Tommy Tuberville

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, today I want to talk about the real March madness that we are having this month, moments about basketball and the tournament, but I want to talk about the madness of attacking title IX, attacking women's sports, and attacking women in general. Last night marked the beginning of the 2022 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championship. Instead of celebrating the many hard-working women who earned their spot in the championship, I expect much of the media attention to be around a singular competitor--a transgender athlete who competed as a male as recently as 2019. But the discussion should not be about inclusivity; it should be about fairness. I have spoken about this issue before and, last March, actually forced a vote on the amendment that would have prevented Federal funds from going to educational institutions that allowed biological males to compete in women's athletics. Unfortunately, colleagues on the left were more interested in pandering to the far left than they were in protecting the ability for girls and women to participate in fair--and I repeat, fair-- competition. They refused to support my amendment. And I would argue that by allowing biological males to complete in women's athletics, Democrats have set serious efforts for women's equality back by decades. And, ultimately, this will have the effect of discouraging many, many, many young women from participating in sports. In a recent article, two parents of a current collegiate athlete said: I think the NCAA needs to change its policies, and find a way to include transgender women without trampling all over biological women. I agree. Well, the NCAA has been silent. They have failed to take decisive action in ensuring a level playing field for all of women. And so now Congress must act to do so. This is why I joined Senator Mike Lee and 16 fellow colleagues in introducing the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2021. This is critical legislation that would make it a violation--a violation--of title IX for a recipient of related Federal funds to permit a biological male from participating in an athletic program or activity designated for women and girls. The bill would also establish the definition of ``sex'' in title IX as based ``solely on a person's reproductive biology and genetics at birth.'' It is imperative for Congress to act so that an entire generation of women aren't discouraged from pursuing their athletic dreams, whether on the field, whether on the court, or whether in the swimming pool. As some of the most talented female swimmers in the country prepare to compete over the next few days, it would be wrong not to call out the inherent unfairness in allowing a biological male to participate in several women's events. Penn's transgender athlete will compete in the women's 100-, 200-, and 500-yard freestyle events. Just a few short years ago, this athlete was competing in men's collegiate swimming events. Since being allowed to switch, this swimmer has shattered--and I mean completely shattered--records in women's events. In December, at the Zippy Invitational, this athlete set new national and school records in the 1,650-, the 500-, and the 200-yard freestyle events and continues to dominate the competition. At the invitational, this swimmer won the 1,650-yard freestyle with a new record time of 15:59.71. The second-place swimmer finished 38 seconds later. At the Ivy League Championships last month, this swimmer broke the 200-yard freestyle record of 1 minute and 43 seconds, beating out the last record by over a half a second, and the pool record was beat by 2 seconds. Having been a coach for 40 years, I can attest more so than anyone in Congress that there are fundamental differences between men and women when it comes to sports. But you don't have to take my word for it. A recent study concludes that ``on average, males have (1) 40-50 percent greater upper limb strength, (2) 20-40 percent greater lower limb strength, and (3) an average of 12 pounds more skeletal muscle mass than age-matched females at any given body weight.'' Lungs are bigger; heart is bigger. Competing in swimming, in the women's swimming division, has given this Penn athlete an unfair advantage that no one else in the field can overcome. Some have been too afraid to speak up, fearing they will be sacrificed at the altar of political correctness, or that they will be canceled if they say it is unfair for a biological male to compete against a biological female, or that they will be shunned if they don't embrace inclusivity over fairness. But some have already bravely voiced their opinion. The advocacy organizations Champion Women and Women's Sports Policy Working Group released dual petitions on Tuesday with over 5,000 signatures, asking for policymakers to prioritize ``fairness and safety for females'' instead of ``blanket transgender inclusion or exclusion'' in women's sports. The petitions were organized by three-time Olympic gold medalist, and the founder of Champion Women, Nancy Hogshead. According to Champion Women, the petitions were signed by nearly 300 Olympians, Paralympians, and U.S. national team members, as well as over 2,500 athletes who have competed at the high school, club, or collegiate levels. This is why Congress must act to pass the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2021. Allowing biological males to compete in women's athletics threatens-- threatens--to undo all progress that has been made under title IX. Title IX has provided women and girls the long-denied platform that had always been afforded just to men and boys. It ensures female athletes had the same access to funding, facilities, and athletic scholarships. Before title IX, female athletes received less than 2 percent of the college athletic budget--only 2 percent--and athletic scholarships for women were virtually nonexistent. And since the 1970s, when I first started coaching, female participation at the college level has risen by more than 600 percent. So this week, the NCAA championship will once again emphasize that the debate is not limited just to the Halls of Congress, but one that we are seeing play out across the country. It is an undeniable fact that biological males have a physiological advantage over females--a fact. So let me be clear: The question here is not should we be inclusive and supportive of all athletes; it is how. The first step the Senate can take to address the wrong that the NCAA has allowed to happen is to pass S. 251. There is an attack on women's sports. In the long run, there is an attack on women in this country. It has to stop, and it has to stop now. So I ask my colleagues to stand up for America's female athletes and women all throughout this country and support these efforts to preserve women's sports. I yield the floor.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

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

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, first of all, I would like to say thanks to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for getting out here today and starting down the road to making daylight saving time permanent. I cannot overstate how grateful I am that this bill passed this Chamber just a few minutes ago by unanimous consent. It is especially timely given that we all had to change our clocks this past weekend, and we are now experiencing longer, sunnier days, but it would be better news if longer, sunnier days were a new norm and not a cause for a temporary, seasonal celebration, which is why I hope my colleagues in the House of Representatives pass this bill quickly. The practice of springing forward impacts folks across the Nation and has far-reaching benefits beyond the obvious but enjoyable hour of daylight that brings happy, happy times to everybody. Alabamians have made this clear. Since I joined Senator Rubio in the effort to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, the phones in my office have been absolutely ringing off the hook in support of permanently adopting daylight saving time--from moms and dads who want more daylight time before putting their kids to bed so dinnertime doesn't feel like bedtime and from elderly people who want more Sun in the evenings in order to take a walk or enjoy working in their yards. For farmers, who could use the extra daylight to work in the fields, it is a better business model and adds to the bottom line. But it is not just people in the State of Alabama; Americans across the country want to make daylight saving time permanent. In fact, it is worth noting that this bill has bipartisan support, evidenced by the fact that it passed with no objection here in the Senate mere moments ago. It is no secret how rare that is here in this Chamber. Locking the clock, or doing away with the twice-a-year time change, is a simple measure that would have far-reaching results. For example, from a health perspective, cases of SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, are much more common in the winter months than in the summer months. From an economic perspective, the time change costs the U.S. economy an estimated $430 million annually when accounting for lost productivity. It is simply common sense to update this outdated practice. Daylight saving time began as a temporary measure during World War I to conserve energy, but in the last century, our world has changed dramatically. What might have made sense during 1918 does not make sense today. That is why Alabama, along with 17 other State legislatures, has passed legislation or resolutions to flip the switch on this outdated practice and permanently increase our daylight hours, but these changes at the State level cannot take place until a Federal law is passed. We have taken the first step today in the Senate by passing this bill. Now it is on the House's side. Again, my thanks to Senator Rubio and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. I hope the House acts quickly so we can get this to the President's desk and get the results that the American people want, and that is more sunshine. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, 2 weeks ago, Russia initiated the largest land conflict in Europe since World War II. Millions of men, women, and children fled their homes to safety. Countless others have taken up arms in the name of freedom. President Putin's unprovoked and brutal invasion of Ukraine did not happen overnight. The warning signs were very, very clear. The response from the Biden administration was anything but. The administration had false hope that strongly worded statements would be enough to deter an unprovoked war. President Biden waited until after Russia invaded Ukraine to level any sanctions at all. And even then, sanctions came in waves, and they are still coming. President Biden was slow to hit Putin where it hurts. He refused to penalize the Russian energy sector until roughly a week--1 week--after the invasion took place. The President refused to act, and the world now sees the heart-wrenching results. President Biden has shown weakness on the world stage throughout his 40-plus years in politics--40 years. His foreign policy caves to adversaries, undermines our allies, and devalues the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform. In his first year of office, he abandoned 20 years of effort in Afghanistan and emboldened Putin to attack his neighbor. As I speak, the White House is reviving Iran's hope of developing a nuclear weapon. Originally brokered when Joe Biden was Vice President in 2015, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more commonly known as the JCPOA or the Iran deal, was a deeply flawed agreement aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. In reality, it did the exact opposite. Nuclear security can't be achieved with wishful thinking, watered- down sanctions, or by sending our adversaries planeloads of cash, which we did. Years later, we all know the result. The Iran deal did not work. President Biden wants to revive this disastrous deal, and this time it will be even worse. The Iranians don't even want to negotiate with America and President Biden's administration so we are allowing Russia to join at the negotiating table negotiating for the United States. It doesn't make any sense. Many Americans are likely asking why? The United States cannot trust the Russian Federation in any capacity. If working with and propping up Russia isn't bad enough, Iran is poised to receive billions of dollars from frozen assets in this new agreement, including funds from renewed oil exports. Rather than unleashing the power of the American energy industry and allowing Americans to drill, drill, drill on our own soil, the Biden administration would rather do business with Venezuela and plead with Saudi Arabia to turn on the spigots. The administration is, again, leading from behind, held back by their pledge to their false climate gods. Yes, the climate has changed, and it has been changing for decades, but we can't let the far-left extremist wing push us to buy oil from convicts and criminals just because they would rather hamstring our economy than unleash American energy. The administration is letting Russia and Iran and China dictate the rules of the game, and they are letting an unelected bureaucrat who was not Senate confirmed, by the name of Rob Malley, conduct these talks through Russia. His now-former colleague resigned. Malley's former colleague resigned in protest over Mr. Malley in conceding to Iran. The Russian negotiators are bragging about Iran's huge wins in this would-be deal. I have a long list of concerns about how these negotiations are unfolding, but at the top are the limited sanctions the administration appears to be open to in exchange for a short-term pause on the development of Tehran's nuclear program. Let me be clear. These short-term sanctions are not the solution. They weren't a few years ago, and they are not today. The administration must not allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon. The Iran deal was a bad deal in 2015, and it would be a worse deal today. The Biden administration should immediately--immediately--walk away from the negotiating table before these discussions lead to yet another Biden foreign policy disaster. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, before I start my speech today on another topic, I want to take just a moment to discuss what is on all of our hearts across the country and across the world, that we should be praying for the Ukrainian people. We have got a mess in Ukraine. A lot of us have been to Ukraine over the last few months. We have made friends. I went over and met with the President a few months ago and a lot of his staff--and what good people. But they told us then that they needed help. And for some reason, this administration decided to drag its feet and tried to talk its way out of it. Sometimes, when you try to talk your way out of it instead of putting facts in front of you, you have problems. Well, we have had real problems. President Putin, who is a murderous tyrant, thought this was going to be easy. He didn't realize that the people of Ukraine were going to stand up and fight for their country. And they have done just that. They have lost many lives, Ukrainian soldiers, men and women, and also many, many citizens, but it has made NATO stronger. Putin never thought that would happen. So as I said earlier, I think that we all should remember every day and every night our prayers will go out to the Ukrainians, and, hopefully, in the near future, we can all come to some kind of consensus of what works best and that President Putin will come to his senses and call this off. Inflation Mr. President, the other thing I want to talk about real quickly is rising prices, inflation. I was back in my home State of Alabama this week, and prices are at historic highs and getting higher every day. But we were told by this administration that inflation was transitory. We heard that all last year. The definition of transitory: not for long. Well, they were very wrong on that. They also said inflation was due to COVID. Well, COVID is not gone, but it has died down, and inflation is getting higher. We were told by this administration that it was due to corporate greed. Well, we have had the same corporations for years and years. Inflation has been low, but now still going higher and higher. And the last reason that this administration said inflation is going up is because of war, and there is probably something to that. Obviously, we have got an energy crisis in this country, and everything runs off of energy. But one thing this administration didn't tell us was they didn't blame it on the trillions of dollars that we basically have taken and thrown out of helicopters all over this country. We have got more money now, 36 percent more money in circulation than we had 2 years ago in this country, and we have less goods. And that is when you have inflationary prices that creep up. But we have got to get control of our energy crisis. If we don't do that, then the economy is not going to have a chance. That is the bottom line. That is the basics of the economy. Our farmers are getting killed with planting as we speak. They are in the fields paying more and more every day for their fuel. Small businesses are struggling with rates that are climbing at double and triple the rates in terms of being shipped their goods, and they are having to pay the price for that. And then the price goes up, and the American consumer pays that much more. So we have got a problem, and we better get control of that in the very near future, or our economy is going to continue to go down and continue to get in debt. So we have got those two problems, one at home and one on the road. It is a road game in Ukraine; and, hopefully, we can help out the Ukrainian people, give them what they need to continue to fight. But as we watch television each day, they continue to lose ground each day. But they are going to fight for what they believe in, and that is their freedom. Daylight Saving Time Mr. President, my topic today, though, is--I think it is something that we need to listen to from people across this country. It is not war. It is not inflation. It has something to do with basic life here in this country. To be their voice, I am advocating on the people's behalf of this country. So let me read you a little bit about something that comes from my people in Alabama. A constituent from Talladega County writes: Daylight savings time year-round means the elderly, like myself, will be able to be more active in early evenings. Another from Mobile writes: Please try and do whatever is necessary to have daylight savings time permanent in the State of Alabama and our country. Everyone I know and everyone that I talk to, they want more daylight in the evening. And this is from a mental health professional: I am writing to let you know of the negative effects of my population of having the time change the way it does in November towards an earlier sundown, less daylight hours. It increases depression and decreases productivity in about half of my psychiatric patients. In other words, he is having problems when the sun goes down, basically because people can't get outside. These messages make important points, and I couldn't agree more. That is why I cosponsored Senator Rubio's bill, the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent. That would mean an extra hour of sunlight during the dark and cold winter months. And ahead of this weekend, when we start daylight saving time this coming Sunday, I want to take a moment to discuss the many reasons why we should do away with the outdated practice of springing forward and falling back. Daylight saving time should be a thing of the past, because it literally is. Introduced as a temporary measure during World War I, daylight saving time was originally called ``wartime,'' and it was a way to help conserve fuel and better utilize resources. Following the end of World War I, the 1918 Standard Time Act was enacted that discontinued daylight saving time nationally, but individual States continued to spring forward and fall back. Then, during World War II, there was a renewed Federal push for full- time daylight saving time, which then was repealed in 1945. Finally, in 1966, Congress passed legislation to set a national standard time. All this to say, changes to our clocks might have made sense when it first began, but it certainly doesn't now. In fact, as recently has 2005, Congress moved the start of the date of daylight saving time 1 month earlier in the spring and 1 month later in the fall. This change was implemented in 2007, giving us the ratio of daylight saving time that we have now--8 months to 4 months. The ways we consume energy have dramatically changed since the beginning of World War I. What started as an energy saver now just does not make sense for these modern times. To turn the clocks back each year is a nuisance and not smart policy. You know, kids get out of school and the Sun is starting to set. Families in their kitchen are cooking dinner, and it seems more like a bedtime dinner. Weekends have less sunlight hours, limiting the amount of time folks of all ages can spend enjoying the outdoors. Additionally, reduced levels of sunlight are known to disrupt the body's internal clock, which regulates sleep and alertness. It is no wonder that cases of SAD, S-A-D, or seasonal affective disorder, are much more common in the winter months than they are in the spring. And for our farmers, longer days mean more time to work in the fields under sunlight, which translates to a more profitable bottom line. From an economic perspective, the time change costs the U.S. economy an estimated $430 million annually when accounting for lost productivity in the change of sleep. That is why Alabama, along with 17 other States, have passed legislation or resolutions to flip the switch on this outdated practice, permanently increasing our daylight hours. However, for the will of the States to be enacted, the Federal Government--this body, this building--has to get involved. The 1966 law must be changed, and the Sunshine Protection Act does just that. The Sunshine Protection Act makes sense from a health and economic perspective, and it is just common sense. It is time we passed the Sunshine Protection Act. Let's give Americans something to celebrate: longer days and more sunshine. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, last week, President Putin of Russia ordered 100,000 to 200,000 Russians across Ukraine's border. Air raid sirens rang out. Bombs rained down. Russia declared war on Ukraine--the first war in Europe since 1945. Putin's terror is hard to watch. We have all seen it on television in realtime, but it is important we not look away. Amid it all, we are seeing examples of heroism and hearing stories of strength. Early in the fight, Russian warships called for Ukrainians to lay down their weapons on the small Snake Island. Ukrainian fighters answered with a bold response that has reverberated as a sort of drumbeat of defiance across the country. Since then, we have seen Ukrainians embody determination in the face of desperation--all in the name of freedom and love for their country. A Ukrainian marine sacrificed himself to blow up a bridge near Kyiv so that Russian tanks could not cross. All the while, President Zelenskyy of Ukraine has stayed. He has not abandoned his country, even though he knows Putin's goal is to topple the Ukrainian Government--all this while knowing that President Putin of Russia has sent over assassins to eliminate him. He planted his feet and squared his shoulders for the fight and is rallying his fellow countrymen to do the same. Ukrainian citizens are following suit, showing true bravery in the face of madness. As the Ukrainian Government began to hand out weapons, thousands and thousands lined up to receive them, men and women. Volunteers, ordinary citizens, are adding to the resistance. They are men and women, young and old, coming from all backgrounds and walks of life--all to defend freedom and democracy in their country. It is clear Mr. Putin underestimated the Ukrainians' will to fight. While Ukrainians are handing Russia a tough fight, we know there will be hard days ahead. Mr. Putin's rationale for invading was the ``demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine,'' arguing that, if Ukraine joined NATO, the West would have an excuse to invade Russia. That is paranoia. That is delusion. That doesn't sound like a strong leader. It sounds like a weak leader. Putin was betting that NATO would fold and that countries would turn against one another. If anything, Mr. Putin's bullying has strengthened NATO. Last week, Germany halted the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline, and now, in a somewhat surprising about-face, Germany is agreeing to send weapons to Ukraine. This not only frees up other countries to follow suit, but it also reverses their historic policy of never sending weapons to a conflict zone. Over the weekend, the United States joined with the European Commission and Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany to ban select Russian banks from SWIFT. By limiting access to this international payment system, we move closer to the goal of further isolating Russia. Additionally, the group leveled sanctions on Russia's central bank--paralyzing assets and freezing transactions. At least 26 NATO countries have either independently issued sanctions or have joined the EU sanctions. Since the invasion, the United States has not only imposed economic and financial sanctions, but we also authorized $350 million in new military aid to Ukraine, including anti-tank and air defense capabilities, and the State Department has sent millions in humanitarian aid. We are now seeing an inflection point for other countries--a time for choosing. Countries like Sweden, Finland, and Kosovo are all voicing a desire to join NATO. They are choosing to align with the West. So, in a moment of apparent frustration over the past few days, Putin ordered his Russian nuclear deterrent forces to be put on high alert in response to what he calls ``aggressive statements'' from NATO leaders and the West's financial sanctions. But I ask this question: Why? Why were all of these sanctions not presented 6 months ago to possibly deter this aggression and save tens of thousands of lives? We were late. As it currently stands, this is not a fight for American troops, but if a NATO country is threatened, we will and do need to act. Facts could change; therefore, policies have to change, which is why we need to continue to impose harsh financial sanctions and project strength during this very ugly situation. Another step we must take is to regain energy independence. We import nearly 600,000 barrels of oil a day from Russia. The Keystone Pipeline would have provided us 800,000 barrels per day. Ahead of the invasion, President Biden admitted ``defending freedom will have costs for us at home here as well.'' The irony is that Americans aren't just now feeling the economic strain as we begin to ``defend freedom'' through sanctions on Russia. Gas prices began to soar long before Mr. Putin waged war in Ukraine. It started with the President's first day in office when he blocked the Keystone Pipeline and undercut our Nation's energy independence. Russia ramped up aggression against Ukraine at the same time as the administration was canceling 80 million acres of oil and gas leases. Green policies here at home have pushed us to seek energy abroad, and our country is paying a huge and hefty price. President Biden has again admitted that we might need to dip into our oil reserves, but why not dig into the oil reserves--dig our own oil? This is no time to be a purist and think others can bail us out. The United States of America is an energy-rich nation, but we must have smart policies in place to use them. This is an economic and a national security issue. You cannot have a strong economy without low energy costs, and ridding ourselves of our reliance on Russian energy is a matter of national security. What happens in Ukraine matters, but so, too, do our actions here at home. So as our country prepares to hear from President Biden tonight on the state of our Union, I urge the President to project a strong path forward, to double down on investments in our military, and to put forth policies to ensure we regain our energy independence. If the state of our Union here at home is strong, it will only serve to strengthen our standing abroad. I yield the floor.