John Barrasso

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Ella Tanner for her hard work as an intern in my Washington, DC, office. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office as well as to the State of Wyoming. Ella is a native of Virginia. She is currently a senior at McLean High School and plans to attend Brigham Young University in the fall. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Ella for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I rise today to recognize the 50th anniversary of the Wyoming Shrine Bowl. This postseason high school football game showcases the top Wyoming high school athletes and coaches. The annual event supports and enriches patient care at Shriners Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City, UT. In 1973, football Coaches Jerry Overton, from Kelly Walsh High School, and Denny Brown, from Byron High School, started organizing an all-star football game. The challenging search for a sponsor ended with an agreement from Shrine Temples in Sheridan and Rawlins to sponsor the annual game. This partnership created the Shrine Bowl of Wyoming, Inc., a nonprofit organization. The first Wyoming Shrine Bowl was played in 1974. It was an all-star football game for Wyoming high school seniors led by Wyoming all-star coaches. Since the Shrine Bowl's beginning, the organization has raised over $1,000,000 for the Shriners Children's Hospital. Thousands of Wyoming residents are now familiar with the Shrine Bowl's purpose and motto:: ``STRONG LEGS RUN SO WEAK LEGS MAY WALK.'' In 2022, the Shriners Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City treated 400 Wyoming children. A cornerstone of the Shrine Bowl is a visit by the coaches and players to this great hospital. The week prior to the event, participants and learn about the lives of these children who are benefiting from their charitable football game. On June 10th, 2023, at the Kelly Walsh High School in Casper, the all-star north and south teams will face off in the 50th Annual Wyoming Shrine Bowl. Both the athletes and the coaches demonstrate incredible selflessness by dedicating their time and skill for the patients at Shriners Children's Hospitals. Along with the players and coaches, the dedication of the officers and volunteers to the mission of the game is incredible. Wyoming Shrine Bowl officers and volunteers are Frank Selby, Executive Director/Treasurer; John Bouzis, Director of Football Operations; Allen Pierce, President; Otto Schwartz, Vice President; Jace Baker, 1st Vice President; Jesse Sutphin, 2nd Vice President; Disco Harris, Board Member; Zach Breed, Board Member; Tom Linnan, Board Member; Keith Santa, Potentate Korein Temple; Michael Malone, Potentate Kalif Temple; Bill Biggs, Secretary; Craig Warner, Head of Support; Dan Sterkel, Ambassador of Advertisements; Becci Sutphin, Communications; Halley Plourde, Administrative Assistant. The Shrine Bowl 2023 roster is South Team Mckay Young, Head Coach; Thomas Howard, Big Piney; Cody Hape, Burns; Cooper Lakin, Burns; Keagan Bartlett, Cheyenne Central; Auggie Lain, Cheyenne Central; Richard Prescott, Cheyenne Central; Ethan Brinkman, Cheyenne East; Trevor Eldridge, Cheyenne East; Dominic Kaszas, Cheyenne East; Garet Schlabs, Cheyenne East; Robert Campbell, Cheyenne South; Isaiah Hernandez, Cheyenne South; Jesus Bencomo, Cokeville; Landon Walker, Cokeville; Jackson Hughes, Douglas; Braxton Bauer, Evanston; Carson Van Gieson, Evanston; Rylan Bloem, Glenrock; Kyler Bartlett, Green River; Tanner Moseley, Green River; Adrien Calderon, Laramie; Christopher Gonzales, Laramie; Kannadis Peroulis, Little Snake River; Hadley Myers, Little Snake River; McKoy Smith, Lyman; Braden Walker, Mountain View; Dalton Schaefer, Pine Bluffs; Carter McBurnett, Rock Springs; Wyatt Campbell, Southeast; Derek Astle, Star Valley; Brandon Beck, Star Valley; Jacob Hodges, Star Valley; Taft McClure, Star Valley; Chase Stewart, Star Valley; Jesse Blunn, Cheyenne East, Asst. Coach; Cody Peacock, Lyman, Asst. Coach; Ballard Johnson, Star Valley, Asst. Coach; Brian Anderson, Pine Bluffs, Asst. Coach; Tyrel Clove, Star Valley, Asst. Coach; Jack Cobb, Little Snake River, Asst. Coach; TL Espinoza, Cheyenne East, Athletic Trainer; Quincie Moser, Cheyenne East, Student Trainer; Kylee Erickson, Star Valley, Student Manager. North Team Kirk McLaughlin, Head Coach; Wyatt Brown, Big Horn; Cooper Garber, Big Horn; Dylan Greenough-Groom, Big Horn; Michael Ihnat, Buffalo; Blake Bell, Buffalo; Jeffrey Pelton, Campbell County; Remy Broussard, Cody; Jace Grant, Cody; Matt Nelson, Cody; Luke Talich, Cody; Hunter Reilly, Hulett; Erich Hulshizer, Kelly Walsh; Chris Pickering, Kelly Walsh; Gabriel Harris, Lander; Matisse Weaver, Lander; Benjamin Nichols, Lovell; Preston Nichols, Lovell; Connor Strom, Lovell; Cody Crawford, Natrona County; Breckin McClintock, Natrona County; Kayden Pharr, Natrona County; Wyatt Powell, Natrona County; Holden McConkey, Newcastle; Braden Vincent, Riverton; Nate Minemyer, Rocky Mountain; Dillan Bennett, Sheridan; Colson Coon, Sheridan; Deed Kirschner, Sheridan; Casen Willson, Sheridan; Pehton Truempler, Shoshoni; Kayden LaFramboise, Thunder Basin; Logan Loftus, Thunder Basin; Jayden Luciano, Thunder Basin; Tavis Aksamit, Tongue River; Brock Douzenis, Worland; Kade Weber, Worland; Colter Brantz, Big Horn, Asst. Coach; Andrew Marcure, Big Horn, Asst. Coach; Boz Backen, Hulett, Asst. Coach; Richard Despain, Rocky Mountain, Asst. Coach; Jim Talich, Cody, Asst. Coach; Aaron Papich, Kelly Walsh, Asst. Coach; Christian Galindo, Thunder Basin, Athletic Trainer; Olivia Ballew, Sheridan, Student Trainer; Hannah Zent, Big Hom, Student Manager. It is an honor for me to recognize this significant milestone for the Wyoming Shrine Bowl. The organization, coaches, athletes, and fans make a profound impact on the lives of many children. Bobbi joins me in extending our congratulations to the Wyoming Shrine Bowl on their 50th anniversary.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I rise today to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Young at Heart Senior Citizens and Community Center in Rock Springs, WY. On May 19, 2023, a gala will be held at the Young at Heart Center to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The Young at Heart Center has served the Sweetwater County community since its founding in May, 1973. Founding board members were J. Garrett Smith, Louis M Groh, Ruth Lucas, T.H. Smith, Dwight J Jones, Lyda Hium, Elmer Halseth, Willie Heikes, and Ernest J Mecca. The center was originally designed to serve the senior population. With the construction of their new facility in 2009, their services expanded to address the needs of the entire community. The Young at Heart Center exemplifies their mission of ``a community place for the young and the young at heart.'' The center offers 14 different programs with amenities, activities, and services for residents of all ages. Young at Heart is a safe place for Sweetwater County residents to gather, receive educational and nutritional services, pursue interests, and participate in social and recreational activities. The center is also a public-use space for meetings and events. The center serves as a cornerstone for the senior population by providing meals and care. Seniors participate in numerous daily activities that include games, hobbies, exercise, and opportunities for friendship. Young at Heart added several home health and caregiver services for patients 18 and older. These include skilled nursing services, personal care services, assistance to at-home caregivers with support and education, home-delivered meals, and the Senior Companion Program. Each of these foster wonderful relationships within the community. Many young people in Sweetwater County have been impacted by the Young at Heart's Early Learning Center. The Early Learning Center focuses on building children's self-esteem and self-worth through strong partnerships with parents. The center provides positive guidance, indoor and outdoor gross motor space, and technology to enhance learning. The importance of nutrition is highlighted by the dedicated kitchen staff who prepare breakfasts, lunches, and afternoon snacks. The Young at Heart Center receives funding through various government grants and private programs. They also rely on the generosity of Sweetwater County organizations and individuals. The Young at Heart Center would not be able to provide a safe and engaging space without the dedication of staff and volunteers. Volunteers use their skills and interests to help lead support groups, serve meals, assist special events, offer companionship, and maintain the grounds. Jamie Loredo began her career with the center as the activities coordinator and facilities secretary. In the fall of 2022, she took over as executive director. Her resolute dedication to the center is notable. She has focused on gaining community involvement, helping to advance the center's success. Jamie has made a significant difference in the lives of Sweetwater County residents. The wonderful staff and board members who keep the center running are: Jamie Loredo, Executive Director Louise Webb, Receptionist Brianna Romero, Early Learning Center Director Billie Seneshale, Director of Nursing Brandy Sellers-Mertin, In-Home Services Supervisor Gina Randolph, Access Care Coordinator Misty Wilson, Center Bookkeeper Cindy Stensgard, Home Services Bookkeeper Daphne Palmer, Kitchen Manager/Home Delivered Meals Coordinator Kandi Lewis, Facility Secretary/Activities Coordinator/ Outreach Coordinator Meagan Rogers, Aging Division Coordinator/ Outreach Coordinator Board of Directors Diana Jessop Suzette Williams Kent Porenta Richard Vandersloot Michelle Quiroz Kathy Gilbert Wanda Bobo-Ferber Kevin Maloney Sue Riggs Mary Thoman, County Liaison It is an honor for me to recognize this significant milestone for the Young at Heart Center. The center serves as a gathering place where the Sweetwater County community can enjoy friendship and fellowship. Bobbi joins me in extending our congratulations to the Young at Heart Center on their 50th anniversary.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, it is a privilege to join my colleague from West Virginia, Senator Capito, on the floor today to talk about legislation that we will be introducing tomorrow. It is about permitting, and I come to the floor to talk about ways to lower prices for American families and to restore our country to energy dominance. And, of course, the way to achieve this is by fixing our broken permitting process. There is a lot of work to be done. There is bipartisan support to do it. She will be introducing, along with me, our legislation tomorrow, and this legislation is going to streamline a very complicated permitting process. It is going to speed up American infrastructure and energy, as well as mining projects. Taken together, this legislation will address fatal flaws in today's Federal permitting process. Now, the current system moves in very slow motion. Too often, as Senator Capito said, there is no motion at all. Things are stopped in their tracks. Today's process forces project developers to endure a maze of regulations, mountains of paperwork, expensive studies, and bureaucratic foot-dragging. It takes an average of 4\1/2\ years now just to complete an environmental impact statement for one single project. In some cases, it can take a decade or more to get final approval for a project. And even if a project makes it through the regulatory roadblocks to get a permit, it will inevitably be challenged in court. Project opponents are skilled at exploiting our broken permitting process to stop all progress. Litigation can drag on for years and cost millions and millions of dollars. In my home State of Wyoming, activists are suing to cancel hundreds of Federal oil and gas permits. Now, these permits were issued after years of environmental reviews. They are frivolous--the lawsuits--but they are happening all across the country. The longer it takes to get a permit, the more a project costs. The more it costs, the more likely a developer will either pull the plug or just give up before even starting. The result of all of this is that energy prices go up. People feel the pain because, when investments aren't made, jobs don't materialize and projects of national importance don't get built. And I am talking about projects like oil and gas wells, pipelines, transmission lines, wind and solar farms, powerplants, roads, tunnels, bridges, and mines. To see what I mean, take a look at this chart from the Economist, ``Cancel culture.'' It shows that, for the past several years, more miles of interstate gas