[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 195 (Wednesday, November 19, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8211-S8216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
______
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026--Motion to Proceed
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 136, H.R.
4016.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 136, H.R. 4016, a bill
making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, and for other
purposes.
Government Funding
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I have spoken a lot over the years about
the need for a strong military. I believe that keeping cutting-edge
responsibilities we have in America at the cutting edge of military
capabilities is one of the most important responsibilities we have in
Congress. I often say that if we don't get national security right, the
rest is conversation.
The need for a strong national defense has been put into stark relief
over the last few years as the world has grown more dangerous and as we
have seen serious gaps in our own preparedness. And after 4 years of
underinvestment during the Biden administration, Republicans made it
clear that we would work to put our military back on the right track by
investing in modernization to ensure our military is ready for today's
threats and tomorrow's.
We have followed through on that promise since taking office at the
beginning of this year. That began with a major investment in our
military capabilities in the One Big Beautiful Bill. We also
prioritized passing the Senate's National Defense Authorization Act,
which includes significant reforms to weapons-buying as well as more
than 100 amendments adopted through regular order on the Senate floor.
[[Page S8212]]
This week, we continue those efforts with the Defense appropriations
bill, which will provide the resources to continue our mission of
rebuilding our military capabilities. That starts with the men and
women serving in uniform.
This bill funds a 3.8-percent pay raise for our troops, and it
supports military members and their families with investments in
housing, childcare, and education for military families. It also funds
bonuses that will, hopefully, help to ensure that we can sustain the
record-setting recruitment success we have had this year, a complete
turnaround, I might add, from recruitment challenges of the not-so-
distant past.
The Defense funding bill makes critical investments that will help
ensure our servicemembers have the military capabilities that they need
to meet the challenges of the 21st century. That includes funding
shipbuilding efforts and expanding our Air Force fleet, accelerating
delivery of the Golden Dome for America, and investing in munitions,
drones, and emerging technologies.
I do want to emphasize, though, that while this bill and the One Big
Beautiful Bill make important investments in rebuilding our military,
this can't be a one-time exercise. These are the types of investments
that we will need to sustain in the coming years if we want our enemies
to think twice before attacking us.
I appreciate the work that our colleagues have done to produce a
robust funding bill. This bill reflects the priorities and input of a
lot of Senators, and it has garnered significant bipartisan support
coming out of the Appropriations Committee by a vote of 26 to 3. And it
is not the only one.
The Appropriations Committee, under the leadership of Chair Collins,
has advanced a number of bipartisan full-year funding bills. We have
already brought three of those bills to the floor under an open
process.
We passed them in August, the earliest the Senate has passed
appropriations bills since 2018, and that package was signed into law
last week.
That is how the appropriations process is supposed to work.
Unfortunately, that is not how it was working the last few years under
the Democrat majority. So when I became majority leader, I made it
clear that I wanted to get back to regular order. And as I said, we
were making progress on that this year; that is, until Democrats
needlessly chose to shut down the government.
Before the shutdown, we were getting ready to bring the Defense
funding bill to the floor. We just needed a few more weeks under a
continuing resolution so we could finish our work. But Democrats took
advantage of the situation for leverage, and they kept the government
shut down and appropriations work halted for 43 days.
Despite their recent actions, I know a number of my Democrat
colleagues do share Republicans' interest in seeing regular order
restored. Well, now it is time to act like it.
As I said before, during and now after the shutdown, this is our
chance for regular order. We don't have time to waste. We have already
wasted a lot of time on a completely avoidable government shutdown.
Let's get to work.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Recognition of the Minority Leader
The Democratic leader is recognized.
Jeffrey Epstein
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, yesterday, with near unanimity, the House
and Senate agreed to pass legislation to compel Donald Trump to release
the Epstein files. A few hours after the House voted, I came to the
floor and got unanimous consent for the Senate to immediately pass this
bill, and a few moments ago, the Senate received the Epstein bill from
the House. We are glad the House has sent us the bill, and this means
it will get to the President's desk quickly.
