Floor Statements

Mr. President, House Republicans are struggling-- struggling--to grasp a harsh reality about being in the majority. There is no good substitute for having a plan. You can't solve the Nation's biggest problems without a plan--a plan we can debate in Congress and which the American people can judge for themselves. This is especially true--especially true--when it comes to the debt ceiling.

Later this afternoon, President Biden will meet with Speaker McCarthy for their first one-on-one meeting of the year, and everyone is asking the same question of Speaker McCarthy: What is your plan? Where is your plan, Republicans? Where is your plan, Speaker McCarthy?

For days, Speaker McCarthy has heralded this sit-down as some kind of major win in his debt ceiling talks, but Speaker McCarthy is forgetting something obvious to everyone else: If you don't have a plan, you can't seriously pretend you are having any real negotiation.

Let me say that again because it is so crystal clear.

Speaker McCarthy, if you don't have a plan, you can't seriously pretend you are having any real negotiation.

Speaker McCarthy showing up at the White House without a plan is like sitting down at the table without cards in your hand.

And look, we know why the Speaker has struggled and is unable to produce a plan or why he is delaying it or avoiding it. He doesn't have the votes for one, in all likelihood. Some Senate Republicans want Social Security and Medicare cuts. Others want to cut the healthcare that Americans depend on

through Medicaid. And at least one Republican said on raising the debt ceiling: I am a ``no'' no matter what.

Speaker McCarthy knows that it is next to impossible to pass a plan through his own House--that he can't do that. So Speaker McCarthy may claim he wants to negotiate, but that is, ultimately, empty talk if the hard right has the power to reject whatever the Speaker proposes. It is a toxic dynamic that, sadly, isn't going away any time soon.

When President Trump was in office, I sat down with him to talk about the importance of raising the debt ceiling, and we didn't engage in threats or brinksmanship or hostage-taking. Instead, we Democrats presented a plan and moved forward from there. It was not easy. It took a lot of preparation and tough decision making, but, each time, we got the job done.

So one more time, House Republicans, show us your plan. You have an obligation to be transparent with the American people. If you don't have the votes to pass a plan, let's just get the debt ceiling done. If the plan involves drastic cuts to millions of Americans, then Republicans have an obligation to show the American people what those cuts are because Americans could be faced with the very painful, painful results of those proposed cuts.

Republicans owe it--owe it--to the American people. Speaker McCarthy owes it to the American people to stop dodging, to put pen to paper, and to explain clearly how Congress is going to ensure the United States does not default for the first time in history. We Democrats have a plan: Raise the debt ceiling without brinksmanship or hostage- taking, as it has been done before. Speaker McCarthy doesn't have a plan, so he is not really negotiating, and the clock is ticking.

Mr. President, on the ERA, which is a different and extremely important matter, I want to praise and echo the words of my colleagues yesterday who reintroduced a resolution to affirm the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

The resolution is simple. It removes the arbitrary deadline for ERA ratification that was placed by Congress in the 1970s and recognizes the amendment as a valid part of the Constitution. There is no good reason why a constitutional amendment needs a deadline, especially not an amendment that affirms gender equality.

The Equal Rights Amendment has never been as necessary and urgent as it is today. The Supreme Court's repeal of Roe v. Wade reminded all of us that, even today--in 2023, the 21st century--women don't have the same fundamental rights as men. So this resolution is a terrific and necessary idea.

The ERA has been ratified by three-quarters of the States but not in the requisite time, and that is what this proposal would fix. It is very popular in the minds of the American people, and I strongly support the resolution. I want my daughters and granddaughter to live in a country where they never have to worry about being discriminated against simply because of their gender. Sadly, today, that is not the case. The ERA would fix that.

So I want to thank Senators Cardin and Durbin, Representatives Pressley, Dean, and Bush, and everyone who is championing this important resolution.

Mr. President, finally, on election undermining by the Republican National Committee, one of the biggest lessons of last November was that, for all of the attempts by MAGA Republicans to undermine our elections, the roots of our democracy remain strong and run deep.

For 2 years, we heard the same thing over and over again from the MAGA brigade: that the 2020 elections were stolen, that President Biden was illegitimate, and that we couldn't trust that our votes were properly counted.

