[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 171 (Tuesday, November 19, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6620-S6621]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Republican Leadership
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, it was 2 weeks ago--I know it seems like a
lifetime ago but 2 weeks ago--when folks across this country went to
the polls, with some undoubtedly joining the political process for the
first time, to elect Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the
United States as well as to deliver a clear victory for Republicans in
both Chambers of Congress.
I would like to extend my congratulations once again to President
Trump and our colleague, Vice President JD Vance, on their hard-fought
and well-earned victory.
Congratulations, too, to my friend and colleague John Thune, who will
be the next leader of the Senate Republican conference, the next
majority leader, alongside the entire leadership team for the 119th
Congress.
We will be seeing some new faces around here next year, and I would
like to extend a warm welcome to some of them: my incoming Republican
colleagues Senator McCormick from Pennsylvania, Senator Justice from
West Virginia, Senator Moreno from Ohio, Senator Banks from Indiana,
and Senator Curtis of Utah.
I would also like to congratulate my colleague from Texas, Senator
Cruz, on a well-deserved victory in our home State of Texas.
In the other Chamber, there are some new additions to the Texas
delegation on the way: Representatives-elect Craig Goldman, who served
for a long time in the statehouse, and Brandon Gill, who was elected in
this last election. I look forward to working with all of these
colleagues as we deliver needed solutions to the American people.
The American people said very clearly that they believed the Nation
was on the wrong track. It is our job to get the Nation on the right
track, and that is exactly what we intend to do. Voters made their
voices heard, and the message was loud and clear: Americans are ready
to turn the page on the last 4 years of failed policies.
The American people elected a trifecta of Republican leadership to
address the major challenges we are facing as a nation, things like
inflation, open borders, a $35 trillion national debt, and the
perception of American weakness and a lack of resolve abroad.
Families are ready for affordable groceries, gasoline, and homes once
again under a Trump administration. They are certainly ready for secure
borders, particularly in my State. They are ready for an end to the
deadly fentanyl and human trafficking pouring across our southern
border. They are ready to return to a world where our friends can trust
us and our enemies fear us under President Trump.
The last 4 years under Democratic leadership have been marked by
reckless spending, failed border policies, and a weak and dangerous
presence on the world stage.
Texans have had to bear the brunt of historic levels of inflation not
seen in 40 years. Since President Biden took office, rents have risen
by more than 15 percent, the cost of groceries is up nearly 20 percent,
and electricity prices have increased by nearly 25 percent. With higher
interest rates, necessitated by the Federal Reserve's attempts to
control inflation, Americans are also paying more each month on their
mortgages and their car payments.
But that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Biden-
Harris administration's misguided priorities, far-left policies, and
abysmal leadership. Just look at the administration's energy policies,
which put the hysteria of climate activists ahead of Texans, who just
want to be able to afford the gas to drive to work or to school, or
consider that President Biden promised to undo the effective border
policies of the Trump administration. This is one promise he has
certainly delivered on, much to our chagrin.
My State has had to deal with huge influxes of migrants for a long
time. This administration chose to roll out the welcome mat to people
from all around the world as well as to the people who took advantage
of those open borders, including the drug runners and the human
traffickers and people generally up to no good--and all because they
failed to enforce the laws on the books.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, Customs and Border Patrol has
broken daily, monthly, and yearly records of encounters at the southern
border. The history books will remember this Presidency for the open-
border policies that have been simply devastating to our country. Mark
my words, we will be paying the price for decades to come as a result
of these disastrous policies.
Our country has been suffering from a deadly fentanyl epidemic.
Fentanyl poisoning is now the leading cause of death of young people
between the ages of 18 and 45. We know where it comes from. The
precursors come from China, and they go to Mexico. They are combined to
look like innocuous pharmaceuticals and sold to unwitting children and
young people here in the United States.
The record number of unaccompanied minors who have entered the
country at the southern border, only to be lost by this administration,
is 500,000 unaccompanied children placed with sponsors. And largely,
the administration takes the position they bear no responsibility for
knowing where they are, what is happening to them, whether they are
being trafficked for sex, or sold into involuntary servitude. They just
don't know, and the truth is, they do not care.
This November, the American people had a choice. They knew that the
next President and the next Congress would decide whether to continue
down this path of economic hardship, open borders, and American
weakness or turn a page. That was their choice. The American people
voted not only to turn the page but to write an entirely new chapter
written by Republicans in the majority.
No doubt, we have a lot of work to do, but we also have a mandate
from the American people who are sick and tired of failed leadership
and ready for change.
[[Page S6621]]
I look forward to being part of that change. And I am grateful to the
Texans who continue to give me the opportunity to serve them at this
pivotal time as we work to get our country back on track, as we all
want it to be.
I yield the floor.