After months of waiting, months of Republican delay, after so many
failed attempts from Donald Trump to hide the truth, the Epstein Files
Transparency Act is headed to his desk. And, again, this is a very
important moment for so many people whose lives have been destroyed by
Jeffrey Epstein and his circle of abusers and monsters.
So I want to thank, again, all the advocates, the survivors, and the
victims groups who raised their voices, who spoke courageously about
the need for accountability, and pushed Congress to take action.
It is a shame that so many Republicans, Donald Trump, and Republican
leaders in Congress tried for months to prevent the truth from coming
out. Republican leaders had to be dragged kicking and screaming to get
this bill over the finish line. Left to their own devices, these
Republican leaders would have never let the bill see the light of day.
But that shows you how powerful this issue is, and it shows you that
when a strong group of people--they may be a small group, but with
moral right on their side, with great conviction--they can get to the
truth and move that desire forward.
But I want to be very clear: The job is not done. The vote is not the
end. It is only the beginning. Once the President signs the bill, he
must apply and execute it faithfully. There must be no funny business
from Donald Trump. He must not use the excuse of frivolous
investigations to release some Epstein documents while intentionally
hiding others that deserve to be seen by the American public.
This is not an invitation for Donald Trump to pick and choose his
version of the truth. This bill is a command for the President to be
fully transparent, to come fully clean, and to provide full honesty to
the American people, even if he doesn't want to.
So I want to be clear: Anything less than full transparency will be
unacceptable in the eyes of the American people.
If Donald Trump refuses to comply, if he refuses to obey the law,
Senate Democrats will hold him accountable. We will exercise oversight.
We will demand transparency. We will make it clear to the American
people that Donald Trump has broken his promise to come clean on
Jeffrey Epstein.
Inflation
Mr. President, now on costs and the high cost of living that American
people are facing, 2 weeks ago, the American people, not only in New
Jersey and Virginia but across the country, sent their loudest message
yet that they are fed up--just fed up--with the high cost of living.
Nearly 6 in 10 Americans say Donald Trump's top priority right now
should be lowering prices, and no other issue comes close. A Marist
poll released this morning shows the American people know precisely who
is fighting for them and who is making life more difficult, because the
most important issue keeping Americans up at night right now can be
summed up in one word: costs--or in three words: cost of living. And
that is exactly the issue Donald Trump and Republicans have ignored and
even made worse.
Now, just yesterday, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he will
never sign an extension of the ACA enhanced premium tax credits, and we
know, if they expire, people's cost for healthcare, so vital to
American families, is going to go up--$500 a month, $1,000 a month,
$20,000 a year. How are families going to pay for that? And faced with
the Hobson's choice of cutting back on everything else dramatically or
having no healthcare for their families, Americans will hate that
choice. And that is why we are fighting so hard for them.
Donald Trump says to the American people: Drop dead. That is his
message in the middle of the most stressful open enrollment period,
perhaps ever--just incredibly out of touch.
So Republicans can ignore high costs at not just their own political
peril but also to the immense detriment of American families.
That is who they are hurting, which is why Democrats will keep the
fight going. It is why we Democrats have worked for months and continue
to fight every day to do something about people's healthcare costs. It
is why Democrats have fought relentlessly and continue to fight
relentlessly against Donald Trump's ``Big Ugly Bill.'' It is why
Democrats have demanded that Republicans work with us to extend the
premium tax credits. We
[[Page S8213]]
will fight to lower people's healthcare costs. We will fight to bring
down rent, bring down people's electric bill, and make groceries more
affordable.
Donald Trump may think affordability is some kind of Democratic ``con
job,'' as he derisively called it, but the opposite is true: Americans
are fed up with high costs, and they need a lifeline while Donald Trump
is tossing them an anchor.
