Mitch McConnell

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, unfortunately, the Democratic leader has decided that instead of taking up the critical annual Defense authorization, the Senate will dedicate floor time this week to the latest in the Biden administration's parade of unfit nominations to the Federal bench. The latest example is a judge nominated to the Federal district court in Oregon named Mustafa Kasubhai. Judge Kasubhai's record and judicial philosophy put him well outside the mainstream. This nominee has bragged about his lack of commitment to standard jurisprudential practices. During his time as a magistrate judge, he said we have to ``set aside conventional ideas of proof''--of proof-- ``when we are dealing with the . . . interpersonal work of equity, diversity and inclusion.'' Now, if by ``conventional ideas of proof,'' he is referring to things like clear evidence or sworn witnesses and their testimony, then I think I tend to prefer conventional ideas. Unfortunately, this only scratches the surface. This judge also sounds like a committed Marxist. He has authored an article promoting the integration of Marxist theory into property law and claimed that the notion of scarcity of natural resources was a myth promoted by a privileged elite. He has heaped high praise on the disgraced racist prophet known for insisting that ``the only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.'' As many of our colleagues know, I was fortunate to be here in Washington when Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his famous ``I Have a Dream'' speech, and I don't recall Dr. King calling for retribution. In fact, his name has become nearly synonymous with the exact opposite. But apparently this is just one more subject on which this judge would prefer to leave ``conventional ideas'' behind. Well, when it comes to judicial nominations, I subscribe to conventional wisdom: A judge's job is to follow the law, not the passing fads of woke politics. So I urge my colleagues to join me in rejecting this nomination. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, soon, the Judiciary Committee will consider promoting a magistrate in New York, Sarah Netburn, to the district court after a less-than-judicious committee process. Judge Netburn's hearing was a contentious affair. You should go watch it. My friends the junior Senators from Louisiana and Texas had the judge dead to rights on her judicial activism from the bench. She was clearly prepared for their line of questioning, but by the end, she wilted under the withering fire from my colleagues. That is when the acting chairwoman of the committee got involved. After Republicans were finished questioning Judge Netburn, she invited the nominee to defend herself. Her defense, of course, flatly contradicted her written opinion as a judge. Committee Republicans rightly objected. It is one thing to give a nominee the chance to rehabilitate herself, but giving her the last word as she lied to the committee is a different matter entirely. After the nominee gave two different explanations for why she had engaged in political activism from the bench, committee Democrats blocked further questions and closed the hearing. It sounds an awful lot like the way another nominee, Adeel Mangi, explained his policy views to liberal interest groups only after the committee was finished questioning him. Judge Netburn got the last word here. As the junior Senator from Louisiana said, it looks an awful lot like a coverup. Apparently, it is not enough for Senate Democrats to rubberstamp radicals to the courts. They desperately don't want the American people to even know about it. Well, it is not working. The Judiciary Committee has received almost 100 letters from liberals opposing Judge Netburn's activism. The cat is literally out of the bag. So I would urge my colleagues to pay attention to what happens in the Judiciary Committee as Judge Netburn's nomination moves forward.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, it was roughly two centuries ago that Kentucky's early settlers first began converting corn and grain into the rich, amber liquor we now know as bourbon. Originating from the heart of the Bluegrass State, America's only native spirit has since achieved worldwide recognition and secured Kentucky's foremost place as the world capital of bourbon whiskey. Today, visitors from all 50 States and 26 countries have traveled to the Commonwealth to enjoy this corn-based, barrel-aged spirit along the famous Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Founded in 1999, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail connects distilleries all over the Commonwealth for natives and visitors alike to responsibly enjoy our State's signature spirit. What started as only seven distilleries has grown into an international destination. Today, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail encompasses 46 distilleries offering everything from behind-the-scenes tours to unique experiences that celebrate Kentucky's rich history in bourbon production. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail originated as a gathering place for bourbon enthusiasts to celebrate the tradition and time-honored craft behind this liquor in its birthplace. However, today the trail continues to enrich and give back to Kentucky as a vital part of our State's tourism economy. Since its inception in 1999, bourbon production in Kentucky has surged by 493 percent and, within that time, became the largest export among all distilled spirits in the United States. Other areas within our economy have also experienced unprecedented growth--new hotels, tourism companies, and other local attractions have all cropped up along the trail's many destinations. This year, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail celebrates 25 years since its founding. I want to thank all those involved for their stewardship of Kentucky's heritage and their work to build our State's vibrant bourbon industry. As this Kentucky landmark celebrates its silver jubilee, I would like to extend my best wishes to its dedicated team and all the hard-working Kentuckians who have contributed to the enduring popularity and legacy of bourbon whiskey.