Tammy Duckworth

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Madam President, I rise today to speak in support of my bill to protect IVF. Elissa Smith was living in Alabama when she heard the news this past February. She had been pregnant a few years earlier, but it had left her with scars, both emotionally and physically. She had been in her third trimester with her first child when she had learned that she had cancer. She gave birth early to a beautiful baby girl. Then soon after, she underwent surgery, chemotherapy, multiple medical procedures--you name it--a care plan that helped to get rid of the disease but that also left her unable to conceive again. Thankfully, she had than undergone one round of IVF before her treatment for cancer. Fast forward to early 2024, things were finally getting brighter. She and her husband had just begun to research surrogates to carry her viable embryos. Then, a gavel sounded out of her State courthouse, marking the ruling that changed theirs and so many other families' lives. On February 16, the Alabama Supreme Court declared that frozen extrauterine embryos created through IVF should be considered children under State law--a ruling that painted would-be moms and their doctors as criminals and one that uprooted the dreams and began the nightmares of aspiring parents, as IVF clinics statewide soon paused treatments out of fear that their doctors and patients would be punished for trying to start families. Elissa was one of these women. Now, it seemed like her desperately hoped for wish of growing her family was snatched away by an extremist court that either had no idea or simply didn't care about everything that had gone into trying to turn her dreams of a family into reality. Elissa's story is exceptional. But it is not the exception. For so many women, that lifelong hope of having children is now stuck in a hellish limbo, as they remain uncertain whether more States will follow Alabama's lead; as they are forced to live in fear that Republican success come November would even further imperil their right to try to create a family; as they remain unsure whether living in a red State under a Trump Presidency could mean getting jail time for committing this supposed sin of needing modern medicine to bring into the world a baby to nuzzle and swaddle and love. Look, I was actually stationed in Alabama many times throughout my 23 years of military service. And I didn't know it at the time back then, but infertility would become one of the most heartbreaking struggles of my life, my miscarriage more painful than any wound I ever earned on the battlefield. It is only thanks to IVF that I get to be embarrassingly proud when I hang my 6-year-old's drawings on my Senate office walls or that I get to be tackled in bed every Mother's Day by my 9-year-old who runs into my room bearing the biggest of hugs and sweetest of cards. So excuse me if I find it a bit offensive when a bunch of politicians who have never spent a day in med school hint that those of us who have needed the help of IVF to become moms should be sitting behind bars rather than lulling our babies to sleep in rocking chairs. My apologies if I take it personally when the same folks who rely on NRA blood money to get elected suggest that women like me are committing acts akin to murder when all we are trying to do is create life and not have to suffer through more miscarriages. You know, right after the Alabama ruling came out, I came to this very spot and begged my GOP colleagues to help me pass my bill that would set the simple standard that no doctor or hopeful parent could be criminalized for IVF. And Republicans blocked it. This was after days and days of the GOP claiming to support IVF. This was after they claimed to support reproductive health. This was after days of them claiming that they actually gave a damn about the women in this country. Naturally, that was all untrue, all a ruse to mislead voters. And at this point, it is obvious: The only thing they care about is kissing up to trial room Trump and bowing down to the most extreme wing of their party. Things like common decency or common sense doesn't even register anymore. It comes down to this: Every woman deserves to be able to be called ``mama'' without being called a criminal. That is why, today, I am trying once again to pass legislation that would enshrine into law every American's right to IVF, now called the Right to IVF Act. If Republicans actually care more about protecting women's health more than they do about getting invitations to Mar-a-Lago, then all they have to do to show it is help me move my bill forward--because, look, struggling with infertility is hard. Using all your savings to go through round after round of IVF is hard. This vote? Well, that is one thing that is actually really simple: Vote for it.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Madam President, today I wish to recognize LTC Joshua S. Koncar, U.S. Army, for his outstanding work on behalf of the people of Illinois and the Nation. Lieutenant Colonel Koncar served as a 2021 Department of Defense legislative fellow in my Washington, DC, office and later as a U.S. Army Reserve congressional liaison from 2022-2024. Lieutenant Colonel Koncar was born in Sharon, PA. The grandson of a World War Il veteran, the son of a third-generation steelworker, and brother to a U.S. Marine, Joshua enlisted in the Army Reserve in August 2001. Joshua served in Operation Iraqi Freedom from March 2003 to April 2004 as an operations noncommissioned officer and attained the rank of staff sergeant before receiving a direct commission to second lieutenant in 2007. As a logistician, Joshua has served in various leadership and broadening assignments throughout his Army career. During his congressional tenure, Joshua has been integral in shaping the priorities of the U.S. Army, and as a Defense fellow, he helped me secure several provisions in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act--FY22 NDAA--that will make our country stronger and safer. During his time in my office, Joshua led my staff in orchestrating important legislative provisions for the Department of Defense. He authored sections of NDAA language, including one of my top concerns regarding modifying special and incentive pay authorities for reserve component members--Incentive Pay Parity. His contributions-- both to office morale and to our collective work--are emblematic of his phenomenal character, competence, and strong work ethic. Joshua demonstrates a level of professionalism and hard work I have come to expect--but not take for granted--from the