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, it is no secret that Vladimir Putin longs to restore and rebuild part of the old Soviet Union. Putin wants Russia to be a superpower, and he knows what he is lacking. Russia is a one-trick pony with a lot of energy. It offers little except that. Its population is a tenth of the size of China's. Putin knows he needs to strengthen his military, economy, and position in the world, and he has been ruthless in that pursuit. We should not, then, be surprised that he is escalating his actions. It is a quest he has been on for many, many years. In 2008, Russia invaded the country of Georgia; in 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine to take the region of Crimea; and last year, Russia began to gather troops along the Ukrainian border. Putin rejects Western ideals; he toys with sovereign nations; and he plays by an entirely different set of rules--his own. And when President Biden signals that our words are hollow or that we will disregard our allies, our adversaries, like Putin, take notice. In September of last year, the world watched as our military was ordered to retreat from Afghanistan; we abandoned our allies; and we left civilians at the mercy of the Taliban. In October, Russia further built up its invasion force along the Ukrainian border. Last month, North Korea, once again, tested missiles. Iran is, perhaps, a few weeks away from building its own nuclear bomb; and today, as I speak, China struts at the Olympics while it tortures its citizens. The Chinese Communist Party seeks to dominate its neighbors and devour our ally, Taiwan. Communist China's navy has more ships than the U.S. Navy's, and their weapons grow more sophisticated than ours every day. Here is just an example: The Chinese successfully tested a hypersonic missile in December while we are still at the drawing board. Dictators and bullies zero in on weakness like a homing beacon. In the absence of our inaction, our adversaries will move with a level of decisiveness President Biden could only dream of. Putin does not want a war with the United States and our allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. This would be foolish. Putin's goal is to deter Ukraine from joining NATO. He wants their pro- democracy government to collapse, for Ukrainians to abandon their resolve, and wants to take over the country that largely despises him. He wants a buffer between him and the West, and he wants the United States to step aside and let him do this. To be clear, we do not--we do not--want American bloodshed in Ukraine, but neither do the Ukrainians. Last year, I traveled to Ukraine with several other Members of Congress and met with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The Ukrainian President told me, ``Ukrainians do not want Americans' boots on the ground.'' Ukrainians are willing and ready to fight their own fight. All they ask is for support; not blankets and helmets, but weapons-- weapons that can help them fight off the aggression. While Ukrainians have been sounding an alarm, our President has been asleep at the wheel. When Russia was amassing troops along the Ukrainian border, President Biden was giving a blistering speech about voting rights, saying anyone who disagrees with him wants to destroy our country. Instead of studying war plans on Afghanistan or addressing the growing threats from Russia and China, our servicemembers were forced to spend hours upon hours on ``woke'' training, not on readiness and becoming a first-class soldier. But the missed opportunities don't stop at this administration. The Senate already missed a chance to hit Putin where it hurts. A few weeks ago, Senate Republicans voted in support of sanctions on Russia's pipeline through Europe, the Nord Stream 2. Senate Democrats refused to support these sanctions. Who are they more afraid of, President Biden or Putin? President Biden has spent a year deploying a diplomacy-first strategy--the same page out of the same playbook from when he was our Vice President. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. Flawed decisions leads to failed outcomes. And weak leadership leads to bullies pushing the boundaries, like Vladimir Putin. It is time for President Biden to step up. Aggression must be met with resolve. We need to bring the full might of sanctions and squeeze Russia's economy so tight it chokes Putin's wealth. This includes sanctions on Nord Stream 2 and actions like delisting Russian companies in our capital markets, hopefully, to devalue their currency, the ruble. We need to show Putin that it is shortsighted to take Ukraine and think it is a victory. This may be another effort in a decades-long pursuit, but it will be met with fury and a fury of sanctions. Looking forward, the question becomes this: When our adversaries like Russia and China test our resolve again, will they be met with meekness or might? Standing on this floor, lobbing advice to our President to be stronger, to get tough, is not enough and is not going to work. That is too simplistic of a view. This moment requires more than that. The answer is not to simply project strength; it is to be strong. We have to be a strong nation that impresses and scares the bullies--not a weak country but a country that is strong. We need to get back to what makes this country so great in the first place, and that is the following: First, practice peace through strength. That means we make the necessary investments to modernize our military. The highest possible percentage of money we spend at the Department of Defense should go to building a killing machine. We are a superpower; we are not trying to be one. But our adversaries are outpacing us. Second, return our economic strength. We have to get our physical house in order, and it starts in Congress. Inflation has engulfed our economy. Families face bare grocery shelves and gas that is more, in some places, than $5 a gallon. Our national debt just crested at $30 trillion, amounting to almost $100,000 per citizen in our country alone, just their debt themselves. We need to return to a free market enterprise with less government intervention. And, third, regain our political strength by anchoring in our American strength of character. That is what this country is about. In the past year, the administration has shown our borders and our laws are not important. Over 2 million immigrants entered our country illegally day by day, and that figure increases as we speak. Additionally, COVID's winter surge caught the administration flat- footed, leaving the most vulnerable among us short of tests and of therapeutics. Our country is divided on issues ranging from education to public health. The administration has attacked the policies and beliefs that made our country so great. But we have to return to champion that spirit of American resolve and determination in all facets of life. The strength of our Nation depends on it. The future of our Nation depends on it. After this dark year marked by uncertainty, Americans are ready to return to the path of American independence. Americans across the country want to reignite the American dream and rekindle American ingenuity. We should all--this is something all of us--from Members of Congress to our President--should want. Putin thinks that because our President has projected weakness, America is weak. How wrong he is. To Russia and China, I say, betting against the United States and rolling the dice against Ukraine or Taiwan is a losing game. We need to show the world that the United States is still the brightest beacon of freedom, hope, and democracy. Again, I do not want American blood to be shed in Ukraine, but we should support a democracy against any tyrant. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, in my 40 years as a coach and mentor, I have witnessed the immeasurable value that sports plays in the lives of young adults. The lessons learned on the field contribute to an athlete's success off the field. For example, there is the value of discipline and hard work, how to deal with success and failure, how to be a leader, and the importance of putting the interests of the team ahead of the individual's. But many of these lessons are only realized when there is a fair and level playing field, and that is why title IX protections have been so transformational for women's and girls' sports. I began my career as a high school coach, coaching boys' basketball and football, as well as girls' basketball. This was just a few years after Congress expanded title IX, ushering in a new era of opportunities for women and girls in sports. Title IX provided women and girls the long-denied platform that had always been afforded to men and boys. It ensured female athletes had the same access to funding, facilities, and athletic scholarships. Before title IX, female athletics received less than 2 percent of the college athletic budgets, and athletic scholarships for women were virtually nonexistent. Since it was enacted, I have witnessed firsthand how the expanded provisions in title IX have changed the game for female athletes at every level. Today, 43 percent of high school girls participate in competitive sports. Since the 1970s, when I first started coaching, female participation at the college level has risen by more than 600 percent. Additionally, America's female athletes are routinely the best- performing on the world stage in both team and individual sports. In the 2016 Olympics, we saw the largest number of U.S. female Olympians in history. It is clear we have made important strides. Yet, recently, the adoption of policies for transgender athletes has negatively impacted the rights, privacy, safety, and achievements of women and girls in sports. That is why we need to continue to fight to uphold and preserve title IX protections in women's and girls' sports. This is a cause I have championed in my role on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. When then-nominee for Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, James Kvaal, testified before the committee, I pressed on the administration's commitment to upholding title IX and protecting the rights of women. As expected, he failed to articulate how title IX would be protected under the Biden administration. In March of last year, when Senate Democrats were pushing through their so-called COVID relief package, I led the charge here on this floor to prohibit education institutions from receiving Federal stimulus money if they failed to uphold title IX. Not surprisingly, it was rejected. But this is not just a debate we are having here in Congress; we are seeing it all across the country. To appease the demands of the left, sports organizations--from grade school to professional leagues--are focusing on the concept of being inclusive at the expense of being fair, but by including biological males in women's athletics, fairness is not possible. I can't believe we are even talking about this. Just last week, I heard from female Olympic gold medalists who reiterated this, and study after study continues to confirm what we already know: Male and female bodies have inherent biological differences that no amount of testosterone suppression can level. Male bodies have larger hearts, bigger bone structure, leaner muscles, and expanded lung capacity. One study concludes: ``On average, males have 40-50 percent greater upper limb strength, 20-40 percent greater lower limb strength, and an average of 12 pounds more skeletal muscle mass than age-matched females at any given body weight.'' The latest study published by clinical researchers in Europe finds that ``current evidence shows the biological advantage is only minimally reduced when testosterone is suppressed as per current sporting guidelines for transgender athletes.'' You can't make a level playing field. It is unquestionably the truth that biological males have a physiological advantage over females, and sports associations across the world are starting, finally, to pay attention. In 2019, USA Powerlifting prohibited transgender women from competing in female powerlifting. In 2020, World Rugby became the first international sports governing body to ban transgender women in global competitions. Just last September, the UK Sports Councils--the national funding bodies for sports across the United Kingdom--issued a report concluding that allowing transgender athletes to compete in women's sports does not allow for a balanced and even playing field--forbidden. These organizations are doing the research and making recommendations in the best interests of their athletes while also maintaining fairness in sports. But then there is the NCAA, better known as the National Collegiate Athletic Association. After a transgender collegiate swimmer began shattering--and I am talking about shattering--records in swimming just in the last few weeks, the public outcry was so loud that the NCAA said: Well, we will review this policy. The NCAA met, and the board voted in support of a sport-by-sport policy that they say ``preserve opportunity for transgender student- athletes while balancing fairness, inclusion and safety for all who compete.'' In effect, this means they will defer the policy to individual national governing bodies and kick the can down the road. These governing bodies, in turn, generally adhere to the standards of the International Olympic Committee, which permits transgender athletes to compete in women's sports. The Independent Women's Law Center and Independent Women's Forum both have condemned the NCAA for adopting this approach. The NCAA had the perfect opportunity to stand up for women and girls in sports, and they blew it. The NCAA's lack of true action is disappointing and invites more questions than it provides answers. By punting the responsibility, the NCAA leaves the door open for continued erosion of title IX protections at the expense of women's athletics and continues to chip away at the great unifier that Americans know and love. We need to do better for women athletes all across this country. So let me be clear. The question here is not should we be inclusive and supportive of all athletes; it is how. There is no pregame speech you can give a woman or a girl who feels like they aren't competing on a fair playing field. No pep talk can touch title IX's 37 words that changed everything for women's sports over 50 years ago. It rightfully afforded women and girls the same athletic opportunities that their male counterparts have always had, and we should continue to fight for all the young girls and the future of this country. I yield the floor.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

