Shelley Capito

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote on the previous issue begin immediately.

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

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about a constant issue in front of the American people that has haunted, I think, and will haunt this President during his tenure in the White House. It is a subject that my Republican colleagues and I have highlighted in this Chamber--we did just several weeks ago--and this is the continued lack and disregard for border security in our country. Last week, the White House Press Secretary said that when it comes to the Biden administration and border security: We're going to secure the border and do the work. Well, I wonder what it was that has found this newfound urgency at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And why has it taken 785 days for the Press Secretary to acknowledge the problem? Maybe it is the record 2.7 million migrant encounters in fiscal year 2022. Or could it be the more than 4.9 million illegal border crossings since President Biden took office? Or how about, for the first time in history, monthly apprehensions at the southern border have surpassed 150,000 for 24 consecutive months? Or that in a season when illegal border crossings are typically lower, Customs and Border Protection encounters rose 2 percent last month with heroine seizures increasing 99 percent and fentanyl seizures increasing 58 percent? Whatever the reason--whatever the reason--I sure would like to welcome the White House to the same page that we as Republicans have been on since day one of this administration. While my colleagues and I have been sounding constant alarms about the porousness of our border, the Biden administration has, No. 1, stopped making needed updates to our physical border system, leaving gates inoperational and open; they have halted deportations and have been inconsistent in implementing effective policies that kept illegal border crossings under that 150,000 level for 4 consecutive years prior. There is no denying that this crisis is a self-manufactured crisis. Maybe most encompassing of their priorities regarding security of our country is that the Department of Homeland Security is one of the few Agencies--and they are the ones tasked with this difficult issue--is one of the few Agencies facing an overall budget cut in the President's latest budget proposal. Remember, a budget is your priorities; it is where you want to do your work. In an age where it seems that the President and the Congressional Democrats cannot spend enough, they decide to make room for more spending and their radical priorities by putting the Agency in charge of defending our homeland on the chopping block first. I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something an administration that is going to ``secure the border'' should be doing. Perhaps even more alarming are the comments made by the DHS Secretary regarding their budget allotment. Secretary Mayorkas outlines six priorities in the budget summary that he claims the Agency can work to accomplish with the help of the budget. Toward the top of the list-- this is the Department of Homeland Security. Toward the top of the list, ``invest in climate.'' The second-to-last priority, ``help secure the border.'' That is simply unacceptable, especially as migrant encounters at the southern border in fiscal year 2023--where we are in now--are already outpacing the records set in 2022. My colleagues and I hear the Biden administration quite clear: Securing the border has not been and never will be a priority for this President or his Department of Homeland Security. What makes this admission so devastating is that while the administration continues to balk at serious attempts to secure the southern border, countless Americans are dying at the hands of the illicit drugs that make their way into our communities through that same southern border. Last month alone, 2,282 pounds of fentanyl--which we know is lethal in extremely, extremely small doses and small amounts--and 10,333 pounds of methamphetamine were seized at the southern border. That amount of fentanyl is the equivalent to 517 million lethal doses. Our Border Patrol is stretched unfathomably thin with very little support from the administration. There is no telling how many--the amount of drugs that are getting through undetected. I was just talking about the ones that we got. Just last month, I spoke in this Chamber regarding a recent drug bust in my home State of West Virginia. As investigators from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of West Virginia recovered cocaine, meth, and fentanyl, they discovered that these deadly substances had been shipped directly through the U.S.-Mexican border to Ohio via a tractor-trailer. The connection between the southern border crisis and our addiction epidemic back home could not be any clearer. I have said it before, and I will say it again: Every State--my State--is a border State. While President Biden and his administration continue to put confusing and often conflicting words before action, if they even take action, my colleagues and I continue to make it a concerted effort to get to the bottom of this chaos. Just this past weekend, I joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers to travel to Mexico City where we met--with quite lengthy meetings--with Mexico's President Lopez Obrador. While there, we held meetings on the United States security posture with regard to Mexico, the chaos at our border, the devastating impacts of fentanyl in our communities, and the violence and trafficking perpetrated by the Mexican cartels. All these issues are top concerns to us here in this country. It is clear that Mexico needs to continue to address corruption at their ports of entry, and the President emphasized this. They need to focus on the fentanyl precursors coming from China that are coming into our country. I am very excited and happy that we secured a commitment from President Lopez Obrador that their administration will confront China regarding fentanyl precursors being shipped into their country. This is a major step in cutting fentanyl trafficking in the United States at its source and is needed to alleviate the chaos and corruption currently happening at the border between our two countries. There is no way to deny that both the United States and Mexico--that border has stressed our countries beyond belief. I think we serve as partners with Mexico. We need to be partners--and good partners--with Mexico to solve this problem. We are facing historic levels of illegal immigration. We must continue to meet these challenges with urgency and a willingness to work together, and we certainly got that message conveyed to the Mexican President and a reciprocal message coming back from him and his administration. As my Republican colleagues and I will continue to make clear today, Republicans stand for solutions and not just spending. We stand for action, and we also stand for border security. I encourage President Biden to join us in this effort and work toward bipartisan border solutions that are effective; that support our Border Patrol officers; and that also, in the end, will save countless lives. With that, I yield the floor.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I rise today with great concern to talk about the bloated budget that President Biden has put forward and, really, what it says about his vision for the future of our country, because a budget is a vision. As my Republican colleagues and I will highlight today, this budget is the latest edition in his tax-and-spend agenda. It also fits the standards my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have set by passing inflation-causing, deficit-raising legislation, like the Inflation Reduction Act and the American Rescue Plan. Let me make one thing perfectly clear. This budget has no chance of becoming law. And that is the good news here and great news for our constituents back home because this misguided proposal would saddle American families with more taxes, more waste, more debt, and more government intrusion that our constituents just do not deserve. The bad news is--at least for this administration--that the unveiling of this budget shines a spotlight on the priorities of the President, his administration, and his party. This should alarm all of us. Case in point, this $6.8 trillion proposal has been released at a time when so many Americans are struggling to afford basic necessities, interest rates are soaring, our national debt is climbing at an alarming rate, and small businesses are struggling to make ends meet. While the Biden administration and our Democrats on the other side of the aisle expect families to make concessions in their everyday lives-- like spending less at the grocery store, putting off buying your first home, or purchasing an electric vehicle to avoid rising gas prices-- they are attempting to spend nearly $7 trillion, with a ``t'', of hard- earned taxpayers' dollars, pile on to our national debt, and massively expand the scope and authority of Federal Agencies, like the IRS, which they massively expanded just several months ago. What exactly is President Biden's tax-and-spend proposal? Let's dig in just a little bit. President Biden makes his priorities clear with his proposed changes to base discretionary funding for Federal Agencies. That is the baseline. The