Floor Statements

Mr. President, for months--for months--Americans have watched in horror as ICE agents have stopped acting like law enforcement

and started terrorizing communities across the country. In cities like Minneapolis, Chicago, Phoenix, and elsewhere, Federal agents have been running around with no identification, barging into homes without warrants, arresting people without due process, using force in ways that violate people's constitutional rights. On two occasions, American citizens were executed in broad daylight. No other police department in America--no city police, no sheriffs, no State police, or until recently, no Federal police--would tolerate this kind of unrestrained barbarity.

The American people are reacting. They are appalled. The data shows that, overwhelmingly, even Republicans--non-MAGA Republicans in particular--are really upset about these violations of rights. They look at the pictures on TV, and they say: This is not America. This is not America.

Well, Donald Trump is realizing that Americans are turning against him on this issue. And it is not an immigration issue; it is a public safety issue, and the Republicans are on the wrong side of public safety right now. In fact, they are defending using tax dollars to create chaos in our cities instead of using those dollars to reduce costs of healthcare.

Well, Donald Trump is getting it. He called me last week because he didn't want to have the six bills tied together. He knew Homeland Security was much more of a problem.

And yesterday, in an interview, Trump said: ``[M]aybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch'' when it comes to ICE's tactics.

Well, President Trump, if you want a softer touch, then the right answer is to lean on Republican leaders in Congress to pass the proposals Democrats have put together. Frankly, Republican leaders can't get it done without you, President Trump, because they are too scared and too gripped by the extreme right to do anything without your backing.

Their immediate rejection of the Democrats' reasonable, commonsense proposals was totally predictable because the Republican leaders don't want ICE to have any accountability--totally adverse to what Americans believe and want.

Passing legislation along the lines that Democrats have proposed is the right thing to do. Americans already support our ideas. They are not extreme. They mirror the same standards that law enforcement around the country already follows.

The change, of course, will require legislation or the public won't buy it, and legislation will require Donald Trump to push the Republicans into action.

Leader Jeffries and I are ready to negotiate. Yesterday, we formally shared our specific demands with Republican leadership about what must happen to rein in ICE and stop the violence.

And Democrats in the House and Senate are on the same exact page about what needs to be done to rein in ICE, end the violence. What must we do? We must see the end of roving patrols. People can't just be picked up on the street and thrown into some dark place with no explanation as to why with no warrant. You can't barge into someone's home without a warrant. That is what we are saying.

We need reasonable use-of-force policies like States do. Every State has good rules for their police, for their sheriffs. Why should ICE be the only exception? Why should they be allowed to continue to terrorize our cities?

And, of course, we must have no secret police with masks off and cameras on. Speaker Johnson--he says that is wrong.

Why? Explain it. Every local community--I am sure the communities down in Louisiana, the sheriffs and State police, have full identification of police officers.

Yes, there is a problem with doxing, and that can easily be dealt with in the rare moment it happens. That doesn't require all masks stay on. Everyone knows that. These are just excuses because they are afraid of the rightwing who believe in this horrible stuff.

We also make clear that certain places like schools and churches and election places should be off limits.

We make it clear that American citizens cannot be arrested and detained without due process.

Republicans, Leader Thune, Leader Johnson, explain why you think it is OK for American citizens to be arrested and detained without any due process. Explain it.

Just like you have to explain why you want to keep the masks on. Just like you ought to explain why people can be arrested without warrants. Explain it: Why?

But, instead, just a quick, immediate dismissal because you are afraid to negotiate.

Our demands are not crazy demands. It is the kind of stuff that applies to police departments everywhere. We are not going out on a limb saying Federal officers should have identification.

We know what we are talking about when we say that the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure, should be obeyed. This is middle school civics class stuff we are dealing with here.

So I am just astounded to hear Republicans like Johnson and Republican Senators, some of them, say our proposals are somehow political or nonstarters.

Political? Republicans think it is political and nonstarters to say police should identify themselves? Explain that to America.

It is not political. It is the Constitution, and it is the moral and right thing to do in a democratic country. It is about people's basic rights. It is about people's safety.

If Republicans don't like our proposals, pouting is not going to make the chaos in the streets go away. The Republicans need to explain why to the American people. Let me say it again: If Republicans don't like our proposals, pouting is not enough. They need to explain why to the American people--because they don't have a good explanation. They are just afraid of the rightwing, some of those crazies on the right who actually do want to rip up the Constitution.

The truth is Republicans cannot explain why our ideas are extreme because they know deep down that what ICE is doing is indefensible, so they are stuck.

If Republicans think it is political or extreme to say ICE agents ought to identify themselves, again, explain why to the American people.

Johnson, explain why it is OK to do it in Louisiana but it is not OK to do it here, to have police identify themselves.

If Republicans think it is political or extreme to say it is wrong for ICE agents to raid churches and schools and hospitals--oftentimes with no warrant and no cooperation with local police--they should explain why.

If Republicans think the status quo with ICE is OK, they should back it up and say so to the American people.

Now, most Americans, we Democrats, support law enforcement. We support our police. They have hard jobs. They put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe. What Americans don't support are the kind of abuses ICE is committing with impunity across communities, and police officers don't like it either. It gives them a bad name.

ICE's behavior is not law enforcement; it is thuggery. ICE's behavior is not law enforcement; it is thuggery. It puts people in danger.

President Trump knows things have to change. He should lean on Republicans in Congress to work with Democrats and deliver. This is a gut-check moment for Congress. Americans expect nothing short of real, meaningful, commonsense legislation. Americans expect us to rein in ICE and end the violence, which we can do right here, if only the Republicans cooperate and do the right thing.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, 2 months ago, nearly every single Member of the House and Senate voted to pass a very simple bill with a very simple message: release the Epstein files. The legal deadline to release the files was December 19--nearly 50 days ago--and the American people are still waiting for the truth to come out. The December 19 deadline was not a recommendation; it wasn't a suggestion. Releasing the Epstein files is the law, a law that every single Member of this Chamber--Democrat, Republican, Independent--supported as well as every Member of the House, save one.

So where are we today, 50 days past the deadline?