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

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, my colleagues across the aisle spent the first part of this year laser-focused on voting rights and the filibuster. Democrats at all levels, including President Biden, spoke of nothing else, claiming that this was the most important issue facing Americans and that the future of our country was at stake. But this was not a righteous crusade; it was a march into complete delusion--a message completely out of touch with the struggles of real Americans. While Democrats lectured, Americans confronted reality. Across the country, inflation is squeezing paychecks, and COVID cases are skyrocketing. These are the issues that families are focusing on. Omicron's surge has sent students home from classrooms and back in front of computer screens. This is where parents' minds have been these last few weeks--not on Senate rules, not on the filibuster, but on their children's educations because when parents think about the future of our country, they think about their children and the opportunities that they will have and that all starts with education. During my four decades of coaching, I saw firsthand how education provides an unparalleled opportunity to uplift students from all different backgrounds, races, and religions. Education is the key to opportunity and freedom. It empowers students to create futures for themselves, to make better lives for themselves. It is a way to achieve the American dream. In short, education is our country's future. Ensuring the next generation receives a quality education is the most important investment--the most important investment--we can make in the future success of our country. But before I talk about where we should go when it comes to education, it is important to note where we are today in education. Right now, the United States of America is slipping. It is slipping in the classroom. When it comes to our global standing, we are 37th in the world--37th in the world--in math, and we are 13th in the world in reading. Just over half of the young people in our country today can read over the sixth grade reading level. That is simply not good enough for the most powerful country on the face of the Earth. Our students are falling behind. At no time was this more important than in the last 2 years. COVID turned our living rooms into classrooms, bringing lesson plans to kitchen tables in homes all across the country. This gave parents a front row seat to what their children were and were not learning, and many parents did not like what they saw. Students weren't being taught how to think; they were being taught what to think. This shift from what is right to what is ``woke'' has startled parents, but it was also startling for parents to see what isolation did to their developing children. As kids saw less of their friends, they retreated into darkness. Rates of depression and anxiety rose dramatically. Since the start of the pandemic, hospitals have seen more mental emergencies among kids than in the history of our country. In young girls, the suicide rate has jumped over 50 percent compared to the prepandemic levels--50 percent. While we are nearly 2 years into the pandemic, the digital divide still creates profound roadblocks in learning for many children who lack access to rural broadband and even a laptop. Learning by low- income and minority students was disrupted the most by school closures. The pandemic compounded existing problems in our education system, and every child has felt the effects of this pandemic from not having been in the classroom, but it has also highlighted a key piece of the educational puzzle: parents. Parents are the key to education for our kids. Parents realized the power of their collective voices during the pandemic, and they are using it to advocate for improvements in the education of their kids in the classroom. Time and time again, we have seen parents stand against restrictive mandates and unnecessary school shutdowns. Now, as we look toward the future of education, we need to remember what the pandemic taught us--that one size does not fit all. It rarely works, and it certainly does not work in education. That is why, moving forward, when we talk about education, we will have an opportunity to revisit the conversation about the importance of choice. Parents know their child best. They understand the unique needs of their children and can serve as the best advocates for those needs, especially now that the needs may be different than they were 2 years ago, before COVID. A child's education shouldn't be defined by their ZIP Code or financial limitations. A child and their parents should have a choice about education. School choice increases options through vouchers or tax credit scholarships, allowing parents to select the best learning environment for their child. School choice breaks down barriers and allows the funds to follow the student. School choice embraces the truth that different children learn in different ways and in different environments, whether it be in a charter school, a public school, a private school, or a home school. There are school choice successes, and there are stories everywhere we look. Just take this story about a young man from Alabama. His name is Nicholas West. Without Alabama's tax credit scholarship, Nicholas and his brothers would have had no option but to have attended a high school that they were zoned for, which was a school that was unable to deliver the individualized instruction that they needed. Thanks to the school choice programs, Nicholas and his brothers were able to thrive in different learning environments based on their unique needs and interests. By being in an environment that set him up for success, Nicholas was able to earn college credits during high school, and he went on to start his own business upon graduating from high school. I believe that this country owes you one thing: It owes you an opportunity. Yet what you do with that opportunity is up to the individual. For Nicholas, he used this opportunity--presented to him through the school choice--to tap his full potential. It makes sense that we should increase access to the opportunities for young men and women just like Nicholas. We must deliver the same opportunities to other students who have skills and drive but who need a path forward. Alabama is making strides in opportunity and creation. Charter schools continue to grow in popularity in our State. Last year, enrollment increased over 65 percent--the second highest enrollment percentage in the Nation. If I sound like I am proud of the steps Alabama has taken to ensure we give our students opportunity, I am. I believe other States can learn from the emphasis Alabama has put on ``choice.'' As we learn more about how the pandemic has impacted students, educational choice will become that much more important. In fact, choice may make all the difference. When we look forward and discuss the future of our country, we have to get back to talking about education. The future of our country depends on the educational opportunities we make available to the next generation. That is why I am proud that the resolution I helped to introduce, to recognize National School Choice Week, passed the Senate last night. I am glad my colleagues recognize how important it is to encourage parents and students to explore all available educational opportunities. Conversations about the importance of school choice should continue to drive our priorities throughout this year. If we join together to make that commitment, our future for this country and our kids in this country will be much brighter. I yield the floor.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, I rise today to honor the 200th anniversary of Major David Moniac, the first Native American to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Today, I would like to share the inspiring story of Major Moniac. He was born in 1802 and lived near present-day Pintlala, within Montgomery County, AL. Several of Moniac's family members were members of the Creek Nation and influenced passage of the Treaty of New York in 1790, which declared peace between the Creek Nation and the United States. This treaty is significant as it contained an important provision for the U.S. Government to educate four young Creek Native Americans. Twenty-seven years later in 1817, David Moniac was accepted into the U.S. Military Academy under this provision at only 16 years old. Despite facing an uphill battle due to his age and being the only minority at West Point, Moniac persevered. He went on to graduate in the year 1822 as a brevet second lieutenant in the 6th U.S. Infantry Regiment. In 1836, Moniac answered the call of the U.S. military, to fight for our Nation and aid the Army in the Second Seminole War occurring in Florida. Moniac was named captain and proceeded to organize a unit of Creek Volunteers from Alabama to serve. During the war, this impactful Alabamian demonstrated true leadership as he commanded an assault on a Seminole stronghold and earned a promotion to major in October 1836. One month later, in November 1836, Major Moniac was killed by a musket volley at the Battle of Wahoo Swamp while he was leading a charge of Creek Volunteers. Moniac's death marked the end of the battle. Major Moniac was laid to rest at a cemetery in Bushnell, FL, near the site of the Battle of Wahoo Swamp. To remember his incredible courage and bravery, the inscription on his grave marker states, ``He was as brave and gallant a man as ever drew a sword or faced an enemy.'' On November 21, 2021, Governor Kay Ivey presented the Alabama Distinguished Service Medal to Major Moniac's family at the Alabama State Capitol. The Distinguished Service Medal recognizes exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Today, we honor Major David Moniac for his impact and the transformational change that he led as he paved the way for other Native Americans to receive admission to West Point. His legacy continues to make not only my home State of Alabama proud and grateful for his leadership but our entire country. It is a privilege to honor Major Moniac today in Congress 200 years later commemorating his service and sacrifice.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, last year ended with the best Christmas present that this Congress could have given to the American people--the Democrats' failing to pass President Biden's reckless tax- and-spending spree. But, sadly, the Democrats' failure doesn't seem to have made them realize the reality they are operating in: a 50-50 Senate, where they have to actually work with both sides of the aisle to deliver bipartisan wins for the American people. They have now pivoted from a reckless tax-and-spend spree that would break the piggy banks of Americans to wanting to break the longstanding rules of the U.S. Senate. They have set their sights on changing the very core of this institution by eliminating the legislative filibuster. Some Americans may not even know what the filibuster is. The Senate follows many rules and procedures to pass legislation, and the filibuster is an important tool that gives the minority party the ability to voice concerns and help shape any bill the majority party may bring up. The filibuster serves as a check against the majority party wishing to act without input from the minority. Basically, with the filibuster, the majority has to work with the minority. That is the bottom line. Voting to end debate on a bill is commonly referred to as ``ending a filibuster.'' It simply means that the Senate agrees that there has been enough debate, including amendments, and it is now time to take a vote. And as one of the Senate rules, it requires 60 votes to end debate and move to passing the bill. Even if you aren't familiar with complicated Senate procedures, just know that the filibuster is important because it protects the deliberative nature of the Senate. It ensures we function as an institution rooted in compromise, common ground, and a sense of unity. We represent all Americans, not just a few. Looking back on the history, you will see it has been utilized as a standard Senate practice by Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike. It is so important that in 2005, Senator Schumer, whom you just heard speak, said: ``The ideologues in the Senate want to turn what the Founding Fathers called `the cooling saucer of Democracy' into the rubber stamp of dictatorship.'' Yes, he said that doing away with the filibuster would effectively create a dictatorship. More recently, in 2017, Senator Schumer doubled down on the need to keep the filibuster in a letter to Leader McConnell. In his letter, Senator Schumer argued for the protection of ``existing rules, practices and traditions as they pertain to the right of members to engage in extended debate on legislation before the United States Senate.'' To sum that up, he said no way should we cancel the filibuster. That letter was signed by 33 Democrats, many of whom are still serving in this Senate as we speak. One of the signers who served at that time who signed this document is now the Vice President of the United States. And it is not just the Vice President who has warned against ending the filibuster. In 2005, on this very floor, Senator Joe Biden warned that if the ability to filibuster were abolished, done away with, the Senate would become the House of Representatives. I recognize that both sides of the aisle have, at some point, diminished the filibuster on nomination votes. In 2013, then-Senator Harry Reid lowered the vote threshold for Presidential appointments, other than Supreme Court nominees, to 51. In 2017, the Republicans turned around and lowered the standard to 51 for Supreme Court nominees. Based on that, the left may call our opposition now hypocritical. But there is a big difference between legislation and nominations, including policy and our budget and nominees. Debating legislation should include input from