Environmental Protection Agency--I have a lot to do with this Agency because it comes right into my Committee on Environment and Public Works--gets a staggering--the most of any other Agency--19- percent increase in funding year to year. But the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation--remember, Homeland Security is the one that deals with immigration and the crisis at the southern border and the flow of drugs and other things--and the Small Business Administration--where in my State, if you don't grow as a small business, you are not growing--they are all facing budget cuts. The White House priorities could not be clearer. And when it comes to taxes under this budget proposed by the President, Main Street mom and pop businesses would feel strained like never before. We just lowered the taxes in our State. It is the biggest tax cut ever in the State of West Virginia. Yet we are looking at taxes on small businesses and capital gains taxes. The corporate tax rate goes up. Taxes on American energy would increase. Retirement taxes go up. The Medicare tax would increase, and the personal income tax would go up to the highest level in decades. What President Biden fails to realize is that the brunt of his tax hikes would be felt by those who own, invest in, or operate small- and medium-sized businesses. Maybe, that is why he doesn't put any extra money in the Small Business Administration. This is a direct violation of his pledge to not raise taxes on small businesses. The National Federation of Small Businesses issued a statement last week warning that the tax increase--and it is called the National Federation of Small Businesses. They are small businesses. They say that this ``would further harm Main Street.'' It would ``crush Main Street's ability to grow and create jobs.'' The National Federation of Small Businesses believes that the Biden administration should increase focus on policies that will ``provide certainty and promote economic growth to allow our small businesses to create jobs and raise wages.'' My Republican colleagues and I could not agree more. It is my hope that the President and congressional Democrats will continue working on previously bipartisan tax issues that spur innovation and are pro- growth. Just last week, as I said, our State passed historic tax cuts that signed into law by our Governor, Governor Justice, in the Mountain State. I wish our Federal Government was following this example. Instead, President Biden has chosen a different path that an analysis from the Tax Foundation found would create negative effects on savings, investments, and have economy-wide repercussions. The analysis continues that this brazen increase in taxes would ultimately harm our workers, international competitiveness, and domestic investment. We talk about international competitiveness all the time. Why are we trying to move in a direction where our competitiveness would be less effective? In short, moving top tax rates in the United States beyond international norms reduces our economic growth. You might ask yourself: Does the spending ever stop under President Biden and this budget? Well, ironically, it does when you look at our own Department of Homeland Security, which secures the interior of our Nation. It is facing a budget cut under this proposal. The President has consistently said that his budget is a reflection of his priorities. You see millions of people coming across our southern board with no deterrence. But nothing runs more true than that this is his priority--to continue that practice. And the refusal and inability to secure our border and stop the scourge of illicit drugs from entering our communities is not the priority of this administration. The President's budget requests 350 new border agents, less than a 2- percent increase in our agents, while our border runs rampant with illegal crossings, and policies like title 42 move closer to sunset. This budget proposes a contingency slush fund--there is nothing taxpayers like better than a slush fund--a slush fund for surge capacity at the border. In other words, give me the money now because I know we are going to have more people coming over, and I want to have the money to pay for it in advance because I don't want to come back to Congress to pay for it because Congress knows we have a problem and they won't give me the money to pay for it in an emergency. So I am going to get it up front. It would be impossible for DHS to use this funding to mitigate our crisis at the border because, by the time they receive these dollars, these illegal crossings would have occurred. We all have priorities, and President Biden made his clear. Securing our southern border is just not one of his priorities. We see, clearly, President Biden's priorities yet again when it comes to military spending. We just had a drone shot down yesterday, I believe, by the Russians in the Black Sea. The President's budget shortchanges defense for more reckless spending. It is just a 3-percent increase--a 3.2-percent increase--in our military and national security. This comes at a time when inflation in the President's economy is high and our dollars are stretched thinner and thinner. We hear about the supply chain. We hear about different materials we can't get, how much more expensive they are, and how much longer the wait is. So adversaries overseas increase their defense budgets. Now is not the time for us to delay that much needed modernization and reinforcement that we have put ourselves on a pathway for the last several years. Now is the time to invest in the advanced capabilities and the industrial base capacity that we expect and need for future generations and make our national security a priority. According to the President's budget proposal, our addiction epidemic doesn't seem to be a top priority either. The President's proposed budget summary lacks a sense of urgency around this epidemic and the fentanyl crisis. This is a crisis in my State and in the Presiding Officer's State, as well, and in all States. My State has been disproportionately impacted by this. In the budget summary, fentanyl is only mentioned twice, opioids are mentioned 4 times, and climate change is mentioned 42 times--42. In 2022, West Virginia lost 1,135 West Virginians to fentanyl overdoses. What we lost to overdoses, many of those were fentanyl overdoses--a large majority. President Biden, I implore you to put more emphasis on the communities facing our streets every day that deserve to be our national priorities. This budget proposal from the Biden administration makes obvious the motivations and priorities of the White House and the Agencies. In Washington, clarity comes at a premium price. So I will give them credit for that. But by touting this budget proposal and claiming that it cuts the deficit by raising taxes shows that, no matter what, the Democrats aren't interested in cutting spending. I mean, put yourself in the country's shoes, as a family. What do you do when you see your credit cards maxing out and times are getting tough? What do you do? You pull back. You stop spending however you can do that in your own home. My Republican colleagues and I stand in direct opposition to what the President is doing with his budget. So through my remarks on the floor today and the subsequent speeches by my fellow Republicans, we will continue to highlight the errors in the President's budget. We will also stress the need to strike balance, restraint, and regular order. What does regular order mean to people who are watching this? That means we go through committees and we compromise, and we talk to Republicans and Democrats and get together. The Presiding Officer and I are on the Appropriations Committee. She is a chair, and I am a ranking member. We do a lot of talking during this process. That is what we need to do. I intend to fulfill my obligations on the Appropriations Committee and, hopefully, we can get this to regular order. Right now, we need to set priorities in a budget and spending plan that reflect the real needs we see every day on every street in this country.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I am so glad the Senator from Tennessee is on the floor with H.J. Res. 26. I want to thank him for being insightful to know how important this is going to be to this Congress, to this city, to this country. So I thank the Senator for his steadfast work on this issue, and I look forward to supporting the resolution. We are also going to be talking a lot on the floor about this. So I thank him very much. I rise today to talk about an issue that I actually came to the floor on 3 weeks ago and that is just very, very relevant, especially today, and that is out-of-control crime and a disregard for law and order that, unfortunately, President Biden has enabled in his own backyard. Under the Biden administration's soft-on-crime agenda and rhetoric, Washington, DC, the capital of our beautiful country, has seen a 25- percent increase in crime, a 33-percent increase in homicides, a 121- percent increase in sexual abuse, and a 108-percent increase in motor vehicle theft--just this year, and we are just starting. To make matters worse, in the midst of ongoing crime, the DC Council thought that now was an appropriate time to rewrite the Criminal Code. Instead of enforcing law and order in light of all of these statistics and supporting our police officers and making residents and visitors of the District feel safe, the DC Council found it fitting to lessen the punishment for violent criminal offenses--hard to believe, isn't it?