Alex Padilla

Mr. President, here we are, 34 days before election day--or as I like to suggest, 34 days before the final day to vote, because we are encouraging people to cast their ballot early, if they can, or vote by mail, if and where they can.

But instead of talking about the issues that are most on the minds of American families, Republicans are here again trying to distract from those issues and to, frankly, create confusion amongst voters in order to protect the President and the party from their failed policies.

Now, Senate Democrats agree that something real needs to happen to rein in the ability of elected officials, especially Members of Congress, from making decisions that impact the companies that are in their stock portfolios. That is true. The American people deserve to have confidence that their elected representatives are making decisions in the best interests of the American people and not in your bank account or your stock investments.

But that is not what this bill will do. This bill does not ban Members of Congress from holding stocks or trading stocks, and it exempts the most powerful elected official of all--the President of the United States--from a stock trading ban.

Now, let's be clear, colleagues, because we have seen this time and again. When the President makes announcements or posts on Truth Social, he has the potential to move markets, shift the economy. That is truly an awesome power, one that nobody should be able to exploit for their own profit. But that is exactly what Donald Trump has done and has done over and over again.

That is why, since returning to office last year, his net worth has grown some $4 to $5 billion--billion with a ``b.''

Now, ABC News service said, just last year, that he made over 21,000 stock trades across 8 accounts in a matter of--the average was about 85 trades per day--85 trades per day.

Does that sound like something that is singularly focused on improving the quality of life of the American people? I don't think so.

Bloomberg News found that President Trump has traded stocks more than every Member of Congress combined.

Think about that for a minute. One person, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, the ``Trader in Chief,'' made more stock trades in 1 year than all 535 Members of Congress.

Now, NBC News found that 327 of these trades were made exactly 1 day before he rolled back his ``Liberation Day'' tariffs. Was that a coincidence? I think not.

How much grift from his own decision making? The American people deserve to know.

But the President's corruption goes even further. His social media company is literally selling access to hedge funds and Wall Street brokers--early access--to his major market-shaping announcements.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Trump has been making more stock trades than all of Congress combined while backing a ban that excludes him. That is what the bill before us does. Is anyone surprised the President would support a bill that does nothing to rein him in? How can we possibly go home and tell the American people with a straight face that we are stopping the corruption in Washington when the biggest exploiter is the President and he is immune from this bill? The author of this bill refused to put any guardrails on the biggest, most corrupt stock trader of them all.

Now, don't take that to mean that Democrats don't want to do anything in this space. We do. In fact, the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, last year, put out a bipartisan bill that would actually address this issue.

But folks watching at home should recognize that that bipartisan bill with teeth is not what Republicans have chosen to put on the floor today, 34 days before election. Instead, it is a sham bill that doesn't have the teeth and doesn't rein in the ``Trader in Chief.''

I have tried to bring up that bill, by the way, repeatedly in the Senate, and Senate Republicans have blocked it on multiple occasions.

So today is not a serious attempt to address the kind of corruption here in Washington that the American people may care about.

And to add further proof to that point, this isn't just a sham attempt to ban Members of Congress who trade in stocks, because it includes a voter ID poison pill in it. This so-called voter ID bill would impose a far stricter and more burdensome Federal standard in all 50 States.

Now, some States have voter ID; some States don't. Those that do have laws, at the State level, that require an ID allow Tribal IDs or student IDs issued by the State government or State entity to count. But the Federal provisions in this bill do not.

And it goes even worse for the one-third of American voters that prefer to vote by mail, if they have that option in their State--and 80 percent of Californians, by the way. This requirement that you have to have a copy of your ID in the envelope with your ballot for it to count eviscerates the secret ballot that we value so much.

Here is what the Republican Lieutenant Governor of Utah had to say-- and in Utah the Lieutenant Governor is also the State election official--when it was included in the SAVE Act. And now it is in the measure before us.