pipelines have been canceled than have been built. Let me repeat that. This shows that, for the past several years, more miles of interstate gas pipelines have been canceled than have been built. You know, we used to be able to build things in this country--not anymore. It is not that we don't know how. It is that we are not being allowed. It shouldn't take longer to permit a project than to actually build it. In too many instances, it does. The American people inevitably lose when that happens. The permitting process must change so we can lower costs for families and unleash American energy. We can't keep today's broken process and expect to stay ahead of rivals like China. Taken together, the legislation that Senator Capito and I are introducing is going to streamline the permitting process while preserving environmental standards. This will put America back in the lead. Project developers need to expect a system that is predictable and delivers a timely answer. Our legislation will do that by sticking to four basic principles. First, real reform must benefit the entire country, not a narrow range of special interests. Our bills are technology and fuel neutral. By that, we mean we don't put our thumb on the scale for politically favored technologies. This is going to help expedite projects from both conventional and alternative energy sources. We need all the energy here in America. Second, our legislation includes enforceable timelines with specific time limits on environmental reviews. Third, we place time limits on legal challenges to prevent endless litigation intended solely to kill new energy projects. And, finally, our legislation prevents the executive branch from hijacking the process to meet its own policy preferences. The energy bill that I am going to introduce focuses on streamlining improvements to produce more American energy and more American mineral resources. It is going to lower costs for families. It is going to enhance America's energy security. It is going to reduce reliance on China, on Russia, and on other adversaries for energy, as well as key minerals. A key aspect of my energy bill is to resume Federal onshore and offshore oil and gas leases. Now, the Biden administration has tried from day one to block access to Federal lands and waters, regardless of the law. We cannot allow any administration to deny, defy, and disregard the law. My bill also will speed up the production of critical minerals used in renewable and battery technologies. Our country is blessed with large mineral deposits. Some are in your home State, Madam President, and in my home State, in Wyoming, in particular. We have large reserves of coal, uranium, rare earths, and other minerals. Yet it often takes over 10 years in the United States to get a mining permit. Our competitors in China move much faster, as do our northern neighbors in Canada. Unlocking domestic mining means that we will no longer have to rely on China and Russia for critical minerals. Finally, my bill will ensure the affordability and reliability of our electric grid. We will have American energy that is affordable, that is reliable, and that is available. Now, the House recently passed the Lower Energy Costs Act. The Senate now has an opportunity to pass our own legislation. We can pass bipartisan legislation that unleashes American energy, boosts our international competitiveness, creates jobs, and lowers prices. This starts with fixing today's broken permitting process. Now, Democrats said last year that this reform is necessary. Senator Capito and I are bringing solutions to the table. If Democrats are serious about fixing the broken process, meaningful reform is possible. I yield the floor.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to yield back all time and the vote begin immediately.

Mr. BARRASSO. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Bryan for his hard work as an intern in my Casper office. I recognize his efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming. Bryan is a native of New Hampshire. He attends Arizona State University, where he studies political science. He has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made him an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of his work is reflected in his great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Bryan for the dedication he has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our team. I know he will have continued success with all of his future endeavors. I wish him all my best on his journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Gunner for his hard work as an intern in my Casper office. I recognize his efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming. Gunner is a native of Mississippi. He is currently attending Casper College and plans to attend the University of Wyoming in the fall. He has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made him an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of his work is reflected in his great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Gunner for the dedication he has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our team. I know he will have continued success with all of his future endeavors. I wish him all my best on his journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Kody for his hard work as an intern in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. I recognize his efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming. Kody is a native of Idaho. He recently graduated from Boise State University, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in health informatics and information management. He has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made him an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of his work is reflected in his great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Kody for the dedication he has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our team. I know he will have continued success with all of his future endeavors. I wish him all my best on his journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Katie for her hard work as an intern in my Washington, DC, office. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming. Katie is a native of Casper. She attends the University of Wyoming, where she studies international relations, philosophy, and Spanish. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Katie for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Sophia for her hard work as an intern in the Senate Republican Conference. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming. Sophia is a native of Tennessee. She attends the University of Mississippi, where she studies journalism and Spanish. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Sophia for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Riley for her hard work as an intern in my Washington, DC, office. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming. Riley is a native of Upton. She recently graduated from the University of Wyoming, where she obtained a bachelor's degree in international studies. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Riley for her dedication to our office. It is a pleasure to have her as part of our team.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. First, Madam President, I thank my colleagues who are on the floor today--Senator Tuberville for his leadership, Senator Budd, and Senator Ernst--for their efforts in the protection of women and girls in sports. As a doctor, I share their concerns, share their passion in terms of fairness, in terms of safety, and I congratulate them on their efforts and continue to join them in those efforts to provide the protection for women and girls in sports. Energy Madam President, I come to the floor today to talk about the high price of Democrats' misguided energy agenda. It is a high-price crisis entirely of President Biden and the Democratic Party's own making. Last year, when energy prices were already at historic highs, what did Democrats do? Well, they voted 10 times--time after time after time--against increasing American energy production. Instead, Democrats jammed through the Senate and the House the largest climate bill in American history. The climate extremists applauded this. Let me just say, hold the applause, because the American public is suffering. Families all across this great land are hurting. Democrats' reckless spending in the past 2 years has driven up the cost of energy and, of course, as everyone knows, this has fueled inflation. Inflation reached a 40-year high because of Democrats' spending. Prices today are over 15 percent higher than they were the day Joe Biden took office. Energy prices have gone up even more than that. Americans are paying 36 percent more for energy today than they were in January of 2021. Gas prices to fill the tank are up 46 percent. That is a 5-month high. They are going to continue to go up during this summer's driving season. The lower gas prices that the administration desperately and irresponsibly depleted our Nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to achieve last year has hurt our economy and has hurt our country and has hurt our national security. Democrats were wrong to raid our emergency supplies of petroleum products in a desperate attempt to lower gas prices leading up to the November 2022 elections. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is our Nation's emergency reserve. Now it is out of gas. It is down to the lowest level it has been at in 40 years. Not refilling it. Oh, no. Joe Biden knew we needed more energy than that. So he went on bended knee to foreign dictators, begging them to produce more oil to help lower gas prices here in America but not letting us produce it here at home--and we have plenty. This President did everything he could to try to lower gas prices except the thing the American people know would work, and that is to produce more American energy. So American families are once again facing that double whammy of an energy crisis coupled with an inflation crisis. Democrats are doing absolutely nothing to help solve the problem. Remember, the Biden administration began working on day No. 1 to choke off America's energy resources: killed the Keystone XL Pipeline, canceled oil and gas leases. America's energy revolution turned us into the world's energy superpower. Our economy had a wonderful, competitive advantage. It is good for families, good for workers. We challenged dictators without having to worry about our energy supply. We had affordable, reliable, and available American energy. This administration and the Democrats in this body squandered the gains that we had achieved. They attacked American oil, natural gas, and coal at every turn along the way. Then they raised taxes to make it even more expensive. They instituted burdensome regulations to make it more difficult to produce the American energy. They have put up roadblock after roadblock on every type of American energy. And yet Joe Biden and the Democrats, open-mouthed, looked with surprise: Why have the prices skyrocketed? Anybody could have predicted that choking off our energy supply would lead to record-high energy prices and to increase dependence on our adversaries--Russia, China, Iran, Venezuela. Last week, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm testified before the Energy Committee. I specifically asked her about the administration's plan to lower gas prices and energy prices across the board, because they are up across the board. They are up for heating energy; they are up for driving energy. Her solution: government mandates, phase out anything powered by oil, natural gas, or coal. Take away our gas stoves, take away our gas- powered water heaters, force-feed us expensive electric cars that don't work for many people across the country. They may be OK for rich people in the big cities who don't have to drive very much, who can afford to pay $16,000 more for a vehicle than for a traditional car. But for Wyoming families and Wyoming farmers and Wyoming ranchers, they just don't work. People want affordable, reliable vehicles. And for people all around rural America, electric cars are not it. Americans don't support the Democrats' climate extremism. Look at the polls. Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they don't want to buy an electric car. They don't want to be force-fed by Joe Biden. They don't want to have the government in the driver's seat. They say the price is too high. It is $64,000 on average. The batteries are unreliable. Charging them is inconvenient. It is time- consuming. It takes a long time to get a battery charged, and it can't go all that far. And then who benefits from all of this? China. That is because most of the critical minerals that are needed to build these batteries come right out of China. Just look for the ``made in China'' sticker on the batteries of the electric vehicles. This country should be focusing on strengthening our energy independence, not finding ways to become more dependent to China or Russia. So the reality of Secretary Granholm's so-called solution to lowering prices is that Americans will just pay more; not really concerned about affordability, but I didn't hear that word at all. The way to lower prices is to unleash American energy. Now, the House recently passed legislation to do just that. And I support their efforts. Senator Capito and I are going to soon introduce our own legislation in the Senate. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee is going to hold a hearing on the critical issues in the coming weeks. We can only unleash American energy if we fix our broken permitting system process. Right now, new energy projects are bogged down by a maze of redtape and lawsuits. Our legislation is going to include enforceable timelines on environmental reviews and filing legal challenges. We are going to move forward faster with an all-of-the-above American energy agenda. We need it all. My Democratic colleagues have stated before that they do want permitting reform. Well, we will see. They are going to have an opportunity to speak up and to vote; because if they are serious, real reform is possible. If they are serious, we can tell the American people that real relief is on the way. We do need a long-term commitment in this country to American energy. Making life more affordable for every American should be a bipartisan priority. It hasn't been for the first 2 years in the Biden administration and now going into the third. We need to get back to a point where we can make energy affordable, available, and reliable--instead of focusing, as the Democrats do, on only renewable energy, regardless of the cost and regardless of the consequences. I yield the floor.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I rise today to celebrate 120 years of continued community service by the Casper Area Chamber of Commerce of Wyoming. For 120 years, our city has grown and flourished, due in many ways to the efforts of the Casper Area Chamber. The chamber aims to provide organizational structure to build a better Natrona County and to improve opportunities for all businesses in the community. The chamber was founded in 1903 as the Casper Industrial Association by Alfred James Mokler, then publisher of the Natrona County Tribune. A small number of businesses banded together to create the association. Some of their early goals were to pave the streets, install a water and sewer system, and to construct public parks, a courthouse, a city hall, a Federal building, and a railway. All of these goals were realized. Today, the chamber has over 600 members and continues to grow each year. The mission now is the same as it was 120 years ago, to actively create business opportunities by ``connecting, informing, leveraging, and collaborating with their members.'' After the first World War, the Casper Industrial Association reorganized and became the Casper Area Chamber of Commerce. At that time, just over 11,000 people were living in Casper and 14,000 in Natrona County. During the 1930s, the chamber was a key player in the construction of a north-to-south rail line from Montana to Colorado by the Wyoming-Montana Railroad Company. The chamber also ensured that freight rates were competitive. This allowed local industry to bring in new services and hire competitively. During the 1960s, the chamber worked to make Casper the convention center of Wyoming. They held over 100 conventions, attracting over 20,000 visitors. Progress continued into the 1980s when the chamber designed the Leadership Casper program, organized legislative luncheons, and created professional networking opportunities. During the 2000s, the chamber focused on developing the west side of Casper. The first ``Shop Local'' campaign was established. In 2020, the chamber was instrumental in connecting businesses with the Federal funding they needed to stay open through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Casper Area Chamber of Commerce is part of a long and rich local history. It was instrumental in moving Natrona County forward. Their positive influence over the past 120 years can be seen today in our thriving community. The Casper Area Chamber of Commerce is the foundation on which the economy of Casper is built. They work hard to maintain a prosperous business environment. This ensures the longevity of tourism, industry, and small businesses. In Wyoming, we value community, leadership, and service. The Casper Area Chamber of Commerce puts these values into practice. As board chair, Sabrina Kemper said, ``Without commerce, our community cannot thrive.'' Today, the Chamber Staff and Board of Directors include: Staff Tina Hoebelheinrich, Executive Director Sabrina Kemper, Board Chairman Katie Schultz, Past-Chairman Phillip Rael, Board Member Gena Jensen, Chairman-Elect Amanda Disney, Treasurer Jereca Lutz, VP of Development Kim Coleman, VP of Marketing and Communication Darcie Holscher, VP of Special Events Officers Ken White Nikki Hawley Robert Ratliff Tom McCarthy Bryant Hall Michael Morrissey Paul Nash Sonya Gruner It is an honor for me to rise in recognition of this significant milestone for the Casper Area Chamber of Commerce of Wyoming. The impact and opportunities the chamber has created for Casper businesses is incredible. Bobbi joins me in extending our congratulations to the Casper Area Chamber of Commerce for 120 years of community service.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate the tremendous service provided by the Boys and Girls Club of Douglas, WY. On April 22, 2023, the Boys and Girls Club of Douglas will host its ninth annual Commit to Kids fundraising event. Douglas Mayor Kim Pexton will be the emcee. Former Police Chief Ron Casalenda is the live auctioneer. Esther Martin of Cheyenne, the Wyoming Boys and Girls Club 2023 State Youth of the Year, will also speak. For over 20 years, the Boys and Girls Club of Douglas has made a positive difference in the lives of children in Converse County. Every day, the Club fulfills its mission ``to inspire all youth, especially those who need us the most.'' The Club strives to help young people reach their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens. In September 2002, the Boys and Girls Club started meeting at a local primary school. With an increase in membership, they then relocated to the Douglas Roller Skating Rink. The need for a dedicated facility became clear. In 2020, the dream of their own building was realized. The Club's new facility, located at 802 Riverbend Drive, has over 13,000 square feet. The Club successfully funded the innovative new space primarily with donations and private partnership funds. Designed with the local youth in mind, the building provides a safe, nurturing, and inspiring space to develop and learn. There is also administrative space, a teen center, an arts and crafts area, tech room, game area, a kitchen, and a gymnasium with climbing wall. The Club serves 300 youth, ages 5-18, by focusing on three priority outcomes: academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. Club members participate in afterschool, summer, and teen programs with academic, career development, character and leadership, sports and recreation, and homeschool curricula. Meals are provided for all members who need them. During the Covid-19 pandemic, many kids fell behind in their schoolwork. With the Club's reading program, students were able to get back on track. Every August, there is no better place to be than the Wyoming State Fair Parade in Douglas. I look forward to seeing the Boys and Girls Club float, along with the bright and engaged faces of its members. Never losing sight of its values, volunteers, staff, and board members remain dedicated to meeting the needs of children as they grow into young adults. Today, the Club staff and board members include: Jay Butler, Board Chairman Travis Wells, Board Vice-Chair Lindsey Hanks, Board Secretary Catherine Nicholas, Board Treasurer Carl Kosters, Board Member Joe Schell, Board Member Paige Rider, Board Member Shawn Wilde, Board Member Todde Moore, Board Member Joe Burke, Chief Executive Officer Robert Ricks, Unit Director Carrise Moon, Special Programs Coordinator Amy Lolley, Grants Manager/Marketing Specialist Amy Rudloff, Bookkeeper Tania Malone, Office Administrator Heidi Toone, Kitchen Manager Brendon Amble, Health & Wellness Specialist Addy Sexson, Life Skills Specialist Holly Winters, STEM Specialist Baylea Senger, Art Specialist Whitney Tomlinson, Teen & Workforce Specialist Taylor Ward, Youth Development Professional Zoey Redfern, Youth Development Professional Katelynn Hill, Youth Development Professional Hesston Haskins, Youth Development Professional A special thank you to board chairman Jay Butler, along with his wife Linda, who provided a matching gift of $100,000 in honor of this event. All funds raised will go to current Club operations. It is an honor for me to rise in recognition of the great work done by the Boys and Girls Club of Douglas, WY. The Club demonstrates how important it is to invest our time, experience, and resources in the children of our communities. Bobbi joins me in extending our very best wishes.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I rise today to recognize the 100th anniversary of the Kiwanis Club of Cheyenne. This is a hands-on service organization making a profound impact on the development of Wyoming's youth. The club is committed in every way to the betterment of the community. On March 10, 2023 the Kiwanis Club of Cheyenne will celebrate its 100th anniversary at the Little America Hotel and Conference Center in Cheyenne. Seven years after the official recognition of Kiwanis International, the Kiwanis Club of Cheyenne was formed on January 27, 1922. The international mission to serve the needs of area children extended to Cheyenne. Sixty-five men gathered at the Plains Hotel, electing William Bradford Ross as their first president. Ross was elected Governor of Wyoming within a year from the club's charter date. One of the club's first major accomplishments was the creation of Kiwanis Park, a notable landmark in Cheyenne. In 1922, the city solicited help from local service clubs to build parks in the vicinity of Cheyenne's lakes. To this day, club volunteers care for the park. The Kiwanis Club remained involved in the lake area by helping to establish the Kiwanis Community House. This is a large, multi-purpose meeting space in what remains of the Cheyenne park system. The house is used for meetings, reunions, weddings, and small trade shows. The city opened a new park in east Cheyenne in 2021. The park was adopted by the Kiwanis Club, with members committed to both labor and financing. On June 27, 2022, the Cheyenne City Council voted to name the park ``Kiwanis Park.'' The Kiwanis Club of Cheyenne strives to ``develop by precept and example, a more intelligent, aggressive, and serviceable citizenship by providing World Class leadership development for the young people of our community.'' That dedication to Wyoming's youth encompasses a variety of programs. The Stars of Tomorrow talent show showcases the incredible skills of Wyoming's youth. Key Club provides adolescents with opportunities to develop leadership skills, build character, and participate in service projects within the community. The needs of Cheyenne's youth were also addressed with the establishment of a ``student's fund.'' For many years this scholarship program helped area high school students attend the University of Wyoming. The club participates in the Friday Food Bag program ensuring all Laramie County students have dependable access to nutritious food during weekends. Other youth organizations and individuals to benefit from Kiwanis Club support include the Future Farmers of America--now known as FFA--Boy Scouts, Sea Scouts, the City's Youth Alternative Program, orphaned boys, and underprivileged children through the vocational guidance committee. Since their beginning, the Kiwanis Club of Cheyenne has never stopped its charitable outreach. Their positive impacts on the community keep growing. While assisting youth is their main focus, the club helps other groups as well. Their outreach extends to those with disabilities. The Kiwanis Aktion Club, the only service club for adults with disabilities, helps members become ``competent, capable and caring leaders'' through service-oriented projects. The Kiwanis Club's financial support was pivotal in the early days of Magic City Enterprises. This company helps disabled individuals learn, develop and retain necessary skills to live successfully. A cornerstone of Cheyenne Frontier Days since 1952 is the delicious pancake breakfasts served to locals and tourists. This includes the famous ``chuck'' of the pancake over the cook's shoulder. This past year, Kiwanis Club members and volunteers dedicated their time to prepare 19,285 pancakes free of charge in 1 week. This level of sheer commitment to the community by the members and volunteers of the club exemplifies the strong character and selflessness of all participating club members. The club's outreach is expansive and impressive. Not only are the needs of Wyoming's youth met, but the needs of the Cheyenne community are guaranteed to be addressed with resolute dedication. The Kiwanis Club of Cheyenne is led by: Renee Brower President Laura Drake Secretary Debbie LaFaso Treasurer Margaret Cox President Elect Larry Walters 1st Vice President Lisa Trimble 2nd Vice President Pamela Freeman Assistant Secretary Kim Lovett Assistant Treasurer Samuel Weinstein Past President Rhianna Brand Board Member George Costopoulos Board Member Scott Royce Board Member Richard Russell Board Member Rich Wessenberg Board Member Patrick Brady Board Member Denise Newell Board Member Deborah Dancik-Paxton Board Member Melissa Stutz Board Member Travis Vogel Board Member It is an honor for me to rise in recognition of this significant milestone for the Kiwanis Club of Cheyenne. Bobbi joins me in extending our congratulations to the Kiwanis Club of Cheyenne on their 100th anniversary.