Mitch McConnell

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today, Senate Republicans are still working in good faith on border policy changes that will allow the Senate to pass a national security supplemental. I am hopeful that Democrats, both here and at the White House, are beginning to recognize how committed we are to addressing the crisis at our southern border. I am hopeful that we can reach an agreement and address two national security priorities. Meanwhile, the challenges we are facing at home and abroad are not stopping themselves. As of today, U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria have faced at least 92 attacks from Iran-backed terrorists since October, including just last week against the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Meanwhile, Iran's Houthi proxies are escalating their threats against shipping vessels in one of the busiest choke points of international maritime commerce. Iran and its terrorist network are not deterred. They believe they can try to kill Americans with impunity. Yet, last week, leading Senate Democrats joined a failed effort to withdraw America's presence in Syria. Three Members of the Democratic caucus leadership cast votes to retreat--to retreat--in the face of an emboldened terrorist threat. So did the chair of the Foreign Relations subcommittee that deals with the Middle East. It is time for our colleagues to get serious about the threats that we face. Fortunately, the Senate is on track to pass the long-awaited National Defense Authorization Act. I am grateful to Ranking Member Wicker and Chairman Reed for the extensive work required to bring this must-pass legislation across the goal line. This year, the Armed Services Committee considered 445 amendments, and another 121 were adopted here on the floor. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of many of our colleagues on this side of the aisle, the bill they produced asserts the Senate's priorities on a host of national security issues where the Biden administration's approach continues to fall short. This year's NDAA recognizes the need to strengthen America's position in strategic competition with China through targeted improvements to critical capabilities--from long-range fires and anti-ship weapons to modernizing our nuclear triad. It will authorize further investments in the defense industrial base and expand efficiency and accountability of the lethal assistance degrading Russia's military in Ukraine. It will turbocharge cooperation with Israel on future missile defense technologies and ensure our closest ally in the Middle East can access the U.S. capabilities it needs when it needs them. It will give America's men and women in uniform a pay raise. It will focus the Pentagon more squarely on tackling national security challenges instead of creating new ones with partisan social policies. In my home State of Kentucky, it will advance important initiatives to expand production at Bluegrass Army Depot and reduce U.S. reliance on competitors for materials critical to our defense. Of course, Congress can't fix the Biden administration's weakness on the world stage by ourselves. We can equip a global superpower, but we still need a Commander in Chief who recognizes that he is leading one. President Biden should be focused on restoring real deterrence against Iran-backed terrorists, not interfering with the internal politics of the democratic ally they are attacking. Israel is a modern, mature, and independent democracy. I imagine that neither Israel's leaders, nor its citizens appreciate President Biden's punditry to Democratic donors about their wartime coalition government. In fact, foreign influence in our own politics used to be something Washington Democrats loved to condemn. So I would recommend that the President focus on the task at hand: imposing meaningful consequences in Iran and giving Israel the time, the space, and the support it needs to defeat Hamas. This week, the Senate will move the National Defense Authorization Act one step closer to becoming law. I hope that will mark the first step toward giving the national security challenges America faces the urgent attention they require. But it will still fall to Congress to pass supplemental national security appropriations and full-year defense funding to ensure the investments we authorize this week deliver real progress in making America stronger and more secure. Nominations On another matter, this morning, the Judiciary Committee is examining another slate of President Biden's nominees to join the Federal bench. Over the past 3 years, our colleagues on the committee have met and considered an alarming parade of nominees whose conduct or lack of legal qualifications make them so wildly unfit for confirmation that they had to be withdrawn, from the First Circuit nominee known best for helping defend an elite prep school against a victim of sexual assault to the Kansas District nominee whom the American Bar Association was expected to find ``not qualified'' for judicial service. Unfortunately, today's nominees include yet another head-spinning example of the Biden administration's radical approach to filling the Federal bench. Adeel Mangi is the President's nominee to serve as circuit judge for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Since graduating from Harvard Law, he has spent his career in private practice, but for years, he also served on the board of a Rutgers student organization that facilitates and amplifies grotesque, anti-Semitic activism. For example, on the 20th anniversary of September 11, the Center for Security, Race and Rights at Rutgers Law School hosted speaking engagements for a ringleader of recent calls for an intifada in the United States and a convicted supporter of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. For those who need reminding, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas are holding hostages, including Americans, in Gaza as we speak. American Jews are facing a historic wave of anti-Semitic hate, and this wave is emanating from campus organizations across the country like the one Mr. Mangi guided and supported at Rutgers. Is the Biden administration really asking the Senate to give life tenure on the court of appeals to a nominee with an extensive record of condoning terrorist propaganda? I would urge our colleagues on the Judiciary Committee to take a closer look at Mr. Mangi's nomination and reject it. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, this morning, the Senate welcomed Ukraine's inspirational and determined President Zelenskyy to the Capitol. For nearly 2 years, the people of Ukraine have defied the world's expectations. They have ground down the world's second most powerful military, and they have confounded Putin's aggressive, imperialist aspirations. At every step of the way, America's commitment and support has provided critical fuel for Ukraine's resistance and helped European allies wake up from a holiday from history. Now, our allies are awake. They are investing in collective defense, and clear majorities of Americans understand the importance of America's continuing to lead as the arsenal of democracy. I have been a staunch supporter of Ukraine's fight to take back its land, liberate its people, and restore its sovereignty since the beginning of Russia's invasion way back in 2014. Our Ukrainian friends' cause is just, and if the West continues to stand with them, they can win. But let's be absolutely clear: Ukraine's cause hasn't always been popular here in Washington. In 2021, Republicans recommended that the Biden administration step up assistance to help Ukraine deter renewed Russian threats, and the administration seemed to think Ukraine was a frozen conflict and a distraction from other priorities. In early 2022, as the gravity of Putin's plans came into focus, Republicans urged the President to expedite shipments of critical weapons systems to stop Russia's advance, but his administration's unfounded fear of escalating the conflict repeatedly kept decisive capabilities out of Ukrainian hands at critical moments. When Russian troops crossed the border and the administration first came to Congress for assistance, it was Republicans who demanded we use emergency funds to pay for the cost of deploying U.S. forces to Europe rather than forcing our military to take those costs out of hide. And it was Republicans who demanded that our supplemental appropriations bills include funding to replenish and modernize the stockpiles we were drawing down to support Ukraine. Perhaps, they expected the war to be over quickly, but the Biden administration requested neither of these things. In fact, when the Senate received the President's first supplemental request, I called the Democratic leader and said: ``Double it.'' He agreed with my suggestion, and that is precisely what we did. Republicans on the Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and Appropriations Committees have worked overtime to help equip Ukraine for victory. We have pushed relentlessly for investments that strengthen our Armed Forces, degrade our adversaries, and stand firmly with a sovereign democracy against authoritarian aggression--all while expanding our defense industrial capacity and creating American jobs at the very same time. We have done it because we know that American leadership has ripple effects. Just look at how our European allies are now contributing more to Ukraine than we are, how allies across the world are investing in hard power and in our collective defense. We know that the threats we face are intertwined; that Russia, Iran, China, and North Korea work together to undermine America and the West. We know that our border--just like Ukraine's borders and Israel's and Taiwan's--must be inviolable. That is why, for months now, we have supported supplemental action on all four of the most pressing national security challenges we face. My support for Ukraine and Israel is rock solid. I am committed to preparing the U.S. military to deter and defend Chinese aggression. I am determined to get the national security crisis at the southern border under control. And I am going to work to get it done as long as it takes.

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, for all of its flaws, the supplemental request the Biden administration submitted to Congress did correctly identify four especially urgent national security priorities: defeating Russian invasion in Europe, countering Iran-backed terror in the Middle East, deterring Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific, and securing America's southern border. Late last week, President Biden said he was willing to make ``significant compromises'' on Republican policy changes designed to restore real border security. And across the country, elected Democrats are emphasizing just how urgent this progress is. The Governor of Arizona reported over the weekend that her State is ``at a breaking point'' and that it needs Washington to ``step up, do its job, and bring security and order to our border.'' She is a Democrat. At the frontlines of the crisis that has unfolded on President Biden's watch, the mayor of Nogales, AZ, put it this way: I think it's time to say enough is enough. . . . I'm a Democrat, a registered Democrat, but I run this city as a human being. I know many of my colleagues here in the Senate share that frustration. Many of them recognize the urgency of the situation. Just over the weekend, in the time since Senator Lankford presented Senate Democrats with this latest opportunity to help fix America's broken asylum and parole system, the crisis at the southern border has actually gotten worse. With average daily border crossings near 10,000--10,000--CBP is now saying it is releasing 6,600 illegal aliens into the interior every single day. The backlog of asylum cases sits at 3 million--3 million-- and counting. And officials have reported arrivals from more than 150 countries just since October 1. This is what a crisis looks like. This is what the Democratic leader spent last week insisting was ``extraneous'' to America's national security. Well, when it comes to keeping America safe, border security is not a side show; it is ground zero. Senate Republicans have no more spare time to explain this basic reality. We cannot convince anyone who doesn't want to acknowledge the glaring facts on the ground. The Senate has to act.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, yesterday, every single Republican rejected the Democratic leader's attempt to separate border security from national security. As we have said for weeks, that was a futile effort that was doomed to fail from the very beginning. Hopefully, the Senate can now seize a new opportunity to make real progress on legislation that addresses urgent national security priorities both at home and abroad. So let's establish a few things going forward: It is profoundly unserious to pretend that national security priorities don't include securing our Nation's borders, to warn about borders in jeopardy and not start with the one that is being overrun here at home, to invoke threats facing sovereign nations without a clear plan to uphold America's own sovereignty. Mr. President, I am not in need of any lectures about the gravity of the challenges facing national security. I don't need any admonishments about what is at stake for America and our allies in Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression. I am well aware that the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism remains undeterred from trying to kill Americans in the Middle East. And I certainly have not forgotten that China, our top strategic adversary, is watching what we do very closely. Instead, unfortunately, it has been the Biden administration-- including our Commander in Chief--who has all too often needed reminders about the responsibilities of a global superpower. From Europe to the Middle East, the administration has reached new heights of self-deterrence. With Putin's forces massing on the borders of Ukraine, the administration slow-walked lethal assistance. As the Russian offensive unfolded, they held back the most decisive capabilities Ukraine needed out of an unfounded fear of escalation. And even with further security assistance hanging in the balance, the Biden administration has been slow--very slow--to sell this urgent measure and its massive domestic benefits to our people here at home. From the outset, the Biden administration resumed the Obama-era efforts to reset relations with Tehran and removed the Iran-backed Houthis from the terrorism list. Also, it is no surprise that Iran has snubbed its nose at these displays of weakness. It is no surprise that U.S. personnel are facing a spike in terrorist attacks from Iraq and Syria to the Red Sea. But the administration continues to pull its punches. And meanwhile, Republicans have spent years urging the administration to start performing even the bare minimum of its fundamental responsibility to secure our southern border and enforce our Nation's