Floor Statements

Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 1187.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, for millions and millions of Americans, today is a very good day, an important day, a day that has been a long time coming: We are voting to pass the Respect for Marriage Act. Later this afternoon, with a little more bipartisan cooperation, the Senate will vote to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, putting it on the brink of reaching the President's desk.

In many ways, the story of America has been a difficult but inexorable march toward greater equality. Sometimes we have taken steps forward. Other times, unfortunately, we have taken disturbing steps backward. But, today, after months of hard work, after many rounds of bipartisan talks, and after many doubts that we could even reach this point, we are taking a momentous step forward for greater justice for LGBTQ Americans.

Let me summarize how today will proceed. Later this afternoon, per an agreement between both parties, the Senate will hold three rollcall votes on amendments presented by Senators Lee, Lankford, and Rubio. A vote on final passage for the Respect for Marriage Act will be held after that.

Standing here today, with the passage of this legislation, it is impossible not to think of my family. Today, I am wearing the tie I wore at my daughter's wedding, one of the happiest moments in my life. But I also cannot help but recall the harrowing conversation I had with her and her wife a little more than 2 years ago.

In September of 2020, I was in the middle of a family dinner when we received the news that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had passed away. I remember that awful feeling around the dinner table, and I distinctly remember the question my daughter and her wife asked: ``Could our right to marry be undone?''

Millions of Americans in same-sex marriages go about their day with this terrible question lurking in the back of their minds. It is scary. It is a scary, but necessary, acknowledgement that, despite all the progress we have made, the constitutional right to same-sex marriage is not even a decade old and exists only by the virtue of a very narrow 5- to-4 Supreme Court decision.

And we all know the Court has changed since that decision. As we have already seen this year, what the Court has decided in the past can be easily taken away in the future.

So today's vote is deeply personal for many of us in this Chamber. It is personal for me, of course. It is personal

to many of my colleagues and their staff and their families. And while we still have a few more votes to take, today is certainly an occasion for joy and relief.

But as important as today is, let's remember that nothing about this process was certain. Remember--remember--it was our original plan to act on the Respect for Marriage Act in September, shortly after the House voted to pass this bill over the summer with a surprising 47 Republicans voting for the act. We knew this bill was popular.

We knew it was the right thing to do, but what we did not know is whether or not we had enough support, 60 votes, to pass this bill through the Senate. Maybe the votes would materialize if we forced a vote on the floor, but that was highly unlikely. And for a great number of us, for so much of America, this bill was too important to risk failure.

So back in September, when I met with the leaders of this bill in my office--Senators Sinema and Baldwin and Collins and Tillis and Portman--they recommended I hold off on a vote because they believed they could secure enough support for this bill.

Many questioned if it was the right thing to do. Many on my side of the aisle felt: Put everyone on record right now. And sometimes, they say, that is the way to go. But at the end of the day, my No. 1 priority is always to get legislation passed through the Senate. So I made the decision to take the risk and to wait.

Today, we have vindication that the wait was well worth it. Pushing Respect for Marriage over the finish line required patience and persistence, and, today, it is paying off.

I want to thank the Senators who brought us this far--Senators Sinema and Baldwin, as well as Collins and Tillis and Portman--for their outstanding and relentless work. Their work has been magnificent, and I am so thankful they stayed the course even when success may have seemed elusive.

I also want to acknowledge my Republican colleagues who voted in favor of advancing this legislation. Because of our work together, the rights of tens of millions of Americans will be strengthened under Federal law. That is an accomplishment we should all be proud of.

And, of course, I want to thank all of the advocates, volunteers, and organizers not just for supporting this bill but for everything they have done over the years to make the United States a fairer, more accepting nation for LGBTQ Americans.

Finally, let me finish where I started. Two years after my daughter and her wife questioned if their marriage could be undone, they are now expecting a baby next spring. I want them to raise their child with all the love and security that every child deserves, and the bill we are passing today will ensure their rights won't be trampled upon simply because they are in a same-sex marriage. After this bill passes, they will be the very first people I call.

So thank you to my colleagues who spearheaded this bill. Thank you to my colleagues who have supported this bill. Thank you to the staff and members who worked day and night to find a path forward. And, maybe above all, thank you to the American people, the vast majority of whom have understood that the inexorable march toward equality is what America is all about.

Government Funding

Mr. President, on a different subject, the omnibus, earlier this morning, I joined with congressional leaders in a meeting with President Biden at the White House in order to discuss the things we must accomplish before the end of the year. We covered a lot of different topics, but there is one I want to focus on right now-- passing an omnibus.

