Floor Statements

Mr. President, I urge the Senate to take up and pass S. Res. 598.

Last May, President Trump announced a deal to green-light several

billion dollars' worth of advanced AI chips to the United Arab Emirates. The deal alarmed national security officials.

Why in the world was Donald Trump rolling back critical national security safeguards in order to hand over sophisticated U.S. technology to a country with a long history of helping China acquire sensitive chips that it needs for its military? Why in the world was Donald Trump trying to ship off our state-of-the-art chips to the UAE--and China-- when American startups, American universities, and American small businesses needed them here at home?

Well, now we know. Now we know that the UAE greased the skids months earlier when it secretly agreed to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into a Trump family crypto venture just 4 days before President Trump's inauguration. Now we know that a powerful Abu Dhabi royal known as Spy Sheikh signed a secret deal to pay half a billion dollars to take almost a majority stake in the Trump family's crypto company, World Liberty Financial.

And just a few months later, the Trump administration and Secretary Howard Lutnick authorized the sale of advanced AI chips to the UAE. This was a victory for Abu Dhabi and the Spy Sheikh, who had been unsuccessfully trying for years to get their hands on those chips.

Inside our own government, national security officials tried hard to stop this deal. They warned that handing advanced AI chips to the UAE would have serious national security consequences. Look, some of these chips would go to G42, a UAE AI company that American national security officials have said could be a conduit for funneling technology to China. The CIA has reportedly warned about G42's working closely with blacklisted firms like Huawei that are tied to the Chinese military.

Now, President Trump is denying that he knew anything about the secret deal. Oh, please. President Trump's own son signed the deal for half a billion dollars. An initial payment of $187 million was reportedly directed to flow to Trump family companies. Another initial payment of $31 million was reportedly directed to flow into entities connected to the family of Steve Witkoff, Trump's golf buddy who had been named U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East.

Here we are, 1 year into Donald Trump's second term, and Trump has amassed more than $1.5 billion from his crypto ventures like World Liberty Financial. Trump is profiting off the Presidency while American families are worried about their jobs, the rising cost of groceries, and how they will pay their bills. Trump is profiting from decisions that make it easier for countries like China to get their hands on some of our most sensitive and advanced technologies.

Congress needs to grow a spine. We cannot allow American national security simply to be sold to the highest bidder. The Senate must pass this resolution to condemn this corruption and call on Donald Trump to reverse his decision to allow the export of advanced AI chips to the

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that privileges of the floor be granted to a member of my staff, Henry Wu, for today, February 5, 2026.

Mr. President, ``Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man''--those are the words of Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti, who over the weekend was killed by masked Federal agents in Minneapolis. I am here to be part of getting the truth out.

Masked Federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, an American citizen, in broad daylight. Alex was an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital--a nurse for veterans. He was a son, a brother, a friend, a caretaker. And he was killed while he was trying to help a woman who had been pushed to the ground by a Federal agent.

The last words that Alex spoke on this Earth were ``Are you all right?''

Those are the words of a good man trying to help someone who had been knocked down by an out-of-control ICE agent. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

And Mr. Pretti was not the first. Seventeen days earlier, ICE agents shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old American citizen and mom dropping off her kid at school. She had stuffed animals in her glove compartment. While ICE agents cursed at her, her last words on this Earth were: ``I'm not mad at you.''

There have been more incidents. ICE agents detained Liam, a 5-year- old boy who was literally ripped off the streets by the strap of his Spider-Man backpack--a preschooler.

In Massachusetts, Marcelo Gomes da Silva, a high schooler, was arrested by ICE on his way to volleyball practice. And Rumeysa Ozturk, a student at Tufts University, was cornered by six masked agents, shoved into an unmarked van, and taken to a detention facility in Louisiana.

It goes on and on and on, story after story after story.

The people ICE grabbed up, the people they shot are not threats to you and me. They are not violent criminals that Trump promised to go after. They are not, as Trump said, ``the worst of the worst.'' No, these are our neighbors. They are our friends. They are our colleagues. They are people who treat us when we are sick. The risk is not from them. The risk increasingly comes from out-of-control ICE agents who can't follow the basic training manual that our local police, our State police, and our National Guard are all trained to follow.

This invasion by ICE is not making anyone in America safer. If we don't put a stop to it, these masked agents are going to kill more people. We are at the turning point in our country. What we do next now is in front of the U.S. Senate, in front of my colleagues here today.

This week, we are tasked with funding the government, and one part stands out. Last summer, Trump and the Republicans lavished ICE with $75 billion. That is more than their annual budget for 7 years. And maybe that is why ICE is handing out $50,000 recruiting bonuses. In this budget, Trump and the Republicans want to reward ICE with an additional $10 billion in funding. That is right. Donald Trump wants us to write another check, hand it over to ICE, and let them keep rolling in the dough.

But here is my view: I am a no. I am a hell no.

We cannot give one more penny to Trump's ICE while its masked, poorly trained agents terrorize people all across this country. It is time for the U.S. Senate to step up and stop ICE's violence. We must stand united, and we must fight back, and we must do it now.

I want to be clear. If it were up to me, Congress would completely overhaul ICE, strip the Agency down to studs, repeal billions in Trump's bloated spending, and end these abuses entirely. I am going to keep fighting for that.

But there are also some immediate commonsense steps that we can take right now. Here is some of what I am fighting for: One, end ICE's violence. No more roving patrols and profiling people on the street. No mere treating people like they are guilty just because of their skin color or because they speak with an accent. No more threatening people with guns just because they are recording what is going on.

Two, follow the law. ICE must follow the same rules as everyone else in law enforcement. Get a warrant from an independent judge before barging into people's homes and snatching people from their families. And make no mistake, there should be real consequences for anyone who knocks down someone's door without a real warrant. This is the United States of America, and the last I checked, the Constitution still matters. We must enforce it.

