Floor Statements

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Madam President, last night, a large majority of both Democrats and Republicans in the House passed bipartisan legislation to protect the U.S. economy, protect American families, and eliminate the threat of a first-ever default.

The bill is now in the Senate where we begin the process today of passing this legislation as soon as possible. The Senate will stay in session until we send a bill avoiding default to President Biden's desk. We will keep working until the job is done.

Time is a luxury the Senate does not have if we want to prevent default. June 5 is less than 4 days away. At this point, any needless delay or last-minute holdups would be an unnecessary and even dangerous risk, and any change to this bill that forces us to send it back to the House would be entirely unacceptable. It would almost guarantee default.

So, again, the Senate will stay in session until we send a bill avoiding default to the President's desk, and we will keep working until the job is done.

The vast majority of Senators recognize that passing this bill is supremely important. It is about preserving the full faith and credit of the United States. There is no good reason--none--to bring this process down to the wire, no good reason to bring this process down to the wire, and that, too, is dangerous and risky.

So, today, I hope we see a genuine desire to keep this process moving quickly. I hope we see nothing even approaching brinksmanship. The country cannot afford that right now. Instead, I hope we see bipartisan cooperation.

Bipartisanship is always the best way to avoid default and get this bill over the finish line. We have said it over and over again. Bipartisanship is what prevented default under President Trump; it is what prevented default under President Biden; and it is what will prevent default in this case too. Partisanship and hostage-taking, meanwhile, were never going to win the day.

Let me say this. Last night's House vote was a resounding affirmation of bipartisanship, which I hope bodes well for quick movement here in the Senate. Large majorities from both sides came together to produce last night's 314--314--``yes'' votes. Two-thirds of Republicans voted for it, and more than two-thirds of Democrats voted for it. I thank my House colleagues on both sides of the aisle who fulfilled their duty to prevent a catastrophic default.

We need that same spirit of bipartisanship that governed the House vote to continue here in the Senate this morning. I hope that very soon we can finish the job of putting the default in our rearview mirror. This is the best thing we can do right now for our economy and for American families.

I am optimistic the Senate is going to get this done, but it will take one

more concerted, focused, and bipartisan push to get us over the finish line.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, if you are one of the over 43 million Americans with Federal student loan debt, today's Republican measure attacking debt relief is a slap in the face. Even a casual examination of today's CRA shows that is a cruel measure.

This is what Republicans are proposing: They not only want to sabotage President Biden's student debt relief, they not only want to put a stop to future payment pauses, Republicans actually want to ask for payments and interest retroactively--from September to December of last year.

That is right; if you are a student loan borrower and were told that you didn't have to worry about payments last fall, you could be back on the hook if Republicans get their way. This Republican bill is a student debt bait-and-switch, penalizing borrowers by an average of $1,500 in extra payments.

And there is another twist in the knife: If you are a first responder, an educator, a member of the military, or any sort of employee in the public sector, the Republican bill could jeopardize your eligibility for the public service loan forgiveness program. We should be in the business of helping Americans saddled with student loan debt, not making their problems worse as this measure would do. I will vote no.

Vote on H.J. Res. 45

The joint resolution was ordered to a third reading and was read the third time.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 84,

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following joint statement from Senator McConnell and me be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the motion to proceed.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the only amendments in order be the following to H.R. 3746: Paul No. 107; Braun No. 91; Marshall No. 110; Sullivan No. 125; Hawley No. 93; Kennedy No. 104; Cotton No. 106; Budd No. 134; Lee No. 98; Kaine No. 101; Kennedy No. 102; that at 7:30 p.m., if any of these amendments have been offered, the Senate vote on the amendments in the order listed, with 60 affirmative votes required for adoption with the exception of the Lee amendment, Kennedy amendment No. 102, and the Kaine amendment; that there be 2 minutes for debate, equally divided, prior to each vote and with 6 minutes, equally divided, prior to each of the votes on the Kennedy amendments; that following disposition of the above amendments, the bill be considered read a third time and the Senate vote on the passage of the bill, as amended, if amended, with 60 affirmative votes required for passage, all without intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all votes after the first be 10-minute votes in length.

Mr. President, I am pleased--so pleased--to announce that both sides have just locked in an agreement that enables the Senate to pass legislation tonight, avoiding default.

