs, they need the support of their communities, their States, their country. They need the support of this Chamber, and for too long, they have lacked that support from Democrat leadership. Instead of funding the police, the Democrats have worked to defund the police and, indeed, all law enforcement. But, under President Trump, the Federal Government is backing the blue from one side of this country to another. In Tennessee, we have seen this much needed support in Memphis. For years, Memphis, which is an iconic American city, has struggled with rampant crime. In 2024, it had the highest crime rate per capita of any city in the country. Memphians truly suffered. Indeed, all West Tennesseans suffered. Many could not walk outside of their homes without fear of being robbed, assaulted, or murdered in Memphis. Under the President's leadership, those days are coming to an end. Since launching the Memphis Safe Task Force last year, crime in Memphis has plummeted. In the first quarter of this year, overall crime was down more than 40 percent compared to 2025. Indeed, since the task force began 7 months ago, the crime rate has been cut 50 percent. The way this happened was in coordination with local, State, and Federal resources. The task force has done a great job in getting criminals off the street and behind bars. In total, authorities have made more than 9,000 arrests, including 996 for narcotics, 838 for firearms offenses, 105 for sex offenses, and 67 for homicide. They have also seized 1,500 illegal firearms, and they have located 150 missing children. Every single American--indeed, every Member of this Chamber-- should applaud this success. In the Senate, Republicans are working to support the administration's effort. My Restoring Law and Order Act would increase funding for law enforcement and help keep violent criminals behind bars. The Protecting Law Enforcement Officers from Doxxing Act would make it illegal to dox Federal law enforcement officials and put them in harm's way. The Safer Prisons Act would double the maximum term of imprisonment for assaulting a Federal Bureau of Prisons correctional officer. While Republicans work to support our brave officers, unfortunately, many of our Democratic colleagues are trying to do everything in their power to undermine law enforcement. For 76 days, they shut down the Department of Homeland Security, left the Secret Service, Coast Guard, TSA, FEMA, and other critical Agencies without funding, and they jeopardized our Nation's security at a time of heightened threats from the world's largest sponsor of terrorism, Iran. And the reason? Well, they had a petty reason. They used our Federal law enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security as a trading chip. What they were trying to do was to abolish ICE, end the enforcement of our immigration laws, and defund Federal law enforcement. Thank goodness they were not successful. They got nothing for their little fit. President Trump brought this charade to an end late last month by signing into law legislation that reopened DHS and restored its vital operations. Now Republicans are moving forward with a public security bill that will fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection for years to come. We are accomplishing this through the reconciliation process, and that is the same process we used to pass the Working Families Tax Cut last year. We are going to make certain we can fund these vital Agencies. Our colleagues across the aisle can continue to oppose the rule of law, and they can side with criminals over law enforcement. They can continue to side with illegal aliens rather than citizens, and they can continue to champion the same radical policies that unleashed chaos at the border and across the country during the Biden administration, but that will not stop Republicans from saluting our men and women in uniform, from backing the blue, from standing with the thin blue line, and making certain that law enforcement has what they need to provide safety for American citizens in communities coast to coast.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, now, on a separate but related topic, we go to this issue of Department of Homeland Security funding. It is important that we remember that the Agency that is responsible for protecting our President, his family, our Vice President, his family, our Cabinet members--they all have a security detail--but the Agency is the Secret Service, and the Secret Service is in the Department of Homeland Security, as is Homeland Security Investigations, ICE, Border Patrol, TSA. See, it all comes out of that DHS budget. And we now are on day 74 of the Democrats' latest shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. It is the third time this Congress that they have chosen to shut down Homeland Security. Now, to ensure that agents continue to receive their paychecks, President Trump has resorted to using funds from the Working Families Tax Cut--Big Beautiful Bill--that we passed last year, and thank goodness that we did. And I will remind the Chamber: Every single Democrat voted against that bill. Every single Democrat voted against your pocketbook. They voted to increase your taxes by voting no on the Big Beautiful Bill. Well, thank goodness we got it passed because that is where the President has been able to go and move some money around and pay people that are working without a paycheck. Now, you know, it makes you wonder how many people would choose to continue to work and not receive a paycheck? But that is what our Democrat colleagues continue to do. Last night, I did a telephone townhall, and on this townhall was a grandmother who lives in Middle Tennessee. Her question to me was very pointed. She said: Senator Blackburn, my grandson is in the Coast Guard. Have you-all figured out how to pay the Coast Guard? The Coast Guard. They are funded by DHS. So our colleagues across the aisle have chosen to say to the Coast Guard: Forget it. We are not for paying you. So think about this. When you talk about going after human traffickers and drug runners, the Democrats don't want to fund that activity. When you talk about Homeland Security Investigations that helps to find missing children, that locks up pedophiles and predators, that locks up groomers--they don't want to go after them. They are choosing to not fund that Agency. Well, I had another caller on the townhall last night, and they said: I don't get this. Why don't they want to pay TSA? Why don't they want to pay ICE agents who were picking up people that broke the law to come into the country and have committed crimes and need to be deported? These are people that, by and large, most have orders of deportation already issued against them. They are ready to be deported. And the answer is disappointing, but it is what the Democrats will tell you. Their goal is to abolish ICE, to open the border back up, and just say: You-all come. Anybody can come. We are going to vacate immigration law. And their third goal is to defund the police. You know, during Joe Biden's era, they loved the fact--loved it--the border was wide open. And we had illegal aliens entering the country by the thousands and the millions. They liked it that way. They didn't know who was in the country, but they were glad they were here. They wanted more sanctuary cities. And, again, what we see the Democrats doing, they are putting illegal aliens before citizens. They are not funding--will not fund Federal law enforcement, don't want to fund immigration, don't want to fund the Coast Guard, don't want to fund the TSA. I guess they just think that there should be no scanning and no review. So we know that that is their goal, and we know also that they don't want a deal on this. They want to continue to have a fight. They want this issue. Their goal is to abolish ICE, to defund Federal law enforcement. That is where they are headed, so they like having a shutdown.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Well, they continue with this political charade, and we have now passed a budget resolution that is going to open the path for us for a targeted public safety reconciliation bill that is going to fund these issues through President Trump's term. We will take this issue off the table. Now, we did this on the Big Beautiful Bill. We did it through reconciliation. We did it with 51 votes. And as I said earlier, not one single Democrat--not one--voted for the Big Beautiful Bill. And we will make certain that ICE and CBP and these other Agencies are funded, and we will do it without a single Democrat vote. And also, doing it this way, the Democrats will have none of the reforms they pretended to want when it came to Homeland Security. I yield the floor.

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, every American should be grateful that President Trump, Vice President Vance, the Cabinet, and thousands of other attendees were not harmed during Saturday's disturbing shooting that took place at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. We now know that the shooter was attempting to kill the President, and this was the third assassination attempt we have seen on his life in the past couple of years. Now, some Democrats--and I would include former President Obama in this--some have claimed that we don't have details about the suspect's motives, but we do have plenty of details, and we know that the shooter actually laid a good bit of this out. He did a manifesto, and he sent that manifesto to his family shortly before the attack. The shooter said he was going to target administration officials ``prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest.'' It shows you he thought this through. Now, his reason for this, he said President Trump is--and I quote his wording here again--``pedophile, rapist, traitor.'' Now, this is unhinged rhetoric. It is completely in line with the lies that the Democrats have repeated on just about a daily basis every day regarding President Trump. We have heard it on TV, on podcasts, on social media, in their speeches, and it is something else that they continue with this rhetoric. And Gov. Tim Walz who, of course, was the VP nominee in the last election once said: No one has ever been more dangerous to this country than Donald Trump, and he is a fascist to his core. Again, that was Gov. Tim Walz. Now, some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have called the President an ``existential threat to democracy,'' ``the most significant threat to American democracy since the Civil War,'' and an ``authoritarian.'' And some of them have chosen to compare him to historical figures, and that historical figure they usually use is