Floor Statements

Mr. President, 6 months into the 118th Congress, the tale of two parties continues.

This week, House Republicans advanced a massive tax package, showing precisely where their loyalties lie--in helping large, multibillion- dollar corporations, Big Oil polluters, and those at the very, very top.

Today, the President is reminding the American people where Democrats' loyalties lie--with ordinary families who want to lower costs and who have had it with junk fees that nickel and dime people every single day.

President Biden used his State of the Union Address to call out companies that exploit consumers through surprise fees on everything from credit cards, bank overdrafts, hotel resort purchases, and air travel. Today, he is holding a roundtable discussion with companies at the White House on the progress they have made in eliminating surprise fees.

I cannot tell you how many times people have come up to me in New York, exasperated by junk fees, oftentimes at the last minute. Many times, they know nothing about them until they are asked to pay them. It is precisely the kind of abuse that frustrates Americans to no end and which the Federal Government can address.

It is why, in the House, I authored legislation to protect Americans from surprise expenses on their credit card bills by requiring credit card companies to clearly break down all fees and interest rates. They call it the ``Schumer Box''--a nickname I am proud has stuck.

And junk fees are everywhere. You want to switch your cell phone company? A termination fee can cost you $250 or something exorbitant like that. Many people think the phone companies ask for it so you don't switch even if you are dissatisfied with their service.

You want to book a hotel room listed at $300? Good luck. You will get the bill and discover the real price is much higher. More than a third of hotel guests have reported paying some kind of hidden fee.

The kind of abusive behavior from some large companies is exactly what Americans want to focus on, and it is the major difference between the two parties.

Republicans think it is best to spend time on cutting taxes for the very largest, billion-dollar corporations--that often don't pay their fair share--and on stoking the fires of the culture wars.

But Democrats want to focus on things ordinary families have to deal with every single day. We can all relate to the frustration of hidden fees. We can all relate to driving to work on dilapidated roads and crumbling bridges. We can all look out the window and see that wildfires, flooding, and extreme weather events are getting worse and harming our communities. These are the issues Democrats have legislated on over the past few years, and we are going to keep going.

Now, Mr. President, on nominations, well, it has been a busy week for nominations here on the floor. This morning, the Senate will confirm Nusrat Choudhury, whom I was proud to recommend to President Biden to serve as district judge for New York's Eastern District.

When President Biden listened to my recommendation and nominated Ms. Choudhury, she made history as the first Bangladeshi American ever to be nominated to the Federal bench, and, today, Ms. Choudhury will make history as the first Bangladeshi American ever to be confirmed to the Federal bench. Ms. Choudhury will also be the first Muslim American woman and only the second Muslim American ever to serve as a Federal judge. It shows she is a history maker in more ways than one.

Ms. Choudhury is also a shining example of the American dream: the daughter of immigrant parents, a graduate of Columbia, Princeton, and Yale Law School. Ms. Choudhury has dedicated her career to making sure all people can have their voices heard in court.

It is a great day for our country. Our courts are at their strongest when they mirror the diversity and dynamism of our democracy. We have a vibrant Bangladeshi community in New York and in the United States. I am confident Ms. Choudhury will make an excellent judge.

Yesterday, the Senate also confirmed another excellent judge, Dale Ho, whom I was proud to recommend to be district judge for the Southern District of New York. As voting rights continue to come under attack, it is only fitting that we elevated one of the country's top voting rights experts to the bench to safeguard our democracy and preserve our most fundamental right as citizens.

With Mr. Ho and Ms. Choudhury, we will have confirmed 21 Asian Americans to the bench. Let me say that again. With these two new nominations, we will have confirmed 21 Asian Americans to the bench, a demographic that has been historically underrepresented in the judiciary.

I am proud of this majority's record of increasing both the demographic and professional diversity on the bench. This is how we strengthen the public's trust in our judiciary. And our work will continue.

I yield the floor.

I move to proceed to legislative session.

I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 30.

I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Executive Calendar No. 1, Treaty Document 112-8.

I ask that the treaty be considered as having advanced through the various parliamentary stages up to and including the presentation of the resolution of advice and consent to ratification.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, June 15, be waived.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senator from Illinois be given 10 minutes to speak immediately and, following her, 5 minutes to the Senator from Massachusetts.

I yield the floor.

Just parenthetically, true to Trish's dedication to the job, she just sat down and whispered to me: We are not in a quorum call. That will probably be one of the very last of about 10,000--maybe 100,000--proper, right instructions she has given me over the years that she has been here--or given all of us. So I thought that was a moment to remember.

Anyway, today, I want to take a moment to honor one of the--the--the most beloved members of the Senate team, and that is Trish Engle, who will be leaving the Democratic cloakroom after 26 years of service.

That means you started about a year before me, 1998--1997. I came here in early 1999.

