Susan Collins

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, first let me express my appreciation to the Senator from Nebraska. I will ask unanimous consent that a story from the Wall Street Journal on this very issue be printed in the Record. I would note that this story estimates that approximately 10 percent of UNRWA's staff in Gaza has links to the Hamas militants.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, before I suggest the absence of a quorum, I do want to just briefly respond to some of the comments that were made by my distinguished colleague from Kentucky, Senator Rand Paul, earlier. The first is that he is correct that a lot of the increase in spending is on the mandatory entitlement side of the budget, but that is not what the Appropriations Committee handles. That is not under our jurisdiction. The second point that I want to make is that in this six-bill package, the amount of spending in the nondefense discretionary area is actually below last year. It is 1.7 percent below last year. When you factor in inflation, that means there are real cuts that these Agencies and programs are going to be experiencing. There is a 3.3-percent increase for defense, but that, too, is below the inflation rate. When you look at the global threats our combatant Commanders have identified, we should be spending more for defense than that. The final point I will make is that we have adhered to the Fiscal Responsibility Act caps on spending in this bill, the final six-bill package, and the overall bills we have brought forth. So we have also accommodated and followed the agreement that was negotiated between the Speaker of the House and the Democratic leader of the Senate. So these bills are not big spending bills that are wildly out of scope. They are carefully drafted, they are conservative, and they meet the requirements of the FRA and the top line established by the leaders. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, it has been a long night and a long process, but we are on the verge of clearing the final six appropriations bills for this fiscal year, and that is an important milestone. I want to thank Chair Murray, the members of the Appropriations Committee, and everyone who worked so constructively tonight, and I would be remiss if I did not thank our hard-working staff.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I had intended in my remarks to go through each of these bills and point out how critical they are to our communities across America. The chair has done that to some extent, and she has also thanked our great team of appropriators for their very hard work. Instead of going through the provisions, I want to offer my colleagues a warning. If we do not act, at midnight tonight, we will have a partial government shutdown. It will affect the Department of Agriculture. It will impair the work of the Food and Drug Administration. It will prevent military construction projects from going forward. Do we really want a veteran who has bravely and loyally served his country and is now trying to file a claim for benefits to find that the Veterans Benefits Administration's doors are closed to him or her? Is that what we want to have happen? It also would affect the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Departments. We have an affordable housing crisis. Do we want more notices to go out to those who are working on transportation projects that they may lose their jobs if they are in the private sector because we didn't get our work done? It would affect the Department of Energy and the Army Corps of Engineers. Why in the world would we want to shut down government and stop serving the American people? I have heard a lot of statements made on the Senate floor and elsewhere that, regrettably, are not accurate. One is that none of these bills has been subjected to the opportunity for debate and amendments. The fact is, every single one of these appropriations bills was individually considered by the Appropriations Committee. Every single one of them was subject to robust debate and amendments--every single one of them. Many of them were passed unanimously, others with only one dissenting vote. Furthermore, three of the bills we are talking about right now--the Ag and FDA bill, the MILCON-VA bill, and the Transportation-HUD bill-- were brought to the Senate floor. So to say, as one of my colleagues did, that there was no opportunity for amendments and debate is flat- out wrong. Those bills were on the floor for about 7 weeks. We had 40 amendments. So I would urge my colleagues to stop playing with fire here. The House, controlled by Republicans, passed these bills as a package--the six bills--with a very strong bipartisan vote, with a majority of the majority voting for them. It would be irresponsible for us not to clear these bills and do the fundamental job we have of funding government. What is more important? So I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on cloture, and I hope next year that we can bring all of the bills to the Senate floor for the kind of robust debate and amendments that we had on three of the six bills before us. But keep in mind that each and every bill passed in committee after we had 50 public hearings and briefings. Cloture Motion

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I urge my colleagues to support the six-bill fiscal year 2024 appropriations package that is before us. I am pleased to report that the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed this bill earlier today by a vote of 339 to 85. It was strongly bipartisan. And now the Senate should follow suit. I want to express my thanks to the Republican ranking members on each of the six subcommittees--Senators Murkowski, Moran, Hoeven, Boozman, Kennedy, and Hyde-Smith--for their tremendous work in assembling this package. I also want to recognize the chair of the committee, Senator Patty Murray, who has worked so hard--since she was named chair and I, vice chair--in order to bring us to this point. I also want to salute the Democratic chairs for their work. My point is that everyone involved, including our incredibly hard- working staff, has worked night and day to bring us to this point. The measure before us includes the following fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills: Interior; Commerce, Justice, and Science; Agriculture-FDA; Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs; Energy and Water Development; and Transportation and Housing. And, again--although I wish this had happened months ago--these are full-year appropriations bills. In other words, this is not another continuing resolution, not a short-term patch, but, rather, a package of bills that will fund these important programs and Agencies and Departments through the end of the fiscal year. This package fully funds veterans' medical care; supports our farmers, fishermen, and ranchers; protects our Nation's food and drug supply; provides critical resources for law enforcement; helps us better compete with China; advances American energy independence; and invests in our Nation's infrastructure and public lands. This legislation also complies with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, as well as the top-line spending agreement reached between Speaker Johnson and Senator Schumer. Under that agreement, defense funding for this fiscal year will increase by 3.3 percent relative to fiscal year 2023 enacted levels, while nondefense funding will be held flat. That is not easy to do, particularly given the impact of inflation and the 5.2 percent Federal employment pay raise, which many of these Agencies are going to have to absorb. So it took a great deal of negotiation and hard work for us to get to this point. It certainly has not been easy, but I am proud of the legislation we are bringing to the floor today. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to move this important legislative package forward toward enactment. I look forward to further floor discussion tomorrow, but, right now, I do urge a ``yes'' vote on the motion to proceed.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, several of the amendments that we will vote on propose a full-year continuing resolution that would lock in dangerously inadequate funding levels for our national defense and lead to cuts in other vital programs serving our veterans, farmers, low- income families, and older Americans. In a briefing last month, the Commander of U.S. Central Command told me that this is the most dangerous security situation in 50 years. The idea that we would consider hamstringing our military under a yearlong continuing resolution at such a time is unconscionable. The Department of Defense has never operated under a yearlong CR. It would reduce defense spending by $27 billion relative to the level called for under the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Further, there would be problems with the misalignment of funds that in many cases would prevent critical funding from being executed. For example, 30 percent of the Navy's shipbuilding request could not be spent because the funding would be misaligned. According to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, under a yearlong CR, ``thousands of [defense] programs will be impacted with the most devastating impacts to our national defense being to personnel, nuclear triad modernization, shipbuilding and maintenance, munitions production and replenishments, and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command priorities.'' Let us also remember that we would be wasting taxpayer dollars as we would forego billions of dollars in potential spending reductions and rescissions carefully identified by the Appropriations Committee. A yearlong CR would result in a military that is less able to respond to serious security threats around the globe, and it would harm important domestic investments in biomedical research, infrastructure, and other priority areas. It would result in furloughs or hiring freezes for food inspectors and air traffic controllers, as well as slash housing assistance at a time when we already face a severe affordable housing shortage. I urge my colleagues to reject these motions and support the responsible approach of passing the short-term measure to fund the government. We will then move to the six completed conference reports on appropriations bills and continue our important work on the remainder of the full-year appropriations bills.