At best, according to the Department of Justice's own admissions, maybe half of all of the available Epstein files have been released. That means millions of documents which contain the names of coconspirators: financial records, travel logs, letters, emails. The public deserves to see those documents, but the heinous crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and his coconspirators remain shrouded in darkness. These are things the public deserves to see, but they are shrouded in darkness, and whatever materials have been released have often been redacted to an absurd degree. Hundreds of pages have been blotted out to the point that it is just a wall of black ink. That is it--a wall of black ink. Look at this: There are hundreds of pages that look just like this. This is not transparency. This is not what the law requires. This is a mockery of the truth and an insult to the survivors.

What makes this all the more sickening is that, in over 1,000 instances, the Justice Department failed to follow the law and leaked the identities of over 100 victims. But do you know whom the Justice Department did seem to protect? Epstein's coconspirators. Do you know whom else the Justice Department seemed to protect? Donald Trump. What is Pam Bondi trying to hide?

Enough is enough. Today, I come to the floor to seek unanimous agreement of a resolution directing the Senate to sue the Trump administration for violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Fifteen of my Democratic colleagues have joined in cosponsoring this resolution, and I thank every single one of them for standing firm.

I urge my Republican colleagues not to stand in the way today. It is the height of absurdity for Republicans to have supported the Epstein Files Transparency Act but to then go ahead and object to enforcing it--what hypocrisy. Objecting today would completely cancel out the whole point of Republicans' supporting the law in the first place.

Finally, the people who have lost the most and who have suffered the most are Jeffrey Epstein's victims. With me, I have a letter from about 20 of the victims, explaining how reckless and dangerous it was for the DOJ to carelessly

release the victims' information while going to great lengths to redact the names of the coconspirators.

So I ask unanimous consent that this letter from Jeffrey Epstein's survivors, detailing the grave harms of the DOJ's careless release of victims' identities, be printed in the Congressional Record.

Enough is enough. Congress spoke with one voice when it passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The deadline has long passed, and the Trump Justice Department is still breaking the law. Senate Democrats are exhausting every possible avenue to force the administration to do what it is already legally required to do: release the complete files and deliver transparency and justice, finally, to Epstein's victims. If the administration will not follow the law, which it isn't, the Senate must act. No one, not even the President, is above the law.

The question before Senate Republicans, today, is simple: Will they enforce the law that they helped to pass or object and help keep the Epstein files hidden?

So, as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 597; that the resolution be agreed to; that the preamble be agreed to; and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

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

Mr. President, the wounds of this Nation will not heal until the terrible abuses of ICE are reined in. The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have shocked people from one end of America to the other. The image of Federal law enforcement gunning down and murdering U.S. citizens in broad daylight is abominable.

Now, a few moments ago, Tom Homan announced that there will be a drawdown of 700 law enforcement officers in Minneapolis.

Let's be very clear. Homan's announcement is not close to enough. Seven hundred officers is going to be like a drop in the bucket to the people of Minneapolis, as over 2,000 agents--representing 70 percent of agents--will still be on the streets, brutalizing citizens, abusing citizens, abusing people. It is not close to enough.

They all have to leave now. That is what the people of Minneapolis want, and, frankly, that is what the American people want, having seen these images.

Seventy percent of the problem is still stationed in Minneapolis. The chaos is going to continue. The danger that someone gets killed--God forbid--continues. All of ICE needs to leave Minneapolis now. They are not needed. Residents don't want them patrolling the streets like a military occupation.

To say, if 70 percent represents it, that about three-quarters of Minneapolis will still be militarily occupied ain't close to good enough. It is not what the people of Minneapolis want. It is not what the American people want. A full withdrawal of ICE is the only step-- the only right step--for the safety of the citizens and to allow Minneapolis to go function again.

I have heard from our Senators. People can't go to schools. Stores are closed. Life is disrupted, and it is disrupted as much by 2,000 agents as by 2,700 agents.

Tom Homan is saying that a small group of agents will leave sometime down the line, and that is meaningless.

And let's be honest, Tom Homan is no hero. Removing Bovino and replacing him with Homan is like switching from somebody who is really, really, really bad to someone who is just really, really bad. That is cold comfort to the people of Minneapolis.

Tom Homan was the architect and the chief progenitor of many of the awful policies we see in effect right now that are hurting residents in Minneapolis and in so many other places in America.

Today's announcement only affirms that the real solution to ICE is never going to come from the executive branch policing itself. ICE's abuse is not a problem that can be solved by executive fiat--and particularly when it is from Donald Trump. We all know that tomorrow Donald Trump could put the 700 troops back, acting like he didn't even ask for them to be withdrawn. That is how Trump operates.

We need legislation, not executive fiat subject to the whims of Donald Trump. With Donald Trump, it is easy come, easy go. So we need legislation.

Look, most Americans--certainly I--stand firmly behind law enforcement. They have a tough job. They put themselves at risk every day to keep our communities safe. But what Americans don't like is a subset of Federal agents going off the rails and acting with zero restraint, zero accountability, and acting like a squad of roving thugs--goons.

So Democrats have been clear about what Congress needs to do to end ICE's violence and ensure public safety. ICE needs to end roving patrols, follow basic standards of accountability, and end the secret police who are masked and unidentified.

These are reasonable demands. Reasonable demands include masks coming off and cameras staying on. Real reasonable demands include accountability so that someone is looking over what is going on here and stopping it and limiting it. Reasonable demands mean no roving patrols where these ICE agents just, at whim, pick up people going to schools and churches.

What we are asking is common sense and what the American people want, and so it is troubling and perplexing that some Republicans, led by Speaker Johnson, are right now siding with the secret police.

Speaker Johnson says having ICE agents take off their masks would somehow create further danger. Does he know anything about law enforcement? When he goes home to Louisiana, do the sheriffs or police officers wear masks? No.

In every jurisdiction in America, police officers identify themselves. It is a good way of dealing with the handful of abusive officers that exist. It is a good way to make sure people know what is happening.

And Johnson says taking masks off is a danger? A greater danger than people getting shot or beaten to a pulp on the streets by unidentified secret police?

Meanwhile, the senior Senator from Texas called the idea of no masks ridiculous. Senator Cornyn says taking masks off is ridiculous.

But I will tell you what is actually ridiculous: defending secret police after they murder or maim or brutalize people in our streets. It is ridiculous to look at all the images of chaos to see what is happening in Minneapolis and other cities, to see the tear gas and bodies lying lifeless, people hurt and beaten, thrown into dark prisons with no understanding of why they were picked up and put in these prisons. That is the danger.