And, three, accountability. It is about time that Border Patrol and ICE wear a damn badge. No more masked secret police.

Let me say it again. No more masked secret police.

And real accountability means accountability for Renee Good; it means accountability for Alex Pretti; it means accountability for every other victim of these Federal agents. DHS must cooperate with State and local officials for real independent investigations of these shootings. End these coverups. We need transparency and accountability for victims of ICE's violence.

Part of the reason that ICE's officers can act like they have no oversight is that Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress prefunded ICE for years in their One Big Beautiful Bill. As things stand right now, ICE can skate by for years without getting a budget and without any oversight from Congress.

You know those healthcare cuts that are closing hospitals and causing people's health insurance premiums to spike? That is the money that is now being used by ICE to terrorize our communities. That is wrong. Congress has the power to claw back those funds. Congress needs to use that power and take back that money so that Congress has meaningful oversight over an out-of-control ICE.

And that should just be the start.

I am urging every single Senator--Democrat and Republican--to vote no on this budget bill and stop bankrolling ICE's abuses.

I want to put a finer point on this. Republicans control the White House. Republicans control the Senate. Republicans control the House of Representatives. Democrats are ready to rein in this rogue Agency, but we need Republicans in Congress to stop this violence as well.

I know that there are Republicans right now who are seeing what we are seeing in Minnesota, and they know it is wrong. It is time to speak out. Silence is complicity. Grow a spine. Show some backbone. Being disturbed doesn't change anything, and the ICE agents who are waving around loaded guns know that. Republicans in the Senate have the power to do something and to start righting these wrongs. Help the Democrats put meaningful constraints on ICE. Help our people be safe.

To everyone who is angry, I am angry too. I am furious. And I am here in the Senate to fight back for you. But it is in moments like this that we must resist the urge for that anger and fear to take over. It is time to turn our anger into action.

I want to end with this. I saw a post by Alex Pretti's student that I wanted to read excerpts from into the Record. This is all a direct quote:

I was Alex Pretti's final nursing student. For the past

four months, I stood shoulder to shoulder with him during my

capstone preceptorship at the Minneapolis VA Hospital. There

he trained me to care for the sickest of the sick as an ICU

nurse. He taught me how to care for arterial and central

lines, the intricacies of managing multiple IVs filled with

lifesaving solutions, and how to watch over every heartbeat,

every breath, and every flicker of life, ready to act the

moment they wavered. . . . Alex carried patience, compassion

and calm as a steady light within him. Even at the very end,

that light was there. I recognized his familiar stillness and

signature calm composure shining through during those

unbearable final moments captured on camera.

It does not surprise me that his final words were, ``Are

you okay?'' Caring for people was at the core of who he was.

He was incapable of causing harm. . . . He spoke out for

justice and peace whenever he could, not only out of

obligation, but out of a belief that we are more connected

than divided, and that communication would bring us together.

Please honor my friend by standing up for peace, preferably

with a cup of black coffee in hand and a couple of pieces of

candy in your pocket, just as he would. . . . Step outside

with your dog, breathe in the world, hike or bike as he loved

to do, and let yourself find peace in the quiet moments

within nature. Stand up for justice and speak with those

whose views differ from your own. Hold your beliefs with

strength, but always extend love outward, even in the face of

adversity.

Take one step, no matter how small, to help heal our world.

Through these acts, carry his life forward in his name. Let

his legacy continue to heal.

Like many of you, I see the video of his death, and I am gutted. I see him lying on the ground as two ICE agents pump a total of 10 bullets into him. I see his lifeless body on that cold Minneapolis street, and I feel sadness and anger and horror down to my bones.

But here is what gives me slivers of hope. It is every single person who is speaking out and who is refusing to stay silent in the face of these injustices. It is the post from his last student. It is the hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans who haven't been baited into violence, but, instead, who continue to show up and peacefully protest. They are a reminder that now is the time to dig deep, stand up, and say clearly what ICE is doing is wrong, and we can stop it. We must stop it.

It is time to get ICE out because if we don't speak up, we are complicit in this violence. If we don't speak up, we are giving our OK to a Federal Agency that is openly and aggressively violating the Constitution. If we don't speak up, we are giving up on our democracy and our country.

It is time to speak up. It is time to make meaningful change. And that change starts right here, right now in the U.S. Senate.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, on Monday, President Donald Trump announced he will green light NVIDIA selling H200 chips to China.

Now, these are advanced chips that the Chinese military has been after for years. Trump's own Department of Justice has called them ``the building blocks of AI superiority.''

Just hours before Trump's announcement, the Department of Justice announced a crackdown on a sophisticated trafficking network that allegedly smuggled $50 million worth of these chips to China.

Why? Because they know that China is gaining access to these chips, and that poses a serious threat to our technological leadership and national security.

So why did the President make this bad deal that sells out the American economy and sells out American national security? It is simple. In the Trump administration, money talks. And NVIDIA's CEO, Jensen Huang, knows it. Mr. Huang understands that, in this administration, being able to cozy up to Donald Trump might be the most important corporate CEO skill of all. Mr. Huang paid a million-dollar- a-plate dinner to be with the President. Mr. Huang's company has donated to the President's ballroom.

And Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's former company, now run by his son, stands to make loads of money if NVIDIA's stock surges.

Those are just the most obvious possible reasons to cut this deal, and who knows what else Mr. Huang might have done behind closed doors to persuade President Trump and Secretary Lutnick into making this dangerous concession.

The American public deserves answers. Mr. Huang should be brought in front of Congress to testify under oath, and he should be joined by Secretary Lutnick and every other Trump administration official involved in this decision.

