Floor Statements

Mr. President, now, on the recap of our codel: While meeting last week with leaders in Europe, India, Pakistan, and Israel-- the nine of us on our codel--two takeaways became clear. First, the United States should deepen our relationship with India if we want to outcompete the Chinese Communist Party in this century. Second, democracies must unite in increasing aid to Ukraine.

I was glad Prime Minister Modi got the message during our meeting with him in India. My colleagues and I made clear the two largest democracies in the world--the world's oldest democracy and the world's largest--could be a powerful check against the CCP.

That doesn't mean just cooperating with India on defense and security, though that is essential. It means we must take an all-out, all-of-the-above approach, because that is precisely what the CCP is doing.

The CCP wants to outcompete America not just on defense but also economically, geopolitically, technologically, in terms of our fundamental values and more. Just as our transatlantic partnership matters immensely, so too will our partnership with India.

The United States and India must, therefore, keep working together to strengthen our economic ties, expand our trade, and make it easier to recruit talented workers from abroad to work in our country.

While meeting with foreign leaders, we also made clear the importance of standing shoulder to shoulder with the people of Ukraine. We made it clear to the leaders of Europe, India, Pakistan, and Israel that they must increase their aid to Ukraine. Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion is now a year old; and as difficult as the road has been, we made it clear that the worst thing we can do is waver in our support. The Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian Armed Forces are fighting valiantly, but they need more materiel. And it is our job to give it to them. A Russian victory will not quench Putin's hunger for expansion. On the contrary, it would escalate his desire for more territory.

So the right answer is for the transatlantic partnership--and all the free nations of the world--to continue supporting the Ukrainian people.

Mr. President, now on the SCOTUS oral arguments on student debt. Today, the Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments on President Biden's student debt relief plan, a plan that could give tens of millions of Americans a new lease on life.

Republicans talk a big game about helping working people, but today's case before the Supreme Court--pushed by Republican officeholders who oppose the President's plan--is a slap in the face of working Americans across the country, young and old alike. Let me be clear: 90 percent-- 90 percent--of the relief going to out-of-school borrowers will go to those earning less than $75,000 a year. This isn't a handout to the wealthy. Far from it. This is critical relief to working- and middle- class families. For generations, higher education was the ladder up into the middle class, especially for millions of Black, Latino, and Asian Americans.

But over the years, the student debt that comes with a college degree has become not a ladder up but an anchor weighing Americans down-- making it harder for them to put a down payment on a house, buy a car, start a family, and save for retirement. In other words, the burden of student debt makes it harder--harder--to achieve the American Dream.

That is what is at stake before the Supreme Court, not just the chance to relieve the crushing weight of student debt for millions upon millions of people but also to make the American dream a little more accessible for millions more--their families, as well as themselves. That is all we are trying to do, and I am confident we will get there because I believe the law is on our side.

Mr. President, now on CHIPS and Science. Just 6 months after President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law, we are already seeing it pay major--major--dividends for our economy, to the tune of $200 billion in private investments across 16 States. And starting today, applications are officially open for more investments in American industry and American workers.

Today, Secretary Raimondo, who has done terrific work getting CHIPS up and running, is rolling out the Department of Commerce's applications with CHIPS funding.

Today's rollout is a major step towards making America the world leader in chip production once again, with tremendous benefits for our national security, for outcompeting the Chinese Communist Party, and creating tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs right here at home.

So I want to commend Secretary Raimondo, who was not only a crucial partner with me in getting the bill across the finish line but who has also done a fantastic job rolling out the funding so quickly, so effectively, so efficiently. And I want to commend my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for recognizing the need to get this done and pushing to make it happen.

Mr. President, now on to East Palestine. Yesterday, I called on Norfolk Southern's CEO Alan Shaw to come before the Senate and answer questions under oath about the derailment in East Palestine.

The accident has been deemed 100 percent preventable. So Mr. Shaw should be transparent, forthright, and he should not duck but, instead, testify before America, before the Senate, as soon as possible.