-- and embolden those who dare to break the law instead of heeding local calls for increased safety and policing from their residents. It really doesn't get any more tone-deaf than that. Believe it or not, when the DC Council originally passed their irresponsible Criminal Code overall, Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the bill--the Mayor of the city of DC-- claiming that ``this bill does not make us safer.'' She knows. She sees these statistics every single day and talks to her police officers every single day. Well, Mayor Bowser, my colleagues and I could not agree with you more. It is obvious that the DC Council's legislation is the complete opposite of what is needed to control the out-of-control crime. Now, I am sure that you have seen that, in the face of an imminent bipartisan and bicameral rejection of their policy, the DC Council, then, has attempted to withdraw their Criminal Code revision legislation. That is a glaring--a glaring--admission by the council that they knew what they were doing is absolutely wrong. But do you know what? It is simply too little, too late. Regardless of this unprecedented and potentially unlawful move, the Senate is poised to reject the DC Council's sweeping and irresponsible ``Revised Criminal Code of 2022'' on a bipartisan basis. We certainly saw that in the House. This vote, led by my colleague Senator Hagerty of Tennessee, gives every Member of the U.S. Senate the chance to stand with law and order, the chance to stand with our law enforcement officers, the chance to stand with the people of our Nation's Capital, whose calls for safety have fallen on deaf ears. You think of all the visitors--springtime, Cherry Blossom Festival-- this is the time everybody is coming to this beautiful, gorgeous city that we are lucky enough to serve in. Our constituents are here. Many of us have our families here. We are here. All the staff and folks that work in and around these buildings every day--in and out of their cars, in and out of restaurants we hope--getting that revival post-COVID that we see. And certainly we see many, many more visitors. Our residents and visitors are living with what could happen. What kind of crimes can they see? There are a multitude of additional negative factors that impact the city when crime runs out of control and leaders are not held accountable. Often these issues go unseen, but they are just as impactful: factors like the education of our children, factors like the health of our residents--our DC residents--and the strength of the economy. According to research led by the professors at the University of Illinois, at Syracuse, and NYU, students face declines in standardized test scores following exposure to violent crime. What is that doing to the children of DC? They have to face this every day. The same decline was observed for students who attend schools that are perceived to be unsafe or schools that lack a sense of community. This study suggests that schools with stronger community bonds can shield students from the negative effects of neighborhood violence and directly show the disadvantages impacting our young people who are coming of age in dangerous communities. When it comes to health, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have linked violent crime to negative health outcomes--it makes sense--finding that decreased violent crime in communities was significantly associated with a decrease in mortality rates from cardiovascular disease and coronary artery disease. Community areas that experienced a similar decline in crime also experienced smaller improvements in cardiovascular mortality. The study also noted that the stress created by exposure to violent crime is tied with a lower intake of healthy foods and higher rates of substance abuse in a community. These aren't things that I am making up. These are validated in a study from the University of Pennsylvania. Further, the study noted that continued exposure to high rates of violent crime is associated with several additional negative health factors, like higher body mass index and even elevated blood pressure. So now let's look at the economics of this in crime. A study by the Urban Institute found that surges in violent crime, especially gun violence, reduced the growth of new retail and service businesses. You see that all over Washington. You see that all over Washington. It further notes that increases in violent crime slow home value appreciation and can be associated with fewer jobs and lower home values. It makes sense. In Washington, DC, this means surging crime leads to fewer job opportunities, fewer businesses opening, and more businesses closing. I mean we just saw that at Union Station. I think the Starbucks pulled out there because of the crime issue. The economic indicators of violent crimes are obvious. Walmart just announced it is closing all of its stores in Portland, OR, locations. The Walmart just over here in DC on H Street has announced that it was closing as well. The announcements come shortly after Walmart's CEO warned that stores could close and prices could increase due to, specifically, rocketing retail crimes affecting stores across the Nation. Each of these aspects pile onto the obvious humanitarian effects of violent crime: the destruction, loss, and sorrow--actually, I think if you are subject to a violent crime and you manage to live through it, it doesn't just affect you that day; you carry it with you the rest of your life--and how each one of these offenses further rips apart the delicate fabric of our communities. Residents of our States and cities will not stand for the continuing devastation. We saw crime play a major part in Chicago's mayoral election just last week, and it was also a center of debate of the New York City elections in 2021. So, Mr. President, I am glad that our Nation's Capital and our complex are once again open to the public. It is so great to see the halls filled and the young people coming back, and I have enjoyed welcoming many West Virginians to Washington today and every day to talk about the issues they care about. It is important. Questions have also been raised by many residents about the safety of our streets here in Washington, DC. So today's vote to reject the DC Council's Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 puts every Member on record. As some of my Republican colleagues highlighted last night and continue to highlight today, we intend to stand on the right side of this issue, and we will continue to heed the calls for increased safety that local officials in Washington are attempting to ignore or reshape and protect the communities that we serve. With that, I yield the floor.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I rise today really to take a moment and evaluate the repeated and unfortunately habitual overreach of the Biden administration. When our Founding Fathers established our Nation, they were certain to build a government that rejected undivided sovereignty, or the rule of a single person. They had the monarchy, and they didn't like it. This structure features three distinct branches of government: the legislative branch, where we are here, to create and pass laws; an executive branch, responsible for enforcing the laws; and a judicial branch to make certain these laws and actions hold just with our Constitution. Typically, this is a lesson we all learn in high school, but it seems like President Biden and his administration must have missed that lecture on balance of powers because their actions throughout the last 2 years have shown a lot of disrespect for our Constitution--and disregard. A recent analysis by the American Action Forum found that in just 2 years, the Biden administration has imposed 517 regulatory actions-- 517--creating $318 billion in total costs--a figure that massively outweighs the regulatory costs generated by the last two Presidential administrations. Executive overreach has become synonymous with the Biden administration and has created a desperate need for oversight from our Republican colleagues here in the Senate, and certainly that is occurring across the way in the House of Representatives. We have seen overreach from the Biden administration in areas that impact just about everything, whether it is how we heat our homes or whether we are going to have a gas stove or not, how we fuel our cars, how we educate our children, how we move goods across the country, how we spend private investments, how we enforce law and order, even how we define ``water.'' Plain and simple, President Biden and unelected bureaucrats in Washington are continuously overstepping their boundaries, creating hurdles and interfering with how we live our everyday lives. On top of this, congressional Democrats continue to obstruct critical oversight efforts on these harmful policies, and they are blocking opportunities for the American people to hear directly from the administration about policies that impact us directly every day. It is kind of--it is not ``kind of''--it is very unfair, and it is a disservice to folks across the Nation who want the leaders to be held accountable. In the face of such rampant overreach, my Senate Republican colleagues and I continue to push back on President Biden's out-of- touch mandates and bring the voices of the American people to