laws. Right now, the crisis created by the Biden administration's neglect is bringing illegal aliens to the United States at the rate of 300,000 a month. That is roughly the population of Lexington, KY, arriving every month. And thanks to an asylum and parole system that desperately needs fixing, many of them are just brought straight in. I know many of our Democratic colleagues recognize the urgency of this crisis. I know many of them are ready to help restore sanity at our southern border. Well, Senator Lankford, Senator Graham, and other Republican colleagues are still working hard to do exactly that. There is no time like the present to join them in those efforts. Syria Mr. President, now, on a different matter, this morning the Senate will vote on a resolution calling for the withdrawal of American military forces from Syria. Passage of such a resolution would be a gift to Iran and its terrorist network. Driving American troops from the Middle East is exactly what they would like to see. Adopting this short-sighted measure would wreck America's credibility in the region. It would encourage Iran's proxies to open a northern front in the territorial war against Israel. It would invite America's adversaries to challenge our military presence throughout the world. Back in 2019, as our colleagues may recall, the Senate went on record about the wisdom of withdrawing prematurely from Syria and Afghanistan. At that time, the vast majority of us rejected such a retreat. And those who didn't have since watched President Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, Putin's escalation against Ukraine, China's growing challenge to international peace and stability, and Iran's glaring threat to America and to Israel. Today is the 82nd anniversary of Pearl Harbor. It is a day to remember the cost of being caught on our heels. A vote in favor of this resolution is a vote for retreat in the face of terror. Bidenomics Mr. President, now, on one final matter, working Americans can't seem to catch a break from Bidenomics. Washington Democrats' spending sprees on President Biden's watch have driven inflation up 17.6 percent. And the effects are becoming inescapable. In my home State, many small business owners have been forced to raise their prices to keep up with the rising costs. One shop owner in Lexington, put it: I make food and chocolates and all the ingredients have gone up. I've been battling with increasing my prices which I don't want to do. Just like in cities and towns across the country, small businesses in Lexington are facing declining foot traffic, which might have something to do with the consumers' shrinking paychecks. Inflation is eating away at people's savings. By one estimate, the average American family would need an extra $11,400 a year just to maintain the standard of living they had when President Biden took office. And, needless to say, folks on fixed incomes are among the hardest hit. One 68-year-old retiree in western Massachusetts summed up his struggle to make ends meet in the Biden economy. Here is what he said: You get your check and then you have to sit down there . . . like `What am I going to pay [out]? Am I going to get food or lose my electricity?' . . . I can't spend nothing anymore. I have to pay rent, utilities, food, medicine. This is what the American people are up against. This is everyday life under Bidenomics. Bizarrely, the Biden administration still seems to hold its favorite phrase in high esteem. The White House Press Secretary called Bidenomics ``the word of the year.'' Well, working Americans feel quite differently. And the President's hometown is no exception. As one resident from Scranton, PA, reported recently: [E]verything is going up, except for paychecks. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, later today, Senate Republicans are going to deny cloture on a bill that fails to address America's top national security priorities in a serious way. As we have said for weeks, legislation that doesn't include policy changes to secure our borders will not pass the Senate. The situation unfolding at our southern border on President Biden's watch is a crisis of historic proportions. It is glaring, it is acute, and it is undermining America's national security. President Obama's DHS Secretary used to say that 1,000 border crossings a day ``overwhelms the system.'' Today, they are reporting encountering over--listen to this--10,000 people a day down at the border--a large town's worth of illegal aliens each day. Thanks to a broken asylum and parole system, the vast majority of them are admitted into the country before their legal status is even determined. Mr. President, 10,000 arrivals a day would mean a population the size of a middle-sized town in Kentucky every month--every month. The sheer volume has forced officials in the Tucson, AZ, sector, which has recently accounted for nearly 3,000 of those daily arrivals by itself, to shut down one port of entry altogether. This is the crisis undermining America's national security right here at home, and today, some of our Democratic colleagues are showing just how little they want to do anything about it. Senate Republicans know this isn't an either-or proposition. We know that national security begins with border security. I have spent months highlighting the undeniable links between the threats we face in Europe, in the Middle East, and in the Indo-Pacific, but Democratic leadership appears to be telling us today that they are willing to risk each of these urgent priorities to avoid--avoid--fixing our own borders right here at home. Apparently, some of our colleagues would rather let Russia trample a sovereign nation in Europe than do what it takes to enforce America's own sovereign borders. Now, it wasn't always like this. Democrats didn't always have such a hard time following the logic that national security begins right here at home. I am reminded of the commission President Reagan set up in the mid- 1980s to assess the importance of peace and security in the Western Hemisphere. It was a bipartisan exercise that included everyone from Henry Kissinger to the former chair of the DNC and the president of the AFL-CIO. The commission concluded that America's security in the world ``depends on the inherent security of its land borders'' and that our adversaries would reap ``a major strategic coup to impose on the United States the burden of defending our southern approaches.'' ``[A] major strategic coup'' for our adversaries. A past generation of Democrats understood the logic implicitly when it pertained to the threat of Soviet influence. Well, that logic applies even more today to the instability, cartel violence, terror, and drugs pouring over our southern border. But in today's Democratic Party, some of our colleagues appear to be so terrified of their radical base that they are convinced open borders are worth jeopardizing U.S. security around the world, that securing America's borders is less urgent than helping our partners defend theirs. The Democratic leader has insisted repeatedly that border security is an important issue, but whatever our colleagues want to call the issue, their actions suggest they are not at all interested in actually solving it. Demanding serious border policy changes isn't injecting an unrelated issue into the conversation. President Biden's own request wanted us to throw billions of dollars at this exact problem. Fixing a badly broken asylum and parole system isn't hijacking the supplemental; it is strengthening it. Securing our