Mitch McConnell

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the Kentucky Broadcasters Association, the Commonwealth's premier representative for our State's public and commercial radio and television stations, recently announced their 2022 Hall of Fame inductees. My good friend Dave ``Buzz'' Baker, WKYT's sports anchor, is one of those honored this year and joined the ranks of some of Kentucky's finest broadcast journalists. Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Dave for his service to our State and congratulating him on achieving this high honor. Dave came to Kentucky in 1978 to attend school at Georgetown College and, after joining WKYT after graduating, has since called the Bluegrass State home. He must have realized quickly that, for a career in sports journalism, few places offer such enthusiastic fans or such riveting rivalries. As a Lexington sports reporter, he reserved special focus for the University of Kentucky Wildcats, tracking UK athletics through their highs and lows over four decades of first-rate journalism. During his time at WKYT, Dave has had the opportunity to report from five Final Four Championships and three National Championships, following UK all across the country to keep fans updated. In March 2008, he found himself on the sidelines of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament when a tornado hit the Georgia Dome, certainly one of his more harrowing experiences on the job. His broadcasting extends beyond basketball, from UK football, to professional wrestling, including interviews with Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan. He has had quite the memorable career. Today, as WKYT's sports anchor, he broadcasts to Lexington's sports- hungry audiences twice every weekday. He also hosts UK Sports Networks' ``Countdown to Tip-Off Show'' on the school's radio network and his own ``Sports Buzz'' podcast. In short, he is one of the most recognizable faces and voices of UK sports. His four-decade legacy at WKYT is so legendary that he earned a proclamation earlier this year from Lexington's mayor on his 40th anniversary with the station, naming that day Dave ``Buzz'' Baker Day in the city. I also applaud Dave's work outside the television station. Using the trust and affection he has earned from his viewers, he has worked with Kentucky State government leaders to help promote safe, responsible behavior at the Commonwealth's high schools and colleges. I thank Dave for his strong reporting on Kentucky athletics and join all of his viewers and listeners in congratulating him on his most recent honor from the Kentucky Broadcasters Association.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, the whole country continues our vigil for the people of Florida, who are hunkered down through Hurricane Ian. The storm's landfall yesterday brought surging seas and sustained winds over 150 miles an hour, and 2.5 million Florida families and businesses are reportedly without power. Evacuation orders have been in place for more than 2 million residents of the gulf coast. The extent of the damage has barely even begun to come into focus. Fortunately, the coordinated State and local response, led by Governor DeSantis and supported by Federal Agencies, is ongoing. Yesterday, our two colleagues from Florida led the State's entire congressional delegation in asking President Biden to issue a major disaster declaration and unlock further aid. I understand the President agreed this morning. The Senate will stand ready to provide further assistance if needed. The government funding legislation before us will make sure the Disaster Relief Fund is refilled. Most immediately, Floridians remain at the forefront of the nation's prayers. The Economy Madam President, now, on a completely different matter, families across America have felt the brunt of this all-Democratic government's failed energy policies. When gas prices were skyrocketing, the Biden administration insisted up and down they had no control over them. When the prices started to level off, the same politicians asked for a round of applause--funny how that works. Here is what working families in Kentucky know: that a gallon of gas costs a full dollar more than when President Biden took office. American families and small businesses know their electricity bills skyrocketed this spring and this summer, and they know that heating costs on Democrats' watch this fall and winter may well be catastrophic. Just like our overall 13.2 percent inflation since January 2021 is directly--directly--traceable to Democrats' reckless spending, a lot of our energy prices are traceable to Democrats' shortsighted policies. Democrats have spent 20 years saying we shouldn't explore for American energy, that our abundant fossil fuel resources should actually stay in the ground. Just in the last 2 years, Democrats overwhelmingly voted two separate items to let the Biden EPA ban fracking. One analysis showed that the kind of fracking ban Democrats want will quadruple household energy bills. Democrats supported President Biden's de facto bans on both offshore and onshore oil and gas leasing. They backed President Biden's decision to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline. I guess it is better to import Middle Eastern crude than safely transport oil from Canada. They voted for reckless tax hikes, including a natural gas tax that will directly drive up families' heating costs. And this week marks the 6-month anniversary of when President Biden began his reckless draining of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve in a desperate attempt to buy up his poll numbers. President Biden has already released more than 200 million barrels from the Reserve into the international market, more than all the other Presidents in our history combined. A few days ago, he promised to release an additional 10 million barrels in November. Our country established the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a lifeline for national security crises. Until now, Presidents had only ever tapped it for armed conflicts or natural disasters. Now Democrats are emptying out our emergency reserves in a desperate attempt to save their political skins. Reckless and cynical does not even begin to cover it. Now the Reserve sits at its lowest point since 1984. If our country were cut off from oil imports tomorrow, we would have less than 2 months' supply. And, remember, 2 years ago, in the early COVID crisis, when markets were temporarily crashing and oil was selling for bargain-basement prices like we have never seen, Republicans tried to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the top when the prices were low. It would have been a win for economic stability, a win for national security, and a huge win for taxpayers. Oil actually was on a clearance sale, and we could have filled the Reserve right up to the top. Oh, but Senate Democrats blocked it and bragged about blocking it. Leader Schumer boasted in writing that he had blocked a ``bailout for Big Oil''--a bailout for Big Oil, typical tired, old liberal rhetoric. But what our Democrat colleagues blocked was an unbelievably good deal for the American people. Now they are draining the Reserve they wouldn't let us refill, and when they do need to refill it, you had better believe taxpayers won't be paying March 2020 prices. I can tell you that. Shortsighted, ineffective, and bad economics--that is Democrats' energy policy in microcosm. Working Americans pay the price every single day. Crime Now, Madam President, on another matter, runaway inflation isn't the only crisis keeping American families up at night. The last 2 years have seen law and order deteriorate all across our country. Public safety has eroded, violent crimes like murders and carjackings are breaking records, and our southern border has turned into a turnstile. We have seen the violence and chaos firsthand in Kentucky, especially in my hometown of Louisville, but we aren't alone. This is a nationwide phenomenon on Democrats' watch. Philadelphia just saw their 1,000th carjacking this year. It is not even October yet. Carjackings in Philly have quadrupled just since 2019. In Phoenix, AZ, the first half of this year saw homicides jump up more than 25 percent compared to 2021. One woman whose brother and cousin were both shot and killed a few weeks ago said: It's like the community has [actually] become accustomed to it. In 2021, Denver recorded more murders than they had seen in a single year since 1981, and the pace was 23 percent higher still in the first half of 2022. Nationwide, robberies and thefts in big cities shot up 20 percent in the first half of this year. So it turns out that, when an entire political party builds its brand around undermining the police, going easy on repeat offenders, and putting criminals' interests ahead of innocent families', bad things happen. Bad things also happen when the same political party decides to stand down on border security: over 2 million illegal immigrants apprehended by the CBP this fiscal year alone, not even counting all of the people who evaded capture; an avalanche--an avalanche--of illegal drugs coming into our land. These are massive concerns among the American people--concerns that our Senate Democratic majority has intentionally spent all year doing nothing whatsoever to address.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame recently announced its 42nd class of inductees, adding eight new members to a list of distinguished journalists, including Pulitzer Prize winners and broadcasters who have become household names. John B. Gaines, the former publisher of the Bowling Green Daily News, was one of this year's posthumous additions. Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring John's induction into the Hall of Fame and remembering the deep mark he left on Kentucky print journalism. John and I met through his role on the Bowling Green Daily News editorial board, where he helped craft opinion pieces that shaped the political outlook of generations of Kentuckians. During my earliest runs for statewide office, I knew how important it was for me to meet with John and his team of writers. Luckily, John and I tended to agree on most issues and became fast friends. John was a member of the Gaines family, one of Bowling Green's most prominent and, until this year, the owners of the Daily News for five generations. He understood the deep importance of his family to Bowling Green's civic life, leveraging his role at the Daily News to bring public attention to critical local issues and fostering homegrown journalistic talent as President of the Kentucky Press Association. He was also a fierce advocate for government transparency and helped open the halls of Kentucky government more widely to reporters and, by extension, to everyday Kentuckians. To honor John Gaines' induction into the Journalism Hall of Fame, his son Pipes Gaines delivered remarks at a reception in Lexington, KY. Pipes remembered his father's ``love of facts'' and his pursuit of them ``without fear or favor.'' I remember John's love for facts, as well, and his earnest belief that unvarnished, unbiased coverage of political issues would always illuminate Kentucky's government better than slanted reporting. I thank John and the entire Gaines family for their stewardship of one of the Commonwealth's finest newspapers and for their service to their Bowling Green readers. Even more than a decade after John's passing, his legacy continues to reverberate around the Commonwealth. The Bowling Green Daily News paid tribute to John Gaines' induction into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame in a recent article. I ask unanimous consent that the article be printed in the Record.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, for more than 30 years, Chuck Mraz served communities in Eastern Kentucky as the ``Voice of the Eagles'' for Morehead State University athletics at Morehead State Public Radio. During his long career, from which he retired 4 years ago, he earned accolades from around the Commonwealth and region. This year, he received another distinction and was one of several broadcast journalists inducted into the Kentucky Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Chuck for his service and congratulating him on achieving this high honor. Chuck knew he wanted to be a sportscaster from the beginning of his career, noting in an interview that sports had always been a part of his life since he could pick up a bat and a ball. When he joined Morehead State Public Radio in 1986, he relished the opportunity to give commentary during Morehead State games. Even as his role at the radio station expanded, he stayed on as the voice of Eagles athletics and continues to serve as the play-by-play voice of Morehead State football and men's basketball in his retirement. I had the opportunity to join Chuck's program a number of times over the years, enjoying our conversations that ranged from the important policy issues facing Kentuckians to our shared passion for Kentucky sports. His dedication to his career required many early mornings and late nights, but he never wavered from his love for Morehead State sports, staying dedicated to his beloved Eagles throughout his career. Chuck's most recent recognition from the Kentucky Broadcasters Association is just one more award in a long list of honors he has received from local, State, and regional press associations. That includes more than 40 Kentucky Associated Press awards, the Eastern Kentucky Leadership Conference Award for Media and Technology, and the Ohio Valley Conference Media Award. Upon his retirement, Chuck also earned tributes and accolades from around Kentucky and the country. I thank Chuck for his long career with Morehead State and congratulate him on his well-deserved induction into the Kentucky Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. To all Kentuckians and Morehead State fans, he will always be the ``Voice of the Eagles.'' Morehead State paid tribute to Chuck Mraz in a recent article. I ask unanimous consent that the article be printed in the Record.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, my good friend C.B. Embry has worn many hats during his long career in public life: as an elected official for more than 50 years in positions including mayor, county judge- executive, State representative, and State senator; as the proprietor of several businesses in and around Ohio County; as a journalist, published author, and teacher; as a volunteer, political organizer, church leader, and family man. C.B. recently submitted his resignation from the Kentucky State Senate, marking the end of his long career in government. Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring C.B. and thanking him for his lifelong service to Kentucky. C.B. found a passion for public service at a young age, entering journalism and teaching right after graduating from Western Kentucky University. His love for his home State and his hometown propelled him into elected office quickly, and, in 1970, he became the youngest ever mayor of Beaver Dam in Ohio County. His strong leadership and steadfast conservative credentials soon attracted national attention, and, in 1975, he was named the Outstanding Young Republican in the Nation by future President George H. W. Bush. He and I entered into Republican politics at similar times, back when much of Kentucky was still blue. As young conservatives, we quickly bonded over our shared love of the Commonwealth and our similar work to help flip the State into the Republican column. Over the decades, our collaboration has only grown, and, because of the work of organizers like C.B., Kentuckians across our State have embraced conservative values. Not long after C.B. entered the public eye, Ohio County residents recognized his expansive leadership potential, electing him county judge-executive in 1982. In 2002, he was elected to serve as State representative and, in 2014, became State senator. In all, he has been elected to public office a dozen times, proof of the trust and admiration he earned from his neighbors and constituents. He has also worked with various Kentucky Governors, Federal agencies, and statewide organizations to champion policies that improve Kentuckians' lives. In his past 8 years in the State senate, C.B. earned recognition as a senior legislator and statesman. His work was expansive in scope, covering issues ranging from agriculture and energy policy to police safety and military affairs. Perhaps his proudest achievement was leading the passage of a so-called ``Right to Try'' bill that allows medical patients facing debilitating illnesses to try experimental treatments when all other options have been exhausted. State governments all around the country have mimicked his work and passed similar pieces of legislation. More than anything, C.B. has always prioritized his family, celebrating his 60th anniversary with his wife Wanda this past August. As the father of three, grandfather of four, and great-grandfather of two, he has passed on his legacy of public service and integrity to a blossoming family. In business, church service, and government leadership, his priority has always been to give other Kentuckians the opportunity to build the same success he found in every aspect of his life and career. When C.B. retired from the State senate, he was the oldest serving member of the body and received recognition from all his colleagues as one of Kentucky's premier senior statesmen. Congratulations and gratitude poured in from all over the Commonwealth, thanking C.B. for his decades of service to our State. I am proud to add my voice to that chorus of Kentuckians and give my deepest appreciation for his lifelong work on behalf of all citizens of the Commonwealth.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, first, this morning, the Senate and the entire country are watching the news and praying for the people of the great State of Florida, where a seemingly massive, massive hurricane is poised to make landfall soon. I understand the current forecast suggests that Hurricane Ian may be both extremely powerful and unusually slow-moving, a terrible combination for the citizens and communities in its path. Our colleague the senior Senator from Florida reported this morning that State officials and the relevant Federal Agencies have been working well together and that, thus far, every request Florida has made of the Federal Government has been approved. The bipartisan government funding bill the Senate is on track to pass this week will ensure that the Federal Disaster Relief Fund is fully resourced at this critical moment. We are all keeping the people of Florida at the forefront of our thoughts and will stand ready to help our colleagues from Florida, the Governor, and local officials however we can. Continuing Resolution Now, Mr. President, on a completely different matter, the path to keeping the government open and funded has been clear for weeks now. The solution was always going to be a clean, bipartisan continuing resolution, negotiated by Senators Shelby and Leahy, without any unrelated, partisan language jammed in. Our Democratic colleagues tried to complicate things by jamming in a phony, partisan figleaf on the subject of permitting reform. Republicans strongly support real, substantive permitting reform. We are actually leading that charge. Senator Capito has an outstanding bill that would make significant changes to make it