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I, too, come to the floor today to talk about the soft-on-crime policies of Democrats in Washington, DC. In 2020, Democrats all across the country started their movement to defund the police. Almost immediately, we saw burning cities across the country, from the east coast all the way to Portland, OR. Democratic leaders turned their backs on police officers all across the country. As a result, police officers began to retire or resign, and they did so in record numbers. The results were as painful as they were predictable. Violent crime skyrocketed all across America. We saw the fastest murder rate increase in our history. Homicides rose to a 25-year high. This is no surprise. If police officers are not able to do their jobs, then the streets of each town in America are not safe. Well, today on the floor, Madam President, Senate Republicans are going to act to stop this recklessness. Thanks to the leadership of Senator Hagerty, who is leading our discussion and our efforts, Senate Republicans are going to vote to stop Washington, DC's radical new legislation, this legislation that lets criminals get out of jail free. Senate Republicans are going to vote to make our Nation's Capital a safer place to visit, a safer place to live, and a safer place to work. Wyoming families ask me all the time if it is safe for them to visit Washington, DC, or if it is safe for their kids to come to Washington, DC, for something like History Day, an opportunity to see the Nation's Capital. Imagine that: many American families actually afraid to visit or have their children visit our Nation's Capital. Liberal cities all across the country have become danger zones. Families in Wyoming watch the nightly news. They can't believe their eyes. They see smashed storefronts in New York and in Chicago. They see innocent people getting mugged on the streets. They see it in New York, and they see it in Washington, DC. The cities run by liberals are not safe. Across the country, we have hit new records for carjackings, for assaults. But instead of backing the blue, Democrats are turning cities into safe havens for criminals. That is exactly what has happened here in Washington, DC. So the city council here in Washington, DC, recently voted to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for every crime except for first- degree murder. Well, there is a value in mandatory minimum sentences. It tells judges the bare minimum punishment for criminal behavior. Mandatory minimum sentences stop liberal judges from going soft and softer on crime. So it is no wonder that Democrats have waged war on mandatory minimums for at least the last decade. The new DC law would also reduce maximum sentences for violent criminals like carjackers. For some gun charges, the maximum sentence would go from 15 years down to less than 5. The new crime law in the District of Columbia would mean more violent criminals free to roam the streets of our Nation's Capital and prey on innocent people. Even the liberal Washington Post has said that the bill that passed the DC City Council is a bad idea. Carjacking is already a major problem in Washington. We are seeing it in liberal cities all across the Nation. Carjackings in DC have tripled since 2019, and we just heard on the floor of the Senate today that a carjacking has recently taken place right down the street from the Capitol Building. That is today. Under the new Criminal Code, the maximum sentence for armed carjacking would be cut almost in half. Why would the DC City Council reward the criminals who are creating this chaos in our Nation's Capital? These criminals and the liberal DC City Council members are driving away tourists from my home State of Wyoming who want to see their Nation's Capital. It is a part of education for so many young people. Democrats in the House got behind the DC soft-on-crime policies when over 170 Democrats in the House voted to protect the criminals, not the citizens. So Joe Biden is now trying to hide his soft-on-crime record. He just very recently announced that he would now support our Republican position. This resolution we will soon be voting on will be a victory for every American who wants to feel safe when they visit their Nation's Capital. But Washington, DC, is just one city. It shouldn't stop here. Democrats' soft-on-crime policies remain in effect in liberal-led cities all across America. Democratic lawmakers and especially Democratic mayors need to take notice of this action by the U.S. Senate today. It is time to start enforcing the law. It is time to get rid of prosecutors who are weak and prosecutors who are woke. They are not helping our country. We need to stand with law enforcement. We need to ensure police officers have the resources they need to protect our communities. The American people overwhelmingly reject the soft-on-crime policies of Democrats in Washington. America is based on the rule of law. Lawlessness should have no place in this Nation. It is time to stop the crime, time to stop the chaos we are seeing in cities all across our country. Republicans are united by solutions--solutions to make American communities safer. That is what this body is going to vote on today: to improve the security and the safety of those in our Nation's Capital. I yield the floor.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I come to the floor today to talk about the priorities, misguided priorities, of the Democrat majority in the Senate. So far this year, Senate Democrats have ignored the most important issues that are facing our country. Democrats are focused on cramming through Joe Biden's radical leftwing nominees. Looking at the Senate floor, you would think that everything is going well in the world and well across the United States. I have news for Joe Biden and for Chuck Schumer: People all across this country are not happy. The country is heading in the wrong direction. In meeting after meeting in Wyoming last week, as I traveled the State, people talked about sky-high prices, the sky-high debt that we have as a nation, and China's spy balloon. Under Joe Biden, America is in crisis--inflation crisis, energy crisis, crime crisis, and a spending crisis. Inflation went up again in January. The numbers came out Friday. The headlines don't lie. They said inflation remains entrenched-- entrenched--and that is what people are feeling all across the country. In addition to inflation, drugs are pouring across the southern border, killing record numbers of people, even in my home State of Wyoming. When the numbers are like they are in Wyoming, that tells you every State is a border State. Crime is out of control in Democrat strongholds in cities like Washington, DC. We see it here. We see yesterday in Chicago, the mayor didn't even make it through the primary process--didn't finish first, didn't finish second, not even in the runoff. And according to people I have talked to from that State and watching the news reports, the No. 1 issue is crime; the No. 2 issue is crime; and the No. 3 issue is crime. Internationally, Chinese President Xi Jinping is reportedly going to Moscow. Why? Well, to strengthen his ties with Vladimir Putin. The list goes on and on of failures and crises that this administration is facing and, for the most part, has caused and created. Democrats are doing nothing to deal with it. There is a lot we should be doing in the U.S. Senate. We should be unleashing American energy. We should stop the reckless tax and spending that the Democrats continue to promote. We should secure the border. Stop this flow of illegal drugs. We need to crack down on the criminals who are terrorizing communities. We need to put China on notice. Yet the Democrats are disinterested and ignoring it all. Senate Republicans are going to force a vote today that will actually help people. We are going to vote to protect America's retirement savings accounts. The American people know that Joe Biden continues to spread lies about Social Security and Medicare. If Joe Biden is so concerned about people's retirements, he needs to look in the mirror. The only politician meddling with people's retirements is Joe Biden. That is right. The only politician actually meddling with people's retirements is President Biden. The Biden administration wants retirement plan managers to invest people's retirement funds based not on the best return for the money-- nope--but based on woke ideology. Democrats want this so they can funnel trillions of dollars to their climate elites. It is called ESG: environmental, social, and governance. The more accurate name might be ``extreme socialist greed.'' Now, this is going to rob American people of a lot of money. ESG is legalized theft from American workers. Numerous studies have shown that these woke investments are bad investments. People wanting to maximize their savings and their investment and the investment income to benefit their families long term are being held hostage by these new regulations coming out of the Joe Biden administration. Bloomberg analysts looked at these numbers of the people who invest in this ESG. What did they find? Well, they found that the return for the ESG investments fell way behind the general market--way behind. Year after year, that means less money growing in your retirement account. This is a slap in the face to the working men and women of the country who are trying to save for their future. I am proud of the State of Wyoming because we have actually sued the Biden administration to stop this. Retirement accounts are not for promoting a political agenda. They are for helping people retire with money in the bank. They are about giving people some safety, some security, and peace of mind. If woke investors want to promote a political agenda, then they should do it with their own money, not force investors to do so. The only people who benefit from ESG are the climate elites and the professional activists. Everyone else loses money. Now, let me point out that the analysts from Bloomberg not only said that the return is much less but that the expenses of investing in those programs, with the management fees, is much higher. So you get hammered at both ends: lower returns and higher expenses. ESG means you can't invest in things like oil, gas, coal, American energy. It means less American energy for people in our country. It means higher energy costs. It means fewer energy jobs and less money in people's retirement accounts. This is an all-around disaster for the American people, but it is what the Biden administration and so many Democrats want. Democrats know the American people would never vote for this; it would never become law. That is why the Democrats attack American energy through the bureaucracy and through the courts, through their wealthy friends on Wall Street. Now, Democrats have friends on Wall Street who have been doing their bidding for years. A couple of examples: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank. They refuse to finance oil and gas projects near the Arctic. Citibank refuses to fund coal mining. HSBC refuses to fund any oil, gas, or coal projects. The American people need to remember this next time Democrats say they oppose the big banks. Democrats and the big banks are practically joined at the hip. Citigroup won't give a loan to a coal company, yet Citibank is happy to do business with China. Some Chinese companies have higher ESG scores than American companies. These include Chinese companies using slave labor. This tells you ESG is a scam by the radical left. Now, Joe Biden wants the ESG scam at every bank in America--every bank, every savings account, every investment. That would mean trillions of dollars funneled to politically driven, woke investments. People who have saved their entire lives under this Democrat scheme would actually retire with less money in their accounts. So I am going to join all of my Republican colleagues today to vote to stop this. Republicans are ready to stand up and say no to Joe Biden and the administration and this reckless policy. No more command and control from Biden's bureaucratic bullies, no to defunding American energy, no to woke corporations, and no to Democrats meddling in people's retirements. I yield the floor.