Floor Statements

Mr. President, I rise today to honor a remarkable California entrepreneur, trailblazer, and pioneering small business owner whose retirement marks the culmination of an extraordinary career but leaves behind an enduring legacy in the world of California craft brewing: Ms. Barbara Groom.

After more than three decades as the owner and founder of Lost Coast Brewery--one of the most recognizable brands of beer in Humboldt County--Barbara has chosen to retire at the young age of 80 to travel the world.

Known as the Beer Queen of Northern California and dubbed by at least one magazine as ``Craft beer's original female gangster,'' Barbara's story is uniquely Californian. Raised on a farm near Stockton, she grew up wanting to become a skier. So as a teenager, she went door-to-door selling Avon makeup, even though she doesn't wear makeup, to pay for lessons at a ski resort--only to discover after arriving at the slopes that she didn't actually enjoy skiing.

Barbara spent the next two decades working as pharmacist, building a successful career that nevertheless left her longing for an outlet for her creative side. She tried making furniture. She even built a cabin by hand. But she still hadn't found the work she truly wanted to devote her life to.

It was a fateful stop on her way home from the pharmacy one day that changed Barbara's future and finally give her the chance to unleash her creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. Seeing a sign for one of California's earliest craft breweries in the rural town of Hopland, Barbara was intrigued and decided to stop and check it out. She later recalled thinking to herself as she walked in the door, ``This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.''

She spent the next 6 years studying brewing techniques, learning the business, and preparing to take a giant leap of faith before buying a century-old former lodge in downtown Eureka, transforming it, and finally opening the doors to Lost Coast Brewery in 1990--becoming one of the Nation's first female microbrewery owners at a time when women brewers were almost unheard of in the industry.

The early years were anything but easy. Building a customer base took patience, persistence, and an unwavering belief in the quality of what she was creating. Those qualities paid off. What began as a small brewpub grew into one of California's most respected independent breweries, producing award-winning beers--including favorites like Downtown Brown, Great White, and Tangerine Wheat--that are enjoyed throughout the United States and around the world.

But Lost Coast Brewery became more than a successful business. Through its unmistakable labels created by Humboldt County artist Duane Flatmo, its commitment to local craftsmanship, and its deep roots in the north coast, it became an ambassador for the creativity, character, and entrepreneurial spirit that define California.

Barbara never let expectations--or the fact that she was entering a male-dominated industry--dictate what she could accomplish. When others questioned whether a woman belonged in the brewing business, she simply kept building. ``I never really worried about being a woman,'' she said. ``I just did what I wanted to do.'' Her success opened doors for future generations of women entrepreneurs and helped demonstrate that innovation and leadership know no gender.

Over the past three and a half decades, Barbara has created jobs, supported her community, welcomed visitors from around the world to Eureka, and helped establish California as a global leader in craft brewing. Her remarkable journey reminds us that it is never too late to pursue a new dream and that some of our greatest contributions come only after we find the courage to reinvent ourselves. California is richer for the risks she took, the business she built, and the example she set.

Now, as Barbara prepares for retirement, she is looking toward new adventures--traveling to places like Iceland and Azerbaijan with cameras and drones in hand, pursuing the travel photography that has become her newest passion with the same curiosity and determination that defined her career as a brewer.

On behalf of the people of California, I thank Barbara Groom for her vision, perseverance, and extraordinary contributions to our State. I congratulate her on an exceptional career and wish her every success and happiness in the adventures that lie ahead.

Reserving the right to object.

Mr. President, I want to make a few things very clear, and I hope that we can actually come to a bipartisan agreement on the issue that the title of the bill says this bill is about because I agree, Democrats and Republicans and Independents alike across the country are concerned.

To put it simply, Americans don't like the idea of their elected leaders trading individual stocks while making decisions impacting those very companies and industries in their portfolios, but I am glad my colleagues, the Senator from Ohio and the Senator from Florida, have laid out what this bill is truly about.

Now, the title of the bill makes reference to insider trading, but there is a

lot of passion about the SAVE Act which has been shoved into this bill as it has come over from the House.

Back to the stock trading piece, this is something that we absolutely ought to be addressing. But there are two obvious reasons why this bill from the Republican House is nothing more than a political gimmick that was never truly intended to become law.

First, it exempts the President--the President, who without a doubt is the person with the single greatest ability to impact a company or an entire industry on any given day. It also exempts the Vice President. Why not include them? Why should they be exempt? Well, maybe it has something to do with the fact that President Donald Trump, the leader of the Republican Party, has made over 21,000 stock trades across 8 separate accounts, and if you do the math, that amounts to 85 trades per day--85 trades per day. That is not normal. And it is certainly not indicative of somebody focused on the cost of living for hard-working Americans.

No, Donald Trump has earned the title of ``Trader in Chief.'' His portfolio is not only constantly trading stock, he is reaping huge profits and trading stocks of companies that he is actively promoting.

If you think that sounds bad, it gets much worse. We all know that President Trump owns his own social media company, right? It is the platform that he uses to post his announcements on, and now it has been reported that his company is planning to sell early access to those Presidential statements to hedge funds, to Wall Street, for $100,000 a month.

That is right, the price of inside information is now $100,000 per month to be paid to President Donald Trump. Could there be any clearer sign of corruption?

The American people see right through this bill. They see it for what it is. But that is not the only reason. If the House Republicans really do want this measure to become law, they wouldn't have tucked the so- called SAVE Act into it.

Now, let me remind you, we have been debating the SAVE Act here off and on for, what, about 4 months now? This is the same SAVE Act that, in practice--in practice--would make it harder for eligible voters to register to vote, to stay registered to vote, to actually cast their ballot by imposing these standards across all 50 States. It would ban student IDs, certain Tribal IDs, other forms of government ID that in some States that do have their own voter ID law, people count on to be able to participate in our elections.

The SAVE Act would also devastate mail and absentee voting across the country by requiring photocopies of your ID to be included along with your mail ballot something that the Republican Lieutenant Governor of Utah has pointed out would violate their State's constitution, their constitution that requires an opportunity for a secret ballot, the same requirement for secret ballots that States across the country also share.

This is the same element, by the way, that the Ohio Legislature passed in the form of State legislation, a similar mail voter ID requirement that the Republican Governor of Ohio vetoed because it significantly burdened those who choose to vote by mail.