Leader McConnell and I have agreed to try and work together to make sure we get a yearlong funding bill done. We hope it can be done this year, and we know that each side is going to have to give in order to send an omnibus to the President's desk as, of course, it needs 60 votes.

Government funding is scheduled to run out on December 16 at midnight. If we don't take action, the results will be a pointless and painful government shutdown. The best option, by far, is for both parties to come to the table and work on a yearlong funding bill, not a continuing resolution. Lurching from one short-term continuing resolution to the next is a terrible and chaotic way to keep the government open, and ultimately it is average Americans who get a raw deal if the government is forced to function with one hand tied behind its back.

And maybe worst of all, a CR is terrible news for our troops in uniform. It will throw their families into great uncertainty and prevent our security force from conducting crucial operations that will keep us safe, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. So unless we want adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party to outmaneuver us militarily, we must pass an omnibus for the sake of our troops and the sake of our national security.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Now, Mr. President, for millions of Americans, today is a very good day, an important day, a day that has been a long time in coming. The Senate is passing the Respect for Marriage Act.

Today, the long but inexorable march toward greater equality advances forward. By passing this bill, the Senate is sending a message that every American needs to hear: No matter who you are or whom you love, you, too, deserve dignity and equal treatment under the law.

As the Chamber knows, this is personal to me, and the first people I will call when this bill passes will be my daughter and her wife.

I want to thank my colleagues, joining the others, for making this legislation possible--and especially the teams of Senators Baldwin and Sinema and Collins, Tillis, and Portman. To all of you, I say: Bravo, a job well done. And to all who make the choice to support this bill, thank you. None of this was inevitable.

At the urging of my colleagues, we took the calculated risk of holding off on a vote back in September because they believed, with more time, we could build enough bipartisan support to push this bill over the finish line. Today, we have vindication that the wait was well worth it. I thank my colleagues for their work.

Above all, I want to thank the American people, the vast majority of whom understand deep in their hearts that the inexorable march toward equality is what America is all about.

I yield the floor.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, what a great day. What a great day.

Order of Procedure

Mr. President, and now, moving forward, as we always try to do in the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of Calendar No. 1133; and that the cloture motions with respect to Calendar Nos. 1133, 1147, 1148, and 1129 ripen at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 30; further, that at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow, the Senate vote on motions to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar Nos. 1133 and 1147; that if cloture is invoked on the nomination, all postcloture time be considered expired at 2:15 on Wednesday.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, first, let me welcome you and all of my colleagues back to the Senate. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by loved ones and a lot of good food.

For the Schumer household, the Thanksgiving holiday this year was a bittersweet occasion. It was 1 year ago this past week that we said goodbye to my father, Abe Schumer, after a very long and rich life. Not a day goes by that I don't miss him, and to celebrate my first Thanksgiving without him at the table is a reminder to never take the blessings of life for granted. But life goes on, the circles of life go on, and we also celebrated my 4-year-old grandson's birthday on the day before

Thanksgiving as well. So the generations continue, but my father's memory is with us.

Anti-Semitism

Madam President, now on anti-Semitism, before I begin the substance of my remarks on the floor, I want to say a few things about the disgusting news that came out of Mar-a-Lago over the Thanksgiving break.

Last week, it was reported that Donald Trump--the former President of the United States and Republican standard bearer--had dinner at Mar-a- Lago with a notorious bigot who fancies himself a leading thinker on the extreme edges of the hard right, embracing everything from White nationalism, to anti-Semitism, to outright Holocaust denial.

For a former President to sit down and have dinner with a high- profile anti-Semite is disgusting and dangerous. To give an anti-Semite even the smallest platform, much less an audience over dinner, is pure evil. Even assuming the former President didn't realize Mr. Fuentes was coming to Mar-a-Lago, for him to refuse to condemn Fuentes and his bigoted words after the dinner is appalling, and it is dangerous.

Now, I am glad that some of the former President's friends and allies, particularly those in the Jewish community, are pushing him to do the right thing by condemning this vicious anti-Semite since the former President does not seem to have the honor, the decency, the humanity to do it on his own.

I vociferously condemn the former President's decision to meet with this anti-Semite and urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same.

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

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 1148.

I send a cloture motion to the desk.

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

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 1129.