Trish is the proud mom of two boys, William and Garrison.

Wave to us, William. Who is older--William or Garrison? William. Very nice. Both are in their nice blue shirts.

They are here with us today, and I am sure they are looking--are you looking forward to spending more time with your mom? You are saying you are. I am not quite sure, at your age, that is exactly the case. But I am sure it is good quality time, knowing Trish.

Trish's mom, Melva Ongstad, is here in the Gallery.

Hello, Melva.

I am glad her family could be here, and I know how proud everyone is of Trish. We all are.

We all know that Trish is one of the most familiar faces in the Senate, but even then, it is easy to miss just how important, just how critical she has been to making the Senate agenda come to life. There are so many--and Trish is at the top of the list--of these unsung heroes who make the place work. No one notices them, no one praises them, but without them, this place would collapse.

Without Trish, the Democratic caucus wouldn't have accomplished a fraction--that is true--a fraction of all the amazing things we have gotten done over the years: drug reform, infrastructure, CARES Act, ACA--the list goes on and on. The list of bills she has had a hand in literally spans decades.

Every Senator on our side of the aisle, every single one, and many of those who have retired, can think of some accomplishment we have been proud of at one point or another. You can bet that Trish was the one who helped make that accomplishment happen on the floor because it is Trish who comes up with these brilliant parliamentary maneuvers to achieve our mission. She is always writing the scripts that speed up the voting process. She is something truly unique, a legislative artist who knows the inner workings of this body like few others in the country. There are probably maybe fewer than 10 people who know as much about the Senate as Trish of the whole--how many?--8 billion people on Earth, approximately 8 billion people on Earth. That is pretty good.

Over the years, she worked wonders serving--I met her when Daschle was leader. He loved her and depended on her. She worked her magic under Harry Reid. He loved her and depended on her.

Today, I want to express how grateful I am for all the good work you have done during my time as leader.

Like so many parents around here, Trish had to juggle a very demanding job where she is almost on call all the time while making sure her wonderful family got all they needed. If that wasn't challenging enough, during all this time, she is like Superwoman. She earned an M.B.A. and M.A. from Johns Hopkins while working on the Senate floor. And to do that from any college is amazing; to do it from Johns Hopkins--wow. No slouch are you, Trish. Doing it all. Doing it all.

But these are only some of the wonderful reasons we will miss her. We will miss her because of her wonderful sense of humor. We will miss her because few people put up with Senators so regularly and never--I don't think I ever saw you get mad. Anybody? Oh, you got mad at Amy once. OK, I understand.

We will miss her because she is a wonderful person to work with no matter the day, no matter the issue, no matter the outcome. She is the best.

On behalf of the Senate, Trish, of all of us, the whole big Senate family, we thank you for everything you have done for this institution and derivatively for our country. We love you. We will miss you. And you will always have a home here in this Chamber. We wish you and your wonderful family the very best.

I yield the floor.

Yesterday, Mr. President, I joined with many colleagues from both sides of the aisle for the first of a series of all-Senate briefings solely dedicated to the subject of AI. Yesterday's AI briefing was a huge success. We had a really strong turnout from both parties. It was an important moment for everyone to get into a room and build a foundation of knowledge on this pressing issue.

If I had to describe our mindset leaving yesterday's briefing, it was a mix of urgency and humility: urgency because AI is developing so damn fast and humility because AI is stupendously complex.

Congress has only a limited amount of time to stay proactive on artificial intelligence, and I think yesterday's briefing made that clear. The potential societal benefits from AI are astounding--from medical advances and innovative materials to fusion energy and so much more.

But we also must recognize that AI poses monstrously complex challenges. Even top AI developers will admit they don't have a firm grip on how this technology works now and even less of a grip on how it will work in the future.

One of the topics that has come up in my discussions with experts is ``explainability,'' or the challenge of making AI's ``black box'' inner workings understandable. Even this is no trivial matter. It is a cutting-edge technological research question, and it will require immense cooperation between legislators, developers, researchers, academics, and advocates to strike the right balance.

I hope all of my colleagues join for the next two AI briefings the next work period. We will examine where this technology is headed in the near future and get briefed in the SCIF on national security threats that AI already poses.

Again, thank you to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who are already getting to work on this issue both on their own and in committee. The range of proposals show the Senate is taking this matter seriously. Thank you, again, to Senators Rounds, Heinrich, and Young for making these briefings possible.

Mr. President, on Fort Johnson, one of the greatest things of our country is the rich legacy of Americans who dedicated their lives to serving their fellow citizens, especially on the battlefield. But for every hero whose memory lives on, countless others become heroes in anonymity. That is why today I am happy to celebrate the legacy of SGT William Henry Johnson--World War I veteran, Albany resident, and Harlem Hellfighter.