Norfolk Southern owes the American people some answers to some very important questions.

Why, for example, did Norfolk Southern spend years pushing the Federal Government, and particularly the Trump administration, to repeal--repeal--safety regulations intended to prevent accidents similar to the one in East Palestine?

Why has Norfolk Southern laid off thousands of workers while reporting over $3 billion in profits in 2022?

And why did Norfolk Southern launch a $10 billion stock buyback program last year, when they could have used that money to upgrade safety equipment, hire more workers, or pay their employees better wages?

Disasters like the one in East Palestine are precisely what can happen when safety takes a backseat to maximizing profits. It is a pattern that has played out to devastating effect over the years: Corporate interests lobby the government to loosen safety rules, then they cut costs, cut workers, reward shareholders; and sooner or later, disaster strikes.

And it is so typical--so typical--for people like Donald Trump to do the bidding of special interests, cause harm to the American people-- that is what he did when he loosened railroad regulations--and then point the finger at someone else when something terrible happens. That is just what he did here. It just doesn't wash. The American people see right through it.

So, once again, I hope the CEO of Norfolk Southern testifies as soon as possible. Norfolk Southern has broken their trust to the American public and must--must--be held accountable.

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, first responders at the State, local, and Federal level continue working around-the-clock helping the people of East Palestine recover from one of the worst train derailments in decades.

The scene in East Palestine over the last month has been the stuff of nightmares: a 38-car derailment; an entire town forced to evacuate; the stench of industrial chemicals and soot hovering in the air; parents scared of their kids' drinking water; and kids anxious about life returning to normal. No community deserves this.

While a full investigation of the derailment has yet to be completed, the Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board said this accident was ``100 percent preventable.'' Again, the NTSB Safety Board Chair said the accident was ``100 percent preventable.''

The fault of this disaster lies first and foremost with Norfolk Southern. Norfolk Southern's CEO, Alan Shaw, needs to come before the Senate, answer questions under oath, and explain to the American people exactly what went wrong and how they will prevent accidents like this from happening. He should not duck. He should be there. He should come before the Senate, and we are asking Mr. Shaw to do just that.

The American people should hear from Norfolk Southern's CEO precisely why they thought it was a good idea to spend years--years--lobbying to loosen regulations designed to prevent accidents like this. And I especially want to hear why Norfolk Southern, after seeing a record $3.3 billion in profits last year, prioritized billions--billions--in stock buybacks instead of putting that money toward safety and toward their workers.

Over the past few weeks, there has been no shortage of opportunists racing to blame the administration for the train derailment. Former President Trump himself showed up in East Palestine and blamed everyone but himself for the tragic accident. But President Trump, as usual, omits a crucial truth: The Trump administration spent years working to loosen safety regulations intended to make these types of accidents less likely.

They are in the behest of the big rail companies. When President Trump entered office, rail companies spent millions to push for repeals on all sorts of safety regulations, from inspection requirements, mandates for newer brakes, and rules governing the number of employees required to operate a train. In one instance, the Trump administration repealed requirements for an electronic braking system because, according to them, the safety benefits were simply not worth the costs.

Let me say that again.

In 2017, the Trump administration decided to repeal the requirements for brake upgrades because they didn't think the safety benefits were worth the cost. I think the people of East Palestine now know that that analysis was wrong and that they are suffering the consequences of rail companies putting profits over people.

Now, I want to be clear: A full investigation is still needed to determine which, if any, safety regulations might have prevented the accident in East Palestine, but you don't need to be an expert to see that, when companies prioritize profits over safety--when they loosen safety rules, lay off thousands of workers, and spend more money on stock buybacks than on preventing accidents--you are flirting with disaster.

It is so typical of Donald Trump. He does the bidding of corporate special interests and it leads to serious harm to the American people. And when he gets caught, he turns around and blames someone else. It just doesn't wash, and the American people see through it. Disasters like the one in East Palestine are precisely what can happen when safety takes a backseat to maximizing profits and when self- aggrandizing politicians like Donald Trump allow and encourage it to happen.