Department of Defense and U.S. Army soldiers. Indeed, he follows a long line of accomplished Department of Defense legislative fellows who have made impactful contributions to my office and U.S. national security policy. He distinguished himself as an Army officer, setting a high bar and providing invaluable advice and insights as he advised me on wide- ranging and complex matters under consideration before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Joshua's servant leadership showed in his work as a congressional liaison for the U.S. Army Reserve. His attention to detail and ability to effectively communicate with Congress became apparent as he successfully advanced key Army Reserve legislative initiatives and priorities. Joshua will soon transition to his new duty assignment and attend Senior Service College at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. On behalf of my colleagues and the U.S. Congress, I thank Joshua for his dedicated service to my staff, the U.S. Army, and the Nation. Part of what makes the U.S. military the greatest in the history of the world is that servicemembers like Joshua dedicate their lives to service and sacrifice for this country. Lieutenant Colonel Koncar does not do it alone, so I also acknowledge the support of his family--his wife Melissa. I wish them all the best in what I know is a bright future.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, I come to the floor today in support of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024. This has been a truly bipartisan, bicameral endeavor, and that is how it should be. It has taken longer than we had hoped, but the final product is worth it. This bill will empower the FAA to aggressively address the aviation system safety crisis, make our aviation system more accessible for passengers with disabilities, provide historic investments that will enhance our Nation's capacity to recruit and train the next generation of aviation workers, and do so without lowering, weakening, or watering down the post-Colgan safety system, including pilot qualification standards. There are many important provisions in this bill, but I want to highlight just a few today. First and foremost, this bill takes important steps to address critical safety challenges facing our aviation system. During the pandemic, retirements and buyouts drained critical experience from our aviation workforce, both in the Federal Agencies, like the FAA and the NTSB, as well as in the commercial aviation sector. The post-COVID surge in demand for air travel put a huge strain on our system and stretched the remaining aviation workforce thin. Near misses and close calls became so frequent that the FAA was forced to convene a safety summit. Despite this, the close calls keep happening over and over and over again. Just last week, a Swiss Air flight had to abort takeoff at JFK when four other planes were crossing the runway at the same time. The week before that, a Southwest jet crossed the runway at National Airport right as a JetBlue flight was starting its takeoff roll. The need for Congress to act is urgent, and this bill takes important steps to address safety-critical challenges. Importantly, our bill also preserves an important pillar of the post- Colgan safety system: the 1,500-hour rule for first officer flight training. As both a commercial and a private pilot, I know how critical real-world experience is in the cockpit. It can mean the difference between life and death. As demand for air travel continues to grow, we will continue to need more pilots. But putting safety first demands that Congress always reject industry efforts to lower pilot qualification standards, and that is why I worked so hard to make sure that our bill left the 1,500-hour rule intact. Air traffic controllers and surface detection is a key component of the FAA reauthorization bill also. Our legislation will also give a much needed boost to our air traffic controller workforce. Coming out of the pandemic, our air traffic facilities are understaffed and our controllers are overworked. Last year, only 3 of 313 air traffic facilities nationwide had enough controllers to meet staffing targets, while controllers are working 60 hours a week to keep up. This is dangerous. These are highly stressful, safety-critical jobs under the best of circumstances. Growing this workforce is a safety imperative, and this bill takes aggressive steps to do so. It will set a minimum hiring target equal to the maximum number of air traffic controllers our academy can accommodate. It will also require a more accurate staffing model going forward to ensure that there will be enough air traffic controllers to meet the growing demand and keep the flying public safe. The bill will also expand deployment of surface detection technology to more airports to help prevent near misses or, worse, actual collisions. Our bipartisan compromise also advances passenger safety by requiring the FAA to finally update aircraft evacuation standards to account for real-world conditions. Federal regulations require that, in the event of an emergency, passengers can evacuate an aircraft within 90 seconds. However, recent FAA in-person evacuation simulations used only able- bodied adults under the age of 60, in groups of just 60, on a plane with no carry-on baggage and nobody under the age of 18. On a typical 737, you would see more than twice that number of passengers. I think it is safe to say that you would also probably see a couple of backpacks--maybe 100 backpacks--and probably some senior citizens, children, and passengers with disabilities too. All of these folks were left out of the latest FAA simulation. So the fact is, we don't actually know if an aircraft can be evacuated in 90 seconds in real-world conditions, and that is what is so dangerous. The Miracle on the Hudson took more than twice that long to evacuate--3 minutes. In January, when a Japan Airlines crew miraculously managed to successfully evacuate nearly 400 people from a burning Airbus A350, it took closer to 18 minutes from the point of impact and, overall, 5 minutes from the point of when the plane had stopped moving. In 2016, it took more than 17 minutes to evacuate a 767 at O'Hare, after the plane came to a stop, well short of the 90-second threshold. Carry-on bags slowed down that evacuation; and since then, the NTSB has been recommending FAA take a closer look at this issue. The bill before us today includes a provision Senator Baldwin and I championed to require the FAA to finally do just that: along with mandating the Agency, actually consider other real-world conditions like the