[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 8, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S45-S46]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       BUSINESS BEFORE THE SENATE

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, this past November, the American people 
gave President Trump and Republicans a mandate. Now the time has come 
to

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begin executing on it. One of the most important issues in this last 
election was the illegal immigration crisis. And that is the topic of 
the first vote that we are holding in the Senate under Republican 
majority.
  For the last 4 years, the Biden administration's open border policies 
have wreaked havoc in both border communities and those far from the 
border. One of those communities is Athens, GA, where 22-year-old 
nursing student Laken Riley was murdered by an illegal immigrant while 
out for a morning jog last year. Laken's murderer not only entered the 
country illegally, he was arrested twice--twice--in the United States 
and never deported.
  This week, the Senate is going to vote on Senator Britt's bipartisan 
Laken Riley Act, which would ensure that illegal immigrants are 
deported when they are arrested, as Laken's killer was, for crimes like 
theft and burglary.
  While this bill sounds like a commonsense measure--and it is--Senate 
Democrats uniformly opposed it last year despite the bill receiving 
bipartisan support in the House of Representatives. We will see what 
they do when the new Senate majority brings it up for a vote.
  We are also going to be taking a vote to support our ally Israel, 
something my friends across the aisle seem to struggle with from time 
to time. After the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants 
for Israel's Prime Minister and Foreign Defense Minister in November, I 
called on the Democratic leader to bring up an ICC sanctions bill that 
had already passed the House--again, with bipartisan support. The ICC's 
rogue actions only enable the terrorists who seek to wipe Israel off 
the map, and they cannot be allowed to stand unchecked.
  In November, I promised that if Leader Schumer wouldn't bring the ICC 
sanctions bill to the floor, Republicans would. And we will soon 
fulfill that promise and have a vote to support our ally Israel.
  Senators can also expect to vote on another commonsense measure this 
month. As thousands of pro-life Americans come to Washington for the 
52nd annual March for Life, we will take up the Born-Alive Abortion 
Survivors Protection Act. This straightforward bill simply states that 
a baby born alive after an attempted abortion is entitled to the same 
protection and medical care any other newborn baby is entitled to.
  This vote will ask Democrats to answer whether a living baby born 
after attempted abortion should be provided with medical care or be 
left to die. It shouldn't be a hard question.
  The Senate will also be working to get President Trump's team in 
place. Beginning next week, Senate committees will hold hearings on the 
President's nominees. We will work to ensure each nominee has a fair 
process without unnecessary delays or obstruction, and we will confirm 
those nominees swiftly so the Trump-Vance administration can hit the 
ground running.
  Finally, Republicans in Congress are hard at work preparing to 
address some key priorities through the budget reconciliation process.
  We have a lot to do there.
  To begin with, the border security policies we expect President Trump 
to implement will need to be fully funded to maximize their 
effectiveness. Increasing the number of Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement officers and Border Patrol officers, increasing detention 
space and providing barriers and technology are just some of the 
resources needed to secure the border.
  Border security is one key part of providing for our national 
security. Investing in our military is another. And we are working on 
investing in improvements to military readiness that will help restore 
American strength so that we can deter our adversaries and keep the 
peace.
  We are also going to invest in American energy dominance. Energy 
security plays a key role in our national security, and Republicans 
plan to use budget reconciliation to help advance American energy 
production.
  Another priority is extending the tax relief Republicans delivered 
during the first Trump administration. These pro-growth policies put 
more money in Americans' pockets and helped deliver a strong economy 
before the pandemic. We need to extend them to protect our economy and 
the American people from a $4 trillion tax hike next year.
  This is just the start. We have a lot of work to do. But the American 
people have chosen the right team to get it done.

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