For the information of my colleagues, this is what will happen on the floor: In a few minutes, the Senate will begin holding votes on 11 amendments--10 from the Republican side and 1 from the Democratic side.

To finish our work tonight, after the first amendment, we are limiting each vote to 10 minutes. So I ask my colleagues to stay in their seats or near the floor during the votes. Let's keep this process moving quickly. After we finish voting on the amendments, we are immediately considering final passage, and by passing this bill, we will avoid default tonight.

America can breathe a sigh of relief--a sigh of relief--because, in this process, we are avoiding default. From the start, avoiding default has been our North Star. The consequences of defaulting would be catastrophic. It

would almost certainly cause another recession. It would be a nightmare for our economy and millions of American families. It would take years--years--to recover from. But for all of the ups and downs and twists and turns it took to get here, it is so good for this country that both parties have come together at last to avoid default.

I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their cooperation. Let's finish the job and send this very important bipartisan bill to the President's desk tonight.

Mr. President, I also want to dispel rumors and reassure our friends across the world about the Senate's commitment and ability to respond to emerging threats and needs.

This debt ceiling deal does nothing to limit the Senate's ability to appropriate emergency/supplemental funds to ensure our military capabilities are sufficient to deter China, Russia, and our other adversaries and respond to ongoing and growing national security threats, including Russia's ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, our ongoing competition with China and its growing threat to Taiwan, Iranian threats to American interests and those of our partners in the Middle East, or any other emerging security crisis; nor does this debt ceiling deal limit the Senate's ability to appropriate emergency/ supplemental funds to respond to various national issues, such as disaster relief, or combating the fentanyl crisis, or other issues of national importance.

I know a strong bipartisan majority of Senators stands ready to receive and process emergency funding requests from the administration. The Senate is not about to ignore national needs nor abandon our friends and allies who face urgent threats from America's most dangerous adversaries.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, about an hour ago, I entered a statement into the Record, and I would like to read it so the Members can hear it.

I want to also dispel rumors and reassure our friends across the world about the Senate's commitment and ability to respond to emerging threats and needs. This debt ceiling deal does nothing to limit the Senate's ability to appropriate emergency/supplemental funds to ensure our military capabilities are sufficient to deter China, Russia, and our other adversaries and respond to ongoing and growing national security threats, including Russia's evil ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, our ongoing competition with China and its growing threat to Taiwan, Iranian threats to American interests and those of our partners in the Middle East, or any other emerging security crisis; nor does this debt ceiling limit the Senate's ability to appropriate emergency/supplemental funds to respond to various national issues, such as disaster relief, combating the fentanyl crisis, or other issues of national importance.

I know a strong bipartisan majority of Senators stands ready to receive and process emergency funding requests from the administration. The Senate is not about to ignore our national needs nor abandon our friends and allies who face urgent threats from America's most dangerous adversaries.

Mr. President, I want to remind Members, we were indulgent in the first vote. That is over. We are doing 10-minute votes. Please stay in your seats so we can finish this bill at a reasonable hour.

Madam President, that was 12 minutes. We are getting down to 10. Everyone should be here. Call the vote.

Ten minutes forty seconds. We have got 40 seconds to go, and we can get it all in 10.

Vote on Amendment No. 125

That took 9 minutes 40 seconds. Keep going.

(Applause.)

Madam President, we are slipping a little--11 minutes. Let's stay in our seats.

Madam President, 10\1/2\ minutes. We are getting a little better than last time. Let's get it down to 10. Stay here. We are all getting to know each other now.

All right, everybody, that is our record--9:20. Let's beat it.

Madam President, first, I want to thank everybody for cooperating. I think we got the most votes in the least time.

Second, and more importantly, we are about to vote on something so important to the country, and so many of us on both sides of the aisle will know that if we do this, we will not default. That is very, very important.

Thank you for your cooperation.

The next vote is Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

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

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 179.

Mr. President, 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 Calendar No. 26.

Mr. President, 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 Calendar No. 81.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, June 1, be waived.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Madam President, I have three requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

committee on energy and natural resources

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

committee on foreign relations

The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at 10:30 a.m., to conduct a business meeting.

committee on the judiciary

The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at 10 a.m., to conduct an executive business meeting.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the junior Senator from Illinois, the senior Senator from Hawaii, and the junior Senator from Maryland be authorized to sign duly enrolled bills or joint resolutions from June 1, 2023, through June 5, 2023.