presence of children, seniors, and passengers with disabilities. The FAA bill will also make much needed progress in transforming commercial air travel to be safer and more accessible for passengers with disabilities. I was proud and honored to work with individuals and organizations in the disability community when drafting this portion of our legislation. And while we still have a long way to go to ensure equal access for millions of people with disabilities when flying, if passed, our FAA Reauthorization Act would be one of the most significant leaps taken over the past decade towards improving the air travel experience for the disability community. Our work builds on a yearslong effort by my colleague Senator Baldwin. And I would like to thank her for her leadership on the Air Carrier Access Amendments Act, which has been a priority of the disability community for years. And today, I am happy to say that several important provisions from that Baldwin bill are included in this reauthorization. Today's bill also includes a new grant program to upgrade airports to make them more accessible for passengers with disabilities. Two bipartisan, bicameral bills are also included: the Mobility Aids on Board Improve Lives and Empower All Act--or MOBILE Act--which I worked on with Senator Thune and Representatives Steve Cohen and Pete Stauber, and the Prioritizing Accountability and Accessibility for Aviation Consumers Act, which I worked on with Senator Fischer and Representatives Steve Cohen and Brian Fitzpatrick. I want to thank my colleagues across the aisle and in the House for working with me to show that even in this divisive political moment, we can--and we must--still legislate in a bipartisan fashion on issues that impact Americans throughout every inch of this country, in States that are both red and blue. This bill will also help grow the next generation of pilots, aviation mechanics, and aviation manufacturing technical workers by expanding the FAA's Aviation Workforce Development Grant Program. This is critical to meet future demand, which is expected to grow tremendously. The FAA estimates the 696 million mainline enplanements we saw in 2023 will grow to more than 1.1 trillion enplanements by 2044. I want to thank Senators Moran, Klobuchar, Thune, Kelly, Fischer, Warnock, and Capito for working with me to secure the highest level of investments forever for these grants. I want to give a special thanks to Senator Moran, who has been such a pleasure to work with, and also to my colleagues in the House and especially to our chairwoman of the committee, who has been so generous in working with me as the subcommittee chair. While this initiative may be relatively new, in its short history, it has already proven incredibly popular with educational and training institutions, with the demands for training grants vastly outstripping supply. Our bill will fix this imbalance by drastically strengthening the capacity and capabilities of our Nation's aviation education and training organizations, with the goal of successfully recruiting and preparing the next generation of American aviation workers. Before yielding, I want to say a brief word about Boeing--a company with a proud heritage in American aviation. This bill does not fully address our many vexing issues that have come to light since a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines flight midair in January of this year. Congress must look more closely at these issues and assess what additional legislation may be needed. As Chair Cantwell has indicated, we will be conducting vigorous oversight, but that will take time. And this bill contains urgently needed fixes to address immediate imminent safety risks. We must not delay passage of this FAA reauthorization while we continue our oversight of Boeing and all aviation manufacturers. So let's pass this bill. I yield the floor.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the remarkable career of Maj. Gen. Richard R. Neely, a 40-year servicemember of the Illinois Army National Guard who will retire on May 31, 2024. Major General Neely served as the 40th adjutant general of the State of Illinois and was the director of the Illinois Department of Military Affairs. As the adjutant general, Major General Neely oversaw the Federal overseas deployments of 4,800 soldiers and airmen to 21 countries around the world and 5,600 servicemembers on State Active Duty exceeding 500,000 duty days combined. Major General Neely served as the adjutant general since February 2019. Beginning in 2020, Major General Neely directed the largest and longest domestic operations activation in Illinois National Guard history in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Illinois National Guard soldiers and airmen assisted with 250,000 COVID-19 tests, delivered 8 million masks, administered nearly 2 million vaccines throughout the State among many other support missions. Major General Neely further oversaw the Illinois National Guard's State Partnership Program with Poland. During one mission, the Illinois National Guard servicemembers provided direct training support to Poland's newly formed territorial defense force in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Due to Major General Neely's exceptional efforts, he was awarded the Polish Commanders Cross with Silver Star Order of Merit from the President of Poland in 2022. Throughout his entire career, Major General Neely led by example, providing a steady hand through some of the most tumultuous times in the history of our State and our Nation. The Illinois National Guard is better because of General Neely's service. Major General Neely was also the Nation's first cyberspace officer to serve as an adjutant general and was a nationwide leader in cyber security. He was the senior cyber adviser to the Chief and Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau, national lead for implementation of the Nationwide Integration of Time Resiliency for Operations (NITRO) program, vice chair of the National Guard Bureau's Cyber General Officer Advisory Council, chair of the Army National Guard's Information (Cyber) Readiness Advisory Council, and the senior adviser for Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure for U.S. Northern Command's Dual Status Commanders Course. Major General Neely's leadership, determination, and commitment have no doubt changed lives and helped to make our country safer. As his Air Force career ends, may he continue to be ``Always Ready, Always There!'' and forever take pride in knowing that his exemplary efforts and unwavering professionalism contributed greatly to the success of the Air Force and the National Guard mission.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. I ask unanimous consent that the scheduled vote begin immediately.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