But, of course, that is this bill's intent. For all the talk about stock trading--and there is a way to address that, I will get to that in a minute--the true goal here is to somehow pass the SAVE Act, which, by the way, not only are you not going to get unanimous consent today, the Republican caucus in the Senate isn't even unified around it.

It has come up for votes, procedural and otherwise. It keeps falling short. So why are we here?

I believe if the proponents of the stock trading measure were sincere about wanting to ban stock trading by Members of Congress, then they would sit down with Democrats and negotiate or, better yet, let's take up and pass the measure that would achieve just that that came out of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee about a year ago, a bipartisan measure by Senators Ossoff, Merkley, Peters, Cortez Masto, Hawley, and Moreno.

So why don't we try to do that?

Mr. President, I ask that the Senator modify her request to instead proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 294, S. 1498; that the committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to; 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.

I object.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026. This comprehensive piece of legislation would eliminate racial and ethnic health inequities and increase access to healthcare for vulnerable communities across the entire spectrum of care by taking a comprehensive approach to health equity.

This bill is a comprehensive approach to address these systemic disparities impacting communities across the country. The bill would expand access to culturally and linguistically appropriate care; strengthen and diversify the healthcare workforce; remove cost, citizenship, and administrative barriers to coverage and care; increase Federal support for Medicare, Medicaid, and public health systems; establish innovative models for maternal, child, mental, and behavioral health; fund prevention programs for high-impact diseases that disproportionately affect marginalized populations; modernize data collection efforts and expand telehealth access; address the social determinants of health through investments in nutrition, environmental justice, and community-based supports so that health outcomes improve and disparities are systematically reduced.

The bill also lays out additional investments and policy changes to improve the health and well-being of underserved communities, address systemic health inequities, and ensure access to high-quality and affordable healtcare for all.

At a time when access to healthcare is under increasing threat for our most vulnerable communities, including through recent Federal policy changes and the implementation of H.R. 1, which has already resulted in significant coverage losses for millions of low-income families and communities of color, the Health Equity and Accountability Act is more important than ever.

Rather than allowing existing inequities to widen, this legislation reaffirms a commitment to ensuring that all people have a fair opportunity to access the care and services they need. By prioritizing equity and accountability across the healthcare system, HEAA would help build a more resilient, inclusive, and effective system that better serves communities that have historically faced barriers to care.

I would like to thank the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Congressman Raul Ruiz for leading this legislation in the House of Representatives, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact the Health Equity and Accountability Act as soon as possible.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026. This comprehensive piece of legislation would eliminate racial and ethnic health inequities and increase access to healthcare for vulnerable communities across the entire spectrum of care by taking a comprehensive approach to health equity.

This bill is a comprehensive approach to address these systemic disparities impacting communities across the country. The bill would expand access to culturally and linguistically appropriate care; strengthen and diversify the healthcare workforce; remove cost, citizenship, and administrative barriers to coverage and care; increase Federal support for Medicare, Medicaid, and public health systems; establish innovative models for maternal, child, mental, and behavioral health; fund prevention programs for high-impact diseases that disproportionately affect marginalized populations; modernize data collection efforts and expand telehealth access; address the social determinants of health through investments in nutrition, environmental justice, and community-based supports so that health outcomes improve and disparities are systematically reduced.

The bill also lays out additional investments and policy changes to improve the health and well-being of underserved communities, address systemic health inequities, and ensure access to high-quality and affordable healtcare for all.

At a time when access to healthcare is under increasing threat for our most vulnerable communities, including through recent Federal policy changes and the implementation of H.R. 1, which has already resulted in significant coverage losses for millions of low-income families and communities of color, the Health Equity and Accountability Act is more important than ever.

Rather than allowing existing inequities to widen, this legislation reaffirms a commitment to ensuring that all people have a fair opportunity to access the care and services they need. By prioritizing equity and accountability across the healthcare system, HEAA would help build a more resilient, inclusive, and effective system that better serves communities that have historically faced barriers to care.

I would like to thank the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Congressman Raul Ruiz for leading this legislation in the House of Representatives, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact the Health Equity and Accountability Act as soon as possible.

Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of my legislation to require a study on how to improve the resiliency of manufactured homes in areas that are at high risk of natural hazards and weather extremes, which I introduced today.

More than 22 million Americans, most of whom earn less than the median national income, call manufactured housing home. These homes are significantly less expensive than traditional site-built homes and will play a key part in how we address our country's affordable housing crisis and increase home ownership.

I was proud to work with my colleagues across the aisle to pass the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which includes provisions to increase the supply of America's manufactured housing. Yet manufactured housing is disproportionately located in areas that are the most exposed to climate hazards. As we continue to see a pattern of increased extreme climate events, we need all our housing to be resilient in areas at high risk of natural hazards and weather extremes.

Congress should be aware of what strategies industry leaders are currently employing and understand potential options to increase the performance of manufactured homes in high-risk areas.

I want to thank my colleague Senator Cassidy for introducing this bill with me. I hope our colleagues will join us in taking a step towards improving the resiliency of our nation's housing stock.

Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of my legislation to require a study on how to improve the resiliency of manufactured homes in areas that are at high risk of natural hazards and weather extremes, which I introduced today.

More than 22 million Americans, most of whom earn less than the median national income, call manufactured housing home. These homes are significantly less expensive than traditional site-built homes and will play a key part in how we address our country's affordable housing crisis and increase home ownership.

I was proud to work with my colleagues across the aisle to pass the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which includes provisions to increase the supply of America's manufactured housing. Yet manufactured housing is disproportionately located in areas that are the most exposed to climate hazards. As we continue to see a pattern of increased extreme climate events, we need all our housing to be resilient in areas at high risk of natural hazards and weather extremes.

Congress should be aware of what strategies industry leaders are currently employing and understand potential options to increase the performance of manufactured homes in high-risk areas.

I want to thank my colleague Senator Cassidy for introducing this bill with me. I hope our colleagues will join us in taking a step towards improving the resiliency of our nation's housing stock.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize a jewel of American science and a California landmark: the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton. June 7, 2026, marked the 150th anniversary of the Act of Congress that reserved land for the construction of this observatory that has been the site of countless scientific discoveries.

Established through the visionary philanthropy of James Lick, whose 1874 endowment of $700,000, valued at over $1 billion today, laid the foundation for what is now the Lick Observatory, Lick Observatory was the world's first permanently staffed mountaintop observatory. When it opened in 1888, it housed the 36-inch Great Refractor, then the largest telescope on Earth, cementing California as an early epicenter of astronomical research.