Congress does not need to stand by helplessly. Both Republicans and Democrats understand the risks here, and we should pass bipartisan legislation that reins in this administration as soon as possible.

The Guaranteeing Access and Innovation for National AI act--called the GAIN Act--that Senator Banks and I introduced would prohibit NVIDIA from shipping advanced chips to China while American universities, American startups, and American small businesses are waiting in line to buy the company's chips.

Senator Ricketts and Senator Coons have introduced another bill that Senator Banks and I support. It is called the SAFE Chips Act, and it would prohibit the President from green-lighting advanced AI chip sales to China.

Republicans and Democrats have legislation ready to go, and we should get this done before it is too late. Senator Thune should schedule either or both bills for a vote immediately.

Here is another thing that Democrats and Republicans in Congress need to keep an eye on:

Will Donald Trump muzzle his own Justice Department because he does not want Americans to know that he is selling out our national security?

Will Donald Trump order the Assistant Attorney General for National Security and the U.S. attorney for the

Southern District of Texas to dismiss the criminal cases that they just announced this week as part of the crackdown on chip smuggling?

Will Donald Trump fire those Justice Department officials for exposing the national security risks of the deal that Donald Trump just cut?

Will Donald Trump tell his Attorney General to drop all investigations into these national security concerns and turn a blind eye to how the Chinese military could use these chips to train weapon systems that could endanger American lives?

I am deeply concerned that Donald Trump will target the work at the Department of Justice in a cynical attempt to hide the truth from the American people.

And in case Donald Trump directs his Department of Justice to take down the public evidence or to cover it up, I am going to read into the Senate Record exactly how senior law enforcement officials warned about the dangers of allowing these chips to power the development of cutting-edge technology in China.

Here is what the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas had to say, and I am going to quote this:

Operation Gatekeeper has exposed a sophisticated smuggling

network that threatens our Nation's security by funneling

cutting-edge AI technology to those who would use it against

American interests.

These chips are the building blocks of AI superiority and

are integral to modern military application.

The country that controls these chips will control AI

technology. The country that controls AI technology will

control the future.

The Southern District of Texas will aggressively prosecute

anyone who attempts to compromise America's technological

edge.

That is what the U.S. attorney--Donald Trump's own U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas--had to say about the chips that NVIDIA has just been permitted by Donald Trump to put into the hands of the Chinese.

And here is what the Assistant Attorney General for National Security at Trump's Department of Justice had to say--again, Trump's own Assistant Attorney General for National Security:

The United States has long emphasized the importance of

innovation and is responsible for an incredible amount of

cutting-edge technology, such as the advanced computer chips

that make modern AI possible.

This advantage isn't free but rather the result of our

engineers' and scientists' hard work and sacrifice.

The National Security Division, along with our partners,

will vigorously enforce our export-control laws and protect

this edge.

The President's most basic duty is to protect the economic and national security of the American people. And, instead, President Trump is bowing to foreign dictators like Xi Jinping and selling out our national security to billionaire corporate interests that pay for special White House dinners and a gold-plated ballroom.

Never before has a President and a tech CEO so brazenly conspired against the interests of the American people. Congress has a responsibility to stop it and stop it now.

I yield the floor.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I was absent, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 623, H.J. Res. 130, a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to ``Buffalo Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment.''

Mr. President, millions of Americans are counting on Democrats to stop Donald Trump and Republicans from raising healthcare costs.

I am here to say: Democrats will not back down. Fighting to lower healthcare costs is a righteous fight.

For too many Americans, healthcare premiums are going up by hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month. Who has that kind of money?

Just this week, I talked to a woman in Florida, practically in Donald Trump's backyard. She is a wife, she is a mother of four lively kids, and she is about to lose her health insurance because of Trump's cuts.

What does that mean for her? She has malignant melanoma, and now she is looking at canceling her ongoing treatments because, once she loses her insurance, she cannot afford treatment for her cancer. That is deeply, deeply wrong.

Democrats are in this fight for the right reasons, and Democrats will stay in this fight for the right reasons.

In July, congressional Republicans worked hand in hand with President Trump on their biggest passion project--jamming through a bill to hand out massive tax cuts to millionaires, billionaires, and giant corporations. Then, just to put a little extra whip cream on top of their Republican ice cream sundae, they paid for those billionaire tax cuts by slashing healthcare coverage for millions of Americans. Every single Republican voted for it, and every single Democrat voted against it.

When the Republicans voted to cut healthcare funding last July, Democrats said: We cannot sign off on a 2026 budget that cuts healthcare for millions of Americans.

On September 30, the 2025 budget expired, and Democrats were ready to negotiate to get some of those healthcare cuts reversed in the 2026 budget, but the Republicans didn't want to negotiate. Nope. The Republicans decided they would rather shut down government than offer a single nickel to help Americans manage healthcare costs. They told Democrats to vote for the Republicans' spending bill--take it or leave it--and they have repeated their ``take it or leave it'' through 15 votes and 38 days.

Democrats have asked over and over and over and over to negotiate to help Americans with their healthcare costs, but Donald Trump and the Republicans have flatly refused to even talk to Democrats to try to get the government back open. Not even once have the Republicans been willing to negotiate--not once.

So where are we now?

Well, Trump tweeted seven times in one day about his brandnew, marbled bathroom at the White House while Americans have turned to crowdfunding to pay for their healthcare and grocery bills.

Trump hosted a ``Great Gatsby''-themed party while he turned off food assistance for millions of Americans. Do you know the message to 42 million Americans from Donald Trump? Eat dirt.