southern border isn't extraneous to our national security; it is essential. I know some of our Democratic colleagues understand this. I know not all of them are beholden to the same radical base that demands open borders at home and supports an intifada abroad. I invite them to work with Republicans on meaningful, lasting border security. But if today's vote is what it takes for the Democratic leader to recognize that Senate Republicans mean what we say, then let's vote, and then let's finally start meeting America's national security priorities, including right here at home. Coal Mr. President, now on another matter, for millions of Americans, expensive heating bills and rolling blackouts are becoming the hallmark of the holiday season under President Biden. So it came as no small surprise when the Biden administration's climate czar, John Kerry, proclaimed this week that no coal plants should be ``permitted anywhere in the world''--``anywhere in the world.'' Goodness. Our former colleague may have bought himself applause from the jet-set crowd assembled at the conference, but his ban on coal would make energy even less reliable and affordable here at home. As my colleague from West Virginia, Senator Capito, pointed out yesterday, many States in Middle America still rely on coal to keep their lights on. Kentucky, West Virginia, Wyoming, Missouri, Utah, North Dakota, Indiana, and Nebraska all use coal to generate over 50 percent of their electricity. President Biden's handling of the economy is turning in dismal marks from working Americans. But the climate activists in his administration continue to wage war on the most affordable forms of American energy they rely on. Unfortunately, Middle America is used to footing the bill for Washington's radical climate agenda. For 8 years under President Obama, Kentuckians watched the War on Coal kill jobs and cripple communities across Appalachia. These same communities continue to pay dearly under President Biden. Kentucky coal miner employment has never--never-- recovered from the Obama-era coal purge. Hasty plans to phase out fossil fuels only force more miners into early retirement in Kentucky and threaten the livelihood of Middle America. The sort of power grid failures we have seen in California, Texas, and Kentucky will become even more common if Democrats' full-speed- ahead climate strategy continues. Meanwhile, our top strategic adversary is scaling up coal production. Despite the Biden administration's pleading, China continues to forge ahead with new coal projects and resurrect retired plants. Time and again, the President's climate czar has happily accepted empty climate pledges from our adversaries at the expense of American jobs and job creators. So Democrats can repeat their tired green energy talking points until the cows come home, but the reality for Americans is all the same: less reliable and more expensive energy this winter.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the Senate has spent months considering supplemental action to meet serious, connected threats to America's national security. As I have said from the outset, our work needs to address four urgent challenges: Putin's war on a sovereign democracy in Europe; the terror campaign against Israel and U.S. forces in the Middle East; China's aggressive escalation against Taiwan and peaceful nations in the Indo- Pacific; and the Biden administration's continuing failure to contend with the crisis at our southern border. Senate Republicans' focus on securing the border didn't just begin this fall. We have watched for 3 years as the border descended into chaos on President Biden's watch. And for 3 years, we have urged his administration to fulfill even its most basic responsibility to enforce our immigration laws. Anyone who suggests that Senate Republicans are injecting the issue of border security into this discussion at the last minute either isn't serious or hasn't been paying attention. Continuing to pretend that upholding American sovereignty is any less urgent than helping our allies and partners defend theirs is reckless. Borders in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona are every bit as inviolable as those in Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific. And the sooner our Democratic colleagues realize it, the sooner we can deliver on urgent national security priorities. Now, needless to say, America's adversaries aren't waiting for us to get serious about our own security. In the South China Sea, for example, the PRC is increasingly using aggressive posturing and outright force to disrupt peace, stability, and lawful maritime commerce. Beijing now greets lawful passage in international waters with threatening, unsafe conduct and hyperventilating bluster and continues to undermine the long-established territorial claims of sovereign nations throughout Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, China is not the only adversary stepping up its aggression in the maritime domain. Iran and its network of terrorists continue to illustrate the failures of the Biden administration's deterrence in dangerous detail. On Sunday, a U.S. Navy destroyer and Israeli-flagged commercial vessels came under fire from the same Houthi rebels this administration had inexplicably taken off--off--its list of terror organizations when it took office. This was, of course, a concession to Iran. Of course, terrorist violence at sea is only the latest in a laundry list of Iran-backed attempts to kill Americans in the region since October 7. At least 77 times, Tehran's proxies have used lethal force against U.S. personnel in Iraq and in Syria, just since October 7. By any objective standard, the Biden administration's response has been woefully inadequate. Tehran remains demonstrably undeterred. As President Obama's former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta put it last week: ``I would be much more aggressive.'' So effective deterrence requires both capabilities and credibility. And America can't hope to deter our adversaries if we signal hesitation and fear of escalation. Consider the enemy we are up against. One of Hamas's top terrorists in Gaza told the media recently that the slaughter of Israelis on October 7 was ``just a rehearsal''--a bloody rehearsal that left 1,200 innocent people dead and hundreds more in terrorist captivity. These savages--savages--mean what they say about erasing Israel from the map. But this is not just Israel's fight. Today, at least eight Americans are still being held hostage in Gaza. And if Iran and its proxies get their way, there will be more Americans killed and captured. This is not--not--a time to go soft on terror. This is not a time to put constraints on Israel. This is a time to support your friends and stand up to your adversaries. As the Senate considers urgent national security for priorities, our adversaries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East are watching closely what we do.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I would like to begin today with a few words about the late Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Justice O'Connor was a transformative figure in the history of our country and of our highest Court. She was a trailblazer in both legislative politics and constitutional jurisprudence, and I am grateful for her extraordinary life and for her dedicated service. I know our colleagues join me in offering our deepest condolences to Justice O'Connor's children, grandchildren, and the entire O'Connor family.

