John Hoeven

Mr. HOEVEN

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in recess until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, September 17, and that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day.

Mr. HOEVEN

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand in recess under the previous order, following the remarks of Senator Durbin.

Mr. HOEVEN

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, today I would like to congratulate an accomplished North Dakotan who is providing outstanding service to the Nation in the U.S. Army. BG Rebecca McElwain recently became the new Army budget director, and we look forward to working closely with a fellow North Dakotan in this role. Brigadier General McElwain was raised on a family farm near Karlsruhe, ND, and graduated from Minot High School. She attended North Dakota State University where she was in the ROTC program. She graduated with a bachelor of science in business administration from NDSU in 1997 and was then commissioned into the U.S. Army Finance and Comptroller Corps. From there, she spent significant time serving abroad, including deployments in Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East, with command assignments at every level. Prior to this new assignment, she served as an Army congressional budget liaison and then the director of the Army's budget liaison office. Through all of her assignments, she brings as wealth of experience that will serve the Army and Congress well. Brigadier General McElwain and her husband James have a son Andrew. James is a classically trained chef, and Andrew is a recent graduate of the University of Mary Washington and works with the General Services Administration in Washington, DC. We benefit enormously from talented leaders like Brigadier General McElwain, and we look forward to her continued contributions to the Army and to the Nation. I congratulate her on this new role and look forward to working with her.

Mr. HOEVEN

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment. The Secretary of Agriculture has put forth a proposal to move some of the people that work in the DC area, to move those functions out to the country to be closer to the farmers and the ranchers they serve. I very much support this effort. We are at the front end of this effort. She has testified in front of our Agriculture Approps Committee that she will work with us on it. The Ag-authorized committee is working on it as well. In fact, yesterday, I met with the Deputy Secretary of USDA. He committed to work on it. We have a good process. We do not need to overly handcuff the USDA as they work to make this transition, which is a transition that we should make. We are working on it in the right way. We are at the front end of the proposal, not the back end. I ask for a ``no'' vote on this amendment. Vote on Amendment No. 3115

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, this amendment would be an across-the- board cut. We made targeted cuts, and we had to fully fund WIC, which was a significant increase. So our cuts are actually more than the 2 percent that the gentleman is talking about. I support his desire to reduce spending, but, overall, we are up a little over 1 percent with that significant increase of about 7 percent in WIC. Again, I think we have done this the right way. We still have to go to conference with the House. They are about 5 percent below where we are. So I would ask for a ``no'' vote on this amendment and defer to my colleague.

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I support my colleagues' efforts to find spending reductions. He does make a number of changes that go in line with the President's budget, but he does a number of things that absolutely will not work. For example, cuts ag research by more than 40 percent. Let me repeat that. He cuts ag research by more than 40 percent. Cuts the FSA. That is most important Agency for our farmers. That is out in farm country where they are--cuts that Farm Service Agency by 20 percent; rural development, cut 20 percent; technical assistance at NRCS by 80 percent. So, again, we did make reductions. We actually reduced about 2 percent, but then we do fully fund WIC, which caused the increase to 1 percent. I ask for a ``no'' vote on this amendment.

Mr. HOEVEN

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

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the next vote be called.

Mr. HOEVEN

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

Mr. HOEVEN

Mr. HOEVEN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call with respect to the Fotouhi nomination.

Mr. HOEVEN

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each for debate only.

Mr. HOEVEN

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of Senator Whitehouse.