For 150 years, Lick Observatory has been the site of monumental breakthroughs. In 1892, its researchers achieved the first photographic discovery of a comet and identified a fifth moon of Jupiter. A 1922 Lick Observatory eclipse expedition provided the empirical confirmation of Einstein's general theory of relativity, a moment that fundamentally shifted our understanding of the physical world.

These innovations and discoveries continued into the 20th and now into the 21st century. In the 1990s, Lick Observatory pioneered adaptive optics to pierce through atmospheric distortion and was at the forefront of the search for exoplanets. Its robotic telescopes have monitored over 1,000 supernovae, which provided crucial data revealing the acceleration of the universe's expansion, a discovery honored with the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Today, operating under the University of California Observatories, Lick Observatory remains a vital keystone for education. It serves nine UC campuses and two national laboratories and partners with California's State universities and community colleges, training the next generation of scientists while inspiring tens of thousands of visitors through its outreach programs.

The legacy of Lick Observatory exemplifies the pioneering American spirit and our enduring commitment to discovery. I ask my colleagues to join me in commemorating this 150th anniversary and honoring the observatory for its extraordinary contributions to humanity's understanding of the cosmos.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the FIRE SMART Act. This legislation would expand eligibility for Drinking Water State Revolving Funds to allow for funding of certain water infrastructure needed for fighting wildfires in rural communities at high risk of wildfire.

There is a growing need for improving infrastructure to ensure adequate water storage and flow for fire suppression. Federal assistance is critical because many smaller rural communities in the wildland-urban interface that are at increased risk of wildfire lack the ratepayer bases to upgrade their firefighting infrastructure on their own.

The importance of water infrastructure investments to protect communities in the wildland-urban interface was demonstrated during the Caldor Fire in the Lake Tahoe area in 2021. Firefighters were able to successfully defend the Christmas Valley neighborhood in South Lake Tahoe from the Caldor Fire due to the combination of one, investments in modernized watermains sized for fire suppression flows and a sufficient network of fire hydrants, water tanks, and water sources, and two, thinning of forests and the creation of defensible space around homes. This combination of thinned forests to slow the fire and improves water infrastructure to prepare homes is particularly effective.

The FIRE SMART Act would expand eligibility for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to allow States to include water infrastructure projects with both drinking water and fire suppression benefits in rural areas to address gaps in Federal assistance programs. This eligibility expansion would help rural communities invest in projects to improve water system transmission, distribution capacity, and storage.

I would like to thank Senators Curtis, Kelly, Sheehy, Merkley, Boozman, Schiff, and Crapo for coleading this bill, and I urge my colleagues to work with us to pass it as swiftly as possible.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the FIRE SMART Act. This legislation would expand eligibility for Drinking Water State Revolving Funds to allow for funding of certain water infrastructure needed for fighting wildfires in rural communities at high risk of wildfire.

There is a growing need for improving infrastructure to ensure adequate water storage and flow for fire suppression. Federal assistance is critical because many smaller rural communities in the wildland-urban interface that are at increased risk of wildfire lack the ratepayer bases to upgrade their firefighting infrastructure on their own.

The importance of water infrastructure investments to protect communities in the wildland-urban interface was demonstrated during the Caldor Fire in the Lake Tahoe area in 2021. Firefighters were able to successfully defend the Christmas Valley neighborhood in South Lake Tahoe from the Caldor Fire due to the combination of one, investments in modernized watermains sized for fire suppression flows and a sufficient network of fire hydrants, water tanks, and water sources, and two, thinning of forests and the creation of defensible space around homes. This combination of thinned forests to slow the fire and improves water infrastructure to prepare homes is particularly effective.

The FIRE SMART Act would expand eligibility for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to allow States to include water infrastructure projects with both drinking water and fire suppression benefits in rural areas to address gaps in Federal assistance programs. This eligibility expansion would help rural communities invest in projects to improve water system transmission, distribution capacity, and storage.

I would like to thank Senators Curtis, Kelly, Sheehy, Merkley, Boozman, Schiff, and Crapo for coleading this bill, and I urge my colleagues to work with us to pass it as swiftly as possible.

Mr. President, this past January 6, I introduced a bill we titled the ``No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act'' because, as we knew, as we saw just last year, one of the very first things Donald Trump did when he came back into office was to issue pardons for every person convicted of crimes connected to the January 6 insurrection-- people convicted in a court of law by a jury of their peers for trying to not just subvert an election and the peaceful transfer of power but by assaulting Congress itself, assaulting Capitol Police officers, threatening to hang the then-Vice President of the United States.

But we know that abuse of power, these pardons, were just the beginning. Since then, there has been an active campaign to raid taxpayer funds to reward those who stormed and ransacked the Capitol. So I for one was not surprised when Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a corrupt settlement to create a $1.8 billion slush fund for Donald Trump to reward the perpetrators of the January 6 attacks. And I hope you all noticed--because it doesn't happen very often--that the outrage, the pushback on this fund was bipartisan. Many in Congress on both sides of the aisle viewed it as an unacceptable abuse of power. As a result, Mr. Blanche has testified to Congress that the fund is ``dead.'' But in the court proceedings, he, the Department, and the President refused to put it in writing. No one has been willing to confirm under penalty of perjury that the fund will never go forward. Why? What are they holding back on?

Now making matters worse, the President is still using this corrupt settlement to shield himself and his family business from review by the IRS permanently. That is right. The President of the United States sued his own government, led by an Attorney General who happened to be his personal lawyer, and they reached a settlement

to bar the IRS from ever reviewing his tax returns--not just for himself; for his family, for his trusts, and his affiliated companies.

So it is obvious to the American people that Congress needs to act to rein in this corrupt behavior.

I should underscore a point here because on the one hand, there have been these measures to block the creation of the fund. There are other ways for payments to go out from the Department of Justice. So it is not just the creation of the fund that needs to be blocked; payment to those convicted of violence on January 6 needs to be explicitly clear.

Now, I am a little surprised but not shocked at what I have seen in the last couple of weeks because now we see Republicans reverse quickly. Just a couple weeks ago, many of them were very concerned about this proposal. Yet, simultaneously, they would come to the floor to block my bill to prohibit the payouts to January 6 insurrectionists. Now, today, they have objected to Senator Schumer's bill to fix this once again.