It is ridiculous to think that ICE, a force of untrained people, should get special treatment, while every other law enforcement agency in the country is asked to follow reasonable codes of conduct.

When you get pulled over, the traffic cop doesn't wear a mask. People don't see sheriffs and their deputies running around wearing masks. Security guards and State troopers and even most FBI agents don't walk around wearing masks. But, all of a sudden, these ICE agents, who have one of the worst records of law enforcement we have seen in America in decades, should be allowed to wear masks.

It is truly ridiculous for Republicans to argue that at this very delicate moment, when people fear excessive force from Federal agents, the right answer is to defend ICE's ability to wear masks and enter homes with zero guardrails.

Now, we have just a few days until DHS funding runs out. Democrats have been clear on what needs to happen. Our proposals are designed to ensure public safety and instill the kind of guardrails that the vast majority of Americans support.

Republicans need to realize that the single worst thing they can do right now, in the eyes of the Nation, is to double down on the status quo of ICE. They must negotiate. They must sit down and work out a real solution.

The Nation is tired of the chaos ICE is unleashing on our streets and does not want Republicans in the Senate and House to sit on their hands and allow it to continue.

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

Mr. President, in a podcast interview released yesterday, Donald Trump called for Republicans to ``take over voting in 15 States in the country.'' Trump said:

The Republicans should say, we want to take over. We [want

to] take [things] over. Republicans ought to nationalize the

voting.

Let me say that again because it is hard to believe that a President of the United States--anyone who believes in democracy, anyone who believes in the Constitution, anyone who believes in this Country-- would say it, but Trump said it. Trump said:

Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.

This is more dangerous, autocratic poison from Donald Trump. What does Donald Trump think he ran for--a dictatorship, President for life in a single-party state, where one party runs the elections, like in every other tin-pot dictatorship?

This President clearly doesn't believe in democracy at all. Never in American history have we had a President so hostile to democratic traditions. Even worse, never have we had a President who breaks the norms that have made this country strong and held it together for centuries, and he just slashes them. And people on the other side of the aisle just shrug their shoulders. It is incredible.

Democracy is at risk here from the President of the United States, and the people who might have the most say over him, the Republican Senators, are silent, quaking in their boots that they can never criticize Donald Trump, no matter how outrageous what he says is.

What Donald Trump wants is a one-party MAGA dictatorship. Do you want your kids to grow up in that autocracy? Do you want your kids to grow up in a one-party MAGA dictatorship, which is what Trump is calling for? He wants MAGA to call the shots and MAGA to control the elections.

Democracy trusts the people, but Donald Trump fears the people. He wants to make sure those who disagree with him don't have a voice. He can't stand criticism. Republicans ought to fiercely condemn Donald Trump's vicious attacks against our democratic systems. They are not only vicious; they are dangerous.

Republicans seem to have no problem criticizing Democrats who are trying to make it easier to vote, saying we are trying to nationalize elections. Yet when Donald Trump actually wants the Federal Government to control how elections are run in the States, the Republican Senate is silent as mice.

It is not just Donald Trump's words. If it were just his words, you might shrug your shoulders. It is his actions. He carries these things out--FBI agents raiding election offices in Georgia; Trump ordering his goons to dig up fake evidence of stolen elections and people voting illegally; demanding that States turn over voter rolls to the Department of Justice, which is his own attack dog; threatening to use the Insurrection Act against States he doesn't like.

We know why Donald Trump is doing this. He is losing support of the American people, and he knows it. So he doesn't want them to vote. He doesn't want them to have power.

The American people are sending his candidates packing at the polls in State after State, most recently in Texas. They are losing elections by dramatic amounts because the people are repudiating Donald Trump.

What is his answer? To try and lower people's costs, to try and reduce the chaos in our cities? Oh, no. Take away people's right to vote. Let Donald Trump and his MAGA goons run the elections.

Democracy, the roots of which tunnel deep into the soil of this great country, has turned against Donald Trump in a truly profound way. We haven't seen anything quite like this, the dramatic drops in the President's popularity and poll numbers. So, of course, what is his answer? What is Trump's answer? Undo democracy itself.

That is the oldest trick in the book of dictators. Just say the elections are fake. Say certain people's votes don't count; your side should control the elections for some made-up reason or another.

Well, we have seen this, again and again, in countries around the world but never in the United States of America, until now. That is what makes Donald Trump's agenda such a danger to the grand American tradition of democracy, because it is only about him and the power he can grab. He doesn't have a single democratic fiber in his being. It is all about Donald Trump, his ego, his power, his self-aggrandizement. That is it. Democracy doesn't matter. The American people don't matter.

I ask my Republican colleagues: When the hell will you find your voice? When he says that we should nationalize the elections and Republicans should take over, and you don't make a peep? What is going on here? You are just so afraid?

This is the path that has ruined many a democracy.

Now, our democracy is deep and strong, but it requires and allows resistance to these things--verbal resistance, electoral resistance. Where are you? When are Republican colleagues going to speak against such brutish autocratic drivel from Trump?

His drive to autocracy is so obvious that any sixth-grade social studies student would recognize what Donald Trump is doing and tell you it is totally against what America is all about.

Republicans, if they think they are going to get the crumbs from Donald Trump's table when he gets his way, they are sadly mistaken. Donald Trump's autocratic instincts will consume everyone, Democrats and Republicans alike.

Republicans must reject Trump's call to nationalize elections, the very pillars of our grand democracy, our grand national experiment. Democracy must prevail over the cult of arrogant, autocratic, egotistical personality.

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

Mr. President, so last week, the Senate did its job to fund 96 percent of the government, while splitting the DHS bill from the rest of the funding package so we can rein in ICE and end the violence. Now, it is the House's turn to do its job, but a band of MAGA radicals want to highjack government funding to push an outlandishly toxic bill called the SAVE Act that would disenfranchise millions of American citizens.

Just a few hours ago, Donald Trump said he wants to nationalize elections around the country. That is what Trump said--you think he believes in democracy? He said, ``We want to take over . . . the Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.''

Does Donald Trump need a copy of the Constitution? What he is saying is outlandishly illegal. Once again, the President is talking no differently than a dictator who wants elections in America to be as legitimate as elections in countries like Venezuela.