Mr. HOEVEN

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 3, and that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed, and the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Duffey nomination postcloture; further, that notwithstanding rule XXII, at 11:30 a.m., the Senate vote on confirmation of the Duffey nomination and if cloture is then invoked on Calendar No. 103, Allison Hooker, the Senate recess following the cloture vote until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly conference meetings; finally, that if cloture is invoked on the Hooker nomination, the postcloture time be expired at 2:15 p.m. and the Senate vote on confirmation of the Hooker nomination; and that if any nominations are confirmed during Tuesday's session of the Senate, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. HOEVEN

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

Mr. HOEVEN

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I rise during National Police Week, joining my colleagues to recognize the sacrifices of the brave men and women of law enforcement and honor those who choose to serve their communities while experiencing the reality every day that they may not return home to their loved ones. It was nearly 2 years ago that I stood on the floor here in the U.S. Senate and spoke about one such example of that self-sacrifice in my State of North Dakota. In July 2023, Fargo Police Officer Jake Wallin was tragically killed in the line of duty. He and his fellow officers were ambushed while responding to a traffic incident. In addition to Officer Wallin, Officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes were shot and injured before a fourth Fargo police officer, Zach Robinson, overcame a barrage of gunfire and eventually subdued the assailant. Last year during Police Week, Officer Robinson was recognized for his courage under fire by the National Association of Police Organizations and received the TOP COP Award for his actions during that tragic event. At the same time, the name of Officer Wallin, along with another North Dakota hero, Mercer County Deputy Paul Martin, was inscribed onto the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial here in Washington, DC-- a lasting tribute for making the ultimate sacrifice. We can never forget these officers, and we can never repay all of our police officers for the enormous sacrifices that they make, but we can continue to show respect for law enforcement, honor those we have lost, and recognize the sacrifices of their families and their loved ones. To honor our men and women in blue, I helped to introduce a resolution, along with my colleague from Missouri and others, commemorating National Police Week and paying tribute to their bravery. National Police Week provides us with the opportunity to come together as a nation to honor the peace officers who put their lives on the line to protect and serve in our communities. In addition, our resolution recognizes and honors the 233 law enforcement officers that were killed in the line of duty during 2024. Unfortunately, this number has increased since 2023, when 220 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty. The recent examples we have seen of law enforcement officers being targeted, even in broad daylight, are unacceptable. That is why I have also helped introduce the Thin Blue Line Act, legislation to increase penalties for criminals who target law enforcement and first responders. I encourage my colleagues to support legislation like this to protect the men and women of law enforcement. As we again mark National Police Week, let us recognize the selflessness and commitment of our police officers and the sacrifices they make on behalf of our communities. Today and every day, we recognize the bravery and dedication of our law enforcement to keep our communities safe. They are our neighbors, our friends, our family, and our leaders in our communities. May God bless our peace officers and keep them safe. I yield the floor.

