[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 37 (Wednesday, February 25, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S659-S661]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       State of the Union Address

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor having just heard 
the minority leader, and he talked about the State of the Union Address 
last night. I heard the same speech that he did. I thought it was 
outstanding. Apparently, the difference is that I was actually 
listening.
  The American people agree with me in terms of what they saw and heard 
and witnessed last night with Donald Trump's state of the Union. What 
Americans saw last night was quite simple: Republicans stood with them; 
Democrats didn't. They didn't stand for much. Republicans cheered for 
lower taxes, for safe communities, and for safer elections--secure 
elections, elections people have faith in.
  Senator Schumer said he thought the speech was delusional. The 
American people didn't think that. Immediately after the State of the 
Union, CNN conducted a poll. Here is what they found: 62 percent of the 
viewers said that President Trump's economic and immigration policies 
would move the country in the right direction.
  That is what we have been trying to do for the last year--get the 
country back on track. Those are the commonsense policies for which the 
Democrats refused to stand.
  The President said to the whole body:

       If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show 
     your support.

  He then read the statement:

       The first duty of the American government is to protect 
     American citizens, not illegal aliens.

  Every Republican stood up. Not the Democrats. They sat silently.
  This is the first responsibility of a government of a nation--to 
protect its citizens. Why in the world would Democrats refuse to stand 
for such a statement, such a basic understanding of what the role of 
government is in our lives, what our Founding Fathers fought for? The 
Revolutionary War. Here we are 250 years into the United States, and 
the Democrats in the Senate and in the House and in the Chamber last 
night don't believe that is the responsibility of government, the No. 1 
first duty--to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens? That is 
delusional on the part of the Democrats. It is astonishing.
  I am happy to see CNN report that so many Americans agree that we are 
getting the country back on track, doing what we should do, what we 
were elected to do--to provide safety and prosperity for the American 
people.
  What do the Democrats stand for? Raising taxes. They sit on their 
hands when it comes to protecting American citizens. Their priorities 
are wrong. We are in a shutdown right now for the Department of 
Homeland Security. Why? Because they want to stand with illegal 
immigrant criminals instead of the safety and security of the American 
people. To me, that was the most telling moment of the evening, and the 
American people will not forget that. They will not forget that visual. 
They will not forget seeing the President of the United States make his 
statement and the Republicans jump up and cheer and the Democrats sit 
in silence.
  Last night, we heard about the great American comeback. The 
President's remark proved two things: Our country is strong, and our 
fellow citizens--boy, they are courageous. And we heard great stories 
of courage last night. More than a dozen heroes were honored, and 
rightfully so, heroes like 100-year-old Navy pilot retired CAPT E. 
Royce Williams and helicopter pilot CW5 Eric Slover, both of whom 
received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Well earned. Well done. Well 
deserved. Heroes like Pennsylvania mom Megan Hemhauser, who homeschools 
her two children and works in the evenings as a waitress; heroes like 
Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan, who rescued many young girls 
from the deadly Texas flood.
  These American heroes remind me of two sailors I met with this past 
weekend. I was on a Navy destroyer within firing distance of Iran. 
These sailors

[[Page S660]]