all Senators and be subject to compromise through the amendment process in order to be made better. A nominee's qualifications are not subject to input or change. Voting on a nominee is a take-it-or-leave-it vote. You can't change their background or qualifications with more debate or more amendments. That is why they moved the vote to 50. But the filibuster on legislation forces the majority to take into account the minority's position and to make the changes necessary to earn their support. So now that the Democrats seem to be changing their tune on the legislative filibuster, it might be worth asking what has caused the Democrats to flip-flop and why now? Well, there is one notable reason. Between 2017 and 2022, who is in control of the White House and Congress now? Back in 2017, when the Democrats were in the minority, they understood the value of the minority's vote. But now they are in the majority, and all bets are off. They want to race through their party's Big Government socialist agenda with as little or no debate or opposition as possible. And Senate Democrats have embraced a radical, win-at-all-cost game plan for passing their progressive agenda, and they intend to and will break the Senate if they do it. Democrats say their war on the filibuster has to do with strengthening voting rights, and they want to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat. If that were true, Democrats wouldn't have any problem passing this on a bipartisan level. We all want to safeguard our elections so that all Americans have confidence in the integrity of our country's election process. But if access to the ballot box were an issue, it might come as a surprise that the 2020 election saw the largest voter turnout in over a century. The Democrats are simply operating under a false idea. The States should run our election system, not the Federal Government. What is more is, they will tell you they are embarking on this crusade to ``save our democracy.'' But the problem is, they want to do it by blowing up our democracy, blowing up this room. Ending the filibuster means we would govern only by majority rule, stifling the voice of all minority and millions and millions of people who voted for the people who are in here in the minority. Instead of saving it, this one-party rule would be the end of our democracy as we know it. Instead of including the minority's voice in legislation that should serve all Americans, we would have radical swings back and forth every time the majority changed hands in this room. Right now, there are few Democratic Senators who have stood up for the filibuster. They understand the important role of the minority's voice. This is not the House of Representatives. They understand the importance of making sure we listen to the voices of the millions of Americans who voted for the minority party, whoever it is. They know what even a small ``exemption,'' or what they call a ``carve-out,'' could lead to--devastation to this room. So I ask the rest of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: Why not join us and save the filibuster? That is what makes us the voice of all Americans. Why not focus on what you can do to lead in the face of many crises actually facing the American people? In a recent poll, nearly 50 percent of Americans disapproved of President Biden's handling of COVID. The disapproval ratings were even higher when it came to the economy, taxes, crime, government spending, and immigration. It is clear that, right now, Americans need more adults in this room and more leadership, and I can guarantee that the American people do not want leadership that resorts to changing the rules to get their way, to notch a win. The American people want leaders who actually address the problems they face, like COVID and inflation. We cannot allow the failed leadership of Big Government socialists to be a scapegoat for eliminating the filibuster and fundamentally changing our country for the worse. I yield the floor.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to complete my remarks before the scheduled recess.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, today I rise to highlight the 100th anniversary of the 117th Air Refueling Wing based in Birmingham, AL, and to honor the patriotic men and women, past and present, of this storied National Guard unit. For a century, the 117th has defended our freedoms by providing worldwide air refueling, airlift, logistics, intelligence, and medical services. It is a profound honor to represent these great Americans in their nation's capital. The United States hosts the world's most powerful Air Force, which gives our country the ability to project strength and defend freedom around the globe. This capability is made possible by a heavy reliance on our air refueling tankers that create bridges across the sky for our fighters and bombers. Since October 1994, the 117th Air Refueling Wing has proudly and effectively performed this critical air refueling mission with the KC-135 Stratotanker, a mainstay of our tanker fleet. The 117th Air Refueling Wing is heavily utilized and often deployed. Their reliability and dedication has led them to take part in some of the most consequential military actions of our time. During the Kosovo conflict of 1999, the wing flew operational missions over the Balkans following its deployment of six KC-135 aircraft to Brize-Norton Royal Air Force Base, England, in support of Operation Allied Force. After the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the 117th deployed to MacDill Air Force Base, FL, as part of Operation Noble Eagle to refuel F-15 and F-16 aircraft that were flying around-the- clock protective combat air patrol missions over major cities in the United States. The wing deployed KC-135 aircraft to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, to fly operational missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and later played a key role in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Each of these deployments supported and directly contributed to the success of our air operations, keeping Americans in the air and on the ground safer while imposing our will on the enemy. But, even decades before taking on the air refueling mission, the wing had a storied beginning and a long history of service to our country. In 1918, Major James A. Meissner, a World War I flying ace, returned home to Birmingham to lead the formation of a flying unit based at Roberts Field. As a result of his efforts, on January 21, 1922, the U.S. Department of War identified the Birmingham Aero Club as the first Air National Guard Unit in Alabama. The unit was originally designated as the 135th Observation Squadron, Alabama National Guard, and received Federal recognition as a Corps Aviation unit. The flying squadron was nicknamed the ``Birmingham Escadrille's,'' and Major Meissner served as the first commander. On January 30, 1944, the unit, by then redesignated to the 106th Reconnaissance Squadron, flew its first combat sorties in B-25 Mitchell aircraft against the Japanese from Sterling Island in the South Pacific. In 1961, the unit was federalized in support of the Berlin Crisis. For 10 months, 20 RF-84F Thunderstreak aircraft flew missions from Dreux Air Base, France. Also in 1961, roughly 80 members of the Alabama Air National Guard secretly took part in the operation to support the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. These individuals bravely defended the U.S. and Cuban people against the communist regime and were sworn to secrecy until the declassification of the mission in 1998. In November 1971, the unit was selected to be the first Air National Guard unit to receive the RF-4C Phantom II aircraft, redesignated as the 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, and assigned to the U.S. Air Force's Tactical Air Command. Following Saddam Hussein's August 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent U.S. military buildup in the Middle East, six Alabama National Guard RF-4C aircraft equipped with special long-range cameras deployed on August 24, 1990, to Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. Their mission was to obtain high-resolution images of objects 100 miles away to aid prewar surveillance and photo- reconnaissance mapping of Iraqi forces in occupied Kuwait and along the Saudi Arabia-Iraq border. Though the missions and the aircraft have changed over the 100-year history of the flying squadron, one thing has remained constant: The men and women of the 117th have always answered the call to service. That tradition has been proudly carried on by the nearly 1,000 men and women who comprise the 117th Air Refueling Wing. Today, we honor the airmen and women, maintainers, medical crews, and support staff of the 117th Air Refueling Wing on this important anniversary and remember those that have given their lives as part of the wing's operations. I salute them for their sacrifice and service to the great State of Alabama and the United States of America.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, I would like to add on to what the other Senators have said. We want to give our blessings and prayers to the people in the southern part of the country after all the tornadoes. I grew up in Arkansas and now live in Alabama, and there hasn't been a year gone by that we didn't have devastated communities, towns, cities across the South. It seems like it is an every-year occurrence. There has been many people lost, many people injured. The TV trucks and newspeople will leave in the next couple of days, leaving the destruction behind for the people of these cities and towns to rebuild, and it is a tough time. It is going to be a tough time all around, not just for a few days but for years. And our prayers go out to them and all the families that have to go through one of the toughest times of their life.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

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

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, our great country was founded on the idea that freedom leads to prosperity, which is better known as the American dream. I have always said this country owes you only one thing, and that is an opportunity to succeed. This country gives you the opportunity to live the life you dream of because, with hard work, anything is possible. For a couple, the American dream may look like saving enough to buy their first home. For a small family business, it might look like opening its doors for the first time. For a first-generation college graduate, it might be walking across the stage, and for a soldier, returning from war with the hopes of starting a family. The American dream takes on many unique forms reflective of the opportunity that countless generations have strived to realize. At the core of the American dream, you will find the American family because for centuries, the American dream has been rooted in the idea of family and freedom. Strong families are the foundation of strong communities. That is why we need to uplift the American family rather than to continue to rip it apart. But recently, we have seen policies from the Democrats that inject politics into parenting, that insert the heavy hand of the Federal Government into the American home and stop at nothing to tell parents: We know best when it comes to raising your children. Threats to the American family are knocking on the front doors of homes across the Nation as the left becomes focused on telling the American people what they want rather than listening to what they need. A prime example is the Democrats' socialist spending spree, designed to create a cradle-to-grave welfare system that does more to tear the American family down than to build it up. Just look at the child tax credit--a once bipartisan policy initiative that has now been weaponized to benefit some families at the expense of others. If you are a working-class, married couple with children, you drew the short end of the stick. Then there is the Democrats' Federal childcare program. It is more focused on perpetuating government dependency than giving low-income families the means to stand on their own two feet. With these proposals in their reckless tax-and-spend spree, the Democrats are picking winners and losers, and the losers are the American family. Anti-family policies like these grow the size of the government while chipping away at American freedom. We should focus on pro-family policies that put families first, policies that make achieving the American dream a reality, not something to feel shameful about. If you are born with two parents in this country, you hit the lottery. So many children don't have the stable family that some have; they grow up with one parent or are raised by another family member. Then there are children who grow up with no parents, thrown into the foster system. It is a shame because we know stable families can provide foundations that children need to seize the American opportunities. As we talk about supporting the American family, I want to focus on an important issue to many families across the country; that is, adoption. November is National Adoption Month in the United States. In the United States, over 400,000 children a year don't have a safe place to call home or a loving family to care for them. The idea that children have a safe and stable home, with a family who loves them, should be something we should all agree on. In my career, I have traveled across the country for 40 years. People from all walks of life welcomed me into their homes. I have seen firsthand the immeasurable impact that family can have on a child's life. I have seen parents who provide stable foundations, who instill the belief that with hard work, grit, and determination, anything is possible. Success stories can be found across my State of Alabama. In fact, in 2019, Alabama had 731 adoptions--the highest number in Alabama's history. One of those is Katie, who was adopted through the Heart Gallery of Alabama. Katie's parents adopted her at the age of 12, after years spent in and out of foster care. Her forever family provided her with the secure foundation she needed to jump-start her future. Now, Katie just completed her first year at Yale University. Like Katie, children in our foster care systems have endless potential but need