And make no mistake, one of the tools to nationalize elections is precisely the SAVE Act that some Republicans are pushing in the House. I want to be very clear: The SAVE Act is dead on arrival in the Senate, and every single Senate Democrat will vote against any bill--any bill-- that contains it.

It is outrageous that House Republicans would even consider putting in the SAVE Act in legislation to fund the government.

Democrats have been clear for months. We will never in a million years consider this deeply restrictive and overreaching piece of legislation. Republicans who are pushing for the SAVE Act are trying to kill the funding bill and prolong this shutdown. That is all they want. They want to kill the bill, kill the funding bill, and have a prolonged shutdown.

Speaker Johnson should tell these SAVE Act Republicans to stand down, or else this shutdown is on the Republicans' shoulders.

Now, as for the SAVE Act itself, it has nothing to do with protecting our elections and everything to do with federalizing voter suppression. The SAVE Act is nothing more than Jim Crow 2.0. If the SAVE Act were to become law, online registration, registration by mail, and registration drives become a thing of the past. If you are one of tens of millions of Americans who does not have access to your birth certificate or if you are one of the 50 percent of Americans who don't have a passport, the SAVE Act could make it impossible for you to participate in elections. It would lead to massive purges that inevitably remove legitimate American citizens who have a right to vote from voter rolls. And even married couples aren't spared from the SAVE Act. If you get married and you change your last name, you too would be at risk under the SAVE Act of getting booted off the voter rolls.

This is just an outrageous piece of legislation. It is turning the clock back 100 years. It comes out of some rightwing brain that believes that certain people really shouldn't vote, that some citizens are more valuable than others.

So let me be clear as I can: The SAVE Act is dead on arrival in the Senate.

Hear that, House rightwingers? It ain't happening. Anyone who is trying to push the SAVE Act as part of the government funding is pining for a shutdown.

Mr. President, now as for reining in ICE, right now Americans from all walks of life--left, right, and center--agree that the status quo with ICE cannot continue and Congress needs to make a change. What is happening in Minneapolis and other cities around the country is not law and order. It is thuggery--thuggery.

Here is what former border control head Greg Bovino said recently in a video that circulated online:

Arrest as many people [who] touch you as you want to. Those

are general orders, all the way to the very top.

That is the rhetoric of police states. That is precisely the abuse that Congress needs to stop. That is why we were so intent on splitting off the Homeland Security bill from the rest of the funding bills, so we could focus on it, so we could rein it in--rein in ICE--and end the violence.

Republicans need to take a good look at what is happening around the country and realize, too, that it is time to rein in ICE's abuses. We should be going after ``the worst of the worst,'' as the administration says, instead of unleashing fear and chaos on everybody else.

What Democrats want is exceedingly reasonable. We need to end roving patrols. That means arrest warrants and ending racial profiling.

Second, we need real accountability, having ICE abide by the same rules as local police do, including independent investigations of ICE.

And, third, masks need to come off. Cameras need to stay on. Officers need visible ID. No secret police.

These changes are as common sense as it gets. There is nothing insane, as some Republicans think, asking Federal agents to respect the Fourth Amendment. It does not criminalize law enforcement to ask them to identify themselves and follow the same basic code as other law enforcement.

This idea that Johnson has that ICE people should be able to wear masks--police officers don't wear masks all across the country. And if anyone needs to be identified, it is these abusive thugs who are in the Border Patrol, who are in ICE.

If Republicans can't come to the table on these very sensible changes, then the violence we see happening around the country is going to continue.

Mr. President, finally, on Epstein, the only real conclusion we can make about the latest release of the Epstein files is this: The DOJ cares more about protecting Donald Trump than it cares about protecting Epstein's victims.

These new releases expose the identity of nearly 100 victims in over 1,000 instances. This is not mere sloppiness. This is wanton negligence that puts the safety of these victims at risk. It is one thing for DOJ to miss a couple of redactions here or there--and that is still bad-- but to fail thousands of times to protect people's identities begs the question of whether this was intentional.

And, look, the DOJ's failure to protect the identities of the victims is bad enough, but what makes it even more heinous is how far the DOJ went to protect Donald Trump during these releases. The DOJ took down pages and pages of documents that were full of vulgar accusations against the President. And when they got caught, they put the documents back up without redacting the information of the victims.

If DOJ cared half as much about protecting Epstein's victims as they cared about shielding Donald Trump, then maybe the public would trust them more. But right now, there is zero trust that the DOJ is being on the level.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, as the Senate gavels into session, Members are working on moving forward on a deal to fund the government and working on legislation desperately needed to rein in ICE's abuses.

If Republicans are serious about the very reasonable demands Democrats have put forward on ICE, then there is no good reason we can't come together very quickly to produce legislation. It should take less than 2 weeks because what we are asking for is very simple, and our Republican colleagues know that we need to make changes. Now, time is of the essence.

Senate Democrats are very clear on what the Nation needs right now. First, we need to rein in ICE and end the violence. That means ending roving patrols. It means requiring rules, oversight, and judicial warrants. Second, we need real accountability over ICE and Border Patrol. And, third, masks need to come off, cameras need to stay on, and officers need visible identification--no secret police.

These are not radical demands. They are basic standards the American people already expect from law enforcement. I hope we can get voting quickly here in the Senate, today, so we can move forward on the important work of reining in ICE. The clock is ticking, the Nation is waiting, and the abuses of ICE must come to an end.

Don Lemon

Mr. President, on another issue, last night, Federal agents arrested journalist Don Lemon in Los Angeles after he recently covered protest activities in Minnesota.

Once again, the administration is behaving no differently from the police states and authoritarian regimes across history. They arrested a journalist for the crime of doing his job.

Let's be very clear. This arrest is not just about one journalist and one incident. The arrest is a dark message to journalists everywhere: If you dare criticize this administration, watch your back.

That is not a democracy. That is a police state, and that is pure authoritarian bile. Democracy will suffer if the government chokes our civil liberties.

Under this administration, the Department of Justice has, all too often, become the ``Department of Vengeance.''

Don Lemon should be released at once, and the frivolous charges against him dropped.

Federal Reserve

Mr. President, on the Fed, this morning, President Trump announced he has chosen Kevin Warsh to serve as the next Chair of the Federal Reserve. This announcement comes as a dark cloud hangs over the Fed.