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

Ms. DUCKWORTH. I ask that the scheduled vote begin immediately.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Madam President, I have been called a lot of names in my life: ``Tammy,'' ``Lieutenant Colonel,'' ``Senator,'' and a couple others I shouldn't mention in polite company. ``Mommy,'' though, is, without a doubt, my favorite name. It is the one my 5-year-old uses when she runs into the house after dance class and pulls on my sleeve, eager to show me what she learned during her lesson. It is the one my 9-year-old says when she announces her latest life plan. When she was little, she wanted to grow up to be a garbage collector; now, she is leaning towards being an Army cyber warrior. My girls are my everything. But they, likely, would have never been born if I hadn't had access to the basic reproductive rights that Americans--up until recently--had been depending on for nearly a half century, because after a decade struggling with infertility after my service in Iraq, I was only able to get pregnant through the miracle of IVF. IVF is the reason I get to experience the chaos and the beauty, the stress and the joy that is motherhood. IVF is the reason that my husband and I aren't just Tammy and Bryan but we are ``Mom'' and ``Dad.'' IVF made our family. It made my heart whole. It made my life full. But for countless women in Alabama, that desperately sought-after dream of becoming a mom just became so much harder. Last week, that State's supreme court ruled that frozen embryos created through IVF should be considered children under State law--a ruling that paints women like me and our doctors as criminals and one that throws IVF access into chaos as countless women and doctors try to figure out whether they might be criminalized for simply trying to create a family. If you are thinking that this makes no sense, you are right. You are not misunderstanding anything; you are not missing something. It is the nightmarish blend of hypocrisy and misogyny that you think it is. The very people who claim to be defending family values are the ones trying to enact dystopian policies that would prevent Americans from starting their own families. This is no longer a hypothetical worst-case scenario. IVF providers around the State have already paused treatments out of fear that their doctors and patients could be punished. Organizations that transport embryos to and from medical facilities in Alabama have already announced that they will stop doing so, meaning that would-be parents there won't even be able to start their families in any other States either. And now that the first domino has fallen, it seems like it could only be a matter of time before more hospitals and more organizations make the same call, before more State courts issue similar rulings, before more extremist politicians succeed in enacting even more draconian laws nationwide. Think about that. Think about what is at stake if State courts simply can strip away access to IVF. Think about how many would-be moms might never be able to hear their child's first little gurgle of a laugh. Think about how many hopeful dads might never be able to play tooth fairy when his would-be daughter loses her first tooth. You know, I lived in Alabama for a bit when I was in the Army, stationed at what is now called Fort Novosel. And I didn't know it at the time, but infertility would become one of the most heartbreaking struggles of my life, my miscarriage more painful than any wound I ever earned on the battlefield. I also almost lost the opportunity to even try IVF because a doctor in a well-known Catholic hospital that my VA hospital referred me to told me I was simply too old for treatment; that at 42, I should just ``go home and enjoy my husband,'' instead, and if it was meant to be, I would get pregnant. It was pure luck that I found out that that doctor was lying to me, that she wasn't basing her advice on medical science but rather on her personal religious beliefs, nearly costing me my chance to have my two little girls. So it is a little personal when a majority male State supreme court suggests that people like me who became parents with the help of modern medicine should be in jail cells and not nurseries. And I know I am not the only one who struggles to understand how elected representatives who back these kinds of policies can call themselves members of the so- called ``party of life.'' No, rulings like this one and the bills with the same intent that are being pushed forward in State legislatures around the country are not about being pro-life. They are about catering to an extremist base by exerting even more control over women's bodies, inserting politicians into some of the most intimate, personal decisions anyone could ever make. Look, back when I was going through IVF, three of my five fertilized eggs were deemed nonviable. If a version of this ruling had been in place then, I might have been forced to implant each of those three nonviable embryos. I might have been forced to suffer through three more miscarriages or else risk me or my doctor being convicted of manslaughter for discarding nonviable fertilized eggs. That is the kind of extremism that we are talking about here. That is the level of cruelty that we are facing. That is the kind of future we are fighting to prevent, where frozen embryos have more rights than the women who would carry them. Let's be clear about what led to this moment, the overturning of Roe is what made last week's ruling even possible, as it stripped women of a constitutional right, transferring the power to decide whether or when to start families from us to politicians in State houses across the country. Donald Trump is the one who brags about taking down Roe v. Wade. Donald Trump is the one who acts as if that is something to be proud of. So while it may now be convenient for him to claim that he had nothing to do with what happened in Alabama, we know the truth. IVF is at risk because of him. He is to blame. Him and every other GOP official who shamelessly kisses his ring, proving with every word they say that they care more about protecting his poll numbers than protecting Americans' freedoms. After Roe v. Wade was overturned--actually, even before then, when the Senate was deciding whether to confirm Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court--I warned that red