easier to build things in our country, create jobs in our country, and unleash domestic energy in our country. The problem was that the Schumer-Manchin language was not actual permitting reform by any stretch. It was a phony figleaf. It was designed to create the illusion of progress while sapping the political will to tackle the issue in any meaningful way. The Democrats carefully tailored the bill to avoid making any--any--impactful changes to permitting laws. In fact, we had panicked State-level elected officials from around the country writing the Senate to explain how the Democrats' bill would actually make the existing problems even worse. Fortunately, the Senate saw through the political game, and the phony figleaf didn't have the votes. So I am glad that our colleagues capitulated and abandoned their phony figleaf. I look forward to a bipartisan funding bill coming to the floor this week, and I hope our Democratic colleagues will push the liberal special interests aside and let actual, robust permitting reform become law someday soon. Biden Administration Mr. President, on another matter, 2 years ago, the American people elected a President who claimed he would govern as a uniting moderate. In underscoring that mandate, voters gave him unusually small coattails--the slimmest possible majority--in Congress. The all-Democratic government inherited an economy that was, by every account, already primed and ready for economic recovery. Vaccines were already flooding the country. A major bipartisan stimulus had just passed, literally, days earlier. And remember, before the temporary COVID shot, years of Republican policies had our economic fundamentals humming along with low inflation, low unemployment, and robust growth, an outstanding trifecta for working families. To put it as plainly as possible, the Democrats had one job: Just don't mess things up. But, alas, fast-forward to today. Overall inflation is a staggering 13.2 percent since President Biden and his party came into power; consumer prices--through the roof; supply chain chaos left and right; the worst single year for both grocery inflation and electricity inflation since the fallout back in the Jimmy Carter era. The stock market has plummeted below where it was when President Biden took office, cutting the value of Americans' retirement savings just as the cost of living has soared. America's real wages--our citizens' buying power after inflation--is lower today than it was the moment President Biden put his hand on the Bible. The Democrats asked for total control. They got total control, and they created a total disaster. The net effect of this far-left policy experiment has been the equivalent of all-out economic warfare against the American middle class. But alas, Democrats hardly seem to even much less care. The same day the latest sky-high monthly inflation report came out, our colleagues literally headed down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House for a folk music concert--folk music concert--celebrating additional hundreds of billions they had just dumped--dumped--into ``green'' energy subsidies. Do you know who isn't partying? Working families in Wisconsin who are paying a ``Democratic Inflation Tax'' averaging $673 every single month just to tread water. In Georgia, that is $681 every month and in Colorado, $953 every month. None of this had to happen. It didn't have to happen. Democrats were literally warned in advance that their plans for far-left reckless spending would send inflation through the roof and crush normal Americans. So what did our colleagues do? One gigantic party-line spending bill in 2021, another huge, reckless taxing and spending spree just this past summer, and student loan socialism that has cashiers and carpenters eating the graduate school debt of doctors and lawyers. It adds up to nearly $3 trillion of party-line waste--$3 trillion of party-line waste. And it adds up to 13.2 percent inflation and counting. So Democrats wanted one-party control of Washington; they got it. They promptly used that power to create a literal nightmare for American families. Tribute to John Calipari Mr. President, now one final matter, in my home State of Kentucky, college basketball ranks up there with horseracing as one of our signature pastimes. Our greatest players have become local heroes. Our greatest seasons have become local legends. So it is no surprise, then, that our basketball coaches are larger-than-life figures. Plenty of notable ones have passed through the halls of our universities. But the University of Kentucky's John Calipari--Coach Cal to most of us--is already one for the history books. Of course, there is his record with the program: 365 wins, 4 Final Four appearances, and a National Championship. There is also his record of public service. During the past 13 years with UK, Coach Cal has leveraged his position in the public eye to transform the face of charitable giving in Kentucky. In recognition of his work, the organization Multiplying Good presented Coach Cal with their Jefferson Award for public service this year. Previous recipients of this prestigious award include Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Colin Powell. Coach Cal is the first men's college basketball coach to receive the honor. Sometimes Coach Cal's efforts are local. Every Thanksgiving, he helps folks around Lexington enjoy the family meal they deserve. Every Christmas, he gathers presents for children in need. But sometimes, Coach Cal's efforts touch every corner of the Commonwealth. As Kentucky reeled from multiple crises in the past few years, his assistance has proved invaluable. During the pandemic, he helped Fayette County students access the resources they needed to continue their schooling from home. When tornadoes hit Western Kentucky last winter, he rallied Kentuckians to raise money through a telethon. And when heavy rainfall and floods damaged communities in Eastern Kentucky this summer, he did the same, pulling our State together to help victims rebuild. In total--in total--Coach Cal's telethons have raised more than $12 million for charitable ventures in Kentucky and across the world. So thank you. Thank you, Coach Cal, for your service to our State. And congratulations on receiving this distinguished award.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, last night, our Democratic colleagues released a draft short-term government funding deal. Big parts of the draft are unobjectionable because they were negotiated across party lines. Both sides of the aisle want to prevent a government shutdown that no one wants. Both sides want to keep resources flowing to disaster-stricken communities. Both sides want to continue time- sensitive support for Ukraine. But, unfortunately, our Democratic colleagues decided to put in extraneous partisan language--in fact, a poison pill. This extraneous poison pill is not related to keeping the government open. It was not negotiated across the aisle. In fact, both the Democratic chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Leahy, and the Republican vice chairman, Senator Shelby, have stated publicly that this poison pill should not be in the underlying bill. The poison pill is a phony attempt to address the important topic of permitting reform. It is much too difficult to build things in America and unleash American energy. Liberal regulations and redtape are a huge--huge--part of the problem. That is why Republicans are the leaders on this issue. That is why my colleague Senator Capito has introduced a strong, robust package that would actually move the ball forward. What our Democratic colleagues have produced is a phony figleaf that would actually set back the cause of real permitting reform. This is an issue where it should be very easy to improve upon the status quo, but, amazingly, our Democratic colleagues have managed to write language that would actually--listen to this--make things even worse. Senator Manchin's bill goes out of its way to avoid actually amending the National Environmental Policy Act or any other environmental law. It layers new bureaucracy on top of existing bureaucracy. Its new requirements and deadlines are paper tigers with no enforcement. The few parts of this legislation that would actually change the status quo would take things from bad to worse. For example, yesterday, a long list of State attorneys general wrote the Senate a panicked letter explaining that Senator Manchin's language would ``eviscerate states' ability to chart their own land-use and energy policies.'' ``Eviscerate states' ability to chart their own land-use and energy policies.'' Among other problems, they explain how this legislation creates a backdoor to sneak through an electricity grid takeover much like the Obama administration's unconstitutional so-called ``Clean Power Plan.'' These State-level officials are also sounding the alarm about higher costs for their citizens. They write the Manchin proposal could impose ``potentially back-breaking costs on residents who may see no true energy benefit whatsoever.'' Democrats' policies already have electricity costs skyrocketing at the fastest rate in more than 40 years. The last thing that struggling families need are more Democratic policies that raise utility bills even higher still. This phony figleaf is ``permitting reform'' in name only. It was written to drain the political will for actual reform without creating any meaningful change that liberal special interests might actually dislike. If tepid Democratic support for this phony figleaf is all that our colleague from West Virginia got in return for approving yet another taxing-and-spending spree during an inflation crisis, it is hard to imagine a worse bargain for a Senator or for the