Hitler. And, of course, Kamala Harris once compared him to a ``communist dictator.'' This is reckless rhetoric. This is the kind of rhetoric that needs to stop because this places a target on our President, and this is the type of rhetoric that has no place in civil public life. Now, we are celebrating America 250, and we are looking at how this Nation has remained strong and free. Indeed, I think that as you look at our history, those tenets of faith, family, freedom, hope, and opportunity have served us well. And how do we achieve that American dream? Well, we have kept ourselves free and focused on achieving that dream for each and every person. They all look different. Everybody's dream is different of what they want, what their goals are, the type of community they want to live in. They are all different. But we arrive at decisions of what kind of communities we will have, what kind of country we will have--those issues of importance--we arrive there through robust, respectful, bipartisan debate. We don't get there by exercising reckless rhetoric, some of which I have quoted. It is so disappointing to hear this from some of our colleagues and then to see the type of vitriol that this spurs. Now, when we have robust, respectful, bipartisan debate--I share my opinion; someone else shares their opinion--what this does is to empower not only us, but the people that we represent, to enter into that debate, to be a part of the public square, to defend our freedoms, to build consensus, and to serve the American people and to preserve the freedoms that we enjoy. Now, without it, without having that marketplace of ideas, without that robust, respectful debate that leads to exchange and asking: What if we did this? What if we did that? If we did not have that, then this Nation would head to a very dark place. And this latest assassination attempt on President Trump is another reminder of what can happen when Americans abandon the possibility of working together and instead of settling their differences by debate in the public square, they choose to settle these differences by violence, by reckless rhetoric. So as we approach our Nation's 250th anniversary, we need to remember that it is this exchange of ideas and this robust, respectful debate that has helped to sustain the freedoms that we enjoy in this country.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, well here we are. And for more than 2 months, our colleagues and friends across the aisle have decided that they were going to hold the Department of Homeland Security shut down, kind of hold them hostage. And for that same 2 months, Republicans have been trying every single day to negotiate with them in good faith to find a resolution to this. Well, they claimed, if they could just reform ICE, they would be happy. And, where reasonable, the White House offered to implement updated guidelines for ICE agents, including expanding the use of body- warn cameras, limiting civil immigration enforcement at certain sensitive locations, and enforcing the use of visible officer ID during enforcement actions. Well, that sounds reasonable. Those were all things they wanted. But do you know what? All of a sudden, that wasn't enough. They rejected every offer to reopen the Department of Homeland Security. Since February, they have taken 16 votes--not 1 or 2, but 16 votes-- against reopening the Department of Homeland Security. One thing has become very clear, and it is this: For the Democrats, shutting down DHS is not a means to accomplish other policy goals. It is not a negotiating tactic. Keeping Homeland Security shut down is the goal. That is what they want. Now, you come to that realization because when everything you put on the table--things they have said they are for, things they have said they wanted to see done--and they reject it all. They reject it all. Nothing suits them because they have wanted to keep DHS shut down. And their goal is to abolish ICE. Their goal is to defund law enforcement. So they found out that that was really not that popular with the American people because the American people want safe communities. They think we should have public safety as a goal and they have watched what the Democrats have done and they have decided they don't like this. They like the fact that Republicans, that President Trump, has been focused on public safety. You know, that is one of the reasons that the American people sent President Trump back to the Oval Office. It was to make certain that we were focused on our Nation's security, that we were focused on safe communities, that we were apprehending people that were in the country illegally, that individuals that were in the country illegally who had committed crimes were being apprehended and were being deported. And I will say this: Since Inauguration Day, President Trump has delivered on his promise that he would restore law and order and he would bring law and order to the southern border after 4 years of solid chaos down there and, what we know, at least 10 million illegal aliens coming into this country. For 11 consecutive months, CBP has released zero--zero--illegal aliens into our country, think about that, 11 months in a row. Now, under Joe Biden, border apprehensions were soaring, and what we saw last month was the stat that border apprehensions were down 97 percent from the same time in Joe Biden's term. For most Americans, they like this, and they like the fact that the border is secure. They like the fact that drug dealers and sex traffickers are not coming into the country. They like the fact that people have to go to a port of entry, and they have to show their documents if they want to come into our precious country. But you know what? That isn't what the Democrats want. They want to end President Trump's success at the southern border. They want to abolish ICE. They want to bring back the Biden years of rising crime, crime in your community's streets. They want to bring back drug trafficking. They want to bring back human trafficking and sex trafficking and lawlessness. If you look at where their priorities are and where they spend their time and the votes they cast, that is what you see. Open the border, abolish ICE, defund the police, bring back the Biden years of rising crime, chaos, drug trafficking, human smuggling, sex trafficking, and lawlessness. Now, as Republicans, we have said we are not going to stand for this, which is why we are moving to fully fund ICE and CBP for years to come through this reconciliation. Our budget committee is chaired by Senator Graham, and he has introduced the budget resolution that is going to unlock a pathway for a public safety reconciliation bill. Now, I don't see who can be against public safety. This is a targeted, focused bill, focused on public safety, something everybody should want not only for our Nation but for their cities and States. Now, by doing this public safety reconciliation bill, we can fund these vital Agencies, and we can do it with a simple majority vote. This is how we were able to pass the Big Beautiful Bill with the working families tax cuts, and, indeed, I think many people have taken advantage of those extra tax cuts that were in that bill as they filed their taxes this year. Now, every single Democrat who votes against funding for border enforcement is going to have to explain to their constituents why they put the concerns of illegal aliens before the concerns of the citizens who voted for them. Tennesseans are really sick and tired of the games that are being played up here, primarily these games by the Democrats where they are not funding DHS. And they are frustrated when they see that Congress isn't getting things done. This week, I did a telephone townhall. I love doing these. We have thousands of Tennesseans on the line with us, and some of the questions that I got were: Why can't we fund border enforcement? We should want to keep the border closed so we know who is coming in here. Who could be opposed to that? Why can't we pass the SAVE America Act? You know, 83 percent of the American people, not just Republicans or Independents or Democrats, but 83 percent of the American people want us to pass the SAVE America Act. It is very simple. If you are going to register to vote in our country, you have got to prove that you are a U.S. citizen--common sense. Most every country does that. You have got to be a citizen if you are going to vote in their elections. And next, they want to make certain that when you go to vote, you show an ID. Thirty-six of our States require already that you show an ID. We have got 14 States, primarily blue States, that do not require that you show an ID. To the American people, it is common sense. So they ask: Why can't we pass the SAVE America Act? Why can't we prioritize our national security amid a conflict that is going on with Iran, who is the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism? We should be prioritizing our Nation's security. And time and again, as I answered these questions, I would tell Tennesseans the Democrat agenda is completely at odds with the interests of the American people. They are going to do anything and everything they can to undermine President Donald Trump because they don't like him. And they have TDS. And so to them what they are trying to do is stall and not fund the Agencies that are here to support what the American people want to see done. Now, despite all these efforts, Democrats can't stop us from putting the American people first, addressing the concerns, meeting the needs of the American people. So we will move forward with our reconciliation bill. We will move forward with fully reopening the Department of Homeland Security as soon as we possibly can, and we will move forward with making certain the American people know that the Democrats have used them as a pawn. They didn't want to negotiate. Nothing was ever good enough. Their goal was to abolish ICE and to defund the police. