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Floor Speech
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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, it was 2 weeks ago--I know it seems like a lifetime ago but 2 weeks ago--when folks across this country went to the polls, with some undoubtedly joining the political process for the first time, to elect Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States as well as to deliver a clear victory for Republicans in both Chambers of Congress.
I would like to extend my congratulations once again to President Trump and our colleague, Vice President JD Vance, on their hard-fought and well-earned victory.
Congratulations, too, to my friend and colleague John Thune, who will be the next leader of the Senate Republican conference, the next majority leader, alongside the entire leadership team for the 119th Congress.
We will be seeing some new faces around here next year, and I would like to extend a warm welcome to some of them: my incoming Republican colleagues Senator McCormick from Pennsylvania, Senator Justice from West Virginia, Senator Moreno from Ohio, Senator Banks from Indiana, and Senator Curtis of Utah.
I would also like to congratulate my colleague from Texas, Senator Cruz, on a well-deserved victory in our home State of Texas.
In the other Chamber, there are some new additions to the Texas delegation on the way: Representatives-elect Craig Goldman, who served for a long time in the statehouse, and Brandon Gill, who was elected in this last election. I look forward to working with all of these colleagues as we deliver needed solutions to the American people.
The American people said very clearly that they believed the Nation was on the wrong track. It is our job to get the Nation on the right track, and that is exactly what we intend to do. Voters made their voices heard, and the message was loud and clear: Americans are ready to turn the page on the last 4 years of failed policies.
The American people elected a trifecta of Republican leadership to address the major challenges we are facing as a nation, things like inflation, open borders, a $35 trillion national debt, and the perception of American weakness and a lack of resolve abroad.
Families are ready for affordable groceries, gasoline, and homes once again under a Trump administration. They are certainly ready for secure borders, particularly in my State. They are ready for an end to the deadly fentanyl and human trafficking pouring across our southern border. They are ready to return to a world where our friends can trust us and our enemies fear us under President Trump.
The last 4 years under Democratic leadership have been marked by reckless spending, failed border policies, and a weak and dangerous presence on the world stage.
Texans have had to bear the brunt of historic levels of inflation not seen in 40 years. Since President Biden took office, rents have risen by more than 15 percent, the cost of groceries is up nearly 20 percent, and electricity prices have increased by nearly 25 percent. With higher interest rates, necessitated by the Federal Reserve's attempts to control inflation, Americans are also paying more each month on their mortgages and their car payments.
But that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Biden- Harris administration's misguided priorities, far-left policies, and abysmal leadership. Just look at the administration's energy policies, which put the hysteria of climate activists ahead of Texans, who just want to be able to afford the gas to drive to work or to school, or consider that President Biden promised to undo the effective border policies of the Trump administration. This is one promise he has certainly delivered on, much to our chagrin.
My State has had to deal with huge influxes of migrants for a long time. This administration chose to roll out the welcome mat to people from all around the world as well as to the people who took advantage of those open borders, including the drug runners and the human traffickers and people generally up to no good--and all because they failed to enforce the laws on the books.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, Customs and Border Patrol has broken daily, monthly, and yearly records of encounters at the southern border. The history books will remember this Presidency for the open- border policies that have been simply devastating to our country. Mark my words, we will be paying the price for decades to come as a result of these disastrous policies.
Our country has been suffering from a deadly fentanyl epidemic. Fentanyl poisoning is now the leading cause of death of young people between the ages of 18 and 45. We know where it comes from. The precursors come from China, and they go to Mexico. They are combined to look like innocuous pharmaceuticals and sold to unwitting children and young people here in the United States.
The record number of unaccompanied minors who have entered the country at the southern border, only to be lost by this administration, is 500,000 unaccompanied children placed with sponsors. And largely, the administration takes the position they bear no responsibility for knowing where they are, what is happening to them, whether they are being trafficked for sex, or sold into involuntary servitude. They just don't know, and the truth is, they do not care.
This November, the American people had a choice. They knew that the next President and the next Congress would decide whether to continue down this path of economic hardship, open borders, and American weakness or turn a page. That was their choice. The American people voted not only to turn the page but to write an entirely new chapter written by Republicans in the majority.
No doubt, we have a lot of work to do, but we also have a mandate from the American people who are sick and tired of failed leadership and ready for change.
I look forward to being part of that change. And I am grateful to the Texans who continue to give me the opportunity to serve them at this pivotal time as we work to get our country back on track, as we all want it to be.
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