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I come to the floor today to talk about the threat posed by China. On February 4, our Air Force shot down a Chinese spy balloon. They did it over the coast of South Carolina. The balloon had spied upon the United States for up to a week. One of the places that it monitored and hovered over was my home State of Wyoming. Now, Joe Biden did absolutely nothing until the balloon had already crossed thousands of miles of the United States. To me, this is another national failure from a President who already brought us surrender in Afghanistan. People in Montana could see the balloon from the ground. That is the way America found out about it. It wasn't from the administration. It wasn't from the military. It was from a reporter on the ground with a telephoto lens. The man took a picture from his driveway. I am not convinced that Joe Biden would have done anything if that photographer in Montana hadn't published those pictures online. It is hard to imagine any other President letting a spy balloon fly over our country for nearly a week. Imagine John F. Kennedy allowing a Soviet spy plane over the United States. To me, it is unimaginable. No President, Republican or Democrat, would tolerate this, until Joe Biden. On Thursday, the Senate received a classified briefing on the spy balloon. I am not alone when I say I was disturbed and disquieted about what we learned. To me, Joe Biden did too little, too late, and then he did what he always does. He bragged about it. He said he had done everything right. To quote him, he said: We did the right thing. No, Joe Biden did the weak thing, as usual. He had to be shamed into shooting down the balloon--way too late. On Thursday, Joe Biden defended himself again. He said the balloon was ``not a major breach''--``not a major breach.'' It reminds me when Joe Biden signaled he would let Vladimir Putin make a minor incursion into Ukraine. President Biden is defending the indefensible. Just days after the balloon incident, he gave his annual State of the Union address. We were there. There were a number of bizarre moments in the President's speech, and one of the most bizarre to me was when he talked about China. He said no world leader would want to be Xi Jinping--no world leader would want to be Xi Jinping. He actually yelled it several times. What was he trying to say? Does he still think that China is not a threat? Communist China is our No. 1 geopolitical threat. They are our rival. They have the second largest economy in the world. They have over 2 million active military personnel. They have the largest navy in the world, and China plans to build more than 100 new ships, 300 new missile silos, and hundreds of nuclear missiles by the end of this decade. China is working day and night to get stronger. China is working to challenge the United States as the world's superpower. And Joe Biden seems to be doing the opposite. He is making our own country weaker and poorer and less prepared. China isn't the one opening the border to the whole world to come in. China isn't the one spending themselves into bankruptcy. China isn't the one shutting down their energy production. It is Joe Biden who is doing those things--a President who is soft on China. Now, he has been soft on China his entire career. When he was in the Senate, he helped China join the World Trade Organization. He helped China pay low tariffs under Bill Clinton. This helped China flood our country with cheap, poorly made consumer goods. By the time Joe Biden was Vice President, the threat from China was obvious, but he was still soft on China. When he was Vice President, Joe Biden said ``The growth of China is overwhelmingly in our interest.'' That was Joe Biden as Vice President. He should tell that to the factory workers who lost their jobs all across America. He should tell that to the families who have buried their children because of Chinese fentanyl. When he was running for President, Joe Biden repeatedly downplayed any threat from China. He said of China, in his announcement to run for President, he said China is ``not bad, folks.'' Now, he should tell that to the 1 million Uighurs who are living as slaves and forced to work in the west of China. As a candidate, Joe Biden said China is ``not competition for us.'' Well, I have got news for Joe Biden. China's economy has grown 12- fold in the last 20 years. China now has more missile launchers than we do. It is painfully obvious that China is trying to compete with us. Joe Biden is the only one who doesn't get it. On Friday, former Senator Max Baucus, who I served with, from Montana, revealed that China wanted Joe Biden to be President. Now, Senator Baucus was a Member of this body, and then he was tapped to be President Obama's Ambassador to China. So Senator Baucus knows a lot about China, knows a number of Chinese officials. And on Friday, he admitted Chinese officials told him that China wanted Joe Biden to be elected President. Of course they did. In recent weeks, we found out that Joe Biden kept classified information at his home and in his private office. So where was this private office? Well, the office was at something called the Penn Biden Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The university paid Joe Biden nearly $1 million to do virtually nothing. Joe Biden says he was a professor yet never taught a single class. And he left classified documents at the Penn Biden Center. Now, reportedly, these documents were related to Iran and Ukraine. I haven't seen the documents, but those are the reports. And what is the relationship with China and this center? Well, Chinese donors gave $61 million to the university between 2017 and 2020. Both the House and the Senate need to investigate whether these donations were legal, and we need to know if Chinese money is influencing the Biden administration's policies. On Thursday, I came to the floor and spoke about how Joe Biden's energy policies are helping China. Later that day, we found out yet another connection between Joe Biden's energy policies and China. We found out that the White House and the Secretary of Energy met with an environmental group with ties to China. The group is, interestingly, called the Rocky Mountain Institute, and the group was paid by the Chinese Government to study green energy. Now Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm wants their advice too. Enough is enough. It is time to act with strength against China. The sanctions that the administration announced are just a slap on the wrist. The House passed a resolution condemning China for violating our airspace. The vote was unanimous. Every Republican voted for it and every Democrat voted for it. Why aren't we taking it up here in the Senate? There is a whole host of legislation we need to pass here in the Senate to stand up to China. I have introduced legislation to ban administration officials from going to work for China. The top lawyer today--the top lawyer today in our intelligence community used to work for China. Before that, he worked in the Obama White House. Revolving door--Democrat administration, China, Democrat administration. He worked for the Obama White House. He worked for Huawei--of course, we know Huawei is a telecommunications company controlled by the Chinese Government. Now he is one of the top lawyers on the payroll of Joe Biden. There is much more that needs to be done in relation to China. China is going to try to spy on us again. China is going to keep challenging us. It is time for us to stand up to the challenge. Now, what happened with this spy balloon can never be allowed to happen again. America cannot afford Joe Biden's policies of weakness. I yield the floor.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to talk about the Biden administration's war on American energy. Over the last 2 years, Joe Biden's energy policies seem to have been based on two principles. One is restricting American energy production, and the second, regrettably, is a policy that benefits China. Time and again, Joe Biden's energy policies have hurt America and have helped China. On Joe Biden's first day in office, he shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline, and I think he did it for spite. It would have brought 800,000 barrels of oil to this country every single day. Joe Biden then stopped all new energy leases on Federal land, and in Wyoming we have a lot of Federal land. He did it in a way that was blatantly illegal. A Federal judge actually ordered Joe Biden to follow the law, to sell energy leases. Follow the law, Mr. President. As of today, Joe Biden has leased fewer acres of Federal land for energy than any President in modern times, and he raised the royalty rate for oil and gas development on Federal lands. Now, this is the fee that the government collects for energy that is produced on Federal lands. He raised it by half, and he did it overnight. These higher fees will get passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices, and--oh, by the way--people are noticing the price at the pump is going up-- again. Joe Biden also raised taxes on natural gas by billions of dollars. He raised taxes on coal by $1 billion as well. As a nation today, we are still producing about 2 million barrels of oil less than was projected we would be producing every day, a number of years ago, before the pandemic. With lower production and higher taxes, it is no wonder that energy prices have been painful for the American people--punishing for the American people--who are just trying to make ends meet. Working families have lost nearly $3,000 specifically because of Joe Biden's radical leftwing energy policy. We are paying a lot more than that for additional causes of inflation, but on energy alone, it has been about $3,000 more than they should have spent in a normal situation. And who have been the big winners under all of this? Well, regrettably, it has been China. We are really less independent, less competitive, and more dependent on China. This is compared to the day that Joe Biden took office. I am going to give you a couple of examples. First, Joe Biden ended America's role in helping developing countries--other developing countries--explore for energy. Many countries are very poor, but they do have massive energy resources. They just need some help in getting to use them. Millions of people could have benefited and been lifted out of poverty if we had helped them use the energy that they already had. Joe Biden stubbornly refuses. As a result, now these countries that need money to develop their energy resources--what are they doing? Go talk to a high school class. Joe Biden ought to try that. They will tell him what is happening. Those countries are turning to China. More and more countries, of course, then will owe money to China. We know China uses debt and loans as a weapon. More debt to China means more control by China, overall, of these additional countries. Joe Biden won't let us in the United States help these countries or help the World Bank or help other lending institutions lend to those countries--and we see it all over Africa--because Joe Biden is too pure, and he doesn't like their energy. So he just turns them right over to China for predatory