the table. My colleague from Tennessee, Senator Bill Hagerty, has introduced a bill that blocks Washington, DC's dangerous and irresponsible rewrite of their Criminal Code that lessens punishment for violent crimes. My colleague from South Dakota, Senator John Thune, has introduced a bill to prohibit the President from canceling outstanding Federal student loan obligations due to a national emergency. Another tool at our behest against this unprecedented expansion of the administrative state is called the Congressional Review Act of disapproval. It sounds kind of bureaucratic, and it is, but it can be very, very meaningful. As you know, through a Congressional Review Act of Disapproval, or CRA, Congress can vote to overturn rules from the executive branch that are classified as overreach. My colleague from Indiana, Senator Mike Braun, has introduced a CRA that would block a recent Department of Labor rule allowing retirement plan fiduciaries to consider climate change and other ESG--or environment, social, and governance--factors in their investment decisions. I don't know about you, but I think most people who are retired or beginning to retire and looking at their accounts that they are going to be living on, they would rather see the returns come in the most profitable way possible so that they can live out their life. In the end, that is better for all of us. This effort would nullify the Department of Labor rule and prevent similar rules from taking effect. Actions like these have direct impact on energy-producing States like mine by steering capital away from the American energy sector. We should be investing in our American energy sector. I, too, have introduced my own CRA in response to a repeated overreach from the Biden administration. Last December, the Biden administration launched its latest round of regulatory overreach through the waters of the United States, which we refer to here as the WOTUS rule. It marked the third major change to the definition of what waters are in this country and which ones are subject to Federal jurisdiction. It is the third time this has changed over the last 8 years. Think about if you are in agriculture or if you are in construction--big impacts. Like many regulations from this administration, it is very overreaching. It is misguided, and it is just not necessary. Even worse, it places an undue burden of uncertainty directly on America's farmers, on America's ranchers, on America's miners, on America's infrastructure builders, and, quite simply, American landowners. The Biden WOTUS rule repeals the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule that provided predictability and certainty and protected our waters. Most importantly, it properly implemented the Clean Water Act by protecting our waterways through coordination and cooperation from States and the Federal Government. You may hear that without this new definition, some waters may go ``unprotected.'' That is not true. It is an insult to our State officials who know their local ecosystems and have jurisdiction over their territorial waters. So what does the new definition really do? It requires more people to get more permits who can't get permits, and it causes fear of EPA enforcement actions and frivolous lawsuits from environmental groups. This all comes at a time when we should be streamlining our Nation's permitting and review process. Instead, the administration is using their classic overreach tactics to make more projects subject to Federal permitting requirements and add more bureaucratic redtape. My CRA gives every Member of Congress the chance to stand with our farmers, our ranchers, our landowners, our miners, and our builders. It is also a chance for us to protect future transportation, infrastructure, and energy projects all across the country. For this particular rule, CRA, we have seen widespread support both in the House and the Senate in an effort to overturn this rule, and I look forward to having that here on the Senate floor. As ranking member of the EPW Committee, I have made it a priority to ensure that the historic investments that we have made in infrastructure are being implemented as Congress intended. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act--we call it here IIJA; we have an acronym for everything--that we passed in 2021 and the President signed will benefit all communities by providing our States with the flexibility needed to upgrade, expand, or modernize our Nation's core transportation infrastructure. That is why ensuring that the letter of the law is followed, as we intended it, will be and has continued to be a high priority for me. We do not want to miss this moment. That being said, the Federal Highway Administration, or FHWA, released a memo a little over a year ago in December that found its way into numerous guidance documents attempting to enact a wish list of policies we--when I say ``we,'' I mean the bipartisan EPW Committee-- intentionally negotiated out of the final law. I, along with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chair, Sam Graves, had announced our intention to formally challenge this rule. The FHWA heard what we were saying and also heard what their State transportation folks were saying. So just last Friday, FHWA released a substantially revised replacement, reversing course from that December 2021 memo. The new memo removes the policies that Congress rejected--because it is not administrative policy, it is congressional law--and issued a revised memo. And the administration basically admitted that they were wrong in their attempts to undo the flexibility provided to States in the law by establishing preferences for certain policies. Building highways, maintaining highways, creating bypasses, however you want to do your State--it is different in Nevada; it is different in Indiana; it is different in West Virginia--we need to give our States the flexibility. This is a good example, I think, of the Biden administration knowing they were overreaching, and they actually corrected that. I am grateful for that. As my colleagues and I highlight the continuous level of overreach this administration has grown comfortable with, I would suggest that the President reference a U.S. history book and leave the legislating to the legislators. Until then, my colleagues and I will continue to stand for the way of life outside the beltway and provide solutions that strengthen our families and communities instead of having setbacks. With that, I yield the floor. I see my fellow Member of the Senate from Indiana, Senator Braun, is here to talk on this topic. Thanks for coming.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I rise today to discuss yet another one of the consequences of this President's failed policies, and that is out-of-control crime. Many Democrats have championed a soft-on-crime agenda that has contributed to soaring crime rates. According to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, since 2019, violent crime is up 26 percent, aggravated assault is up 34 percent, and homicides are up a staggering 43 percent. This is not only unacceptable, it is terrifying. Repeated calls to defund the police, for open borders, and reduced sentencing or bail requirements have led to a crime increase so overwhelming that America's fear regarding crime in their communities is at a 50-year high. Though President Biden bears ultimate responsibility here, in many ways he is following the direction of his party when it comes to crime. We have seen a lack of leadership from the White House, an overly politicized Department of Justice, and district attorneys who refuse to prosecute crimes. The Biden administration has insisted on nominating radical, soft-on- crime advocates to Federal judgeships. While this is an utter disregard for law and order, it is deeply concerning, and it is a trend that we have seen over the last 2 years. Despite previous efforts to defund the police, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are now walking back their claims that less law enforcement makes us safer. As many Democrat-led cities across the country heeded these calls, the United States experienced the biggest rise in murder since the start of national recordkeeping in 1960. On top of this, we are experiencing record numbers of police officers who are quitting their profession or they are heading for retirement. Seattle has lost more than one-quarter of its police force in the last 2\1/2\ years. Just a short drive from here in DC, in Fairfax County, VA, their police chief declared a personnel emergency and staff shortage last June and installed mandatory overtime to keep their communities protected. Small communities across this country have seen their entire police force quit all at once. And perhaps very alarming, the New York City Police Department saw 3,701 police officers retire or resign in 2022. That is the most since 9/11. My small State of West Virginia, my home State, is not exempt from these challenges as well. In 2021, the Morgantown Police Department began dealing with a 20-percent reduction in staffing. Our police chief said this was due to the danger associated with being an officer and an overall growing stigma of officers being aggressive or biased. The West Virginia University Police Department is experiencing a similar shortage, with a turnover rate that is still much higher than it was previous to the pandemic. I live in Charleston, WV. The Charleston