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize a milestone for one of west Tennessee's greatest treasures, the Memphis Zoo. Earlier this month, on April 4, 2026, the Memphis Zoo celebrated the 120th anniversary of its founding. I am delighted to acknowledge this important occasion for one of the world's first-class zoos, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the globe every year. On April 4, 1906, the Memphis Park Commission allocated $1,200 to establish the Memphis Zoo. Over the past 120 years, the Memphis Zoo has expanded to include over a dozen exhibits, including Cat Country, Animals of the Night, the Herpetarium, the Aquarium, the Northwest Passage, Teton Trek, and the Zambezi River Hippo Camp. Additionally, in April 2003, the zoo opened a noteworthy exhibit that was home to two giant pandas for nearly 20 years. In total, the Memphis Zoo contains more than 3,500 animals representing over 500 different species. Because of these world-class exhibits and facilities, the Memphis Zoo has consistently been ranked as one of our Nation's premier zoological attractions, including earning the ranking of ``#1 Zoo in the U.S.'' in 2008, as well as multiple Top Zoo rankings from various publications. Located in Overton Park in the heart of Memphis, the zoo has served for over a century as one of Tennessee's finest tourist attractions. I congratulate the Memphis Zoo on this historic anniversary, and I recognize its tremendous benefit to the Memphis community.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I have 11 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, well, today is tax day. It is not a day that conservatives usually celebrate, but this year it is a little bit different. And that is thanks to the working families tax cuts, the Big Beautiful Bill, that are allowing individuals to keep a lot more of their hard-earned money. And as we have this discussion on tax day, it is imperative that we remember government doesn't create jobs, it creates the environment for jobs growth. Government is not the one that is generating income. All of that comes from hard-working taxpayers. They send their hard-earned tax dollars here to Washington, DC. And today is a day we should be mindful of the imperative that we should be good stewards of the taxpayer dollar. Now, one of the things that we heard so much about during the Biden administration was, every time you turned around, taxes were going up; inflation was going up because taxes were going up; and government spending was going up. Well, things have changed. Things have changed. And as I said, because of the tax cuts in the Big Beautiful Bill, what we know is, citizens are seeing more money stay in their pocketbook without having to send it to DC. What we also know is, tax refunds this year are up 24 percent, just over $3,500--$3,500--for most refunds. A big reason why is that almost half of the filers are claiming new tax breaks that were created in the working families tax cuts, Big Beautiful Bill. So think about that. Half of the filers are benefiting from the bill that every single one of our Democrat colleagues voted no on that bill. Now, Americans who claim these added deductions are seeing refunds that are $775 higher than they were last year, and as we think about that, that is more money in your pocketbook for groceries, for gas, for car payments, for education expenses, for clothing, for things that your family wants to do with your hard-earned money. Now, earlier today, we heard from our IRS head, and what we heard from Mr. Bisignano is that they are really executing the mission that was put before them to drive efficiency, to process these claims, to answer questions, and to make certain that people know they can set those withholdings lower, and when they have got a deduction coming, they know how to claim that deduction, and that they get those refunds faster. We should keep in mind that all of this is happening because of President Trump and because Republicans, indeed, have put the American people first. They have put these hard-working taxpayers first. That is what people want to see, put them at the first of the queue. They deserve it. Now, if we had not passed the working families tax cuts, Big Beautiful Bill, last spring and summer, we would have had a $4 trillion tax hike. Think what that would be doing to you right now if your taxes had gone up, if those escalation rates had kicked in, things had gone up. And what we do know is that while our colleagues across the aisle, the Democrats, wanted to see Americans pay more in taxes, that what that equates to is, there would be fewer jobs; there would be lower wages; and I think one of the big ones, especially when you talk about a State like mine, Tennessee, where small business is your largest employer, then there would be less opportunity. But because we passed that bill last summer, there is more opportunity. And our small business employers, people that are there on Main Street, are prospering, and businesses are growing. Now, I do want to highlight some of these provisions that our Democratic colleagues chose to vote against. What we put in the working families tax cuts, the Big Beautiful Bill, that is yielding these deductions that about half of the tax filers are taking is this--this is one that I have worked on for years--and it is the bonus deduction for every senior. And for 88 percent of our Social Security recipients, it has eliminated all the income tax they have on that Social Security. Now, I actually printed out that page from the 1040 form, and I think it is so important to see. Section 5 has that enhanced deduction for seniors. So it is, for every senior, a $6,000 deduction. If you and your spouse are both over 65, that is a $12,000 deduction, but it is part 5, when you get to the point that you are filling out this form, and all the instructions are right there. That is a really big deal. And what we know is that because of this provision, seniors are saving $670. Now, think about that. If you are a senior and you are using that deduction and you are represented by Democrats, they voted against that. They voted against allowing you to have a $6,000 bonus deduction. And what we know is that 30 million seniors have already used that--30 million seniors. According to Mr. Bisignano, it is the most used of all the deductions. It is money in your pocket. Now, there are millions of workers who are seeing lower taxes on tips and overtime. With the new tips deductions, senior filers are seeing a savings of $1,370. Some have gone as high as $5,500. These are savings that are leaving money in your pocket. But, again, every single Democrat in this Chamber, every single one voted against that. So if you are a worker who uses and receives tips, they voted against that. If you are a senior who works with tip income, they voted against your senior deduction, and they voted against your deduction with tips. Now, we also know that children that are born can do Trump Accounts. They are eligible for that $1,000 seed account. These accounts will grow all through that child's life. This is a way they can have money for education or for a first home or keeping that account and letting it grow until they are ready for retirement. But if you have a baby that was born this year, a child or a grandchild, every Democrat voted against--against--their having that nest egg. So how wonderful it would be if these children came out of college debt-free. How wonderful would it be if they had that money for a downpayment. And think about overtime work. We have so many Americans that work overtime. Again, they are benefiting, but the Democrats voted against no tax on overtime. And they also voted against the enhanced child tax credit, which benefits more than 40 million American families. So if you have children that are under 18 and you are taking that enhanced child tax credit, you are looking at that, and you see when you get to that bottom line and you look at your total deductions, your total credits, Democrats voted against that. You know, it is so interesting, they think they should have the right of first refusal on your money. They think they know better what to do with your money than you do. They say: Send more of it to DC, and we will put it where we want it. But what we know is that the American people want to keep their money and keep it in their pocket. Now, we also have a deduction for interest that is paid on ``Made in America'' vehicles. That is an important thing. So if you bought a car this past year, that interest on that car payment, you are going to be able to deduct every penny. The Democrats also voted against the permanent extension of the lifetime gift tax exemption. Now, in Tennessee, this was very important to us for family farms. We raised that to $15 million per individual for a couple that has a family farm or maybe a small business manufacturing company. That is $30 million. So they will be able to pass that company and its assets on to their children and grandchildren so that they can continue to run this business. But, bear in mind, every Democrat in this Chamber voted no. They voted against your being able to take what you have worked hard for, to build, to build that company, to carry on the legacy of that farm. They voted against your being able to do that. They voted against an increase to the standard deduction. That is used by 90 percent of all filers. So as you fill out your tax form, remember, the Democrats said you don't deserve it, they do. They want your money. They don't want you to keep your money so they voted against raising the standard deduction. They voted against the permanent extension of the 2017 tax cuts for businesses, which fueled investment across America. You know what, they really have been the ``no'' caucus when it comes to cutting taxes. They have been the ``no'' caucus when it comes to allowing you to live your version of the American dream. What they want, they want that control; they want that power. They want to be able to say: Give it to us. Let us decide what to do with your money. And, oh, by the way, they want more of it. They want you to have less. They want more so they can waste it in the name of programs that by and large many have outlived their usefulness for the American people. So this is tax day. We should be grateful for President Trump's leadership. Without him, there would be no Working Families Tax Cut; there wouldn't have been that Big Beautiful Bill. So instead of celebrating historic refunds, Americans, if the Democrats had been in charge, if they had their way, would be struggling to pay another $4 trillion in taxes. Think about that one. I am so pleased that we were able to get these taxes passed, signed, sealed, delivered, and signed into law, and that on this tax day, tens of millions of Americans are celebrating increased deductions, increased tax credits, and more money in their pockets because of larger refunds. I yield the floor.