lending. Joe Biden's obsession with electric vehicles also is turning over American power and money to China. The batteries in electric vehicles require a specific set of critical minerals--a specific set of critical minerals that goes into the batteries of electric vehicles. Well, we can mine it in this country. Oh, no, we can't. Joe Biden says: No, don't mine it in America. He is actually shutting down mining in this country, and he has been doing it since the day he took office. We are not going to let you use the minerals that are critical for the electric vehicles that he wants us to use that come from the United States. So where are we going to go? Oh, but let's send more money to China. With supply and demand, our demand goes up. China has it to supply, and prices go up as well. Just in the past few weeks, Joe Biden has shut down proposed copper mines in Minnesota and in Alaska. Well, where are we going to get the minerals for the electric vehicles that Joe Biden and the Democrats want us to buy? China and countries under the influence of China. China produces three-quarters of all of the lithium-ion batteries. China also has 70 percent of the world's production capacity for the key parts of EV batteries. China has a majority of the world's lithium, a majority of the world's cobalt, a majority of the world's graphite processing and refining capacity. All of these are necessary for the electric vehicles that the Democrats and Joe Biden say we must buy. Where are these going to come from? There is only one place, and they won't let us have it from America. They won't let us use what we have here. China now dominates copper and cobalt mining in places like the Congo. The conditions at many of these mines--and this has been widely reported--are inhumane: child labor, brutal conditions. These are not like the mines that we have here in the United States or the mines like we have in Wyoming. Our mines in Wyoming and in the United States are technically sophisticated and professional. Many of the mines and the miners in the Congo are not professional at all. We are talking about young mothers who are working for a few dollars a day and are controlled by China. That is Joe Biden's answer to electric vehicles and every Democrat's answer to electric vehicles. These young mothers often bring their babies with them to the mines. Not in the United States--oh, no, we are too pure here in the United States to be able to mine for the chemicals that are needed for the electric vehicles. So Joe Biden wants mothers to take babies into the mines in the Congo for the minerals for the electric vehicles that he is mandating that we drive here in the future. So what happens to these mothers and these babies? Well, they inhale toxic cobalt all day long. According to a United Nations report, 40,000 children are scavenging for cobalt in the Congo, for the electric vehicles, so China can sell us the chemicals that Joe Biden and the Democrats will not let us get out of the ground here in the United States. Most people would call this criminal. Women and children in Africa are inhaling toxic minerals so that the climate elites in San Francisco can drive their electric vehicles. I guess that is the American dream. That is the Democrat dream for America: Force these people into this kind of labor so they can drive the electric vehicles of their dreams. China also sells less expensive EVs, and they are for sale all over Europe. Well, they may be on the road in San Francisco and in Manhattan in just a few years. Then there is the bloodshed and brutality that China uses to make solar panels. Joe Biden loves solar panels as much as he loves wind turbines. Well, there is a shortage of solar panels in this country right now. Why? Because of the law we passed 2 years ago to stop buying Chinese products made by forced labor. Well, solar panels require something called polysilicon. Nearly half of the world's polysilicon is made now by forced labor in China. Democrats have to choose between their green energy fairy tales and upholding basic human rights. It seems like the church that they worship, the church of wind and solar and wishful thinking, is what they have chosen over human rights. I hope the Democrats agree with me that we should not make a green transition on the backs of forced labor. The Democrats seem to feel more guilt about burning oil than about solar panels being made by slave labor. It is hard to imagine. This is just another in a long line of Democrat delusions. As if this all weren't enough, Joe Biden is even giving our tax dollars to China. Two weeks ago today, the Department of Energy announced that Joe Biden was sending another $1.6 million to a green energy company with ties to China. The company is called LanzaTech. It is a carbon capture company. Joe Biden has already given them $10 million. He gave them money right after they signed a partnership with China's official energy company, Sinopec. This company, LanzaTech, has disclosed that ``the Chinese Government may intervene or influence our operations at any time.'' So let's get this straight. Joe Biden is giving money to a company that says the Chinese Government ``may intervene or influence our operations at any time.'' What do we know about this company? Well, we know that it has some ties to the Democratic Party's top donors--the top donors--the people who contribute to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Members of this body who go and ask them for more money. Who is on the board? Well, former President Obama's campaign manager is a member of the board. Is this just a coincidence that, then, Joe Biden would move money, U.S. taxpayer dollars, to that company? Maybe it is not. The Department of Energy has announced a $200 million grant to a battery manufacturer with close ties to the communist Chinese Government. The company's financial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission admit--and I had these filings at the Energy Committee just last week to show these to the Secretary of the Department of Energy. The filings say this--now, remember, this is a company to which the Democrat Department of Energy announced a $200 million grant. The FEC filing says that China ``exerts substantial influence over the manner in which we must conduct our business activities and may intervene at any time with no notice.'' In other words, the company admits that it is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese Communist Party is controlling the company's U.S. Department of Energy's $200 million grant. So I wrote to the Department of Energy about the Department's review process for this grant. How can you do this? It says it in the filings. Finally, last Thursday, I got a response. It says that now--now, this year--even though they did the grant last year of $200 million, just now, they are going to do a due diligence review of the grant. That is from their letter. My question is, Why don't we do a due diligence review in this country before we announce we are going to give $200 million to a company so completely tied and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party? Why? Why doesn't the Department of Energy do their homework? Last week, the Deputy Secretary of Energy testified before the Energy Committee. He said money hasn't yet gone out the door. I hope he is right. I hope money hasn't gone out the door. We need to stop it now before it goes out the door. We don't need to send any more money--our tax dollars--to China. If we want carbon capture, it should come to Wyoming. They don't need to put money in these companies. We do it in Wyoming. We have a School of Energy Resources. We have a wonderful location. It is being done in the right way. They had a whole XPRIZE granted to the research being done at the University of Wyoming through the School of Energy Resources. The administration, it seems, when it comes to energy, would much rather go to China than go to the United States. That is Joe Biden's view of the world right now. Wyoming is ready to do carbon capture better than anybody in the world. I am not sure why the administration turns to China rather than to America, just like I don't know why they have gone to Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, or Russia in the past for energy rather than in America. Joe Biden's policies continue to rob the American people and pay off China. Joe Biden even sold 1 million barrels of oil from our emergency petroleum reserve to China. Then he said he was doing all of us a favor because he was going to bring down prices. This is a President who has been wrong and wrong and wrong. I have introduced legislation to ensure we never sell any of our emergency stockpile to China ever again. The House of Representatives has already passed legislation to do that. The legislation was actually bipartisan. It got 100 Democrats who voted for it. Why doesn't Chuck Schumer bring it to the floor of the Senate today? Why not? Why isn't he here? A hundred Democrats joined Republicans to say we shouldn't do this. People in this body get it. The White House clearly doesn't. The Department of Energy clearly doesn't. The administration doesn't. Joe Biden is held hostage by the far left of his party. Our Strategic Petroleum Reserve is for us, not for our enemies. America's energy policy is supposed to be for us, not for our enemies. It is not what we have gotten from this President. Next week, I am going to introduce legislation to ban administration officials from going to work for China. For 2 years, Joe Biden has strangled American energy production; at the same time, he has made us more dependent on China for critical minerals and for so much of what this Nation needs. It is time for Joe Biden and the Democrats in this body to remember whom we work for, and that is the American people. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to talk about our economy. The President has been doing a lot of bragging these days about the economy. Last week, it was Virginia. Later this week, it is Philadelphia. He is in New York City today. He is going to be here on Capitol Hill, down the hall, in the House, next Tuesday night, for the State of the Union. You know, the American people that I talk to--and looking at statistics and poll numbers from around the country--the American people just don't believe the President has anything to brag about, not when you look at the economy that is facing our Nation today. Two- thirds of people in polls out this weekend say that they disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling the economy--disapprove, doing a bad job, the country heading in the wrong direction. And it is really a problem when 70 percent of the people think the country in which they live, the county they love, is heading in the wrong direction. Why would they say it? Well, they took a look at their own personal situation, because the average American family has lost more than $10,000 to higher prices since Joe Biden took office just 2 years ago, and, now, what we are seeing across the country is more and more signs of the economy slowing down. Last week, we found out that the economy had slowed down at the end of last year. Last year, the economy grew at only a rate of 2.1 percent for the entire year. The White House predicted that it would be 3.8 percent, so much below what the President and the White House had predicted. Actually, they missed it by almost half. And this is just the latest in a long list of disappointments that have affected the people all across the country over the last 2 years. We found out Friday that consumer spending has dropped again. This week, working families are now getting another punch to the gut. Economists are predicting that the Federal Reserve is likely going to raise interest rates again in just 2 days. More rate hikes are going to make it even more expensive to borrow money. It is going to slow the economy down even further. Over the last year, we have seen the largest rate hikes in 40 years. The average rate of new mortgages doubled since Joe Biden became President. Credit card interest are at an all-time high. Higher rates, harder to buy a home, harder to buy a house, harder to pay off credit card debt--it is no surprise that mortgage applications recently hit their lowest level in 25 years. They say they can't afford it at these rates. This is very bitter medicine for the American people to take because they have been living through the worst inflation in 40 years. So why do we have the worst inflation in 40 years? Well, it is obvious. It is the massive spending done by the Democrats on a strictly party-line basis and the fact that the Democrats shut down