Police Department has been offering large financial incentives to attract officers they desperately need. And the pride of West Virginia, our West Virginia State Police, continues to struggle to keep our State troopers. We rely on our police for a multitude of services and protection, and in this era of out-of-control crime, we cannot afford to see these shortages continue. On top of all this, the border crisis continues to fuel the fire of crime and spread illicit narcotics in our communities. Last year, we seized almost 15,000 pounds of fentanyl at our border. Well, in this first quarter, we have already seized 12,500 pounds just this fiscal year. That is only in a quarter of a year. I see the ramifications of Biden's border crisis in my State, which is disproportionately impacted by the fentanyl and addiction crisis. In 2022, we sadly lost 1,135 West Virginians to overdoses. We have the highest rate of overdose deaths per capita of any State in the Union. There were 6,916 emergency room visits related to overdoses, with our EMS teams responding to another 9,205 suspected overdose calls. Last week, in Wheeling, WV, local prosecutors indicted drug traffickers who served as ``one of the largest suppliers of illicit substances to West Virginia,'' according to our U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District. And I congratulate Bill Ihlenfeld, who is the U.S. attorney in that office. There was an original drug bust last October that recovered approximately 75 pounds of cocaine, 19 pounds of methamphetamine, and 5 pounds of fentanyl, which is very lethal in very small doses. Investigators found that these traffickers had drugs shipped from the U.S.-Mexico border to Ohio via tractor-trailer or they used cash payments to give to people who flew from California to the Pittsburgh International Airport. The connection between the crisis at our border and the drug epidemic we are seeing at home doesn't get any clearer than that. Here in our Nation's Capital, amid surging violent crime and police shortages, DC's City Council is attempting a dangerous and irresponsible rewrite of their criminal code. Reducing the penalties for violent crimes--carjackings, robberies, and even homicides--as these numbers rise is incredibly tone deaf to local calls for increased safety and policing. This is happening right in the President's backyard. So I commend my colleague Senator Bill Hagerty from Tennessee for introducing a resolution of disapproval to block the DC City Council's dangerous and irresponsible Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 from taking effect. The DC City Council's legislation is the complete opposite of what we need to control this out-of-control crime. While I have been talking about concerns for the types of crimes we can see, there are also increasing threats from crimes that could be described as unseen. These threats emphasize the vulnerability of our children as recent years have pushed their lives into an increasingly digital space. Because of the pandemic, children are learning digitally and have more access to devices than ever before, putting them at an increased risk for luring, grooming, and exploitation. The data here is incredibly disturbing. One in twenty children will experience some form of sexual abuse before the age of 18. That statistic increases for young girls, with one in five experiencing some form of sexual abuse before the age of 18. Ninety percent of child abuse victims know their abusers, and 60 percent of child sexual abuse victims never tell anyone. Well, I am a mother of three and a grandmother of eight now, and this is incredibly upsetting to me. We must safeguard our children from things that no child should ever have to experience. So I would tell President Biden: I hope these statistics are a wake- up call. Now more than ever, American families are asking for law and order in their communities and peace of mind in their neighborhoods. We as Republicans stand ready to continue our push for solutions that make our country safer and a stronger place to live. I yield the floor.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I rise today to discuss yet another of the consequences of President Biden's policies, and that is that prices are going up, the price hikes. Families in West Virginia and across our Nation are struggling because the policies and priorities of these past 2 years have made essential items and goods seemingly unattainable. Whether it is gas, goods or services, energy prices, utility costs, small business expenses, owning a home, or simply affording to put food on the table, American families are squeezed at every turn. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, prices have risen 13.7 percent since President Biden took office. A recent report from the Heritage Foundation found that because of that staggering rise, the average American family has $7,400 less in their pocket at the end of the year. This is a timely topic today because the Federal Reserve has just announced the eighth consecutive interest rate hike they have had to deploy in order to curb this administration's 2-year spending spree which is fueling our high-inflation economy. But an interest rate hike--once reserved as a measure that sends a direct signal to policymakers--is just another Wednesday in this President's America. Chairman Powell warned last August that the continued interest rate increases and inflationary pressures would bring ``pain to households and businesses.'' And, boy, does that ring true today. Meanwhile, President Biden continues to laud small inflation changes and slowed economic growth, but he refuses to recognize his administration's role in the record-high prices that the American middle class is continuing to have to face or the further economic fallout Americans are likely to face--projected by many economists--later this year from interest rate hikes in the past year. So let's just dive into this a little bit. Whether it is a conversation with Senate colleagues, waiting in line at a store, or a constituent calling my office, the cost of food remains a central topic of concern all across this Nation. According to the most recent reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of groceries went up 11.8 percent from the year prior. You hear about it with meat, eggs, bread, and butter--all the essentials. To add to this, the cost of restaurant purchases is up 8.4 percent. In fact, the price of every food category has continued to grow at a faster rate than its historical average. A recent PBS analysis also points out that America's rural population is experiencing their cost of living going up faster and lingering longer than those in urban areas, and that is a factor that disproportionately impacts people in my State of West Virginia. In the words of one West Virginian who wrote in to my office, ``How are we supposed to keep our houses warm and food on the table?'' Speaking of housing, it remains unaffordable. Because of President Biden's price hikes, fixed mortgage rates rose from 3.4 percent in January of 2022 to over double, 7.12 percent, in a matter of months. The National Association of Realtors' Housing Affordability Index dipped below 100, signifying that average American families do not have enough money to qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced home. In other words, new families and hard-working individuals who made smart financial decisions with the hope of purchasing a home can no longer pursue that dream because it is out of reach; it is unaffordable. Moving to energy--something that is absolutely central to the proud history and tradition of our State, my State--despite the recent downturn in energy prices, it can't be forgotten that Americans are still paying 30 percent more for energy, and at its peak in June of 2022, it was 70 percent more. With costs like this becoming more mainstream--actually, gas is going up just recently--American families are having to choose again between keeping their lights on, filling their car with gas, or buying groceries. This is not only unfair, but it is avoidable. It is avoidable for folks living in a country with as many resources as we have right here in the United States. It also shows the direct impact on our families when leaders turn their backs on American energy. Additionally, the U.S. manufacturing industry has not been exempt from the economic woes created by this administration. The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index--that is a big clump of words there--fell into contraction category in November and December of 2022. Meanwhile, despite this, President Biden has been touting a historic manufacturing boom that doesn't really exist. The reality is, U.S. manufacturers may be on their way to a recession, and the downturn will likely deepen as purchasing power decreases and interest rates continue to rise, as they did today. This further demonstrates how out of touch the administration is from the devastating reality that American businesses are grappling with. So if you don't believe me--I hope you do, but if you don't believe me, take it from my constituents. Back home, they write frequently to express the middle-class squeeze they are feeling. Erwin from Mercer County in Southern West Virginia said that the current economic condition has created a choice for him between driving to work and feeding his family. Paige from Buckhannon said something similar. She said: I have