I want to thank Mr. Pruitt for making himself available for today's hearing.

We do need to invest in innovation to keep our competitive edge over near-peer adversaries, like China and Russia.

I have it on good authority that the project was on the Corps' list to receive one of the six new starts that Congress appropriated last fiscal year, but in the end, only one new start was awarded.

As the ice melts on the Arctic, our responsibilities clearly are going up. We don't have the capability we would like to have in the Arctic.

The cities of Sand Springs, Oklahoma, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, are protected by a levee system that was built in the 1940s, and the infrastructure is beyond its useful life.

While you are taking care of Senator Whitehouse's coastal areas, let's don't forget the most inland port that we have is in the Port of Catoosa in the State of Oklahoma.

The Arctic is key strategic terrain. Russia is taking aggressive steps to increase its presence there. I will prioritize the development of an integrated strategy for the Arctic. I believe that our interest and security of the Arctic would…

Well, that bothers me, too, and I appreciate that.

Last, we have a system of cooperative federalism. By the way, I have to say, on the pipelines, in the last Administration, you know and everybody around this table here knows the problems that we had with pipelines, so I think that is part…

I do not believe in interim protection. I believe if we are going to spend the money, get the permits, and try to put something in place to protect people and the economy, we need to build it to the point where it should be built to begin…

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Roe for allowing this to come to the floor and Leader McCarthy for his leadership in bringing this bill to the floor. I also want to thank my fellow Senators from Oklahoma, Mr. Inhofe and Mr. Lankford, for…

Mr. President, I am honored to be here with several other Members to talk about the issue of immigration. This has become a very contentious issue. As soon as you say the word ``immigration,'' there is a whole group of people who…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Cardin be recognized to offer a motion to commit, which is at the desk, and that the time until 2 p.m. be equally divided in the usual form on the motion; further, that at 2 p.m., the…

Mr. President, let me pause in this class warfare for just a minute to make a couple of observations that I think are certainly important to me. First of all, I agree that no one has said that the underlying bill is perfect. Incidentally…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at the conclusion of the remarks by the Senator from Vermont, I be recognized for up to 10 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection.

I have a point of inquiry. Was the UC already granted-- the unanimous consent request? The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair said ``without objection'' because the Chair did not hear objection.

It is no secret that our readiness has eroded over the past 8 years.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dunford, said, in just a few years, if we do not change our trajectory, we will lose our qualitative and quantitative competitive advantage.