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I just want to very briefly recognize my good friend, the Republican leader, for his extraordinary service, not only to our caucus but, more important, to the Senate as an institution and to our country. His tenure as leader will be remembered, not just for its historic longevity but also for his unparalleled devotion to this great institution, which he has always defended. I also admire the leader for stepping forward when it wasn't popular to do the right thing for our country and for our world. There will be plenty of time for all of us to honor him in more detail as time goes on, but I felt compelled to speak today to thank him--to thank him--for devoting his life to public service for all the right reasons: to improve the lives of the people living in our great country.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the town of Albion, ME. Albion was built with a spirit of determination and resiliency that still guides the community today, and this is a time to celebrate the generations of hard-working and caring people who have made it such a wonderful place to live, work, and raise families. The date of Albion's incorporation, February 25, 1824, was but one milestone in a long journey of progress. For thousands of years, the Kennebec River Valley was the home of the Abenaki Tribe. The reverence the Abenaki had for the natural beauty and resources of the region is upheld by the people of Albion today. In 1790, following America's independence, an early village called Freetown was established by Congregational Church minister Daniel Lovejoy with settlers drawn by the fertile soil and abundant forests. The prosperity produced by hard work and determination was invested in schools and churches to create a true community. In 1802, a son was born to Daniel and Elizabeth Lovejoy who would grow up to become one of the most inspiring and influential figures in American history. A journalist and fervent abolitionist, Elijah Parish Lovejoy founded a newspaper in the slave State of Missouri and fearlessly stood up to repeated threats and attacks. His murder by a pro-slavery mob in 1837 electrified the Nation and strengthened the anti-slavery movement. Since 1952, the prestigious award that bears his name has been presented annually by his alma mater, Colby College, to journalists who demonstrate uncommon courage. In addition, his brother Owen was a leader of the Underground Railroad in Illinois and a close adviser to Abraham Lincoln. Albion provides an outstanding example of the Maine tradition of people working together. In 1894, construction began on a narrow-gauge railroad to connect cargo ships on the coast to the crops and lumber produced inland. The line grew town by town and reached its northern terminus at Albion a year later, and for decades, the unique ``Maine Two-Footers''--a reference to the reduced width of the locomotives and cars--helped bring prosperity to the region. Today, the Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington Railway is a National Heritage Railroad with excursions that keep alive this fascinating era. That tradition of working together is evident in the energy and planning that are going into Albion's yearlong bicentennial celebration that demonstrates the pride townspeople have in their community. This 200th birthday party is a time to congratulate the people of Albion who have built a great community with a wonderful history and a bright future.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, for the information of our colleagues, I want to bring everyone up to date on where we are. For the past few days, the leadership on both sides of the aisle, as well as the bill managers on both sides of the aisle, have been working diligently, night and day, to try to get agreement to consider debate and to have votes on a series of amendments offered by Senators on both sides of the aisle. Obviously, in order for that to occur, we would need the cooperation of all Members; and we would need to have time agreements because the number of amendments is considerable. Regrettably, I have to inform my colleagues that there have been objections on both sides of the aisle that impede our work going forward. So, at this point, unless these objections are withdrawn, it is going to be very difficult to have the robust amendment process that many of us--most of us--want to have. And I just wanted to let my colleagues know where we stand.

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, last week, General Kurilla, the Commander of U.S. Central Command, gave me a briefing that was directly relevant to the national securities supplement that we are now considering. During the course of that briefing, the general told me that this is the most dangerous security situation in 50 years. The threats that the United States faces from an aggressive Iran and its proxies, an imperialistic Russia, a hegemonic China, are interconnected, and they require our immediate attention and a strong response. That is why this bill focuses on fortifying our military, rebuilding our own defense-industrial base, and strengthening and defending our partners and allies. This legislation would send a strong message to Putin that his goal of capturing free democratic nations will not be allowed to succeed. It would reassure our closest ally in the Middle East, Israel, that terrorists will not achieve their goal of wiping that nation off the map, and it would counter ever-growing Chinese aggression. I urge our colleagues to recognize the perilous times in which we are living and vote for this absolutely essential national security bill. The world is watching to see if the United States is still the leader of the free world.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, the national security supplemental before us is of profound importance to America's security. It will provide updated, modern, effective munitions to our troops, rebuild our flagging defense industrial base, allow our Navy to continue its vital operations in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, and support our allies. Now, time does not permit me to correct every misunderstanding and misrepresentation about this bill that we have heard on the Senate floor and elsewhere, but I do want to correct some of the most egregious misstatements because the American people should have the facts. The defense supplemental bill before us would strengthen our own military by providing $35 billion to restore our military readiness, modernize our arsenal of democracy, and rebuild our defense industrial base. It would send a strong message to Putin that his goal--his dream--of capturing free, democratic nations like Ukraine will not be allowed to succeed. It would reassure our closest ally in the Middle East, Israel, which is battling terrorists who have killed more Israelis--more Jews--in a single day since the Holocaust, who have taken as hostages babies and the elderly, and who are using innocent Palestinians as human shields. It would help deter a rising and menacing China, whose navy now exceeds the size of our own. Each of these investments is in our self-interest. It makes America more secure. A claim was made yesterday that this bill gives $238 million to increase U.S. troop deployments to Europe. The implication was that this bill increases funding to send U.S. troops into combat in Ukraine. That is simply not true. The funding in this bill supports, through the end of the year, U.S. servicemembers who are principally in Poland and Germany working with our allies to train and equip the courageous Ukrainians. The Ukrainians are the ones who are doing the fighting and taking the casualties. No American soldiers are dying on the Ukrainian battlefield. We are training and equipping the Ukrainians because it is the right thing to do, but, also, is in America's self-interest. The best way to ensure that the United States is not drawn into a larger regional war in Europe, in which our troops could be put at risk, is by helping Ukraine defend itself against this brutal, unprovoked invasion. If Russia prevails in Ukraine, Putin will be in a position to threaten our NATO allies all along Ukraine's border, including Poland and one of our newest members, Finland. What we are doing through this bill is to greatly diminish the risk that the United States could be drawn into these larger conflicts. History is filled with examples of well-intentioned leaders who sought to avoid war but who actually made war more likely by refusing to recognize the evil with which they were confronted. Neville Chamberlain declared ``peace in our time'' trying to appease Germany before World War II began. We should not make that same mistake today. Another charge that I heard yesterday is that Europe is not doing enough to support Ukraine and that the way to get them to do more is for us to do less. Again, this assertion is false. In terms of security assistance provided to Ukraine as a percentage of GDP--the only fair way to measure it--the United States ranks 15th globally--15th. Estonia ranks No. 1. Estonia has the same population as the State of Maine--1.3 million people. Yet it has provided 10 times as much, as a percentage of its GDP, as our country has to help the Ukrainians. On February 1, the European Council unanimously approved a 4-year ``Ukrainian Facility'' economic assistance package worth $54 billion. That equals nearly $13.5 billion per year. And that is on top of what other countries have already provided, which is approximately $63 billion in nonsecurity assistance. Now, I want to stress that throughout this process, which began last October and included