States would come for IVF. And now they have. But they aren't going to stop in Alabama. Mark my words, if we do not act now, it will only get worse. There are a lot of nuanced tough calls we must make as Senators. This, simply, isn't one of them. We know what is right, even if extremist courts would like to rob millions of us of our rights. We shouldn't need to wait until women and doctors are thrown in jail before we act to protect them. That is why today I am begging my colleagues to help me pass my Access to Family Building Act. A bill that would ensure that every American's right to become a parent via treatments like IVF is fully protected, regardless of what State they live in, helping guarantee that no hopeful parent or doctor in this country can be held criminally liable for starting or growing a family through IVF. The reality is, one in four married women have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term. That number doesn't even include partnerless Americans or other families also trying to have kids. That is one in four in red States and in blue States, in big cities and rural towns, in the wealthiest neighborhoods and in the poorest of ZIP Codes, because infertility doesn't discriminate between party lines. It doesn't recognize State borders. No one should feel that someone else's religious beliefs or partisan slants could rob them of their chance to get pregnant, and no doctor should have to risk a criminal record just to provide women basic healthcare. So to my Republican colleagues, please, think about how many that one in four equates to in your State. Women willing to go through expensive, painful medical treatments just for a chance to experience the smallest, most banal moments of parenthood. Just to have a newborn to swaddle, a baby whose diaper needs to be changed, a toddler who needs their shoes to be tied. And if you believe that they have the right to be called ``Mom'' without also being called a criminal, then all you have to do to prove it is to let us pass this should-be-obvious legislation, because in this nightmarish moment, it is nowhere near enough to send out a vaguely worded tweet claiming you care about women's rights, despite a voting record to the contrary. No, this is where the rubber meets the road. If you truly care about the sanctity of families, if you are genuinely, actually, honestly interested in protecting IVF, then you need to show it by not blocking this bill today. It is that simple.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Madam President, I have the greatest respect and admiration for my friend from Mississippi, but I have to say that I disagree with her interpretation of my piece of legislation. This bill does three things and three things only: It protects the right of individuals to seek assistive reproductive technology without fear of being prosecuted for seeking that technology. It preserves the right of physicians to provide that assistive reproductive technology without fear of being prosecuted, and it also allows insurance companies to cover assistive reproductive technology. That is all that it does. It does not force anyone to seek reproductive technology; it does not force anyone to offer it; it does not force anyone to cover it. It simply says you have a statutory right, should you choose to pursue assistive reproductive technology that you will be able to do so. I also want to note that in Louisiana there is already State law that prohibits the ``discardation'' of frozen embryos or of frozen fertilized eggs. This has already started. In Florida, there is a bill pending before the State legislature that would deem that a fertilized egg is a human being and provide the opportunity for penalties to be put into judgments for those who would discard those fertilized eggs. So this is a real threat today. With that, I would like to yield to my colleague from Nevada.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Madam President, I object.

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Madam President, I object.

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Madam President, I object.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, if you listen closely right now, you can hear the drums of war gain momentum. I know that sound. It is the same sound that led me to deploy to a dusty desert outpost in Iraq 20 years ago, where I served alongside some of the bravest men and women you could ever meet. It is the same sound that, ultimately, led me to run for office, a decision I only made after I was shot down in Iraq, when I found myself searching for a new mission to serve my Nation. I found that mission in giving a voice to every veteran who had willingly sacrificed so much answering their Nation's call to serve, and I found it in speaking up for the Active-Duty troops still waking up in dusty base camps throughout the Middle East, still serving tour after tour, bleeding--even dying--thousands of miles away because they had sworn an oath to defend a country they loved, no matter what it cost them. And that sound is why, a few minutes ago, I wheeled myself to this desk with the same purpose that took me first to battle, then the campaign trail: And that is to help keep America as strong as she can be and to try to look out for the troops who never stop looking out for the rest of us. Today, I am here in this beautiful chamber with privilege all around me to beg of my colleagues one simple thing: As tensions in the Middle East escalate, please, from this place of safety and comfort, think of the sacrifices our servicemembers make every single day. Please, as the drums of war grow louder, honor our servicemembers by thinking of what we would be asking them to risk if we risk an expanded conflict with Iran. On Sunday morning, we all woke to the tragic, horrific news that three American soldiers were killed in an Iran-backed attack in Jordan. I imagine many who saw the news may not have even known that we had U.S. servicemembers stationed in Jordan, but I was acutely aware of it. In fact, just 24 hours earlier, I had woken up in Illinois and helped to send almost 300 Illinois National guardsmen off to start their mission in the CENTCOM area of operation, the exact AO where this attack took place. And since Sunday, I don't think I have gone a waking hour without thinking about the brave servicemembers who lost their lives--SGT William Jerome Rivers, SGT Kennedy Ladon Sanders, and SGT Breonna Alexsondria Moffett--and each of them was willing to sacrifice the unimaginable to keep our Nation safe. They are our heroes. During this impossible time, my thoughts are