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, I so appreciate our colleague from West Virginia and his commitment to our Nation's veterans and today, on Medal of Honor Day, that he was taking the time to recognize them. We are grateful for that and grateful for their service and their sacrifice, and know that we are able to continue the work we do for our great Nation because of the service that they have rendered to our Nation. Department of Homeland Security Madam President, on Monday, I had the honor of joining President Trump in Memphis. This was his first visit to our great State after launching the Memphis Safe Task Force, last year. And we were so thrilled with this. The task force has been working in Memphis for the last 6 months. And as we put that task force into place, what we saw is a city that has really transformed for the better. Now, the reason the task force came to be is because Memphis, TN, in 2024 had the highest per capita crime rate of any city in this country. There were over 100 gangs that were there, vehicle thefts, carjackings, cargo theft. The list went on and on--aggravated assault, violent crime, murder. What we saw was a rising crime rate, and regardless of how much energy local law enforcement put into this, apprehending criminals, there was a Soros-backed DA. It was a revolving door, and nothing seemed to get better. Well, as Kash Patel and AG Bondi came before me before their Judiciary Committee hearings, I presented each of them with a crime stat sheet. These were the crime stats of Memphis. I asked for their help. They committed for their help. At their hearings, they publicly committed for that help. And last summer, we started Operation Viper, and then, what we saw was a success. And because of that Operation Viper success with the FBI working with local police, then, last September, we started the Memphis Safe Task Force. It is local, State, and Federal elected officials working with local, State, and Federal agencies, all working together: the mayor of Memphis; Chief Davis, the chief of police; our National Guard; Tennessee Highway Patrol; Tennessee Bureau of Investigations; 30 Federal Agencies; our U.S. marshal; our U.S. attorney. And, yes, a difference is being made. Residents had talked a lot about Memphis in 2024. They honestly could not walk outside their houses. Kids could not play outside. They were concerned about being robbed, assaulted, murdered, and seeing criminal gangs turn their community into a war zone. Now, the fact that we have had such success in Memphis in dropping that crime rate by nearly 50 percent--50 percent--we are the example, the model, of how you can get in behind this and change what is happening with crime. Some of the stats are that we have seen a 40-percent drop in sexual assault in Memphis, a 56-percent drop in robbery, a 68-percent drop in motor vehicle theft, a 36-percent drop in murder. That is what happens when your mayor, your police chief, and your agencies are working in partnership getting criminals off the streets. Now, since September, these combined agencies have made over 9,000 arrests, and more than 3,300 of those were for violent criminals, violent offenders. Among them are hundreds of warrant arrests for domestic violence, aggravated assault, weapons crimes, as well as dozens more for sexual assault and homicide. These criminals are among the worst of the worst. In late February, in 1 day, the authorities arrested a 26-year-old woman wanted for killing a 2-year-old baby. You know, that is pretty hard to hear. The Presiding Officer and I are grandmamas. We love these little ones. Hard to fathom somebody would kill a 2-year-old. This is the type criminal they have taken off the streets. They also arrested a 23-year-old man facing charges of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon and a 24-year-old man wanted for drug distribution and possession of prohibited firearms. Members of the task force are working every single day to apprehend these individuals, and while they are apprehending them, they have recovered more than 2,200 illegal firearms, 1,200 stolen vehicles, and--get this--they have rescued more than 150 missing children. You know, in the Biden administration, they lost track of about 500 children. Everyone said: Well, where are these children? What could have happened? Because of the good work of these Federal, State, and local agencies and law enforcement, yes, indeed, 150 missing children. This operation has been so successful in Memphis. It really ought not to surprise anyone in this Chamber. Sixty-two percent of Memphis citizens say the initiative has been effective at reducing crime, and 86 percent support hiring more police officers. Imagine that. Everybody working together regardless of your political party, regardless of whether you are State, local, Federal. You have 86 percent of the population of the city saying: Let's do more of this. Seventy-seven percent say: Let's build a new jail so we can keep these criminals off the street. I am incredibly optimistic about the future of Memphis. I am so grateful to President Trump, Director Patel, AG Bondi, and Secretary Hegseth, along with all the other Federal Agencies, for their commitment. Department of Homeland Security Madam President, you know, as we have heard on the floor today, it is the 40th day of the Democrats' shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. This is already one of the longest shutdowns in our Nation's history, and what we know is that our DHS employees have gone 46 percent of this fiscal year without a paycheck. This is something that is immoral. Our colleagues across the aisle have voted not once or twice but seven times not to fund our DHS employees. So I think that it is incredible that they are doing this because they have two goals, and we know these are their goals because they have been on TV talking about this. They have talked to their base about these goals. Goal No. 1, abolish ICE. They are all about it. They want to abolish ICE. Goal No. 2, they want to defund law enforcement. Now, they have been on this for years. They had told their base that they were going to find a way to do this, so they think that not paying TSA workers is a way to do this. They think that not paying DHS employees is a way to get to their goal. Well, they are sadly mistaken, and the American people are figuring this out, that what they are doing in order to punish ICE for upholding the rule of law and removing violent criminals from communities--that it is OK to make people hurt, to make people suffer. I think that it is so immoral, what they are doing. Now, of course, they are fully aware that ICE is funded through 2029. If they had read the Working Families Tax Cut, the Big Beautiful Bill, they would be aware of this. But, no, they didn't take the time to read the good things that were in that bill because they had made their minds up. They were going to vote no. Regardless of what happened, they were going to vote no. So they think it is OK to punish Secret Service agents, TSA officers, coastguardsmen, our cyber security professionals, and our homeland security investigators so that they can try to abolish ICE. Now, President Trump is doing everything he can to alleviate the pain the Democrats are causing. You see Republicans have made concessions. It was: We want a change of leadership at DHS. Well, that change has taken place. We want to end the Minnesota surge with ICE. That has ended. We want to end roving patrols. That has been done. We want to change policies around protesters. We want to change policies at detention facilities. All of that has been done. Body cameras--that has been done. What they continue to do is move the goalposts. Nothing is ever good enough because the only thing they want--abolish ICE and defund law enforcement. So regardless of what we bring forward, regardless of what is offered, they have decided they are a big, fat, whopping no. They do not give a ripping flip what happens to TSA agents and their families--people that are sleeping in cars, people that can't pay their mortgage, people that can't pay for childcare, people that are not able to go to work because of this. They are not concerned about the 450 agents that have already turned in their badges and said: We can't hack this. We have to have a job where we are paid every time we go to work for every hour we work rather than being paid 46 percent of the time. I think it is so important that we realize they are standing up for illegal aliens. You know, they are standing up for criminals like Jose Medina-Medina, who was charged last week with shooting and killing Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old college student at Loyola University in Chicago who was out walking with her friends. There was a Chicago alderman who said: This was a kid in the wrong place at the wrong time. How totally insensitive and disgusting can that be. I will tell you who was in the wrong place--it was an illegal alien who had a rap sheet, who came here under the Biden administration. He goes out and is charged with theft within a couple of weeks of being here, and the revolving door starts for him. I think you have to look at this--somebody that is a repeat offender. They have no right to be here. And that guy, that alleged killer from Venezuela, should never have been anywhere near that young woman. I think it is also important that we look at the fact that there is new leadership at DHS. Our colleagues should be willing to fund DHS and stop repeatedly voting to shut the thing down and support the rule of law in this country. I yield the floor.