Speeches

Thirty-two trillion dollars—it’s a colossal sum, burdening every American taxpayer. It’s a tangible reflection of the prodigious debt accumulated over decades of reckless spending. The ramifications of our bloated national debt are far-reaching, felt in the daily lives of hardworking families crushed under the weight of relentless inflation. The prices of everyday necessities continue to rise, eroding purchasing power and placing an intolerable burden on America’s shoulders. This staggering figure ought to jolt us from our complacency, send shivers down our spines, and compel us to confront the dire consequences of our own fiscal irresponsibility.

On October 11, 1991, then-Judge Clarence Thomas made the following statement before this committee during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings: Justice Thomas described his 1991 confirmation proceedings as “a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves, to have different ideas. You will be lynched, destroyed, caricatured by a committee of the U.S. Senate, rather than hung from a tree.”

Fentanyl: It’s cheap, it’s highly addictive, and it’s deadly. It’s responsible for more overdose deaths in America than any other drug.110,000 Americans last year alone. I recently joined a U.S. delegation to Mexico focused on stopping illicit drug trafficking, curbing illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, and addressing China’s role in providing precursors for fentanyl production and laundering money for the cartels.

Voting for this Resolution presents an opportunity for my Democratic colleagues to make a distinction. Will you join us in a bipartisan recognition that we cannot endanger the lives of DC residents by allowing this soft-on-crime bill to go into effect? Or will you stand with the D.C City Council and put politics above public safety?

Sen. Mike Lee spoke on the Senate floor, calling for a renegotiation of the U.S.—Japan Status of Forces Agreement.