extensive hearings and much consultation, we did not rubberstamp the Biden administration's budget request. Many changes were made throughout the process. But let me just touch on three. First, the President requested $11.8 billion for direct budget support for Ukraine. We reduced that amount by $4 billion--more than 30 percent. Furthermore, that budget support will phase out over time. This assistance, however, is critical because it helps ensure that Russia cannot win this war by utterly destroying Ukraine's economy, as Putin is trying to do, and it allows Ukraine to focus more of its national resources on the war effort. The second important change: This bill includes a clear and strict prohibition on funding in this bill and in prior appropriations from being used for any kind of financial support to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency, known as UNRWA. Yesterday's news that the Hamas tunnel was found under UNRWA's headquarters in Gaza and that Hamas was using UNRWA's electricity to power a command and control section underneath the headquarters underscores the need to ensure that not a single penny of taxpayer funds is provided to that agency, much less the $400 million that was in the President's original request. And I would note that the evidence is overwhelming that 12 employees of UNRWA directly participated in the October 7 horrific attacks on Israel. And the estimates are that about 10 percent of their employees are involved in terrorist groups. This organization is thoroughly infiltrated by Hamas and other groups. Third, we included strict guardrails for all the humanitarian assistance for Gaza. By March 1, USAID and the State Department have to have procedures, processes, and policies in place that are developed in consultation with Israel to ensure that money is not diverted from the legitimate humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians to terrorist groups like Hamas. It was suggested on the floor yesterday that we have no oversight of this assistance and no way of knowing where it is going. That is simply wrong. USAID delivers direct budget support through a World Bank mechanism whereby the funds that are released to the Government of Ukraine are done so on a reimbursement basis for verified, preagreed categories of expenditures only. In addition, USAID employs a rigorous monitoring system that involves two international accounting firms, Deloitte and KPMG, to audit this assistance. We have increased funding for the Office of Inspector General for both Ukraine funding and for the Gaza funding. Let me discuss, also, the support that we provide Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan through the transfer of weapons and equipment from our stockpiles. A concern was raised on the floor yesterday that this would leave our own military vulnerable and without enough weapons. It is important to remember that this bill includes $35 billion to restore U.S. military readiness and modernize our arsenal of democracy. For every dollar of authority provided to transfer weapons to Ukraine in this bill, there is $2.50 to replenish U.S. military stockpiles. And most of the time, this allows us to replace those older items with more modern, effective, and improved weapons. In the case of Israel, many of the weapons systems such as Iron Dome and David's Sling are coproduced by both the United States and Israel. The Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment has said ``production is deterrence.'' The supplemental includes $8.3 billion in historic investments to greatly expand our production capacity. This will result in a strong, resilient munitions industrial base capable of surging to meet the threats facing our country. But if we do not pass this supplemental now, none of these investments will occur. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill. There are so many other misrepresentations that I wish I had time to counter today. Let me tell you that this funding is desperately needed to strengthen America's military readiness; to help Ukraine counter brutal Russian aggression; to assist our closest ally in the Middle East, Israel, in its fight against terrorism; and to deter a rising and menacing China. In American history, it was our very first President, George Washington, who used the term ``peace through strength'' in his fifth State of the Union Address. Centuries later, President Ronald Reagan reminded us of the vital importance of peace through strength. That is the goal of the legislation before us. That is what it will accomplish as we meet the challenge of the perilous times in which we live.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I want to thank my distinguished colleague from Maine for his very kind comments.

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I yield 30 minutes of debate time to the senior Senator from South Carolina.

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to speak for up to 15 minutes, Senator Murray be permitted to speak for up to 5 minutes, and Leader Schumer for up to 5 minutes prior to the rollcall vote.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to urge strong support for the national security supplemental appropriations bill before us. Earlier this week, General Kurilla, the Commander of U.S. Central Command, told me that this is the most dangerous time in 50 years. The threats the United States faces from an aggressive Iran and its proxies, an imperialist Russia, and a hegemonic China are interconnected, and they require our immediate attention. That is why this bill focuses not only on strengthening our allies but also on fortifying our military and rebuilding our own defense industrial base. Since October, there have been more than 170 attacks on U.S. servicemembers throughout the Middle East. We have seen unprovoked attacks on our naval ships and the loss of two Navy SEALs at sea and three brave servicemembers in Jordan. Merchant ships have been attacked in the Red Sea. They have been protected by our Navy ships, including, I am proud to say, the USS Carney, a destroyer built at Bath Iron Works in Maine, which has shot down numerous Houthi UAVs. Despite the perilous times we live in, I heard a colleague suggest on the Senate floor that we are not ready to consider this bill. I would contend that we cannot wait any longer. He also implied that it had been shrouded in secrecy. That is simply inconsistent with the facts. The package before us is the result of months of deliberations, starting on October 20, when the President submitted his national security supplemental request to Congress, available for all to read and review. On October 31, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a 3\1/2\-hour hearing on the request. Virtually every Member of the Committee attended. Secretary of State Blinken and Secretary of Defense Austin testified. Prior to this hearing--this public hearing--the last time the Committee held a hearing on a supplemental budget request was March 25, 2010--more than 13\1/2\ years earlier. So, under the leadership of Chairman Murray and myself, we have been transparent. We have held countless public hearings, including on the supplemental before us. The following week, our committee held a second hearing. At this hearing, the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services testified on the supplemental request. In the time that followed, there were numerous discussions on the content of the supplemental funding bill. Information was gathered on emerging needs, particularly with regard to U.S. military operations in the Middle East, and the bill's language was refined and improved. On February 4, the text of the national security and border supplemental was released along with a section-by-section analysis to make it easier for Members. After it was clear that there was not sufficient support to advance the border security provisions, revised text and a summary were circulated that excluded the border security sections, and that is the package before us today--a package that has taken us months to get to this point and that began in October with the submission of the budget request and was subjected to extensive public hearings. Further delay--or worse, an outright refusal to address these challenges--cannot be the answer. There is simply too much at risk. The package before us would bolster U.S. military readiness, help Ukraine counter Russian aggression, assist Israel in its fight against terrorists, and deter a rising China. Now let me briefly describe the major components of this legislation. First, $35 billion would go to restoring U.S. military readiness. This includes $26 billion to replenish Defense Department stockpiles with new and, in many cases, upgraded weapons and equipment; $5.4 billion to increase production capacity for artillery, air defense, and long-range precision missiles; $3.3 billion to enhance the U.S. submarine industrial base in support of our trilateral security partnership with the United Kingdom and Australia, known as AUKUS. This funding directly supports our military defense and defense industrial base. One of the ways that we support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan is through the transfer of weapons and equipment from our stockpiles. The replenishment funding that I just mentioned allows us to replace those articles with new and often more modern, more effective munitions and equipment, benefitting both our military and theirs. By modernizing our arsenal of democracy and improving the readiness of the U.S. military to deter any adversary, this funding makes America stronger. Second, the bill provides resources to assist Ukraine as it defends its territory following the second Russian invasion. And let us keep in mind, Putin has made no secret of his plan. His plan is to re-create the former Soviet Union. If he is allowed to be successful in Ukraine, I believe he will then seize Moldova, invade Georgia, menace the Baltic States, and threaten Poland. And then our troops will be involved in a European war. Today, we are not the