I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Finally, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, November 28, be waived.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order to consider the following amendments to the substitute: Lee, No. 6482; Lankford, No. 6496; and Rubio, No. 6493; that at 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday, November 29, all postcloture time be considered expired, that if any of these amendments are offered, the Senate vote in relation to the amendments in the order listed, with 60 affirmative votes required for the adoption of the Lee amendment; that there be 2 minutes for debate equally divided prior to each vote; that any remaining amendments except Senate amendment No. 6487 be withdrawn; that the substitute amendment, as amended, if amended, be agreed to; that the cloture motion with respect to H.R. 8404 be withdrawn; that the bill be considered read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of the bill, as amended, with 60 affirmative votes required for passage, all without further intervening action or debate; finally, that the remaining cloture motions filed on November 17 ripen on disposition of

Madam President, what took place here on the floor yesterday was nothing short of the Senate working at its very best. The Senate took a bold step toward securing greater justice for millions of Americans by advancing the Respect for Marriage Act with a resounding bipartisan vote.

Standing here on the floor yesterday, you could feel the sense of relief, of joy, within the Chamber. After the vote, I got on the phone with my daughter and daughter-in-law and told them the good news, that marriage equality is now on the march toward final passage--thank goodness.

Passing the Respect for Marriage Act is no longer a matter of if but only of when. Later this afternoon, the Senate will take the next step in the process by formally adopting the motion to proceed. After that, both sides will have to work together to reach an agreement for voting on final passage as soon as we can.

Yesterday's vote was a vindication that it was well worth the wait. While nothing was inevitable about the result, I never lost faith that deep down enough of our colleagues would understand how important it was to get this bill done. I am glad that that faith has now been justified.

While some may want to delay this process, make no mistake, there is no stopping this bill from final passage. As I said a moment ago, the question of passage is not about if but when. I hope my Republican colleagues will work with us to move forward with this bill sooner rather than later.

I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who spearheaded this legislation: Senators Sinema, Baldwin, Collins, Portman, and Tillis. They did terrific work. We wouldn't be here without them.

Finally, I hope this bipartisan legislation, and all others we have passed this Congress, will continue to show how the Senate can function in the upcoming 118th Congress. I have always said I have a hierarchy: First, try to get things done in a bipartisan way whenever possible. It is far better to get things done for the American people than to hold show votes that bring political reckoning but have no hopes of passing. Our job, after all, is to get things passed and make lives better here in the Senate. And when the new Congress begins next year, that will

continue to be my guiding star and No. 1 focus.

Midterm Elections

Madam President, now on MAGA, last week's midterm elections revealed a basic but often unappreciated truth about politics: When elected leaders prioritize getting things done--getting things done--and when candidates can run on accomplishments, the American people respond positively. That shouldn't be some remarkable insight, but, unfortunately, too many seem to forget it. Indeed, too many of my Republican colleagues seem to have forgotten it over the last couple of years.

Look at what happened on Tuesday. The Republican side ran many flawed candidates who embraced MAGA radicalism, and they lost. They spread the Big Lie, sowed doubt and division and nastiness, and they ignored the issues that mattered most to Americans. As a result, voters ran in the other direction.

But don't take my word for it. Here is what Leader McConnell himself said earlier this week, and I want to quote him in full. This is Leader McConnell:

We underperformed among independents and moderates because

their impression of many of the people in our party and

leadership roles is that they're engulfed in chaos,

negativity and excessive attacks, and it frightened

independent and moderate Republican voters.

Listen to that part again:

[I]t frightened independent and moderate Republican voters.

That is exactly what I have been saying. MAGA Republicans did, in fact, scare a lot of Americans who might have otherwise given the GOP a closer look. All that talk about stolen elections, threatening poll workers, it frightened people--and thank God. Americans said this is not for us. Americans believe deeply in democracy, despite the rightwing radical MAGA news media throwing all kinds of lies and incendiary statements at them every day. The roots of democracy are deep and a shield against that kind of activity.

Republicans have a choice to make when the 118th Congress begins next year. If they continue embracing the MAGA approach of chaos and gridlock and division, they are going to keep losing. I earnestly hope that Republicans realize it is better for them and, of course, for the country to cure themselves of this MAGA sickness as quickly as they can.

I know that it won't happen overnight, and I know that some on the other side would prefer to double down on MAGA, but it is critical for our Nation's health, and, in fact, their party's health that they learn this lesson.

Americans don't want government to be an endless circus of MAGA insanity. They want leaders who will take their job seriously and work across the aisle to solve our Nation's problems. They know we are not going to succeed at everything, but they want good, earnest efforts at trying. And when we try--when both sides try in good faith--we often get a lot done, as this past Congress has shown.

If Republicans fail to accept this wisdom, they will only invite further defeat in the future.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I just left the floor of the House for one of the most emotional moments I have had in my career: the valedictory of Nancy Pelosi, one of the greatest legislators and greatest people I have ever met.