country. So, if the Senate votes today on proceeding to a bill that has this partisan poison pill jammed into it, I will be voting no, and I would urge all my colleagues to vote no as well. This all-Democratic government has a smooth and obvious path on government funding. The path is obvious. Drop the extraneous, partisan language and let the bipartisan CR move forward. Electoral Count Act Now, Mr. President, on an entirely different matter, this afternoon, those of us on the Rules Committee will mark up a bipartisan package of updates through the Electoral Count Act of 1887. I strongly support the modest changes that our colleagues in the working group have fleshed out after literally months of detailed discussions. I will proudly support the legislation, provided that nothing more than technical changes are made to its current form. I particularly want to thank Senator Collins and Senators Capito, Murkowski, Portman, Romney, Sasse, Tillis, and Young for their intense work with Democratic colleagues to get this right. Congress's process for counting the Presidential electors' votes was written 135 years ago. The chaos that came to a head on January 6 of last year certainly underscored the need for an update, so did Januaries 2001, 2005, and 2017; in each of which, Democrats tried to challenge the lawful election of a Republican President. Obviously, in every case, our system of government won out. The Electoral Count Act ultimately produced the right conclusion: certainty, finality, and the transfer of power to the winning candidate. But it is clear the country needs a more predictable path to that outcome. This bipartisan bill does not rashly replace current law with something untested. It keeps what has worked well and modestly updates what has not. The bill's sponsors debated every provision and found bipartisan consensus. Bad ideas were left on the cutting room floor. The resulting product--this bill, as introduced--is the only chance to get an outcome and to actually make law. Here is what the legislation does. It raises the threshold for objecting to the electoral count-- preserving options if something incredibly unlikely were to happen but ensuring claims with hardly any support can't paralyze the process. It makes the already plain fact of the 12th Amendment even clearer: that the Vice President has never had, and will never have, discretionary powers over the counting. It protects States' primacy in appointing their electors but ensures they publicize rules actually before the election. It rejects unwise challenges like creating new causes of action that would leave every election up to the courts and create uncertainty. It makes modest technical updates to other pertinent laws such as the Presidential Transitions Act. And Senator Collins' bill does all of those modest but important things without capitulating to our Democratic colleagues' obsession with a sweeping Federal takeover of all of our election law. So I look forward to supporting the legislation as introduced in committee. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, in his 8 years as Carter County judge- executive, Mike Malone has battled Mother Nature, invited new development to his community, and tried to bring neighbors on all sides of the political aisle together around their shared values. It hasn't always been easy, but with dogged determination, Judge Malone has left Carter County a safer, more beautiful, more united place than he found it. Judge Malone is retiring at the end of his current term this January, and I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring this first-rate public servant for his contributions to Kentucky. Judge Malone didn't start off his career in government. Rather, he spent four decades in the private sector, building his businesses in Carter County. He developed a keen understanding of the role of public officials and the ways they could either help--or harm--business growth. Realizing he could put that knowledge to work on behalf of his family, neighbors, and friends, he threw his hat into the ring and filed to run for judge-executive. As he says, ``The rest is history.'' Promoting businesses and jobs was always at the top of Judge Malone's to-do list from his first days in office. But he was also forced to deal with some of the more unexpected duties of his role. Those started early on when, during Judge Malone's first year in office, ice storms and flooding crippled Carter County's infrastructure. Just 2 years ago, a winter storm hit the county again. Judge Malone worked around the clock to reconnect his constituents to accessible roadways and the power grid. He led an effort that removed thousands of cubic yards of debris and helped repair millions of dollars in damage to public utilities. Following this most recent storm, I visited Judge Malone in Carter County to discuss his community's recovery and help direct Federal aid to the region. As a former judge-executive, I know the importance of Judge Malone's work, from the financial assistance he helped residents access, to the moral support he offered storm victims. I was impressed by his leadership and his ability to unite community members from all sides of the political spectrum around the common cause of helping their neighbors. As he says, ``it's not Democrat or Republican. It's `what's the problem and how do we fix it?' '' Judge Malone has stood by his constituents' side in good times and bad, twice earning their trust and votes in his election to be judge- executive. At the end of this term, though, he is taking a step back from the political arena, opting to spend more time with his family and enjoy his hobbies after decades of hard work. I thank Judge Malone for his service to Carter County and the Commonwealth and wish him the best in the next stage of his life. Mr. President, the Daily Independent paid tribute to Judge Malone's career in a recent article. I ask unanimous consent the article be printed in the Record.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, after 29 years as Warren County judge- executive, Mike Buchanon is retiring at the end of his current term this January, leaving behind an impressive legacy of public service. He has overseen explosive growth in his county over the past three decades, developed Bowling Green into a center for art and recreation, and left an enduring mark on the residents, businesses, and new initiatives he championed. Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Judge Buchanon on his well-deserved retirement and thanking him for his contributions to Kentucky. I have been proud to call Judge Buchanon both a close colleague and a personal friend during his three-decade tenure on the job, working with him to promote job growth, workforce training, and development in South Central Kentucky. As a former judge-executive, I know both the difficulties and rewards of his position intimately. Judge Buchanon shares the passion I felt for my constituents during my time as Jefferson County judge-executive. After all, they are not just your voters; they are also your neighbors, family, and friends. Every achievement on the job brings real, tangible change to the community you call your home. Judge Buchanon built his reputation for diligent leadership in the face of intense crises. From almost the moment he started the job, a major snowstorm battered Warren County, forcing Judge Buchanon to declare an emergency and call in the National Guard. Toward the end of his career, he faced similar disasters, first with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and then with last winter's devastating tornado outbreak. In each of these emergencies, he worked long days and nights to ensure the security and safety of his constituents, deftly handling communication with my office and other Federal authorities to ensure Warren County received the assistance it required. When not dealing with crisis situations, Judge Buchanon dedicated his time to helping Warren County grow. That growth came from a multitude of directions: the addition of tens of thousands of new residents during his tenure, the arrival of major new businesses, and the cultivation of one of Kentucky's finest art scenes and public recreation systems, to name just a few. He fostered this development by maintaining a consistent pro-job, pro-business mentality, persistently pitching Warren County to private sector investors as a premier location for expansion opportunities. His tenure has left a physical mark on the surface of Bowling Green. From the Kentucky Transpark industrial park, which is now home to 2 dozen companies employing some 3,000 people, to Bowling Green's downtown revitalization, anchored by the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center, to the county's large and growing public park system, his touch is apparent all across Warren County. Judge Buchanon is a builder, understanding long ago that, for Bowling Green to achieve the success it has found today, its leaders needed to invest in projects that would be attractive to the residents of the future. Judge Buchanon has achieved success in part because of his dogged efforts, but also in part because his long tenure enabled him to plan and actualize projects over an extended timeframe. That would not have been possible were it not for the support he has seen among voters, time and time again, since his first election three decades ago. He has cultivated a close relationship with his constituents, earning their trust and votes seven consecutive times, a rare feat for elected officials. No doubt, they are sad to see their foremost champion depart after so many years of success, even as he plans to stay closely involved in Warren County government. But Judge Buchanon has undeniably earned his retirement. His wife Ellen, two sons, Michael and Roy, grandchildren, and great- grandchildren have stood by his side during his long public service career, offering support and understanding when he had to work long nights on behalf of his community. Now, he looks forward to having ``time to go to my grandkids' ball games and travel some with my family.'' He certainly deserves the respite. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Judge Buchanon for his decades of service to his constituents and the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky. Warren County's future is bright because of his dedicated work. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Judge Buchanon on his retirement and wishing him the best as he moves on to the next chapter of his life.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, first this morning, I was deeply saddened to learn we lost a dedicated and long-serving member of the Senate family this week. Officer William Thomas of the United States Capitol Police passed away after a battle with cancer. He was only 38 years young. Officer Thomas joined the force nearly 14 years ago. He quickly became a familiar face to many of the Senators and staff serving on this side of the Capitol. By all accounts, his dedication, his professionalism, and his service in the Senate Division and most recently in the Communications Division were a credit to the entire Department and to our institution. The loss of Officer Thomas leaves a hole in the close-knit community of brave men and women who keep us safe here at the Capitol. The entire Senate joins Officer Thomas's brother Vincent, as well as his brothers and sisters here in uniform, in mourning this tragic loss. Inflation Madam President, now on an entirely different matter, the painful story of Washington Democrats' runaway inflation is playing out in hard-working communities all across our country. We learned last week that food inflation is now at its highest level since 1979. For folks in the Phoenix metro area, where inflation already outpaces the national average, that has meant a 3-percent inflation tax on food in just the last 2 months. According to one Arizona shopper: It's all almost $300. I used to get the same groceries like around $150 before. Across the border in Nevada, the Las Vegas Review Journal reported recently how local coffee shops are caught between eating higher costs for supplies and chasing their customers away with higher prices. The owner of one shop says that as everything from coffee beans to cups gets more expensive, they have had to raise prices by about 10 percent: We've done our best not to pass this on to our customers, because we do understand that we are all in the same boat together. The Colorado Sun spoke with one new resident of Westminster who said he had moved to town to ``lower the impact of an 18-percent rent increase.'' He has cut back on cable, driving, and buying meat at the grocery store. In Washington State, the Seattle Times is reporting that 4 in 10 area renters are now spending more than 30 percent of their paychecks on rent. When one resident learned her rent would be increasing by nearly 10 percent, she said: I just wanted to cry. I'm barely making it. I'm just a senior citizen. In Georgia, the Augusta Press reports that local small businesses are still facing a rocky road. According to the owner of one power-washing business in Evans: ``Materials are getting more expensive,'' and potential clients are ``more hesitant to get any work done right now.'' And further north, with winter cold fast approaching, one resident of Manchester, NH, told the local news that heating oil subsidies were appreciated, but ``I feel like it's a Band-Aid after they've stabbed you.'' So these are the real-world consequences--real-world consequences--of Washington Democrats' inflation. Every corner of every State is writing its own painful story. But the ones I just mentioned have something unfortunate in common. Every resident of Arizona, Washington, Nevada, New Hampshire, Colorado, and Georgia is represented by two Senators each who cast the deciding vote to set this inflation in motion. If just one single Senator--just one--from Georgia, Arizona, Colorado, New Hampshire, or Washington had refused to give their vote to President Biden's reckless spending, the working families and small business owners of these States would not be dealing with this much inflation, period. But every one of those States' Senators cast tie-breaking votes to bring on the worst inflation in four decades, and now every American is paying the price. DISCLOSE Act Madam President, now on one final matter, Democrats' reckless policies have stuck the American people with an inflation crisis, a border crisis, a violent crime crisis, and an energy crisis. Today, this Democrat Senate majority is spending time on legislation that tackles none of these things. They aren't addressing any of the problems that keep moms and dads up at night. They aren't tackling any of the issues that are leaving small business owners unable to pay their bills or unsafe in inner-city locations, or both. They aren't spending 10 seconds of the Senate's time exploring the disconnect between Vice President Harris who says ``we have a secure border'' and the illegal immigrant who told a reporter last week: Everybody believes the border is open . . . we see it on the news that everybody comes in illegally, so we do the same. So, the Democrats don't want to spend time on the people's business today. They would rather spend time on their business--something we have seen time and time again over the last 2 years. Today's liberal pet priority is a piece of legislation designed to give unelected Federal bureaucrats vastly more power over private citizens' First Amendment rights and political activism and to strip privacy away from Americans who speak out about politics in their private lives. More power for Washington, DC, censors; less privacy for private citizens; and throw some ice on the First Amendment. That is what our colleagues across the aisle have made their top priority for the day. So I have to state, it is a novel response to flagging poll numbers and public outcry. Instead of trying to clean up the border mess, the crime mess, or the inflation mess, my Democratic colleagues decided it would be easier just to erode the American people's right to complain about it in the first place. The legislation I am speaking about itself is an insult to the First Amendment, and the notion that it gets Senate floor time today above everything else is truly an insult to the working people of this country. So I would urge my colleagues on both sides to stand with the Constitution, stand with our citizens who deserve better, and vote no.

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, on Sunday's edition of ``60 Minutes,'' President Biden made a bizarre attempt to deny the American people's pain from Democrats' runaway inflation. After the latest nationwide data reported that consumer prices are rising at 8.3 percent year-on- year, the President suggested the country should be celebrating that they weren't rising even faster. Working Americans aren't buying that insulting spin. Middle-class families aren't rejoicing that their daily life costs 8.3 percent more than it did a year ago and--listen to this--13.2 percent more than when President Biden took office. In Parma, OH, one local grocer is working hard to keep her prices competitive but admits that ``[w]e have been getting hit with all of our suppliers with chicken, ground meat, everything.'' And in Fairfield County, the head of one organization that helps feed folks experiencing economic hardship put it this way: I think things are going to get a whole lot darker and more bleak before they get a lot better. We're desperately worried about food. Across the border in West Virginia, in Fayette County, persistent high prices have one retired grandmother worried about how the rest of her family is making ends meet. She said: I'm already stressed and stressed and trying to figure out how [my daughter is] going to pay to keep the lights on, get groceries, get school clothes on her kid's back. In Perryopolis, PA, one shopper told a reporter that besides cutting back at the grocery store, she had taken on a second job of working nights at a warehouse to help feed her family of four. This is what she had to say: Clothing, gas, just about everything has gone up, and food is a large part of it. Meanwhile, the head of a small manufacturer in Big Bend, WI, reports that amid price spikes and backed-up supply chains, ``trying to source products has been very difficult.'' In each of these States' cases--West Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania--one Senator tried to spare working families from all of this preventable pain. Each of those States has one Republican Senator who warned about inflation, who voted against inflation, and who voted for amendments that would have reduced inflation. But, unfortunately, each one of those States also has a Democratic Senator who decided to vote in partisan lockstep to plow ahead with the trillions of dollars in reckless, inflationary spending. One Senator each from West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin cast the tie-breaking votes to bring this pain down on their citizens' heads. Now, sadly, they are all paying the price. Working families in West Virginia are paying Washington Democrats' inflation tax to the tune of an extra $563 a month. Ohioans are paying $661 more. In Pennsylvania, inflation is squeezing folks for an extra $605; and in Wisconsin, it is $673. Families in these States are paying a painful price for the deciding vote that their Democratic Senators chose to cast.