Venezuela
Mr. President, on Venezuela, last week, Donald Trump said he is
``sort of decided'' on his military strategy on Venezuela. This follows
Trump sending our largest U.S. aircraft carrier and thousands of U.S.
sailors and marines to the Caribbean, as part of the largest military
buildup in this hemisphere in decades. Yet Congress has gotten very few
answers from the Trump administration about this rapid and potentially
dangerous escalation.
In fact, on multiple occasions, I have directed Secretary Rubio to
explain their escalatory actions toward Venezuela, but, so far, I have
received very little from him.
So, today, I am renewing my call on Secretary Rubio to provide an
all-Senators classified briefing on this military buildup and the
reported plans for military operations in Venezuela.
To date, the Trump administration has failed its duty under the law
to consult with Congress on preparations for military action in
Venezuela. We have heard no clear goals. We have heard no clear
timeline. We have heard no clear explanation for what Donald Trump's
ultimate objective is in the region, and military action could risk the
lives of thousands of U.S. servicemembers and destabilize the entire
region.
Make no mistake, the Maduro regime is horrific, undemocratic, and the
United States should be strong in using all legal tools against drug
traffickers who poison Americans with deadly narcotics. But the last
thing Americans want right now is another endless war. The last thing
Americans need is Donald Trump bumbling the United States into a war
with Venezuela.
So, again, I am calling on the Trump administration and Secretary
Rubio to provide an all-Senators classified briefing on current
military planning for operations in Venezuela.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican whip.
Inflation
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today having just
heard the minority leader talk about affordability. What I didn't hear
him talk about are any of the things he would reverse from the 4 years
of the Biden administration that brought us the high prices that we are
facing today.
Republicans are attacking the affordability crisis. We are tackling
it head-on. It was created by reckless spending and higher taxes during
the Biden administration--an indisputable fact.
Those Democrat policies--and many Democrats in this body voted for
them; we saw them--they led to the highest inflation in 40 years. In
just 4 years, prices rose over 21 percent, and the cost of energy
alone--and the Presiding Officer's State and mine are energy-producing
States--the cost of energy for Americans went up 31 percent.
From the grocery store to the gas station, high prices stretched and
strained and squeezed the budgets of working families all across
America. That is why Joe Biden and the Democrats will go down in
history as the party of high prices and open borders--indisputable.
Republicans are making our Nation safer and more prosperous. The
economy is improving. Inflation has cooled. The economy is growing. Gas
prices are now at the lowest they have been in 4 years. For the first
time in years, wages are rising faster than prices. America is getting
back on track.
Republicans are building on these results by ensuring that Americans
get to keep more of the money they earn. That is why earlier this year
we passed the Working Families Tax Cut Act.
In Wyoming alone, families can save $2,400 a year because of the tax
cuts. I heard about it when I was working with coal miners last Friday
in Gillette, WY.
Waiters, barbers, and bartenders are going to keep about $1,300 more
each year in their pockets because of our policy of no tax on tips.
Nurses and firefighters and police officers are going to keep about
$1,400 more this year because of no tax on overtime.
New parents now get a thousand-dollar Trump account for every newborn
child. Parents can use this money to invest in their child's future.
All parents are going to get a bigger child tax credit--$2,200 per
child this year.
Seniors are going to keep more of their hard-earned money as well in
their Social Security. There is now a $6,000 deduction on Social
Security income.
All of these things are designed to keep more money in people's
pockets. That is where it belongs.
On the other hand, Democrats voted for the highest tax increase in
the history of this country--$4 trillion. That is what they wanted to
see.
Right now, today, Republicans are cutting, here in Congress, waste
and reducing spending. We do this by restoring fiscal discipline and
regular order, and we are doing it for the regular appropriations
process.
Mr. President, you are part of that committee.
This is a far cry from where the Democrats were when they were in the
majority. Remember last year--then, the majority leader was Chuck
Schumer, and at that time, he blocked every bipartisan appropriations
bill that came out of committee, blocked each and every one of them,
didn't allow a single one of them to come here to the floor of the U.S.