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 past hundred years have seen few, if any, strategic thinkers shape world events as profoundly as Henry Kissinger. Few academics have had such deep experience in the practice of foreign policy. Few political appointees have had such bureaucratic savvy. Few senior government officials have carried such intellectual heft. Who else could claim to have advised more than one-fourth of all U.S. Presidents, to have taken a seat across from every Chinese head of state since Chairman Mao? Yesterday marked the end of the extraordinary Kissinger century. If you consider just the early chapters of this remarkable life, you might expect Henry Kissinger to be the quintessential idealist. But by the age of 30, he had escaped Nazi brutality for America, returned home a decorated veteran of the campaign to defeat Hitler, and launched a successful career as an Ivy League academic. Of course, instead of an idealist, this made-for-Hollywood origin story produced one of the world's staunchest realists. The Kissinger calculus was grounded in pragmatic assessments of national interest, the use of military force, and diplomatic compromise; and, by extension, so were decades of American foreign policy. Several years ago, one particularly apt assessment of Henry Kissinger's legacy pointed out that he didn't believe ``the arc of history makes house calls.'' In other words, if the free world waits passively for its noble convictions to be vindicated, we will be waiting quite a while. Instead, Henry Kissinger knew that the organizing principle for American strategy must be American interests, and he left no room for wondering what this approach looked like in practice. His careful negotiations ushered in a period of detente with America's greatest 20th century rival, and his bold diplomacy opened the door to a relationship with China that rebalanced Cold War dynamics in America's favor. Of course, the enduring relevance of Dr. Kissinger's work is due in no small part to his prolific participation in public discourse on foreign policy and grand strategy, up until the very end. The author of 21 books confounded scholars half his age with the pace and the volume of his brilliant scholarship on topics ranging from the history of diplomacy to artificial intelligence. In perhaps the truest expression of both his intellectual horsepower and understanding of power, he remains the only American statesman to have served as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor at the very same time. Today, the world Henry Kissinger leaves behind bears his indelible mark. The Nation he served--the global superpower he helped create-- owes him our gratitude. Elaine and I, along with so many of Dr. Kissinger's friends in the Senate, send our condolences to his wife Nancy, his children David and Elizabeth, and to the entire Kissinger family as they mourn a great American.

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 had an opportunity to watch the majority leader's speech this morning. It was extraordinary. I want to compliment him for providing a history lesson for Americans about the history of the Jewish people and putting it in context with the conflict that is underway. So I want to thank him and associate myself with his remarks. I share his disgust at the alarming rise of anti-Semitism in America--and around the world--in the wake of the October 7 attacks. So, again, I stand with him in condemning this hatred. And I stand with our ally, Israel, as it defends, literally, its right to exist.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, in the coming weeks, Congress has a responsibility to equip America and our allies to face a historic array of national security challenges. To understand the urgency of this moment, just look at the impossible choices facing our ally Israel as it works to bring innocent people home from terrorist captivity. These brutal terrorists bankroll their existence with the blood of innocent people. They know that their hostages can be cashed in for a brief reprieve from justice or in exchange for terrorists incarcerated in Israel. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is one of Hamas's own design. Just as there is no moral equivalence between terrorism and self-defense, there is no moral equivalence between innocent hostages and convicted terrorists and criminals. Unfortunately, this is not just a reminder for the activists on elite campuses and in national newsrooms who uncritically lapped up and regurgitated activist propaganda. It is also for some of our colleagues here in Congress. According to some reports, Senate Democrats will use their caucus lunch today to discuss placing restrictions on U.S. military assistance to Israel. One of our colleagues is already on the record demanding that President Biden ``be more aggressive with the Israelis.'' Another has declared that ``not one penny will be coming to Israel'' unless our ally bends to his view--offered from the comfort of a Senate office--on how Israel should conduct self-defense operations. If Senate Democrats want to vote to tie the hands of Israeli soldiers as they defend their country against vicious terrorists, I welcome such a debate. For anyone who needs to hear it again, the conflict unfolding today is between a sovereign democracy that takes great pains to avoid civilian casualties and terrorist butchers who go out of their way to inflict civilian casualties and put their own civilians in harm's way. Israel deserves the time, the space, and the resources to restore its security, and I will stand by our ally 100 percent. For that matter, our own people--American men and women in uniform-- deserve the same unwavering commitment to restoring credible deterrence against Iran. Since October 17, Iran-backed terrorists have launched at least 73 attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria. Clearly, President Biden's strikes against desert warehouses have not given our adversaries pause. The world's leading state sponsor of terrorism remains demonstrably undeterred. Right now, we have a responsibility to equip Israel to destroy Hamas, deter violence against American servicemembers, and invest seriously in American hard power--a language our adversaries in Iran, in Moscow, and in Beijing actually understand. Supplemental national security legislation is our chance to uphold this responsibility.