Over the last year, Donald Trump has gone to lengths no President has gone to before to harass, intimidate, and coerce the Fed to serve his own political interests, instead of what is good for the U.S. economy.

His administration has pushed frivolous attacks against Lisa Cook. They have pushed bogus accusations and investigations against Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. These attacks undermine the independence of one of the most important entities in the world economy.

So I would simply say this about Mr. Warsh: Donald Trump is trying to cannibalize the Federal Reserve to eliminate its independence, and Mr. Warsh has an obligation to ensure that does not happen. He must make clear that he would keep the Fed independent and free from Donald Trump's bullying, or else, he must not be confirmed.

And if Donald Trump won't drop his vendetta against the Fed, weaponizing the Justice Department to go after Powell and Cook, Republicans must not move Mr. Warsh's nomination forward.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Madam President, now, this morning, we got news that another tranche of Epstein files was released by the DOJ, but these releases raise far more questions than answers. There is a lot here that does not add up.

First, the DOJ says all the documents were released. Well, does that include all the coconspirator memos? all the corporate protection memos? the original Palm Beach Police Department reports?

We need answers to that, those and other areas that may not have been included, and we just don't know those answers.

Second, has all the relevant information been released on each of the 10 Epstein coconspirators?

There are 10 coconspirators. In this new tranche of documents, is every one of those 10 included? And if not, why not?

Third, the DOJ numbers keep changing. They say they collected 6 million pages, but they are only releasing 3. What happened to the other 3 million? What is in them?

And, finally, has every document that mentions the word ``Trump'' been released? Yes or no?

We need answers. It is now 42 days and counting that the administration has violated the law by failing to release all the files. Every Member of this body voted that all the Epstein files should be released, and we are not

satisfied that the law is being complied with. We believe it is not.

The American people need answers, above all. The American people are asking about this. Pressure from the American people got just about every Member of the House and Senate to vote to release the files. Why hasn't the whole thing been released? And why are there so many holes, missing pieces, unanswered questions when it comes to the release of the Epstein files?

The longer Pam Bondi hides the truth from the American people, the more the American people ask: What are they trying to hide?

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, this is a moment of truth for the United States of America. What the Nation witnessed on Saturday in the streets of Minneapolis was a moral abomination. Federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, an American citizen, in broad daylight.

It was the second time that agents killed a U.S. citizen in 2 weeks after the tragic killing also of Renee Good.

Enough is enough.

What ICE is doing outside the law is state-sanctioned thuggery, and it must stop. It is state-sanctioned thuggery, and it must stop. Congress has the authority and the moral obligation to act.

This morning in Minneapolis, Tom Homan, Donald Trump's border czar, held a press conference. He didn't say much of significance, but he did say one thing that was important. Here is what Homan said:

For the people out there who don't like what ICE is doing,

if you want certain laws reformed, then take it up with

Congress.

For the people out there--

Homan said,

--who don't like what ICE is doing, if you want certain laws

reformed, then take it up with Congress.

I don't agree very much with Mr. Homan, and he is certainly not my choice for someone to lower the temperature in Minneapolis, but he is right in saying the epicenter of change has to be Congress--not the executive branch.

And change is desperately needed because the images of masked men beating up people in the streets and shooting American citizens in broad daylight have shocked the conscious.

Alex was holding his hand up. He had one hand up and another hand holding, I believe it was, a radio, and they shot him many times. It made every American recoil to see that our law enforcement is doing that to our citizens.

It is confounding. It does not look like America in these pictures. Oh, no. And it has been unleashed by Donald Trump and the people under him--Noem, who should be out of there. Thank God they got rid of Bovino. His face, when you saw, it looked like he was grimacing like a thug.

This has got to stop.

Congress must step up to the plate. The Republican majority must step up

to the plate. Republicans in Congress cannot allow this violent status quo to continue. They must work with Democrats on legislation--real legislation, strong legislation--to rein ICE in.

Let me be clear: Democrats are ready to pass five bipartisan funding bills in the Senate. We are ready to pass them today. We are ready to fund 96 percent of the Federal Government today, but the DHS bill still needs a lot of work.

So after meeting yesterday as a caucus, Senate Democrats are united on three main goals that will rein in ICE and end the violence--rein in ICE and end the violence: first, end the roving patrols; second, enforce accountability; third, masks off; body cameras on. Each officer must have visible--visible--ID.

Now, no one thinks we are going to solve every single problem in one fell swoop. But the American people are demanding that something gets done. And, of course, to pass legislation and enshrine this into law, we need our Republican colleagues to come along with us.

So, again, first, we need to end ICE's indiscriminate patrols. We need to tighten the rules governing the use of warrants. ICE needs to stop the mass chaotic patrols. They need to work with State law enforcement, local law enforcement--not against them.

That means no more ICE agents barging into people's homes without a judicial warrant. When does that ever happen in America? It is a flagrant violation of the Fourth Amendment.

It also means stopping the dragnet harassment of American communities.

Second, we need accountability. ICE needs to be held to the same basic standards as any law enforcement agency in the country. We need a uniform code of conduct for ICE and all Federal agents, just like State and local law enforcement have. If they violate these standards--like in the instances of Renee Good and Alex Pretti--they must be held fully accountable.

And we need independent investigations, not ICE investigating itself--ICE, the leadership of which is a bunch of liars. We don't trust them to do the investigation.

Most Americans might be shocked to learn that these basic rules do not apply right now to Federal agents like ICE. It is the kind of thing most people would just assume is already in place because it is so obvious, but that is not true when it comes to ICE. They are operating effectively outside the law, and a small glimpse of a video taken by a bystanding citizen shows it every day, every minute. You see these videos. Again, you recoil. It is not America. It is thugs roaming our streets.

Third, we need the masks to come off, and we need the body cameras to stay on. No more secret police. Masks must come off, and body cameras must stay on. Agents need to carry clear identification. The public deserves transparency as it always has asked for with law enforcement.

These three--ending roving patrols; enforcing accountability; masks off, cameras on--are commonsense reforms. They are reforms that Americans already expect from law enforcement.

Now, the onus now is on Leader Thune and Senate Republicans to work with Democrats to turn these goals into legislation. They are in the majority--the Republicans are. They are the ones who have responsibility to govern, and Democrats are ready to come to the table.

