[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 6 (Thursday, January 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S80-S81]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           National Security

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, as I noted earlier this week, the 
Senate's first major business of the year is addressing a historic 
array of national security challenges. For the first time since 1945, 
there is a land war in Europe. A Russian imperialist is deploying North 
Korean and Iranian weapons in his assault on Ukraine, with additional 
support from the People's Republic of China.
  After the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, there is a land 
war in the Middle East. Iran, the world's most active state sponsor of 
terror, is living up to its title, underwriting multiprong aggression 
against Israel, brazen attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria, and 
a growing war on the global commerce in the Red Sea.
  And just today--just today--Iran itself has reportedly hijacked an 
international oil shipment on the high seas, a further reminder that 
the Biden administration's failure to impose serious costs and restore 
credible deterrence is emboldening Tehran.
  Our single greatest strategic adversary is supporting this worldwide 
challenge to the West, interfering more aggressively with peaceful 
neighbors and investing relentlessly in the capabilities to outcompete 
us.
  Meanwhile, record-setting illegal arrivals have rendered America's 
own southwest border functionally nonexistent.
  This is the most serious crisis of America's credibility in decades, 
and I don't use the word ``crisis'' lightly. It implies that a 
situation requires urgent action.
  Of course, that is exactly why the Biden administration spent years 
twisting itself in knots to avoid acknowledging the record-shattering 
humanitarian and security crisis that unfolded on their watch and 
because of their policies at the southern border. Remember how the 
White House engaged in damage control back in 2021 when the President 
himself slipped up and called the situation facing CBP and ICE a 
crisis. It was a big deal because a crisis is something that requires 
action.
  Well, right now, the Senate is very close to an opportunity to 
finally do something meaningful to address the Biden administration's 
border crisis. Thanks to our colleague Senator Lankford, we are inching 
closer to a chance to restore sanity, commonsense enforcement 
mechanisms, and the rule of law. Our colleague's efforts are the 
foundation of supplemental legislation to address each of the glaring 
national security challenges that we face: securing America's sovereign 
borders, investing heavily in American leadership and strength, and 
equipping America's military with critical capabilities and expanding 
our defense industrial capacity to deter threats from major adversaries 
like China. These requirements go hand in hand, and the world is 
watching to see whether we are willing to meet them.

[[Page S81]]

  With an arsenal stocked by North Korea and Iran, Russia, literally, 
mocks Western hesitation. With brazen terrorist aggression, Iran defies 
American strength. With intense focus, China bets against America's 
resolve.
  So none of the challenges we face from our southern border to the Red 
Sea get any easier the longer we wait to address them. Unfortunately, 
our own allies and adversaries alike have every reason to doubt us. 
Three years of this administration's hesitation, self-deterrence, and 
half measures have exacted a steep price. So our work this month is the 
clearest possible test of America's credibility as a global superpower, 
as the leader of allies, and as the nation capable of upholding our own 
sovereignty. The Senate simply must not fail this test.