with their families, who will never be able to say ``I love you'' in person to them again. And my thoughts are with the more than 40 other servicemembers who were wounded in the blast, with at least three among them having severe enough injuries that they had to be evacuated to Germany. It is clear that we must forcefully and swiftly make those responsible pay for the devastation they have wrought and send a message that these attacks against our servicemembers will not be tolerated. But we must do this with clear eyes, a steady hand, and a clear, strategic end goal in mind, seeking justice and, ultimately, a swift end to these threats to our troops. I don't have all the details yet, but based on initial reports, it seems that President Biden's planned response will do just that. It looks like it will be a well-thought-out, strong rebuttal that aims to deter Iran from supporting further attacks on U.S. troops without risking boiling tensions even further, because this is a uniquely dangerous moment, and the message we send to Iran must make war less likely, not more. After all, after decades of forever wars in the region, the last thing we want is to send those who volunteer to serve our country into another endless, senseless conflict. And if we want to adequately honor the sacrifices of the three servicemembers killed last week, we must remain focused on preventing their brothers and sisters at arms from dying in a preventable war on foreign soil. Sadly, over the past few days, some of my Republican colleagues have been making reckless, irresponsible comments that risk dangerously escalating tensions. They have been throwing rocks, chest thumping over social media, beating the drums of war, demanding that the President ramp up the temperature, that he ``hit Iran now and hit them hard.'' Look, I ran for Congress so that when those drums of war started beating, I would be in a position to make sure that our leaders in Washington fully consider the cost of war--not just in dollars and cents but in the sacrifices and blood of our troops. So I have come to the floor today, as those drums echo louder than they have in years, to keep my promise to do our troops justice, to beseech my colleagues to let cool heads, common sense, and sound strategy prevail over reckless impulses. And, if necessary, I will come back to this Chamber day after day after day, speaking from this wheelchair that I earned the last time Congress rashly sent our sons and daughters into another endless, senseless war, ensuring that, this time, we do right by our troops by fully, soberly, considering the consequences of these decisions on those who serve and their families. Listen, I am no dove. After all, I volunteered to fight in a war that I deeply disagreed with. So I am certainly not opposed to war when it is necessary to defend this great Nation. And I am not opposed to striking Iranian assets, if our approach is smart, limited, and strategically calibrated to end the spiral of violence that threatens our servicemembers. But I will also do everything in my power to remind those who, today, are so eagerly pushing us down the path to war that there are serious repercussions involved for the Americans who would actually be in harm's way, even if they may not be filled by politicians here in Washington. Under both the Federal law known as the War Powers Act and article I of the Constitution, only Congress has the solemn responsibility of deciding when and how the United States sends its troops into war. So if Republicans really want to risk war with Iran, then they owe it to our troops to bring an authorization for use of military force to the floor. Instead of hiding behind social media accounts and television interviews, bring that debate to this Chamber so we can actually fulfill our duty and begin the serious business of considering the merits and drawbacks of such a conflict. So that as we ask them to sacrifice so much, our troops downrange would at least know what their mission is, what their goals are, and that their leaders in Washington both have their backs and are following the Constitution that they are willing to die to protect and defend. Whenever Republicans are ready--if they are ever ready--I am here to participate in that debate. And if their arguments for war are strong enough, I owe it to my constituents to consider and vote on the merits of them. I, myself, would be the first to volunteer, if they could have use of a gimpy former Black Hawk pilot, but I will go. I can pack my ruck in 15 minutes, if needed. But for now, with those drums pounding once more, I just want to ask each of my colleagues to take a moment to think about the true cost of war for all those servicemembers still at risk at dusty desert bases thousands of miles away. I personally cannot go a moment without forgetting them. I yield the floor.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

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

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, and also, I thank my colleague, the senior Senator from Illinois, for being here. I would like to just talk today about a dear, dear friend of ours, Ed Smith, who recently passed away. I am going to try not to say too much about what Ed and Dick's relationship was, but Ed is a stalwart for working families in Illinois. You know, the Ed that I knew is one who was always there for working families. He was a man who embodied the word ``solidarity,'' a man who paired passion with compassion, and who knew that no company, no community, no country would ever be as strong as it could be if any of its workers were treated without the dignity and decency that they deserved. Born in Cairo, IL, Ed had one central gravitational force throughout his life: working hard on behalf of those who worked hard for others. He joined a union at only 13 years old and, from that moment on, stayed in the fight for labor rights for the rest of his life. He held title after title throughout his career. He was a laborer when he was young, then a manager, and eventually a CEO. But through it all, the title that undoubtedly described him best was ``champion,'' for no matter how busy Ed was, no matter how high he climbed, there was nothing more important to him than looking out for all of those who signed up for the tireless yet often thankless jobs that keep our Nation running, all those people who clock in day after day without complaint, all those people who deserve a good pay and steady benefits that should come with the sweat of a job well-done. I know this firsthand. Ed never hesitated to call me to keep me up to date on any