And Trump is weighing the important idea of etching corporations' names into his grand, new, gold-encrusted ballroom while millions of Americans who will lose their health insurance will get sick and be forced to decide whether to give up care altogether or go bankrupt in trying to pay for it.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are in disarray. The House is now in its seventh week of a paid vacation. They couldn't reopen the government if they wanted to because they aren't even in Washington to vote. They have Members--Republican and Democratic Members--who want a deal on healthcare, but Speaker Johnson just says: No. Everyone spend another week on a paid vacation.

Here on the Senate side, Republicans are in chaos. Leader Thune puts the same bill up over and over for the same votes, but he won't talk about changing a single word. Now he can't even organize a vote among Republicans to reorganize the government. Instead, Republicans are fighting with Republicans over what to do, and still no one says: Let's help families on healthcare and get the government open.

So Democrats have put a proposal on the table: Lower costs by extending health tax credits for 1 year, and reopen government. Do it all in one vote, and during this next year, we will continue to work to make our healthcare system work better. It is a commonsense plan that helps people across this country, and that gets our government open. The Senate could do its part to reopen the government in less than an hour. We could do it right now, this

afternoon. We just have to put the interests of the American people ahead of politics.

Americans are demanding, urging, begging Congress to do something--to do something before Americans are forced to get sicker and sicker before they can get healthcare, to do something before healthcare costs go up and up and up for everyone in this country.

People are sick of Washington politics. So we ask our Republican colleagues: Help us do what is right for the American people and help us do it right now.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, American families are struggling to pay for groceries and rent. Federal workers are missing paychecks. Americans across the country are watching as their health insurance premiums skyrocket.

But what is President Donald Trump focused on? He has pardoned a convicted crypto billionaire who helped the Trump family get even richer.

Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, founded Binance--a giant crypto exchange that became a home for terrorists, child abusers, and other criminals. Both Republican and Democratic policymakers have been ringing the alarm on Binance for years. Two years ago, several of my Republican colleagues warned that this crypto platform was facilitating ``significant illicit finance activity'' and that it could ``be providing material support to entities engaged in terrorism under Federal law, or being willfully blind to the fact that it may be doing so.'' Another one of my Republican colleagues warned that CZ was misleading the public about Binance's operations in China.

Republicans and Democrats were right to be worried. Binance facilitated financing for terrorist organizations like ISIS, Hamas, and al-Qaida. It opened the spigot for Iran. Binance made it easier to finance child sexual abuse. One Binance employee even wrote that they needed a banner that said:

[I]s washing drug money too hard these days? Come to

Binance, we got cake for you.

Binance put its profits ahead of following the law and ahead of America's national security. This was criminal activity. Binance pleaded guilty to multiple criminal charges and was required to pay a penalty of more than $4 billion. CZ pleaded guilty to criminal charges and went to prison for willfully failing to maintain an effective anti- money laundering program that could have prevented financing these terrorist and drug traffickers.

Oh, but CZ got a lucky break. A month after he was released from prison, Donald Trump was elected President, and CZ had bet on the right horse. Remember, CZ is still the biggest shareholder in Binance, and right before the election, Binance reportedly offered to strike a crypto business deal with the Trump family. When Trump launched his own crypto venture, Binance allegedly wrote the code. And now, all of this is paying off big time for CZ, Binance, and the Trump family.

In May, a United Arab Emirates investment firm used the Trump family's stablecoin to buy a $2 billion stake in Binance, and President Trump and his family will make millions of dollars in fees and interest off just that one deal. In the middle of all of this, CZ applies for a pardon. And last Friday, Donald Trump gave it to him.

When asked about his pardon of CZ, the President said that ``a lot of people say he wasn't guilty of anything.'' But one of my Republican colleagues rightly said:

He was convicted. He's not innocent.

Once again, President Trump has shown the American people that he is willing to turn a blind eye to money flowing to terrorists and child abusers so long as it lines his own pockets. Pardoning convicted crypto billionaires sends a message: If you have money and the right connections, you don't have to follow the law. You get a special deal after you have broken the law.

Congress needs to stop this kind of corruption. Today, we can send a message, a message that President Trump's pardon is wrong. We also have an opportunity to head off more corruption as Congress considers crypto market structure legislation. If Senate Republicans don't let us fix this, then the Senate Republicans own this corruption and lawlessness.

I yield the floor to my colleague.

Mr. President, I am noticing that the Senator, rightly, points out that the President has the power to pardon. There is nothing in our proposed resolution that tries to take that away from the President. We understand that.

But we do think it is time for Congress to use its voice for this U.S. Senate to stand up and say: Pardoning a convicted criminal who has facilitated child trafficking, who has facilitated drug trafficking, who has facilitated terrorism around the world is a really bad idea.

That is what this resolution is all about. So I understand that the Senator has concerns, but those concerns could be registered by the Republicans by simply signing on to a resolution that says we do not believe it is right to pardon someone under these circumstances.

I am glad to hear that the Senator is working on a market structure bill that will presumably avert this kind of problem and deal with the corruption of the Trump family as it relates to cryptocurrency. So I look forward to seeing that and just can't wait to see what the provisions are that stop Donald Trump from this kind of self-dealing and from what appears to be bribery right out in the open for the entire world to see.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that privileges of the floor be granted to the following member of my staff, Henry Wu, for today, October 28, 2025.

I do. Mr. President, I am seeking recognition.

Thank you very much. My friend Senator Jeff Merkley is ringing the alarm bell. He is carrying the momentum of millions of peaceful protesters at No Kings Day, directly onto the floor of the U.S. Senate for all of the spineless Republicans in Congress to see.

I want to be clear here: Peaceful protest is patriotic. Holding the floor to protest the Trump administration's lawlessness is patriotic. Standing up for what is right, that is patriotic, and I am proud to join my friend, Jeff Merkley, in saying this part out loud: Donald Trump is not a King. He will never be a King. And America does not bow down to Kings.