Yesterday, Fort Polk in Louisiana was officially renamed in Sergeant Johnson's honor, after many years of advocacy, research, and a fierce push from my office to make sure that this New Yorker got the recognition he has long deserved.

Over a century ago, Sergeant Johnson enlisted to fight with the Allies in World War I. But because of segregation, he served under French command. He was wounded in battle during a German advance. He saved the lives of his fellow soldiers but was permanently

disabled, and Sergeant Johnson never received the recognition he deserved in life because of the color of his skin.

I was honored to lead the push in Congress to have the White House posthumously award the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Johnson. I wrote to former Secretary Hagel, got on the phone with Army Secretary McHugh, and met with senior Pentagon officials. I made a push in 2014 to waive the time restrictions to receive the Medal of Honor, and my staff, amazingly, went deep, deep, deep into the Pentagon archives and discovered previously unknown writings of Sergeant Johnson's acts on the battlefield by his own foxhole partner.

Even General Pershing commented on his bravery, we found, because you needed contemporaneous views of how great Sergeant Johnson was to get the Medal of Honor.

And then, much to the delight and happiness of veterans groups in the Capital Region--Albany, NY--and around New York and the country, President Obama awarded Sergeant Johnson the Medal of Honor in 2015.

When Congress authorized the Naming Commission to provide new names to bases originally named after Confederate leaders, I knew that Henry Johnson was a perfect candidate for this honor. I am overjoyed that Sergeant Johnson has now joined the revered company of American heroes whose names are now affixed to our military bases.

Now a Black American hero is taking the place of a Confederate commander in the South. It is correcting history in a good way. Fort Johnson will forever stand proud as an inspiration for generations to come.

Mr. President, on the Republican tax plan, yesterday, the Republican- led House Ways and Means Committee advanced a sweeping array of new tax giveaways that reward the wealthy and well connected and leave ordinary families out to dry.

With this latest GOP tax scam, Republicans are showing exactly where their priorities lie: with large corporations, Big Oil polluters, and ultrahigh-earning households.

After the Trump tax law blew a nearly $2 trillion hole in our national deficit, this new Republican proposal would increase the deficit by another trillion dollars.

This hypocrisy is just astounding. Three weeks ago, we were hearing: Well, we have got to reduce the deficit. Debt is our big problem. We should even default before we would deal with that problem.

And now, all of a sudden, they pass a bill that increases the deficit by another trillion dollars. The hypocrisy of that is bouncing around the walls here. How do they look themselves in the mirror? How do they look themselves in the mirror by bringing us to the brink of default because they wanted the deficit down and debt down, and now they increase it by a trillion dollars simply to help their ultrarich friends and the biggest, wealthiest corporations that don't pay a fair share of taxes? Republicans push our country to the brink of default in the name of fiscal responsibility and deficit reduction, but now the same Republicans want to blow a trillion-dollar hole into the deficit without so much as batting an eye.

Do you know what it shows you? That those Republicans--not all, but them--it shows you they really don't care about the deficit. They simply resent the idea of making the ultra ultrawealthy and the biggest corporations pay their fair share.

The Republicans' latest scam is also bad news for anyone who worries about protecting our planet for future generations. Their proposal would gut billions in clean energy investments that are already creating millions of good-paying green jobs.

Our Inflation Reduction Act has helped to create over 142,000 new-- new--good-paying jobs, and more are coming--many more--in the next few years. But Republicans now want to gut those investments completely.

Why? Big Oil. Big Oil. They get a $10 billion tax break under the Republican plan. And we all know that the Republican Party in the House and in the Senate is under the thumb of Big Oil.

So it is clear that this latest GOP tax scam is more of the same: giveaways to large corporations, giveaways to Big Oil, and another massive hole in the deficit.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the veto message on S.J. Res. 11 be considered as having been read and be printed in the Record and spread in full upon the Journal.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, the veto message with respect to S.J. Res. 11 be considered at a time to be determined by the majority leader in concurrence with the Republican leader prior to June 23; that there be up to 2 hours for debate, equally divided between the two leaders or their designees; and that the Senate then vote on passage of the joint resolution, the objections of the President to the contrary notwithstanding.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote begin.

Mr. President, AI, artificial intelligence, is unlike any innovation that has previously come to the attention of Congress. In a few years, this technology will usher in dramatic changes to the workplace, the classroom, our living rooms--to virtually every corner of life--and it is already starting to happen. Maximizing AI's benefits and mitigating its potential and very real risks will require bipartisan cooperation, focus, and speed from the U.S. Congress.

Today, the U.S. Senate is taking an important step in intensifying our focus on AI by holding the first all-Senators briefing solely dedicated to AI. More briefings will soon follow, and they will help lay a bipartisan foundation on which Congress can take appropriate action. These briefings are vital because elected representatives in 2023 cannot afford to be in the dark about how AI works and how it is going to reshape our world and is already reshaping our world for that matter.