So let me be clear: This fight is not over. The American people cannot and will not bear the cost of corruption that this administration has created.

While the slush fund is apparently dead for now, we have our eye on the many financial claims that were filed by January 6 insurrectionists that are still pending at the Department of Justice given other programs and pots of funding, which is why, colleagues, unless we pass my legislation, there is nothing to stop the DOJ from handing hard- working American taxpayer money out the door to January 6 rioters. And until we pass Senator Schumer's legislation, President Trump will continue to seek lifetime immunity from tax audits.

If our Republican colleagues will not join Democrats to address this, I guarantee you the American people will.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I am honored to join my colleagues here today, and I appreciate Senator Durbin's leadership in bringing us all together because today is truly an important day for hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children across America.

It was 14 years ago today that President Obama took action to memorialize an important truth: that young people who were brought to the United States as young children through no choice of their own--who have grown up in our communities, who have attended our local schools, many graduating at the top of their class from high school as valedictorians and who know no other home but the United States--that they deserve an opportunity to continue to be part of this country, free of the fear of being deported for a decision they had no say in.

Fourteen years ago, the U.S. Government made that promise: that if they came forward, passed a background check, and followed the rules, did everything that we asked of them, that they could stay here and pursue their dreams in the only country that they have ever known. And hundreds of thousands of brave young people did exactly that.

Now, to be clear, DACA was never intended to be a permanent solution. It was meant to be a temporary stopgap until Congress took action by passing the Dream Act or, ideally, modernizing our immigration system as a whole. Yet here we are, 14 years later, still having the same debate about these young people and their future because while the hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients kept their promise--they did their part--Congress has repeatedly failed to do ours. And now these individuals, who were young children back then when this program began, are now adults with careers and families of their own. They are even more deeply ingrained in our communities and our country than they were 14 years ago.

There are over 530,000 people enrolled in DACA today--somewhere between 140,000 or 150,000 of them in my home State of California alone. Listen to this. The average DACA recipient is 33 years old now. The average DACA recipient has lived in the United States for 27 years. They are not recent arrivals. They are our friends and neighbors, our family members, our loved ones. They have grown up to be teachers and nurses, caregivers, lawyers, small business owners.

We would call them model citizens if we would allow them to become citizens, but they are model, nonetheless. Eighty-seven percent of them are gainfully employed. Collectively, they contribute $17 billion to the American economy. That ought to be celebrated, not shunned for political purposes. About 1 in 3 are married, and roughly 240,000 U.S. citizen children live with at least 1 parent who is a DACA recipient.

They are among the people being targeted now by an administration claiming to be only going after the worst of the worst. Not only are they being swept up in the administration's mass deportation campaign, but many are now facing extraordinary, monthslong delays when trying to renew their DACA and work authorization--delays that are having real impacts, with real consequences, as this administration seemingly tries to undermine this program.

And on this anniversary of the DACA Program, I want to share a couple of stories of DACA recipients in my home State. Twenty-five-year-old Maria Fernanda Hernandez has been a DACA recipient since she was 15 years old. Thanks to DACA, Maria was able to attend college, earn a bachelor's degree in psychology, and find a full-time job as a project manager at a market research company. But Maria recently had to take a leave from her job, as many others, because even though she submitted her application on time back in January, it still hasn't even been reviewed by USCIS nearly 6 months later. In the months she has been forced to wait, Maria's DACA and the work permit that went along with it expired.

If that wasn't bad enough, her father has been battling a number of health issues over the last year. He spent months in the hospital and, at one point, had to have his legs amputated. I mention this because Maria was doing as much as she possibly could to help support her parents financially during all of this. But now, with her renewal stuck in limbo, Maria can no longer work or help her parents at a time when they need her the most.

Teresa is another DACA recipient who came to this country as a very young child. Teresa worked hard, got a good education, and built an impressive career not just as a nurse but as an award-winning nurse at one of Los Angeles County's largest hospitals. And like Maria and so many others, Teresa filed her renewal application on time. Yet months later, despite repeated outreach to USCIS, she still hasn't received any updates. And because of those delays, Teresa's work authorization has expired, and she is facing the possibility of losing the career she worked so hard to build because she is not able to provide her employer the necessary documents to keep working. That is what these cruel delays have caused.

Jose Morales Perez is 32 years old. He has lived in Los Angeles most of his life, ever since coming from Tijuana as a young child. He attended local schools, eventually graduating from Garfield High School in East Los Angeles and later attending Glendale Community College. Jose has built a life here. He has worked a steady job. He started a family. He helps care for his mother, whose diabetes complications have left her unable to walk.

Jose was up for a promotion at work earlier this year, and instead of celebrating that promotion, he lost his job when his DACA expired while waiting for the administration to process his renewal application.

And now his family is struggling to make ends meet, to the point where they are now pawning family heirlooms just for a little bit more cash to continue to scrape by.

Maria, Teresa, Jose--these and thousands of others just like them are the people that we are talking about when we discuss and debate DACA, people who followed the rules and did everything that we asked of them. The only choice that they ever made was to trust the U.S. Government when the government made them the promise that, if they came forward, they would not be punished for doing the right thing. That promise is being broken today by the Trump administration.

These men and women that I am talking about--not just the three that I mentioned--all of them deserve better. They deserve certainty. They and all Dreamers like them deserve the opportunity to continue contributing to their communities and to our country. They deserve the chance to become full-fledged members of this country--their country, our country--the only country that they have ever known, that they have given so much of their talent and so much of their leadership to each and every day.

Colleagues, 14 years after the creation of DACA, it is past time that we finally do what is right by the hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients and Dreamers who have already proven their commitment to this country. They kept their promise, and now it is time for Congress to keep ours. It is finally time to pass the Dream Act.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, 1 year ago tomorrow, you may recall that I was in the Federal building in West Los Angeles, on business, awaiting a scheduled briefing, when I was physically forced out of a press conference. I was forced to the ground and handcuffed--not because I had broken any laws, mind you, but for the simple fact that I tried to ask a question of then-Homeland Security Secretary Noem.

I was in that building--I was in that office--in my capacity as a U.S. Senator for a scheduled briefing with the four-star general in charge of U.S. Northern Command because I was seeking answers and had been seeking answers not just for days but for weeks and months on what had become an unprecedented, unlawful, cruel immigration enforcement campaign that Donald Trump had unleashed on Los Angeles.