So thank you, Jeff, for reinvigorating that energy and bringing it to the floor of the Senate today and every day. You are a true patriot.

So let's talk for just a minute about what is going on here. New reporting from the Wall Street Journal this morning says that the average cost of a family health insurance plan is now $27,000 a year. That is a stunner, $27,000.

And that is after years of rising costs. The cost of healthcare is rising faster than inflation. Healthcare is too expensive, and families are barely hanging on.

So what do we have to do? We have to protect Americans' healthcare and lower costs for families. Seems pretty obvious, right? Not to Donald Trump.

In fact, Donald Trump and the Republicans are doing the exact opposite. Their genius plan was to pass legislation that would rip away healthcare from 15 million Americans, jack up premiums for millions more, force rural hospitals and community health centers to close down, and shut down the entire government, instead of coming to the table to save healthcare and lower costs.

Now, Republicans just keep bowing down to Donald Trump. They seem to have lost their spines. Every one of them needs to go to the doctor and get a spine transplant. But instead, they are willing to make it more expensive for everyone else to go to the doctor.

Make no mistake, our healthcare system is already broken, but Donald Trump and the Republicans are making the problem so much worse.

Families in Massachusetts are now starting to get notices this week telling them that their healthcare premiums are going up next year. We are talking hundreds of dollars a month. Some families are seeing their premiums more than double; others will get priced out of their plans completely, leaving them with no coverage at all. And it is not just Massachusetts; Americans across the country are counting on us to lower healthcare costs, and I want to share some of their stories right now.

From a family who gets their healthcare through the healthcare exchange:

If our premium doubles, we will simply not be able to

afford it. Either my husband or I will have to scramble to

find a job with benefits in a saturated market or we will be

going without insurance for the time being.

So that is the story of a family that could get kicked off their insurance altogether because their costs will go through the roof.

More uninsured people mean more costs for everyone else, and that is a lose-lose for the American people.

Here is another one from a teacher:

My healthcare costs are going up by 39 percent. How do I

even live?

Families across this country are asking themselves exactly the same question. Democrats are here right now fighting for every single one of those families.

Here is a story from someone else:

If my premiums go up, I have to cancel my insurance because

my check would be gone, and I have an autoimmune disease. It

would be over for me. How could I raise my two boys and care

for my parents? I am the stronghold of the family.

That is the reminder that this kind of increase that the Republicans are imposing on American families, this increase in health insurance, it has echo effects. It is not only the person who can't afford insurance for themselves, it is what happens to her two children, what happens to her older parents that she is taking care of.

Families hanging on by their fingernails cannot afford insurance premiums jumping by hundreds of dollars a month.

Those are the families the Democrats are fighting for right this minute. And Republicans won't even come to the table. Republicans are off on vacation.

Here is another story I received from a type 1 diabetic:

I have an ACA plan that makes my insulin affordable.

Without it, my insulin would be $1,000 a month. Please don't

give up this fight and please continue to stand for people

just like me.

We will not stop fighting for you.

Here is another one:

Ours will go from $1,300 monthly to $3,600 monthly. It is

paramount.

Look, $1,300 monthly--$1,300 a month for healthcare is already too much, but this family will now have to pay nearly triple. For families already struggling with the rising cost of everything, they cannot afford to shell out extra thousands of dollars every month for healthcare.

So you are hearing all of this right. Americans are struggling to get by, Republicans won't come to the table to fix it and end the government shutdown, and instead of working to lower healthcare costs for Americans right now, Trump is bending over backward to dig up $40 billion to bail out his political buddy in Argentina and help out Wall Street hedge fund investors--$40 billion.

So what could $40 billion do for us at home for a whole year instead? Well, $40 billion could stop health insurance premiums from doubling. It could restore food assistance for families that will be hurt by Trump's cuts. It would

cancel a chunk of student loan debt for nearly 4 million borrowers. It would fund public media. It would restore cuts to humanitarian aid and USAID. And to put it in even more perspective, that $40 billion that Donald Trump is sending off to Argentina, it could fund childcare for military families for almost 20 years.

It would fund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop big banks and giant corporations from scamming people for almost 50 years.

And it could pay for 100 Qatari jets, meaning one for every Governor of all 50 States and a backup plane for each and every one of them.

So there you have it. Remember Trump's promise to lower costs for Americans on day one?

Thank you very much.

I just want to go back to this point as I tee up the question for Senator Merkley here, and that is, Donald Trump right now is sending $40 billion to Argentina, and I just want to go through the list again about what could we do with that $40 billion if we kept it right here in the United States.

Forty billion dollars would stop health insurance premiums from doubling. Forty billion dollars would restore food assistance for families that will be hurt by Donald Trump's cuts. Forty billion dollars would cancel a chunk of student loan debt for nearly 4 million borrowers. Forty billion dollars would fund public media.

I yield the floor.

OK. I am almost there.

Am I recognized to do that, Mr. President?

As I was saying, I was talking about what this $40 billion that Donald Trump is sending to Argentina could be used here at home, and that is to stop the doubling of health insurance premiums, to restore food assistance for families that the Trump administration is cutting, to cancel student loan debt, to fund public media, and to restore humanitarian aid and USAID.

To put it in a different perspective, that same $40 billion could fund childcare for military families for nearly 20 years; it could fund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop big banks and giant corporations from scamming people, for almost 50 years; and it could pay for 100 Qatari jets--one for every Governor in the United States, plus a spare jet for them.

So there you have it.

Remember Donald Trump's promise to lower costs for Americans on day one? Well, instead, Donald Trump is bailing out his ``favorite President'' and bailing out rich Wall Street investors who invested in Argentina debt.

