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Floor Speech

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Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I spent Thanksgiving in the Middle East with 400 members of our Wyoming National Guard. These heroes come from, actually, 40 different hometowns all across the Cowboy State-- small towns, our larger towns, east, west, north, south. I spend every Thanksgiving with deployed Wyoming troops. I go to thank them--to thank them for all they are doing to keep all of us safe and free.

Most Americans celebrate Thanksgiving surrounded by their loved ones. These soldiers spent Thanksgiving not with family and neighbors but in the neighborhood of America's enemies.

Our enemies today are much more dangerous, aggressive, menacing, and powerful than they were just 4 years ago. For the past 4 years, Americans have seen the current administration surrender, squander, and sell out our Nation's strategic advantages.

This administration stopped enforcing sanctions on Iranian oil sales that allowed Iran to sell discounted oil to China. Iran got richer and more menacing as a result of all the money they got, and China got more powerful by being able to buy cheap energy.

Well, the Wyoming soldiers that I had a chance to visit, they are strong, they are tough, and they are brave. The thing that is so interesting, though, is I believe they are being failed by a Congress that hasn't done its job. It is incumbent upon Congress to make sure that all of these soldiers, each and every one of them, is fully equipped to protect our freedoms.

The Senate should have passed the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act months ago. It increases troop pay, modernizes our military. It also refocuses our forces on specific military hard power, instead of this politically correct woke policy that the military has been working under for the past several years.

Right now, high prices are crushing military families. Prices are 20 percent higher right now than they were 4 years ago. And, as a result, one in seven servicemembers today--today--relies on food stamps or food banks just to support their families. This, of course, has a direct impact on our problems in terms of trying to recruit more and more members into our military. The pay raise means that a stronger military and a stronger America will be there on the world stage.

Now, as for military modernization, we need to overcome 4 years of weakness. The current administration has failed to keep us safe. It allowed 10 million illegal immigrants to cross over our southern border. It allowed a Chinese spy balloon to fly across America. It led a deadly and disastrous retreat from Afghanistan. And it slashed away America's hard power.

Under the Democrats, America became a nation in retreat. Well, the National Defense Authorization Act reverses that. It equips our military. It equips them to meet the challenges of a dangerous world. So why hasn't the Senate--this body right here that is here today in session--why hasn't it yet passed the National Defense Authorization Act? Well, the problem isn't the product; it is the process.

In the final weeks of their majority, the Democrats in the Senate have prioritized voting to confirm radical judges rather than protecting our Nation's security. As one Democrat Senator said last month, Democrats are ``hell-bent,'' he said, on getting liberal judges confirmed.

Why can't Democrats show that same level of passion for supporting our troops? Democrats' dithering and delaying--it is downright dangerous. It sends a terrible message that America's deterrence isn't credible.

And as a result of the November elections, that is about to change. The Senate is going to change. The American people voted for change. They voted to return to a nation that is safe and strong.

In less than 60 days, America will once again have a President and a Senate majority that prioritizes making America safe and strong again.

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