issue I should be following up on in the labor world. And I knew that I could always, always count on him to give me an honest opinion whenever I needed some advice. Not only was he a mentor and a friend, but he held each of us fortunate enough to hold elected office accountable. He made sure that we were doing right by working families, doing right by rural Illinoisans, doing right for every worker--not just those who were in unions, but all workers--and making sure that in every inch of Illinois, folks who have earned dignified retirements after decades- long careers are able to enjoy that retirement. One of my favorite stories about Ed is that every night before bed, he would ask himself: Who have I helped today? Now it is my turn to answer that question for him. Ed helped more people than he and I could ever meet in our lifetimes. He helped grandparents access the pensions they have earned. He helped green-on-the-job 20-somethings know and demand their worth. He set up the labor movement in Illinois to be the movement of the future, working toward that carbon-neutral future, toward that green economy. And he helped people like me remember that, in public service, we all have one true North Star, and that is to do what we can to bring about a tomorrow where every worker, every American, is treated with fairness, dignity, and respect. Thank you, Ed, for all that you have done for the rest of us. You will be dearly missed. I hope to live my life in a way that ensures that when I get home from work at night, I can give a good answer when I follow your lead and ask myself: Who have I helped today? And I know Ed will be smiling down on me when I do so. I yield the floor.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

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

Ms. DUCKWORTH. I also ask unanimous consent for the scheduled vote to begin immediately.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, I have come to the floor today to honor one of the fiercest advocates for Illinois I have ever known: Cameron Joost. I have had the privilege of working with Cameron for the past 7 years now, and over that time, she has been my State director, my campaign manager, my sounding board, and perhaps most importantly, my friend. It is hard to find the words to express what Cam has meant to both my office and to me. She is an expert in everything from the nuanced politics of Illinois's smallest towns to the full range of Hill House Home nap dresses. She can tell you every detail of how the latest bill for a vote here in DC will affect Chicagoans, and she can plan the most frenetically perfect campaign RV tour that Illinois has ever seen, with 10 passengers on board ranging in age from 4 to 81 and lasting over 2 weeks. Most of all, she is our team's moral compass. You know, all too often, when people think of American service, they only think of military service, but the truth is, service in this country isn't just limited to picking up a rifle to defend our democracy. American service also means picking up a soup spoon to feed the less fortunate, a hammer to rebuild a home destroyed by a wildfire, or, in a Cam's case, picking up a pen and notebook and going to work day after day, trying to better the lives of all those who call Illinois home. It means striving to ensure that they access the healthcare, education, SNAP benefits--you name it--that they deserve; pushing to help families recover from flooding on the Mississippi River; to help parents in Cairo get access to the safe, affordable housing their kids deserve; to help reunite Afghan refugees with their loved ones. She is ever-dedicated to serving others in every way she could. Through it all, she has had one enduring trait: She is a problem- solver. I will never forget the first day I met her. President Obama was flying back to Springfield to deliver a speech, and I was lucky enough to catch a ride on Air Force One with the President and a few other Members of the Illinois delegation. But one thing that I knew and my colleagues did not was that it was just a one-way ticket on Air Force One. They were not flying us back, which no one else except for myself realized. So one by one, my colleagues came up to me in the Illinois State Senate chamber, and they asked if I knew that Air Force One wasn't going back to DC and did I know how I was going to get back to DC. ``Making the 2-hour drive to St. Louis for a commercial flight,'' I told them. One by one, my colleagues followed up with ``Oh. Well, in that case, can I catch a ride with you?'' Of course I said yes, but I wasn't the one in charge of logistics or the driving. My scheduler in DC quickly reached out to one of our brandnew staffers. It was actually this staffer's first day on the job, but she was based nearby, and she had a car, a Toyota Corolla. That was how Cameron Joost learned that not only would she be meeting me for the first time that afternoon, but she would also be in charge of driving four Members of Congress--or roughly a quarter of the entire Illinois House delegation--the 100 miles across State lines. And, oh yeah, it was in the middle of a snowstorm, and we were all the female Members of the delegation. Somehow, she got us there. Somehow, she didn't lose a single one of us. And we didn't make it easy for her. That tells you a lot of what you need to know about Cam--nerves of steel. She can handle whatever you throw at her, always doing so with the best of intentions and biggest of smiles. In the next few weeks, Cam will move on to help lead Illinois' Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, where she will continue a career-long mission of looking out for others. While I am sad our office will no longer have Cam to ourselves, I am so, so excited to see all the good she is about to do in Springfield. Cam, I could go on for hours about all you accomplished as our State director. Please just know this: You have made a difference. You have changed lives. And you have probably saved lives through your efforts. Through your leadership, countless veterans have received the vital healthcare and benefits they have earned, and countless families have gotten Social Security checks they desperately needed or have been reunited with loved ones who were stranded across borders or have gained access to a hot meal or a warm bed. You have made Illinois proud. You made us all proud. I will miss you dearly, but I can't wait to follow your next steps--no longer as your boss but as your biggest fan. And I hope you will forever be willing to give me a ride in the middle of a snowstorm. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