I first met Nancy Pelosi back in 1987. I was a Congressman, and we had a little dinner group that would go out to dinner every Tuesday night. One of the leaders of that group, George Miller, a Congressman from California, came up to me. He said: In a few minutes, I am going to introduce you to a new member of our group. She is the new Congresswoman from San Francisco, and she is going to become the first woman Speaker.

That was the first thing I heard about Nancy Pelosi, even before I met her, and the moment I met her, I saw what he meant. It was obvious that this new Member from the west coast of California had it all-- Nancy D'Alesandro Pelosi.

She is the proud daughter of Baltimore's Little Italy neighborhood, the estimable Representative from the State of California, and the first woman ever as Speaker of the U.S. Congress.

It was amazing. She did an amazing job, and I wanted to go over to the House floor where I had served 18 happy years, many of them as a colleague of Speaker Pelosi and a friend, to just say thank you for the amazing things she has done for our country.

Few in American history have been as effective, as driven, as successful as Speaker Pelosi. She has transformed practically every corner of American politics and unquestionably made America a better, stronger nation. You know, I am known as having a lot of energy, but I have never ever met anyone with more energy than Nancy D'Alesandro Pelosi. She is always moving in many directions at once, and she has a complete grasp of each direction in which she is moving even though she is moving at the same time.

She is just an amazing person. She never forgot why she is in the fight to begin with--as she said, the children, always her North Star, helping the children of America. She did so much--her passion to pass the ACA was for the children above all; and for women, where she broke, of course, one of the greatest glass ceilings we have had, becoming the first woman Speaker; and the American Rescue Plan and the Lilly Ledbetter Act and the infrastructure bill and VAWA and pandemic relief; climate change; repealing don't ask, don't tell--just a few of her amazing achievements.

She taught me a whole lot. Nancy Pelosi paid attention to each of her Members--I try to do the same--and she always taught the Members to be unified. Her expression that she repeated over and over again, which I have repeated to my caucus on so many occasions: Our unity is our strength.

She would tell us, she would tell everyone: If everyone goes in his or her own direction, you will get nothing done, but if we all come together and everybody gives a little bit, we could get a lot done. And she sure did.

I remember the moments that just became available on the tape when she and I were at the ``secret place'' during the attack on this Capitol, which so, so struck her, but there she was, cool, calm, and collected. Together, we worked to try to get either the National Guard or the police on the Hill, and we resolved that we were going to come back and actually count the votes--heavily regarded as one of Speaker Pelosi's greatest moments. And, again, she was cool, calm, collected. She knew exactly what to do and how to do it.

So it is hard to fathom that very soon we will begin a new Congress where she is no longer a member of the party leadership. In my time as Democratic leader and as majority leader, she has been the best partner and ally I could ask for, and we have also been friends. She shared the joy of the birth of my children. I shared the joy of so many of the good things that happened in her family. She would always be talking about her family and always wanted to hear about mine. She was not only a great legislator; she was a great human being.

Today particularly, I want to wish the very best to her family, especially Paul. I cannot imagine how painful and scary it has been for the Pelosis in the aftermath of Paul's attack, but, as usual, Speaker Pelosi carried herself with the same courage, grace, and dignity that she has always been true to.

Finally and maybe most importantly, Nancy Pelosi made our country a much better place for countless women and girls from every walk of life. Nancy Pelosi was the one to blaze the trail, but you can be certain that countless other women will rise up in leadership in this country because of what she has accomplished and how she inspired them.

I am going to have more to say in the weeks to come, but for now, let me finish with this: To Nancy Pelosi, my dear, good, and close friend, thank you. Thank you for being you. Thank you for dedicating your life to public service. Thank you for teaching us so much. Thank you for inspiring us all. It has been an honor of a lifetime to work with you.

Order of Business

Now, one notice to the Members, who I know want to hear about the schedule: We are working on an agreement on the marriage equality bill, and I hope that we can have a vote on the motion to proceed shortly. If we do not reach agreement, the vote is going to occur at 10 p.m. this evening. Members should be aware, and Members should stay close.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, we continue to work on an agreement on the marriage equality bill. If we do not reach agreement, the vote on the motion to proceed will occur at approximately 10 p.m. this evening, so Members should stay close by.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 848, submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the resolution.

I ask unanimous consent that the preamble be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions introduced earlier today: S. Res. 839, S. Res. 840, S. Res. 841, S. Res. 842, S. Res. 843, S. Res. 844, S. Res. 845, S. Res. 846, and S. Res. 847.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.