If Republicans refuse to work with us to rein in ICE and to end the violence, they are telling the American people they are choosing to protect ICE over choosing to protect people's safety.

Americans, by and large, support law enforcement. I do. And most people support border security. I do as well. But Americans do not support ICE terrorizing our streets, operating outside the law, killing American citizens.

The madness and violence must end. Congress must act to rein in ICE and end the violence--rein in ICE and end the violence.

The American people deserve nothing--nothing--less.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, it has been 4 days since Alex Pretti was murdered in broad daylight by Federal agents in Minneapolis, and there has been zero accountability from Donald Trump for this horrendous act. Donald Trump said yesterday he wants to deescalate things in Minneapolis. But as of today, the Trump administration has taken zero meaningful action to make that happen--zero.

As of this morning, ICE is still roaming the streets in Minneapolis with little restraint. Operation Metro Surge, which is what ICE and Border Patrol call their surge in the city, is not slowing down at all. In fact, let me read a statement that came out yesterday from Acting Assistant Chief of the Border Patrol. Here is what the Acting Assistant Chief of the Border Patrol said:

As of this report, Metro Surge is steady-state and expected

to continue as planned.

Translation: ``Stand back and stand by.''

Trump is not deescalating things in Minneapolis as he claims. On the contrary, his administration is telling ICE and Border Patrol to ``stand back and stand by.'' That is dangerous. ICE needs to leave Minneapolis at once before another tragedy happens. It is the right thing to do, both for the residents of Minneapolis and for law enforcement. But that is just one step of many.

Donald Trump has likewise failed to call out the vicious lies that his own administration told in the aftermath of Alex Pretti's murder. Yesterday on FOX News, a DHS spokesperson refused to deny the characterizations that Alex Pretti was a domestic terrorist--refused to deny those characterizations. It is absurd. A simple answer for the DHS spokesman would have been: No, he is not a domestic terrorist. We were wrong, and it won't happen again.

That is what normal people with normal discourse--Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative--would do. But in this administration, where lying is their trademark and it spreads from the top down, lying is OK. It is too much to ask of this administration to reject and retract this vicious lie about the late Mr. Pretti. It is a disgrace.

And as for President Trump, it is not enough for Donald Trump to meekly suggest he disagrees with the words of Stephen Miller calling Pretti an assassin. Donald Trump is the President, and he needs to act like it. He needs to send a message and make an example of his deputies who deliberately lie to the country in moments of crisis.

But you can see, again, Donald Trump lies all the time. We see it every night on the news, and so all the people below him believe it is OK to lie, too, even vicious lies like the one cast at Mr. Pretti. Instead of holding his own administration accountable for lying about Alex Pretti, Donald Trump continues to blame Alex Pretti for his own death. He said yesterday Pretti should not have been carrying a gun.

The President seems to have forgotten the words of the Second Amendment, ``the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.'' Apparently for Donald Trump, if you are a Trump supporter, it is OK to be a lawful gun owner, but if you are against Donald Trump, it is not. You don't have that right.

Finally, it is outrageous that Kristi Noem still has a job in the administration after Federal officers murdered two American citizens in just 2 weeks. And it is even more disgusting that on each occasion, Kristi Noem lied about what took place.

For the good of the country, Donald Trump needs to fire Kristi Noem at once. Noem is a liar. Noem is incompetent at her job, and she must go.

Many Republicans here in Congress agree that Kristi Noem has lost the trust of the American people. Donald Trump needs to recognize that the tide has turned against her and that her presence does far more harm than good at this point. Donald Trump needs to show Kristi Noem the door and send her packing.

Government Funding

Mr. President, now let's turn to the Senate. Tomorrow, the Senate is scheduled to take the first procedural vote on a six-bill funding package. The right way forward is simple: Five of these bills are ready to go, and the Senate should pass them as soon as possible. If Leader Thune agrees to split these bills, just as Johnson did in the House, Senate Democrats are ready to join Republicans in passing them and funding 96 percent of the Federal Government.

But the DHS bill, the sixth bill, needs more work in the aftermath of Pretti's death, Good's death, and the awful abuses we have seen from ICE across the country.

Until ICE is properly reined in and overhauled, the DHS funding bill doesn't have the votes to pass the Senate. Let me say that again so the White House hears it. Until ICE is properly reined in and overhauled, legislatively, the DHS funding bill doesn't have the votes to pass the Senate.

Now, Leader Thune knows that, and so I urge Leader Thune not to put all six bills, including DHS, on the floor but rather split them so we can focus on what we can pass right now. Time is short. We shouldn't waste time on failed votes right now or else the government will shut down.

I know both sides recognize we need to act in response to the awful tragedies that have taken place in Minneapolis, and Senators--Democrat and Republican--are talking and sharing ideas.

But given how little time we have left before the funding deadline, the first right step for the Senate is for

Leader Thune to split the funding bills and put the five bills on the floor--96 percent of Federal funding--that can pass. It is the right and expedient thing to do to ensure that most of the government is funded in time. And if Thune doesn't do it, the shutdown of the government is on his back. If he does it, if he puts those five bills on the floor and leaves DHS out, then we can have the necessary negotiation to rework the DHS bill and add commonsense safeguards to rein in ICE's very real and very dangerous abuses.

The bottom line is simple: The American people support law enforcement. They support border security, but they did not support ICE terrorizing our streets and killing American citizens.

ICE needs to be held to the same basic standards that any law enforcement agency is asked to follow.

Republicans must work with Democrats on legislative fixes to ensure ICE is reined in and overhauled to protect public safety.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, the Senate gavels into session with the conscience of this Nation shaken to its core. Last Saturday, in the Eat Street district of Minneapolis, 37-year-old Alex Pretti was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent after he was trying to help a woman thrown to the ground by Federal officers.

The many videos of Alex's death circulating online are grisly. They are horrifying. They appear to show Alex was shot 10 times in less than 5 seconds. They show he held nothing more than a cell phone in his hand. If we trust our own eyes and ears, instead of Trump administration propaganda, it is pretty clear that Alex was murdered in broad daylight.

The grief and anger his parents must feel right now must be staggering. He was a decent young man, an intensive care nurse at the VA, who dedicated his life to helping others.

