[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 116 (Thursday, July 16, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S4121]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Wyoming

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, over just the last couple of weeks, the 
people of Wyoming have celebrated two very important events: July 4, 
Independence Day, as America turned 250; and July 10, Wyoming Statehood 
Day. My home State of Wyoming turned 136 that day. We celebrated both 
of those great occurrences all across the State for a full week.
  We had the iconic Cody Stampede Rodeo in Cody, WY. We saw volunteers 
in Gillette serve over 4,000 hot dogs at the Independence Day community 
celebration. We saw the Boy Scouts in Sheridan serve over 1,000 pancake 
breakfasts. And my Rotary Club in Casper celebrated the values that 
started our country. We had Wyoming best-selling author C.J. Box read 
the Declaration of Independence at a community gathering in Carbon 
County. The streets were packed for the Independence Day parade in 
Cody, and people then gathered at Veterans Park for the annual ``Let 
Freedom Ring'' celebration. The seats were full for the Big Wyo Rodeo 
in Sheridan and the Casper Rodeo finals just this past Saturday night. 
Our entire congressional delegation attended parades and festivities 
all across the Cowboy State.
  This is the America that we saw these past 2 weeks. Yet there is 
another vision being offered to this country today, and we see it on 
the other side of the aisle. It is the vision being offered by the 
Democrats, and it is a dark vision, indeed. It is a vision of open 
borders, of high taxes, and of lawlessness. It is a vision that damages 
our communities and disrespects the values that Americans hold dear.
  Today's Democrat Party has taken a radical turn to the left. Today's 
Democrat leadership is enabling it. America's largest city--the 
hometown of the minority leader, Senator Schumer--is now being run by a 
professed socialist. Our Nation's Capital is about to elect one as 
well.
  People proclaiming to be socialists are winning Democrat primaries 
across the country. In Michigan, a Democrat front-runner for the U.S. 
Senate is campaigning with an extremist who blames America for the 
September 11 terrorist attacks. These were the attacks that 25 years 
ago cost the lives of 2,977 Americans.
  Extremism drives the Democrat Party, and its influence within the 
party is growing. Here is what they want: Democrats want open borders. 
Democrats want to defund the police. Democrats want to abolish 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Democrats want to abolish the U.S. 
Border Patrol. Democrats want to weaken law enforcement. They want to 
make it harder to remove illegal immigrant criminals from our 
communities. Democrats want to pack the Supreme Court. They want judges 
who will rewrite the law and ignore the Constitution. Democrats want to 
abolish the electoral college. They want to make it possible for only a 
handful of big cities in blue States to control the selection of the 
next President. Democrats want higher taxes. They want hard-working 
American families to pay for healthcare for illegal immigrants. 
Democrats want to keep affordable, available, reliable American energy 
in the ground.
  That is today's Democrat Party. They are radical, they are extreme, 
they are dangerous, and they are scary.
  You may have noticed that, in the middle of a heat wave, the new 
Democrat mayor told New Yorkers to turn up their air conditioning to 78 
degrees. Why? Because the New York power grid was collapsing.
  How could that be? Why was the New York power grid collapsing? Well, 
because New York Democrats--pressured by climate extremists--shut down 
reliable nuclear powerplants.
  Welcome to the Democrat Party of 2026.
  Alarmingly, in this very Chamber, Democrat leaders are cheering on 
the radical left. After socialists swept their primaries this summer, 
one Democrat Senator said that ``this is a very good trend.''
  Another said it is a sign that their party is ``alive and well.''
  Another said we are now seeing the ``future of the Democrat Party.''
  By contrast, Republicans continue to deliver results. We passed the 
Working Families Tax Cut law. We stopped the largest tax increase in 
American history. We put more money back into the pockets of millions 
of hard-working Americans. Ninety-six percent of Americans who make 
under $200,000 a year benefited from the Working Families Tax Cut law.
  Republicans secured the border. We passed the largest investment in 
border security in American history. We fully funded ICE and Border 
Patrol for the next 3 years, and we are deporting illegal immigrant 
criminals.
  The contrast is clear: Democrats stand for high taxes, open borders, 
and lawlessness. Republicans stand for freedom, liberty, and American 
greatness.
  America is worth defending. America is worth celebrating. America is 
worth fighting for. That is what Republicans are committed to doing, 
and that is what we did as the people of Wyoming over the Fourth of 
July.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. RICKETTS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.