Well, Americans simply didn't buy it. They saw that the elections were fair. Some have said these were the fairest elections we have ever had. Yet, in every virtual race last fall, MAGA candidates who campaigned explicitly on denying the results of the 2020 election and overturning it were rejected by the voters. It was a good result for the country, for our democracy. Frankly, it was a necessary wake-up call for the GOP, telling them: Get rid of the Big Lie once and for all. The American people aren't buying it. Maybe a small band of extreme rightwingers is--MAGA people--but not everybody else.

It was so disturbing to read in the Washington Post that the RNC is not abandoning the conspiracy of the Big Lie so much as it is doubling down. According to reports, they are working on creating a ``permanent infrastructure in every state to ramp up `election integrity' activities'' as a way to cater to that portion of their base that still believes in wacky election fraud conspiracies.

As a sign of how unserious this report is, the RNC also makes unfounded claims of a ``continuing onslaught of Democrat election manipulation.'' I would call it ridiculous--it is ridiculous--but it is a troubling attempt to undermine our democracy. When people don't believe the elections are on the level, that is the beginning of the end of this grand experiment in democracy that has lasted for centuries. Fortunately, the American people are rejecting it, but the Republicans that lead the MAGA wing are keeping at it.

I will make this easy for the folks over at the RNC: Undermining our elections is a losing strategy. It is a loser politically. It didn't work last year, and it is not going to work next year. For the sake of our country and the sake of the GOP, the RNC and the MAGA wing of the Republican Party need to break the election fraud echo chamber that has paralyzed their party and has, frankly, caused them to lose election after election.

Finally, yesterday, Mr. President, was a very special day for the people of New York. After a lot of hard work, we finally welcomed President Biden to celebrate progress on Gateway, the most important infrastructure project in America.

Anyone who knows me knows Gateway has been one of my greatest passions for more than a decade. Call it a labor of love--and it is-- because I love New York. Without our tunnels, the region's economy would come to a screeching halt, and not just New York's, not just New Jersey's but the whole Northeast and eventually the whole country's.

So after many false starts and a lot of opposition, Gateway is finally full speed ahead, thanks to both the bipartisan infrastructure law and the great help and enthusiasm from President Biden.

We had a good time yesterday--the President, I, and the other Senators--because we knew we were getting something so important done. And that is why we are here. The implementation of the bills we passed last year is really vital to this country and to keeping our prosperity going and increasing.

There were a lot of smiles at yesterday's celebration. Many of us waited for years for this moment, and after a lot of persistence, we can finally say Gateway is going to be built.

Gateway is just one of the major infrastructure initiatives supported by the bipartisan infrastructure law. Just like the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, it is beginning to pay real dividends in the form of new jobs, new investments, and prosperity. We are going to see much more of it this year and the years to come.

That is precisely what Democrats promised to do, and that is what we are delivering on.

I thank the President for helping us and celebrating with us yesterday in New York.

I yield the floor.

First, Madam President, we will do a little housekeeping, and then I will give my remarks.

Madam President, I understand there is a bill at the desk due a second reading.

In order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I would object to further proceedings.

Madam President, on Friday, the city of Memphis released the brutal, truly sickening body cam footage of the murder of Tyre Nichols.

I am heartbroken, horrified, and appalled by this heinous murder. This should have just been a routine traffic stop. It never, never should have ended the way it did, in unnecessary violence and bloodshed.

The repetitiveness of unjust murders like Tyre Nichols' is a stain on America. The five police officers who betrayed their oath to serve and protect should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

We should remember Tyre for who he was and for the life he lived. By all accounts, he was a beautiful and gentle soul. He was creative, he was energetic, and he was deeply passionate about the things he loved most: sunsets, skateboarding, and, above all, his family. He was a father, a son, a friend, a talented young man with his whole life ahead of him, and he should still be alive today.

So let us honor his memory by bringing lasting, meaningful change to create a more just and a more fair America, our long-trodden path to try and make this country--this beautiful country--a more perfect place and a more perfect nation.

Madam President, on the debt ceiling, one of Congress's top priorities this year is ensuring the United States does not default on its debt for the first time in our history. Even approaching a default would be disastrous for American families. The damages will show up on everything from people's credit card bills, their mortgage rates, and when applying for things as basic as a car loan. It risks thousands of dollars lit on fire for millions of American families. Everyone's life in this country will take many steps backward if we default.

Now, Republicans have done a lot of talking about cuts, but when it comes to actually showing us a plan for avoiding default, they are playing a dangerous game. Republicans, it is time to come out of hiding, put pen to paper, and show us your plan. Republicans, show us your plan.

