WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today voted against two proposals from Senate Democrats that would have forced a federal takeover of elections on a narrow partisan basis and virtually eliminated the 60-vote threshold to advance legislation in the Senate.

“Today President Biden and national Democrats attempted to take over our federal election system with a razor-thin Senate majority. Along the way, they have attacked sensible state election integrity laws and spread reckless falsehoods that needlessly raised the temperature of our politics.

“In a last ditch attempt to pass their partisan agenda, the President and his party sought to toss aside two centuries of sound precedent and eliminate the consensus building 60-vote requirement for this legislation. This requirement has stood the test of time and separates us from the rest of the world as a beacon of reason and unity.

“I am glad that all Senate Republicans, along with two courageous members of the President’s own party, have stopped this assault on the Senate and our election system.

“Americans can be grateful that cooler heads prevailed, allowing the Senate to remain a guardrail against election takeovers, socialism, and extreme ideas of all kinds.”

Congress closed out the year with some good and bad news. On the positive side, lawmakers passed a long-needed bipartisan infrastructure bill while sidelining the Democrats’ socialist tax-and-spend proposal. But there were also disappointments: Democrats wasted months on partisan initiatives while ignoring urgent priorities, such as protecting our southern border. As we enter the New Year, Congress should set a list of resolutions to meet our nation’s most pressing needs.

 

1.      Stop making inflation worse.

 

The first rule of government should always be “do no harm.” Last spring, Democrats broke that rule by pouring an unnecessary $1.9 trillion into our economy, leading to the highest inflation in nearly 40 years. Now that their latest tax-and-spend effort has stalled, Congress should cut back on “stimulus” spending so that inflation can settle down. Any new COVID relief should be carefully targeted to meet genuine needs.

 

2.      Secure the border.

 

The most ignored crisis of 2021 occurred on our southern border, where more than 1.7 million migrants entered our country illegally – the most in 20 years. Border Patrol officers were overwhelmed by waves of migrants coming across the Rio Grande, forcing state police and the National Guard to get involved. Thousands of these migrants were released into the country and are unlikely to be tracked down again.

 

Such a glaring failure to protect our border cannot continue. Border security should always be a top priority of our federal government. I am relieved that the Biden Administration is finally beginning to close gaps in our border wall, but much more work is needed. Congressional Democrats should join Republicans in supporting full funding for the wall and any technologies that would help our Border Patrol officers do their jobs effectively.

 

3.      Keep focus on national defense.

 

President Biden’s foreign policy blunders, especially in Afghanistan, have weakened America’s standing in the world. It is therefore all the more important that Congress provide our military with the tools it needs to counter our adversaries. Congress should ramp up financial and military aid to Taiwan and Ukraine, which are facing hostile threats from China and Russia. We should also maintain strong support for our defense supply industry after a difficult year of supply chain disruptions and unconstitutional vaccine mandates.

 

4.      Oversee infrastructure rollout.

 

One bright spot in 2021 was the passage of a bipartisan infrastructure package, which I helped negotiate. This law made use of leftover COVID funds to improve physical infrastructure in our local communities, providing more than $4 billion for Mississippi roads, bridges, rail, broadband, and water projects – all without a tax increase. Congress will need to exercise broad oversight to ensure these funds are distributed to the communities that need them most.

 

5.      Less budget brinkmanship.

 

In recent years, Congress has become accustomed to passing short-term extensions of government funding, called continuing resolutions, instead of yearlong appropriations. These short-term fixes are highly wasteful, as federal agencies are forced to make budget decisions without long-term funding certainty. Congress should commit to passing annual appropriations bills on time so that last-minute funding crises can be avoided.

 

6.      Defend election laws.

 

As we head toward the 2022 midterm elections, Democrats in Congress are trying to pass sweeping election law changes, which would make voting less secure. Republicans will need to remain vigilant against all attempts to federalize elections, which have always been governed at the state level.

 

If Congress can set aside partisan legislation, there is a lot we can accomplish in 2022. With the tax-and-spending bill now on the sidelines, I hope Congress can resolve to get back to the basics and meet the critical needs facing our nation.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., took to the Senate floor Thursday to respond to the recent failures of the Biden Administration. Senator Wicker spoke to America’s slow economic recovery, sky-high inflation, and backlash from voters in this week’s elections across the country. Wicker also took the president to task for his plans to mandate the coronavirus vaccine, which he described as one of the “most serious and dangerous policies of this Administration.”

