[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 100 (Monday, June 15, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2776-S2779]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IRAN
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, like so many of us here in the Senate
and really across the country, I think we have all been watching the
news this weekend to see whether or not we would have an announcement
from the Trump administration on a possible agreement to reopen the
Strait of Hormuz and ensure that Iran never develops a nuclear weapon,
among other objectives. I think the news this morning was promising,
and we are all waiting to see what the contours of that agreement will
be.
We can debate the way the administration started this war, but I
certainly stand here today genuinely wishing the administration all the
best in ending this on favorable terms. It would clearly be good for
the region and it would be good for the world if the Iranian regime
stops funding terror and permanently abandons its nuclear ambitious. I
think we can all agree to that.
Yes, while there appears to be a final agreement, we haven't seen it
yet. We want to have a good deal from the U.S. perspective. We are
going to learn more this week. As we do that, I hope that things will
begin to reopen and that we will be able to stave off what has been
rapidly approaching in our energy markets, and that is what I want to
speak to more directly today.
We know the basics here. All across the country, people and
businesses are just paying a lot more for fuel. We have seen the prices
go down a little bit today--that is good news--but the fact of the
matter is, we have all felt the impact from rising prices.
The price of oil went up substantially during the war, and so did the
price of gasoline, the price of diesel, of kerosene, of avgas, and
other fuels as well. That is taking a toll. It is simply more expensive
to drive, and it is more expensive to fly and to buy groceries.
According to one estimate, the average American household has paid
nearly $400 more for fuel since the start of the conflict.
As tough as that all is--and it has been. It has been very hard for
many families. But it has also been somewhat tempered. For the past
couple months, we have been emptying ships with fuel that had already
transited the Strait of Hormuz. Some regional flows have been rerouted
to bypasses. That has been good in terms of getting product out there.
Some producers--
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particularly here in the United States--have clearly stepped up their
production, and we have seen how that has been able to soften things.
China has reduced its imports, and refiners have adjusted their runs.
So there has been a lot that has been going on in really trying to work
to soften this impact. We have also tapped into commercial stocks and
our emergency reserves through the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
We have benefited from some sound policies that this country has put
in place. It was not too many years ago that I was very proud to be
able to lead the effort to lift the ban on crude oil exports, which, as
we have seen, has greatly stabilized the markets here.
So far, we have avoided the energy crisis that many thought
inevitable after so much global supply went offline, but I don't think
we are out of the woods yet. Global oil inventories are now dangerously
low, and many in the industry are sounding the alarm, and they are
telling us things like: We are running out of runway here; that we have
depleted our buffers and our shock absorbers; that inventories have
declined to levels not seen for 40-plus years. And once no cushion is
left, it is just really hard--it is hard to keep those prices down when
you don't have the absorber here. I hope we are going to be able to
avoid that, absolutely, because the consequences could be catastrophic
in some places.
As a Senator from Alaska, I am keenly aware that even if most of the
country is able to avoid the worst, there are some who won't be able to
escape it. In fact, some are already living through it, and they are
living in my home State right now in communities like Ambler and Galena
and Mountain Village. What they are seeing is the impact of these
rising prices that unfortunately are high now, but it is really hard
for them to see relief in sight.
Even if the Strait of Hormuz fully opens this week, even if regional
production and shipping come back much faster than projected, these
Alaskans in these communities and around my State will continue to face
the repercussions of this war and will for months to come. It is them
that I want to draw attention to because, quite honestly, they need
some help. They need and deserve help from every level of government--
starting in Alaska and primarily from the State of Alaska but extending
to some reasonable actions we can take here.
Let me explain. How is the war in Iran impacting towns and villages
more than 6,000 miles away in Alaska so much more so than in other
places? Because I am hearing from all my colleagues that everyone is
feeling the impact in their communities. So why am I standing here
today to say that our situation is just a little bit harder, a little
bit more challenging now, and why will those impacts continue even
after the war is over?
So we can't have a discussion about Alaskan communities without
putting it in context of the whole. Alaska is big. We all know Alaska
is big--one-fifth the size of the United States of America. If you
stretched Alaska over the lower 48 States, we would stretch from
Florida all the way to these Aleutian Islands, all the way out to
California, practically from the Canadian border going south. It is
big, and in the midst of all this big geography, we have some 200
isolated communities around the State--20 percent of our total
population--that are not connected by a road system.
So all these that you are seeing here, all around the outline and the
perimeter of the State, all the way up to the North Slope--all that--
not connected by road, right? And down here in the section of the State
where I grew up, this is all island, so nobody is connected by a road
there. So you have the panhandle and the Aleutians and all of your
coastline here that is not connected by road.