According to some reports, Republicans want significant cuts across the board. But from where? Is funding for our troops safe? We don't know. Republicans, show us the plan.

Is funding for police and firefighters and first responders safe? Republicans, show us the plan.

Is funding for Social Security and Medicare safe, which some in that party, particularly on the MAGA wing, think should be cut? We don't know. Show us the plan.

The silence is unacceptable because the American people have a right to know whether they are going to see crucial services suddenly dry up. And if Republicans don't get their way, Americans have a right to know whether or not the hard-right GOPers are really prepared to lead the House Republican conference to push the United States to default and whether the Republican House, led by McCarthy, will follow them over that devastating cliff, sending costs spiking on everything from credit cards to auto loans, to mortgages.

We have seen in realtime how dangerous it is for Speaker McCarthy to have empowered the most extreme elements of the GOP to set the agenda in the House. The MAGA wing of the GOP, which has set the rules on how the House should run, has left no doubt that, under their watch, no form of funding, however necessary, is safe.

Democrats, meanwhile, have been very clear about our position. When it comes to the debt ceiling, there can be no brinksmanship, no threats, no hostage-taking. This is simply too important. It has to get done.

Republicans need to show their plan to the American people. The clock is ticking on the debt ceiling every day. We must make sure that a first-ever default doesn't occur. Yet Republicans are making it more and more likely.

Madam President, now, on Gateway, tomorrow is a big day for New Yorkers, as we welcome President Biden to celebrate progress on the most important infrastructure project in America, the new Gateway rail tunnel.

This day has been a decade in the making. The Northeast corridor is the busiest passenger rail line in the country, and the crossing under the Hudson is its most important nexus point. But for far too long, these two single-track tunnels have been badly in need of repairs.

After Hurricane Sandy devastated New York and the experts said there is limited time in which they will be operable, fixing the tunnel became one of my greatest passions, a labor of love, because I love New York and, without it, New York's economy would come screeching to a halt. For years, I worked hard, bringing together public and private partners from New York, New Jersey, and Amtrak to get everyone on the same page on Gateway. We met a lot of resistance along the way.

When President Trump was in office, he tried to freeze progress on the Gateway project altogether, going as far as holding it hostage in negotiations over the border wall. Still, I was proud that, even during the Trump administration, I was able to double, triple, quadruple, and, in one case, increase tenfold the funding for various Federal spending accounts pertaining to Gateway because I knew that one day--one day-- President Trump would no longer be in office.

Now, thanks to our bipartisan infrastructure bill and with great help from President Biden, Gateway is moving forward. Under our infrastructure law, tens of billions of more dollars have been dedicated to Federal accounts, which will support Gateway and many, many other large projects in the country, and this is something I am very, very proud to celebrate.

I will have more to say in New York tomorrow, but, today, I want to affirm once again that progress on Gateway is a very important example of how our infrastructure bill is making life better for millions of everyday Americans. Building two new tunnels and updating the existing tunnels will lead to work with good-paying union jobs--tens of thousands of jobs--and lead to a burst of economic activity for decades to come.

I want to thank President Biden for making the trip to New York tomorrow, and I am happy to say that, after a lot of hard work and a lot of stubborn persistence, our efforts are finally paying off.

On a final note, Madam President, last Thursday, I announced the slate of committee members for the 118th Congress on the Democratic side. I want to thank every one of my colleagues for their continued good work and readiness to make life better for the American people. I expect that, by the end of this week, we will have the full slate of all the committees fully locked in, enabling us to move forward on the important work we have before us.

We got a good deal--a tremendous amount--of bipartisan work done last year, and I am optimistic and hopeful that we can likewise continue this year in a productive, bipartisan spirit whenever possible. I look forward to having all committee memberships announced in full really soon.

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, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider PN62, Roger Israel Zakheim; that the time until 5:30 p.m. be equally divided in the usual form on the nomination; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the Republican leader, the Senate proceed to executive session to consider PN61, Joseph Lee Falk; that there be 10 minutes for debate, equally divided in the usual form on the nomination; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that if either nomination is not confirmed, all action with respect to both nominations be vitiated.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m., on Tuesday, January 31; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each; further, that the Senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the Republican caucus meeting.

For the information of the Senate, no rollcall votes are expected during Tuesday's session.