one. Our troops are not dying on the Ukrainian battlefield. We include $15.4 billion to help Ukraine purchase weapons from the U.S. industry so that it can defend itself. It includes $11.3 billion to support our servicemembers in Europe, principally in Poland and Germany, who are helping our allies equip and train Ukrainian forces. It also provides $9.4 billion for economic assistance to help Ukraine rebuild its economy. Now, let me spend a moment on this point. The President's request for direct budget support was $11.8 billion. We rejected that amount as too much. We reduced it to $7.8 billion, and we further stipulated that no funds could be used to reimburse pensions. Tonight, I heard on the floor that the Europeans were not doing their part. That is simply not true. Many of our European partners--I think of the Baltic States, for example, with whom Chair Murray and I met with representatives of recently--are contributing a greater percentage of their GDP, by far, than we are. Why are we joining our European allies in providing economic assistance to Ukraine? As part of his plan to try to force Ukraine to surrender, Putin has sought to destroy Ukraine's economy, tax base, and exports, including grain exports. This funding seeks to help Ukraine rebuild so that ultimately it will be able to provide for itself economically once again. But we are not just giving blank checks. We have included $23 million for inspectors general for continued oversight of Ukraine assistance, including funding for the special IG that was established in this year's National Defense Authorization Act. Earlier in this debate, one of our colleagues suggested that our country had no strategy for Ukraine. But, once again, the language of this bill has been ignored. It requires a strategy with achievable objectives with respect to U.S. assistance to Ukraine. And the Appropriations Committee did not draft this language alone. We did so in consultation with the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees. Third, this bill fully funds the budget request to support Israel in the war against Hamas. It includes $5.2 billion for Israel's missile defense programs, including Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Iron Beam. The first two of those are coproduced with the United States. It also includes funding from--foreign military financing for Israel and funding for U.S. Embassy support, oversight, and other assistance. This next part is really important. The bill includes--it adds to the supplemental $2.4 billion to support our U.S. forces as they face ongoing attacks in the region and to sustain U.S. military operations in Central Command against the Houthis and other Iranian-backed proxies. General Kurilla stressed to me how critical this funding is. Fourth, this bill includes resources aimed at deterring a rising China. It includes $2 billion in foreign military financing for the Indo- Pacific region, which includes, obviously, Taiwan but also the Philippines and Vietnam. It provides funding for missile defense for Guam, for new technologies to detect undersea threats, and for training and exercises. Funding is also included to address a chokepoint in the supply chain for motors that affects multiple long-range cruise missiles, including Harpoons and the Tomahawk. The submarine industrial base investments that I previously mentioned will also benefit our regional partners as they help the United States meet its commitment under AUKUS while protecting the size of our own submarine fleet. Finally, I want to note that this bill includes $9 billion for global humanitarian assistance. This funding would help the State Department and USAID respond to critical humanitarian needs around the world, from Ukraine and Eastern Europe to the Middle East and Africa. More than 108 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced today. I want to emphasize that only 15 percent of that assistance--$1.4 billion--is for Gaza, and of that amount, the $400 million that had been targeted by the administration to flow through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency will not go through UNRWA. Despite allegations highlighted in the Wall Street Journal last month and numerous other publications that at least 12 UNRWA employees had been directly involved in Hamas's October 7 terrorist attack on Israel and in taking hostages and that around 10 percent of all of its Gaza staff have ties to Islamic militant groups, incredibly, the Biden administration continued to push for UNRWA funding. I want my colleagues to know that this bill includes an outright prohibition on funding in this supplemental and prior appropriations from being used for any grants, contributions, or other U.S. payments to UNRWA. We can distribute that humanitarian assistance through other organizations. The bill also includes stringent guardrails on humanitarian assistance to Gaza. By March 1, the Secretary of State must certify that policies, processes, and guidelines have been established and are in use to prevent the diversion of aid by Hamas or other terrorist groups. This includes consultations with the Government of Israel, which has made clear the importance of humanitarian assistance to its objectives in Gaza. Third-party monitoring and intelligence assessments provide additional layers of oversight. Finally, we include a total of $10 million to the State Department and USAID inspectors general-- funding that the administration did not request but that should accompany any assistance for Gaza. I encourage my colleagues at this time, this perilous time, to support this bill that includes the funding desperately needed to strengthen America's military readiness, to help Ukraine counter brutal Russian aggression, to assist our closest ally in the Middle East, Israel, in its fight against terrorism, and to deter a rising China. The stakes are high, and we must meet the moment.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, there are pivotal times in our Nation's history when what we do in this Chamber really matters. How we vote may well determine whether people live or whether they die; whether men and women live under the dictates of an authoritarian regime or as free people in a democratic nation; whether terrorists continue to commit atrocities, kidnap children, kill our troops, or are defeated. This is such a moment. This week, General Kurilla, the Commander of U.S. Central Command, told me that this is the most dangerous security situation in 50 years--50 years. The defense supplemental bill before us would strengthen our own military. It would send a strong message to Putin that his goal of capturing free, democratic nations will not be allowed to succeed. It would reassure our closest ally in the Middle East-- Israel--that terrorists will not achieve their goal of wiping that nation off the face of the map. It would counter Chinese aggression, and it would rebuild our own defense industrial base. Mr. President, I urge our colleagues to recognize the perilous times that we are living in and vote for this national security bill. It is critical.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I rise today to introduce legislation to reauthorize the Building Our Largest Dementia, BOLD, infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act, legislation I authored that was signed into law in 2018. The Building Our Largest Dementia, BOLD, Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Reauthorization Act of 2024, which I am pleased to introduce today with my colleagues Catherine Cortez Masto, Shelley Moore Capito, and Tim Kaine, would continue our important work to create a public health infrastructure to combat Alzheimer's disease and preserve brain health. Public health plays an important role in achieving population-level improvements, but for too long Alzheimer's and other dementias have been viewed as just a normal part of aging and not as the public health crisis it warrants. Through the BOLD Act, we started to change this narrative and for the first time put resources behind the interventions that can help improve the health and quality of life for people living with Alzheimer's, as well as reduce the costs associated with the disease. Still, Alzheimer's disease remains one of the greatest public health threats of our time. Approximately 6.7 million Americans are living with the disease, and, barring any major breakthroughs to prevent, slow down, or cure Alzheimer's, that number is expected to more than double. In addition to the human suffering it causes, Alzheimer's is one of our Nation's most expensive diseases, costing an estimated $345 billion last year. In my home State of Maine, more than 29,000 seniors are living with the disease, and unfortunately that number is only increasing. In addition, more than 51,000 loved ones are providing care valued at nearly $1.9 billion. Every State across the country is experiencing a similar story, underscoring the need to invest in the development of a robust Alzheimer's public health infrastructure on a State, local, and Tribal level to combat this growing public health crisis. Through coordinated Federal investments and a national strategy created by the National Alzheimer's Project Act I authored, we have accelerated our understanding of this complex disease and unlocked steps we can take to increase early detection and diagnosis, reduce risk, prevent avoidable hospitalizations, and support dementia caregivers. Groundbreaking research has also now led to a new age of treatment, with disease-modifying therapies now available to patients. These promising treatments could substantially change how the disease is perceived and managed, increasing the urgency to educate the public, and promote early diagnosis. Now, after decades of increasing investments in biomedical research for Alzheimer's, we are nearing the next phase of effectively preventing, treating, and curing Alzheimer's--translating research into real-world interventions. The BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act accelerated a multipronged public health approach