Senate.
Earlier this year, the Senate passed 3 appropriations bills of the 12
total. They each received overwhelming bipartisan support in committee,
and some had unanimous support. They were signed into law last week
when President Trump reopened the government. Those bills provide care
for our veterans. They support food assistance through the SNAP
program. Forty-two million Americans rely on that program.
The Senate is now prepared to move forward on another five
appropriations bills. They eliminate billions of dollars in wasteful
Washington spending. At the same time, they modernize our military,
they support our servicemembers, and they invest in our long-term
security. They also invest in urgent transportation needs, in keeping
our highways safe.
Importantly, these bills all have proven bipartisan support. Here are
the vote totals: In the committee--29 members of the committee--in the
committee, Defense, 26 to 3; Commerce, Justice, and Science, 19 to 10;
Interior, 26 to 2; Labor and Health, 26 to 3; Transportation, Housing,
and Urban Development, 27 to 1. We are talking about bills that earned
overwhelmingly bipartisan support in the Appropriations Committee. They
deserve to earn similarly strong bipartisan support on this floor when
they reach the Senate floor.
The government shutdown is now behind us. Many Democrats--and I heard
them all talking about it this past Sunday on television--they wish the
government were still shut down. They didn't seem to care that they
caused pain and hunger and anxiety all across the country. They want to
ignore the fact that it cost the American economy tens of billions of
dollars in lost productivity.
Now the government is open again. Republicans are back to investing
in the priorities of the American people. We are investing in
priorities to make America safer and more prosperous. We are getting
America back on track with affordable prices and lower taxes.
Republicans are going to continue to put more money in the pockets and
purses and paychecks of America's hard-working families because that is
where it belongs.
S.J. Res. 89
Mr. President, on another matter, today, the U.S. Senate will take
the first steps to undo a very harmful piece of the previous
administration's reckless and radical barrage of runaway regulations.
Astonishingly, last year, the Biden administration finalized a rule
that prohibited new coal leasing in the Powder River Basin in my home
State of Wyoming. The idea was to force Wyoming to say goodbye to
producing energy that is actually affordable, available, reliable, and
abundant right here in America.
The Powder River Basin supplies about 45 percent of our Nation's
coal.
[[Page S8214]]
Wyoming is America's leading producer of coal. Cutting off access to
one of our strongest resources not only kills Wyoming jobs, it attacks
Wyoming's economic lifeblood. And, of course, as you know, Mr.
President, it surrenders America's greatest economic advantage, which
is American energy.
Now I am very, very grateful to my colleague Senator Cynthia Lummis
of Wyoming. She has led the charge in the Senate to overturn this Joe
Biden abuse of power, and she did it using the Congressional Review
Act.
I also want to thank our Congresswoman Harriet Hageman. She led this
effort in the House of Representatives, and last night, the CRA passed
that Chamber, and we will address it today.
I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution right here
today on the Senate floor.
I commend President Trump and the Department of the Interior
Secretary Doug Burgum for their strong support for Wyoming coal. Both
President Trump and Secretary Burgum understand that national security
starts with energy security and that affordability starts with
affordable American energy. That is why the Trump administration is
investing in clean American coal, and that is Wyoming coal.
This week, the Senate must reverse another one of the many bad Joe
Biden runaway regulations. The one we are repealing today targeted
affordable, reliable, and abundant American energy. That is proof that
Republicans are getting America back on track.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sheehy). The Senator from Texas.
Border Security
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, it has been a little over a year since
President Trump was elected in his second term of office. The key part
of the campaign and mandate was to secure the border and to reverse the
disastrous open-border policies of the Biden administration.
As we see, President Trump is delivering on that campaign promise by
implementing the very policies that the American people voted for, not
to mention the fact that these policies and these laws were passed by
Congress and signed into law, and our law enforcement Agencies are
merely enforcing laws that Congress itself has passed.