Today's briefing will focus on the state of AI as it stands today-- its capabilities, its applications, its limitations, its challenges. We will hear from Professor Antonio Torralba of MIT, an expert in machine learning and the head MIT faculty member on AI and decision making. He is the head of AI at MIT. So it is pretty good stuff that people should know.

Next month, our second and third briefings will focus on where AI is headed in the very near future and AI's implications to our national security.

I urge every single Senator to join these briefings. AI is a topic none of us can afford to ignore. It should be treated with the same urgency as national security, job creation, and civil liberties, because AI will impact all of these issues and many others.

The possibilities of AI should excite every single one of us. If used correctly, AI could unlock remarkable breakthroughs in health care, scientific research, national security, and so many other fields.

Much like we did in CHIPS and Science, Congress should look for ways to promote innovation in AI so that American companies can lead the way. But the top AI developers have also made clear that Congress must play a role in safeguarding against AI's many potential risks. They have said it to us directly through congressional testimony.

We must therefore strike a balance to promote innovation and growth, on one hand, while mitigating AI's risks on the other. That will take a lot of bipartisan cooperation, and these briefings will help us move closer to that goal.

Finally, I want to thank my colleagues for the good work they have already done on the issue. I want to especially thank Senators Rounds, Heinrich, and Young for helping to make all of these Senate briefings possible.

Now, Mr. President, on the Republican tax plan that is over there in the House, while Democrats have spent the last 2 years lowering energy costs, lowering the price of prescription drugs, and bringing manufacturing jobs to our shores, Republicans are doubling down on what they do best: pushing tax giveaways to large corporations and the ultrawealthy.

A few years ago, the Trump GOP tax cuts proved to be a dud for our economy and a political loser for the Republican Party. We all remember, in 2017, they said: This is going to help us win the election. And, by 2018, they couldn't even bring it up because we Democrats had made clear to the American people that this wasn't aimed at the middle class or working class; it was aimed at the very rich-- corporate and individual.

But Republicans don't learn from their mistakes, apparently. This morning, the GOP-led House Ways and Means Committee is going to advance a sweeping array of new tax giveaways that reward the wealthy and the well-connected while leaving ordinary families in the lurch. This latest GOP tax scam feels like a bad rerun, where the biggest winners are giant companies, big oil polluters, and the highest--the very highest--income households.

After the Trump tax law blew a nearly $2 trillion hole in our national deficit, forecasters say this new Republican proposal would increase the deficit by another trillion dollars. Again, their proposal over in the House increases the deficit by another trillion dollars, by objective forecasters.

These are the same Republicans who just pushed our country to the brink of catastrophic default in the name of fiscal responsibility and deficit reduction, and now, before the ink is even dry on avoiding default, the same Republicans want to blow another trillion-dollar hole into the deficit--what hypocrisy, what hypocrisy, what hypocrisy.

First, they would say: We have got to default if we don't deal with the deficit. Then they come back and blow a hole--or propose to blow a hole--in the deficit by another trillion dollars so they can help the very, very, most elite in the country.

Of course, Republicans only care about the deficit when it suits them. When the deficit gets in the way, Republicans preach the fantasy that their tax cuts will somehow pay for themselves and that the benefits will magically trickle down to the rest of the country.

But facts are stubborn. The economic reality of the past few decades shows that these Republican trickle-down claims are bunkum. It has been refuted over and over again.

You know, this has come up. I remember Jude Wanniski and all of these rightwingers and Wall Street Journal editorials in the eighties: Cut taxes, and the deficit will go down.

It didn't happen, especially when you cut taxes on the rarified few at the top of the income scale. So it doesn't work.

We all saw what happened the last time Republicans pushed tax cuts for the very, very elite--for the top, top economic end of America--in 2017. There was no historic wave of economic activity. There was no trickle-down stemming from the huge benefits Republicans gave to the wealthy. Instead, the Trump tax cuts translated into huge profits for shareholders and trillions--record trillions--of dollars in corporate stock buybacks.

We saw the vast majority of Americans reject these Republican policies when they went to the ballot box. We even saw Republicans afraid to talk about it as we got closer to the elections in 2018.

So, if Republicans really want to help working- and middle-class families, if they really want to lower the deficit as they have claimed for years, they will stop pushing this irredeemably flawed tax package.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, last Friday, the Department of Justice announced Donald Trump had been indicted on 37 counts related to his mishandling of classified documents. One only has to listen to the statements from former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton and Trump's former Attorney General to know just how serious this indictment is.

As I have said before: No one is above the law--including Donald Trump. This case must be allowed to play out through the legal process without outside political or ideological interference. I encourage both supporters and critics of Donald Trump to maintain the peace and let the justice system do its work.