I particularly want to thank my colleagues from Ohio and Pennsylvania for being vigilant in responding to this disaster and working in a bipartisan way to solve it.

I also, of course, want to thank all of the first responders at every level of government for working without rest to keep people safe.

The Senate is going to look into precisely what went wrong in East Palestine. A good first step will be in hearing directly from Norfolk Southern's

CEO. I hope he will work with us in good faith and come before the Senate as soon as possible.

Madam President, last week, I joined with a number of Senate colleagues in leading my first congressional delegation as majority leader. We went to Germany, India, Pakistan, and Israel. I have only been on one other codel in all of my years as a Senator--back in 2011 with Harry Reid to China.

I thank all of my colleagues for making this trip a success. There were nine of us. Now that we are back, I want to share a few takeaways from our trip that implicate America's national security and our economic future.

First, we relayed a very important message during our meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi: India and America are going to need each other to outcompete the Chinese Communist Party.

India is precisely the kind of partner that the United States needs to provide a check against the hostile tactics of the CCP. They are the world's largest democracy--still young compared to its peers--and primed for tremendous growth in the decades to come.

I told the Prime Minister that, if our democracies are to prosper in this century, we are going to have to work together not only to boost our common defense but to promote our mutual prosperity. That means working together to strengthen our economic ties, deepen trade, and make it easier to recruit talented workers from abroad to work in our country.

It also means we must collaborate to establish the norms for the technologies of the future. Right now, the world's democracies are competing with the Chinese Communist Party to dominate the technologies that will rule this century, like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, clean energy, advanced semiconductor manufacturing, and more.

India, the United States, and all of the world's democracies--we are the largest two--must make sure these technologies become vectors of prosperity, not the weapons of autocratic regimes. We have already seen how the Chinese Communist Party uses AI to eavesdrop on its people and prevent them from getting full knowledge or just propaganda. I think the Prime Minister appreciated the point we were making about the need for India and the United States--the two largest democracies--to work together against the CCP hegemony.

India is an amazing country. I was enthralled by it. Incredible. It has a thriving diaspora, many of whom live in New York, here in the United States. Our partnership has a huge potential for growth in the 21st century.

On a second point about our codel, during the codel, we also met with leaders in Pakistan, Germany, and Israel. Much of our discussion with them, as well as with Prime Minister Modi of India, stressed the importance of standing with Ukraine in its struggle against Russia. We asked each of these leaders to do more. It has been more than a year now since Vladimir Putin began his illegal invasion, and I made it clear to leaders abroad that the worst thing we could do right now is to waver in our support of the Ukrainian people. I warned them that a Russian victory in Ukraine would not mean an end to Putin's escapades and expansionist proclivities so much as it would mean an escalation of his viciousness and desire for more territory.

Success in Ukraine will only embolden Putin if he sees the free nations of the world turn a blind eye to his aggressions. Should Putin win in Ukraine, it would endanger the security of democracies and burgeoning democracies across the world, and I think the leaders I spoke with--the leaders all nine of us spoke with--got that message.

Finally, on a more personal note, I was deeply moved to join with my colleagues to lay wreaths at both the Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany and Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. As the highest ranking elected Jewish leader in U.S. history and the first Jewish majority leader, I used these visits as a chance to reaffirm the Senate's commitment to never forget this dark chapter in human history. At a time when public understanding of the Holocaust is waning, as the next generation is further removed from the horrors--the just sheer horrors--of the past, and as anti-Semitism makes its resurgence at home and around the globe, now more than ever, we must commit to that sacred obligation to never forget.

Elie Wiesel said:

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for

good men to do nothing.

We must never remain silent. We must never allow anti-Semitism and bigotry to fester and flourish. We must recommit to never, never again.

I want to thank my colleagues who joined with me at both Dachau and Yad Vashem, and I thank everyone--Members and staff alike--for the incredible job they did and for their excellent work in making our trip fruitful and productive.

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

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

Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 24.

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

Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 35.

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