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, since President Biden took office, consumer prices have risen more than 20 percent. The Nation hasn't seen this sort of persistent drain on our economy since the Carter administration, and the Biden administration is desperate to avoid the obvious comparison to the stagflation back in the 1970s. The White House recently asserted that ``President Biden's top priority is beating inflation, which is why he has taken historic action . . .'' Well, that begs the question: Which historic action are we talking about here? Is the administration referring to the time it invited historic inflation over the warnings of top liberal economists like Larry Summers but ignored that and went ahead with the so-called American Rescue Plan or the time they did the same thing again but called it the Inflation Reduction Act? The Biden administration is still looking for a safe landing spot, and liberal commentators are literally tying themselves in knots. One liberal editorial board recently suggested that since employment and consumption levels are steady, ``people will . . . start to notice and the `vibes' will also return to more normal levels''; that ``[i]t's possible that Americans are experiencing the economic equivalent of a hangover.'' But, Mr. President, that is just utter nonsense and is not fooling anyone who actually has to balance a family budget. A recent survey reported that nearly two-thirds of middle-class Americans say they are facing economic hardship. Numbers don't lie; neither do consumers. The high prices they are facing aren't a matter of ``bad vibes.'' They are the predictable and avoidable consequences of Bidenomics.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on Saturday, in a daring daytime raid, Israel rescued four innocent hostages who had suffered in Hamas captivity since October 7. The mission was the product of careful planning. It demanded the utmost secrecy, professionalism, and bravery. In the case of one elite commander, it required the ultimate sacrifice. The people of Israel can take pride in their Nation's dedication to restoring its security and delivering justice for the brutal attacks that shattered a quiet Sabbath morning last fall. Of course, the same operation also exposed even further the tremendous obstacle that continues to threaten Israel's sovereignty and block the prospect of peace for both Israelis and Palestinians. It brought into focus the appalling lengths to which hardened terrorists will go to sow chaos and exploit innocent suffering, and it raised uncomfortable questions about the broader complicity of some Palestinian civilians. With the help of U.S. intelligence, the Israeli forces' mission led them not to the depths of Hamas terror tunnels but to the heart of a refugee camp run by the United Nations and to the family home of a Hamas terrorist who self-identified as a journalist. So the brutal exploitation of civilians is a well-documented tactic in Hamas's playbook. These are, after all, the terrorists who repeatedly deploy their weapons and combatants in or beneath schools, hospitals, and mosques in order to use civilians as human shields. The detention of Israeli hostages in family homes is a predictable extension of this despicable practice, and every drop of blood spilt this weekend is the responsibility of the party that violated a cease- fire, launched a barbaric attack, took innocent hostages, and has refused calls from around the world to release them. These are the basic facts, but predictably, they are not what we read over the weekend in the coverage of Western media. Instead of outrage that a Hamas terrorist would exploit their profession as a cover for hostage-keeping, major publications have directed their indignation at Israel for seeing through the terrorists' flimsy cover as doctors and journalists and daring to bring its people home. One major national newspaper's initial coverage of the raid made no mention of the fact that Hamas had chosen to hide its hostages in private homes. Just days after publishing its own analysis of the bogus casualty reporting of the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, another outlet reverted to breathlessly parroting the terrorist group's own death toll propaganda in the headlines of its coverage on the hostage rescue. And to the surprise of absolutely no one, the U.N.'s so-called Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights shamelessly accused Israel of using hostages to legitimize killing innocent civilians. If this--if this--is the media diet the American people have to consume, then what came next should surprise no one. In New York, masked protesters waving Hezbollah flags jeered at visitors to an exhibit honoring the victims of the October 7 attack on the music festival from which the hostages freed this weekend were abducted. Predictably, news broadcasts characterized the protesters, who chanted ``Long live the intifada'' and ``Israel, go to hell,'' were merely pro-Palestinian, not anti-Israel. Meanwhile, unhinged throngs of Hamas apologists occupied Lafayette Square, outside the White House, defacing statues, attacking law enforcement, and chanting disgusting anti-Semitic slurs--a generation of useful idiots and fifth columnists adrift on a sea of performative sympathy for terrorists and beyond the reach of fact or reality. Lest anyone doubt, this contagion is not confined to so-called elite universities. Americans who are rightly worried about crime and violence may wonder why on Earth the President would permit this lawlessness on Federal property, let alone the park outside the White House, or why no arrests were made. They especially ought to wonder why the Biden administration chose this moment, as the people of Israel celebrated a small but precious victory in securing the freedom of four of its citizens, to try to box Israel in with a stunt--a stunt--vote at the U.N. and why the White House so desperately wants to constrain our ally's freedom of movement and to micromanage its military. This weekend's developments may feel like a significant inflection point, but the fundamental realities of this situation have not changed. Israel has a right to defend itself. Terrorists have no right to take innocent hostages, and they alone--they alone--bear responsibility for the consequences of their actions.