See the Senator’s full remarks as delivered below.

When we look at the news this morning, when we saw the evening news last night, when we tuned in to the cable channels, when we hear the radio, we see the astounding news of the voices of the voters on Tuesday of this week.

Not just in Virginia, and not just in New Jersey, but in the state of New York and throughout the Midwest, and on over to the West Coast.

The American people sent a strong message of disapproval to the Biden Administration this week, and I hope our Democratic friends and the Biden Administration will heed the message of the voters I see today.

I normally don't bring the New York Times to the floor and quote it with approval, but it says here in the New York Times this morning: “Bruised at polls, Democrats look at their missteps.”

I hope that's true.

I hope our Democratic colleagues and our friends in the Biden Administration are looking at their missteps, because they are many and they have been harmful.

The Washington Post this morning, November fourth: “A sharp turn looms in Virginia.”

Yes, Virginia went from the three constitutional statewide offices, all being held by Democrats, to a Republican sweep, not only there, but in the state General Assembly.

But then I see this other headline. Top of the page: “Democrats race ahead on fiscal proposals.”

Presumably, our Democrat friends are not hearing the message that the American people in state after state after state sent Tuesday of this week.

Even vastly underfunded GOP candidates like the candidate for governor in New Jersey came within a hair's breadth of being elected.

Vastly underfunded GOP candidates for legislative positions actually prevailed over candidates with millions and millions of dollars on the Democratic side.

The American people have sent this Administration and this Democratic majority in the House and this tiny Democratic majority in the Senate a very unmistakable message: they are rejecting the malaise that we are under.

The Biden Administration must understand that this election was the direct result of the president's failed agenda by all measures.

Our economy should be roaring by now.

We're coming out of the pandemic—we should be back to the good news of February 2020, the month before the pandemic hit—[where] the Trump and Republican tax cuts were in place.

The unemployment rate was an astoundingly low 3.6%: something that we were told in our economics classes was impossible in the United States of America.

When I was taking ‘kiddie economics,’ they said it couldn't go below 4%.

The unemployment rate in February of 2020 was 3.6%. Employment was up among women. Employment was up among minorities. Employment was up among veterans.

Our economy was roaring, and then the pandemic came and we acted in a bipartisan way.

But we are coming out of the pandemic now, and the Administration acts as if we need a huge dose of $4 trillion, $5 trillion worth of socialism.

The pandemic is in full retreat, and from the beginning of the Administration this year, the Biden Administration blew it on day one.

The president canceled the Keystone XL pipeline, killing thousands of jobs.

And almost in the same breath, he told the Russians to go ahead with their pipeline.

I mean, can Americans even grasp that?

I think they sent a message Tuesday about that sort of thing.

With the stroke of a pen, the president declared war on American energy.

The result has been that fuel has become scarce.

And of course, because of its scarcity, it's become more expensive after four years of relief under the last Administration.

U.S. energy producers are once again looking down the barrel of a hostile EPA.

This is a self-inflicted energy crisis.

Coal and nuclear plants are shutting down as reliable natural resources are taken off the table, replaced by this Administration's fantasy dream of green-only energy.

Taxpayers are being told to stomach higher gas prices, while at the same time being asked to pay billions of dollars to subsidize wind, solar, and electric vehicles.

There's a place for that.

But they're all three unreliable and predictably, gas prices have soared.

Instead of reevaluating his own policies, it seems that the president is attempting to double down on them, and he's even gone to questionable governments across the sea in the Middle East, asking them to produce more oil because we won't do that in the United States.

It makes no sense at all.

Perhaps this Administration should listen to the election results, and hear the voices of the people from Tuesday.

But the economic damage is hardly limited to energy.

Inflation spurred on by the Administration's reckless spending is burning a hole in the wallets of Americans, and we simply can't get around it.

The consumer price index shows that prices are going up 5.4% over the last twelve months.