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, our overwhelmed Customs and Border Protection personnel have already encountered more than 2 million illegal immigrants and counting just this fiscal year. This is a larger group of people than the entire populations of 14 States, and this record-shattering 2 million apprehensions only counts the subset of people who were actually caught. Experts estimate hundreds of thousands more people on top of that number who simply got away. The latest reports say that CBP encountered more than 200,000 people just in the month of August alone, and more than 20 percent of those people were not first-time border crossers but rather repeat offenders who had already previously been expelled or deported; tens of thousands of individuals who had already been thrown out, flooding back in every single month. Orderly, legal immigration is part of what makes America strong; anarchy and open borders make us weak. There is nothing compassionate or humane about the border crisis that Democrats' mixed signals and failed policies have unleashed. It is not fair to American citizens; it is not fair to law enforcement; and it is not fair to the people who have been encouraged to undertake desperate and dangerous journeys by years of Democrats signaling to the world that there are no real consequences for breaking our laws and cutting in line. Vice President Harris says ``the border is secure.'' The American people know better, and they are furious. Illegal immigrants know better as well. For years, Washington Democrats have attacked Republicans for calling for basic border security and law enforcement. The Democratic Party line throughout the last 5 years has been that enforcing existing immigration law would be cruel and securing our borders would be xenophobic, but over the last few days, some liberals seem to have changed their tune. Out of desperation, a few Governors along our southern border are now giving some Democrat-run States and cities just a tiny, tiny taste of what border communities have been enduring, literally, for years. According to the Washington Post, the total number of individuals whom Texas and Arizona have helped relocate to New York, Washington, and other places in recent months is roughly on the order of the number of illegal immigrants who arrive at our southern border in a single day--1 day. All those cities combined have had months to accept, between them, approximately 1 day's share of our Nation's illegal immigration. But the Democratic mayor of New York City is now declaring that his government's resources are ``at a breaking point''--at a breaking point. According to the Post, these border States have sent to New York City less than 1 day's worth of illegal crossers, spread out over more than a month, and the self-proclaimed sanctuary city apparently cannot take it. The Governor of Florida helped a tiny number of illegal immigrants, about four dozen, secure transportation to the wealthy liberal destination of Martha's Vineyard, filled with millionaires' mansions, which appointed itself a so-called sanctuary destination back in 2017. Apparently, this sanctuary destination tolerated, fed, and housed the newcomers for less than 48 hours before having the National Guard promptly put them on a ferry and remove them to a military base instead. Democrats, liberal activists, and the media are, predictably, melting down. There are absurd accusations flying around that it is somehow evil or illegal for Republican officials to help illegal immigrants move within our country. That would be breaking news because, of course, the Biden administration has been flying and busing illegal immigrants around the country on a regular basis. According to one report from early 2021, the Biden administration was already filling Greyhound buses with people turning up at our border and driving them to various destinations from the South to the Midwest to the Northeast. Ah, but it was never to Martha's Vineyard. So these well-to-do blue enclaves are finally witnessing the smallest fraction of the challenges that open borders have enforced on working- class communities all across our country.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Last week, the American people received yet another absolutely crushing--crushing--inflation report. More than a year after Washington Democrats' policies set off the worst overall inflation in 40 years, the prices of some of the most essential items for working families are skyrocketing at their fastest rates in a generation. Electricity costs are rising faster than they have since 1981, and grocery inflation has eclipsed a high from 1979. Parents trying to put food on the table are now contending with annual price hikes of 16.2 percent for a loaf of bread, 17 percent for a gallon of milk, and 40 percent more for a dozen eggs. Now, the very same day this painful news broke, just a few hours later, Washington Democrats threw a party for themselves on the White House lawn, celebrating their economic policies. You really can't make this stuff up. The official numbers had just confirmed that American families have seen the single worst year for both food and electricity inflation since the fallout from Jimmy Carter. And the Democrats' response was to throw themselves a party--a party--for spending hundreds of billions of dollars more, raising taxes, and making working-class Americans pay off the loans of doctors and lawyers. You might think the Biden administration couldn't possibly get any more out of touch. You would think that kind of display would have to take the cake. But alas, last night, on ``60 Minutes,'' President Biden gave an almost comically out-of-touch interview on the inflation crisis. The President argued--with a straight face--that the American people ought to be grateful for last month's terrible inflation report because it could have been even worse. Here was a quote: Guess where we are? We're in a position where, in the last several months, [inflation] hasn't spiked. Struggling Americans are supposed to be grateful that we have plateaued at a steady ongoing inflation rate of more than 8 percent? The President wants a round of applause for steadily clocking month after month after month of the worst inflation in 40 years? The inflation rate plateauing does not mean that prices themselves have leveled off. It means that prices are still steadily climbing all the time, at a historically fast pace, the worst in a generation. Month after month after month, Democrats' policy failures are continuing to add inflation on top of inflation. The inflation rate plateauing above 8 percent does not mean that families are catching a break. It means exactly the opposite. It means that families are continuing to see prices go up and up and up all the time. Simply surviving, just getting by, in Washington Democrats' economy costs 8.3 percent more than it did a year ago, but remember, the 12- month numbers now dramatically understate the damage the Democrats have done because it only looks back 1 year, when Democrats' inflation spiral was already up and running. Here is the number that really matters. Since the day that President Biden was sworn in, since the day that this one-party Democratic government took power, our country's inflation rate has been--listen to this--13.2 percent. And according to President Biden, if you are angry about that, if parents are upset, if workers are frustrated, they just aren't putting things in proper perspective. Considering the American people give President Biden a 38-percent approval rating on his handling of the economy, I would say it is the White House that needs to get some perspective, not the working people of this country. And get this: When President Biden was asked how we can avoid a recession, since Democrats' policies have forced the Fed to raise their rates sharply, the President doubled down on his fantasyland. He suggested: [W]e're growing the economy . . . it's growing in . . . a way that it hasn't in years and years. But, of course, that is complete nonsense. You measure real GDP growth after inflation. From early 2017 until the beginning of the COVID pandemic, Republican policies had the economy humming along with robust growth, low unemployment, and low inflation--a great trifecta for the American people. But now, with President Biden's policies in place, we have seen two consecutive quarters of real GDP actually falling. Once you account for the inflation that Democrats have caused, our economy is not growing at all. It is, in fact, shrinking. Families talk about the term ``shrinkflation'' at the grocery store or the big-box store. That means not only have prices gone up, but the size of the package has gone down so you are both paying more and getting less. Like the size of a bag of chips or a box of cookies or the number of sheets in a roll of toilet paper or the weight of a bag of fertilizer--higher prices, smaller quantities. And this is basically what President Biden and Democrats have done to the entire U.S. economy. Everything costs more, even as the GDP is shrinking in real terms. Just like American families have seen their real wages plummet after inflation, the same thing has happened to the country as a whole for two quarters and counting. So the President might want to talk to a couple of working Americans who are trying to survive under his policies before he sits down for his next TV interview. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. This week's inflation report confirmed what working people across this country know all too well: The costs of feeding a family and keeping the lights on have skyrocketed more quickly this past year than at any time since the wake of the Carter administration. A year and a half of crippling runaway inflation is the most important story to the American people every single day. The media have grown somewhat numb to month after month of 8 and 9 percent inflation, but working Americans have not had the luxury of growing numb. The pain gets worse every single time they have to fill a shopping cart or pay their credit card bill. One mother of young sons in my hometown of Louisville put it this way: My grocery bill has [gone] up a lot. It's terrible right now. I have to be really strategic on how I plan out the whole month to make sure we have enough money. Of course, Kentuckians aren't the only ones in this predicament. In Nevada, an office worker recently told reporters: I've not been buying a lot of things because I can't afford it. I'm like, ``The kids don't need juice for school anymore. We'll just do water.'' In Arizona, so many families are having to make tough choices at the grocery store, many are accepting charity to keep food on the table. According to an employee of one food bank in Phoenix: The impact we are seeing day in and day out continues to go up. The families are stressed. And who can blame them? Food inflation in America is at more than a four-decade high. Bread is 16.2 percent more expensive than it was a year ago. Milk is up 17 percent. Flour is up 23.3 percent, and eggs are going for nearly 40 percent more. Week after week, feeding a family has become a stressful proposition for millions of Americans, and every extra dollar spent on groceries is one fewer to spare for soaring electricity bills. In the suburbs of Las Vegas, residents have commiserated over the astronomical cost of keeping their homes cool in the summer. One neighborhood message board reads like this: My bill for this month will be $574 . . . it's insane. Yes, ours was $800 for June. In Arizona, a restaurant worker didn't mince words about scraping together enough to keep the lights and air-conditioning on: If I didn't have roommates, I wouldn't be able to make it on the salary that I have. Overall, inflation in Phoenix and Atlanta is way, way higher than even the sky-high national average. The country as a whole is still grappling with inflation over 8 percent, but Phoenix has seen a staggering 13 percent inflation in just the last year, and Atlanta has seen nearly 12 percent. Of course, for working Americans in some other States, the most acute emergency is not the cost of summer cooling but, rather, the cost of winter heating. In places like New Hampshire and Vermont where many homes burn heating oil, this important price is up more than 91 percent since President Biden took office. And in every corner of the country, one of the biggest collective headaches facing working families with young kids is the rising cost of back-to-school shopping lists. According to one working mother in Pennsylvania, she had to take items like a backpack for her preschooler out of her shopping cart in the checkout line: It's been at least 20 years since I have had to pull back to this extent. This is a new and humbling experience for me as an adult. American families are facing math problems that just don't add up. Meanwhile, the same Washington Democrats who got them into this mess spent Tuesday celebrating having rammed through, on a party-line vote, a bill that does nothing to help them solve it: hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending, just as working families are having the hardest time in decades making ends meet at home; hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars that wouldn't even accomplish Democrats' own underlying radical climate goals, let alone the false claims of ``inflation reduction'' on the cover. So our economy continues to hand working families a raw deal. But the same day this latest awful inflation report was published, Washington Democrats went to a concert at the White House and celebrated-- celebrated--their economic policies. How much more out of touch can you get? The Democrats' giant inflationary spiral is costing the average American household 460 extra dollars every single month just to buy the same things they bought last year. President Biden and his government have imposed a silent Democratic inflation tax of $460 every single month. In Kentucky, the average household has to pay $608 more a month--well over $7,000 more a year--just to stay where they were when President Biden was sworn in. Americans' real wages--their purchasing power--has plummeted since this all-Democratic government was sworn in. And the Democrats response? Print and spend hundreds of billions more, make Americans without bachelor's degrees pay off the graduate school debt of doctors and lawyers, and throw themselves a party on the White House lawn. Our colleagues across the aisle created this human catastrophe. This runaway inflation was a policy choice by Democrats, and they aren't even trying to stop it. 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. Mr. President, the American people's No. 1 priority is runaway inflation that is smashing their family budgets and crushing our economy. Yesterday, the latest inflation report showed that soaring prices are still completely out of control. Inflation has totaled 13.2 percent since the day President Biden took office. We just had the worst 12 months for both food inflation and electricity inflation since the fallout from the Carter administration. President Biden and our Democratic colleagues chose to celebrate-- celebrate--this awful inflation report with a so-called inflation reduction party yesterday at the White House. While the Dow Jones plummeted over 1,000 points, while the S&P 500 lost more than 4 percent of its value in 1 day, while American families can't afford gas, groceries, or electricity, Washington Democrats partied on the White House lawn to celebrate their policies. That is what happened yesterday. This is what Democrats do while our economy crumbles. They subsidize luxury electric cars; they make plumbers and retail workers eat the graduate school debt of doctors and lawyers; and they throw a party for themselves on the White House lawn.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, now on another matter, this past weekend, Vice President Harris made a surprising announcement on ``Meet the Press.'' The Vice President declared--listen to this--``The border is secure.'' We are about to close the fiscal year with more than 2 million illegal immigrant encounters on our southern border, breaking the alltime record that we only just set last year. Seizures of lethal fentanyl are also on pace to exceed last year's total. They are up more than 200 percent in just the latest month on record. These are not the signs of a secure border, and the American people know it. An outright majority of the country disapproves of how President Biden has been handling this issue. The Vice President's claims aren't fooling anyone. For years now, this crisis has stretched border communities to the breaking point and caused ripples throughout the entire country. All the while, Democrats have claimed it would be cruel or uncompassionate to have a functioning southern border or actually enforce our laws. Now, in recent weeks, the country has been treated to one of the more striking displays of irony we have seen in quite a while. For many years, while the citizens and local governments on the border have cried out for help and law enforcement, various Democrat- run cities and States that aren't on the border decided to set themselves up as virtue signaling sanctuary cities, where immigration laws supposedly simply do not apply. For years, much of the political left has suggested there are no legitimate practical reasons why our country would want secure borders or to enforce its immigration laws. Only racism or xenophobia could possibly explain it. Well, for several weeks now, some of these overwhelmed States have decided to try taking some of these Democrat-run jurisdictions at their word. Governor Abbott in Texas and Governor Ducey in Arizona have put a very small proportion of the illegal immigrants pouring into their States onto buses bound for the self-advertised sanctuary cities of New York and Washington. And do you know what? Just this very small taste of chaos, this tiny little sliver of what many places in America have been dealing with for years, has these cities' Democratic leaders outraged, anxious, and scrambling. Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, has only had to receive in 5 weeks roughly the number of people the Border Patrol encounters in 7 or 8 hours. New York has had over a month to handle a fraction--a fraction-- of 1 day's share of border crossings. Yet the mayor says having to deal with this is ``horrific.'' New York City officials complain that they are overwhelmed. Here in Washington, the destination for fewer than 8,000 illegal immigrants, the Democrat Mayor has declared a public health emergency. She begged the Pentagon to send in the National Guard for help. The Defense Department, of course, turned her down. It is incredible just how quickly Democrats change their tune when they have to stomach one single spoonful--spoonful--of the policies they have been force-feeding the rest of our country. Oh, it is challenging to have waves of illegal immigrants pouring into your community? This creates challenges for housing and medical care and resource allocation and law enforcement? Who knew all this? As one former mayor from the frontlines of this crisis put it recently, ``The city of McAllen was able to deal with thousands of immigrants a day. I think they can handle a few hundred.'' Maybe this will be the wake-up call the Democrats need to finally understand that functional nations--functional nations--need functional borders.