Mr. HOEVEN

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in calling attention to the devastating fentanyl fallout, made significantly worse by 4 years of failed Democrat open border policies and to note the return of commonsense border security policies led by Senate Republicans and President Trump. In March, Border Patrol agents encountered just 7,181 illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border--the southern border, 7,181. This is in stark contrast compared to just 1 year ago, when, under President Biden, the total encounters for the month of March totaled 137,473. That represents a 95-percent decrease in crossings, from over 137,000 to about 7,000. This sharp drop of illegal encounters is thanks to a new administration and a new Republican majority in the House and Senate, which has prioritized securing our border by resuming policies that brought historically low encounters just 4 years ago. And, I mean, policies that we put in place 4 years ago that worked then, we have put them back in place. They are working now. So all that discussion on the part of the Biden administration saying, oh, my gosh, they needed some new law somehow, just isn't so; is it? The numbers make that abundantly clear. And, of course, that means reinstating the migrant protection protocols, or the ``Remain in Mexico'' policy. Again, commonsense policies. Reinstating these policies helped curb illegal entries of individuals at our border and has begun the process of making our country safe again. But the work is not done. While taking advantage of the failed border policies of the prior administration, cartels and other transnational criminal organizations, or TCOs, flooded the border and gained a criminal foothold in our country. The presence of the cartels and other bad actors operating within our borders led to criminal acts like drug trafficking, human smuggling, and other illegal activities. On his first day in office, President Trump signed a series of Executive orders addressing the border crisis that had been affecting our country and began the process of removing criminals who had illegally entered under the previous administration. These Executive actions have served as the first steps in reversing the catch-and-release policies that allowed members of cartels, gangs, and violent transnational criminal organizations, like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, to remain in the United States while operating criminal enterprises. By declaring an emergency at the border, DHS, DOD, and DOJ were able to take a whole-of-government approach and begin working together to identify the criminals that were illegally operating these networks within our country. The result of these harmful Democrat open border policies has been felt by us all and has turned every State into a border State. Leadership for the DEA Omaha Division, which includes my State, said it plainly and simply--the repeated presence of fentanyl in our communities is due to outside forces. The precursor chemicals are coming from China. They go down to Mexico and from there, they're pushed up into our communities. The numbers reflect this. In 2023, officials in North Dakota seized 21,000 more fentanyl pills than the year before, 30 pounds more meth, and 2\1/2\ times more pounds of cocaine. Last month, the Republican majorities in both Chambers, the House and the Senate, voted to continue funding for key programs at DHS and DOJ that combat the rise in illicit drugs like fentanyl. Unfortunately, our colleagues across the aisle voted against that effort. While the United States stands prepared to take on the scourge of fentanyl that is impacting our citizens, other countries must step up as well. As a result of the actions taken by this administration, both Canada and Mexico have begun to be engaged partners on this issue. In February, the President of Mexico agreed to send 10,000 National Guard troops to help secure its northern border with the United States. The Canadian Government has named a fentanyl czar, listed Mexican cartels as ``terrorist groups,'' and launched a Canada-U.S. joint strike force to combat organized crime, fentanyl, and money laundering. Additionally, the Canadian Government increased its law enforcement presence at the border, with a 56-percent increase in border personnel at land borders and ports of entry. CBP officers, Border Patrol agents, and State, local, and Tribal law enforcement are stepping up to take on the fentanyl crisis at our borders. I urge our Democrat colleagues in a bipartisan way to join us and support the effort to continue securing our border and to go after the criminals that have illegally entered our country and continue to do harm. I yield the floor.

Mr. HOEVEN

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call with respect to the Lawrence nomination.