And so they are supplied by way of boats and planes to bring in the
goods, to bring in food, the medical supplies, their mail, and their
fuel, the fuel that they rely on. So many of these particularly small
coastal communities, they are diesel-powered generation. So they rely
on diesel to be able to keep their lights on. And sometimes they are
offset by a little bit of wind, maybe a little bit of solar, but for
the most part many of those communities are diesel-powered, so they
rely on this as their fuel supply.
So how do you get your fuel? It is not like you can just call up the
fuel barge any time of year--because once you get around here, you run
into ice-choked waters all the way up to the top, rivers frozen over.
And so in order to deliver the fuel, you have to wait until the ice has
moved out, the ice has moved out of the area, melted.
And so this is the time of year. It is hotter than dickens here in
Washington, DC, but back home the ice has really just left a matter of
weeks ago to allow for these fuel barges to get up into this region to
start resupplying these communities. So effectively what happens is,
for most of these coastal communities and our river communities--the
Kuskokwim coming up here and the Yukon coming up here is going all the
way into Canada. For many of those communities, they get their fuel by
the barges that come in here. They lighter on and take them up into
smaller barges all the way up to rivers. So it may be July before they
get the fuel, but it has really just started now, in June, where you
see the first fuel delivered.
The second delivery is going to come typically in September before
freezeup. And sometimes, in many of the river communities, it is just
fuel delivery once a year because the water in the rivers may be low
enough that you are not able to make it up all the way.
So it is expensive, right, if you have to haul all this. And I don't
have my other map, but, you know, the State of Alaska is sitting right
up here. We have to go through Canada. We have to go through the Gulf
of Alaska, around through the Aleutians, to get all the way up.
Transportation costs are high. So fuel was expensive even in these
communities before the war.
So if you think $4 a gallon in Denver is bad, try $9 a gallon in
Dillingham. Four dollars a gallon is bad in New Hampshire, but up here
in Nuiqsut, it is about $14 a gallon. And these are prices that I had
my interns check just last week. So these are the current prices. These
are the current prices before we have had the spring barges coming in.
So think about what is happening in these communities. And in the
hubs, like down here in Bethel or here in Nome or up in Kotzebue, the
fuel barges--the spring barges--are arriving. And so the fuel prices
that I just mentioned--$9 a gallon in Dillingham or $14 in Nuiqsut--
those prices are going to go up. We are looking at estimates of perhaps
50 percent or more. So this is sticker shock.
It is tough enough to see the increase with those spring barge prices
coming on, but then, keep in mind, this is not just a blip. This is not
just a temporary increase. These prices are going to last for months
because that is the only way they can buy their fuel. They buy it in
bulk. So these shipments have to last them either for the rest of the
summer, through September; or, again, for some, it has to last them
through the end of the year.
So what happens is they are locked into the fuel prices that they
have paid in just the past month, 6 weeks, 2 months. They had to lock
in at these high prices.
So the hubs are facing strains, but costs are going to be even higher
for the communities that are upriver or inland from them. And not every
situation is going to be the same, but you are probably going to have
to add another couple of dollars per gallon for most of those folks
that are inland. In the King Salmon area, right around down in here,
you have got a small road that connects you to Naknek. I will be going
there in a couple weeks. You can get groceries at the AC store, but it
is a 15-mile drive each way and fuel is running about $9.11 per gallon.
So you think about it; you don't just run off to the stores to go get
some milk. It is not a cheap commute.
In Hooper Bay--here--where fuel costs almost $10 a gallon, residents
are now paying $550 to fill up their fuel tanks. That is going to
translate to more than $1,000 a month this winter. And, again, even if
the oil prices continue to fall, as we have seen just from the news
this weekend--again, that is good, but my fear is that these
communities that we are seeing and I am talking about are not going to
be able to benefit from it because, again, they had to buy when the
prices were high, and they are locked in now. So time just didn't work
in their favor.
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It takes about 3 months from the time of refinery order to deliver in
upriver villages. So they couldn't just sit back and say: Well, we are
just going to wait and see how this all plays out and hope for lower
prices--because, if they do that, they risk not getting any fuel at all
as we get closer to winter, the sea ice returning, and you are locked
out. Then the only solution is flying fuel in 50-gallon barrels at a
time. That is expensive.
So it is hard right now. And we seek to avoid the worst of the worst,
but for some communities this has just been a really hard time. These
are small communities. Some don't have the working capital to pay 50
percent more for their fuel. Again, so some are actually waiting and
risking bad outcomes this winter because, again, they just might not be
in a position to be able to buy their fuel.
