Amy Klobuchar

Mr. President, I rise to discuss my vote on rollcall vote No. 253, the motion to proceed to the Stop Insider Trading Act. I strongly support efforts to remove potential conflicts of interest, promote strengthened ethical standards, and restore public trust in government. That is why I voted for commonsense legislation--the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act--which became law and bans lawmakers from trading on nonpublic information and requires lawmakers to disclose stock trades. And, it is why I am a cosponsor of the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act, led by Senator Ossoff, which would ban Members of Congress from owning or trading individual stocks and similar investments while in office.

But instead of voting on that legislation today, Senate Republicans brought to the floor a bill that would continue to let members own and sell stocks and to trade stocks in privately held companies and therefore potentially profit from insider knowledge. As someone who has never owned individual stocks, I believe this bill simply isn't strong enough.

I am also disappointed that congressional Republicans have attached unrelated provisions to this legislation that would undermine voting rights. The bill includes provisions to restrict access to the ballot box that are more severe than any law in any state. The bill would effectively end voting by mail and create new burdens for voters and election officials.

Nothing is more fundamental to our democracy than our free and fair elections and the right of Americans to exercise their constitutional right to vote. Voting is how the American people make their voices heard and ensure their elected leaders are held accountable.

While I have long supported efforts to ensure that lawmakers cannot use insider information to profit off of their elected office, we should not be making it harder for eligible Americans to cast their ballot. For that reason, I opposed the bill.

Mr. President, I rise today to urge the Senate to assert its constitutional authority and to demand accountability for the grave costs that servicemembers, their families, and the American people have shouldered because of the President's war in Iran.

After more than 6 months--6 months--it is clear that the President had no plan when the war started and has no plan for how to end it.

To be clear, Iran is a terrorist state and should never have a nuclear weapon, and the regime's aggression in the region and repression of Iranian citizens must end. That is why I have long supported sanctions against Iran as well as the Iran nuclear agreement negotiated by President Obama and our allies. And I opposed President Trump's decision to take us out of that agreement.

Our ultimate goal must be peace in the region. But more than 6 months into this conflict, American servicemembers have been killed, including my constituent MSG Nicole Amor, who was among those killed by an Iranian strike on a United States facility in Kuwait on March 1. Innocent civilians across the region have also been killed, and the costs keep mounting.

Beyond the toll on human life, the costs of the war to taxpayers is staggering. The Pentagon recently estimated that it has already spent $42 billion on this unauthorized war so far--$42 billion.

This is money that could be used to expand childcare or to restore healthcare premium tax credits to help millions of Americans who have seen their healthcare premiums double or triple this year or how about the 8 million people who, just this last year, have given up coverage entirely? That $40 billion, that could have extended the tax credits to help people afford their insurance premiums for over a year. And now the President is asking for $70 billion more. That is 2 more years of those tax credits.

As a result of this war, American families continue to face spiking gas prices, costing consumers more than $800 per family in higher gas and diesel costs. American people, outside of what I just outlined that the Pentagon has spent of its taxpayer money, have spent over $100 billion on this war in higher prices.

In Minnesota, gas prices are up more than a $1.50 since the day before the war started. Diesel prices--right as farmers are going to harvest--have doubled across the country.

These higher fuel prices also make trucking, in addition to farming and freight, more expensive, hitting families and small businesses over and over again when you add to that the tariffs.

That is why Congress must step up and assert our authority under the Constitution. Congress did not authorize this war. And more than 6 months in, Congress still has not authorized this war--6 months in. And our colleagues on the other side of the aisle keep just giving up their authority.

Why even come here? Why even take this job if you are going to just let one President run over you and be able to make his own calls and just say: Hey, we are going to a war. It is going to cost the American people over $100 billion. It is going to spike up prices across the country. Innocent people are going to be killed, and then we are going to lose soldiers at the same time.

In fact, both Houses of Congress have passed resolutions to stop this unauthorized war. I have voted a dozen times to stop this war, unless Congress passes an authorization, and I will continue to vote that way until Congress restores its role in decisions of war and peace.

The American people are asking what this war has accomplished:

Are we closer to a strong and strict agreement to curtail Iran's nuclear ambitions? The answer is no.

Are we now dealing with Iranian leaders who are less hardline? The answer is no.

Have we preserved open shipping routes that are so important for trade? Answer, no.

It is time for the President to end this war. It is time for the work to bring costs down for the American people and foster lasting peace in the region. This is our moment.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, on behalf of myself and Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota, I rise today to honor Minnesota State Representative Karen Clark, who passed away in June after a lifetime of service to our State.

Karen was raised on a farm near Edgerton, MN, where she first developed her love for the land and passion for protecting the earth--a commitment that would come to define her legacy as a legislator and the cofounder of an environmental organization. She earned her degree from the College of Saint Teresa and began working as a public health nurse, providing care to underserved communities. Karen was also known as a powerhouse community organizer fighting for civil rights. In 1980, she turned her focus to the State house and was elected as a State representative. Karen won that first race promising to be a fighter for social justice and economic justice. And for 38 years, she never wavered from that promise.

Karen strengthened protections for survivors of domestic violence, got rid of BPA in baby bottles, stood up for the environment and workers, as well as for immigrants and refugees, and wrote the bill legalizing same-sex marriage in Minnesota. She did all of this as a trailblazer, as the first openly lesbian legislator to serve in the Minnesota State House.

Karen was committed to doing the right thing, no matter how long it took and no matter the obstacles in her way. After an earlier setback in the fight for marriage equality, Karen did not give up. She did not lose hope. She did not lose sight of the fight, and we remember her words from that moment: ``The Minnesota I know is a place of inclusion, tolerance, and love.'' Thanks to Karen, Minnesota is a more inclusive place and warmer place all the more.

There are many words that describe Karen: organizer, environmentalist, legislator, advocate, nurse. But above them all, we think of Karen as the best of Minnesota, as the very ideal of a servant leader. She will be dearly missed by her wife Dr. Jacquelyn Zita and all who benefited from her dedication, compassion, and service.