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, we are having quite a debate, and I do believe that the American people are learning quite a bit about the Democratic Members of the Senate and the Republican Members of the Senate as we go through this debate on the SAVE America Act. Now, what we have heard from some of our Democratic colleagues is showing a voter ID is common sense. I am glad that they have come to that recognition and that they realize it does make sense that you would show an ID when you go to vote, that they show an ID many times a day, whether it is to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy or to register for Federal benefits or to go to a child's school. Voter ID is something that makes sense because the American people are accustomed to verifying to individuals that they are indeed who they claim to be. But our friends across the aisle, only here in this Chamber, are saying: Oh, we can't vote for that. Now, 71 percent of all Democrats, 85 percent of all Independents, and over 90 percent of all Republicans agree voter ID is a good idea. We also see the same type of numbers when it comes to the other commonsense provision that if you are going to vote in a U.S. election, you really ought to be a U.S. citizen. That makes sense to people. They know that when they travel to other countries they don't vote in those elections, even if they are there on an election day. But because our friends across the aisle want to make it easy to cheat, they want to allow individuals that are illegally in the country or people that are here on a visa or people that are here as permanent residents or people that are touring our country to show up at a poll, grab a ballot, give an address, and cast that ballot because in 12 States in this country you can vote without showing anything when you go to the polls--just give them your name and cast that ballot. Well, quite frankly, the American people think that the right to vote is precious and that we should defend ``one person, one vote.'' They look at casting that vote as their duty and their honor. And they are fully aware that if someone illegally in the country, someone not entitled to vote, casts a ballot, then it negates their ballot. So the American people are watching and observing and learning, and we see that not only are they blaming the Democrats for this latest shutdown of Homeland Security; they think they have lost their ever- loving minds that they will not support voter ID and being a citizen of the Nation in order to cast a vote. Now, there is another provision that I want to call attention to, and we are going to vote on this amendment in a few minutes. This is protecting girls in sports. We know that title IX has opened the doors for young women and girls to compete in sports. Now, 50 years ago, when title IX came to be, we only had about 300,000 college and high school female athletes that were competing. Today, that number is over 3 million. And I know many of us are watching March Madness and the talented young women that are playing in this tournament. We love cheering for them. We love watching them excel and succeed. We love it when we are watching college sports and we see young women who have come together, who have formed a team, who have built that camaraderie and know how to compete as a team. They like that, but obviously our friends across the aisle, who once upon a time liked to say that they were leading the pack supporting women, decided they no longer support women; they can't even define the word ``woman.'' So therefore they are not able to support women, and therefore they want to tear down title IX, which has opened doors of opportunity for young women. Now, thank goodness President Donald Trump has tried to chase away some of the adverse actions against title IX that were carried out during the Biden administration, when opportunities for young women and girls were lost, when women would be forced to share a locker room with guys because the guy decided he was going to claim to be a female so he could compete, whether it is track or swimming or volleyball, softball. The guy couldn't win in the guys' category, so they claimed to be female so they could take away that opportunity, so they could take away that trophy, so they could take away the scholarship from young women. Actually, I think that is disgusting--absolutely disgusting--but our friends across the aisle support that. They want to diminish these opportunities for women. But President Trump said: I have had enough of that. He did an Executive order banning men from competing in women's sports. Secretary McMahon, who is doing a fabulous job as our Education Secretary, is investigating educational institutions all across the country that are violating title IX and are allowing men to compete in women's sports and thereby take away the opportunities from women. Thank goodness she is doing that, and thank goodness these institutions are being held to account for discriminating against these women who want to compete, who want to be able to do it safely and without being injured. In just a few moments, Senator Tuberville and I are going to push to pass the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. We are doing this as part of the SAVE America Act because it is another of these issues where you have 80 percent of the American people, 90 percent, 70 percent of the American people who are for this. What the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act will do is to codify President Trump's Executive order. I am asked regularly by Tennesseans: These Executive orders are great, but when are you going to codify this and put it into law so that it will have the force of law behind it? So today, when it comes to protecting women in sports, to making certain men cannot compete in women's sports; when it comes to affirming biological reality, we are going to take that vote as the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act is offered as an amendment. To my friends across the aisle, I would encourage them: Choose today to honor women. Choose today to stand with women. Choose today to support so many young women that absolutely want to be able to compete. You know, today is a beautiful day in the great State of Tennessee, which I think is the best place on the face of the Earth to live. It is a gorgeous spring day. The forsythia is bright yellow and blooming. The red buds are purple, and they are magnificent. The Sun is shining. In driveways all across our great State, you have young girls who are out bouncing that basketball. They are hoping for their shot to play for Vanderbilt or to be a UT Lady Vol and to make that college team. They want to be able to compete. They are watching what is happening with March Madness. They are following women that they have seen compete on these college teams. I hope they find it as absolutely disgusting as I do that our colleagues across the aisle have chosen a course of action. They cannot define ``woman,'' and they will not defend women. I would encourage them to change course and vote for the Protection of Girls in Sports Act. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I had spoken a little bit earlier about what was happening with Homeland Security funding. One of the things that we are hearing from so many school groups and church groups and people and families who are coming up for spring break is their disappointment with these long lines at the airports and the difficulty in making those travel arrangements. Again, I think it is so important to encourage our colleagues across the aisle to accept some of the concessions and the offers that have been made to them in order to fully fund DHS and focus on our Nation's security, but, as I mentioned earlier, they choose not to do that because they want to abolish ICE. That is their North Star right now. That is their guiding principle. They are all about abolishing ICE, so let's look at what that would mean. One of the things that we learned from the American people is they wanted to see our Nation's borders closed. They wanted to make certain that we--the American people--know who is coming into our country and why they are coming into our country. We know that we want to be certain that people are not coming here with ill intent. We have seen this play out. We know for a fact that there are about 18,000 known terrorists who came in during the 4 years of the Joe Biden administration. Many of these people came in with criminal records. We know they are on these Terrorist Watchlists. We know that they have moved across our country and that the Department of Homeland Security has been locating these individuals, moving to apprehend these individuals in order to detain them and prosecute them and to get them out of our country. Interestingly enough, the vast majority of the American people agree with that process. They agree that these are individuals who should be removed from the country. It is really quite amazing to me. In Tennessee, I have not talked to one single person--not one--who says ``Marsha, do you know what? I hope we get more terrorist moving into our neighborhood'' or ``Marsha, I hope we have more gangs, more drug dealers, more drug traffickers, more human traffickers, more sex traffickers, more pedophiles'' in their communities. They don't want that, and there is a good reason for that. The people in this country value public safety. They value that. They want our Nation to be safe. They want our communities to be safe. They want to make certain that we are going to have a safe environment in which to live. Public safety and defending our country--that is kind of at the top of the to-do list when you talk with people about their expectations of the activities we are going to take up.

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

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, you know, it is so interesting that we are finding ourselves here on a Thursday, and one of the pressing issues is DHS funding for Homeland Security. And I find it so interesting that my colleagues across the aisle continue to be given to this concept that they have grown over the last few years. And it is that we need to defund Federal law enforcement, and we need to abolish ICE. And, of course, we know they have made this commitment to their leftist base that what they are going to do is find a way to go through defunding Federal law enforcement and abolishing ICE. And to them that is the holy grail. So let's look at what this actually would do. I think it is important to note that the Department of Homeland Security--that ICE is already funded, fully funded, and will be fully funded through 2029. Now, they can rant and rave all day long, but nothing is going to change that. That is already there. We did that this summer, and it was in the Big Beautiful Bill, working family tax cuts, but, of course, they all voted no. No one on the Democrat side voted for that, even though it was the largest tax cut in our Nation's history. So they obviously never read the bill to find out what was in the bill, but one would think that with this much time having passed, that they would be aware that ICE is fully funded. Now, what they are doing is prohibiting funding from FEMA, Secret Service, the Coast Guard, and other components of Homeland Security. And FEMA makes up 35 percent of the DHS budget. And I just think it is so important to note TSA is not being paid, and this is now day 35 that the Democrats have said to TSA and to the American people: We are going to use you as our pawns because we want to make certain that we are defunding Federal law enforcement and we are abolishing ICE. So our TSA workers are out there working without a paycheck because of this singular focus of our friends across the aisle. I encourage them to set this aside. We need to make certain that Homeland Security investigations, that TSA, that FEMA, that the Coast Guard, and that the Secret Service are all receiving appropriate funding and that we make certain DHS--Homeland Security--has the funds to keep this Nation safe. 