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the Supreme Court term is about to end, which means it is time for Democrats and their media allies to bully and harass the Justices. The most recent example of this is the risible attack leveled against Justice Alito for his wife's flags. I have nothing to say about those attacks themselves because they are so profoundly unserious, but I do have an observation about how some of the attacks have been leveled. Three of our colleagues have taken it upon themselves to write to the Chief Justice and demand Justice Alito's recusal in cases. One went so far as to tell the Chief that he should strip Justices Alito and Thomas of their ability to write majority opinions unless they recuse from the cases liberals don't want them hearing. This goes beyond the standard disgraceful bullying my Democratic colleagues have perfected. Recusal is a judicial act. These Senators are telling the Chief Justice, privately, to change the course of pending litigation. This is known as ex parte communication, and it is frowned upon by the ABA's Model Rules of Professional Conduct. This matters because at least two of these colleagues of ours--the junior Senator from Rhode Island and the senior Senator from Connecticut--seem to be members of the Supreme Court Bar. If so, they are, therefore, potentially engaging in unethical professional conduct before the Court. They may be under the mistaken impression that their persistent attempts to threaten the Federal courts are a permissible use of their legislative office, but they are officers of the Court and bound by a different set of rules than a mere Senator. These rules provide for discipline against those who engage in ``conduct unbecoming'' an officer of the Court. I might suggest to our colleagues that unethical ex parte communications seeking to change the course of pending litigation is such conduct and that the Court should take any remedial action it feels to be appropriate. The legal profession is in distress. Unethical behavior by attorneys serving political causes, unfortunately, knows no party or faction. It is up to the legal profession to police itself, and in the end, this means that courts, including the Supreme Court, must police their officers. We don't need to appeal to heaven to fix this problem, just to the Supreme Court's power to police the ethical practice of law among the members of its bar.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, 1,231. That is how many days it has taken President Biden to do something--anything--about the humanitarian and security crisis that has consumed our southern border and is engulfing our country. Here is another number: There are 154 days until election day. In other words, the Biden administration has waited nearly its entire term before lifting a finger to address the open borders anarchy that it invited. In that amount of time, the CBP has reported more than 7.8 million encounters with illegal migrants at the southern border, and that is not counting the 1.6 million known ``got-aways.'' Fentanyl poisoning is now the leading cause of death among American adults between 18 and 45. The lethal pipelines that began with Chinese chemical makers flow north across a broken U.S.-Mexico border. And perhaps most disturbing is the increasing number of individuals on the Terror Watchlist who have exploited the border chaos to set foot on American soil. With an election just months away, the President hopes that an issued Executive order will demonstrate that he cares about this crisis and is trying to fix it, never mind that his order would still allow more than 900,000 illegal aliens to come in every year at the southern border. This is on top of the half-million illegal parolees President Biden intends to continue waiving into the country. Combined, that is more than the population of 10 States. It is a new Dallas, TX, every year. This is like turning a garden hose on a five-alarm fire. And the American people are not fools. They know that this play is too little, too late.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. On a different matter, I have spoken repeatedly about how Adeel Mangi, President Biden's nominee to the Third Circuit, is unqualified for the bench. But the red flags on this administration's nominees aren't limited to radical associations and ethical lapses. Judge Nancy Maldonado, a trial judge nominated to the Seventh Circuit, has distinguished herself with sheer--sheer--incompetence. Thanks to reforms put in place by then-Judiciary Committee Chairman Biden, Federal courts keep track of how many fully briefed motions have been sitting without a decision for at least 6 months, a report often known among judges in Chicago as the Biden list. It was a good reform because justice delayed is justice denied. And as it turns out, Judge Maldonado has by far the largest number of motions pending for more than 6 months among the judges of the Seventh Circuit, with 125. She would need to rule on one of these motions every workday for the next 6 months just to clear her existing Biden backlog. There are only a handful of judges in the country who are this far behind on their work. Judge Maldonado's Biden backlog puts her beyond the 99th percentile of all district judges nationwide in terms of slowness. The Biden list requires judges to explain why they are so far behind. Judge Maldonado blames her record on ``complexity of the case,'' ``voluminous transcripts/briefs to be read,'' and ``heavy civil and criminal caseload.'' Does the President think his nominees will face less complex cases on the court of appeals, lighter caseloads, less voluminous transcripts or briefs? Why on Earth would our colleagues consider giving new and greater responsibilities to a judge who is clearly struggling with the ones she has already gotten or, for that matter, why would they consider promoting someone whose instinct is to pass the buck? I wish I were making this up: When our colleagues asked Judge Maldonado about her case backlog in written questions, she blamed her clerks. That is probably cold comfort to prisoners seeking relief for inhumane treatment or litigants paying months of legal fees awaiting her decisions. Apparently, it is not the woman with a judicial commission who is responsible for justice delayed; it is the 25-year- old brandnew lawyers on her staff. But passing the buck is what Judge Maldonado does. The junior Senator