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

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, on September 11, 2001, even while smoke was still billowing from the wreckage of the Twin Towers, I knew deep within me that that attack on American soil would change not just my Nation's future but my own, and it did. I rushed back to the assault helicopter company I commanded at the time, ready to seek out the terrorists who attacked my Nation and slaughtered civilians. I did it willingly, without hesitation, because every fiber in my being felt the need to defend my country when she was threatened. So, today, let me be very clear. As a soldier and as someone who has always supported Israel, I strongly believe in Israel's right to defend herself and her people, especially when under attack from a terrorist organization like Hamas--a group that redefines the word ``cruelty,'' that seems to take pleasure in bloodshed, that refuses to adhere to the rule of law or international norms. If I were an Israeli soldier--if I woke up two Saturdays ago to the sights and sounds of massacre like they did--I, too, would be desperate to defend my nation and my neighbors; I, too, would want to make sure that those who turned my children's playgrounds into battlefields, who turned the grass under my daughter's swing set from a rich green to blood red, were never able to inflict such horrors again. I grieve for every Israeli life that was upended or, in too many cases, ended in such a horrific fashion. There is never an excuse or justification for terrorism, none. And I will stay on this floor for as long as it takes, vote as many times as I have to, to ensure that our Israeli allies have the resources and support they need in time of war. I am also clear-eyed about the fact that there is a humanitarian crisis unfolding just miles away in Gaza, and I recognize the urgent need to help the innocent Palestinians, who are also suffering as a result of Hamas's brutal attacks. It is this simple: We should all be able to agree that no child deserves to starve to death or die of thirst. We should all be able to agree that no child deserves to be brutalized or burned alive, whether they live in Gaza or Tel Aviv. We should all be able to agree that no child deserves to be terrorized, whether their home is on a kibbutz or in Plainfield, IL, or behind a blockade. Every time I have gone home from work since that awful Saturday morning, I have held my little girls as tightly as I could. I have given them one more squeeze than usual and held on to them for a couple more seconds than normal. My daughters are just 8 and 5. They don't understand why I am so upset. So I just tell them that Mommy's heart is hurting, that she is really sad right now, and that all she wants in that moment is just to hold them a little closer for a little longer. I am haunted by the faces of the Israeli children whom Hamas terrorists abducted, just as I am by the conversations I have had with parents desperate to get their children home from the captivity of a terrorist organization. I am haunted by the stories of the Palestinian children who have been buried in rubble, just as I am by the images of 6-year-old Wadea Al- Fayoume, who was brutally murdered by his landlord over the weekend in my home State of Illinois because he just happened to be a Muslim--a 6- year-old who loved playing with his LEGOs, a6-year-old who could have been any one of ours. I know many others in this Chamber, across the country, and around the world are haunted, too. So we must--must--act with urgency to secure the sustained flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. We must--must--restore essential services like water as quickly as we can. We must--must--ensure hostages being held in Gaza receive urgent medical treatment and are safely brought home as soon as humanly possible. Innocent life needs to be protected consistent with the laws of armed conflict. These actions mark both moral imperatives by helping innocent civilians but also are steps toward ensuring Israel's security. I am grateful that the administration has been working around the clock on these priorities, and I will continue to do everything in my power to support them because, during a crisis that is almost always defined by lose-lose outcomes, this could be the rare step that would actually benefit all innocent parties. It would help to get those trapped innocent Palestinian families who are mourning their own lost loved ones and who have been living with no access to basic necessities. It would get assistance to the hostages from Israel, the United States, and other nations whom we are all praying for so desperately. It would send the message that the global community is unified in ending the suffering of innocent human souls. As someone who was shot down by an insurgent in the Middle East, I know all too well that these are the kinds of moments when the next generation of insurgents get radicalized, as groups like Hamas thrive when people are suffering the most. They take advantage of the despair and the hopelessness that they themselves manufacture, that they themselves manipulate, and they use it to recruit more to their cause. We cannot let Hamas succeed. We cannot let the blast of missiles drown out the voices of our better angels because our hearts are big enough and our perspectives wide enough to know that Hamas's reign of terror terrorizes the little girls and boys of not just Israel but Gaza, too, as they use them as human shields. In this moment, it is hard not to feel the darkness weighing down upon us. But for all of those in harm's way, we must channel our devastation into motivation. We must use our voices to lift up the humanity of innocent civilians, not to dehumanize those who may look or pray differently than us. We must work as hard as we can to bring about a tomorrow for both Israelis and Palestinians alike, where their skies won't be marred with missiles, and their streets won't be scarred with blood. That is exactly what I am going to do. I am going to roll out of this Chamber, head back to my office, and keep fighting to get our hostages home. I will fight to get our greatest ally in the Middle East, Israel, the aid and support they need, and I am also going to work to get basic humanitarian aid into Gaza. Then, tonight, when I go home, I am going to hold my daughters in my arms until they wiggle free, and every moment that that hug lasts, I am going to be more aware than ever how lucky I am just to be able to squeeze them tight.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. I suggest the absence of a quorum.