I will tell you, Madam President: I was speaking to a manufacturer from my home state of Mississippi just yesterday, and he said that figure is understated quite a bit.

He said his costs have gone up around 20% in being able to manufacture goods for the American people, and hire Americans, and hire Mississippians.

Meanwhile, the gears of our economy are slowing down, causing fears of stagflation, something we've not seen since the 1970s.

And I do want to agree with my friend from Wyoming about the gentleman from Illinois who pointed out the Climate Corps.

This manufacturer in Mississippi said he's got 2,000 positions that need to be filled.

Perhaps some of these people that the senator from Illinois would like to employ in the Climate Corps can come to manufacturers like ours in Mississippi and take a good-paying job, manufacturing things for Americans that we can sell in our country and all around the world.

GDP growth just slowed to 2%.

Employers still cannot find enough workers, just like the manufacturer from Mississippi, told me yesterday.

Our supply chain is jammed up with endless delays, causing concern.

But to me, one of the most serious and dangerous policies of this Administration is the Biden Administration's unprecedented and unconstitutional vaccine mandate on two-thirds of the private-sector workforce.

We're being told that every employer [with] over 100 employees must comply with a Washington-mandated and unconstitutional vaccine mandate.

This this is exactly what the president said eleven months ago.

He didn't want to do it.

Joe Biden was asked in December of 2020: should vaccines be mandated?

And he said, and I quote: “No, I don't think they should be mandatory.

The president was right when he said that to the press, and he's 180 degrees wrong today and taking his cues from the most radical advisers that he has.

And as a result, the American people on Tuesday have said enough now.

All right. I know a little about American workers. I know a little about American servicemen and women—I was one.

We have been raised in a free country, in a free land, and we are not accustomed to being told by Washington, D.C., by the chief executive of the United States of America, what we must put in our bodies.

I can tell you, this is a looming economic crisis for this country.

Millions and millions of hardworking American taxpayers are going to be forced to leave their jobs because they will refuse as free Americans to be told that they must take a vaccine that they do not feel good about.

Madam President, the chief executive of our land has grossly miscalculated the American people on this issue, and a looming economic crisis because of a lack of workers and mass layoffs and mass firings is about to occur.

The Biden Administration should pause and do what the New York Times said this morning.

And as they're examining their bruises, look at their missteps because they are many and they are hurting the American economy.

I would urge the Biden Administration to let these tax cuts stay in place, to let these soft touch regulations stay in place, and to pause and listen to the clear voices of the American people as they voted in strong numbers this past Tuesday.

I yield the floor.

Watch the Senator’s full remarks here.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., this week cosponsored a resolution supporting parents’ rights to be fully and actively involved in the education of their children. The resolution (S.Res.431) also condemns recent actions by the Biden Administration to weaponize the Justice Department to intimidate and silence parents who speak out to protect their children from harmful curricula.

“Parents have a basic right to shape the education of their children,” Wicker said. “Recent attempts by the Biden Administration to silence parents who disagree with the divisive ideas being taught in many American schools should be met with a forceful rebuke. I am glad to join so many in the Senate to stand for parents, students, and the future of our education system.”

“Parents should be encouraged to be involved in their children’s education, not intimidated into silence by school boards, administrators or, worse, an overbearing federal government. President Biden’s use of the Department of Justice to violate the free speech rights of parents is completely unacceptable,” Hyde-Smith said. “Our resolution condemns those actions and fully supports parental rights to be an active part in their children’s schooling.”

While the resolution encourages schools and parents to engage in constructive and open dialogue regarding educational policies, the measure also demands Attorney General Merrick Garland rescind his Oct. 4, 2021, memorandum that “inappropriately directs Federal law enforcement resources to be used against parents advocating on behalf of their children against harmful school policies, curricula, and instructional materials.”

U.S. Senator Rick Scott, R-Fla., introduced the resolution with 30 cosponsors, including Senators John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., John Boozman, R-Ark., Mike Braun, R-Ind., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., John Hoeven, R-N.D., Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., John Kennedy, R-La., James Lankford, R-Okla., Mike Lee, R-Utah, Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Jerry Moran, R-Kan., James Risch, R-Idaho, Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Tim Scott, R-S.C., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.

Read the full text of S.Res.431 here.