for Louisiana asked her how she defined ``assault weapon'' in a brief supporting Illinois' assault weapons ban, and the judge said she didn't know because she didn't write the brief. She was only--get this--the counsel of record. Do our colleagues really expect a promotion to the court of appeals to turn things around? Do they really think one of the Nation's least productive jurists actually deserves such a promotion? It doesn't have to be like this. Without even leaving Chicago, Washington Democrats will find a different trial judge, Judge Mary Rowland. Judge Rowland has impeccable liberal credentials. She satisfies the left's desired diversity metrics. The only difference? She is actually good at her job. Her Biden list is three cases. And her reason? These opinions are being drafted but need to have hearings. Complex cases and voluminous briefing don't faze Judge Rowland. This matters. The Seventh Circuit is a busy court. They hear oral arguments for every case that has a lawyer and publish all of these opinions as precedent. It is also the last stop for almost all litigants in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. Confirming Judge Maldonado to that court would be taking a judge who has proven herself incapable of swimming in the shallow end of the pool and throwing her into Lake Michigan. The people and litigants of the Seventh Circuit deserve better. And if my colleagues want to see basic competence in their judges, they ought to reject this nominee.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we are nearing the end of President Biden's term, and the American people's patience for his failure to secure our southern border is running thin. After 3 years in office, nearly every conceivable metric has distinguished the Biden administration from its predecessors for all of the wrong reasons. Since the President took office, Customs and Border Protection has seen the highest annual total for border encounters on record. CBP has reported more than 7.8 million encounters with illegal immigrants at the southern border, and this doesn't even count the 1.6 million known ``got-aways.'' Fentanyl and other lethal drugs pushed by China through Mexico and across our border are the primary cause of death among American adults between ages 18 and 45. And reports of individuals on the Terror Watch List trying to sneak across the southern border have literally soared on President Biden's watch. Five years ago, CBP didn't encounter a single individual on the list between southern border ports of entry. Last year, they encountered 169. This is what broken borders look like. This is humanitarian and national security failure of the highest degree. And it is no mystery how we got here. President Biden and Vice President Harris were promising open borders 4 years ago on the campaign trail, and they started following through, literally, on day one. The Biden administration rescinded policies like ``Remain in Mexico'' that helped CBP hold the crisis at bay. They froze construction of physical barriers at the border out of spite for their predecessor, a move that most Americans now say they want to see reversed. Every Senate Democrat voted to let President Biden repeal title 42, a pandemic-era policy that represented border officials only meaningful tool to stem the flow of illegal arrivals. The administrations supposed border czar traveled widely to discuss the root causes of migration, but for months, she couldn't find time to visit the border itself. And for years, Washington Democrats have refused to call the situation what it obviously is: a crisis. At every step, the American people have been left, literally, scratching their heads. In some cases, they have been left with unimaginable grief, like the family of Laken Riley, the student murdered by a man who shouldn't have been allowed into the country in the first place. And in every case, they have wondered why their elected leaders are missing in action. Families are wondering why Senate Democrats opposed Senator Blackburn's proposal to allow State and local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE to detain and deport criminals; why they voted down Senator Budd's legislation that would have prohibited granting legal status or citizenship to individuals who have assaulted a law enforcement officer; why they blocked the proposal that would have required that individuals DHS deemed to be ``special interest aliens''--potential national security risks--are detained at the border and not released into the interior by the thousands. They are wondering why leftwing groups are exploiting the crisis to line their own pockets. But one thing the American people don't have to wonder about is why Washington Democrats are suddenly chomping at the bit to convince their constituents that they care about border security. After all, working families are the ones telling pollsters the border is their very top election-year concern. The American people aren't fooled. They know that the President's summary reversal of commonsense border authorities is what started the crisis, and they know the solution is not cynical Senate theater. The solution is a President who is willing to exercise his authority, to use the tools he already has at his disposal, and to start cleaning up this mess. If Senate Democrats wanted to start fixing the crisis tomorrow, they would be urging the President to do exactly that. The American people have every right to expect secure borders, along with safe streets and stable prices. They don't have time for distraction, and neither do Senate Republicans. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, last week, just days after President Orban rolled out the red carpet in Budapest for President Xi, the Chinese dictator rolled out a red carpet in Beijing for Vladimir Putin. The ``friendship without limits'' struck between America's greatest strategic adversaries will now endure ``for generations to come.'' And it appears to be rooted in a shared myth about the nature of world conflicts and a victim complex that would be laughable if it didn't carry such grave consequences for Western peace and security. At last week's summit, Russia and China together accused the United States of threatening the world's strategic balance, as if it is Washington rather than Beijing or Moscow trying to redraw borders by force or to disrupt global order. Well, if you are looking for the government that has doubled its nuclear arsenal in 3 years, you will find it in Beijing, not Washington. In fact, Americans' own strategic deterrent continues to suffer from chronic neglect. And the Biden administration continues to submit defense budgets that fail to keep up with inflation, much less with the growing threat posed by the PRC. And if you are looking for the regime recklessly developing an insanely provocative and destabilizing nuclear weapon to deploy in space, you will find that one in Moscow. The world's leading authoritarians never seem to let the facts get in the way. But economic and military realities matter enormously to the future of fledgling democracies and developing nations who are vulnerable to their economic coercion and thuggish political intimidation. The challenge to Western peace and security is not confined to the Taiwan Straits and the trenches of Ukraine. Chinese debt traps and Russian security forces are expanding malign influence from Central America to Central Asia to Africa and to our own Western Hemisphere. Russia's efforts to strangle democracy and wrestle free societies back under its control are perhaps most glaring along the borders of Europe. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the unshackled nations have largely chosen freedom and worked to build democratic governments and societies oriented squarely to the West. And the neo-Soviet imperialists in the Kremlin see that as a threat. Leaders in Washington are prone to forget how fragile our own experiment in democracy was during its earliest days and how precious are the safeguards our Founders enshrined in our government to protect the minority from the excesses of authoritarianism of majority rule. Sometimes, of course, politicians in Washington even flirt with the idea of tearing down these safeguards of democracies to deny the minority any meaningful power. Fortunately, there is still a bipartisan firewall in the Senate against this sort of shortsighted radicalism. But for nascent, vulnerable democracies, such safeguards face even graver threats. And in Georgia, a parliamentary majority's quest for power is threatening to suffocate the nation's civil society and unravel the guardrails of its democracy. In an attempt to consolidate its hold on government, the Georgian Dream Party would stamp out the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the Georgian people. And while the political opposition is large, it is chronically divided against itself. Despite their feckless party leaders, thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets to protest. Their desire for self-determination and freedom from Russian coercion is obvious. Four in five Georgians tell pollsters they want a distinctly European future. They believe that planting themselves firmly in the West, among democratic nations where the rule of law prevails, is in their best interest. Whether Georgia looks East or West matters to the United States. Standing with free people resisting the aggression of tyrants like Putin or Xi is in our own interests. This is true of Taiwan and Ukraine, Estonia, and Japan. And it is true of Georgia. The Georgian people deserve the right to write their own future, not have it dictated to them by Moscow's preferred party chiefs. And why is it that Russians obsess over controlling Georgia's future? It is about more than acting out Putin's neo-imperialist fantasy. Geography matters. For millennia, Georgia and its Black Sea coast stood at the crossroads of the civilized world. It is a key transit point for critical resources. And today, along with Armenia, it sits as a tantalizing link in the land bridge between authoritarian partners in Moscow and Tehran. The people of Georgia have a long history of enduring conflict and conquest. They have a long tradition of resilience and a rich culture to be proud of. And they know there is a difference between bending to Russia and turning to the West. So, like friends of the Georgian people across the West, I am hopeful this moment will be one which can take yet more pride, as a moment when the opposition to Russian coercion puts petty differences aside and stands united. Of course, this must also be a moment for Georgia's ruling party to recognize the costs of ignoring their people's will in order to fulfill Putin's whims and to stop short of shredding their relationship with the West. I hope those in power in Tbilisi will put sovereignty over subjugation and withdraw the coercive ``Russia law'' from parliament.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, now on another matter, last Thursday, the Biden administration announced its plan to sacrifice yet another source of affordable, reliable American energy on the altar of climate activism. After years of freezes and bans on onshore and offshore oil and gas leasing, the administration's latest attempt to appease Democrats' radical base is a ban on new coal leasing in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana. This region is responsible for producing nearly half of the Nation's coal. Last year alone, the basin created more than 250 million tons of coal and employs more than 4,000 people. Shutting off development will result in lost jobs and millions of dollars of lost revenue for Montana and Wyoming. The sting of the administration's War on Coal is one Kentuckians know all too well. And working families across the country are already struggling with persistent inflation. Energy prices alone have risen more than 40 percent since President Biden took office. But Washington Democrats' radicalism may have finally stretched their own party to a breaking point. In fact, the Biden administration's war on affordable, reliable American energy has proven so radically harmful to consumers, workers, and our global competitiveness that it is facing bipartisan opposition right here in the Senate. Just yesterday, a bipartisan majority passed Senator Cruz's resolution disapproving of the Department of Energy's new rule to effectively ban affordable natural gas home furnaces. This rule would significantly increase the existing efficiency standard and effectively ban the sale of more affordable home heating furnaces that don't meet it. By one estimate, this rule will heap as much as $4 billion in new costs onto consumers who already can't afford the high cost of the Biden economy. The American people have suffered enough, from Bidenomics to the Green New Deal. I am glad a majority of the Senate agrees it is time to slam the brakes on the administration's assault on gas appliances. And I am thankful to my colleague Senator Cruz for bringing attention to this madness.