The President is doing this by securing the United States-Mexican
border to prevent more illegal aliens from coming into the country and
also removing illegal aliens who entered our country during President
Biden's open-border disaster.
Aggressive immigration enforcement is not unprecedented. President
Obama, who has been praised by the left for unifying the country,
deported more than 2\1/2\ million illegal immigrants, earning him the
title ``Deporter-in-Chief.'' Democrats seem to have forgotten this data
point, but I am happy to remind them.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the progressive left in the Democratic Party
these days has lost its mind in the face of enforcement of current
immigration laws--again, which the American people voted for and
Congress has passed. They haven't hesitated to spread misinformation
and vilify the very men and women in law enforcement who are enforcing
our immigration laws. These groups have not stopped spreading lies.
They are actually inciting violent mobs to impede the enforcement of
laws that Congress has passed.
Inciting mob violence against any law enforcement officer is
unacceptable, and those who do so have to be held accountable. For this
reason, I am holding a hearing, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary
Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, to examine these
unfounded attacks on our law enforcement agents.
In particular, we will consider what is unfolding in America's so-
called sanctuary cities.
Under President Biden, millions of unvetted illegal immigrants
entered our country across the U.S.-Mexico border. These included
criminal aliens, violent gang members, including MS-13, Tren de Aragua,
and individuals on the Terror Watchlist that came not just from Mexico
or Central America but from literally every corner of the world.
And where did they go after they crossed the border? These
individuals found refuge primarily in America's sanctuary cities--
places like Los Angeles, Portland, and Chicago.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, there are currently
12 sanctuary States and more than 200 sanctuary cities in the United
States. Many of these States and communities have passed laws that
actually prevent local police officers from cooperating with Federal
law enforcement officers employed by ICE, or Immigration and Customs
Enforcement.
This means that, in some instances, these local law enforcement
officers can't share information about detained or incarcerated aliens,
or honor DHS--Department of Homeland Security--detainers placed on
criminal aliens. So ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has no
alternative but to conduct raids on various sites to detain illegal
aliens and then see that they are removed from the country.
So just to explain that a minute, when an illegal alien is arrested
and placed in a local jail, if local authorities are allowed to and do,
in fact, cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, that
transfer from the local jail to the immigration officials can occur in
the jail, and then ICE doesn't need to conduct dangerous raids in our
communities in these sanctuary cities.
But in the sanctuary cities, that is not possible. They have no
alternative, since there is no cooperation at the local level. So in
those jurisdictions, in the so-called sanctuary cities, criminal aliens
are released back into their communities and inevitably reoffend--that
means they commit other crimes--rather than being detained by the
Department of Homeland Security and allowing them to take custody.
This practice not only defies common sense; it makes the role of
immigration enforcement officers more difficult and, in the end, more
painful for each of these communities.
I would hope, at least, that some of my colleagues across the aisle
would agree that criminal aliens should be detained and deported. I am
not sure they would agree with that. It seems, by their conduct and by
their votes, they are suggesting that illegal aliens have just as much
right to be in the United States as you and me.
So once these criminals are picked up off the streets and detained in
jails, why wouldn't we want Federal law enforcement officers with
Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be able to accept them, transfer
them from the jail authorities to ICE custody, and then deport them?
Any alien who has already shown a complete disregard for U.S. law
should not be allowed to stay in the United States.
Sanctuary cities, instead, have the practice of actually releasing
these very people--sometimes dangerous people whom we all know should
be first in line for deportation.
ICE would not have to go into communities and find criminal aliens if
elected officials and local governments would simply cooperate with
Federal law enforcement authorities. These cities could have
facilitated enforcement the easy way, but, instead, they chose the hard
way.