the stability that having a family brings to unlock it. While we celebrate the heartwarming stories of families being made whole, we cannot forget about the children waiting for their forever home. Those are the stories of kids who deserve these families and families who deserve kids. As a Christian, I believe life begins at conception, but too often, when discussing pro-life issues, we often refer to that life as the child's time in the womb. We should, however, be focusing on the life of a child after they are born, and that philosophy should apply to children all around the world. Many other countries don't place the same value on life as we do here in the United States. In some countries, parents may choose to abort babies who might have disabilities, and if a child is born with a disability, they are put up for adoption at much higher rates. China is one of these countries. Right now, there are several hundred American families who have been matched with or have begun the process of adoption with children in China, but the pandemic has indefinitely halted most of the adoptions from China moving forward. Back in May, I sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken asking for the State Department to have diplomatic discussions with China so these kids could go home to their new families, but here we are in November, and I have yet to receive a response from the State Department. Over 400 children are still stuck in China, with their families unable to bring them home. Most of these children have some type of medical or special need and are currently living in Chinese orphanages. One such child is Cherry. She is stuck in China while her forever family is waiting with open arms here in the United States. Cherry has Down syndrome and needs medical attention, which is currently being delayed. When speaking about Cherry, her forever family said: The sooner we can get little Cherry into our home, the sooner we can give her all the attention, therapy, and love to bring out her fullest potential in life. Cora Lee has lived in an orphanage for 3\1/2\ years, ever since she was an infant. Cora Lee has a medical condition that needs to be treated or could eventually lead to blindness. Here in the United States, there are parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, and a church family who are waiting for her to come home so they can help provide help in the future. Then there is Charlie, who recently had a fourth birthday. He has a family in Alabama who cannot wait to welcome him home. The first several years of Charlie's life have been tough. He needs specialized care that only a loving family can provide. Given that the Biden administration just reopened our borders to so many international travelers and that one of our COVID vaccines for children age 5 through 11 has just been authorized, I believe it is past time for us to get these children home to the families who have been waiting years to love them and care for them. Adoption is the gift that keeps on giving by providing children the opportunity to rise above difficult circumstances. We need to work together towards policies that make this gift more attainable for all who can provide a stable home. After all, family is the heartbeat of the American dream. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, during the recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, I asked the Secretary of Defense what I thought was a simple question: As the leader of the Department of Defense, was he against dishonorable discharges for members of the military who decided not to get the COVID vaccine. He hemmed and hawed around, but he never answered my question. But, to me, it is simple. The answer should be that we will not dishonorably discharge those who serve honorably. Our country is defended by the bravest men and women in the world. All raised their hands and pledged their lives to defend our Nation and our way of life. Our servicemembers stand watch while we go to work, while we spend time with our families, and while we enjoy freedoms they vow to protect. When COVID broke out, our military was there for America. Military members were mobilized in all 50 States to serve as nurses and doctors at hospitals. They drove ambulances and set up food banks. They delivered critical supplies. They worked to keep order. But how does the President thank them for their service? With a dishonorable discharge for deciding not to take the vaccine. That is ridiculous. Receiving a dishonorable discharge means they will lose all of their veterans' benefits and their pensions. In some States, it is on par with having a felony conviction. That means they lose their ability to vote or to carry a gun, not to mention what it does to their ability to find a new job. A dishonorable discharge is and should continue to be handed down for only the most reprehensible conduct in the military. Now, I am for the vaccine. I have taken it, and my family has taken it, and I continue to encourage others to talk about it and talk to their doctors about it. I also respect the chain of command. I know how important it is for soldiers to follow orders. But this vaccine is still new, and I am sure the Department of Defense can look at other ways to manage our force rather than to put a stain on the reputations of the men and women who wanted to serve and have served their country, which brings me to another point about the impact of the Biden administration's vaccine mandates. When President Biden made his sweeping vaccine mandates, he did so with the hubris or excessive confidence that Americans would just support the policy simply because it was his competent administration that implemented them, but the mandates are shortsighted, they are ill- conceived, and they threaten our national security. Here is how. First, it creates a false choice for our defense contractors. They are forced to choose between coming to their job and working to support our military or taking a new vaccine that they don't want. Their decision should be between their doctor and their patient. Second, it puts the important and critical performance of our defensive industry in jeopardy. Alabama alone is home to 5,000 defense contractors. When these firms are unable to perform, our country is at risk. Third, the guidance for compliance is changed with little or no warning. This moving of regulatory goalposts creates uncertainty and drives up compliance costs, especially for smaller firms that lack large HR departments. So last week, I called on the Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed to schedule a hearing on this issue. I want to hear straight from the small business owners who are struggling to figure out how to comply. We need to know just how disruptions in their ability to complete their work may impact the defense supply chain. I also want to hear from expert witnesses within the Department of Defense. We need to have a full picture of the current state of vaccine compliance. If the Senate were to take action on a solution, it is critical that we have all the facts. I also sent a letter to the President, urging him to reverse course on his Federal contractor mandate. On Monday, the White House backed down from their arbitrary deadline of December 8, with the announcement of new flexibilities in their guidance. While this step is in the right direction, they haven't gone far enough. The vaccine mandate is still a compliance burden on small contractors, no matter how flexible the White House tries to make them. Our workforce still will be unnecessarily impacted and our national security will still be at risk. So I would encourage the White House to focus on protecting Americans' liberties while pursuing a holistic strategy to combat COVID. It is time that President Biden recognizes that mandates are not the answer; frank conversations between doctors and patients are the answer. I yield the floor.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11 as Armistice Day, marking an agreement the year prior between the Allied Nations and Germany to temporarily cease fighting during World War I. President Wilson said: The reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations. In battles before World War I and in battles since, our servicemembers and veterans have served to protect the American way of life. Every year, our country pauses on November 11 to recognize our veterans with the solemn pride and gratitude that President Wilson referenced. We all wake up each morning and enjoy the freedoms this great country affords us because of our veterans--because it was our veterans, our men and women in uniform, who were there when their country needed them most. While their roles span multiple theaters and decades, our veterans were and continue to be united by a common mission: to protect and to defend the United States of America. This is a great responsibility they shouldered, and they deserve gratitude equal to their great sacrifice. Our veterans may say that they are just ordinary Americans doing their job. They may be ordinary, but they performed an extraordinary service to our country. Alabama is home to nearly 400,000 veterans, and today it is my honor to recognize a few of them for their service. I have had the pleasure of meeting many veterans from my great State, and I am always inspired by their service and their sacrifice. Their patriotism is unmatched, and their courage is unwavering, like that of CPL Edsel Bonds of Samson, AL, who experienced a shell blast to his right femur on January 28, 1966, while on a mission to intercept guerillas during the Vietnam war. The blast blew out 4 inches of his femur bone and several muscle groups. He spent most of a year recovering in the hospital from this horrific injury and never lost the love for his country. Now, nearly 56 years later from the time of his injury, he is just as patriotic as ever. He views his service as something that was necessary for our country to remain the greatest country in the world. Corporal Bonds risked life and limb because he believed that America is worth sacrificing for. We enjoy the blessings of living in a free nation but often discount the fact that our liberties come with a tremendous cost. Many brave men and women have paid a price that even our deepest gratitude could never, ever repay. I think Elmer Davis, the Director of the U.S. Office of War Information during World War II, said it best: This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is home of the brave. One-hundred-year-old SGT George Mills of Decatur, AL, showed great bravery during his time serving in World War II. The Germans surrounded his company 500 yards from the German border and launched attacks into the building where they were staying, setting it on fire. With no ammunition left to defend the enemy, Sergeant Mills and his fellow comrades were forced to surrender. For the next 5 months, George Mills and his company were marched across Europe toward the former Czechoslovakia without food. They were starved and no doubt weary. Yet Sergeant Mills and his company persevered. They survived by eating scraps of sugar beets and rutabagas found in barns where they were held captive before they were finally liberated on April 13, 1945. During this initial attack, Sergeant Mills, despite being injured, sprang to action to help save the lives of those in his company. He was awarded a Purple Heart for his bravery. Another American hero is Fred Lacy of Auburn, AL. A lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, Mr. Lacy provided valuable leadership and negotiation skills during his time in Europe, Korea, and Vietnam. He and his brigade helped defend the western half of the Korean demilitarized zone at the end of the Korean war, ensuring that there were no weaknesses in our defense for North Korea to attack. During the Vietnam war, he coordinated all U.S. activity in the Mekong Delta and assisted the Vietnamese in combating the Vietcong. He volunteered in a leprosy orphanage in his free time while staying there. He was a natural at building relationships and resolving conflicts during his time. During a dispute between a Vietnamese and an American officer, Fred stepped in front of a gun to prevent the American officer from being shot. He received two Bronze Stars and the Combat Infantryman Badge for his leadership and courageous efforts. When reflecting on his service, he says that it was ``a privilege to serve.'' That spirit of service is something he carries with him even after his time in the military. Lieutenant Colonel Lacy has taught Bible classes for more than 60 years and still teaches today at Auburn United Methodist Church. We, as citizens of this country, are privileged to have veterans like Lieutenant Colonel Lacy who have not only honorably fought for our freedom but have also proudly carried the torch of liberty across the world. They love their country, and you don't have to talk with them very long before you understand how much of a driving force it is to them. CPL Clyde Haynes from Vestavia Hills, AL, served in the Army Air Corps' 439th Troop Carrier Group during World War II. Mr. Haynes shared the joy of walking with children in France as they rushed out of their houses and filled the streets to celebrate their new liberation from Nazi rule. He said that he ``wished he had a picture of that.'' Even though he does not have a physical photograph, you can tell that he holds that memory near and dear to his heart. Even though Mr. Haynes is now 100 years old, he is just as moved by that moment now as he was at that time because freedom is a powerful thing. But freedom does not come without cost. There are many servicemembers who pay the ultimate price for our freedom and never return home. There are families left behind who sit down to dinner every night with an empty seat at the table knowing that life for them will never be the same. They, too, have shouldered the cost of America's liberty and deserve our gratitude. For our servicemembers who do return home, their struggles do not end after they reach American soil. They continue to face challenges from what they have endured while in service and from the difficult reentry into civilian life. Most of us will never know the full weight of preserving our freedom, never have to endure sleepless nights from the harrowing memories of the battlefield, bear pain from war injuries, or miss important events with family and friends, like Ryan Charrier from Orange Beach, AL, who served as a U.S. Air Force technical sergeant in the war in Afghanistan, with the 442nd Fighter Wing. He received his first deployment when his children were just 8 and 4 years old. Sergeant Charrier said he was a bit older than his fellow fighters. He left behind young children but served with soldiers who missed births of their first children or deaths of family members. A veteran's life is so much more than just time in service. There is also the reintegration to civilian life, which requires just as much bravery, courage, and sacrifice. Sergeant Charrier's reminder to Americans is powerful: We as a country promised that we would never forget . . . so I hope that every patriotic American will keep the promise of never forgetting. Just because the war may have winded down, doesn't mean our men and women who served the last 20 years still don't need the support of every American. These veterans--Edsel Bonds, George Mills, Fred Lacy, Clyde Haynes, and Ryan Charrier--are heroes, just like millions of brave men and women who have selfishly sacrificed throughout the decades. Their stories should inspire all of us to show a greater love for our country and our fellow Americans. Thirty-three years ago on Veterans Day in 1988, Ronald Reagan said: We remember those who were called upon to give all a person can give, and we remember those who were prepared to make that sacrifice if it were demanded of them in the line of duty. Most of all, we remember the devotion and gallantry with which all of them ennobled their nation as they became champions of a noble cause. May we join together as a nation this Veterans Day to honor our veterans who have served this Nation and defended our freedom and values that we hold so dear. To our veterans, I say: Thank you for your sacrifice. Our Nation will be forever indebted to you. I yield the floor.