Mr. HOEVEN

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

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to discuss our continued efforts to reverse the Biden administration's regulatory overreach, specifically as it relates to energy. This includes our efforts to work with President Trump to unleash America's full energy potential and truly make our Nation energy dominant--not just energy secure but energy dominant. Energy security is national security, and so it is vitally important for our country. We have worked diligently in the Senate to swiftly confirm President Trump's Cabinet officials, and we continue to do that. We made it a priority to ensure that the President's Department heads are in place as we work to empower the United States to produce more energy from all of its abundant and affordable coal, oil, and gas reserves. The key to this effort was confirming Doug Burgum of North Dakota--my State--as Interior Secretary, Chris Wright to be Energy Secretary, and Lee Zeldin to serve as Administrator of the EPA. We look forward to working with President Trump's newly established National Energy Dominance Council, chaired by Secretary Burgum and vice-chaired by Secretary Wright. We also continue legislative efforts to get our country back to energy dominance. Soon, the Senate will vote on my resolution to nullify the Democrats' natural gas tax rule, using the Congressional Review Act. We will be voting on that today. This new tax was mandated by the Democrats in their so-called Inflation Reduction Act. It should have been called the Inflation Acceleration Act. Not only did it increase spending for their Green New Deal, it also put taxes on things like natural gas. No wonder, under their watch, inflation went up to 9 percent. That hits low-income, hard-working Americans the hardest of all. So we are going to change that. This tax actually puts a fee on emissions from facilities that produce natural gas. It starts at $900 a ton and goes up from there, eventually up to $1,500 per ton. So essentially what you are looking at is putting a 5-percent-plus added tax on natural gas. Now, think about that. Everybody uses natural gas to heat their homes or to cook their meals and for many other purposes as well. So it is a tax on every consumer, and it is regressive. It hits low-income individuals the hardest. This, of course, has a disproportionate effect on small oil and gas producers in States like mine, in North Dakota, Montana, and other States. It hits small businesses the hardest. Of course, ultimately, it is paid by consumers. It will impact the energy bills of consumers across the country who, as I said, are already struggling with high inflation because of the Biden administration. Today, the United States is the world's largest oil and gas producer, and at the same time, we have led the world in emissions reduction. Here is a stat I am going to talk about for a minute, and it is important to focus on this because at the very same time that the Biden administration is putting additional taxes and fees on natural gas, we are reducing emissions from natural gas. Since 1990, we have reduced emissions from methane by 20 percent. Now, that sounds pretty good, right--a 20-percent reduction in methane emissions since 1990. But think about this: In that same time, we have doubled how much natural gas we produce. So we have doubled the amount of natural gas we produce and still reduced overall emissions by 20 percent. Remarkable. Remarkable. Biden's and Democrats' response to that is, well, gee whiz, let's raise taxes on everybody that uses natural gas. Obviously, not only does that drive up prices, it curtails production. Instead, what we need to do is support the innovation and empower the technology development that has enabled us to reduce emissions while producing more natural gas. That is the answer. That is the solution. That is exactly what President Trump and Republicans have done and will continue to do, and that is an important part of, again, making our country truly energy dominant. We are also working with the Trump administration to replace the Biden administration's rules that closed off access to vast areas of taxpayer-owned energy resources. That includes both offshore and onshore. For example, in my State, the Bureau of Land Management's--BLM-- public lands rule essentially enables environmental groups to lock away Federal coal, oil, and gas reserves under the argument that they are somehow undertaking conservation. The reality is, in North Dakota, for example, this Biden administration--what they call their Resource Management Plan closes off leasing to 45 percent of the Federal oil and gas acreage in our State and nearly 99 percent of Federal coal. But it doesn't just end there. When they close off those Federal lands from development, they also impact everybody else because Federal minerals are often colocated in our State and other States with privately owned minerals under non-Federal surface acreage. Their Resource Management Plan prevents other mineral holders and owners, private owners, from exercising their private property rights and limits the ability to develop minerals that are owned by the State, by the Tribes, and by private individuals. That is why I am working with Senator Cramer, Congresswoman Fedorchak, and Secretary Burgum to overturn the BLM's Resource Management Plan and maximize access to North Dakota's energy resources. That approach is not just important in my State, it is vital for energy-producing States across the country. This truly is about taking the handcuffs off our energy producers and empowering them to increase supply and help bring down prices for American families and businesses. There is an energy component in every product and service we consume, and when we make energy more plentiful and bring down that price, that helps reduce inflation. When we bring down energy and make it more plentiful, that helps us grow our economy, create more jobs and opportunities, and, in fact, not only provide for national security through energy security but help our allies as well so that they are not dependent on Russia or on OPEC or on Venezuela or anyone else--any of those bad actors--for their energy because they can get it from the United States. All these things go with producing more energy. All those benefits, all those things go with truly making America energy dominant. That is absolutely what President Trump and that is absolutely what Republicans intend to do. With that, I yield the floor.

Mr. HOEVEN

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 99, submitted earlier today.

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. HOEVEN

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 14, S.J. Res. 12.