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, yesterday, FDIC Chairman Mark Gruenberg announced he was prepared to step down from his position and expressed pride in maintaining public confidence in the Nation's banking system. Unfortunately, there is little such confidence in his ability to foster a safe working environment for the Agency's employees. But despite alarming reports about rampant sexual harassment, abuse, and retaliation at the FDIC, Senate Democrats in positions to insist on change have actually pulled their punches. Instead of calls for Mr. Gruenberg's prompt resignation, we have heard everything from confidence in his ability to lead change at the Agency to delicate suggestions that the President nominate a new Chair. The senior-most members of the Banking Committee apparently can't bring themselves to call a spade a spade. Surely, their reluctance has nothing to do with the FDIC's line of succession, which would fill a vacancy with the Agency's distinguished Vice Chair, who happens to be a Republican. Surely, our colleagues won't play politics in the face of such glaring failures of leadership at a major regulatory authority. The Senate's oversight responsibility is serious business. I hope our colleagues in the majority are up to the task.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on another matter, yesterday, the Democratic leader once again tipped his cap to President Biden for what he describes as ``many actions'' in ``recent weeks'' to secure the southern border, which leads me with a couple of questions: First, what took the President so long? And, second, why isn't he taking the actions we know would actually begin to address the crisis that he actually invited? The reason I ask is because time matters here. The cost of an average day of avoidable crisis at the border is measured in thousands of apprehensions of illegal arrivals and the interdiction of lethal drugs like fentanyl. And if that is not alarming enough, consider the story reported earlier this month of the catch-and-release of a military-age male who spent 2 years free in the interior of the country before he was detained for alleged affiliations with ISIS-K. Of course, everything I have mentioned so far we only know because the Border Patrol was able to stop it. But think about what border officials know they are not catching--the known ``got-aways.'' For 10 years before President Biden took office, under administrations of both parties, an average of about 125,000 people per year successfully crossed the southern border and escaped into the interior. On the Biden administration's watch, in fiscal years 2021 through 2023, the average tally of known ``got-aways'' is 550,000--from 125,000 to more than half a million. President Biden's Press Secretary says this administration has ``done more . . . than anybody else'' to secure the border. But if you wanted to make that claim true, you would say this President has done more than anyone else to make the tough jobs of CBP and other law enforcement personnel even tougher. In fact, one sobering new report suggests that contending for years with a historic humanitarian and security crisis without effective enforcement authorities is taking a heavy toll on the men and women of the Border Patrol. The rate of suicide among CBP personnel is three times higher than it was a decade ago. As one agent told reporters, ``when it turned out that the job became nothing more than processing and releasing these people, that was very hard to take.'' Going soft on border security may have started as just a shortsighted campaign strategy. A reckless debate-stage promise to ``surge'' asylum seekers to the border might have been just a cynical play to court leftwing voters, but after 3 years on the job, President Biden's failure to perform one of the most basic functions of his office isn't endearing. It is not some impressive sign of leftwing bona fides. It is a glaring, avoidable failure, a profound moral embarrassment, and even Washington Democrats are beginning to recognize it as a tremendous political liability. The American people are telling poll after poll that they are alarmed by the border crisis and want to see real solutions. Fortunately, the quickest way for the President to start undoing the damage he invented is to restore and use the authorities he already has at his disposal, like ``Remain in Mexico'' and border wall construction. Any of our Democratic colleagues who recognize that the President must act ought to start telling him so. It is time for the Biden administration to start exercising its immense authority to restore sanity and start cleaning up the mess at our southern border. The time for distractions is long, long past.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on one final matter, speaking of the failure to discharge basic responsibilities--the Biden administration's Department of Education. Around the country, high school seniors and their parents are still reeling from delays and processing errors in a botched rollout of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Families have had to make tough decisions ahead of enrollment deadlines with incomplete information. One such parent described the frustration she and her daughter were facing back in April: She's supposed to decide by the end of this month and pay her housing deposit, but we can't commit to anything until we know what the financials look like. It certainly makes one wonder: What are all those bureaucrats at the Education Department up to if they can't complete a fundamental part of their job? Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, the answer seems to be spending time and taxpayer dollars on activities that run contrary to the Department's mandate. The first of these activities, as I have discussed before, is student loan socialism. Of course, the Supreme Court made it clear that this scheme is illegal, and basic common sense tells us it is profoundly unfair both to folks who opted not to pursue a 4-year degree and to those who worked through college and paid their own bills. But President Biden has continued undeterred. Last month, his administration proposed a new rule to allow the Secretary of Education to cancel additional student debt for certain borrowers. It is estimated this will cost taxpayers nearly $150 billion. But the Department's illegal nonsense doesn't stop there. Unelected bureaucrats are also trying to rewrite title IX of the Civil Rights Act. The Biden administration apparently wants to take a law that was designed to promote equal opportunities for women in education and make it do the exact opposite. This rule would require States and educational institutions to abandon biological sex as the determinant in program decisions and use so-called gender identity instead, and institutions that refuse to comply would lose access to Federal funding. More than 25 States have already sued to overturn this absurd rule, but the damage to the Department of Education's reputation is already done. High school seniors and parents have already had to make college choices without crucial financial aid information. Working taxpayers are already footing the bill for the highest earning segments of the Washington Democrats' base. Laws that enacted protections for women are already being used to violate those same protections. It is shaping up to be a banner year for the Biden administration bureaucrats.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, last night, Iran confirmed that its President and Foreign Minister died in a helicopter crash. The condolences from sympathetic regimes were swift. The PRC declared that the Chinese people had ``lost a good friend.'' The Kremlin mourned ``a reliable partner.'' And Prime Minister Orban of Hungary, whose government has pursued deeper trade relations with Tehran, in spite of Western sanctions, offered his ``thoughts and prayers.'' Well, I, too, would like to extend my condolences to the people of Iran--for their long suffering under the brutal, theocratic rule of the Islamic Republic. I suspect a great many Iranians would rather Western admirers stop lionizing a man known as the ``Butcher of Tehran'' for executing political prisoners. They might prefer that foreign leaders not further legitimize the regime that actively represses all of them. In the meantime, conjecture about key players in the chain of succession and the relative strength of reform and hardline elements has already begun in earnest. To focus on this sort of speculation is to miss something more fundamental about the regime in Tehran, something I warned the Biden administration about when President Raisi was installed through a customary sham election 3 years ago: We should remember the President of Iran is just a figurehead. The real power rests with the aptly named Supreme Leader and the State institutions he controls. Supposed ``reformers'' and ``moderates,'' along with hard-liners, have come and gone from Iran's Presidency without fundamentally changing how Tehran operates at home or abroad. Meanwhile, the regime's revolutionary orthodoxy has endured for decades, preserved by the clerical establishment and the IRGC. Iran's leaders, its diplomats, and its enablers abroad can say anything they want about the regime's character and outlook, but actions speak far louder than words. And, for years, Tehran has moved steadily in just one direction: toward more terrorist violence abroad and more repression at home. And no matter who Iran's President has been, the regime in Tehran has continued to engage in rampant proliferation of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and UAVs while making steady progress toward nuclear weapons capabilities. So I would also like to extend my condolences to Iran's neighbors who still live under the constant threat of a regime that practices what it preaches: Death to Israel, death to America, war on international commerce, and chaos across the Middle East. The untimely death of the President of Iran does not change the underlying threats this regime poses to its own citizens, to its region, and to the free world. These threats continue to demand our collective attention.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, twice in the last week, President Biden has suggested that inflation was 9 percent when he took office and claimed credit for bringing it down. The Washington Post gave him a rating of four Pinocchios for that very tall tale. In reality, inflation in January of 2021 was 1.4 percent. As of this month, prices have increased 20 percent since then. By one estimate--listen to this-- the average U.S. household has to spend an additional $1,074 every month to keep up the same standard of living they had when President Biden took office. The numbers don't lie, and neither do the American people. They know nonsense when they hear it. A 32-year-old engineer from Nevada who voted for the President in 2020 told reporters he is frustrated with the way the White House frames the economy. Here is what he had to say: It is concerning to me when I keep seeing press come out of the White House where they keep saying the economy is good. That is really weird because I am paying more on taxes and more on groceries and more on housing and more on fuel. So that doesn't feel good. Small business owners in particular have been hard hit by increased prices. They have smaller margins to absorb the increased cost for materials, labor, and other operating expenses, and they risk losing customers every time they raise their prices. One small business owner in New York, a fourth-generation roofer, reported: We've increased more in the last four years than we had in 10. . . . We don't have a choice. The owner of a small printing company in Washington State described painful price hikes as ``death by a thousand paper cuts.'' He went on to say: People are tired of price increases. . . . We are tired of price increases. That is that. The American people are tired of price increases, they are tired of lies about it, and it is safe to say they are tired of Bidenomics. China Mr. President, on another matter, this week, Putin is in Beijing attending what Russia and China have called a ``friendship without limits,'' but last week, it was President Xi who took to the