American energy. You talk about a one-two punch--trying to kill the American energy industry and massive amounts of spending on top of it, inflation at a 40-year high, people suffering all around the country. Now, economists are predicting another recession coming this year. What does that mean? Well, it means more pain for people, more punishment for families who are just trying to get by or trying to put food on the table, and food prices have skyrocketed again. The American dream is moving further and further out of reach for many, many American families. According to the Gallup poll group, faith in the American dream recently hit an all-time low. How could that happen? Record numbers of people, surprisingly, believe that their children will have a lower standard of living than they have had. That is not the way my parents looked at me when I was growing up or your parents did, Mr. President, when you were growing up. The American dream was about a better next generation. Parents today don't see that for their kids because they see what they see going around their communities and this country. Many young people are giving up on their hope to buy a home someday. Families trying to get ahead are having a harder time, and many are falling behind. It didn't have to be this way. Oh, no, this is the result of the decisions that Joe Biden made and the inflation that Joe Biden and the Democrats have brought about this country. Remember, when Joe Biden took office just 2 years ago, inflation in this country was virtually nonexistent. A typical 30-year mortgage went for less than 4 percent. The lockdowns from the pandemic were coming to an end. The economy was ready to take off. And then in March of 2021, with every Democrat voting for it and every Republican voting against it, Democrats printed $2 trillion and added it to the national debt. Republicans warned the Democrats: Don't do it. Don't do this. Don't put the money. Don't spend the money. Don't add it to the debt. We said it would cause inflation, and it wasn't just Republicans who were saying it. Democrats' own economic experts warned them: Don't spend the money. It is going to jazz up the economy to the point of more money in. Prices are going to go chasing it, and prices will go up. Democrat advisers, like former President Obama's advisers--Larry Summers, Jason Furman, and Steve Rattner, to just to name a few-- Democrats in Washington, in this body, on this side of the floor, ignored the whole thing, refused to listen. Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats in the House said we don't want to hear it. They put their fingers in their ears. A month after President Biden signed the bill, inflation climbed. We have been suffering the consequences ever since. President Biden said: No, no, it is transitory. No, it is not inflation. He had a hundred excuses. It was here, and it was here to stay, and the Democrats caused it. To add problems on top of this, Democrats also raised taxes on nearly every tax bracket. Of course, this was a direct violation of the promises Joe Biden made to the American people. Democrats raised prices anyway. Joe Biden went and gave an inaugural address where he talked like he was going to work together. It is not what happened. He went to the White House and killed the Keystone XL Pipeline and went far, far to the left, raising taxes on American energy, raising taxes on natural gas. Natural gas powers about half the homes in the United States. Taxes on coal went up a billion dollars. That means everybody is paying higher prices. It is strangling our economy. It is strangling our energy production. It is wrong for the Nation. You look at Joe Biden. He is smiling away like things are going well, completely out of touch with the families all across the country. We are still producing a lot less oil today than we were before the pandemic, and gas prices have gone up about 40 cents already this year. They are predicted to go to over $4 a gallon by March because of the attack on American energy by this administration and this President. Democrats have taken a sledgehammer to our economy on each and every side: higher taxes, higher spending, higher gas, less American energy. It is a Democrat policy in a nutshell. That is the Democrat economic policy: higher taxes, higher spending, higher debt, less American energy. It is a policy for failure, a policy for pain for American families. I guess that is why, right now, today, in the United States Joe Biden is the least popular Democrat President in the last 60 years--the least popular. So instead of bragging, instead of going to New York and pounding his chest, as he did in Virginia and he is going to do in Pennsylvania--instead of bragging, he ought to be apologizing to the American people. He does owe the American people an apology for the damage and the destruction that he has inflicted because of his radical leftwing policies. His policies caused higher prices, caused higher interest rates, caused slower growth, caused much pain and much stress. So the American people are taking a look right now at the Biden economy, and they are not liking what they see. People want their money back. They want their future back. They want a future for their family. So if Joe Biden won't apologize, which is what he should do when he comes to Congress next week for the State of the Union, then he should at least announce that he is going to change course, try to make things better, announce that he is going to stop this reckless spending that has brought us these problems, announce that he is finally going to unleash American energy so energy is affordable, available, and reliable. That is what the American public is asking for and demanding. Working families in this country cannot afford any less. I yield the floor.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I come to the floor today to talk about the need for more American energy. We are approaching the end of January. Winter storms have been covering the country from Colorado to Connecticut. We are seeing it everywhere: Temperatures drop. Energy prices go up. In a typical year, cold actually kills more Americans than extreme heat. This winter, millions of families are in danger of being left out in the cold because of the cost of energy. We know that more than 20 million households in America, right now, have fallen behind on their ability to pay their energy bills. Record-high inflation has robbed the American people of more than $10,000 for each and every family since Joe Biden has become President. Just look at what people were paying for things before he came into office and what they are paying today. As a result, people are able to save less, and they are having to pay more. We know that about two out of three American households are living paycheck to paycheck. Personal savings in this country is now at a record low; household debt is at a record high. People are having to borrow more money and put things on the credit card at higher and higher interest rates. At the same time, energy prices are dramatically higher than they were the day Joe Biden took office. The cost of heating oil is up by two-thirds. Natural gas is higher now than in a long time. Electricity is up by 20 cents on the dollar. As a result, there is actually the risk of people having their energy and their electricity shut off this winter. Some are doing it voluntarily because they don't want the big bill that is going to come. It is hard to believe that it is happening here in the wealthiest country in the world. We have enough energy to keep every American warm this winter. Some of it, they won't let us get out of the ground, but we have it. So it is an absolute disgrace, with the energy resources we have in this country, that Americans are facing brownouts and blackouts from an energy standpoint because of the Biden administration's radical climate policies. Millions and millions of Americans are living with financial fear and with massive frustration at this administration for ignoring the needs of the people. So what are the Democrats doing about it? Nothing. Joe Biden actually sold some of our emergency Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China. You wouldn't believe that; yet it happened. Our petroleum reserve is for America. It is for emergencies. It is for natural disasters. It is for war. It is not for China. This week, I am introducing legislation to make sure this never happens again. The House has already passed this legislation. The vote was completely bipartisan, more than 100 Democrats voted for it in the House. There is no reason it shouldn't be bipartisan here in the Senate as well. So I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in this effort. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is for us. It is not for our enemies. Joe Biden has promised to use our tax dollars--I mean, it is astonishing. He went to the United Nations and said he was going to give $11 billion a year to the United Nations for climate reparations-- for energy we have used--giving away American dollars when Americans can't afford to pay for energy costs here at home. Why is he doing it? If you listen to his speech, it is because he wants to say he is sorry. That is what we have, a President who wants to apologize once again for America. He wants us to feel guilty about the fact that we have built the strongest economy in the world by using oil, gas, coal--all of the energy resources that we have in this country. The American people have nothing to apologize for. Joe Biden is wrong. We shouldn't apologize for being an energy superpower. We shouldn't apologize for using our energy resources. If he wants to apologize, he ought to be apologizing to the people of the United States for the policies he has put in place that have driven up costs and caused pain for families all across America. He should apologize for raising taxes on American energy. He should apologize for wasting tax dollars. The Secretary of Energy--his Secretary of Energy--has given more than $200 million in loans to companies in China. The Secretary of the Treasury is going to China soon. She met with China's Vice Premier recently in Switzerland. According to the Treasury Department, she agreed to ``enhance cooperation [with China] on climate finance . . . as well as support for . . . developing countries in their clean energy transitions''--in other words, more American taxpayer dollars for other people in other countries. Again, the excuse for all of this is climate. The Democrats in Washington are utterly obsessed with the green dreams of the coastal elites who run the Democratic Party, who call the tune. Again and again, the Democrats side with the climate elites over the common folks. I hear it in Wyoming. I hear it no matter where I travel in the country. The Democrats are offering working families nothing more than higher taxes and higher prices, and they continue to raise taxes. The Democrats just threatened to ban natural gas stoves. Nearly half of the homes in America use natural gas. This is the administration--a nominee by the President. That is what he said. He didn't say it once. He said it repeatedly. The Democrats also just raised taxes on coal by more than $1 billion. So what happens with all of these new taxes? They get handed down to working families in Wyoming and across America. What happens with higher taxes? It means higher prices and higher energy costs. Janet Yellen is flying around the world and offering more of our tax dollars to these other countries. Last week, there was a large Democrat political rally held in Switzerland, at a place called Davos. The masters of the universe flew to Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. From the television reports and the news reports, much of the conversation was about climate. The President's energy/climate czar, John Kerry, was there. He gave a speech. You talk about somebody with smug superiority; he just thinks he knows better than anybody else. Here is what he said. This is from John Kerry: It's extraordinary that we, a select group of human beings . . . are able to talk about saving the planet. Thank you, John Kerry. You are going to save us all. I can hardly wait. He added: If you say that to most people, they think you're just a crazy, tree-hugging, lefty, liberal do-gooder . . . but that's where we are. Well, John Kerry, you are right. Most people--certainly, anybody in Wyoming--who would listen to you would say you are just a crazy, tree- hugging, lefty, liberal do-gooder. That is who we have got from the President of the United States doing his climate bidding in Switzerland. This is exactly what people think