You will remember the visuals of masked ICE agents not identifying themselves and of CBP officers who were armed as if they were heading into war, indiscriminately stopping people, sweeping up immigrants-- undocumented immigrants, legal immigrants, even some U.S. citizens. But they didn't care because they were going after anyone who looked like an immigrant. They were knocking down doors to homes without having signed judicial warrants. They were breaking the windows of cars and dragging people out of their vehicles. They were raiding worksites, the parking lots of home improvement stores, even public parks where kids and families were playing. This was all happening in a matter of days in Los Angeles.

It seemed like the administration was just doing one thing after another to escalate tensions. The President not only federalized and deployed National Guard troops into Los Angeles to assist with this ``mission,'' but at one point, Active-Duty marines were sent into Los Angeles, but it was not for public safety reasons, as this was done against the wishes of the Governor, against the wishes of the mayor, and against the wishes of the police chief and the sheriff.

So, yes, I wanted answers--answers that weren't coming from the Department of Homeland Security here in the Senate during formal committee hearings and answers that weren't coming in response to formal inquiries that we had made as Senators or in response to letters that had been submitted by me and by several of my colleagues.

Instead, as I was in the Federal building awaiting a briefing and was told my briefing was delayed because the general was in a press conference with the Secretary of Homeland Security, I thought: Well, let me try to go in and listen. Maybe I will hear some of the information that I had been trying so hard to get.

So I was escorted by a National Guard member and an FBI agent to the press conference, where I stood to the side quietly and just listened. I heard not for the first time and not even for the first time that day that Secretary Noem shared with the public that the mission of this operation was to ``liberate'' Los Angeles from its duly-elected leaders. At that moment, I was compelled to speak up because that is not enforcing the law; that is an abuse of the U.S. military and of Federal law enforcement--a reflection of the desires of a wannabe dictator.

As you have seen from the video, before I could even get a question out, they did their best to try to silence me. They were sending a message. This wasn't just about me. They were trying to make clear to anybody in Los Angeles and anybody throughout California and anybody throughout the country what can happen if you dare disagree with this administration, because they don't like being questioned. That is for sure. They think they are above the law. They think the rule of law does not apply to them.

The good news is that is not what the American people believe. As one point of evidence, 2 days after that Homeland Security press conference experience, there was the first of the No Kings days that we have seen in the United States this last year--millions of people taking to the streets in their communities and cities across the country to declare ``No Kings.'' Instead of being scared into silence, they did not feel intimidated; they stepped up, and they spoke out.

The American people have continued to speak out for our rights ever since. Across the country, Americans have been looking out for their friends, for their neighbors, for their coworkers, and for their communities. They have been documenting a lot of the abuses that they have seen in an effort to hold not just Federal agents but the Federal Government accountable. They have been speaking up for our rights through organizing and protesting--and not just in locations where raids and apprehensions and arrests have been taking place. We now see mobilizations around detention facilities, where we have heard reports of brutal, unsanitary, and inhumane conditions.

Just a couple of weeks ago, my colleague from New Jersey Senator Kim was out there with protesters. Again, he was the victim of cruelty, unnecessary physical abuse against a Member of the Senate. No American should have to experienced that.

What we have also seen at this time, again, is not just the mobilization of the American people, the voice of the American people, but we have seen the impact on the President's approval ratings and on his polling.

In this administration, I grant you, by the numbers, the President enjoyed strong approval ratings when it came to immigration, generally speaking. Flash-forward to today, and poll after poll shows that he is at historically low approval ratings both overall but especially when it comes to the cruelty of his immigration agenda.

It turns out that when Americans witness the President's policies not as he campaigned on--remember, he talked about going after the worst of the worst, but what we have seen in practice is anything but. So when we see the reality of what Donald Trump is doing, Americans don't approve. They don't approve of troops being deployed into American cities. They don't approve of Federal agents making indiscriminate stops, arrests, detentions, or even deportations. They

don't approve of families being torn apart, of people being assaulted or pepper-sprayed and arrested for exercising their First Amendment rights. They don't approve of indiscriminate profiling of people based on their skin color.

It is shameful that there is now a term--the ``Kavanaugh stops.'' A Supreme Court Justice sanctioned stops based on one's appearance, accent, occupation.

You don't enforce the law by violating the law. That is racial profiling, plain and simple.

And, of course, the American people have been horrified when they see U.S. citizens--including Alex Pretti and Renee Good--shot and killed in broad daylight by Federal agents for exercising their First Amendment rights.

This country has recoiled from this cruelty because this is not who we are as a country. We are better than this.

And, sadly, we know this administration pays close attention to their polling numbers, so they know public opinion has turned. Instead of rectifying, instead of being smarter on this, more responsible on this, they are simply just changing tactics. And what was once happening in plain sight is now intentionally being played out in areas that are a lot less visible--certainly not visible to the public.

We have learned recently, for instance, that immigration courts are scheduling massive mega master hearings is what they are calling them. Instead of a judge processing maybe 15 cases at a time--that is a significant workload--now they are hearing 100 or more. Oh, and by the way, there is also a lot fewer judges hearing these cases because the administration has fired more than 100 judges.

You combine fewer judges with less access to counsel by people who have a right to counsel, it comes down to the denial of true due process. That is their recipe for ramming through and ramping up deportations.

They are also trying to shut down legal immigration altogether. Let me repeat that. They are trying to shut down legal immigration by making it harder to seek asylum or even apply for a green card when you are eligible. They are increasingly targeting DACA recipients. With over 260 that have been swept up this last year and at least 86 of them deported from the only home they have ever known.

Even worse--again, adding to the cruelty--this administration is also running out the clock on renewing their DACA protections to the point where the protections expire and they become not just unemployable but far more susceptible to deportation.

But nothing exemplifies this administration's ongoing cruelty more than the conditions at detention centers like the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in my home State of California; the Dilley Detention Center in Texas filled with children; and, of course, Delaney Hall in New Jersey that has been in the news of late. We are constantly hearing reports about how overcrowded and unsanitary these facilities are. We are hearing about detainees given food that is infested with mold or maggots, inadequate access to clean drinking water, and how many are being denied medical care, including critical medical care.

The damage this administration is doing is incalculable. We do know that conditions in these facilities have contributed to the deaths of 51 detainees since the start of the second Trump administration--19 of them just in this year alone.