road, and, notably, his warmest welcome was in Budapest, Hungary. The visit from PRC's leader came as more of our European NATO allies are waking up not only to the harsh reality of Russian aggression but also to the linked threats facing Western security and prosperity, to the urgent requirements of defense production, and to the particular challenge the PRC poses as a systemic rival. But Hungary? Not so much. Viktor Orban's government has cultivated the PRC as its top trading partner outside the EU. It has given Beijing sweeping law enforcement authorities to hunt dissidents on Hungarian soil. It was the first European country to join Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, which other European governments--for example, like Prime Minister Meloni's in Italy--have wisely decided to leave. Hungary has doubled downed on Huawei. After the previous U.S. administration went to great lengths to encourage Europe to reject it, Hungary has let the PRC communications giant bake Chinese technology into the country's 5G expansion. Even as other European nations are paying vast sums to extract Huawei from their communications infrastructure, Hungary is now home to Huawei's European regional logistics hub--a veritable gateway to the West. Last week, Prime Minister Orban's government signed 19 more agreements with the PRC, from transportation infrastructure to potential nuclear cooperation. A joint statement described the two countries' relationship as ``an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership'' that is between Hungary and the PRC. But the details of China's growing influence in Budapest should raise red flags for anyone seriously concerned about strategic competition with China. From across the Atlantic, there is good reason to appreciate a European government that is willing to question EU orthodoxy on things like shortsighted climate change policy or swim upstream in defense of conservative values. But here in Washington, we are obliged to evaluate whether allies and partners share our interests, not just our values. And whatever their pluck in dealings with EU bureaucrats in Brussels, Hungary's leaders have cozied up to America's greatest strategic adversary. Now, it is one thing that a latter-day Walter Duranty who shills for Putin on Twitter might also admire the only NATO member whose leader flies to Moscow to pay obeisance to the Russian dictator, but Hungary's willingness to serve as China's doormat to Europe--that part is tougher to square with the position of folks in Washington for whom singular focus on China has recently become an article of faith. The Democratic Party's increasing willingness to abandon Israel cries out for frequent and heavy doses of reality and harsh criticism. Unfortunately, so does this increasingly muddled logic on the threats facing the West from Russia and China. A NATO government that fawns over a Russian neo-Soviet imperialist, a European nation that rolls out the red carpet for greater predation, coercion, and espionage from a communist regime--this isn't where America should be taking our foreign policy cues. How about sending a high-profile diplomat and trade missions to Tehran? Hungary's voluntary legitimization of the world's most active state sponsor of terrorism? I don't think conservatives had any time for those who suck up to Iran. Maybe aligning with autocrats is in Hungary's interest, but let's return from Budapest and discuss what is in America's interest. America has an interest in strong allies who are willing to pull more of the weight of collective defense in the face of threats from Russia, Iran, and China. We could have welcomed two more such allies to our ranks much sooner if not for Orban's obstruction of Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO. Not only do these countries have robust defense industries and capable militaries, they also each have companies that offer safer alternatives to Chinese 5G technology. And while many of us in Washington were urging the EU to do more to support Ukraine, Hungary--Hungary--was blocking the greater EU burden- sharing. Frankly, Hungary stands at the crossroads of three powers bent on undermining our security and prosperity. And the Orban government is modeling what not to do in the face of these challenges. My message to America's European allies has been the same, no matter their politics or their culture: Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are working together to undermine us. And we need to move faster to rebuild the hard power we need to deter and defeat aggression and hold one another accountable to share the burden of collective defense. There is plenty of work left to do on this front. Anti-Semitism Mr. President, now, one final matter, earlier this week, I discussed the growing problem of BDS; that is ``Bibi derangement syndrome.'' Of course, there is an older and similarly noxious form of BDS: the ``Boycott, divest, and sanction'' movement. This other BDS has been incubating on college campuses for the last decade, and right now, it is making news at Harvard. This is unfortunate, but at this point, it shouldn't surprise anyone. Remember, Cambridge, MA, was ground zero for the current wave of anti- Semitism sweeping so-called elite education. Not to be outdone by the ``restorative justice'' being meted out by their rival to the south, Princeton, Harvard leaders have announced their own sort of amnesty for the Hamas-supporting radicals who have harassed and intimidated fellow students in recent months. In exchange for dispersing from Harvard Yard, the interim president and the dean will be meeting with the Crimson Red Guards ``to hear their perspectives on academic matters relating to longstanding conflicts in the Middle East.'' The interim president also acknowledges ``the profound grief'' people feel over ``the effects of the ongoing war.'' And the campus' Hamas sympathizers will also receive a meeting with a top official from the Harvard Corporation to address questions about the university's endowment. ``Boycott, divest, sanction''--BDS. It seems that the lesson at our country's oldest university is this: Lawless radicalism works. Perhaps it is time for the American people to boycott, divest, and sanction the Ivy League. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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