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, after being in Washington, DC, for 10 months, I have seen this town jump from one issue to another. Sadly, many of the issues we face are self-inflicted--illegal immigrants on the southern border, Americans who remain trapped in Afghanistan, and rampant inflation, just to name three. But we face a more serious threat in this Nation, an issue larger than left or right, a threat that goes beyond conservative and liberal--China. China seeks to shackle the United States economically, technologically, and militarily. The Communist leaders of China are employing every instrument of national power to diminish our standing and influence in the world. Last month, President Biden told world leaders during his maiden U.N. General Assembly speech that the United States ``is not seeking a cold war.'' Well, the United States may not be seeking out a new Cold War, but China is, so we shouldn't give them the shovel to bury us. When asked this week if China's hypersonic missile testing over the summer was a surprise to U.S. officials, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki joked that the Biden administration ``welcomes stiff competition.'' Businesses that are struggling under unfair competition from China didn't laugh at the Press Secretary's joke. Intelligence analysts who watch week after week as China hacks its way to technological superiority know the competition is cheating. Military leaders who stand the watch for us worry that the United States public may be asleep at the wheel to this enormous threat. In 2001, then-Senator Biden said: The United States welcomes the emergence of a prosperous integrated China on the global stage because we expect this is going to be a China that plays by the rules. President Biden, China is not playing by the rules. The Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, said the following in her Annual Threat Assessment: The Chinese Communist Party . . . will continue . . . to . . . undercut . . . the United States, drive wedges between Washington and its allies and partners, and foster . . . international norms that favor the authoritarian Chinese system. The four-star admiral in charge of our nuclear overwatch, ADM Charles Richard, warned the country that China's growth and strategic nuclear capability was ``breathtaking.'' To those paying attention, we know that China seeks to play a very dangerous game--a game they intend to win and a game they will win unless we stand united as a nation and work together to face this growing threat. So let's take a look at the most recent breathtaking development. China recently conducted their ninth hypersonic missile test since 2014--their ninth. By the way, 2014 was when then-President Obama was forced to start investing in missile defense after he ended or slowed funding for several programs early in his first term. What was important about China's most recent test, however, is that it showed off China's advanced space capabilities. Hypersonic missiles are weapons that fly at more than five times the speed of sound, 3,800 miles per hour. They don't follow a fixed trajectory; their path is flexible and maneuverable. This is what makes them so hard to defend against. A recent congressional report on hypersonic weapons revealed that the United States will not have a defensive capability against hypersonic weapons until the mid-2020s at the earliest. Unlike our government, which, by the way, is wasting money on civilian climate corps and bailing out poorly run liberal blue States, China spends its resources on deadliness--a new and larger navy, a modernized nuclear arsenal, advanced space assets, and artificial intelligence. Yes, China is moving ahead and investing in killing machines. Developing hypersonics is costly. The Pentagon noted as much recently, which is ironic given how little this administration has showed it cares about throwing trillions of dollars around on other programs not related to national security. China continues to outspend us on national security. In just the last 10 years, China's defense spending has increased by $200 billion, while we, the United States of America, have decreased by $400 billion. That brings me to a very important point. Senator Schumer needs to bring up the National Defense Authorization Act for a vote here on the Senate floor. Every year since 1960, we have passed the National Defense Authorization Act, better known as the NDAA. The NDAA is one of few bills that the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans, work together on. That is because our military deserves it, and our national security depends on it. One of the most important items we agreed on this year in the NDAA was that our military needs more support. Earlier this year, President Biden sent Congress a laughable military budget. In a stunning referendum on the President's disappointing and dangerous military budget, Democrats and Republicans on the Armed Services Committee came together to increase our military budget by $25 billion. You know, we cannot ask our military to do more with less. We cannot expect our military to defend new threats from our adversaries like China without the resources required to do the job. Republicans understand this. We have continuously fought to prioritize national security. Democrats on the Armed Services Committee also understand this. So I would like to ask a simple question: What are we waiting for? The best way to thank our men and women in uniform for their service is to pass this bill. The best way to ensure our armed services have resources they need to defend our country against China is to pass this bill, especially in light of the news we have seen recently about China's hypersonic missile testing. Earlier this year, as the Senate Armed Services Committee crafted the NDAA, I fought to prioritize robust funding authorization for high- energy lasers and hypersonic missile development. This investment accelerates the country's timeline to a fully capable hypersonic missile while at the same time assisting our missile defense capabilities with tracking hypersonic, ballistic, and cruise missiles. This is an offensive and defensive approach. China is actively trying to outpace us, and keeping pace is not enough. To do that, we need to have sustained, strategic investment in our military. That is what the NDAA provides and why we need a vote on the Senate floor. So what does it say about Leader Schumer's priorities that passing our military authorization is at the bottom of his list? But investment in their military is not the only means by which China is seeking to get ahead. We have seen increased efforts by China to infiltrate our economy--we have seen this--to undermine our free market values, and to steal our international property. In a recent survey, a greater number of Americans said that China is more powerful economically than the United States. This is a reversal from 2 years ago when most Americans said the United States had the economic upper hand. When it comes to taking over the economic upper hand, China has no rules, and Chinese companies definitely do not play by ours. Our country has already seen Chinese companies, backed by the Chinese Communist Party, attempt to invest in and even take over companies. This grave national security threat will only grow if we allow China to invest in our critical industries. Our government has a process to investigate offers made by foreign companies and governments that want to acquire or invest in America. This process is designed to protect our national security. It is handled by a government entity called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, better known as CFIUS. But if there is a loophole, communist China will try to slip through it. Our goal as Members of Congress should be to strengthen this vetting process. One way to do that is to add a permanent agricultural perspective to this committee, which is not on there as we speak. The COVID pandemic showed us just how important it is to have strong supply chains, especially when it comes to our food supply. Every American is supported by a safe and secure food supply. It is critical to our country's prosperity. Not everyone thinks about food security in relation to national security, but they are linked. Global corporations have already become more involved with our domestic food supply and agricultural businesses. Recent data shows that 192,000 acres of farmland or forest in the United States of America are linked to Chinese ownership, including land used for farming, ranching, and forestry--192,000 acres here within our borders. That is why we need more transparency. Our food supply must remain secure from foreign governments like China that have no business being in the American economy and actively trying to harm our country. That is why I introduced a bill called the Foreign Adversary Risk Management, or FARM, Act, to put more protections in place for America's agriculture industry. My bill will ensure that our agriculture industry has a permanent seat at the table of CFIUS, which reviews agriculture-related investments. As we speak, we do not have representation from the agriculture community. By adding agriculture supply chains as a covered transaction that CFIUS has to review, we can make sure food supply chains remain strong and free of damaging foreign government interference. Like China's communist leaders, leftists in this country believe that when it comes to the economy, bureaucrats know best. They think raising the corporate rate to be higher than communist China's will strengthen our economy. Nonsense. That is like standing in a bucket and trying to lift yourself by the handle. The far-left cheers for mandates, hyperregulation, and massive taxes. They sneer at your freedoms and are triggered by the American flag and our constitutional rights. Their way is not the way to combat China; it is the way to become China. We all know China wants to overtake the United States as a superpower. But what makes the United States a superpower is not just our economic and military might; we are a superpower for what our military is fighting to defend and to protect: our freedoms and our values and the American spirit of innovation and ingenuity, of hard work and grit. These values pose a direct threat to communist China. They are why China wants to surpass our country as the world's No. 1 superpower. We need leadership that protects our national security and our economic security. It is the only way to combat the aggression that the Biden administration's weakness has invited. I yield the floor.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, you know, I think Americans must look at what is happening up here in Washington, DC, and think that the Democrats look like squirrels dodging cars in traffic. This is Biden's America, one where the party in power is throwing policy spaghetti at the wall in hopes that one of their harebrained ideas will stick. It would be almost funny if our country wasn't staring down multiple problems as a result of the Biden administration's policy failures. And it is time the Democrats faced the facts. But after 10 months of President Biden running the country, how are ordinary Americans doing? Let's just take a look. Take the border crisis: a complete, predictable, self-inflicted disaster. On his first day in office, President Biden made the radical decision to open our borders by undoing many successful policies put in place by the Trump administration. They were working, and we changed them. You can draw a straight line from those ill-advised policy decisions to where we are as we speak. Two million illegal immigrants will have been apprehended by the end of this year, and those are just the ones that we caught. Oddly enough, this is one issue that the mainstream media and conservative media agree on. Here are a few recent headlines. From CNN: ``12,000 migrants have been waiting in makeshift camps under the Del Rio bridge in Texas.'' That is from CNN. And this from the Daily Caller: ``Migrants Illegally Crossing U.S.