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

Mr. HOEVEN

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I am pleased to come to the floor again today to discuss my resolution to block the Democrats' natural gas tax, which I will call up right after we vote to affirm President Trump's national energy emergency declaration. The Biden administration's tax and regulatory onslaught over the past 4 years have driven up the cost of energy and led to a national energy emergency for our Nation. One of the most egregious examples is a new tax on natural gas, and that is why I am leading S.J. Res. 12, a Congressional Review Act resolution to block this tax from taking effect. My resolution will rescind the rule implementing the Democrats' natural gas tax that the Biden administration finalized late last year. Congressional Democrats and President Biden mandated this new tax under the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which was, of course, the Inflation Acceleration Act, taking inflation all the way up to 9 percent. The Environmental Protection Agency issued its final implementing rule on November 18 of last year. The EPA's natural gas tax rule imposes stringent methane emissions charges on qualified petroleum and natural gas infrastructure, starting at $900 a ton for emissions in 2024; it then goes up to $1,200; and then, ultimately, up to $1,500 per ton in 2026 and subsequent years. Unless overturned, this would be the first time the Federal Government has ever imposed a direct tax on emissions. This new charge can equate to an effective tax increase on natural gas on top of other taxes of more than 5 percent. This will have a disproportionate impact on small oil and gas producers in my home State of North Dakota and across the country, many of which already operate on thin margins and cannot afford the high costs to comply with this onerous rule. Simply put, this is a punitive tax that will be passed along to consumers and will force energy developers to shut in production. That means higher prices to heat your homes. That means higher prices to cook your food. That means higher cost of natural gas for all consumers. Also, less supply of domestic energy means higher gas bills for consumers and an increased reliance on energy imports. Instead of new taxes and regulations designed to stifle production, we should be supporting innovation to maximize the use of our abundant and affordable oil and gas reserves. Our energy producers utilize the latest and the greatest technology, enabling more energy production with the best environmental stewardship. Today, the United States is the world's largest oil and gas producer, and at the same time, we have also led the world in emissions reductions Since 1990, U.S. natural gas production has doubled--this is an interesting stat. Since 1990, U.S. natural gas production has doubled; yet at the same time, we have reduced total emissions by 20 percent-- double the output--double the output and a 20-percent reduction in emissions. We have been able to increase crude oil production by 60 percent over the same time period. When I was Governor of North Dakota in 2000, our State was producing less than 100,000 barrels a day. We took that up to 1.5 million barrels of oil a day. This doesn't just happen overnight. It is because we work to provide the regulatory certainty to empower innovation and entrepreneurial spirit to unlock the potential for energy development in our State and in our country. As North Dakota became an energy powerhouse, our State producers have worked hard to meet the challenges of managing growing volumes of natural gas associated with oil production. North Dakota producers have endeavored to dramatically increase the targeted gas capture rate from 74 percent to 95 percent over the past 10 years, again, through innovation, through technology--the latest and greatest methods that we have implemented. Producers want to improve on that rate--and we continue to--but the Biden administration and its Green New Deal allies tried to make it-- and, in fact, did make it--harder to permit the very gathering systems that we needed to capture that natural gas. So they impeded our ability to reduce emissions. Instead of supporting more gathering lines and interstate pipelines, the Biden administration's natural gas tax will hinder domestic production. Further, because our Nation generates over 40 percent of our electricity from natural gas, burdensome taxes on natural gas producers will result in more expensive and less reliable electricity, more inflation for consumers across the country as a result. Also, less production at home makes other nations and our allies abroad more dependent on adversarial nations that have no regard for environmental standards. Think Russia. Think Venezuela. Think OPEC. At the end of the day, energy security directly impacts our economic and national security. This is about taking the handcuffs off and empowering our energy producers to increase supply and bring down prices for American families and businesses. That is why we are working to roll back the Biden administration's disastrous policies on energy, like this natural gas tax. I want to thank EPW, Chairwoman Capito, and the 25 other cosponsors of my resolution. I urge all of my colleagues to support this Congressional Review Act resolution. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues and the Trump administration to repeal this misguided tax on natural gas, while increasing energy production across the board in this country with good environmental stewardship that will truly make America energy dominant once again. I yield back all remaining time.

Mr. HOEVEN

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a correction to an appointment made on February 25, 2025, be printed in the Record. For the information of the Senate, this correction is clerical and does not change membership of the British-American Interparliamentary Group Conference made by the appointment.