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. Mr. President, I am so grateful that we are having this discussion on the floor. I will note that our friends across the aisle wanted a unanimous consent just to pass pay for TSA workers. I think it is imperative that we remind the body and also remind our citizens that this is one of their ploys. They have a ploy that they are trying to pull off here wherein their goal is to defund Federal law enforcement, abolish ICE, and return to a wide-open border. The only way they can get to that is if they use the American people and TSA workers as pawns in their scheme and say ``We are only going to fund them but not the rest of Homeland Security,'' because their goal is to defund Federal law enforcement, to abolish ICE, and to return to an open border. But the American people are smart. They are watching, and they are listening. They see that what the Democrat Party has chosen to do with this continued shutdown--for now more than a month--is to not fund FEMA. Of course, many people need emergency management assistance right now. They don't want to fund TSA. They are asking them to work without paychecks. It is the same thing for the Secret Service. By the way, it is the same thing for those in Homeland Security Investigations, who are going after drug dealers, pedophiles, predators, and a lot of bad actors who came in across our border during the Biden administration. So the American people know what this is about. They also know that by a vast majority--83 percent, actually, including 71 percent of all Democrats--83 percent of the American people think it is reasonable that if you go to the polls to vote, you show an ID. They do this many times a day, and they think that is common sense. You prove that you are who you are. If you go to a doctor's office, you are going to do that. When I go to the children's school to have lunch or pick them up, I show that ID. So of course you should do that when you go to the polls and cast that ballot. In Tennessee, we have been rated No. 1 in election integrity. There is a reason for this. In Tennessee, you do a few simple things when you cast that vote. You show an ID. Our voter rolls are well maintained, and if you are going to register, you have to be a U.S. citizen. All common sense. All supported by 83 percent of the American people. You do that because you respect ``one person, one vote,'' and you want each and every vote to count. You do that because you respect the men and women who have put on the uniform and have fought to defend the freedom of this great Nation so that you and I and each of our citizens have the opportunity to go to the polls and cast that vote. It is why voting has remained such a cherished institution in our representative form of government. The SAVE America Act would require that everyone present that ID when they cast a ballot, it would require proof of citizenship in order to vote, and it would make certain that people who are not citizens are not going to vote in our elections. This legislation should be going to President Trump's desk, and I am so pleased that he has really come out in front of this discussion and said: Let's get this done. I find it really almost laughable that some of my colleagues are trying to say: Well, this would disenfranchise people. It would make it difficult for people to vote. No, it would not, but what it would do is make certain that we know who is voting. I think the other thing, too, is that it would make it harder to cheat. If you clean up your rolls, if you have to prove that you are a citizen, if you have to prove that you are who you are when you go to the polls to vote, it would make it more difficult to cheat. There are 14 States in this country that require zero documentation in order to vote, and there are 12 other States that do not require a photo ID to cast a ballot. Some of these States--California, Hawaii, and New York--fail to take basic steps to ensure the accuracy of their voter registration lists. There are some ways that States could do this if they wanted to. This isn't rocket science. These are things that the secretaries of state organization will tell you that many States do--States like Tennessee-- choose to do this. Many of these States that work to keep these rolls clean and accurate go through and compare their voter rolls with the Social Security Administration's death records. Now, why would they do that? Well, it is to make certain that if you are mailing out ballots, you are not mailing unsolicited ballots and that you are not mailing ballots to an address where someone is deceased and someone could possibly have that ballot fall into hands and have someone vote who is not allowed to vote. Our colleagues across the aisle, in addition, like to claim that there is very little illegal alien voting that takes place here in the country--oh, that never happens. I heard one of my colleagues earlier today talking about this issue and saying: Well, there is just not that much of a problem here. But just this week, the New York Post reported that illegal aliens from China, India, Cuba, and other nations have voted in United States elections and, you know what, it goes back decades. And across the country, the Heritage Foundation has documented hundreds of instances of proven voter fraud. In October, Texas discovered more than 2,700 potential noncitizens on its voter rolls using the Federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database--one database, 2,700. Ohio, that same month, found more than a thousand potential noncitizens registered to vote in the State. Governor Youngkin over in Virginia removed more than 6,000 noncitizens from Virginia's voter rolls last year. And it is important to note that it is State Republican leaders who are leading the effort to show respect for the voter, clean up the voter rolls, and ensure that everybody's vote counts. If there is someone illegally in the country and they are voting, that cancels out the vote of a citizen. It is imperative that States that have these large noncitizen populations make certain that noncitizens are not voting. I would encourage my colleagues across the aisle, instead of enabling fraud, they should stand with the American people. As I said, 83 percent of the American people support the SAVE America Act. And they should stand there in support of fair, honest, transparent elections. It is time to pass this legislation and move it to President Trump's desk.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I am going to have some comments on the SAVE America Act, and I think it is appropriate that we move forward on that legislation. First, I want to talk a little bit about what has happened with the Department of Homeland Security. We are 32 days into a shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security. That is an unpleasant thought for a lot of our citizens in this country. Think about our TSA workers and our Secret Service agents who are out there working without a paycheck. FEMA, the emergency management response, FEMA has been suspended as communities in Tennessee, I know Michigan, the East Coast, places where we have had these storms, they are needing FEMA and the help that is there. But nope, because of the Democrats, the DHS is not funded. Now, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, CISA, is facing staff shortages, increasing risk of cyber attacks from foreign adversaries like Iran, or the rest of the ``axis of evil,'' Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran. In that Agency, people are not showing up for work. The Coast Guard, core operations of the U.S. Coast Guard, have been disrupted, maritime search and rescue, port security, patrols that stop drug traffickers, that has been disrupted. Why? Because our colleagues are refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security. They have voted repeatedly to keep DHS shut down. Now, I think it is irresponsible at any time to block these programs and this Department, but especially now. It is so reckless because of the elevated terror threats that we are seeing, especially from Iran, which, by the way, Iran is the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism. Now, you can look at what has happened since Operation Epic Fury started. You had the shooting at a bar in Austin, TX. The attacker wore an undershirt displaying an Iranian flag. The FBI is looking at that as terrorism. On Thursday, a man from Lebanon plowed a truck strapped with explosives through a synagogue in Michigan. Same day, you had an immigrant from Sierra Leone who opened fire on an ROTC class at Old Dominion University, killing one person, injuring two others, and we had some students who were able to apprehend this individual. And the suspect was previously convicted of providing materiel support to ISIS, but he was released early in 2024 under the Biden administration. Now, last Monday, the Justice Department charged two men for allegedly igniting homemade bombs outside the mayor's residence in New York City, and that was an ISIS-inspired attack. Late last month, a Federal trial started against a Pakistani national who was allegedly recruited by Iran to kill a United States politician ahead of the 2024 election. President Trump was a potential target. Now, it is important to note these are not isolated incidences; they are part of what we are seeing as a very unfortunate trend. Over the course of his administration, Joe Biden and his administration allowed at least 18,000 known or suspected terrorists to enter our country. They had that open border. They liked that open border. They were working overtime trying to make illegal legal. And along the way, they let in 18,000--18,000--known or suspected terrorists. This does not include the more than 2 million ``got-aways'' that also came across that border without being apprehended. I know that Homeland Security Investigations is working overtime to find these individuals to apprehend, detain, prosecute, and deport them, to get them out of this country, but there again, Homeland Security Investigations has a limited capacity to work on these threats because the Democrats have chosen yet again to shut down the Department of Homeland Security. Now, one would think that addressing this issue would be important to them, but we think that they continue to say they want more restrictions on ICE. What this is really about, Mr. President, is our friends across the aisle have promised their base--promised them: Look, we are going to defund Federal law enforcement. You leave it to us; we are going to abolish ICE. You leave it to us; we have got a plan. Their plan, it turns out, is to use not only the American people but TSA agents, FEMA personnel, Homeland Security investigators, the Secret Service, and the Coast Guard as pawns in their political game--pure pawns. The President has tried to work with them. They had agreed to a funding bill, and then they changed their mind. The thing that is so interesting about this is they keep talking about ``Defund ICE. We need to defund ICE.'' ICE is funded through 2029. We did that in the Working Families Tax Cut. What we have to look at is what the Democrats are doing is saying they would rather abolish ICE, open up our borders, and defund Federal law enforcement than actually provide for the security of our homeland--give paychecks that are earned, give these paychecks to the TSA, to FEMA, the Coast Guard, and CISA. So I would encourage our colleagues to think about this and think about the danger and the risk they are causing to our homeland, the stress they are placing on TSA agents as they are trying to screen luggage to make certain that the flying public is safe, the inconvenience and the harm that are being caused to communities that really need FEMA to step in right now. They need to think about the work that is being done in communities all across this country by Homeland Security Investigations to apprehend drug traffickers, child predators, and to keep our communities safe.