In fact, the morning after Alex Pretti was killed, I was at a doctor's appointment, and, as it turned out, my doctor's assistant was from Minneapolis. She knew Alex Pretti. She said he was just the kindest, gentlest soul you would ever meet, not a bad bone in his body.

Alex Pretti did not deserve to die; nor did Renee Good deserve to die 2 weeks ago, shot in her own car, mere minutes after dropping her kid off at school.

Enough is enough, and that is what America is saying from one end of this country to the other.

What ICE and CBP are doing in Minneapolis and other cities around the country is not border security and certainly not law and order. What ICE is doing is lawless disorder. What ICE is doing is state-sanctioned thuggery, and it must be stopped.

ICE must leave Minnesota today--not tomorrow, not next week, but today.

There were reports that the President is thinking about a reduction in force. A reduction isn't good enough. President Trump should act now to completely withdraw ICE and immediately turn down the temperature.

Americans support law enforcement. Americans support commonsense border security. But America does not support ICE terrorizing our communities.

Look at this picture. This is the kind of picture we are seeing more and more in American cities when ICE descends upon them: Federal agents shooting at and threatening protesters, black ICE SUVs roaming the streets, and agents barging into homes without warrants; ICE encircling schools with riot gear and using kids as bait and terrorizing our communities to the point that people are afraid to go to work, to church, to shop for groceries.

This madness, this terror must stop. The American people--Democrat, Republican, Independent--demand that the chaos and lawlessness of ICE be severely reined in. This week, the Senate will step into the breach.

In a few days, the Senate will consider a package of six funding bills sent to us recently by the House, and five of those bills are ready to go and should quickly pass. I will say more about that in a moment.

But in the wake of ICE's abuses and the administration's recklessness, the Senate must not pass the DHS budget as currently written, and it must be reworked to rein in and overhaul ICE to ensure the public's safety.

The fix should come from Congress. The public can't trust the administration to do the right thing on its own, and Republicans and Democrats must work together to make that happen.

In the meantime, I will vote no on any legislation that funds ICE until it is reined in and overhauled, and Senate Democrats are overwhelmingly united on this issue.

ICE should meet the same basic standards of accountability and due process that any law enforcement Agency is asked to meet.

Now, separately, to finish the appropriations process, Leader Thune should split the funding bills and move forward with the five that already have broad support from both parties. If Leader Thune agrees to split the bills, just as Speaker Johnson split them in the House, and puts the five on the floor, I am confident they will sail--sail-- through the Chamber, and we will have funded 96 percent of the Federal Government.

But if Leader Thune insists on holding a vote on DHS legislation that he knows will not pass, then he will guarantee another unnecessary government shutdown this Friday, and the shutdown will be on Leader Thune's shoulders.

Leader Thune's choice is very simple: Move the five bills that are ready and fund 96 percent of the government, while we work to improve the DHS bill--the Homeland Security bill--or Thune can trigger a shutdown by forcing a vote on a bill everyone knows cannot pass at this moment, the combined bill that contains DHS. The ball is in Leader Thune's court. He must quickly move to prevent a shutdown.

Now, in the meantime--in the meantime--the heads of ICE, CBP, and USCIS should all testify before the Senate as soon as possible. We must not wait for hearings weeks from now. The American people demand truth and accountability right now. I am glad that Republicans like Senator Paul have said likewise.

But we must also be candid: It is bone-chilling that, in the aftermath of the killings in Minneapolis, some of the Trump administration's top officials have chosen to blatantly lie to the American people, like full-fledged authoritarians.

Stephen Miller raced to Twitter to call Alex Pretti a ``would-be assassin'' who ``tried to murder federal law enforcement.'' If you watched footage of the killing, you would know this is an outlandish, shocking, and totally dishonest and despicable thing to say.

Meanwhile, Gregory Bovino, Donald Trump's top Border Patrol officer, also claimed, without a shred of evidence, that Pretti ``wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.''

And then, of course, there is Kristi Noem. Merely hours after Pretti's death, Noem claimed--again, without so much as a morsel of evidence--that he had committed ``an act of domestic terrorism'' and wanted to ``perpetuate violence.''

Do you know what the reaction of these Trump officials--too many of them--seems to be when something terrible happens? To lie about it-- that is their immediate reaction--not to find the truth, not to express any sympathy to those who are dead, but to lie, lie, lie. It is despicable. It is so un-American. It is so different than what we have seen in so many previous administrations. Lies, all of it, just blatant, sickening lies--and that is what these administration officials almost automatically turn to when there is difficulty and there is trouble.

Kristi Noem is a liar. She is vicious. She is also incompetent. Donald Trump must fire her at once before another American is killed under her watch.

So I will say it again: It is bone-chilling that Donald Trump's goons will so eagerly and almost lazily lie right to the public's face--right to the public's face.

And where is the accountability from Donald Trump? He said nothing to call out the nastiness and lies from Noem and Miller. It seems he almost prefers to have serial liars in his administration than honest people.

The kind of dishonesty we see from Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller is the bread and butter of authoritarian regimes, and it is dangerous, dangerous territory for our country. When a government tells its people, ``Ignore what your eyes see, and forget what your ears hear; just listen to us instead,'' then, for all practical purposes, it is not trying to act like a government in a democracy. This is how dictatorships operate, and we are seeing the signs right in front of us, here in America.

The right answer, of course, is to meet the lies with truth. Here in the Senate, the American people deserve to hear that truth under oath when Kristi Noem and other administration officials testify as soon as possible.

And across America, the people must keep defending the truth. They should keep showing up lawfully and documenting abuses by ICE. They must continue to protest peacefully and nonviolently, to exercise their rights to free speech and free assembly, to protect their communities from the abuses of this thuggish government.

It may feel to many like the flame of democracy is flickering into extinction before our eyes, and there is no way to fight back. That is wrong. The good people of Minneapolis--and of so many cities around the country--have shown the answer to authoritarianism: Hold firm, tell the truth, look out for one another, organize, protest. And when the time comes, exercise your greatest power of all: Go to the ballot box and vote. Vote, and vote out the liars.

I yield the floor.

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 just got back from an event at the Center for American Progress. I joined with Senator Duckworth and Senator Schatz to roll out Senate Democrats' new vision to tackle the housing crisis, lowering housing costs for every single American. We call our housing agenda: Opportunity Starts at Home--Opportunity Starts at Home.