for the prevention, treatment, and care of Alzheimer's and related dementias. The bill we are introducing today would reauthorize the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act for 5 years in order to ensure that these critical activities can continue to reach communities across the country. Specifically, the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act directed CDC to establish Alzheimer's and Related Dementias Public Health Centers of Excellence, provide Federal funding to support State, local, and Tribal public health departments, and increase data analysis and timely reporting in order to inform interventions, research, and public policy. The CDC's Centers of Excellence are now working to promote effective Alzheimer's disease management and caregiving interventions, as well as educating the public on Alzheimer's disease, cognitive decline, and brain health. Each center is focused on a key issue related to dementia--from risk reduction to early detection to caregiving. The three current centers have established themselves as national resources and are supporting nationwide implementation of the actions outlined in the CDC's Healthy Brain Initiative's Road Map. This includes identifying, translating, and disseminating promising research findings and best practices for nationwide uptake. Our legislation would reauthorize the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Public Health Centers of Excellence and add a new focus on implementation science, which is essential to bridging the gap between research findings and practical application in real-world settings. In addition, building upon the CDC's Healthy Brain Initiative and its Public Health Road Map, the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act has provided public health departments with the funding and support necessary to implement effective Alzheimer's interventions in communities across the country, including a focus on reducing the risk of dementia, increasing early detection and diagnosis, and supporting caregivers. Forty-three public health departments across the United States are now promoting a strong public health approach to Alzheimer's disease and related dementia with the support of BOLD awards. In September 2020, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services received one of the first BOLD Program Awards. This investment has allowed for the implementation of the Maine State Plan for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias, as well as advancements in Maine's public awareness of brain health, early detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, and access to care and support. Maine's Department of Health and Human Services has even been able to publish county- specific data on cognitive decline to better understand risk factors and prevention across the State. In addition, the Bangor Public Health & Community Services Department and partners have educated its employees on how to respond to the Alzheimer's public health crisis, emphasizing early detection and diagnosis and brain health. Efforts such as these play a key role in bringing awareness to and ultimately reducing the growing prevalence of dementia in the State. In September 2023, Maine received a second BOLD award from the CDC for Alzheimer's prevention programs. This implementation funding will allow Maine to build on its initial investments and carry out the Maine Alzheimer's Prevention Program and the CDC's Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map. There continues to be an urgent need to translate what science tells us about the opportunity to reduce risk, delay onset, and ultimately reduce prevalence into effective public health practice. However, unless Congress acts to reauthorize these effective programs, BOLD programming is set to expire on September 30. The BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Reauthorization Act would continue our investment in a nationwide Alzheimer's public health response so that States, including Maine, can sustain the critical work being done in communities across the country and ensure this work has a real-world impact in the years ahead. As founder and cochair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease, the fight against Alzheimer's for me is both personal and a matter of crafting effective public policy. Virtually every family in the country has been touched by this disease, and I know the gravity of this disease firsthand as I lost my father, grandfather, and two uncles to Alzheimer's. I remain committed to advancing research, care, and support for individuals and families living with this devastating disease. Reauthorization of the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act will ensure communities across the country have access to resources to promote effective Alzheimer's interventions and better cognitive health that can lead to improved health outcomes. This bipartisan legislation is endorsed by the Alzheimer's Association, the Alzheimer's Impact Movement, and UsAgainstAlzheimer's. I urge my colleagues to support this critical legislation.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I rise today to introduce legislation to reauthorize the Building Our Largest Dementia, BOLD, infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act, legislation I authored that was signed into law in 2018. The Building Our Largest Dementia, BOLD, Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Reauthorization Act of 2024, which I am pleased to introduce today with my colleagues Catherine Cortez Masto, Shelley Moore Capito, and Tim Kaine, would continue our important work to create a public health infrastructure to combat Alzheimer's disease and preserve brain health. Public health plays an important role in achieving population-level improvements, but for too long Alzheimer's and other dementias have been viewed as just a normal part of aging and not as the public health crisis it warrants. Through the BOLD Act, we started to change this narrative and for the first time put resources behind the interventions that can help improve the health and quality of life for people living with Alzheimer's, as well as reduce the costs associated with the disease. Still, Alzheimer's disease remains one of the greatest public health threats of our time. Approximately 6.7 million Americans are living with the disease, and, barring any major breakthroughs to prevent, slow down, or cure Alzheimer's, that number is expected to more than double. In addition to the human suffering it causes, Alzheimer's is one of our Nation's most expensive diseases, costing an estimated $345 billion last year. In my home State of Maine, more than 29,000 seniors are living with the disease, and unfortunately that number is only increasing. In addition, more than 51,000 loved ones are providing care valued at nearly $1.9 billion. Every State across the country is experiencing a similar story, underscoring the need to invest in the development of a robust Alzheimer's public health infrastructure on a State, local, and Tribal level to combat this growing public health crisis. Through coordinated Federal investments and a national strategy created by the National Alzheimer's Project Act I authored, we have accelerated our understanding of this complex disease and unlocked steps we can take to increase early detection and diagnosis, reduce risk, prevent avoidable hospitalizations, and support dementia caregivers. Groundbreaking research has also now led to a new age of treatment, with disease-modifying therapies now available to patients. These promising treatments could substantially change how the disease is perceived and managed, increasing the urgency to educate the public, and promote early diagnosis. Now, after decades of increasing investments in biomedical research for Alzheimer's, we are nearing the next phase of effectively preventing, treating, and curing Alzheimer's--translating research into real-world interventions. The BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act accelerated a multipronged public health approach for the prevention, treatment, and care of Alzheimer's and related dementias. The bill we are introducing today would reauthorize the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act for 5 years in order to ensure that these critical activities can continue to reach communities across the country. Specifically, the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act directed CDC to establish Alzheimer's and Related Dementias Public Health Centers of Excellence, provide Federal funding to support State, local, and Tribal public health departments, and increase data analysis and timely reporting in order to inform interventions, research, and public policy. The CDC's Centers of Excellence are now working to promote effective Alzheimer's disease management and caregiving interventions, as well as educating the public on Alzheimer's disease, cognitive decline, and brain health. Each center is focused on a key issue related to dementia--from risk reduction to early detection to caregiving. The three current centers have established themselves as national resources and are supporting nationwide implementation of the actions outlined in the CDC's Healthy Brain Initiative's Road Map. This includes identifying, translating, and disseminating promising research findings and best practices for nationwide uptake. Our legislation would reauthorize the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Public Health Centers of Excellence and add a new focus on implementation science, which is essential to bridging the gap between research findings and practical application in real-world settings. In addition, building upon the CDC's Healthy Brain Initiative and its Public Health Road Map, the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act has provided public health departments with the funding and support necessary to implement effective Alzheimer's interventions in communities across the country, including a focus on reducing the risk of dementia, increasing early