about John Kerry and the climate crisis and the positions of this administration. As if one failed Presidential nominee and candidate weren't embarrassing enough, then we had a real Vice President who came to speak, a former Vice President named Al Gore. Anyone watching Al Gore speak would say that, basically, he descended into an unhinged rant. About what? Well, climate of course. That is all he ever rants about. The former Democrat Senator and Vice President said we are ``boiling the oceans.'' That is what we are doing, apparently, he said, if we don't obey his energy policies. Well, I am sure he and John Kerry have great times together. ``Boiling the oceans.'' He even said we are creating what he called ``rain bombs.'' He wants to save the planet as well, and I would say: What planet is he on? That is what we are seeing coming out of this administration as their voice on the world stage. When it comes to energy, what are the Democrats offering? A fairytale, a fantasy, and a fraud. That is what we hear from the Democrats. The Democrats' green dreams are causing nightmares for working families, who have to pay for all of this. The only green thing about the Democrats' energy agenda is how much green it costs American families. John Kerry said it himself. He said: How do we get there? And he said: Money, money, money. That is his answer--American money, American dollars--and he is going to save the planet. Europe has already tried its own Green New Deal. It has been a disaster for the working people of those countries. We can't let that happen here. We just cannot. The International Energy Agency projects a record high demand for oil later this year. This is at a time when Joe Biden is making us keep it in the ground. Wyoming is the energy breadbasket of the Nation. We have it. It is affordable. It is available. It is reliable. That is not good enough for Joe Biden. No. He wants to go to Iran, go to Venezuela, go to Saudi Arabia, with hat in hand, and beg them to produce more and send it here. It is interesting listening to the climate elites as they are fixated on renewable energy regardless of the costs and regardless of the consequences. The Democrats need to stop this science fiction. It is long past time for America to unleash our energy and stop this foolishness coming from the administration that has us buying energy from our enemies instead of selling it to our friends. We have an abundance of American energy, and the Democrats want to keep it buried in the ground. For every American family who is struggling to make ends meet and is falling further behind because of the inflation caused by the Democrats' spending, it is time to unleash American energy right now.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I come to the floor today to talk about the need for more American energy. We are approaching the end of January. Winter storms have been covering the country from Colorado to Connecticut. We are seeing it everywhere: Temperatures drop. Energy prices go up. In a typical year, cold actually kills more Americans than extreme heat. This winter, millions of families are in danger of being left out in the cold because of the cost of energy. We know that more than 20 million households in America, right now, have fallen behind on their ability to pay their energy bills. Record-high inflation has robbed the American people of more than $10,000 for each and every family since Joe Biden has become President. Just look at what people were paying for things before he came into office and what they are paying today. As a result, people are able to save less, and they are having to pay more. We know that about two out of three American households are living paycheck to paycheck. Personal savings in this country is now at a record low; household debt is at a record high. People are having to borrow more money and put things on the credit card at higher and higher interest rates. At the same time, energy prices are dramatically higher than they were the day Joe Biden took office. The cost of heating oil is up by two-thirds. Natural gas is higher now than in a long time. Electricity is up by 20 cents on the dollar. As a result, there is actually the risk of people having their energy and their electricity shut off this winter. Some are doing it voluntarily because they don't want the big bill that is going to come. It is hard to believe that it is happening here in the wealthiest country in the world. We have enough energy to keep every American warm this winter. Some of it, they won't let us get out of the ground, but we have it. So it is an absolute disgrace, with the energy resources we have in this country, that Americans are facing brownouts and blackouts from an energy standpoint because of the Biden administration's radical climate policies. Millions and millions of Americans are living with financial fear and with massive frustration at this administration for ignoring the needs of the people. So what are the Democrats doing about it? Nothing. Joe Biden actually sold some of our emergency Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China. You wouldn't believe that; yet it happened. Our petroleum reserve is for America. It is for emergencies. It is for natural disasters. It is for war. It is not for China. This week, I am introducing legislation to make sure this never happens again. The House has already passed this legislation. The vote was completely bipartisan, more than 100 Democrats voted for it in the House. There is no reason it shouldn't be bipartisan here in the Senate as well. So I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in this effort. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is for us. It is not for our enemies. Joe Biden has promised to use our tax dollars--I mean, it is astonishing. He went to the United Nations and said he was going to give $11 billion a year to the United Nations for climate reparations-- for energy we have used--giving away American dollars when Americans can't afford to pay for energy costs here at home. Why is he doing it? If you listen to his speech, it is because he wants to say he is sorry. That is what we have, a President who wants to apologize once again for America. He wants us to feel guilty about the fact that we have built the strongest economy in the world by using oil, gas, coal--all of the energy resources that we have in this country. The American people have nothing to apologize for. Joe Biden is wrong. We shouldn't apologize for being an energy superpower. We shouldn't apologize for using our energy resources. If he wants to apologize, he ought to be apologizing to the people of the United States for the policies he has put in place that have driven up costs and caused pain for families all across America. He should apologize for raising taxes on American energy. He should apologize for wasting tax dollars. The Secretary of Energy--his Secretary of Energy--has given more than $200 million in loans to companies in China. The Secretary of the Treasury is going to China soon. She met with China's Vice Premier recently in Switzerland. According to the Treasury Department, she agreed to ``enhance cooperation [with China] on climate finance . . . as well as support for . . . developing countries in their clean energy transitions''--in other words, more American taxpayer dollars for other people in other countries. Again, the excuse for all of this is climate. The Democrats in Washington are utterly obsessed with the green dreams of the coastal elites who run the Democratic Party, who call the tune. Again and again, the Democrats side with the climate elites over the common folks. I hear it in Wyoming. I hear it no matter where I travel in the country. The Democrats are offering working families nothing more than higher taxes and higher prices, and they continue to raise taxes. The Democrats just threatened to ban natural gas stoves. Nearly half of the homes in America use natural gas. This is the administration--a nominee by the President. That is what he said. He didn't say it once. He said it repeatedly. The Democrats also just raised taxes on coal by more than $1 billion. So what happens with all of these new taxes? They get handed down to working families in Wyoming and across America. What happens with higher taxes? It means higher prices and higher energy costs. Janet Yellen is flying around the world and offering more of our tax dollars to these other countries. Last week, there was a large Democrat political rally held in Switzerland, at a place called Davos. The masters of the universe flew to Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. From the television reports and the news reports, much of the conversation was about climate. The President's energy/climate czar, John Kerry, was there. He gave a speech. You talk about somebody with smug superiority; he just thinks he knows better than anybody else. Here is what he said. This is from John Kerry: It's extraordinary that we, a select group of human beings . . . are able to talk about saving the planet. Thank you, John Kerry. You are going to save us all. I can hardly wait. He added: If you say that to most people, they think you're just a crazy, tree-hugging, lefty, liberal do-gooder . . . but that's where we are. Well, John Kerry, you are right. Most people--certainly, anybody in Wyoming--who would listen to you would say you are just a crazy, tree- hugging, lefty, liberal do-gooder. That is who we have got from the President of the United States doing his climate bidding in Switzerland. This is exactly what people think about John Kerry and the climate crisis and the positions of this administration. As if one failed Presidential nominee and candidate weren't embarrassing enough, then we had a real Vice President who came to speak, a former Vice President named Al Gore. Anyone watching Al Gore speak would say that, basically, he descended into an unhinged rant. About what? Well, climate of course. That is all he ever rants about. The former Democrat Senator and Vice President said we are ``boiling the oceans.'' That is what we are doing, apparently, he said, if we don't obey his energy policies. Well, I am sure he and John Kerry have great times together. ``Boiling the oceans.'' He even said we are creating what he called ``rain bombs.'' He wants to save the planet as well, and I would say: What planet is he on? That is what we are seeing coming out of this administration as their voice on the world stage. When it comes to energy, what are the Democrats offering? A fairytale, a fantasy, and a fraud. That is what we hear from the Democrats. The Democrats' green dreams are causing nightmares for working families, who have to pay for all of this. The only green thing about the Democrats' energy agenda is how much green it costs American families. John Kerry said it himself. He said: How do we get there? And he said: Money, money, money. That is his answer--American money, American dollars--and he is going to save the planet. Europe has already tried its own Green New Deal. It has been a disaster for the working people of those countries. We can't let that happen here. We just cannot. The International Energy Agency projects a record high demand for oil later this year. This is at a time when Joe Biden is making us keep it in the ground. Wyoming is the energy breadbasket of the Nation. We have it. It is affordable. It is available. It is reliable. That is not good enough for Joe Biden. No. He wants to go to Iran, go to Venezuela, go to Saudi Arabia, with hat in hand, and beg them to produce more and send it here. It is interesting listening to the climate elites as they are fixated on renewable energy regardless of the costs and regardless of the consequences. The Democrats need to stop this science fiction. It is long past time for America to unleash our energy and stop this foolishness coming from the administration that has us buying energy from our enemies instead of selling it to our friends. We have an abundance of American energy, and the Democrats want to keep it buried in the ground. For every American family who is struggling to make ends meet and is falling further behind because of the inflation caused by the Democrats' spending, it is time to unleash American energy right now.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Jasmine for her hard work as an intern in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming. Jasmine is a native of Pennsylvania. She is a student at George Washington University, where she studies public health. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Jasmine for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her journey.