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, before the Senate adjourned for Thanksgiving, we voted to extend Federal Government funding into the new year. I am glad there was no appetite in the Capitol for saddling the Nation with a harmful and unnecessary government shutdown. The short-term funding legislation produced by the Speaker of the House was an important step toward fulfilling Congress's responsibility to pass full-year appropriations, and work continues toward restoring the sort of regular order appropriations process that Senators on both sides of the aisle have set as our goal. But the Senate convenes today with some extremely important outstanding business that we need to address this year. In a few short weeks, we need to deliver on several urgent national security priorities. For starters, a number of our colleagues are hard at work on the conference report of the National Defense Authorization Act. This is Congress's primary opportunity to shape America's national security priorities and set the course of strategic competition with major adversaries. We need to empower our Armed Forces with a clear directive for the many challenges they face. We need to prepare them to deter and fight future wars, not drag them into political culture wars. We need to focus our military on geopolitics, not climate politics. But at this especially dangerous moment, we also need to deliver supplemental resources to help both America and our partners defend against linked threats from our biggest adversaries: Russia, Iran, and China. Make no mistake, the PRC is not deterred. Beijing didn't take a Thanksgiving break from its historic military buildup, its threats to the freedom of navigation in international waters, or its efforts to meddle in Taiwan's domestic politics. Russia is not deterred. Putin hasn't eased off on his brutal conquest of Ukraine. Iran is not deterred. The world's top state sponsor of terrorism has continued to underwrite an alarming surge in attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria since the barbaric attacks of October 7. Hamas is not deterred. Even during a temporary pause in fighting, terrorists are clearly determined, with Iran's help, to wipe Israel off the map ``from the river to the sea.'' America needs to stand with our friends and stand up to our aggressors, and Senate Republicans have been working for weeks to ensure that supplemental legislation includes robust investments in the hard power and defense industrial capacity we need to confront them head-on. But on this side of the aisle, we also recognize that national security begins here at home. Last month's total southern border encounters marked the busiest October in decades of CBP records, and the harsh reality of the Biden administration's border crisis continues to impact millions of Americans in cities across the country. So I am thankful that Senator Lankford, Senator Graham, and Senator Cotton have been working diligently to produce legislation to address this crisis head-on. Senate Republicans have been laser-focused on actually fixing our broken asylum process, not just pouring more money into a system that is simply not working, and our Democratic colleagues would do well to take these efforts seriously. The bottom line is simple: We don't have the luxury of addressing glaring threats to our national security one at a time. Crises don't solve themselves just because Washington can't muster the political will to address them. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats have already suggested they want to condition urgent resources for one of our top security priorities on not addressing another one. Apparently, our colleagues are considering putting support for Israel on the chopping block unless we promise not to fix the border crisis they helped to create. So, Madam President, this sort of cynical, shortsighted politics has denied the American people real border security too many times. The challenges facing America are connected, and the time to address them-- each of them--is now.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote on yet another bipartisan resolution to overturn a harmful Biden administration regulation. In its latest iteration, the administration's bid for student loan socialism--its so-called income-driven repayment scheme--would likely go down in history as the most expensive Federal regulation in our history. Leading estimates predict this policy would heap a $559 billion bill onto taxpayers over the next decade. In exchange, a majority of the high-earning borrowers who choose to take on student debt would avoid ever paying back the principals they borrowed. The administration's plan would actually remove the guardrails that ensure Federal loan relief goes to low-income households. Apparently, loyal blue-State doctors and lawyers are the most important beneficiaries of student loan socialism. Whichever way you slice it, the President's policy is a raw deal for working Americans who have made the sacrifices to pay off their student loans or avoided debt altogether. But with taxpayers footing the bill, it is also a powerful incentive for schools to raise the price of college even higher. A bipartisan majority of our colleagues has already rejected the socialist fever dream, and President Biden's first attempt at massive loan cancellation was actually struck down by the Supreme Court. But today, thanks to the leadership of Chairman Cassidy, Senator Thune, and Senator Cornyn, the Senate has another chance to kick student loan socialism to the curb. I would urge my colleagues to support the resolution later today. Border Security Mr. President, on another matter, it is impossible to ignore the crisis at our southern border that has erupted on Washington Democrats' watch--back-to-back, record-setting years that saw millions upon millions of illegal arrivals at the border and historic quantities of fentanyl and other lethal drugs pouring across to decimate American communities. Let's remember where this crisis came from. President Biden campaigned on open-borders policies. His message was so compelling that crowds literally showed up at the southern border with his campaign logo on their shirts. As one put it back then, the President had ``promised us that everything was going to change.'' Vice President Harris offered a refrain of her own. She said: Say it loud, say it clear, everyone is welcome here. She called the previous administration's commonsense border security measures ``criminalizing innocent people.'' Well, this is the administration that canceled commonsense policies like ``Remain in Mexico,'' shelved DHS resources meant for border wall construction, and abandoned overstretched border enforcement personnel to contend with the tidal wave of mass migration. Today, cleaning up the administration's mess at the southern border is a matter of urgent national security. I am grateful to a group of Senate Republicans, including Lankford, Graham, and Cotton, who have been working in good faith on substantive policy reforms to bring this crisis under control. The goal here is simple: Slow the flow, and stop the catch-and- release asylum system that is overrunning border communities and blue cities alike. The crisis isn't crying out for boatloads of new taxpayer dollars, just commonsense policy reform. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats do not appear ready to admit this reality. They are apparently not ready to seriously address asylum abuse. That is a stance that has put them out of step with even left- leaning governments across the Western world. For example, Germany, which is struggling with an asylum caseload costing roughly $53 billion, is exploring trusted third country policies to keep asylum seekers outside its borders while their cases are adjudicated. Finland is considering closing some crossing points along its borders as Russia weaponizes migrant flows against the West. Responsible people everywhere recognize that enforcing sovereign borders isn't some hand-wringing moral outrage. In fact, what is outrageous is refusing to do so. The American people deserve safe streets, stable prices, and secure borders. These are the fundamental responsibilities of any government, but on all accounts, the Biden administration is failing to deliver. China Mr. President, now on one final matter, 1 year ago, President Biden met for the first time with President Xi, the head of the Chinese Communist Party, and he pledged that the United States would compete vigorously with the PRC. One year later, the President and the chairman will meet again--today. So let's take stock of whether the Biden administration is living up to its pledge of vigorous competition. The stakes of this competition simply cannot be overstated. The Chinese military is outpacing us in pivotal military capabilities like hypersonics, precise long-range fires, and even naval vessels. Beijing has secured a commanding share of the rare minerals necessary to create critical supply. Chinese agents are engaged in an aggressive effort to steal sensitive Western technologies and government secrets. And the PRC consistently signals its disdain for national sovereignty, human rights, and the free flow of commerce. In other words, strategic competition with China is going to determine the course of the next century of American history. Yet the Biden administration has too often met this historic moment with weakness and naivete. Time and time again, it has sacrificed competition on the altar of green climate policy. In the administration's quest to turn the American automobile industry electric, it has apparently made peace with sending American tax dollars to the Chinese industries that dominate battery-making inputs. In pursuit of grand climate diplomacy, the administration's envoys have been literally laughed out of Beijing by a state that keeps on increasing its carbon emissions and has no plan to start cutting them literally for years. Meanwhile, the consequences of the Biden administration's neglect for American hard power are only getting more dangerous. The PRC is acquiring new weapons as much as six times faster than the United States, and for each of the past 2 years, it announced a 7-percent increase in military spending. But even as the President's national defense strategy identifies China as ``the pacing threat,'' his defense budget requests haven't even kept up with inflation. Chairman Xi has gone out of his way to align closely with fellow adversaries of the West, stepping up joint military exercises with Putin's forces and helping both Moscow and Tehran endure Western sanctions. China has made military competition with the West a top priority. We can't afford to ignore this challenge. Our allies certainly aren't. Japan, South Korea, Australia, and other Indo-Pacific partners are investing heavily--heavily--in their own defensive. Taiwan is seeking to make itself a harder target for Chinese aggression, but America must continue to do its part. We have to keep investing in the sort of defense industrial base that can sustain this armament and strengthen our own military for effective deterrence. The Senate has multiple opportunities before us--in both supplemental measures and full-year Defense appropriations--to do exactly that, and we can't afford not to seize these opportunities. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, yesterday, the Supreme Court announced its adoption of a code of ethics. The Court produced the code internally and adopted it unanimously. In other words, as I expected, a coequal branch of government conducted its business independently, which sounds an awful lot like the separation of powers envisioned in the Constitution. Certainly, that hasn't deterred Senate Democrats from their obsessive effort to bend the Court to their will. In fact, their monthslong smear campaign--disguised as an effort to make the senior-most jurists in the country, duly confirmed by the Senate, more ``accountable'' to the American people--unfortunately, continues apace. We know what our colleagues really mean by ``accountability.'' It is code for ``intimidation.'' I am sure that this sort of accountability is exactly what the Justices and their families felt as the Biden administration declined to enforce Federal law and protect them in their homes from angry mobs or when Senate Democrats threatened to slash the Court security budget in the face of death threats or on any number of occasions when our colleagues have issued ominous, veiled warnings about ``restructuring'' or outright threats that Justices would ``pay the price.'' This week, Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are at it again. Our colleagues planned last week to threaten legal action against private citizens who decline to indulge their sham trial of the Justices. The only problem? Republicans on the committee submitted too many commonsense amendments, and the majority worried that some of them might pass with bipartisan support. But regardless of how Senate Democrats choose to spend their time, I will repeat what I have said before: I have the utmost confidence in each one of the Justices of our Nation's highest Court, and they should continue to pay this intimidation campaign no mind.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on one final matter, today, our Nation's Capital will welcome a rally of Jewish Americans and friends of Israel. The participants in today's events are gathering in mourning, in worry, in fear, and in shared resolve. In the dark days since the terrorist massacre of October 7, their message has been crystal clear: There is no moral equivalence between terrorism and self-defense. Israel has a right to exist, and Jews everywhere have a right to live without fear. These basic truths should be obvious and unimpeachable. But if anyone failed to see the creeping advance of anti-Semitism across the West in recent years, if any corner of our society let itself believe that this unique hatred of Jews has been confined to history, that naive fiction was shattered on October 7 and swept away by the hate that has poured across college campuses and city streets throughout America and the West over the past month. In just the first week after Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad murdered 1,200 Israelis, harassment, vandalism, and assault against American Jews rose nearly 400 percent. But the peaceful people gathering in Washington today aren't here to ask for pity for themselves. They are here on behalf of the more than 240 hostages, including a 3-year-old American boy and at least 8 other Americans who cannot speak for themselves. They are here with a clear message for our leaders: Stand with Israel. Since October 7, I have spoken repeatedly about the challenges Israel faces as it works to protect its people, bring the hostages home, and destroy Hamas's capability to wage war. I have talked about the terrorists' reprehensible record of systematically violating the customary laws of war; their expropriation of humanitarian aid; the cold-blooded practice of putting command centers and weapons caches in hospitals, schools, and even mosques; their grotesque penchant for using innocent Gazans as human shields; and, of course, the threat of further violence from the Iran-backed terrorists on the second front. This is why I have urged the Biden administration to give Israel the time, space, and support it needs to bring these savages to