{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/barrasso-america-is-worth-defending-and-celebrating/", "Barrasso: America is Worth Defending and Celebrating", "2026-07-16", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "WY", "John Barrasso", "B001261", "www.barrasso.senate.gov", "barrasso", "https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/newsroom/news-releases/", "scraper", "\u201cThe contrast is clear. Democrats stand for high taxes, open borders, and lawlessness. Republicans stand for freedom, liberty, and American greatness. America is worth defending. America is worth celebrating. America is worth fighting for. That\u2019s what Republicans are committed to do. And that\u2019s what the people of Wyoming did over July 4.\u201d\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) today spoke about the contrast between the freedoms Americans cherish and the extreme, far-left policies of today\u2019s Democrat Party.\n\nClick HERE to watch Senator Barrasso\u2019s remarks.\n\nSen. Barrasso\u2019s remarks as prepared:\n\n\u201cThe people of Wyoming recently celebrated two historic milestones. July 4 was Independence Day. America turned 250 years old. July 10 is Wyoming Statehood Day. My home state of Wyoming turned 136 years old.\n\n\u201cWe celebrated with a full week of festivities. We had the iconic Cody Stampede Rodeo. We saw volunteers in Gillette serve over 4,000 hot dogs at the Independence Day community celebration. We saw Boy Scouts in Sheridan serve over 1,000 pancake breakfasts. My Rotary Club in Casper celebrated the values that started our country.\n\n\u201cWe had Wyoming bestselling author C.J. Box read the Declaration of Independence at a community gathering in Carbon County. The streets were packed for the Independence Day parade in Cody. Then, people gathered at Veterans Park for the annual \u2018Let Freedom Ring\u2019 celebration. The seats were full for the Big Wyo Rodeo in Sheridan and the Casper Rodeo finals on Saturday night.\n\n\u201cOur entire delegation attended parades and festivities all around the state. That is the America we saw this month.\n\n\u201cYet there is another vision being offered to this country. It is the vision being offered by the Democrats. It is a vision of open borders, high taxes, and lawlessness. It is a vision that damages our communities and disrespects the values Americans hold dear.\n\n\u201cToday\u2019s Democrat Party has taken a radical turn to the left. Today\u2019s Democrat leadership is enabling it.\n\n\u201cAmerica\u2019s largest city \u2013 the home of Senator Schumer \u2013 is now being run by a professed socialist. Our nation\u2019s capital is about to elect one too. People proclaiming to be socialists are winning Democrat primaries across the country.\n\n\u201cIn Michigan, a Democrat frontrunner for the United States Senate is campaigning with an extremist who blames America for the September 11 terrorist attacks. These were the attacks that, 25 years ago, cost the lives of 2,977 Americans.\n\n\u201cExtremism drives the Democrat Party, and its influence is growing. Here is what they want.\n\n\u201cDemocrats want open borders. Democrats want to defund the police.\n\n\u201cDemocrats want to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Democrats want to abolish United States Border Patrol.\n\n\u201cDemocrats want to weaken law enforcement. They want to make it harder to remove illegal immigrant criminals from our communities.\n\n\u201cDemocrats want to pack the Supreme Court. They want judges who will rewrite the law and ignore the Constitution.\n\n\u201cDemocrats want to abolish the Electoral College. They want to make it possible for only a handful of big cities and blue states to control the selection of the next president.\n\n\u201cDemocrats want higher taxes. Democrats want hardworking American families to pay for healthcare for illegal immigrants.\n\n\u201cDemocrats want to keep affordable, available, reliable American energy in the ground.\n\n\u201cThat is today\u2019s Democrat Party. They\u2019re radical. They\u2019re extreme. They\u2019re dangerous. They\u2019re scary.\n\n\u201cYou may have noticed, in the middle of a heatwave, the new Democrat Mayor told New Yorkers to turn up their air conditioning to 78 degrees. Why? Because the New York power grid was collapsing. Why was the New York power grid collapsing? Because New York Democrats \u2013 pressured by climate extremists \u2013shut down their nuclear power plant.\n\n\u201cWelcome to the Democrat Party of 2026.\n\n\u201cAlarmingly, in this very chamber, Democrat leaders are cheering on the radical left. After socialists swept their primaries this summer, one Democrat Senator said this is a \u2018very good trend.\u2019 Another said it is a sign that their party is \u2018alive and well.\u2019 Another said we are seeing the \u2018future of the Democrat Party.\u2019\n\n\u201cBy contrast, Republicans continue to deliver results. We passed the Working Families Tax Cuts law. We stopped the largest tax increase in American history. We put more money back in the pockets of millions of hardworking Americans. 96 percent of Americans who make under $200,000 a year benefited from the Working Families Tax Cuts law.\n\n\u201cRepublicans secured the border. We passed the largest investment in border security in American history. We fully funded ICE and Border Patrol for the next three years. We are deporting illegal immigrant criminals.\n\n\u201cThe contrast is clear. Democrats stand for high taxes, open borders, and lawlessness. Republicans stand for freedom, liberty, and American greatness.\n\n\u201cAmerica is worth defending. America is worth celebrating. America is worth fighting for. That\u2019s what Republicans are committed to do. And that\u2019s what the people of Wyoming did over July 4.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-07-17T07:15:58Z", "2026-07-17T07:17:05Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/barrasso-america-is-worth-defending-and-celebrating/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.9936920143663883, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}