from Wyoming were nine time zones away from home in Wyoming. One that I 
talked to is from Gillette, WY. He went to Sheridan High School. He is 
from Gillette. His father works at a coal mine in Gillette. Another is 
from Wheatland, WY. His father works at the powerplant. Both of them 
said that President Trump and Republicans had saved their fathers' 
jobs, and they asked me to portray that and give that thanks to the 
President. I did that last night as a member of the Escort Committee 
when I met with the President before he entered the Chamber to deliver 
the State of the Union.
  He knows that what he is doing is making a difference for the men and 
women--the working men and women--of our country, for the jobs in our 
communities, for good-paying jobs, and for American energy. That is 
what we are doing for America.
  The success that the President outlined last night is just the 
beginning. It is being felt by working families everywhere around the 
country. People are going to continue to feel that success because of 
our Republican comprehensive economic plan.
  Being from Wyoming, of course, my focus is small businesses that make 
our State thrive. Wyoming is proud to be a small business State. 
Ninety-nine percent of our businesses are small businesses. Two out of 
three jobs in our State are all from small businesses, and what we are 
talking about is farmers, ranchers, construction workers, energy 
workers, so many more; people who feed our country, people who power 
our homes, people who make our communities better.
  During the previous administration, small businesses struggled. They 
chocked on a witch's brew of higher taxes and burdensome regulations. 
Punishing good people for honest work did not make life in America more 
affordable; it made it more challenging. It led to higher costs. It led 
to smaller paychecks. It led to fewer jobs. That is what the Biden 
administration and the Democrats did.
  But now, because of our Working Families Tax Cut law, taxes on small 
businesses are going down, and they are going to stay down. The Working 
Families Tax Cut law is already helping create jobs.
  This year, in every State, new Main Street jobs are going to be 
created. Small businesses receive a permanent tax cut. In my home State 
of Wyoming, 50,000 small businesses will benefit from them.
  The Working Families Tax Cut law encourages investing here at home. 
Small businesses can now write off 100 percent of their costs for new 
equipment. It is called full expensing. It matters to the small 
businesses on Main Street all along this great Nation.
  Full expensing simply means that small businesses will be able to 
build more and grow faster. They can invest in their business and their 
workers. Faster growth means lower costs for families. It means more 
jobs. It means bigger paychecks. That is what the American people want.
  The Working Families Tax Cut law supports farmers and ranchers. They 
receive major relief from the dreaded death tax. This relief is 
permanent. Death tax relief has significant consequences for rural 
livelihoods and for feeding our country.
  Now, families across Wyoming and your home State of Montana, Mr. 
President, will not have to worry about whether they can keep the farm 
or the ranch when Grandma or Grandpa passes away. They want to keep it 
in the family. In the past, they had to sell it to pay the tax man. 
That is wrong.
  All these changes mean immediate savings for small businessowners, 
for their employees, as well as for their customers. This year, small 
businessowners will receive about $27 billion in additional tax 
refunds. That is money in their pockets. And because these provisions 
are permanent, small businesses can hire, invest, and grow with 
confidence now and in the future. The only people who don't want this 
success to continue are the Democrats.
  People in mainstream Wyoming--and you know, think of a small 
community in Wyoming, Newcastle, WY, a great place. I go every year. 
They do what is called Madness on Main Street. All the small businesses 
are out. They have tables out. The firefighters do a pancake breakfast. 
That is what America is all about: small communities, local community 
jobs, local schools where they still teach the students the 
Constitution, the Declaration of Independence. The kids can actually 
recite it. They can come to the--they stand up. I have been in their 
classrooms. It is astonishing what is going on in small communities, in 
small schools, all across America.
  That is what President Trump was talking about and what he is doing 
for small businesses in our communities in rural America, but that is 
not what we saw with the Democrats. No.
  Last night, how did they respond last night after the President's 
magnificent speech? Well, they chose the newly elected Governor of 
Virginia to deliver their State of the Union response.
  She was sworn in just a month ago. But this is the mindset now of 
this far-left party over there, the Democrats, because since she was 
sworn in last month as the Governor of Virginia, she has introduced 50 
new taxes--50 new taxes.
  Democrats in Virginia are trying to raise taxes on barbershops, nail 
salons, dry cleaners, and gyms. Every one of those--if we were talking 
about Newcastle, WY, it would hurt Newcastle, WY, or the small 
communities in Wyoming and in your home State of Montana. But that is 
what Virginia wants to do. That is what the liberals that run the 
house, the senate, and their new Governor, whom the Democrats chose as 
the face of the Democratic Party--somebody who has been in office for 1 
month and has introduced 50 new taxes: Barbershops, nail salons, dry 
cleaners, and gyms, tax them all.
  You will love this. She wants to raise sales taxes on firearms and 
ammunition by 11 percent. That is not something that works in Wyoming 
or Montana. She wants to give instate tuition benefits for illegal 
immigrants. That is not something the American people agree on.
  She wants to ban gas-powered leaf blowers. She is still living in 
that age of focusing on the carbon footprint instead of what we need in 
America today, which is all the energy and affordable energy. That is 
whom the Democrats chose to give the response, a person who wants to 
put sales taxes on everyday services all across the State.
  You know, I said it before, and I am saying it again: Democrats are 
committed and determined to raise your taxes, and Virginia and what we 
heard from her last night--what they are doing in Virginia is just a 
roadmap to the radical policies that the Democrats want all over this 
country.
  Remember, it was the Democrats, under Joe Biden, who brought us the 
worst inflation in 40 years. Democrats voted last year to raise taxes 
by $4 trillion. Democrats stood for higher taxes last night but not for 
tax cuts, not for working Americans, not for American heroes, not for 
the priorities of the safety of the American people. Nope.
  The Democrat agenda continues to be higher taxes, higher prices that 
the American people cannot afford. Affordability isn't improved by 
taxing and by spending more government money; it is improved by 
allowing the American people to keep more of what they earned so they 
can make the decisions for themselves on what to spend, what to save, 
what to invest.
  Americans are better off today because Republicans cut taxes, because 
we protect farmers and ranchers, because we support small businesses. 
And after just 1 year, inflation is falling, wages are rising, and more 
Americans are working.
  This is the great American economic comeback. This is what we heard 
from the President last night. This is what we are proud of is a record 
of providing safety and prosperity for the American people, and there 
is more work to be done, as the President said.
  Our Nation is returning to a position of safety, security, and 
prosperity. For small businesses in Wyoming and all across America, the 
future is bright.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sheehy). The distinguished other Senator 
from Wyoming.