Instead of reporting this unfortunate reality truthfully, mainstream
media outlets like CNN, MSNBC, and ABC have ignored the real harm that
these criminal aliens have caused in these communities and instead
directed their ire toward law enforcement. This is sort of a
manifestation of what used to be called the ``defund the police''
movement, which has made so many communities in our States and Nation
unsafe, because ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials,
which are employed by the Department of Homeland Security, are Federal
law enforcement officials.
And, basically, when the mainstream media accuses them of what, in
essence, is just doing their job, they are suggesting that the laws
should not be enforced and that the fault, if there is fault, lies with
the Federal law enforcement officers that are simply doing their job as
mandated by Congress.
The mainstream media and Democratic elected officials have used
incendiary rhetoric to fan the flames of public protest that are
anything but ``mostly peaceful.'' The result has been widespread
assault on our law enforcement officers.
Protestors and criminal aliens have physically attacked them in some
instances. They have rammed officers
[[Page S8215]]
with vehicles, thrown tear gas, smoke grenades, rocks, bottles, and
even punched and shot at these law enforcement officers for simply
doing their job.
Leftwing protestors have laid down on the street in an attempt to
prevent vehicles belonging to law enforcement from entering or leaving
detention facilities and even slashed government vehicle tires, all in
an effort to prevent ICE and Customs and Border Protection from doing
their job.
Officers have been pepper-sprayed, choked, punched, and injured to
the point of hospitalization in some cases. These individuals who seem
to be celebrated and certainly given a lot of publicity in the
mainstream media, as if they were in the right--these groups have
prevented the arrest and removal of criminals--documented criminals--
including facilitating the escape, in one case, of a convicted child
rapist who is now out there somewhere in the community at large.
The Democratic Party claims to be the party of the people, but when
it comes to protecting the American people from violent gangs like Tren
de Aragua, pedophiles, and rapists, they simply look the other way or
claim that the fault lies with law enforcement, not the people who have
already violated our laws.
Progressive activists have done everything they can imagine to impede
immigration enforcement officers from carrying out their duty,
including doxing them, putting their personal information on the Web,
and even making death threats.
The leftwing media has been intent on giving this behavior a pass,
but Senate Republicans will not give them a pass.
So I encourage all of my colleagues and all of my constituents back
home in Texas to tune into the hearing that we intend to have this
afternoon in the Senate Judiciary Committee. In this hearing, we will
hear testimony from Sheriff Boyd, who will give an update on Texas's
cooperation with immigration enforcement and how it protects their
officers and local communities. Danielle Carter-Walters will offer
insight into how leftwing policies are failing Chicago residents and
other Americans living in sanctuary cities, and Mia Cathell, an
investigative journalist from the Washington Examiner, will offer a
journalist's perspective on how leftwing groups are funding these
protests against ICE.
While the mainstream media, apparently, will stop at nothing to
spread lies and vilify the very people who have sworn to uphold our
laws, my Republican colleagues and I are not afraid to push back in
order to let the American people know the truth.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from West Virginia.
Energy
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, later today, the Senate will vote on a
motion to proceed to S.J. Res. 76, the CRA introduced by my colleague
from California Senator Schiff to repeal the Trump EPA's interim final
rule that extends the compliance deadlines for the Biden
administration's stringent attack on oil and natural gas facilities.
Over the past 4 years, we witnessed an onslaught of regulation like
nothing we have ever seen before--an attack that specifically targeted
affordable and reliable sources of energy like oil and natural gas,
among others. The purpose of these overbearing and in some cases
outright illegal rules was clear: It was an attempt to shut down
conventional energy in our country from sources the Democrats just
don't like.
Through this barrage of overregulation, the Biden administration
created record-high gas prices and a grid reliability crisis that our
Nation must now address.
We must recognize that we are really in a critical moment for
American energy. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation
has found that over the next 10 years, due to a rise in energy
consumption and the policy-driven retirement of our existing power
generation, our country may face major electric reliability concerns.