detection and diagnosis, and supporting caregivers. Forty-three public health departments across the United States are now promoting a strong public health approach to Alzheimer's disease and related dementia with the support of BOLD awards. In September 2020, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services received one of the first BOLD Program Awards. This investment has allowed for the implementation of the Maine State Plan for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias, as well as advancements in Maine's public awareness of brain health, early detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, and access to care and support. Maine's Department of Health and Human Services has even been able to publish county- specific data on cognitive decline to better understand risk factors and prevention across the State. In addition, the Bangor Public Health & Community Services Department and partners have educated its employees on how to respond to the Alzheimer's public health crisis, emphasizing early detection and diagnosis and brain health. Efforts such as these play a key role in bringing awareness to and ultimately reducing the growing prevalence of dementia in the State. In September 2023, Maine received a second BOLD award from the CDC for Alzheimer's prevention programs. This implementation funding will allow Maine to build on its initial investments and carry out the Maine Alzheimer's Prevention Program and the CDC's Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map. There continues to be an urgent need to translate what science tells us about the opportunity to reduce risk, delay onset, and ultimately reduce prevalence into effective public health practice. However, unless Congress acts to reauthorize these effective programs, BOLD programming is set to expire on September 30. The BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Reauthorization Act would continue our investment in a nationwide Alzheimer's public health response so that States, including Maine, can sustain the critical work being done in communities across the country and ensure this work has a real-world impact in the years ahead. As founder and cochair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease, the fight against Alzheimer's for me is both personal and a matter of crafting effective public policy. Virtually every family in the country has been touched by this disease, and I know the gravity of this disease firsthand as I lost my father, grandfather, and two uncles to Alzheimer's. I remain committed to advancing research, care, and support for individuals and families living with this devastating disease. Reauthorization of the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act will ensure communities across the country have access to resources to promote effective Alzheimer's interventions and better cognitive health that can lead to improved health outcomes. This bipartisan legislation is endorsed by the Alzheimer's Association, the Alzheimer's Impact Movement, and UsAgainstAlzheimer's. I urge my colleagues to support this critical legislation.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I, too, urge our colleagues to reject this motion that calls for the Appropriations Committee to put forward a year-long continuing resolution for fiscal year 2024. Adopting this motion would wipe out the work of the appropriations committee that led to 12 stand-alone bills being reported last summer with overwhelming bipartisan support. It would also lock in dangerously inadequate funding levels for our national security and lead to cuts in other vital programs serving our veterans, older Americans, low-income families. It would stall biomedical research, harm our farmers, and slow progress that we are making on our infrastructure. A year-long CR would result in defense funding levels that are nearly $27 billion less than the President's request in the Fiscal Responsibility Act. According to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, under a year-long CR: Thousands of [defense] programs will be impacted with the most devastating impacts being to personnel, the nuclear triad modernization, shipbuilding and maintenance, munitions productions and replenishments, and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command priorities. A year-long CR would result in our military being less ready to respond to the serious security threats around the globe. I urge my colleagues to reject this motion and support the reasonable approach of completing our work.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, our colleagues are aware that there is a group of Senators who are meeting with the administration officials to try to carefully craft an urgently needed solution to the border security crisis. I rise today to discuss the urgent need for bipartisan solutions to address that crisis. Yesterday set a new record that demonstrates the magnitude of our border security crisis. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers encountered a record 12,381 foreign nationals who were entering the United States along our southwest border without authorization. So far this fiscal year, we are averaging nearly 8,500 encounters per day, and, this month, the average is nearly 10,000 per day. That means that for the month of December, we are likely to reach a record of more than 300,000 people crossing the southwest border without legal authorization. At the current rate, we are on pace for more than 3 million encounters in fiscal year 2024, which would shatter the previous high set last fiscal year. To put this in perspective, that is more than twice as many encounters at the southwest border as there are people in the entire State of Maine, and these enormous numbers do not include what Border Patrol agents describe as the ``got-aways''--in other words, those who do not turn themselves in and, instead, elude capture. These numbers have grown dramatically in the past 3 years. Since fiscal year 2021, we have seen almost 6.6 million encounters and are on pace to see nearly 9.7 million individuals by the end of fiscal year 2024. Jeh Johnson, who served as Secretary of Homeland Security under President Obama, once said that, when he was Secretary, a thousand migrant encounters a day overwhelms the system. So just think what 10,000 individuals crossing does to the system. And this problem is not limited to the southwest border, even though that is where the problem is most acute. We are increasingly seeing surges of migrant encounters along our northern border, including the State of Maine. According to Customs and Border Protection, migrant encounters at the northern border increased 73 percent in fiscal year 2023 over the previous year and a staggering 700 percent over fiscal year 2021 levels. In the State of Maine, encounters have increased over 450 percent since fiscal year 2021. Increasingly, what we are seeing is that migrants are flying to Canada, knowing that they will have an easier time crossing the enormous 5,525-mile northern border. Just recently, the U.S. Border Patrol encountered a group of 20 Romanians illegally crossing into the United States near Houlton, ME, in northern Maine. Two of these individuals were flagged as ``transnational criminal organized crime'' matches and detained for expedited removal proceedings. The remaining 18 were simply released into the local community. Communities in Maine and throughout our country are struggling to absorb this influx of people who are being released into the interior. The majority of migrants are released pending an adjudication of their asylum claims. But that is a process that can take years. In Portland, ME, a city of 68,000 residents, more than 1,600 asylum seekers have arrived since January. Sanford, ME, which has a population of only 22,000, has had approximately 400 migrants arrive since May. Over the past 6 months, the city of Sanford has spent $1.3 million to provide food, housing, and other required assistance to asylum seekers and their families. Now, the irony here is these asylum seekers are not allowed to go to work immediately upon filing their asylum applications. I have introduced a bill that could help lessen the impact on local communities by helping asylum seekers support themselves, as they want to do. And employers in Maine want to hire them while they await their immigration proceedings. Specifically, my bill would shorten the waiting period for asylum seekers who come through legal ports of entry to apply for employment authorization, provided that their applications are not frivolous, that they are not detained, and that their identities have been verified with their names run through the Federal Government's Terrorist Watchlist. An out-of-control border, which is what we have now, poses a very real threat to our homeland and our people. This is a national security challenge for our country. Since fiscal year 2021, 294 individuals who were apprehended by Border Patrol at the southwest border were on the Terrorist Watchlist. That compares to only 11 such individuals in the previous 4 years combined. And just think how many others are part of the ``got-aways,'' those who did not turn themselves in or were not apprehended by our Border Patrol. There are also tens of thousands of migrants arrested at our southern and northern borders who have criminal convictions or who are wanted by law enforcement, such as the two Romanians recently encountered in Maine. Not only has the failure to control our border led to unchecked migration, but it has also contributed to the serious illegal drug crisis that is affecting communities throughout our country. Mexican drug cartels are using the chaos at the southern border to facilitate their trafficking operations. They are sending record amounts of fentanyl into this country, enough to kill every American many times over. Maine, like so many States, has seen record increases in recent years in the number of overdose deaths, nearly 80 percent of which are fentanyl related. We lost 513 Mainers in the first 10 months of 2023 to