full time jobs and two children. I'm tearful because I sit here [wondering and] looking at upcoming bills and I'm having to . . . pay a bill or buy groceries. Ronald from Cabell County, over in the Huntington area: How do you propose that I continue to be able to live with increasing food prices--gasoline prices--and the ever- increasing utility costs? Jeremy in Raleigh County told me: My electric bill at my residence is double the cost of my mortgage every month. This is not sustainable. I will go bankrupt just trying to keep the lights on. But this isn't just impacting Jeremy because Jeremy is a great family man and a great friend, and he is trying to help his friends, neighbors, and family pay their electric bills as well. So I am continuously inspired by this kindness that I see and the generosity of West Virginians toward one another, but it shouldn't have to come to this. So my question to President Biden this week is, When is enough enough? Even in areas where we have prices that are decreasing in recent months, President Biden is trying to take credit when, in actuality, prices are still much, much higher than when he took office. Now more than ever, American families need leadership, not misleading messages and attempts to take credit when it is not deserved. American families are asking for a path out from the hole created by the price hikes my colleagues and I will continue to highlight on the Senate floor today. With that, I see Senator Hyde-Smith from the great State of Mississippi here to talk about, I am sure, similar issues. She has been a champion of affordability and the middle-class worker to try to help meet these very challenges that I outlined. So I welcome her.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I rise today at the beginning of this new year to talk about a problem we have talked about a lot, but unfortunately we haven't gotten the results we need, and that is to talk about our southern border. It is not a new topic for me--I have been on the floor many times talking about this, as have my colleagues--and it is not a new topic for the American people because they see this every day, and many people are living it very close-up. Many of my colleagues can say the same because this is a topic they have unfortunately had to discuss over and over and over again, with no real results, and we are going to hear from some of them today. Years ago on this Senate floor, I said: I urge my colleagues here in the Senate to take a long-- hard look at the undisputed facts that demonstrate the crisis at the border is escalating. When I said those words, it was December 2018. The number of apprehensions along the southern border then was a little more than 60,000. Over the weekend, Customs and Border Protection released the numbers for this past December, and apprehensions along our southern border were reported at 251,487--an alltime high. You can see from the chart I have here--you might not be able to read the numbers, but the dark blue is what we have been doing all through 2022, far eclipsing the light blue of 2021, which were record numbers. But, here again, in the dark purple, which is the lower one, this is the average from fiscal year 2013 to 2020, and many times, this is five times, six times the amount in December. That is startling--startling. But one thing that has changed over these last 2 years, fortunately, is that the President finally decided to visit the southern border. He went to El Paso several weeks ago. Well, it is about time. It certainly shouldn't have taken that long to visit a part of our country that is deeply affected by these numbers, but he finally went down. I have been to the southern border many times. I am sure, Madam President, you have been there many times as well--quite a bit over the years. We just had several codels go down these past couple weeks. The President has been saying of Republicans that ``it is easy to demagogue the issue and reject solutions.'' So here is what I have to say to the President in response to that: No, Mr. President, it is not easy to demagogue. It is easy to see that the issue is not getting the attention that it deserves by this administration. The chart pretty much says it all right there. The Biden administration often pivots to calling for comprehensive immigration reform and that Congress needs to provide the resources. Some of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle are discussing these very issues. But this is not an either/or scenario. Any discussions about the need for and the way we reform our immigration system are separate and apart from the need to enforce the laws to secure the border. I am particularly struck by the President's comment on solutions. To explain these record numbers almost each and every month, we have been told: The surge is seasonal. By the way, December is traditionally, as you can see, one of the lower months over the years, so the seasonal charge cannot be the issue. The surge was the result of particular political conditions in relative countries. Well, we see people coming in from hundreds of countries, not just surging from political conditions in a country. Our economy is a magnet. It very well could be. It is a surge for asylum or those fleeing countries that are impacted by natural disasters. All of these things, these excuses, are from the administration. One thing is clear: Thousands of individuals and families are continually coming into our country unaccounted for, draining the resources of many of our communities. But Congress needs to do our part to provide the funds and support for the men and women in the Agencies that are tasked with securing our border, enforcing our immigration laws, and stemming the flow of drugs, particularly fentanyl, from getting into our country. I stand ready to do that and have done that through my work on the Appropriations Committee as the ranking member on Homeland Security. Now, you may disagree with the tone and tactics of the last administration, but I think everyone can agree that border security was certainly a priority, and that is why so many of us called for President Biden to go to the border himself and see the crisis for himself. The numbers under President Trump were measurably less because of his policies. There is an irony here because after 2 years of neglect, we have seen the need to go to the border in a way dwindled because the border crisis has actually come to the President, come to Washington, DC, come to West Virginia, come to Denver. But some of the most critical comments about the impacts and failures of these policies have not come from Republicans but from a mayor of a town along the Rio Grande or from the Democratic mayor of the city of New York. Mayor Adams, mayor of New York City, has called this situation not just a crisis, but, instead, he has called it a disaster--exactly what it is. Mayor Adams is now seeking funds to help house those tens of thousands of migrants who are arriving in New York City. Cities far into the interior of our country are being stretched to the max from the migrant surge. This is why we have to do everything we can to stem the influx. We just passed an Omnibus appropriations bill that increases funding for these activities, particularly at CBP, ICE, and FEMA, for personnel and for technology. But imagine the men and women who have to deal with this all the time--the fatigue, the morale, the difficulties when you are so overrun. They are just pressed beyond capacity month after month and year after year. Each year, we have worked in a bipartisan way within Homeland Security to encourage and fund increased hiring for Border Patrol agents, for example. We are way down on those. But it has been difficult to fill these positions or to even maintain the current force. One of the things I am most proud about in my tenure as ranking member on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee is the creation and funding of a new position for CBP called the processing coordinators. We did this because too many of our trained agents were pulled from their duty stations and their mission to perform tasks that they are not prepared to do. This balance enables Agencies to go back to actually performing tasks they are supposed to do, they are equipped for, and they are trained for. In addition to increasing resources for CBP, we must also be making efforts to increase interior enforcement. Once they get through the border and they declare asylum, they are told to come back in 5 to 7 years. Many of them don't, but that is what they are--and they are in the interior of the country, and we don't use the interior enforcement mechanisms that we have. It is very unacceptable that thousands upon thousands are waiting--in some cases waiting 7 years before they can even begin any kind of removal procedures. We just cannot let this crisis continue. Bottom line: The issue was not a priority of the first 2 years of this administration. That is very obvious. As I said, the chart--this is the second year of the President's administration. This is the first year which is way above the averages, but it definitely cannot be ignored. The impact on too many families, too many businesses, and too many communities along the southern border, even in our State of West Virginia, simply cannot be ignored. I am glad the President went, and now he is fully aware, hopefully, of the problem. I sure hope he is ready and willing to act. I yield the floor.