Rural Alaska has faced an affordability crisis for some time. So when
it suddenly intensifies like this, I don't even know--I don't even know
what we would call it. But I can tell you this much. If you live in one
of these rural towns and villages, you are wondering: How am I going to
make it? How am I going to make it? Because this is the time of year
where you need to be able to put--you need to fuel up your skiff to go
upriver to go fishing so you can feed your family--because what you can
get in the store was expensive before and is now more expensive. You
need to be able to go out hunting for caribou, and so you need to be
able to fill up your four-wheeler.
But, again, these are challenges that we have faced. And it is not
only about food security. You are trying to figure out where else can I
cut back because we have got to have the fuel in order to make it
through the winter. None of these places are easy places to live--and
particularly in the winter.
I got a letter just today--in fact, just a couple of hours ago--from
one of the leaders from the AVCP region, and she starts off by saying
``It is not too often that I am scared, but today I am.'' And she
speaks to the challenge of higher fuel costs, the concerns that they
have with regards to accessing salmon and just being able to provide
for their families. And I talk a lot about the rural communities
because their situation is just so challenged right now, but it is not
just in rural Alaska that we are seeing the concerns. Every Alaskan is
feeling it. In Fairbanks, in the interior, where I went to high school,
the local utility has, just last month, announced a new fuel surcharge
for customers. It is averaging almost $50--$45.74 a month. Again, that
is an add-on to already high utility bills.
These are the issues that emerge when your home State's ability to
responsibly produce its resources has been choked off for decades,
resulting in a pipeline system that is one-quarter full, less instate
refinery capacity that you would otherwise have, and less space in the
budget to build out new energy systems.
So my final point today is these folks, these Alaskans, are going to
need some help. As I said, most of that should come from the State of
Alaska because, in fairness, our budget has benefited from the war. Our
State's treasury has been helped because of the higher prices of oil.
And I do commend our State legislature. They have already passed
legislation to provide a $200 energy rebate to each Alaskan. They have
doubled the cap on a bulk fuel revolving loan program. They
appropriated more funding to it. They have made an allocation to school
districts to purchase fuel. And they have brought back some community
assistance programs. So I am pleased with some of the direction that
they have taken. We are waiting for the Governor to sign those
measures. But I think there is a possibility that our State legislature
could do more in a future special session.
Here at the Federal level, I think we will have an opportunity to
complement their actions, to help those hurt most dramatically, most
immediately, by higher fuel costs. We can do things within some of the
existing programs that we have. We can provide full funding and
emergency contingency funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance
Program, LIHEAP. We can also appropriate funding for USDA's High Energy
Cost Grants Program. The Denali Commission in Alaska administers this.
We can look at a new mechanism to provide temporary assistance to those
who are grappling with perhaps some of the heaviest of burdens.
And we can help, and I want to underscore that. So as this Chamber
considers an Iran supplemental to replenish missiles, interceptors,
radars, drones, and the infrastructure that we have lost, I would hope
that some of these options might be on the table because, for some of
our fellow Americans--especially those in rural Alaska--the impacts of
this war won't end when a peace agreement is signed; it is going to
continue long after, making life even more challenging.
So I share this with colleagues in an effort to explain some of what
we face in a place that many feel is far away and very remote. But I
would also suggest that we all have rural places in our States. We all
have those communities that are challenged right now. So how we are
there for them as they face these matters within their own families, to
be there for them, is why we are here.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
DACA
Mr. SCHIFF. Madam President, today marks the 14th anniversary of the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, known across the
country as DACA.
As a Senator from California--home to thousands of Dreamers and DACA
recipients--I stand here to acknowledge the enormous impact of DACA, a
program that has provided more than 800,000 young people a shot at the
American dream--a chance to form families, buy a home, attend college,
achieve a career, and pursue their dreams--and a chance to feel safe in
the only place they have ever called home.
Today, we also reflect on the road ahead as we seek to achieve a
permanent solution for Dreamers--a pathway to citizenship.
Most Dreamers arrived in the United States as children and have grown
up in the United States and spent the vast majority of their lives
here. DACA recipients--one of every four of whom lives in California--
are part of the fabric of our communities and essential to our economy.
They are interwoven in the very fabric of our society. They are our
doctors, our teachers, our nurses, and our engineers. They are our
neighbors and contribute nearly $17 billion to the U.S. economy
annually. They are our family and friends. They want to be our fellow
citizens.