Again, most of these people do not have a criminal record. I have got to point that out because, again, for all the talk by President Trump, by the White House, by DHS, by a lot of our Republican colleagues about going after the ``worst of the worst.'' If this administration was only targeting the dangerous, violent criminals that they so often talk about, there would be no debate. There would be no discussion because there would be no disagreements.

But the fact of the matter is the vast majority of the people that have been detained, that have been arrested, that have been deported, do not have violent criminal convictions.

And to the cruelty of the kicking down the door of your home, the terror of the broken car window and being dragged out, the pain of somebody being detained for days or weeks or months with challenging contact with family or lawyers, the conditions in these detention facilities--the vast majority of people that have been subject to this are not dangerous, violent criminals. Many may be undocumented, but they are otherwise hard-working, tax-paying, family-raising contributors to communities and our economy.

Last year was the deadliest year for people in ICE detention, and this year we are on track to surpass even that record.

And now on top of that, we learned just yesterday that this administration has detained 500 babies and toddlers who are now in ICE custody. That is right, 500 babies and toddlers locked up in these ICE facilities. Are they the ``worst of the worst''? No. Are they the transnational gang leaders? Really? Babies and toddlers.

Look, all immigrants are human beings and deserve to be treated like it. They deserve better than what this administration is doing, which is why it is important for Americans to keep speaking out, exposing these abuses. Because exposing these abuses is part of our responsibility; stopping them is the other responsibility.

The American people deserve a better vision and a better plan for immigration than what this administration is delivering. The American people deserve and expect a plan that is rooted not in fear, but one that is rooted both in security and dignity, a plan that doesn't strive to just be tough on immigration for the sake of being tough, but one that is smarter on immigration policy and how we administer it.

We can secure our borders, but let's do it in a way that is secure and orderly and humane, while ensuring pathways to seek safety for those who need it. That has been the tradition of our country.

We can and must modernize our legal immigration system to keep up with global competition while protecting American workers. Those two objectives are not mutually exclusive; they do go hand in hand.

We must ensure the law affords due process and keeps families together.

We must provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, for farm workers, and other long-term residents of the United States.

You know, I am not naive enough to suggest that all this is easily done, but we have to keep trying because the status quo confronting us today is clearly not working. Before we can even begin the work of modernizing our immigration system, we have to confront the abuses that are happening right before us. Again, it is not one or the other; we have to strive to do both.

The need for stronger oversight of ICE and CBP--which had been allowed to get away with far too much for too long--is undeniable. The need to ensure independent scrutiny of detention centers and these awful conditions is undeniable. But, again, DHS is putting up roadblocks even for Members of Congress to conduct our oversight responsibility in these Federal facilities. We need stronger protections for the civil liberties and the constitutional rights that define us as Americans, beginning with the First Amendment.

And should the American people vote Democrats into the majority next election, Democrats will wield every tool in our power to achieve these reforms.

But the most important thing that we can do as Americans in the meantime is to never stop speaking up in the face of cruelty and injustice.

Again, 1 year ago tomorrow, I was handcuffed for trying to ask a question. Not a day goes by that I don't see somebody here in Washington, in California, or many places in between, that they don't come up to me--complete strangers--acknowledging what happened and how it hurt them.

I thank them for sharing. I thank them for caring. And I remind them: Don't just remember that I was put to the ground and handcuffed, remember what happened immediately after. I got back up, and I spoke out. And I have continued to speak out, not because I am particularly brave, not because I am particularly determined, but because the people expect and deserve answers and they deserve leaders who, like them, refuse to be intimidated into silence.

A lot of the television cameras have moved on from what is happening in communities. The headlines have faded

because there is no shortage of challenges that this country is confronting from the threats of wars abroad, an unauthorized war the President has dragged us into, economic pain; right? We talked a lot about the cost of groceries, the cost of housing, the cost of healthcare, the cost of utilities that working families are struggling with.

But the need for oversight on the Department of Homeland Security-- and ICE and CBP especially--is absolutely there. The need for accountability remains. The need to defend due process and civil liberties and basic human dignity has not faded away.

One year ago, this administration tried to send a message, again, not just to me, to the country. And for the past year, I am so proud that the American people have been sending a message right back to the President.

And as long as I have the privilege of serving in this Chamber, I will continue to do the same. I will continue to stand by the American people and to keep asking questions and demanding answers. We have a lot of work to do. Let's keep going.

Mr. President, yes, I rise in opposition to this Graham amendment.

I will remind us, colleagues, that just over a month ago, a similar proposal was defeated on a bipartisan basis.

I will repeat for the umpteenth time: Every study, every audit, every report shows that there is no massive voter fraud across America. Current safeguards are working--and, yes, it is already unlawful for noncitizens to vote in the United States.

What this amendment does is to smear earlier attempts to put through the President's priorities to try to take over elections and to ban vote by mail.

While we are at it--while they are at it--attacking trans folks during Pride Month? That is pretty damned offensive.

So, for all of the same reasons we killed prior legislative efforts, I say we vote down this amendment.

Point of Order

Mr. President, in so doing, I raise a point of order that the pending amendment violates the Byrd rule, section 313(b)(1)(C) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

Mr. President, it is a deja vu all over again. Not only did this Senate, on a bipartisan basis, reject similar measures legislatively just a few weeks ago, but just a few hours ago, this Senate rejected a similar amendment on a bipartisan basis.

The Senator from Utah suggested we ought to be making it easier to vote and harder to cheat. We do make it harder to cheat. It is unlawful for noncitizens to vote in our elections. Every study, every audit, every report shows that voter fraud is exceedingly rare. There is simply no evidence of massive voter fraud.

But this measure doesn't make it easier to vote. You know, this and other measures that would eliminate vote-by-mail and make voter registration drives unlawful are not enabling civic participation. It is making it harder. It is wrong-headed.

We defeated it before. We should defeat it again. Please vote no on this measure.

Point of Order

And, therefore, Mr. President, I raise a point of order that the pending amendment is not germane and therefore violates section 305(b)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 5808, and I ask that it be reported by number.

Mr. President, my amendment will specify that at least $300 million of the ICE funding in the

Judiciary title must be used to ensure that all officers and agents wear body-worn cameras while engaging in immigration enforcement activities. Body cameras are already required by State and local law enforcement across the country, and it has been for years in many jurisdictions. What we have learned from that experience is that it is not just an important tool for transparency, but it helps keep agents accountable. It protects both the subject of enforcement actions as well as law enforcement officers themselves.