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I gave my remarks on border security, and as the new vice chair of the Republican conference, I have gathered some really strong voices here to share in the concerns that I have. I am really pleased to have the chair of our policy committee here, Senator Ernst from Iowa.

Mrs. CAPITO

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

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, in reserving the right to object, I rise today to speak on the nomination of Richard L. Revesz to serve as Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Revesz has repeatedly voiced support for the Clean Power Plan developed by the Obama administration. The Environmental Protection Agency designed that overreaching regulation to shut down the coal industry by shifting power generation away from reliable energy sources. The regulation was part of the Obama administration's War on Coal. That war devastated many communities in my State of West Virginia. This year, the Supreme Court held it was unlawful in the landmark case of West Virginia v. EPA. Mr. Revesz submitted an amicus brief in that case to oppose West Virginia's position and argue against the interpretation of the major questions doctrine that the Supreme Court ultimately adopted. Mr. Revesz's well-documented approach to regulation, including his support for the Clean Power Plan, demonstrates he is not the right person to get the administration's policies on a reasonable track; therefore, I object.

Mrs. CAPITO

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

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, today, I rise to really honor a seventh- generation West Virginian, a lifelong Wheeling native, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and public servant, my very good friend, Congressman David McKinley. David and I have known each other for a very long time. He and Mary, his wife, have extended steadfast love and friendship to my entire family but, in particular, to my parents during some good times and bad. Those friendships extended for many, many years and never wavered. From when David was a delegate in the West Virginia State House to when he chaired the West Virginia Republican Party to later when he became my colleague and our colleague in the U.S. House of Representatives, we worked together a lot. David got a slot on the Energy and Commerce Committee during his very first year in Washington. Now, I had already been there 10 years and still hadn't made it to the Energy and Commerce Committee, so I was a little bit jealous of David then. But, wow, did he really do tremendous work on that committee. Although time has gone by, David's passion and his love for West Virginia have never wavered, and his pragmatic service has never changed. As the only licensed engineer in the House of Representatives--and if you didn't know that, David is quick to tell you--his unique and thoughtful analysis to challenges has helped his constituents immensely, and it certainly made West Virginia a better place. And, by the way, he has helped me understand some very complex issues. In fact, I don't think there are as many Members of Congress who have held townhall meetings on the Megabus to DC as David has to meet with our constituents. But David never misses an opportunity to have a conversation. David has played an essential role in advancing legislation critical to infrastructure, life-altering hearing aid devices, and securing the pensions and retirement benefits that our West Virginia coal miners rely on. David is, and always will be, a problem-solver, and he brought thoughtful solutions to the needs of our fellow West Virginians every single day with unrelenting passion. I have mentioned passion many times already in this short speech, but ``passion'' is a very fitting word because David does not do anything halfway. He is passionate about our State of West Virginia. He is passionate about West Virginia University's football team and all sports teams. And he is always there ready to cheer on the Mountaineers. He is passionate about his hometown of Wheeling, and he is a passionate defender of those Northern Panhandlers, which is what I am as well. He is passionate about the men and women who have worked to power our Nation and the solutions to our future. But there is another component to David's public service and his life that we must stop and recognize, and that is of his beloved wife, Mary. Mary has truly been a partner to David and his work to make West Virginia stronger and healthier. Mary received her masters of science degree in nursing from none other than West Virginia University, has had an exceptional career as a nurse at Ohio Valley Medical Center, and is the director of education and professional development at the Ohio Valley Health Services and Education Corporation in Wheeling. But do you know what? Mary has a national presence as well. Mary served as the national president of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. She epitomizes West Virginia's warmth and friendliness, and we thank her for her service to our State as well. As I reflect on Congressman McKinley's Federal work and accomplishments, perhaps no other area has seen his trademark tireless devotion than protecting and promoting the hard work and values embodied by our West Virginia coal miners. David has fought tooth and nail for our coal miners' livelihoods, for their healthcare, and for their ability to power this Nation but sometimes get taken for granted when we look at the sacrifices that they have made. As David turns the page on this chapter of his life, I am sure this is not the last that we will hear from him. I certainly hope not. In retirement, David and Mary will be able to enjoy time spent with their four children and six grandchildren. With David's time in Congress coming to a close, his thoughtful approach to problems and his fearless advocacy on behalf of West Virginians will be missed in this town, will be missed in our country, but certainly can never be erased from our State and our country's history. But his contributions and the example he set will continue to stay with us always. I admire David's tenacity and divisiveness. You really never have to wonder what David McKinley thinks on a certain topic. I like that. I like that. For that, we should all be grateful. I know that I and West Virginians are certainly grateful. So, David, thank you for your service. I know he is not coming back into town until tomorrow, but I wanted to get this on the record. The difference that you have made in our State that we both love, and the friendship and counsel that you have provided me over the years is much appreciated. So when I see David and we have a conversation and he sends me on my way, he has a trademark saying that he always says to me, so I am going to say it back to him today. David, I will say this to you: Go get `em, kid. With that, I yield the floor.