The SAVE America Act requires a vote[r] to include a

photocopy of their ID . . . violating our Constitutional

right to a secret ballot.

So don't just take my word for it. This is the Republican Lieutenant Governor of Utah. And she is not the only Republican opposed to this kind of legislation.

The Republican Governor of Ohio, with a similar State bill, said:

[The measure] would not discourage fraud, would not add any

real security, and would create an additional and significant

burden for Ohioans who vote by mail.

All for what? In pursuit of the Big Lie that the President has been claiming for, what, a decade now about massive voter fraud? While every expert and every study have found the same thing. Despite the conspiracy theories, voter fraud is already illegal. Let's establish that. It is already on the books as illegal. But it is also extremely, extremely rare.

So what is this bill truly about anyway? It is not about cracking down on corruption, as Republicans claim it is. It is not going to, you know, address the massive voter fraud that does not exist. Again, it is misdirection. It is a distraction, and it threatens to suppress the vote 34 days before the election.

And all Senate Republicans realize that the only thing they have to show for their control of government for the last 2 years--right?--you are the majority in the Senate. You are the majority in the House. Your party occupies the White House. When families are struggling with rising inflation, the rising cost of healthcare and housing, groceries, mortgages, gas prices, an unauthorized war in Iran, instead of actually addressing those issues with real proposals, they are seeking to distract and confuse.

The American people deserve better than this, and I urge all of my colleagues to vote no on this cynical measure.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the Supporting Providers of English Language Learning, SPELL, Act, which I introduced today.

English learners are one of the fastest growing student populations in the country. Across the United States, about 10 percent of all publc school students are English learners. In California alone, nearly 19 percent of all public school students identify as English learners. Yet we are facing a devastating shortage of teachers with the skills needed to support these students. If we do not address this shortage, the achievement gap for this vulnerable group of students will continue to grow.

Educating students learning English requires specialized instruction and unique teacher strategies. If we are going to meet the needs of these students, we need to facilitate the training and retention of high-quality teachers for our English learners.

The SPELL Act, would amend the Higher Education Act to provide up to $17,500 in Federal student loan forgiveness for teachers of English learners, bilingual students, or dual immersion students in high-need schools. This would match the level of loan forgiveness offered to teachers of other in-demand subjects such as math, science, and special education.

By lessening the financial burden on prospective English learner teachers, we can help incentivize a greater number of passionate and highly qualified teachers to enter and stay in the classroom.

As a Senator representing one of the most diverse States in the country with the most English learners and as an English learner myself, I am proud to work with my colleagues to push forward legislation to support our teachers. I want to thank Representative Espaillat for introducing this bill in the House, and I hope our colleagues will join us in supporting our English learner teachers and students.

Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the Supporting Providers of English Language Learning, SPELL, Act, which I introduced today.

English learners are one of the fastest growing student populations in the country. Across the United States, about 10 percent of all publc school students are English learners. In California alone, nearly 19 percent of all public school students identify as English learners. Yet we are facing a devastating shortage of teachers with the skills needed to support these students. If we do not address this shortage, the achievement gap for this vulnerable group of students will continue to grow.

Educating students learning English requires specialized instruction and unique teacher strategies. If we are going to meet the needs of these students, we need to facilitate the training and retention of high-quality teachers for our English learners.

The SPELL Act, would amend the Higher Education Act to provide up to $17,500 in Federal student loan forgiveness for teachers of English learners, bilingual students, or dual immersion students in high-need schools. This would match the level of loan forgiveness offered to teachers of other in-demand subjects such as math, science, and special education.

By lessening the financial burden on prospective English learner teachers, we can help incentivize a greater number of passionate and highly qualified teachers to enter and stay in the classroom.

As a Senator representing one of the most diverse States in the country with the most English learners and as an English learner myself, I am proud to work with my colleagues to push forward legislation to support our teachers. I want to thank Representative Espaillat for introducing this bill in the House, and I hope our colleagues will join us in supporting our English learner teachers and students.