Democrats are going to focus on costs like a laser in 2026 and beyond. We are going to lay out, over the next few weeks and months, detailed platforms and plans on many issues related to costs.

In a few weeks, it will be groceries; then, a few weeks later, issues like childcare; then, energy costs, healthcare, and more. We talked about these issues in depth this morning, and I will get to that in a moment.

But, first, I just want to respond to an outrageous thing that happened with the Trump administration yesterday, showing how much of a clueless bubble these people are in. Hold on to your seats. It is hard to believe that

Donald Trump's Secretary Of Agriculture said this--oh yes, a very bold solution to the grocery costs.

She said, basically: Just eat less and spend less. Can you imagine the solution to higher grocery costs, eat less and spend less?

Now, it is hard for people to believe she said it. So let me read the quote.

We've run over 1,000 simulations. It can cost around $3 a

meal for a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, corn

tortilla, and one other thing.

Do you hear that, America? This is what Donald Trump's golden age looks like: a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, a tortilla, and something else that the Secretary of Agriculture forgot.

The people who run this administration are just not serious. This is an insulting way to talk to the American people, telling them: Just get by with less, and stop complaining about affordability.

The American people have had enough of this. So as I just said, Democrats--every day, every week, every month this year--are going to put costs front and center in our agenda. This spring and over the next few months and throughout 2026, Democrats will talk about precisely how a Democratic majority would lower costs for everyday Americans.

We are going to go issue by issue, spending weeks at a time rolling out a plan to lower grocery costs. Then a few weeks later, we will unveil a vision for electricity and energy costs. We will roll out a plan to help people afford childcare and healthcare.

Lower costs is going to be the North Star now and throughout all of 2026. And when it comes to costs, it is important to begin with housing because it quite literally is the closest to home for most people.

For millions of Americans, owning a home is the most important part of the American dream. Young families, when they own a home, know they are building equity and they are building a future, knowing they have something they can give to their kids.

But as we all know, over the last few decades, the American dream of finding a home has become more of a mirage. The median price of a home is up 55 percent since COVID--55 percent. Rent is up by a third.

Listen to this horrifying statistic. This should shake every legislator in their boots because, it is so awful, we have to work to change it. The average first-time home buyer is now 40 years old. That is a record high.

And, again, what has Donald Trump done about all of this? Well, his tariffs have raised housing construction costs by $17,000 per home. He is launching a criminal investigation against the Chair of the Federal Reserve. And when there is chaos and politicization at the Fed, interest rates are more likely to go higher and stay higher because lending institutions, when they are not sure of the future, keep rates high to avoid any sudden downside.

Then, Donald Trump, of all things, proposed 50-year mortgages, an idea so inane and unserious it was ridiculed by the right, left, and center, right after he issued it.

Ironically, the only decent idea Donald Trump has floated recently on housing is one he stole from Democrats, calling for an end to institutional investors gobbling up homes and crowding out individual families.

Democrats tried to get it done last year. Every Democrat voted for it, but the Republicans in Congress voted against it, and we didn't get it passed.

The American people have had enough. What they want isn't rocket science. They simply want lower costs. They want opportunity. And Democrats believe that when it comes to creating opportunity, opportunity must start at home. So that is what I am calling our housing agenda: Opportunity Starts at Home.

The Democratic majority will tackle the housing affordability crisis by working to reduce rent, boost home ownership, stop predatory corporations, supercharge construction, and provide housing security for all Americans. We spoke about these proposals and other things earlier this morning, like passing the ROAD to Housing Act, which Senator Warren put together with great mastery, and it passed the Senate by unanimous consent--unanimously. In her bill, there are many things that Senate Democrats have fought for, many bills that other Members have introduced.

Democrats also want to expand downpayment assistance. We want to encourage local zoning reform by providing new incentives and disincentives--carrots and sticks--to localities to reform outdated rules that stand in the way of building housing. We want to stop institutional investors from gobbling up entire neighborhoods for profit.

We want to empower HUD to invoke the Defense Production Act, something Senator Duckworth has emphasized, guaranteeing the purchase of housing materials in short supply and scaling production of modular and manufactured housing. And we want to create an ARPA Home to bring down housing costs. Just as DARPA was able to lower defense costs, we need an ARPA for housing. It is a national crisis, just as important as defense. So let's get an ARPA for housing.

And this isn't just talk. Democrats have delivered on housing relief when we had the majority. When I was majority leader, we delivered the largest rental relief package ever, and we expanded rental assistance and emergency housing vouchers. We saved millions from eviction in the depths of the COVID crisis.

Now, we need expanded rental relief to help during the housing crisis faced by so many Americans. It is not COVID. It is not happening all at once every place, but it is happening in so many places throughout America. We need the same kind of large rental relief package.

In the weeks and months to come, the American people will also hear from Democrats on other areas where we are fighting to lower costs. As I mentioned, food costs, energy costs, groceries, healthcare, childcare, and so many other things Americans pay for every day.

Democrats are ready to get to work, and as I said, cost--the high cost of living--and the affordability crisis will be our focus throughout 2026 because that is what the American people are demanding. And we will show that the Trump administration and Republicans have made costs even worse, and what Democrats will do, when we get power, to reduce those costs in a very significant way that will affect every single American.

Verizon Outage

Mr. President, now, on the Verizon outage, yesterday, more than 100,000 Verizon users experienced outages and disruptions to their cell service for roughly 10 hours. Obviously, this caused real confusion and disruption for many Americans relying on service for work or emergencies. It is encouraging that Verizon said it will give account credits to customers affected by the outage, but this raises a very serious point.

At a time of high costs, consumers must always be automatically compensated for service disruptions, fully and completely. Last month, I led Senate Democrats in urging Chairman Carr of the FCC to ensure that when outages happen, customers are automatically compensated.

Full compensation to customers for service disruption should be mandated, not just a courtesy, not just a suggestion, not just when the company decides to do it, it is OK, and when they decide not to do it, it is OK, too, because that is wrong.

And, again, at a time when Americans want lower costs, automatic refunds when disruptions occur should be the norm for all telecommunication companies, and the FCC has a responsibility to require just that. Americans already facing high costs shouldn't be the ones paying the price for service disruptions, and the FCC must ensure that.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.