fatal overdoses, and 373 of these deaths were fentanyl related. In addition, the Mexican cartel used the chaos and the uncontrolled southern border for human trafficking. This is a crisis. It is a humanitarian crisis, and it is a national security crisis. And we cannot allow it to continue. I have long supported creating legal immigration pathways with appropriate guardrails. Immigrants contribute to our great country and our communities in so many important ways. However, it is clear that we must act to address the ongoing and ever worsening crisis at our borders, which adversely affects communities throughout our country. We cannot delay any longer. I am a strong supporter for continuing to provide assistance to Ukraine to repel Russian aggression. Make no mistake about it, Putin will not stop with Ukraine. He will go on to re-create, if he possibly can, his vision of, once again, having the old Soviet Union. I believe that if he is successful in Ukraine, he will next seize Moldova. He then will begin to menace and threaten our NATO allies--the Baltic States, Poland. So far, we have been able to assist Ukraine without one American soldier losing his life or her life. We should continue to do so. We need to help our greatest ally, Israel, in its fight against the terrorist group Hamas. These, in many ways, are border disputes as well, but we cannot ignore the border crisis that we have in our own country. And that is why we need to work on all of these issues and bring them together in a supplemental funding bill. The time to act is now. It is unfortunate that the administration has been so late to these negotiations, but I still have hope that we can put together a package that will address all of these crises: the border crisis in our own country, the border crisis in Ukraine, the border crisis in Israel with the terrorist attacks from Hamas, and the coming border crisis that we are going to see, I fear, with China increasingly threatening Taiwan. All of those issues need to be addressed in the supplemental. Let's get the job done.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President. I rise today to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the incorporation of Richmond, ME. As community events throughout this bicentennial year demonstrate, Richmond has a fascinating history that exemplifies the determination and ingenuity that defines the State of Maine. For thousands of years, the woods and waters where the Kennebec River meets the sea at Merrymeeting Bay sustained the Abenaki people. In 1605, the explorers Samuel de Champlain and George Weymouth led the first European expeditions to the area. In the decades following a land purchase from the Tribes in 1649, the first English settlers established farms, grain and lumber mills, a trading post, and, in 1719, Fort Richmond. Originally part of the town of Bowdoinham, a community named for the fort grew and prospered on land granted to Revolutionary War veteran John Plummer, and Richmond incorporated as a separate town in 1823. The Kennebec River flows through Richmond's history. With vast lumber supplies and nearby ocean access, the town became a key center for the seafaring trade and shipbuilding in early America. An estimated 200 ships were built in Richmond during the days of sail, about half of them by Thomas Jefferson Southard. Known as ``the father of Richmond village,'' Southard rose from blacksmith apprentice to master shipbuilder and property developer, and his memory lives on in the stunning architecture that distinguishes the town today. Throughout the 19th century and well into the 20th, Richmond also was a center for the ice trade, sending massive blocks of pure frozen Kennebec water all over the world. Before the invention of powered refrigeration, some 50 huge ice houses, some as big as 10 football fields and up to 7 stories high, operated on the Richmond riverfront. Every winter, up to 4,000 workers would come to town for the 2-month ice harvest season. An important thread that runs through Richmond's story is the love of liberty. Throughout American history, patriots from the town have stepped forward to defend freedom. During the Cold War, Richmond was home to as many as 500 Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, and Belorussian immigrants who sought refuge from Communist oppression in a place where the countryside reminded them of their homeland. The St. Alexander Nevsky Church, with its pale blue onion dome, is the only Russian Orthodox Church in Maine. From the Fire and Ice Festival in winter, to Richmond Days in summer, townspeople love to get together to celebrate their heritage. The last Saturday in June is observed statewide as R.B. Hall Day in honor of Maine's world-renowned composer of marches and band music, and the day has special significance for Richmond. Born in neighboring Bowdoinham in 1858, Robert Browne Hall lived in Richmond, began his career as soloist and leader of the Richmond Cornet Band, and is buried in the town's Evergreen Cemetery. Today, visitors and residents alike enjoy Richmond's smalltown charm, beautiful historic buildings, and exciting outdoor recreation opportunities. The energy that so many have devoted to this year's exciting bicentennial celebration is but one example of the spirit that has guided the town from its founding to today. For two centuries, the people of Richmond, ME, have worked together, cared for one another, and built a great community.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I come to the floor to urge action on the fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills that fund critical programs, programs that are so important to America and to American families, programs ranging from biomedical research to our national defense. On November 1, the Senate passed its first package of three appropriations bills: the military construction and veterans affairs legislation, the Agriculture and FDA bill, and the Transportation and Housing bill. And due to the extraordinary work of the members of the Appropriations Committee, they passed by overwhelming bipartisan vote of 82 to 15. Despite the Appropriations Committee working hard to report all 12 of the funding bills by the end of July, additional full-year appropriations bills have not been brought to the Senate floor. Instead, the Federal Government has been operating under short-term funding patches known as continuing resolutions since the start of the fiscal year on October 1. These temporary funding patches lead to harmful uncertainties, needless inefficiencies, and wasted taxpayer dollars. One of the bills that I hope will be brought to the floor soon is the Department of Defense appropriations bill. This bill would provide critical resources for our military at a time when we are facing many complex threats from around the globe, including those posed by an imperialistic Russia, a hegemonic China, and an increasingly belligerent Iran and its proxies. Earlier this summer, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the defense funding bill by a strong bipartisan vote of 27 to 1. This bill contains funding for key national security priorities, including providing our troops and their families with the pay and benefits that they deserve, expanding our naval fleet, and modernizing the nuclear triad, strengthening deterrence against China--our pacing threat--rebuilding our munitions stockpiles, and addressing military readiness and capability gaps. Each day that the Department of Defense operates under a temporary funding measure rather than its full-year appropriations bill, important national security investments remain on hold. For example, the Department has identified more than 330 new programs or production increases that cannot proceed. This includes more than a dozen high- priority initiatives identified by the Air Force, 6 billion in Army transformation efforts, and multiyear procurement authority for the Virginia class submarines. In a letter that was sent to the Appropriations Committee just today, Chairman C.Q. Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff writes that ``We cannot outpace our pacing challenge while under continuing resolution.'' In other words, continuing resolutions give China the upper hand. I ask unanimous consent that the text of General Brown's letter be printed in the Record following my remarks. Recently, some have called for simply passing a year-long continuing resolution for fiscal year 2024, essentially locking in last year's priorities, continuing to fund programs that should not be funded or should be reduced, and preventing the funding of new programs. I would like to take just a few moments to describe just how harmful that would be to our national defense. A year-long continuing resolution would simply fail to provide the resources needed to protect our Nation. For fiscal year 2024, it would reduce defense spending by 26.6 billion relative to the President's budget request and the Fiscal Responsibility Act and by 34.6 billion compared to the funding levels approved by the Appropriations Committee by that wide bipartisan vote. So you can see the big difference that having a year-long CR would lock in completely inadequate funding levels, given the threats that we face. Many of the key national security priorities funded in the Defense bill would suffer under a year-long continuing resolution. Let me give some specific examples. To respond to military recruitment challenges, the Senate committee-approved bill would invest in our men and women in uniform. It includes funding for the 5.2 percent military pay raise. As General Brown points out, a year-long CR would create a $5.8 billion shortfall in military personnel funding and exacerbate recruiting and retention challenges. To offset the cost of the pay raise for the military, DOD would be forced to slow recruiting--the last thing we want to see happen--delay servicemembers' moves, and take other detrimental actions. So this chart compares our committee bill versus a year-long CR. And as you can see, there are tremendous differences in