                       2026 Winter Olympic Games

  Ms. LUMMIS. Mr. President, I am so pleased to join my esteemed 
colleague from Wyoming in this next presentation where we rejoice and 
celebrate our Olympians.
  Last night was an incredible display of Americana, of the joy of 
celebrating

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our athletes. It was particularly joyous when our gold medal U.S. 
Olympic hockey team came into the Gallery in their beautiful USA 
sweaters with their gold medals around their necks so every American 
who was watching the State of the Union last night could join with them 
to celebrate this tremendous achievement and to have a moment where 
America was rejoicing together over something that is so 
quintessentially a North American sport and a triumph for our Olympic 
teams.
  Today, I want to continue that joyous celebration by congratulating 
and highlighting and punctuating three Wyoming athletes who were at the 
U.S. Olympic Games in Italy.
  The three are Breezy Johnson, Anna Gibson of Jackson, and Jaelin Kauf 
of Alta. They did not just compete; they embodied grit, resilience, and 
the determination that really defines Wyoming. I have no doubt that 
they inspired every person in Wyoming, especially our young student 
athletes who watched them on TV.
  I was so overjoyed that I got to watch Breezy Johnson's win in 
realtime. Breezy Johnson got America's medal run off to a tremendous 
start. Her race was early in the Olympic Games, and she took the gold 
medal in the women's skiing downhill, racing nearly 80 miles an hour to 
the finish line. It was an incredible moment for our country--
incredible--and a truly incredible moment for Wyoming.
  In addition to Breezy's gold medal, she also came home with a fiance. 
So congratulations to Breezy and Connor. We are so happy for you both.
  Jaelin Kauf made history by becoming the most decorated Olympic mogul 
skier in U.S. history, earning her second and third career silver 
medals. From learning to ski in Teton Valley to competing on the 
world's greatest stage, Jaelin's journey reflects years of discipline, 
perseverance, and unwavering community support.
  The strength that is required in your legs to be a mogul skier is 
absolutely unparalleled. Through two Olympic Games, she has represented 
Alta and the United States with exceptional courage and joy. We could 
not be prouder.
  Anna Gibson became the very first American to compete in Olympic ski 
mountaineering--which is a relatively new sport in the Olympics--
finishing fourth alongside her partner in a sport she grew up with in 
Jackson.
  Anna demonstrated the courage to step into uncharted territory. As I 
said, it is a very new sport, and stepping into uncharted territory is 
a quality Wyoming knows well. So she just did a bangup job representing 
Wyoming and the United States in our skimo Olympic debut.
  These three women remind us that greatness is not born in stadiums, 
but it is built in gymnasiums and on training courses and on ski 
mountains and early morning trainings; in weight rooms, in your diet, 
your exercise, and particularly in tight-knit communities that support 
these athletes.
  These communities believe in one another. They believe in celebrating 
each other's hard work. Wyoming has always stood for toughness, 
independence, and quiet excellence. Breezy, Jaelin, and Anna carried 
that spirit with them to the world stage. They made Wyoming and the 
entire country so proud. We are lucky to call them ours.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I rise alongside my friend and colleague 
Senator Lummis to celebrate these three talented Olympians: Breezy 
Johnson, Jaelin Kauf, and Anna Gibson. The 2026 Olympic Games were the 
most successful winter games in our Nation's history.
  Team USA won an astonishing 12 gold medals. It is the most gold 
medals our country has ever won in the Winter Olympics. America brought 
home the second most medals of any country--33 medals overall. This was 
a record-setting year for Team USA, and Wyoming is no small part of the 
success.
  Breezy started the historic medal run that first day by winning our 
Nation's first gold medal of the 2026 Games by winning women's downhill 
alpine skiing. Her victory comes just 4 years after she was forced to 
withdraw from the 2022 Olympics due to injuries, injuries sustained on 
the very mountain that she conquered in 2026.
  Her comeback is an inspiring story for every young American who 
aspires to a day as an Olympic athlete.
  Jaelin Kauf was next. She took home two silver medals in mogul 
skiing. She is now a three-time Olympic silver medalist, and that makes 
her the most decorated mogul skier in U.S. Olympic history.
  And everyone in Wyoming is so, so very proud of Anna Gibson. Look at 
that--the determination, the look in her. And what a sport it is. As 
Senator Lummis just said, this is the first year for ski mountaineering 
in the Olympics, and it was Anna's first Olympics ever. She made 
history as the first American woman to compete in ski mountaineering at 
the Olympic Winter Games. She finished in fourth place and accomplished 
this even though, incredibly, she picked up this event only a few 
months ago. I will tell you, she is a trailblazer, as are all of these 
Olympic athletes.
  Watching her event on Saturday, I saw a Wyoming flag waving in the 
crowd and cheering her on. The people of Wyoming always show up for one 
another. You know, in Wyoming, we follow the Cowboy Code: Live each day 
with courage, take pride in your work, and do what needs to be done.
  So congratulations to our Wyoming Olympic champions. They have done 
so much to make history. We are so very proud of all of them. They make 
our State and our Nation very proud.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.