justice. How quickly some in the West have become confused about the crystal- clear distinction between terrorism and self-defense. It is not the same thing. Hamas sought the conflict. Hamas perpetuates it by holding hostages and continuing its terrorism. And those of us who live out of range of terrorist rockets should pause before second-guessing Israel's response. This is the time that demands moral clarity on campuses, in newsrooms, in Congress, and at the sharp end of American military strength. It is also time to restore credible deterrence against Iran, the chief underwriter and architect of violence against Israel and against American forces in the Middle East. In less than 1 month, Iran-backed terrorists have targeted U.S. servicemembers in Iraq and Syria 52 times. From the abandonment of Afghanistan to the delisting of the Houthis, to our failure to respond to proxy attacks on our friends in the region, the Biden administration has made Iran's job actually easier. And now, as America dithers over support for their friends in Ukraine, Tehran has thrown itself firmly behind Putin's Russia. It will take more than demolishing a couple of warehouses to show our adversaries we are credible. Iran and its terrorist networks must know that violence against America or our allies will be met swiftly and overwhelmingly with lethal force. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, now on another matter, this morning's October inflation report tells a story that has become familiar on President Biden's watch. Prices remain stubbornly high and well above the Federal Reserve's 2-percent target. Prices are up 3.2 per year over year, and cumulative inflation since the President took office now clocks in at 17.6 percent. Even as the rate prices are growing ebbs, working Americans are growing more frustrated with an expensive new normal. The price of a gallon of milk has risen 15.8 percent since January of 2021. Meanwhile, a gallon of gas is going for 54.8 percent more. As one small business owner in Texas put it to reporters recently, he said: I'm trying to think of one area where prices have eased, and I can't think of anything. Earlier this month, President Biden told a gathering in rural Minnesota that ``Bidenomics is just another way of saying `the American Dream.''' The American people are just simply not buying that. According to one recent survey, only 14 percent of U.S. voters have said President Biden has made them better off, and 65 percent of voters said they had cut back on nonessential spending. So, if the President thinks that Bidenomics is the American dream, he might want to pay closer attention to how many Americans are desperate to wake up.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I need to begin today with some tragic news. This weekend, as Americans joined together to salute our heroes, five soldiers deployed out of Fort Campbell, KY, were killed while operating in dangerous conditions in the Mediterranean Sea: CW3 Stephen Dwyer, CW2 Shane Barnes, SSG Tanner Grone, SGT Andrew Southard, and SGT Cade Wolfe. These fallen warriors were members of Fort Campbell's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known by their brothers- and sisters-in- arms as Night Stalkers. The Night Stalkers are elite, highly trained fighters who take on the most sensitive missions. They are ready to respond at any time there are serious threats anywhere in the world, and they ground their service in two principles: never quit and never surrender. Night Stalkers live, breathe, and--tragically--often die by a creed which reads: I serve with the memory and the pride of those who have gone before me, for they loved to fight, fought to win, and would rather die than quit. This weekend, five brave men honored their creed. Their memory will live on, carried by Night Stalkers who continue to profess it and by every American who mourns their loss. This tragedy is a stark reminder of the incredible dangers our men and women in uniform face and of the debt we owe them. So, today, I join our Nation in grieving these fallen warriors, and I extend my prayers to their families, children, and comrades.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. This weekend, with parades and gatherings, solemn ceremonies and phone calls to loved ones, America will mark Veterans Day by expressing our gratitude to the men and women who have served our Nation in the Armed Forces. But Veterans Day is much more than a once-a-year observation. It is a reminder of our daily obligation to honor their service, uphold our promises to care for them when they come home, and do everything we can to equip those defending our Nation today and tomorrow for success. So, today, I am reminded of some letters I have saved in my archives. They are letters my father sent home to my mother from his own service in Patton's army in 1945. With Nazi Germany on the ropes, with peace within reach, my dad was already seeing firsthand the sorts of threats that would define the next half century of American history. In the parts of his letters that made it past Army censors, he told us how the Russians were going to be a big problem. Well, today, America faces threats every bit as grave. Like those of the 1940s, our adversaries today aren't being shy about their efforts to win the next half century of competition with America and the West. As one recent analysis summed it up, Russia, China, and Iran are ``working to end the world order that has prevailed for three generations under American leadership''--``under American leadership.'' This didn't happen by accident. The Western order of peace and freedom was delivered by the sacrifices of American servicemembers like my father and preserved by generations of brave men and women in uniform ever since. Right now, we have an obligation to those servicemembers, to our allies, and to the American people to behave like the world-leading power we actually are. We have a duty to invest seriously in American strength. It is time to offer a clear strategy for victory against Russia and then deliver the resources Ukraine needs to achieve it right now. Putin is not deterred and his imperial ambitions do not end at Ukraine's border with the NATO alliance. If the United States abandons our support for Ukraine's resistance, we risk yet another generation of American forces being veterans of war in Europe. It is time to get serious about deterring Iran, the world's leading sponsor of terrorism and the leading sponsor of violence against American servicemembers in Iraq and Syria. I welcomed yesterday's strike on an Iranian facility in Syria, but it will probably take more than striking ammunition warehouses to restore the deterrence the Biden administration's policies have actually squandered. It is time to redouble our efforts to equip allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific to raise the cost of further aggression from communist China. And, as I have said repeatedly, it is long past time to make commonsense policy changes to address our southern border crisis that has required U.S. servicemembers to help Border Patrol maintain order. These are the tasks before us, and they will not get any easier to address the longer we wait.

Mr. McCONNELL

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