- Mexico Border Thank''--they thank--President ``[Biden's] Administration.'' Do those headlines sound like the southwest border is under control? Here is another headline for you. In a remarkable about-face, the Biden administration announced that it would reimplement the Trump-era Remain in Mexico policy after doing away with it on election day. They are going to reinstate it only because of a Federal judge. It is clear President Biden could have prevented this border crisis if he had not been focused on playing politics from his first day in office. This is Biden's America. How about the fact that President Biden didn't listen to the best military advice his top commanders gave him when it came to withdrawing troops in Afghanistan? America's best experts--GEN Mark Milley, GEN Frank McKenzie, and GEN Scott Miller--all advised the President to keep 2,500 troops in Afghanistan to remain stable. Basically, at the end of the day, this was a State Department and President's decision. Instead, the President's strategy turned into billions in American equipment handed over to the Taliban; our most valuable airfield, Bagram--maybe one of the most valuable in the world--abandoned in dead of the night; Americans left behind in enemy lines that are still there; and a complete abandonment of our allies in Afghanistan. What a disaster. President Biden was more concerned about a good September 11 headline than a great strategy, more concerned about his press than saving American lives. The President's withdrawal will continue to be a stain on his legacy. Joe Biden created the worst American military foreign policy disaster in recent history, and the United States will be haunted by this decision for many years to come. Another fact about this is Biden's America: President Biden's policies have undercut economic growth and derailed rapid recovery that was taking place under the Trump administration. And this was even during a pandemic. Now prices are skyrocketing, businesses can't find people to work, and the United States is facing an unprecedented disruption in the supply chain. And this administration didn't know it was coming. Incredibly, the White House and its defenders continue to say that all of these deeply concerning realities are due to the fact that President Biden has been so successful in his economic policy. They are using the ``everything is so bad because President Biden is doing so good'' argument. Where in the world are they getting that from? This month, the President's own Chief of Staff promoted the idea that inflation is only a ``high-class problem,'' the 1 percent. Where has this guy been hiding? Try telling that to the middle-class families in Alabama who are seeing hard-earned money cover less at the grocery store and at the pump. The fact is, prices are rising--not just for the wealthy but for everybody. Consumer prices are at the highest point in 13 years, and inflation is costing American taxpayers $175 a month. Somebody is screwed up. Again, you can draw a straight line from the President's decisions to where we are now. It is what happens when you pay people to not rejoin the workforce, force vaccine mandates on workers, stifle growth with regulations, and waste trillions and trillions of dollars as our country attempts to recover from a pandemic. And it will only get worse with this $3.5 trillion tax-and-spend spree--not if when we raise taxes but when we raise taxes to pay for this socialist package. The American people aren't going to buy into it. The fact is that this is Biden's America. His agenda has led to the border crisis, foreign policy disasters, and a financial strain on American families. This is Biden's America, where Democrats are focused on finger-pointing and scoring political points instead of paying attention to the cold, hard facts of their policy failures. I yield the floor.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, I want to begin today by recognizing the service and sacrifice of our law enforcement officers. This past weekend, Americans here in our Nation's Capital and around the country participated in National Police Weekend. Being a law enforcement officer is one of the toughest and most dangerous jobs that there is. I think people on both sides of the aisle in this Chamber would agree with that. Law enforcement officers serve as a boundary between a functioning society and a lawless one. And, sadly, during the course of their vital duty to serve and protect our communities, some pay the ultimate price. Alabama has lost four individuals in the line of duty to date this year: Deputy Sheriff William H. Smith, of the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office; Police Officer Marquis Dewon Moorer, of the Selma Police Department; Corrections Officer Maurice ``Reese'' Jackson, of the Robertsdale Police Department; Sergeant Nick Risner, of the Sheffield Police Department. And our State has lost five individuals this year from COVID: Lieutenant Jeff Bain, of the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office; Police Officer Juan Manuel Gomez-Lopez, of the Pelham Police Department; Deputy Sheriff Harry ``Buddy'' Hutchinson, of the Blount County Sheriff's Office; Police Officer Brandon Ard, of the Orange Beach Police Department; Investigator Richard Wendell Humphrey, of the Baldwin County District Attorney's Office. These nine individuals deserve our honor. They got out of bed each morning, put their uniform on, and went to work for our communities across this country. To their friends and families, thank you for your sacrifice. It is a tough task, loving and supporting someone who goes to work each day, putting their life on the line to protect people they don't even know. They know only that they are fellow Americans. And to every Alabamian who wears a badge and a uniform, thank you for all you do for our communities. It is an unfortunate truth that many officers are being driven out of their profession by a wave of anti-police rhetoric on the heels of bad actors who operated outside their training. The Biden administration had jumped at every opportunity to demonize and demean the entire law enforcement profession. The President has shown that if the optics are bad enough, law enforcement will pay. This was the case with Border Patrol agents on horseback in the Del Rio Sector in Texas just a few weeks ago. Reports of the agents whipping people turned out to be completely and utterly false. We shouldn't be surprised. When their policies have failed and created chaos, the Biden administration has had a choice between doing what is right and making our government work better or shaming those expected to do more with less. The Biden administration has always chosen the latter. The administration routinely chooses to hide behind platitudes and broken promises instead of addressing the crises of their own making. And because of that, the consequences of this administration's illogical and inconsistent policies will be felt by Americans for decades. If we didn't think it could get even worse, this administration's weak border policies impact every aspect of our Nation's immigration system. But the problems go far beyond the crisis we have seen unfold over the last 9 months at the southwest border. Just last week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas issued guidance ending worksite enforcement operations, which is the authority the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, uses to crack down on businesses who employ illegal immigrants and to process illegal immigration workers for removal. Without the threat of removing illegal workers, this new guidance creates a pull factor, or a magnet, attracting more people to the United States through illegal means. Illegal immigrants come with the knowledge that the consequences for breaking our laws under President Biden is minimal or nonexistent. But this is a departure from what Democrats used to think. In 2005, then-Senator Barack Obama said: We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked, and circumventing the line of people who are waiting patiently, diligently, and lawfully to become immigrants in this country. In 2009, Senator Chuck Schumer said: Illegal immigration is wrong, plain and simple . . . people who enter the United States without permission are illegal aliens and illegal aliens should not be treated the same as people who enter the U.S. legally. And then, in 2006, then-Senator Joe Biden said: Let me tell you something, folks, people are driving across that border with tons, tons--hear me, tons--of everything from byproducts from [drugs] to cocaine to heroin, and it's all coming up through corrupt Mexico. So why the change? It is politics. They are bending to the pressure from the far left to abandon enforcement of our laws in this country. And just look where it got us. How about the allegations of poor living conditions, rampant COVID-19 infection, and sexual misconduct between unaccompanied alien children and Federal contractors at Department of Health and Human Services housing facilities? Nearly 2 weeks ago, I sent a letter to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services regarding the countless reports of mistreatment of unaccompanied minors while in Health and Human Services custody until released to a parent or legal guardian. Because our country continues to face public health emergencies brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, President Biden kept title 42 in place at the border except for one piece. He made a huge politically driven exception: Unaccompanied children could be admitted regardless of public health emergency. This decision led to an onslaught of unaccompanied minors arriving at the border. This administration has been so consumed by ensuring that the President receives constant good press that they rushed tens of thousands of children through processing facilities and into the hands of adults who hadn't undergone background checks. What is more is Health and Human Services failed to conduct background checks on the contractors working at the housing facilities where unaccompanied minors stay before being released to parents. The administration repeatedly cut corners and endangered the lives of children just so they could provide pictures of empty Customs and Border Protection processing facilities to the press. At every turn, it has been about headlines over sound policy, and it has backfired. That is absolutely no way to go. Oh, and by the way, I have yet to receive a response from Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra on my questions. It has been weeks. Now there are reports of yet another memo coming out of DHS, one that would protect those who acquired U.S. citizenship by fraud. U.S. citizenship is the most valuable status that we have in this country, and it is coveted all around the world. It is the reason millions of people immigrate to the United States every year and have done so for many, many generations. They come here with the hope to capitalize on the opportunities that this country provides, the freedoms and liberties afforded to its citizens. Allowing people to be naturalized through fraudulent methods devalues our sacred privilege. It cheapens the inherent principles of our great country. I sincerely hope the administration will not actually consider such a drastic change in policy. But based on what we have seen so far, I wouldn't be surprised. By the end of 2021, Customs and Border Protection will have apprehended nearly 2 million people attempting to illegally cross into the United States. July and August each saw apprehensions of up to 200,000 per month. Folks, that is astounding. That is 2 million people who decided the dangerous journey through South and Central America was worth the risk to illegally enter the United States through our southwest border, rather than to adhere to the laws and regulations we instituted for legal means of immigration. These numbers negatively impact the U.S. job market and our economy. They put a burden on the taxpayer through increased spending of Federal benefits. These numbers overwhelm-- and I am talking ``overwhelm''--our public schools and our hospitals, which are already maxed out. Also, wide open borders are also an issue of national security, and you can bet that the longer the border remains open, the more drugs make their way into the United States. Customs and Border Protection has seized over 10,000 pounds of fentanyl this year, more than the last 3 years combined. Imagine the amount of illicit drugs President Biden's open border policy have added to our opioid epidemic. And while the U.S. economy continues to suffer due to the actions taken by the Biden administration in response to COVID, the cartel economy is booming. Earlier this year, CBP estimated the cartels make about an average of $14 million per day smuggling people and drugs into the United States. The cartels are running a multibillion-dollar business along our border, and the President is just letting it happen. Never before have we experienced illegal immigration on this scale, and it can all be tracked back to the bad policy decisions of this President. U.S. law allows for legal immigration, as well as pathways to work within the U.S. economy. When we allow people to continuously break our laws, we should not be surprised when more people join in. We should not be surprised when our laws no longer carry weight or authority in our country. The fact that this administration is not only disregarding current law and regulation but actively advertising ways around them is incredible. It is lawless. President Biden, or whoever in the White House is making these decisions, should be ashamed of themselves, putting people's lives in danger. The President could stop this today if he wanted to, but reverting to the policies put in place by the Trump administration would be an admission that those policies actually worked. We should all pray that when the consequences of these bad policies trickle down to our communities across this country, our law enforcement officers are still there to clean up President Biden's senseless mess. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. TUBERVILLE

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Braun and Senator Scott again for supporting this bill. I am proud to partner with him in this effort to safeguard the financial privacy of American citizens. Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 2953, which is at the desk. I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. TUBERVILLE. I would like to yield the floor to my distinguished colleague from Indiana, Senator Braun.