The American people are begging us to do something about the skyrocketing cost of living. They are crying out for help. But Donald Trump can't hear them over the sound of the bulldozers that are demolishing a chunk of the White House to build his brandnew ballroom, a $250 million ballroom--a monument to Donald Trump himself, paid for by big corporations that are trying to suck up to the administration for special favors.

The American people told Donald Trump to cut the cost of living. Instead, he is cutting off part of the White House for his new billionaires' ballroom.

Families are missing car payments, but Donald Trump is too busy building his ballroom to notice.

The price of coffee is up nearly 30 percent, but at least Donald Trump will have a fancy, new ballroom in the White House. The price of coffee is up nearly 30 percent, but at least Donald Trump will have a fancy, new ballroom where the White House is supposed to be.

Farmers are going bankrupt, but Trump is too worried about the construction of his ballroom to help.

The cost of baby strollers--or, as Donald Trump calls them, the things you carry babies around in--those are going up, but Trump is too busy building his fancy ballroom to notice.

So my friend Jeff Merkley is exactly right. We are not in normal times. All of us need to stand up, speak out, and push back.

My question for you, Senator Merkley, is, How is the fight to lower costs for families all around this country linked to the fight against Donald Trump's authoritarianism?

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 2965 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, the reason that I asked for unanimous consent to proceed with the No Argentina Bailout Act--it is a bill that I coauthored with Senators Kaine, Van Hollen, Booker, Smith, Gallego, Sanders, and Welch, and the reason for this is because, in his Presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised to put ``America First''-- not Argentina first; America first.

Right now, American families are struggling to pay for groceries and rent because of Donald Trump's chaotic tariffs and other disastrous economic policies.

President Trump and congressional Republicans shut down the government because they refused to work with Democrats to pass a bipartisan budget that would protect 15 million Americans' healthcare and prevent insurance premium hikes for tens of millions more.

Now, Republicans would rather shut down the government than help Americans afford healthcare. Because of the Republican shutdown, more than a quarter of a million Federal employees won't receive their scheduled paychecks. National parks are understaffed, and some are even closed entirely. Air traffic controllers and TSA agents aren't getting their paychecks, and shutdown-related staff shortages have led to flight delays.

Critical government Agency functions are being affected across the board, but one government function that President Trump didn't want to shut down: sending $20 billion--American taxpayer dollars--to Argentina.

That is right. Even while the Trump administration is trying to fire more American workers and shut down more services here in the United States, Donald Trump is carefully keeping open the office at the Treasury Department responsible for executing his bailout of Argentina's financial markets.

The administration agreed to send $20 billion in American taxpayer money to Argentina's central bank, and that loan is evidently just the start. Secretary Bessent also revealed the Treasury started purchasing Argentine pesos directly and promised that going forward, Treasury would do whatever it takes to keep Argentina's financial markets afloat, including buying up the country's debt.

Secretary Bessent seems to be saying that the American economy can tank, and Americans can pay higher prices, but there will be no end to using American taxpayer dollars to bail out Argentina.

For Trump, the leader of Argentina is more important than American families struggling with rising costs for healthcare. This is a bitter blow, but for American farmers, the story is even worse.

For months now, American farmers, particularly American soybean farmers, have been suffering under the weight of Trump's sweeping tariffs. Buyers around the world have been reluctant to purchase from our farmers when Trump is slapping tariffs on their home countries.

While our farmers suffer, other countries sense an opportunity for themselves. A few weeks ago, Argentina cut a deal with China to boost the sales of their soybeans and leave American soybean farmers out in the cold. After Argentina took those actions, after Argentina cut a deal to take the legs out from underneath American farmers, Trump authorized a $20 billion bailout for Argentina.

This development is so terrible for American farmers and so embarrassing that the Treasury Secretary was caught looking at frantic texts from President Trump's own Agriculture Secretary, complaining that the United States is bailing out a country that cozied up to China at the expense of American farmers.

So why is Donald Trump backpedaling on ``America First'' to make it Argentina first? Because Donald Trump's personal friend, close political ally, and ``favorite President,'' Argentine President Javier Milei, is facing a critical midterm election in the coming weeks, and he is in trouble.

Milei's popularity has plummeted in recent months because of his ongoing corruption scandals and the complete failure of his radical economic agenda. As a result, his party suffered a surprising defeat in local elections in September.

Now, the election coming up on October 26 will determine whether Milei can keep exerting control over Argentina's legislature. With global investors pulling their money from the country trying to get off his sinking ship and destabilizing its financial markets, his party's electoral chances looked really slim.

So Trump is sending 20 billion U.S. taxpayer dollars to bail out Argentina and prop up Milei so can stay in power. That is Argentina first, not ``America First.''

But there is more. The bailout for Argentina also helps Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's billionaire hedge fund buddies. Bessent's pals have bought up Argentina's debts, and if Argentina goes down, those Wall Street billionaires could lose a lot of money.

Bailing out Argentina gives an off-ramp to the Wall Street giants who want to exit their investments. And meanwhile, here at home, the Trump administration is pushing 15 million Americans toward an unwanted off- ramp from their current healthcare.

The No Argentina Bailout Act is really very simple. It would stop Donald Trump from using Treasury's Exchange Stabilization Fund to provide direct or indirect financial assistance to Argentina, including through the use of currency swap lines, currency or sovereign debt purchases, or direct loans.

Any existing financial contracts or instruments that violate this prohibition would have to be sold or terminated within 7 days. The prohibition expires at the end of President Milei's term in December 2027. And if, for some unforeseen reason, it is actually in America's interest to provide economic aid to Argentina during this period, the

administration can come here to Congress and get approval.

