I constantly ask a simple question as I spend my time here in the
Senate: Why wouldn't we do this?
  In this body, we often debate how much taxpayer money we should spend
to solve a problem, but permitting reform presents us with something
fundamentally different--an opportunity to strengthen the country that
requires zero taxpayer investment. By cutting unnecessary delays and
restoring predictability to the permitting process, we can attract
private investment, lower consumer costs, create jobs, and grow this
economy. It is, quite literally, economic opportunity lying on the
ground. We simply need to pick it up.
  That leads me to another question: Who would actually be against
this? Who would oppose a plan that attracts private investment back to
our shores by providing the clarity that project developers desperately
need?

  Perhaps our enemies would oppose it. They certainly see our inability
to build as a huge vulnerability and as a weakness of our great
democracy. They benefit when our projects are trapped in an endless
loop of reviews, appeals, and litigation--or perhaps it is the cottage
industry of litigants that has learned to profit from delay. These
special interest groups have increasingly used administrative tools--
originally intended to protect legitimate environmental interests--to
stall or block projects for political purposes and end up doing more
harm than good for our environment.
  They may not actually care about the environment, but I do. They need
a villain to drive their fundraising. They have made the energy company
that villain even though it is the utility--and particularly the
consumer of the utility--who ultimately pays the price.
  Every day, Americans probably don't see the connection between
something like a 401 water quality certificate and their skyrocketing
utility bills, but I do. I have seen firsthand how these arbitrary
standards are used as political footballs. When we allow these delays,
we aren't hurting Big Energy; we are forcing American families to pay
three times the rate for their power because of the massive risk that
we have injected into the system.
  It is time to stop the regulatory creep and the endless litigation.
It is time to embrace a fuel source-neutral approach that focuses on
one thing: building a stronger, more secure America. Unless you are a
trial lawyer looking for a payout or a foreign adversary looking for a
weakened America, there really is no reason to be against this.
  This country was built by men and women who understood that great
nations must be the best places to host tomorrow's industries. We
should honor that inheritance not by merely maintaining what was left
to us but by demonstrating the same courage and ambition.
  The defining geopolitical contests of this century will be won by the
nations that can deploy their resources, not just those that possess
them. America has the energy, the capital, and the technology to lead.
The only remaining question is whether we have the political will to
build the infrastructure necessary to turn those advantages into
sustained global leadership.
  I am retired from the industry. I have zero political ambition beyond
this seat that I hold right now. I am here because I have seen how this
system is positioned to strangle our great country. Let's stop choosing
short-term popularity over long-term economic and national security.
  We have a bill. Let's work together to legislate a solution. We
cannot let what has been one of our greatest strengths turn into our
biggest vulnerability.
  It is time for this Senate to show courage and lead. It is time to
restore confidence in America's capacity to outrun our competition, and
it is time to get America building again.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I am pleased to welcome Senator Armstrong
from Oklahoma in his delivering his maiden speech. It is an important
part of this institution, and I hope all of my colleagues on both sides
of the aisle who weren't able to hear him in person will have a chance
to listen to it and to get to know him during his stay here.
  Welcome to the Senate.
  Mr. ARMSTRONG. Thank you very much.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I welcome my colleague from
Oklahoma and thank him. I completely agree with his ideas. We have got
to get energy production increased in this country and drive down the
prices for all consumers.

                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 3857

  Mr. President, I rise today to seek the passage of my One Nation, One
Visa Policy Act.
  Imagine if every State in the Union, on a whim, had the power to
allow foreign nationals to travel to their States without a visa. In
other words, imagine if American States allowed anyone, from anywhere,
for any reason, to access American sovereign territory--even those from
adversarial countries; that you could do it in any State. Most
Americans would say that that would be an insane policy, and they would
be absolutely right. Florida can't set its own visa policies, neither
can, you know, New Mexico, Texas, California, or New York. That would
be chaos, and it would make our immigration system meaningless.
  Currently, the only place in the United States where visa-free travel
from foreign countries is allowed--the only place--is in the Mariana
Islands, a territory. It is in this small U.S. Pacific island territory
where foreign nationals can legally enter America without having a
visa.
  Since 2009, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or
CNMI, has become a hotbed for birth tourism, which is a strategy used
by citizens of foreign powers to deliberately undermine our Nation's
immigration laws. Over 3,300 communist Chinese nationals have been born
on these islands except they are also bona fide American citizens. They
have passports, birth certificates, and Social Security cards. Keep in
mind this is a territory where only 45,000 Americans live. The CCP and
Chinese civilians found this loophole and have exploited it for
birthright citizenship. You can be a full-fledged devotee of the CCP--
you can actually hate America and hate our people and hate our way of
life--and still abuse birth tourism to get a foothold in the country
you seek to undermine and destroy.
  Now, come on. That is ridiculous. It all needs to end now.
  All the One Nation, One Visa Policy Act does is stop this visa-free
travel from communist China to the United States. It doesn't ban travel
from China--you can still come--but it says: If you are a citizen from
China, which is our foremost adversary, you have got to get a visa. We
have got to know who you are if you want to enter my State, any of our
States, or any other sovereign territory of our country. You have got
to get a visa if you are from communist China. It is common sense.
  I am grateful to Secretary Mullin, who, while a U.S. Senator, signed
on to my letter to then-Secretary Noem that called for an end to
China's participation in any Chinese visa waiver program.
  As Secretary Mullin continues to work to end China's visa-free
privilege, I hope the United States Senate can offer the administration
the support it deserves by passing this legislation immediately.
  I would also like to thank my friends, Senators Lee, McCormick, Budd,
and Lankford, for cosponsoring this legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the
Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. 3857 and that
the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration. I further ask that
the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion
to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, in reserving the right to object, this
bill will needlessly punish the Northern Mariana Islands and
significantly--or I should say further--harm its tourist economy, which
is the islands' largest source of revenue and jobs.
  There is a current program in place. The current program requires any
visitors who come to the Northern Mariana Islands through this program
to undergo a two-step vetting process by the Department of Homeland
Security, including having an in-person interview. That program has
already reduced visitation from the PRC from over 185,000 visitors down
to 18 in 2026--not 18,000 but 18. The purpose is to ensure that
visitors do not pose any risk to the United States but allow the
islands' economy to grow. The current visa program was put in place
after a long and thoughtful consultation between the United States and
our territory the Northern Mariana Islands. It successfully balances
both our national security needs and supports the economic vitality of
the Northern Mariana Islands.
  The Northern Mariana Islands are more than just an American
territory; they are one of our most important partners in the Pacific
to actually