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Floor Speech

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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to oppose the Democrats' radical agenda.

For weeks now, America has been breaking records with cases of coronavirus. The scavenger hunt for tests has resulted in long lines and empty shelves. We have just had the worst jobs report of the year-- last year--with inflation at a 40-year high. Crime is out of control in big cities run by Democrats. The southern border is being overrun by hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants every single month. Our foreign policy is in shambles; our friends are endangered; and Vladimir Putin, China, North Korea, and Iran are emboldened.

The American people are deeply worried about all of these issues. Yet Democrats in Washington are offering no solutions on these pressing problems. Democrats created many of these crises in the first place, often through incompetence, mismanagement, and weakness. Now, under President Biden, they are making them worse.

Democrats just spent 5 months trying to pass the most expensive spending bill in American history. It was a bill nobody asked for except for the radical base of professional activists. The bill would have led to the largest tax increase in 50 years, trillions of dollars in new spending and new debt, and even higher inflation.

Democrats tried to pass this on the narrowest of margins. Democrats failed. As soon as the bill was pronounced dead, Democrats scrambled to change the subject. Democrats know they can't solve the inflation crisis, the supply chain crisis, the coronavirus crisis, or any of the other disasters created by the Biden administration. By ignoring these problems, they are practically admitting that, as Democrats, they have no solutions.

So what are they doing instead?

Well, they have tried to manufacture another crisis. They have invented a phony moral panic about election laws. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have repeatedly lied about our elections. They got Major League Baseball to move the All-Star Game to a Democrat State. They got Hollywood stars and journalists and wealthy corporations to parrot their talking points. Now they have former Presidents Obama and Clinton getting involved. It has been a shameful effort to frighten the American people and further divide our Nation.

When Joe Biden was a Presidential candidate, he said he would ``heal the country.'' He said he would ``restore the soul of the nation.'' Just 1 year into his Presidency, we have found out that that was all for show. Joe Biden has been one of the most divisive and partisan Presidents in American history, and, today, he is on track to be the least popular President in modern times.

I understand why Democrats are desperate to change the subject. Yet Democrats are failing on the election issue as well. If Democrats think they can win on the idea of a Federal election takeover, they are wrong. Joe Biden is so unpopular in Georgia he couldn't even get Stacey Abrams to show up to his rally in Atlanta. She is running for Governor. She is a political celebrity. Election law is her main issue. Yet she wouldn't be seen in public with Joe Biden, and, frankly, I don't blame her.

Two days later, Joe Biden came to Capitol Hill to convince Democrats to change the rules of the Senate. He failed again. Brave Democratic Senators did the honorable and courageous thing. They kept their word. They said they would not destroy this institution for short-term partisan gain. They deserve the respect of every Member of this body. Joe Biden tried to push them around, and he failed.

The latest Quinnipiac poll has Joe Biden with a 33-percent approval rating just 1 year into his term in office. He has lower economic approval ratings than Jimmy Carter. Yet Senator Schumer asked Democrat Senators to follow Joe Biden over the cliff.

Yesterday, in his almost 2-hour press conference, President Biden talked about taking his message on the road and campaigning with Democrat candidates. I want to see which Democrat candidates actually want to stand with him as more and more Members of the House announce their retirements because they know, and they can see the writing on the wall.

Senator Schumer wanted a vote in this body on the Washington election takeover and on changing the rules of the Senate. The American people have utterly rejected both of these ideas. The vast majority of the American people support voter identification. If you want a ballot, show your ID. They support making voters show a photo ID in order to get a ballot. This includes a majority of Democrats, who think it is an important thing to do for ballot integrity and accountability and security.

If Democrats want to fix our election laws, they ought to do something about what is happening in the majority leader's hometown. Just last month, the New York City Council voted to let 900,000 noncitizens vote in New York City's elections--noncitizens. This is a larger group than the margin of victory in this last New York mayoral election. In other words, this new group of voters--not citizens of the United States--could swing and determine the outcome of the next election for the mayor of New York. This is the majority leader's hometown.

Where is the ballot integrity, accountability, and security there for American citizens?

Before Chuck Schumer lectures the American people about our elections, he ought to fix the problems in his own hometown.

Democrats are OK with vaccine passports, and they are OK with noncitizens voting, but they are not OK with voter ID, at least on the legislation that they brought to the floor. Democrats continue to fail to listen to and to fail the American people. Democrats are failing on inflation, on coronavirus, on immigration, on crime, and on national security. By voting on elections and on Senate rules, Democrats are admitting they have absolutely nothing to offer the American people on the key issues and concerns that are impacting the lives of people all across this country.

There is plenty of work to do right now. We have to stop unnecessary government spending to get inflation under control. We need to support law enforcement. We need affordable energy. That is what people want. We need to make sure that our schools stay open. We need to make sure that they teach our children skills, not ideology. We need to secure our border. So, yes, there is plenty of work for this Senate to do. Republicans have been more than willing to work with Democrats on all of these important issues.

The American people are looking for solutions. Yet the majority leader is giving them pointless exercises and show votes. It is time for the majority leader to abandon this political wish list. Let's get to work on the issues facing the American people.

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