Today, President Trump hosted the President of Argentina at the White House after showering his country with American taxpayer money. It is shameful that President Trump is propping up a foreign government while he shuts down the American government.

It is simple: If you really want to put ``America First,'' then you will support American farmers and American families and urge passage of the No Argentina Bailout Act.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, during the 2008 financial crisis and the $700 billion bailout for giant banks, the Federal Reserve exploited another authority to shovel money out the back door and into the hands of those giant banks.

For the first time ever, the Fed started paying interest on overnight funds that big financial institutions deposit with the Fed. This was a dream come true for those financial giants--no risk and lots of free money printed by the Fed.

How much money? Seven hundred eighty-five billion dollars since 2008.

Some of that money could have been used to pay down the national debt or fund tax cuts or whatever Congress wanted. Instead, public money went

straight into the pockets of giant banks.

And the Fed has a very convoluted argument about why they should be allowed to pay interest, claiming it helps them set interest rates. But no one is fooled. Before 2008, the Fed managed interest rates while paying zero on overnight funds and never had a problem.

Let's call this out for what it is: another taxpayer subsidy for giant banks.

If another emergency happens and the Fed needs authority to lend out money like that, make them come to Congress, and let's get a vote on it.

Last year alone, the banks earned $270 billion in profits. Jamie Dimon made $39 million. Other megabanks' CEOs made at least $30 million. The banking industry does not need another subsidy from American taxpayers.

This bipartisan proposal would end that subsidy. I urge a ``yes'' vote on Paul No. 3761. And understand, today's vote is just the start of a bipartisan fight to get this bill signed into law.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise to support Senator Scott's bill that would increase oversight of the Federal Reserve.

I believe in Fed independence so the Fed can do its work setting interest rates and maximizing employment, but independence does not mean insulation from following the rules--especially ethics rules.

For years, the Fed has rebuffed congressional oversight, and for years, Fed officials have been caught up in ethics scandals without any accountability.

Unlike virtually every other major Federal Agency, the Fed hires and fires and sets the salary for its own inspector general. That means that in 2021, when high-level Fed officials were embroiled in a scandal involving financial trades they made during the COVID pandemic, the Fed's own in-house IG conducted the only investigation and said, essentially: Nothing to see here.

Maybe that is right, but the Fed's watchdog should be truly independent and able to call out abuses.

I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Madam President, we have a responsibility to ensure that the United States remains the world's leader in advanced technology. There is broad bipartisan agreement that we should be developing the most sensitive, cutting-edge technologies right here at home, rather than funding their development in countries that do not share our values.

This amendment would advance that goal by codifying a program to screen specific types of U.S. investments in China and other countries of concern.

It would protect our national security and help ensure that American ingenuity, innovation, and investment do not end up turbocharging these countries' advancements in fields like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and microelectronics.

I commend Senators Cortez Masto and Cornyn for their leadership in this effort and look forward to working with my colleagues to get versions of this important legislation signed into law.

Today's vote is an important bipartisan step to protect American innovation and safeguard our national security.

I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Madam President, it has been 1 whole week since Republicans shut down the government. So why did they close the government? Because Republicans decided they would rather shut down the entire government than lower costs and save healthcare for millions of Americans.

Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are knocking 15 million people off their health insurance, driving up the cost of healthcare for everyone else, closing rural hospitals, shutting down community health centers, and much, much more--all so that they can fund giant tax cuts for billionaires. Those are Republican priorities.

Democrats are fighting to prevent insurance premiums from doubling. We are fighting to help American families hang onto their health insurance, because no one should go bankrupt because they got sick and needed to see a doctor.

In the next few days, Americans will begin getting letters in the mail, telling them their insurance premiums are going up--way, way up. For some families, those premiums are doubling. Others will get priced out of their plans completely, leaving them with no coverage at all.

Here is what that means: Thanks to Republicans in Congress, a 60- year-old couple making $85,000 a year will have to pay more than $22,000 every year to keep their coverage--$22,000. For families already hanging on by their fingernails, that could be a matter of keeping healthcare coverage or just giving up, and that could be a matter of life and death.

I know what it is like. Growing up, there was never a time when my family didn't worry about money. My daddy ended up as a janitor. When I was 12, my daddy had a heart attack. He lost his job. The family's station wagon was repossessed, and we were about to lose our home. My mother had never worked outside the home, but that is when she put on her best dress, got herself a minimum wage job of answering phones at Sears, and saved our home and saved our family.

Our healthcare system was already broken with high premiums, insurance denials, and huge copays, and that was before Donald Trump and the Republicans decided to make the healthcare crisis so much worse.

Democrats are fighting to reverse Republicans' giant healthcare cuts and lower costs for Americans. Right now, it is only the Republicans in Congress who stand in the way. Affordable Care Act tax credits help people afford their healthcare, and they are set to expire at the end of the year. And insurance companies are resetting their rates right now--right now.

We are barreling toward a tipping point for American families. If Congress does not act, nearly 22 million Americans will see their health insurance premiums more than double on average. Democrats want to lower those costs right now. Republicans are shutting down the entire government instead of coming to the table to help American families.

An overwhelming majority of Americans wants us to extend these tax credits so that insurance premiums don't go through the roof. Even most Trump supporters agree with us on this. Donald Trump himself just said he wants to make it better. It is only Senate Republicans who are standing in the way. Senate Republicans have refused to even sit down and negotiate over healthcare cuts, even though thousands of their constituents will see their costs go way up.