The DHS has said that, somehow, they want to implement body cameras but don't have the resources to do it--that is, despite sitting on more than $100 billion of money that they haven't spent already. Therefore, this amendment will give them the specific funding that they claim they need.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, like the reconciliation bill before us, the past few weeks have been really eye-opening for the American public to see in plain view the clear priorities of President Trump and his allies here in Congress.

It is increasingly clear that their top priority is not addressing the affordability crisis that is hurting so many families across the country, families who are struggling just to get by.

The proposals, the actions of the Republican majority and the White House isn't trying to tackle the cost of healthcare; it is not trying to tackle the cost of housing; it is not reducing the price of gas-- that is for sure--or addressing the increasing costs of groceries.

The end result of the proposals before us continue to be personal gain for the President and those around him, plain and simple.

But I don't think we should really be surprised by that. Don't take my word for it. We are talking about a political party whose President--the leader of that party, who has said publicly, his own words: I do not care about Americans' financial situation.

Let me repeat that. A President, leader of the Republican Party who says: I do not care about Americans' financial situation.

It doesn't get any clearer than that, folks, because whether it is a late-night social media post or what he says in front of the cameras for everybody to hear, this President has no problem telling us exactly what his priorities are.

And his priorities are clearly not Americans' financial situations. His priorities include an abomination of a ballroom that he wanted the American people to pay for to the tune of $1 billion after repeatedly saying that it wouldn't cost a single taxpayer dollar, that it would be privately funded.

Another one of his priorities is ensuring immunity for himself and for his family, and shoring up support from his MAGA loyalists, including the January 6 insurrectionists who were prosecuted for violently attacking the Capitol, violently attacking Capitol Police.

He was trying to advance a self-serving corrupt slush fund to pay off his supporters. That is his priority.

Here is another one just from yesterday: selecting an unqualified person Bill Pulte into an extremely sensitive position within our government as head of the Director of National Intelligence whose track record leads us to see plainly their goal of interfering in our elections or politically pursuing anyone the President perceives as being an enemy.

These are the President's priorities, colleagues, not helping working families. And as clear as day, as he has outlined these priorities, there is no pushback by the Republican majority. They continue to enable every single one of these efforts.

The ballroom, which is nothing other than a vanity project, that never should have happened in the first place. It is a tragedy that the East Wing was torn down without a discussion, without the consultation with Congress that is clearly required.

Yet for weeks, we heard Republican Members of Congress parroting the lame excuse of: For security reasons, this was a necessary project. But they have nothing to say about a UFC ring being built on the lawn of the White House. Really?

And by the way, what happened to the private donations that were supposed to be paying for the ballroom project? The President bragged about the $400 million--probably more--that he secured. So where is it? Where is that money?

We have to remain vigilant that the ballroom project funding does not appear in this new reconciliation bill or doesn't work its way back in.

Now while Acting Attorney General Blanche publicly stated yesterday that the so-called weaponization fund was not moving forward, it is really hard to take this administration at its word when they are constantly saying one thing and doing another--lies over and over to the American people.

When we first learned about their plans to create this fund, I actually came to the floor and asked that this floor pass by unanimous consent my No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act which I introduced back in January to stop this proposal in its tracks. Trump already gave pardons to January 6 insurrectionists. Let's not give them payouts as well.

So we must act to ensure that no one who attacked the Capitol and especially those who assaulted law enforcement officers that day can ever qualify for any kind of payout like this.

And again, a few words on Bill Pulte, Donald Trump's pick to serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence. It is clear that his only qualification--only qualification that matters to President Trump--is blind loyalty to President Trump, a willingness to do whatever Trump asks.

Now time and again, we have seen Pulte use sensitive information in his role at the Federal Housing Finance Agency to target Trump's political opponents. Don't just imagine what he might do, imagine what he will do with the sensitive information at his fingertips in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, whether it is attacking opponents or finding new dangerous ways to advance Donald Trump's election corruption and efforts to take over--the President's words again--to take over elections.

Each of these is a misplaced and dangerous priority that Donald Trump puts over the needs of the American people. All these priorities do nothing to advance our national interest or improve the lives of working families across the country.

So let's not allow ourselves to be distracted from the biggest of the misplaced priorities at the heart of this reconciliation bill. When I hear some of our Republican colleagues say: OK. No ballroom here, no slush fund here--they don't commit to not coming back to it in other efforts.

They say: Let's come back to the intent and core of what this reconciliation bill was at the outset--billions and billions and billions of dollars more for ICE and CBP for immigration enforcement, the same Agencies that are still sitting on more than a $100 billion of previously approved and appropriated funds that they can't even spend.

What happened to fiscal responsibility? Instead of ensuring that money flows as Agencies can spend it, they are trying to ram more money to these Agencies while shielding them from oversight and accountability.

Let me remind us all of the deaths of Americans like Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and Ruben Ray Martinez. Let me remind us of how this administration is using children like 5-year-old Liam Ramos as bait. Let me remind our colleagues about the price gouging that is happening, mothers and children at Dilley detention center having to pay so much just to access clean water and letting thousands of children languish in detention, jailing more than 6,200 children since the beginning of this administration.

That is a shame.

And now they want to shield them from more than 425 judges appointed by both Democrat and Republican Presidents, including some appointed by Donald Trump himself who have issued more than 10,000 rulings finding that ICE has violated the Constitution of the United States.

That is not an exaggeration: more than 10,000 findings of ICE violating the Constitution of the United States, violating due process, and violating Federal laws since the start of this Trump administration--10,000 rulings.

That is more than a 90-percent loss rate in court by this administration. This administration's immigration enforcement efforts have clearly not just been extreme and cruel, they have been unlawful and indefensible.

What we should be doing, colleagues, is discussing and debating ideas on how to help American families better afford their groceries, how to better afford the gas they put in their car because they have to get to work, help American families afford their mortgage or the rent, how to pay for childcare, how to pay for healthcare.

So many Americans are reeling from the ``Anything But Beautiful Bill,'' from the expiration of the ACA tax credits, and so many Americans are suffering from the experience of witnessing or having their children ripped from their arms, with loved ones, family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers disappearing into detention,

many in the United States, many now in a foreign country.