Despite the relief this program has provided in the past, hundreds of
thousands of Dreamers and DACA recipients live day to day facing an
oppressive uncertainty. They have faced that for years, living from one
court case to the next, one Presidential whim to the next. With each
passing anniversary, we are reminded how fragile this lifeline has
turned out to be.
Because of this administration's draconian immigration policies,
thousands of Dreamers and many others are living in a constant state of
fear of deportation. Since the program was created, Republicans have
tried to strip DACA recipients of their protections, repeatedly
attacking the program in the courts, failing to support comprehensive
immigration reform, refusing DACA recipients a pathway to citizenship,
and creating significant delays in their ability to renew their status
and work authorizations.
Right now, many DACA recipients are being forced out of their status
and losing their jobs through no fault of their own. Under this
administration, 261 recipients have been detained--261 DACA recipients
detained--and dozens have been deported.
In March, I met with Maria, a DACA recipient from Sacramento. Maria
was wrongly detained and deported just 24 hours after what she thought
would be a routine immigration appointment. She has lived in the United
States for nearly 30 years. Yet, even with her DACA protections, she
was deported and separated from her daughter, causing enormous pain and
fear. She is now back in the United States after a judge ruled her
deportation unlawful, but this never should have happened in the first
place.
Every month, I receive alarming letters from constituents concerned
that their DACA status is going to be taken away and they will be
separated from their family and friends.
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Elidio, a DACA recipient from the Bay area, wrote in a letter to me:
I was recently diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer, and I
was inquiring if you can help out with an inquiry on the
timetable of the process. My work authorization is set to
expire soon, and with it, the prospects of losing my health
insurance, which I deeply rely on.
His life, his very life, depends on the renewal of his DACA
application.
Another of my constituents, Ravina from the Inland Empire, wrote to
express frustrations and deep concerns with ongoing renewal delays,
which have already negatively impacted them. They came to this country
as a 1-year-old. Now they are a civil engineer, living what they called
``a dream come true'' and contributing to California's vital
infrastructure and transportation sectors. But that dream has always
carried with it the threat of expiration due to processing delays and
the uncertainty of the program.
Ravina's work permit lapsed due to deliberate delays on the part of
this administration, and they are now on mandatory leave and at risk of
losing their job entirely. They want to work. They want a stable
future. They want, as with all DACA recipients, certainty--certainty
that from one day to another, they will not be forced to leave this
country, their home.
Another of my constituents, Marco from the Southern California area,
also wrote to me, worried about the future. He works for a local health
department while going to school to obtain a degree in microbiology.
Since he doesn't qualify for Federal student aid, he is paying
everything out of pocket, working while a student to get by. Without
his work authorization, he could lose his job and ultimately be forced
to drop out of college.
These stories are real. Their constant worry is real. These Dreamers
just want a permanent fix and a pathway forward.
My constituent services team is working diligently to assist DACA
recipients with their applications, but we need something more
permanent. We need to provide Dreamers a pathway to citizenship in this
country and ensure that they and their families are not living in
limbo, that they have the certainty they need to achieve the American
dream.
Just recently, Congress voted to give ICE and CBP a budget so
astronomical that it rivals the military budget of many industrialized
countries--all in the service of a draconian immigration enforcement
agenda that is anything but American. And this comes at a time when,
instead of addressing our Nation's challenges, American taxpayers are
being forced to give even more to ICE and Border Patrol agents--more
money to fuel a cruel immigration policy and raids that are separating
families; more money for an out-of-control Federal police force without
a modicum of accountability, including agents that have killed American
citizens in cold blood, in broad daylight, on video, for exercising
their constitutionally protected right to free speech. These agents
have broken into homes. They have refused to show their faces or their
badges and have ripped children from their parents.
If we can afford $70 billion more for these agents, why can't we
afford a clear path for Dreamers? Why can't we afford to process work
applications in a timely way? But of course we can if there is the will
to do it. This administration could start fixing the delays that DACA
recipients are facing. This won't just help families across the
country; it will also help stabilize the workforce and boost our
economy.
But Congress itself needs to act as well because we failed at every
turn to provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, and it is within
our power to do so.
President Trump once said that he himself believed Dreamers needed
protection. He once said:
I'd love to be able to do something for them. . . . [T]hey
should feel safe, but I'd like to be able to do something.
That was then. I guess we are living in a very different kind of now.
Nevertheless, this body should act. Members on both sides of the
aisle should recommit today to work together to find a pathway to
preserve, codify, and extend the DACA Program and provide all Dreamers
a real pathway to citizenship.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
Mr. PAUL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
previously scheduled rollcall vote commence immediately.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________