The Biden administration compounded these issues through regulations
that sought to force a transition to unreliable, intermittent energy
resources.
We must take action now to ensure that future electricity demand is
met, and we can do this by continuing to produce natural gas.
Fracking and shale gas have revolutionized American energy, leading
to lower prices, job growth, and increased energy security.
According to the Energy Information Administration, the rapid
expansion of natural gas in the United States has decreased--
decreased--the power sector's carbon dioxide emissions by over 35
percent in the last 20 years. Additionally, upstream oil and gas
production reduced its methane emissions by more than 40 percent over
the last 10 years.
Natural gas is an affordable, reliable, and clean source of energy,
vital to reducing our emissions. We should be expanding production of
this resource, not restricting it. Unfortunately, restriction is the
purpose of this CRA.
This rule put in place by the Trump administration extends compliance
deadlines for crude oil and natural gas facilities because the Biden
EPA set standards that are simply unachievable.
In a time of energy uncertainty, my Democratic colleagues should be
in total support of expanding the use of natural gas. Instead, they are
forcing a vote to increase our energy prices.
The CRA is an attempt to take us back to Biden-era energy policy, and
I urge my colleagues to swiftly reject this motion to proceed.
Nomination of Ho Nieh
Mr. President, I rise today in support of Ho Nieh's confirmation to
be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Our Nation is poised
to unleash a nuclear power revival, and a strong NRC, guided by
exceptional leadership, is central to enabling the use of nuclear
energy.
Fully realizing nuclear energy's potential will improve electric
reliability, which I spoke about in my former remarks, strengthen
American energy and national security, and drive economic growth.
In 1974, Congress established the NRC to serve as our Nation's
independent nuclear safety regulator. In the years since, our nuclear
energy sector has matured, technology has advanced, and safety has been
prioritized, as always.
There is now an opportunity to take the experience and know-how to
build a new nuclear future. Doing so mandates a nuclear safety
regulator that is ready to meet the moment and to do so by leading with
its best attributes. Those attributes are embodied in the NRC's
principles of good regulation: independence, openness, efficiency,
clarity, and reliability. Each of these principles is a necessary
pillar for the NRC's work, especially as the NRC implements the
consequential task that it currently faces.
Last year, in passing my bill, the ADVANCE Act, Congress spoke with
an overwhelming bipartisan voice that we must urgently modernize our
regulations to prioritize what matters most. President Trump reinforced
that message in May when he issued an Executive order tasking the
Commission with a major reexamination of the NRC's nuclear safety
rules. The ADVANCE Act and President Trump's Executive order both
empower the Commission to deliver on a vision of deploying more nuclear
power and doing so quickly and safely.
As the Commission acts on these directives, it must do so in a way
that does not undermine regulatory certainty and works with all
stakeholders to make sure the NRC's efforts are enduring.
I am confident that Ho Nieh will carry the principles of good
regulation forward as the Commission implements our Nation's nuclear
energy policy.
Mr. Nieh has served in a broad range of positions at the NRC and at
international nuclear organizations.
As the leader of the most consequential office of the NRC--that
office is called the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation--he laid out
a vision of the NRC's role to make sure that the safe use of nuclear
energy is possible. This set the tone for what the Commission
established earlier this year when they
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revised their mission statement, as directed by the ADVANCE Act.
Following his departure from the NRC, Mr. Nieh gained firsthand
experience in understanding the role of regulatory compliance as a
senior executive for a large nuclear facility. He also served on loan
to the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations--the industry's own
nuclear safety watchdog that seeks to promote excellence in nuclear
performance.
I support Ho Nieh's nomination to serve as a member of the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission because of his outstanding technical expertise,
his real-world knowledge of regulatory compliance, his strong
leadership and experience, and his commitment to executing the recently
updated NRC mission statement.
I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for his confirmation to the
NRC.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
Mrs. CAPITO. I ask unanimous consent that we begin the scheduled
rollcall vote immediately.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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