They are suffering through all of that while still wondering how they are going to make ends meet at the end of the month. Those are the priorities for countless families across the country who are hurting and struggling right now that we should be focusing on. But instead, no, we are focusing on what this reconciliation bill offers in front of us.

I have said it before. I think most folks, at some point in this Chamber, have used the reference that budgets are a reflection of our values. A reconciliation bill is a budget bill. It, too, is a reflection of values and priorities. They reveal what we prioritize. They reveal what we stand for, what we fight for, and it serves as a guide to see if it truly reflects the needs and priorities of the American people or not.

If you look at this language, if you look at the concept of the reconciliation bill in front of us, it is clear that Donald Trump and our Republican colleagues have no interest in addressing the urgent needs of the American people.

So I ask, colleagues, let's reject this bill full of misplaced priorities. Let's actually regroup and put a bill together that will lower costs for American families, expand their opportunities, and help Americans get ahead.

And I guarantee you, if we were to do that in good faith, you wouldn't have to resort to this party-line, strictly partisan process of budget reconciliation. That would be something that would garner bipartisan support and be in the best interest of our country, our economy, and the needs of the American people.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, this past January on the fifth anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, I introduced a bill called the No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act because, as we know, one of the first things Donald Trump did when he returned to office was to pardon every person convicted of crimes connected to the January 6 insurrection in 2021.

That is right, not just those accused of crimes, those convicted in a court of law by a jury of their peers. But for Donald Trump, that abuse of the Constitution's pardon powers was just the beginning. And since then there has been a concerted effort to keep going even further, to not only try to rewrite the history of that awful day, but to raid taxpayer funds to actually reward those who ransacked the Capitol, those who assaulted law enforcement officers, who called for the hanging of Vice President Pence along with Members of Congress, and those who tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

And so, sadly, it was not exactly surprising when, earlier this week, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a corrupt settlement creating a special $1.8 billion slush fund for Donald Trump to reward his supporters, including the perpetrators of the January 6 attacks.

And January 6ers being able to receive money from this fund isn't some loophole or unintended consequence. Let me cite a few people. Ed Martin the Department of Justice pardon attorney whose nomination to be U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia was rejected by the Senate, that Ed Martin, made it clear that this fund's explicit purpose publicly declaring last year that ``you're damn right I want to pay J6ers.'' That is Ed Martin.

The leader of the Proud Boys says he expects a $2 to $5 million payout. Another January 6 convict told CNN he plans to claim $30 million from the public treasury. And one other stated ``[A]ll January 6ers will apply for restitution'' from the Department of Justice's funds. ``All of us . . . it's all over Twitter [and] our group chats.''

So to be clear, ``all of us'' he means includes the many attackers who have not just been convicted of crimes related to January 6 but even after they have been pardoned by the President have been convicted of additional serious crimes, including one man who tried to bribe a child who he sexually abused to stay quiet with the promise of this exact kind of payout.

Now, the American people have seen a lot of egregious things since Donald Trump first came down that golden escalator in Trump Tower to announce he was running for President, but never--never--have we witnessed something this brazenly corrupt, an American President effectively suing and negotiating with himself to create a taxpayer- funded slush fund to funnel taxpayer dollars to his friends and allies. This cannot be allowed to stand, colleagues.

Now, I'm encouraged to hear some of my Republican colleagues agreeing with me, beginning with Majority Leader Thune who said he is ``not a big fan'' of this proposal.

Another Republican colleague saying ``People are concerned about making their own ends meet, not about putting a slush fund together without a legal precedent. We're a nation of laws. If there needs to be a settlement, let's consider it and Congress should come together and decide upon that.''

A third Republican Senator said ``I've never heard of someone negotiating with themselves and making a plea bargain with themselves, so I think there's no precedent for it.''

Finally, former Vice President Pence himself has said ``It would be my hope that anyone who engaged in violence against law enforcement or at the Capitol building would never be rewarded with taxpayers' money.''

Colleagues, this situation is so outlandish. Some might say it is laughable, but it is not. What it is: it is urgent and it is dangerous. Because if the Republican majorities in Congress, both in the Senate and the House, let this happen, then in less than 60 days, $1.8 billion will be transferred from the judgment fund to this new slush fund, which Congress would have no control over and no oversight over.

Senate Democrats saw this coming months ago, but the time to stop it is now before it is too late, which is why today I am bringing up my No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act. Let's stand up for congressional oversight as a unified Senate. Let's pass this bill and prevent corruption payouts before they happen.

Mr. President, and so I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged and the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 3582. I further ask consent the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, a couple of days ago, I had the pleasure--not just the honor but the pleasure--of welcoming a group of students from Southern California here to the Capitol. As so many schools from across the country do, it is sometimes an annual trip to come see not just a symbol of democracy but literally the home of Congress, where democracy is in action. These young students are smart. They are keeping up with the news to know what is going on in their communities and in their State and in our Nation.

Knowing that sometimes our--small ``d''--democratic institutions are being challenged, are being stress-tested, as they are today, people can be discouraged, and part of our job, I think, is to have them not lose faith in our system. It is not always running perfectly, but it is resilient.

We are close to celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and we have learned both from the steps forward our country has taken to be a more perfect Union and from some of the less proud moments of our Nation's history, where we tend to always come out a little bit stronger. And that comes to mind, it comes to the heart of this moment after hearing once again these conspiracies and these lies from Members of the Senate who should know better than either to believe them or to regurgitate them and to exacerbate them in this very debate.

The 2020 election was held. There were countless lawsuits before, during, and after the election. Ballots were counted. Ballots were recounted. Ballots were audited. It is clear who won the election. It is not some mass conspiracy to keep Donald Trump from having won that election.

January 6 happened. Don't take my word for it--plenty of video coverage. All types of news outlets saw the violence that day. It is undeniable.

The rule of law was followed. People who were accused of involvement on January 6 had their day the court. Maybe some were found innocent. Maybe some were found guilty of lesser charges. Many were convicted, found guilty because of the proof, because of the evidence, by juries of their peers.

It is President Trump who sent the message that if he came back into office, they would be pardoned. He won the election. I can say it. It was not my choice in 2024, but he won the election. I will admit it. And he made good on his promise to pardon those who were involved in the violence on January 6 in this Capitol. But I refuse to stand here and just let the administration and any Republican Member of Congress-- in either House--who agrees with him to set up this slush fund. It is an offense and disrespectful to the American taxpayer, to our democracy, and to our Constitution.

I yield the floor.