Mrs. CAPITO

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

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I ask that the vote begin now.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, as the current ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works--EPW--Committee, I submit these comments to provide the Senate with additional information on the existing domestic authority to phasedown the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons, HFCs. The EPW Committee has jurisdiction over air pollution, and in the 116th Congress, managed the development of the domestic authority to implement the Kigali Amendment, See 218 Cong. Rec. S7926, daily ed. Dec. 21. 2020, statement of then-EPW Chairman John Barrasso, then-EPW Ranking Member Tom Carper, and Sen. John Kennedy). As the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations clearly states in Senate Executive Report 117-2, no further legislation is required to implement the Kigali Amendment and the Amendment is not self-executing. New authority is not granted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-- EPA--through ratification. In section 103 in division S of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, the American Innovation and Manufacturing--AIM--Act of 2020, P.L. 116-260, was enacted. That law established a new, national program administered by the EPA to phasedown the production and consumption of certain HFC substances due to their significant global warming potential. Specifically, the AIM Act requires the EPA to implement an 85 percent phasedown of the production and consumption of regulated HFC substances, requiring levels to reach approximately 15 percent of their 2011-2013 average annual levels by 2036. The AIM Act provides all the necessary authorities to phasedown the production and consumption of HFCs in the United States in line with U.S. obligations under the Kigali Amendment and is already being implemented by the EPA. In October 2021, the EPA issued a final rule establishing the allowance allocation for 2022 and 2023, along with establishing a trading program for HFCs. 86 Fed. Reg. 55,116, Oct. 5, 2021. As stated in that final agency action, the Kigali Amendment and the AIM Act have ``a nearly identical list of HFCs to be phased down following the same schedule,'' Id. at 55,124. The EPA is currently developing regulations to update allowance allocations and the trading program for 2024 and later years. I thank my colleagues at the U.S. Senate committee on Foreign Relations for providing a clear Congressional statement that no new legislation is required and that the Kigali Amendment is not self- executing. As Congress has already enacted the required domestic implementing legislation, I support ratification.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 15 minutes prior to the scheduled rollcall vote.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, since the Biden administration really likes to celebrate things, I rise today on the 1-week anniversary of their party last Tuesday for their so-called Inflation Reduction Act. Last Tuesday, most Americans and, certainly, most West Virginians weren't in a celebratory mood. West Virginians started their day with news that inflation rose to 8.3 percent in August, while President Biden and his party and climate activists began setting up for their Inflation Reduction Act party at the White House. Meanwhile, that same day, the U.S. stock market had its worst day since June 2020, as the White House and its fellow Democrats celebrated their green spending bill that would only extend inflationary pain, but it does expand U.S. and IRS enforcement on Americans who are struggling to afford basic necessities. Days after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office published an analysis that the Inflation Reduction Act would actually not reduce inflation, particularly in the short term, President Biden announces that he will do student debt cancelation that would add another trillion dollars to the deficit. Today and tomorrow, the Federal Reserve, which is our U.S. monetary watchdog, is meeting to set new interest rates in a bid to tame inflation. The body has had to raise interest rates aggressively by three-quarters of a point. In June, Chairman Powell, who is the Chairman of the Fed, admitted that the rate increase is ``unusually large'' and would not be ``common.'' The Fed will likely raise interest rates again by the same amount tomorrow, for the third consecutive time in a row. These are the most aggressive rate increases since the 1980s, when my mortgage was way into the teens, that Chairman Powell has plainly stated will bring ``pain to households and businesses.'' We can't forget that the Democrats alone passed a bill last year that they called the American Rescue Plan, which rescued nothing and, instead, endangered our fragile economy coming out of COVID by hypercharging inflation. Democrats alone drafted and pushed forward their most recent bill, bypassing the normal committee process, and Democrats alone passed it, rejecting every Republican amendment along the way. In short, these policies continue to destabilize every single corner of our economy. Well, how do we know this? We see some of the statistics that I talk about. Well, I know it because West Virginians have lived it, and I hear from them frequently about their legitimate concerns. A retiree from Clarksburg, WV, wrote to me recently saying that she and her husband are ``struggling every month'' despite having done their due diligence to save well for their retirement. She says they are trying not to dip into their 401(k)s or their TSP retirement accounts but that it is getting ``harder and harder'' not to do that. As inflation drags on, the lifespan of retirement savings will continue shrinking for our seniors in West Virginia, and those seniors account for 41 percent of our population. Another West Virginian wrote to me about the tough choices her family is making: The economy has crumbled in the blink of an eye. My husband and I have full-time jobs and two children. I'm tearful because I sit here looking at upcoming bills and I'm having to decide to pay a bill or buy groceries. A resident from Weston, WV, told me that his insurance premiums recently increased and, when he asked the company why that happened, they told him pointblank it was due to inflation. In the same letter, the constituent wrote: This crazy spending has to stop. But it is not just West Virginians who are experiencing this inflationary problem. The National Defense Industrial Association, authored in part by former Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist, released a white paper recently that indicated inflation has cost the Department of Defense $50 billion and estimates that it will cost an additional $110 billion to our Nation's defense from fiscal year 2021 through fiscal year 2023. Think about this in the face of what we are talking about in terms of trying to help Ukraine overcome this terrible invasion by the Russians. Residential real estate has skyrocketed 43 percent in the past 2 years. In fact, this year, mortgage rates have risen from 3.2 percent to 6.3 percent, which is the highest they have been since 2008--setting all kinds of records here. So some are going so far as to predict an additional 17.8 percent rise in home prices over the next year. A recent paper released by Goldman Sachs, aptly titled ``The Housing Downturn: Further to Fall,'' warns that higher mortgage rates and reduced affordability will continue well into 2023. For first-time home buyers, that spells a death knell for their dream of owning their own home. Again, what we are seeing in realtime are direct consequences of inflation fueled by spending. The increase in the price of groceries is unbelievable. It is unbelievable when you go to the grocery store. Over the past year, the price of basic pantry staples has continued to increase. The cost of eggs has gone up 40 percent; butter, 24.6 percent; luncheon meats, 18.2 percent. Fresh milk has increased 17.7 percent. Sugar, flour, bread, pasta, peanut butter, and cereals have increased between 15 and 23 percent. These are the things that families buy weekly to meet their grocery bill and to provide their children's breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Simply put, elected Democrats in the Biden administration celebrated the so-called Inflation Reduction Act on a day when the Consumer Price Index on inflation increased. For the many constituents whom I talk to on a daily basis, inflation remains the No. 1 concern. So this irony is not lost on me nor is it lost on the American public. It is not lost on millions of Americans making tough choices because of these policies, and it is painful; it is hard to watch; and in many of my constituents' opinion, it is as if the President and his party are not paying attention. I yield the floor.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I rise today to celebrate the achievements of a West Virginian who triumphantly fought for our country during World War II. J. David Bailey, who was recently awarded the highest French recognition--the Legion of Honor--is one of the oldest surviving veterans of the Battle of the Bulge. His story is an extraordinary example of the American philosophy to fight for freedom around the world. David was born in Bluefield, WV, on January 3, 1922. At the age of 21, he, like 16 million other Americans, answered the call to fight against tyranny. He became a dedicated member of the battalion of the U.S. Army's 422nd Regiment, 106th Infantry Division. On December 16, 1944, at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge, the bloodiest and largest battle of World War II, David and his entire battalion were imprisoned by German troops east of St. Vith, Belgium. Ultimately, he escaped imprisonment to rejoin his fellow soldiers and went on to serve in other campaigns, including northern France and the Army of Occupation. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army on November 24, 1945. In recognition of his honorable service to our country, David has received the Combat Infantry Badge, two Bronze Stars, four Battle Stars, and four service ribbons, as well as the Order of St. Maurice Medallion from the National Infantry Association. He also appeared on the cover of a victory edition of the military publication ``Stars and Stripes.'' David has also been a key figure in preserving the history of World War II throughout the years. At one point, he served as the national president of the Battle of the Bulge Association. On January 25, 2022, at the age of 100, David was one of several veterans to lay the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate the end of the Battle of the Bulge. He also attended the opening ceremonies of the World War II Memorial, the 70th anniversary of V-E Day in 2015, and he was also the personal guest of President Barack Obama at the White House for the Veterans Day ceremony in 2011. J. David Bailey's life has been dedicated to the service of our country, and the impact that he has had will be remembered for years to come. I am proud to call him a fellow West Virginian.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I rise today to honor decorated West Virginian Benjamin Portaro. Mr. Portaro recently received the French Legion of Honor for his service in France during World War II. Born in a small village in Italy, Mr. Portaro's family immigrated to the United States searching for the American dream. Mr. Portaro's father, Pete, found work in the coal mines in Anmoore, WV, where the family would settle down. The Portaros prospered in Anmoore, where young Ben began school and helped his parents learn English. As a young man, Benjamin Portaro began work as a construction contractor, working for a local carbon plant in Anmoore. In 1943 Mr. Portaro entered the Army and was sent to Europe where he would fight on the frontlines in France. Promoted to staff sergeant under General George Patton, Mr. Portaro was sent to the Battle of the Bulge. It was during the Germans' last major offensive that Mr. Portaro was wounded and captured by the Nazis. Taken as a prisoner of war, Mr. Portaro was forced to march for miles in the dead of the winter, as many of his fellow prisoners starved to death. Months later, Mr. Portaro and another prisoner decided their best chance at survival would be trying to escape. After dark, they hid in ditches until they could run away from their captors. After 3 days, Portaro and his friend were rescued by the American Army. At this point, Mr. Portaro weighed a mere 100 pounds. After being rescued, Benjamin was transported to a hospital for treatment and eventually made it back home to Anmoore, where he would spend his life working for and with veterans and prisoners of war. Mr. Portaro has received many medals for his service, including the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Prisoners of War medal, WWII Honorable Discharge, American Campaign, Yankee Division badge, WWII Victory Medal, European Campaign, Army Good Conduct Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, and Staff Sergeant Badge. Mr. Portaro and his wife Claire had 7 children, 14 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. After 69 happy years, Claire passed away in 2011. Ben continues to live in West Virginia and is an inspiring voice and story to all. Mr. Portaro's story is one of sacrifice, hope, and courage. He is a proud West Virginian and a great representative of our State. I am proud to represent Mr. Portaro and thrilled that, after so many years, he still calls West Virginia home.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 5382 and ask that it be reported by number.

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, this amendment would strike a provision that gives the EPA $45 million in a slush fund to use eight different sections of the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases. The EPA will undoubtedly try to use this money to develop rules targeting electricity generation, manufacturing, agriculture, and other sectors of our economy. This will be the first time that Congress has told the EPA to carry out many of these Clean Air Act sections with respect to greenhouse gases. There is no doubt that EPA lawyers and environmental groups will point to this language when they try to convince courts to uphold future overreaching climate regulations. After the EPA's recent loss before the Supreme Court on the illegal Clean Power Plan, we should not be providing funds to the Agency that it will inevitably use to undertake more expansive and unauthorized rulemakings. This $45 million slush fund would be used to impose billions of dollars in regulatory burdens on our economy and increase costs at the worst time for consumers. This provision is bad for West Virginia, and it is bad for America. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment.

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 5383 and ask that it be reported by number.

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I rise to offer a commonsense permitting reform amendment. There has been a lot of talk and promises about a supposed deal or fixing our Nation's broken permitting system, but we have yet to see any legislative text. My amendment delivers these reforms right now. Among these reforms are provisions that reduce delays and environmental reviews, generally to 2 years or less, while maintaining protections. Eliminating regulatory hurdles, which are now driving higher gasoline and energy costs, and implementing the one Federal decision--these are things Democrats say they will support eventually. Let's tackle inflation, permitting, and energy supply challenges right here tonight. Let's finish the Mountain Valley Pipeline now. Americans can't wait, and no one can build back better if we can't build anything at all. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on the amendment. I yield the floor.