quality-of-life issues for our servicemembers and the actual funding for the pay raise which will go into effect, but the Department would have to take money out of other personnel accounts. Other quality-of-life initiatives in the bill, such as expanding prekindergarten for more than 4,000 children of servicemembers and improving living conditions for sailors serving aboard ships would not be able to proceed during a year-long CR. Our committee-passed bill also invests in the overdue modernization of all three legs of the nuclear triad. These efforts would be delayed under the yearlong CR because of a nearly $3.4 billion funding shortfall. At a time when China's Navy is already at least 80 ships larger than our own, the committee-approved bill includes record investments--more than $33 billion--in Navy shipbuilding. It includes funding for two destroyers and advance procurement for a much needed third. In recent days, the capabilities of these ships and the professionalism and expertise of the sailors who serve aboard them have been on full display as they have downed numerous drones and missiles headed toward them and aimed also at Israel. Two of these ships, I am proud to say, the USS Carney and the USS Thomas Hudner, were built at Bath Iron Works in my State. Since October 7, Iranian-backed proxies have launched at least 73 attacks on U.S. servicemembers and bases. Our fleet is essential to protect those servicemembers and bases as well as Israel. The Senate committee-approved bill also includes funding for two Virginia-class submarines, two frigates, and a downpayment on an amphibious ship, which is the Marine Corps' top unfunded priority. In addition to contributing to cost increases and delays in the delivery of ships to the Navy, a yearlong CR would result in only one Virginia- class submarine, one frigate, and potentially no funding for the amphibious ship or the third destroyer. General Brown points out in his letter that 30 percent of the funding in the Navy shipbuilding request could not be spent. The Defense bill also includes more than $65 billion for capabilities or requirements related to the Indo-Pacific, including $857 million to meet the highest priorities of the most senior U.S. military commander in the region and an additional $981 million for other unfunded requirements listed as priorities by our military services focused on deterring China. Our bill would authorize multiyear procurements for seven munitions critical to the region, such as long-range precision missiles, Patriot air defense missiles, and anti-ship missiles. Multiyear procurements provide stability and predictability to our defense industrial base and save taxpayer dollars. Neither the additional funding nor the authority to award these contracts would be possible under a yearlong CR. Our committee-passed bill would ramp up investments in the U.S. defense industrial base. It would increase munitions procurement funding by 31 percent compared to the last fiscal year and includes $1.8 billion to modernize 23 Army depots, arsenals, and ammo plants across 17 States. Under a yearlong CR, both of those initiatives would be blocked or delayed. Our committee-passed bill also includes readiness investments that would be put at risk under a yearlong CR. Up to 75 Navy ship repair availabilities would be delayed or canceled, which would degrade the Navy's ability to deploy its fleet for operations, even as the Navy is maintaining a greater presence and projecting power in the Middle East since Hamas's terrorist attack against Israel. There was just yesterday a news story talking about the Department of Defense ordering an additional aircraft carrier strike group, air defenses, fighter jets, and hundreds of troops to the Middle East since the surprise terrorist attacks on Israel in an effort to prevent that conflict from spiraling into a regional war. But the problem is that the military, because it has not received its regular appropriations bill, is having to scramble to find the funding for this. Because these Middle East troop movements weren't planned, the Pentagon has had to pull money from existing operations and maintenance accounts. That means less money for training exercises and deployments that the military had already planned for this year. Our Nation's security and our service men and women deserve better than a yearlong continuing resolution. In the letter sent today, General Brown writes that besides passing a supplemental, ``the single greatest thing that Congress can do to enable the Department to execute our strategy is to enact a full-year appropriation.'' Let's get our work done and pass the full-year funding bills. I urge my colleagues to work together. Let's meet the challenges our Nation faces.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 15 minutes prior to the scheduled roll call vote.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I rise to introduce the Supporting Seniors with Opioid Use Disorder Act with my colleague from Maryland, Senator Cardin. I very much appreciate his leadership on this issue. The United States is experiencing an opioid overdose and addiction crisis with devastating effects on communities across the country. The opioid epidemic is claiming the lives of far too many people, with a record 716 Mainers and nearly 110,000 Americans lost in 2022. While many perceive the face of opioid addiction as young, the epidemic harms older adults as well. In Maine, approximately 12 percent of drug overdose deaths last year were among residents age 60 and older. Each and every opioid death is preventable, and more can be done to ensure that the unique needs of older Americans struggling with addiction are not forgotten. In December 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, OIG, identified an urgent need to increase the number of Medicare beneficiaries receiving treatment for opioid use disorder. The legislation we are introducing today would help improve seniors' awareness of, and access to, opioid use disorder, OUD, treatment covered by the Medicare Program. The challenges of the pandemic, combined with the increased prevalence of fentanyl entering our country, have aggravated this national crisis. Even before COVID-19, however, the number of people age 55 or older treated in emergency rooms for nonfatal opioid overdoses was increasing, with a shocking 32 percent jump in ER visits from 2016 to 2017. In 2018, when I served as chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, I chaired a hearing on this topic to shed light on the unique challenges faced by this often-overlooked population. One expert witness told the Aging Committee, ``Medicare beneficiaries are the fastest growing population of diagnosed opioid use disorders.'' Dr. Charles Pattavina, an emergency medicine physician in Bangor, ME, also explained how increased incidences of acute illnesses and injuries among older Americans make them more susceptible to opioid misuse. In 2021, the Office of the Inspector General investigated the extent to which Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with opioid use disorder received medication and behavioral therapy through Medicare. The report found that more than 1 million Medicare beneficiaries were diagnosed with OUD in 2020, yet fewer than 16 percent of those patients received medication to treat their OUD. The report also concluded that older beneficiaries were three times less likely to receive medication to treat their OUD than younger beneficiaries. Even fewer beneficiaries received both medication and behavioral therapy. The conclusion was clear: Medicare beneficiaries are not receiving the OUD treatment they need. A followup OIG report from September 2022 revealed that the situation has largely failed to improve over time. About 50,400 Part D beneficiaries experienced an opioid overdose--from prescription opioids, illicit opioids, or both--during 2021. While the overall proportion of beneficiaries with opioid use disorder receiving medication increased slightly from 16 percent in 2020 to 18 percent in 2021, still fewer than one in five Medicare beneficiaries received the medication they need. This report echoed the call to implement the 2021 OIG recommendations. The Supporting Seniors with Opioid Use Disorder Act would put into law the recommendations made by the HHS OIG regarding how to improve beneficiaries' awareness of Medicare coverage for OUD treatment and how to identify gaps and opportunities to better meet the needs of this unique population. Specifically, our legislation would require CMS to conduct additional outreach to beneficiaries to increase awareness about Medicare coverage for the treatment of OUD, such as by revising enrollment materials, making State and national contact information for healthcare providers publicly available and easily accessible, and developing or improving continuing education programs about opioid medications and substance use disorder treatment programs. Our bill would also improve data sharing within Agencies at HHS with the goal of obtaining a better understanding of current treatment gaps. Finally, the bill would require HHS to convene a stakeholder meeting to share best practices on the use of behavioral therapy among beneficiaries receiving medication to treat opioid use disorder. Emerging research points to evidence that patients receiving medication to treat opioid use disorder may also benefit from behavioral therapy, so this opportunity for collaboration on strategies to support better treatment engagement and continuity could be beneficial to both patients and healthcare professionals. The drug crisis continues to ravage our country, and it is critical that people who are suffering from opioid use disorder have access to the treatment they need to survive and thrive--including our seniors. Challenges in treatment and recovery will persist, but we can begin by better supporting older Americans' access to opioid use disorder services and by strengthening our understanding of potential disparities in treatment. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.