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, one of the things I noticed about today is that it is March 4. That means it was exactly 8 months ago that President Trump signed into law the Working Families Tax Cut Act. Now, we knew that this was a massive win for the American people, and what we are seeing now is that is beginning to play out. The American people are realizing what a big win passing this Working Families Tax Cut Act--the Big Beautiful Bill--was. One of the things that have come up recently is the $150 billion investment it made in our Nation's defense, and certainly we are seeing that in action. It has been vital as our men and women of the military are working day and night to defend our Nation from these attacks from the largest state sponsor of terrorism on the face of the Earth, and that is Iran. It also provided $170 billion for border security, including funding to complete building the wall on our southern border, building new detention facilities for those that have illegally entered the country and are awaiting deportation, and, to make all of this happen, of course, hiring and training more agents. I think it is important to note that since this bill was signed into law, not a single illegal alien has been admitted into our country. Think about that. For years, millions--millions--of people were coming into the country, and Heaven knows how many known and unknown ``got- aways'' were getting into this country. But now, not one. And this has been especially crucial to maintain our border enforcement as our colleagues across the aisle, the Democrats, continue their push for a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. When I talk with Tennesseans, the part of the law that they are most excited about is tax cuts, leaving more money in their pockets and sending less money to the Federal Government. Now, true to its name, the Working Families Tax Cut Act delivered the largest tax relief for Americans in history, and it prevented a $4 trillion tax hike. Of course, that would have been the largest tax hike ever. So while these provisions went into effect last year, most people are just now beginning to see how this is going to affect them because we are at the point where everybody is trying to get their information together and fill out their IRS filing for the year. In this law, I was so pleased that my legislation to remove income tax from Social Security for our Nation's seniors was included. Every senior that is 65 years of age and older--every single one--gets a $6,000 bonus deduction. If it is a couple, married filing jointly, their bonus deduction is $12,000. What we know is that this eliminates the income tax for 88 percent of our Social Security recipients. I think this is a matter of fairness. American workers spend a lifetime paying into Social Security. The Federal Government has that first bite at your paycheck. They take that money out. So why should seniors have to pay tax on that Social Security? It makes absolutely no sense to be taxing taxes. And that is what this provision has done for years. So by being able to remove this, we know that most seniors are going to see an extra refund of somewhere between $670 and $1,300. So for Americans on fixed incomes, these savings are going to help to pay for medicine, food, gas, groceries, and other expenses they may have. For millions of workers, we have also lowered the taxes on tips and overtime. Americans who go the extra mile deserve to benefit from their hard work, and this provision of no tax on tips or overtime ensures that is going to happen. With the new tips deduction, single filers will see an average savings of $1,370, and some are going to see savings of as much as $5,500. With the new overtime deduction, the average is estimated at $1,440. So this is delivering historic tax relief and benefits for families. Earlier this year, I had the honor of joining President Trump and Treasury Secretary Bessent for the official summit for the Trump accounts. These are new tax-advantaged accounts that were established in our legislation, and they are going to jump-start the American dream for millions of children across this country. With the accounts, Americans that are born between 2025 and 2028 are going to be eligible for a $1,000 contribution into their account from the Treasury Department. Parents and grandparents and uncles and aunts who are always struggling with what to get for birthday, Christmas, or special events can contribute up to $5,000 a year into this account until that child turns 18. We know these accounts are going to grow to tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars by the time that child grows to be an adult. So I think it is so important for those of us that have grandchildren, for those of us that have children--think about what this could mean for those children and grandchildren to be able to have a debt-free college education or maybe a downpayment on a home or, for a child that is truly an entrepreneur, the ability to start a business. We have been so excited about these, and the American people are excited about them too. Already 2 million families have applied for these accounts. To any of the Tennessee families who are hearing these remarks, I would encourage them to sign up for this. It is IRS form 4547. Be sure you sign your child up for one of these accounts. Now, it is impossible to list all the savings that are in the Working Families Tax Cut Act, and there are a few more that are so specific for families. The enhanced child tax credit was made permanent. That is going to benefit 40 million families that are now getting ready to file their Federal income tax. We also have a new deduction for interest paid on made-in-America new vehicles. You will be able to deduct the interest on that car payment. That is going to yield thousands in potential savings for new car owners. It permanently extends the estate and lifetime gift tax exemption. This is vitally important for people that own family farms, that have generational small businesses. What we have done for these family farms and small businesses is move that estate or death tax exemption up to $15 million per individual. So for a couple that owns a family farm and they want to pass that on, that would be up to a $30 million exemption. It also provides a significant increase to the basic standard deduction and permanently extends the first Trump administration tax cuts for businesses, bonus depreciation, interest expensing, and research and development. These are so important because your mom-and- pop shops that are on Main Street, your small business factories that are in every town across this country--certainly, we have many of them in Tennessee. Families want to consider these businesses, but so often they have had to sell the business or sell the farm to pay taxes. So often, they end up losing money because interest expensing or bonus depreciation was not permanent or was not there at all. We are looking, this year, at families seeing an average of $2,600 as a savings on their taxes, and, after they reset their deductions, seeing a take-home pay increase of about $10,000 for the year. Our working families tax cuts are strengthening the buying power of our families. It is strengthening the growth opportunities for our businesses and our communities in Tennessee and across the country. And I think it is important to note that I have laid out all of these things that the American people benefit from. But I would remind the Chamber: Not one single Democrat voted for any of this--not one. So I think that is what our colleagues across the aisle will see. As our senior citizens realize they have got a $6,000 bonus deduction, they are going to ask them: Why did you vote against this? They are going to ask them: Why did you vote against no tax on tips? Why have you voted for higher taxes? Why did you want a $4 trillion tax hike? Those are the questions that the citizens are beginning to ask, and I know that, as they learn more about what was included in the working families tax cuts--the Big Beautiful Bill--they are going to have more questions for our colleagues who were against leaving more money in the pocket of our citizens. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, new court documents that were made public last week revealed that nearly one in five--one in five--young teenagers have reported seeing ``nudity and sexual images on Instagram'' that they did not want to see. That is one in five--things that were just fed to them. They were not aware they were going to see this pop up on their screen. That is what was reported. These are the kids that said: Hey, this is what has happened on my Instagram screen. That is just one shocking fact that we have learned from a landmark trial that is taking place in California that is focused on how social media platforms are harming our Nation's children. It is appalling what these companies have done. Yet when he testified last week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg actually doubled down on his record of denial. While sitting just feet away from parents who have tragically lost their children due to social media harms, he said: We didn't do this--nothing to see. And, once again, he asserted that there is no link between youth, social media use, and, worse, mental health outcomes. But we know that this is not what the facts and the data and the research tell us. We also know it is not what parents and principals and teachers and pastors and pediatricians and psychologists are telling us. We also know it is not what the kids are telling us. We know that Meta has buried their child safety research because it didn't fit their narrative. They didn't like the results. They did not want to admit that the product that they are pushing is something that is harming kids. We learned that last year. We learned from brave whistleblowers who testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law that Meta knows what is going on, but they tried to hide it. The whistleblowers have alleged that there is a toxic culture at Meta, starting at the top with Zuckerberg and the C-suite, and that they have encouraged a coverup and a denial of what their own research is telling them. Years ago, internal reports showed that Meta downplayed the toxic impact of Instagram on teenage girls. To no one's surprise, Zuckerberg dodged questions last week about how Instagram can worsen anxiety, depression, body image issues, and eating disorder risks. He claims that their platform does not allow people under the age of 13 to be on the platform. Yet internal Meta documents--their own documents--show that the company was building ``social products''-- using their term--``social products'' that are targeting children as young as 6 years old. Let's start this addiction early. Now, Meta promises that their Instagram ``Teen Accounts'' are going to protect kids online. Yet reports show that only 17 percent of their safety features work as advertised. You know, that is a failing rate, and Big Tech companies have proven that you cannot trust them to police themselves. They cannot be trusted to tell the truth about the way their products are affecting young users. Well, what we have seen is that parents are indeed outraged. And they have the right to be outraged. These are their kids, and this is a product that is addicting their kids, and the company does nothing about it. Research and a poll that we saw last week said 86 percent of Americans--86, a pretty good majority there--now say that they want tech companies to be held accountable for their role in the social media addiction crisis, and Congress should listen to them. Last year, Senator Blumenthal and I reintroduced the Kids Online Safety Act. That legislation passed the Senate on a 91-to-3 vote. It has a veto-proof majority of 75 Senate cosponsors. I thank each of my colleagues who have cosponsored this bill. This legislation would place a duty of care on social media companies to ensure their platforms are safe for children--a duty of care, safety design, safety as the default. Now, I think it is important to note that every industrial sector has safety standards and safety-by-design requirements. Whether you are buying a car or a toaster or a mattress or a curling iron, safety standards have to be met. The only industrial sector without safety product design is the virtual space--these AI companies and social media platforms. We are finally seeing momentum that is saying: Let's pass some restrictions. Let's get the Kids Online Safety Act to the President's desk. Last week, Vice President Vance called KOSA a ``great piece of legislation about child safety online.'' There is a reason Big Tech has fought us over the last 5 years, trying to keep this bill from passing. It is because they put profit over our children's safety. When a child is online, they are the product. The longer they are online, the richer their data. The more eyeballs they collect to a platform, the longer those eyeballs stay on that platform, and the data is richer. And what do they do with that data? They sell it. They sell your child's data. They don't want to change their business model. So last year, Meta spent roughly $20 million fighting the Kids Online Safety Act--greed, selfish. They hired--get this--one lobbyist for every six Members of Congress. That is the extent they will go to to make certain they keep their business model and they keep your kid scrolling on their site. They have even gone so far as to assign a dollar value to each kid who is on their platforms.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Executive Calendar No. 651, Ryan McCormack.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. We have had quite a feisty afternoon here on the floor, and I am so pleased that my colleagues have called out some of the actions that we have witnessed from the other side. It is beyond me that they would want illegal aliens to vote in U.S. elections--beyond me. But maybe they don't want to preserve ``one person, one vote.'' Maybe that is not important to them. It is important to 80 percent of the American people. And, you know, they are not wanting to fund DHS, and they are saying: Oh, it is over ICE. ICE is funded. Their money is going to continue. But what they are doing, they are defunding FEMA. They are defunding TSA. So if your flights don't go next week, blame the Democrats. And this week we had a hearing in Judiciary Committee that looked at another inappropriate use of the Federal Government's inappropriate policies. And this week I chaired the first in a series of hearings at Judiciary Committee that will address Arctic Frost and the Arctic Frost investigation that targeted President Trump, elected Members of Congress, including me, and hundreds--hundreds--of conservative groups and individuals. Now, the subcommittee I chair is on Privacy, Technology, and the Law. And we called before us the general counsels--legal representatives from Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile--the three wireless carriers that received unlawful subpoena requests from Jack Smith to access our phone records. Now, what we know--because of whistleblowers--these are people that work over at DOJ. They are whistleblowers. They saw what was happening, and they said: This is wrong. So we know what Mr. Smith was up to. What he and Merrick Garland and Joe Biden did was to weaponize the U.S. Federal Government to target President Donald Trump and his allies. Just days after President Trump announced his 2024 campaign, President Biden named Jack Smith as special counsel. And with the approval of the Biden Justice Department, he issued 197 subpoenas to over 430 conservative organizations and individuals. Among them were more than a dozen sitting Members of Congress, including me and my Judiciary Committee colleagues Senators Graham, Lee, Cruz, and Hawley. Now, the question would be: What does this set of individuals have in common? What we know is this: We are all Republicans; we all support President Trump; and each of us had valid questions about the 2020 election. So here is Jack Smith, who was probably inappropriately appointed as special counsel. We never took a vote. He didn't have a statute that allowed him to be the special counsel. But he goes to great lengths to make certain that we could never find out about this deep invasion of our privacy and the violation of our constitutional rights. So he went to an Obama appointee, Judge James Boasberg, who signed nondisclosure orders--or you may call them a gag order. They did this to ensure that the subpoenas were going to be kept secret from us. Now, the basis for the gag orders was this: that notifying the Members of Congress being spied on could possibly result in destruction of evidence, intimidation of potential witnesses, serious jeopardy to the investigation. I am reading that from the gag order. Imagine that. We also know that Jack Smith's corrupt team of prosecutors consulted with the Biden DOJ Public Integrity Section about the subpoenas. They were informed--get this: The Public Integrity Section actually informed Jack Smith and his group that there was litigation risk for doing this. Oh, my goodness. That would be a violation of the speech or debate clause that covers Members of Congress while they are doing their job-- a constitutional defense. Now, the speech or debate clause gives us broad constitutional protection from executive branch interference. This is what you call keeping the executive branch from running over the people's elected representatives. But the Biden DOJ--they were out for Donald Trump. They wanted to block him from ever being President. They wanted to go get him six ways from Sunday. They were after him. So they decided: Well, there is a risk, but if you put a gag order on it, they are never going to find out. So let's go ahead. Let's roll the dice, and let's go for it. Let's abuse their right to privacy. Let's infringe on the speech or debate clause. Let's get in and tear up the Stored Communications Act. All because they wanted to go after Donald Trump. Well, thank God we have whistleblowers, and these whistleblowers over at DOJ came to Chairman Grassley. He started working on this. And, you know what, we did find out. We learned that Verizon and T-Mobile complied with the subpoena request--no questions asked, no concern for constitutional rights; they just rolled over without a fight. During yesterday's hearing, we got to ask them: Why did you comply with these secret, unlawful subpoenas? Did getting a gag order on it not raise a red flag to you? Why did you do this? The answer was not satisfactory. The representative for Verizon said they were aware of the speech or debate clause--good for them--but they had no system in place to flag subpoena requests for sitting Members of Congress. But, oh, they say they have learned a lesson. As he put it, ``Our processes could have been better suited to meet what was a new and unique set of circumstances.'' Well, you know what, we are turning 250 years old. I don't think the Constitution is exactly new. I don't think the speech or debate clause is exactly new. I think their response was actually an understatement. Verizon utterly failed in its responsibility. So did T-Mobile. In fact, the company was under a specific contract that required it to notify the Senate Sergeant at Arms about subpoenas related to Senators. I think Verizon forgot that. Yet not a single person at Verizon or any of the carriers lost their job because of this. I went down the road: Has anyone been fired? The answer was no and no and no, not a single person. There has to be accountability. If they can trample on the constitutional rights of sitting Members of Congress and the President of the United States, they can do it to every U.S. citizen. We cannot let this stand. Arctic Frost marked the worst weaponization of government in American history--worse than Watergate--and I am determined to make certain that Jack Smith is held accountable and that no American citizen--no one-- ever is going to face the weaponization of the U.S. Government against them. I yield the floor.