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. Just a few minutes ago, yet again, the American people received a monthly inflation report that was even worse than the expert predictions. The expectation was that Democrats' runaway inflation might finally begin to actually level off. The top-line inflation rate was expected to fall. Instead, yet again, the opposite happened. Overall inflation was up even higher. The prices this past August were still 8.3 percent higher than they were in August of 2021. Just a catastrophically high inflation rate. Food prices went up another 0.8 percent just this past month alone. Overall food prices just logged their biggest 1-year increase since the late 1970s. Groceries in particular are now 13.5 percent more expensive than they were at this time last year. Democrats' policies are sucker- punching American families every time they set foot in the checkout line. Eggs are up 40 percent. Butter, up 25 percent. Baby food, up 13 percent. Chicken, dairy, bread, cereal, and canned fruits and vegetables are all up around 16 percent each. Coffee is up even more than that. Housing and shelter costs were up. Medical costs were up. Furniture, up. New cars, up. Electricity costs were way, way up--a 15.8-percent increase since last year. So let me say that again. Inflation on Americans' electricity bills alone--alone--is 15.8 percent in just the last 12 months. This is the largest 1-year increase in electricity prices since 1981, when the statistic was looking back into the final months of Jimmy Carter. Even if you take out energy and food prices--two areas where the administration likes to pass the buck and pretend they are powerless-- inflation skyrocketed 0.6 percent in just the month of August alone. Eight-point-three percent inflation--just an astonishing number. And remember, this figure only looks back 12 months, but we are now more than 12 months into the Democrats' inflation spiral. Prices are 8.3 percent higher today than in August of 2021, but remember, in August 2021, the baseline, we were already talking about runaway inflation. Prices were already way up compared to the year before that. So the 12- month number dramatically understates the total damage that Democrats have caused. Here is the comparison that matters most to American families, especially with an election in less than 2 months: How are things today compared to January 2021, when this all-Democratic government was sworn in? How are they compared to January 2021? Here is the answer: Food prices are up a total of 13.9 percent since President Biden was sworn in. Gas prices are up 58.5 percent. Electricity costs are up 21.6 percent. And the overall, across-the-board inflation rate since President Biden took office is a catastrophic--catastrophic--12.5 percent. This very day, President Biden and Democrats are having a big celebration for their latest reckless spending bill, which they pretended would reduce inflation but which nonpartisan experts say will actually make it worse. They could not look more out of touch if they tried.

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, tomorrow, the Labor Department will release the latest monthly update on the Democrats' inflation, but, of course, the American people hardly need government statistics to explain to them that Washington Democrats' reckless spending has sent prices skyrocketing. Working families have been feeling this pain in their pocketbooks every single day. Nearly two-thirds of middle-income Americans say inflation is negatively affecting their finances. An outright majority say they are experiencing ``financial hardship.'' A third of the country says they are struggling to meet basic family needs. One parent shopping for school supplies recently told reporters: I had to start early because the prices are so high. . . . Being a parent, I want to give them the world. Sometimes, I wish I could give them more. But the back-to-school rush isn't the only headache facing working families. Since President Biden and this all-Democratic government took office, prices on grocery store essentials, from meat to produce, have seen double-digit percentage increases. Some household items, like furniture, are over 20 percent more expensive than they were on Inauguration Day. The diesel fuel that moves practically everything through the supply chain and onto store shelves is up nearly 80 percent since President Biden put his hand on the Bible. Households' electric bills are up an average of 20 percent since January of 2021. Commuting and running errands costs more, with gasoline up 70 percent. As fall and winter approach, homes that burn fuel oil are set to be more than 75 percent more expensive simply to keep warm. The American people know who created this mess. They remember quite well how Washington Democrats spent the spring of 2021 dining out on leftwing spending and leaving taxpayers to pick up the bill. Poll after poll has shown they are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with what President Biden and his party have done since then. One survey found five consecutive times that more than 70 percent of Americans say our country is headed in the wrong direction. But that hasn't stopped Washington Democrats from calling the same disastrous play over and over and over again. For months--months--our colleagues' primary focus was on repeating the mistake they made in 2021. In August, on a party-line vote, they did it. In the teeth of the worst inflation in over 40 years, every single Democrat in Congress voted to ram through hundreds of billions of dollars more in liberal spending. The American people's top concern is runaway costs. And the supply chain crisis could get even worse--much worse--in the next few days if Democrats let their far-left, Big Labor allies engage in massive railway worker strikes that would hamper the economy even further. But Washington Democrats' top concerns appear to be something very different. They prioritized waging war on affordable American energy in a bill that will have no meaningful impact on global temperatures. They prioritized inflating the IRS with $80 billion to audit more American citizens without a word of accountability for when tax collectors allow confidential information to become a political weapon. Even the supposed reason for the spending package, ``inflation reduction,'' is utter nonsense. Nonpartisan experts have concluded that what Washington Democrats did last month will not meaningfully reduce inflation at all and will actually make it worse in the near term. This is what Democrats decided to put first for the better part of a year, and it is what they are now trying to peddle to the American people as a victory. But the American people don't want tens of billions of dollars in wish fulfillment for climate activists; they want affordable gas and electricity. The American people don't want a bloated IRS; they want stronger support for law enforcement at the southern border and in their communities. Washington Democrats have consistently misunderstood what the American people have asked them to do. They have repeatedly ignored the basic challenges they have created for working families. When the American people's priorities and Washington Democrats' priorities have diverged, this government has put the people last at every turn.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, after five generations and 140 years of ownership, Bowling Green, Kentucky's Gaines Family has made the difficult decision to sell their newspaper, the Bowling Green Daily News. Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring these towering figures in Bowling Green's history, thanking them for their service to the Commonwealth, and wishing the best for their paper's success under its new owners. The Gaineses laid down the roots of the Bowling Green Daily News in 1882 when John B. Gaines founded the Bowling Green Daily Times. At the time, the city sported several newspapers, but the Gaines family's paper quickly rose above the rest. The Daily Times later merged with its chief rival, the Bowling Green Democrat, to create a new daily called the Park City Daily News. The paper's name derived from Bowling Green's nickname, ``beautiful park city,'' given to the city in an 1892 speech by Congressman and journalist Henry Watterson. The paper dropped its new moniker after nearby Glasgow Junction, KY, rechristened itself Park City in 1938, adopting Bowling Green Daily News as its name shortly thereafter. In the decades following, local newspapers around the country consolidated into large news media corporations. The Gaines family remained fiercely independent, though, keeping their paper family-owned and -operated despite outside pressure. They understood that, to provide the best possible coverage of life, breaking news, sports, and politics in Bowling Green, the paper had to be run by a local family with deep ties to the community. The Gaines family passed ownership down from one generation to another, and by this year, the Bowling Green Daily News was one of the oldest family-owned newspapers remaining in the South. From my first run for statewide office until today, I have had the pleasure of working closely with the Bowling Green Daily News's editorial and news teams. Often when I visit Bowling Green, I go straight to the paper's offices to meet with members of the editorial board and the Gaines family to discuss current events in the Commonwealth. Alone among most of Kentucky's largest papers, the Bowling Green Daily News opinion pages are filled with a diversity of ideas and discourse. As a result, their editorials usually come closest to reflecting what most Kentuckians actually believe about their State and our politics. Over the decades, I have developed a close working relationship with the Gaines family and especially Pipes Gaines, the publisher emeritus of the Bowling Green Daily News. Pipes joined the family paper full- time in 1966, following a career in the U.S. Army that included Active Duty in Korea. He has been a mainstay of the paper ever since, navigating rapid changes in the media industry and shepherding the next generation of talent into leadership roles at the newspaper, including his sons, Scott and Steve Gaines. Last year, Scott succeeded his father as the paper's publisher and joined his brother, who serves as an editor, as the fifth generation of Gaineses to help lead the Bowling Green Daily News. The Gaines family delivered an immense service to Bowling Green by running the city's flagship paper, but refused to keep their public works confined strictly to the family business. In 2007, the Gaines family created the Gaines Family Fund for Excellence in Print Journalism at Bowling Green's Western Kentucky University, forming an incubator for future local journalists at WKU's School of Journalism and Broadcasting. This type of generosity was part and parcel of the Gaineses' success, demonstrating a deep dedication for, and connection to, life in Bowling Green. The Gaines family's impact on Bowling Green has been felt all across Kentucky. From media, to education, to philanthropy, their extraordinary work on the Commonwealth's behalf will have an enduring impact. I thank the entire Gaines family for their stewardship of Kentucky's news media and wish them the best in the next stages of the family's life.