For example, in Alabama, about 447,000 Americans will see their insurance premiums skyrocket. In Alaska, about 24,000 Americans will see their insurance premiums skyrocket. In Arkansas, it is about 144,000 Americans. In Florida, it is 4.4 million Americans. In Idaho, it is 101,000 Americans. In Indiana, it is 290,000 Americans. In Iowa, it is 118,000 Americans. In Kansas, it is 182,000 Americans. In Kentucky, it is 77,000 Americans. In Louisiana, it is 276,000 Americans. In Maine, it is 54,000 Americans. In Mississippi, it is 320,000 Americans. In Missouri, it is 383,000 Americans. In Montana, it is 67,000 Americans. In North Carolina, it is 888,000 Americans. In North Dakota, it is 38,000 Americans. In Ohio, it is 514,000 Americans. In Oklahoma, it is 290,000 Americans. In Pennsylvania, it is 422,000 Americans. In South Carolina, it is 588,000 Americans. In South Dakota, it is 50,000 Americans. In Tennessee, it is 593,000 Americans. In Texas, it is 3.7 million Americans; nearly 4 million Americans will see their insurance premiums skyrocket. In Utah, it is 395,000 Americans. In West Virginia, it is 63,000 Americans. In Wisconsin, it is 272,000 Americans. In Wyoming, it is 43,000 Americans.

Look, Democrats are fighting to lower costs for every single one of those Americans. Where are their Republican Senators? Those were the insurance premiums, which will cause about 5 million people to lose their coverage because they just can't afford those higher costs.

But Republicans are also cutting healthcare for another 10 million Americans. Those are seniors in nursing homes, mamas with newborn babies, and it is your neighbor who needs a wheelchair or a home health aide to be able to live independently.

Democrats have said, time and time again: If Congress is going to pass a budget for the U.S. Government, then saving healthcare for those millions of Americans has to be part of the deal. We will not stop fighting for Americans' access to their doctors and to their hospitals.

What has been the response of Donald Trump? He doesn't want to talk about healthcare. Nope. Instead, his plan is to inflict maximum pain on Americans during this Republican shutdown.

His right-hand man, Russ Vought, is shutting down important infrastructure projects as political punishment. They are threatening to fire many more Federal workers. And get this: The White House is furloughing hundreds of staffers because of the Republican shutdown, but they are keeping every single DOGE staffer on.

In total, the Trump administration is furloughing over half a million workers who work every day to keep our country running. But at least Elon Musk's pals at DOGE are safe, and that tells you everything you need to know about the Republican plans.

Look, this may feel like a surprise to millions of Americans, but the Republican attack on Americans' healthcare has been long in the making. It is exactly the shutdown playbook Donald Trump and his lackeys laid out in their Project 2025. Since day one, Trump has tried again and again and again to shut down the parts of government he just doesn't like. He has tried to illegally wipe away millions of dollars for programs that Congress had already agreed to fund. He has illegally fired tens of thousands of Federal workers. He has illegally sent our troops to invade American cities.

The response of Republicans in the Senate has been to bow down and let Donald Trump do all of that and more.

Now, during a government shutdown, the President of the United States is saying: ``A lot of good can come'' from a shutdown, and ``we can get rid of a lot of things we didn't want.''

While all of that is going on, why would Democrats sign off on a Republican budget without ironclad guarantees to make sure that Trump won't just turn around and go back on the deal and not lower costs for families? The answer is, we won't. While Senate Republicans keep taking orders from their wannabe King and drag out their government shutdown, Senate Democrats will not stop fighting to save healthcare and to lower costs for families. We want rollbacks of the Republican cuts that will take away healthcare coverage from 15 million people and drive up insurance premiums for everyone else.

This is not a partisan issue. This is not a partisan fight. Democrats are in this fight for all Americans, and we urge Senate Republicans to join us to protect healthcare coverage for millions of Americans and end this painful government shutdown.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, in July, when Republicans voted on the first spending bill for 2026, with cuts that would knock 15 million people off healthcare, I stood right here, and I asked my Republican colleagues in the Senate to grow a spine and stand up for Americans.

We are here today because the Republicans refused. Instead, Republicans bowed down to Trump, and, now, people all across this country will suffer.

Let's be clear: Republicans shut down the government because they would rather make healthcare more expensive than keep the government running. That is literally where we are right now.

Republicans control the House. Republicans control the Senate. Republicans control the White House. They are in power. It is their job to keep the government running for the American people, and they have failed. Donald Trump and the Republicans own this shutdown.

Don't take it from me. Listen to Donald J. Trump. In 2013, Trump himself said about a potential government shutdown:

If there is a shutdown, I think it would be a tremendously

negative mark on the President of the United States. He's the

one that has to get people together.

That is Donald J. Trump.

Now, at the same time, Trump said:

The President has to lead. You have to get people in a

room, and you have to just make deals for the good of the

country.

Donald Trump today should listen to Donald Trump from yesterday. Instead, Trump, Mr. ``Art of the Deal,'' hasn't been able to cut a deal for the most basic government functions. Wow.

As Trump said, that is ``a tremendously negative mark on the President of the United States.''

Let me say it again. Democrats are fighting to roll back the Republican cuts that would take away healthcare from millions of people and raise health insurance premiums for millions more. That is it. That is what we are asking for. We have been asking for months to negotiate over this, and the Republicans have said no.

What are they doing right now? Are they making counteroffers? Are they saying, ``We could go this far, not this far''? Nope. They are simply saying no.

So now, when a family is forced to the brink of bankruptcy from one bad medical diagnosis, Trump and the Republicans own it. Republicans insist that those healthcare cuts go through. When community hospitals have to shut down, Trump and Republicans own it. When kids with cancer can't get treatment because potentially lifesaving research grants come to a screeching halt, Trump and Republicans own it. When insurance premiums skyrocket, Trump and Republicans own it.

Healthcare in America was already broken, but Trump and Republicans are making it much, much worse. They ripped away money that covers mamas

giving birth and neighbors who need wheelchairs and home health aides, and they handed it over to giant corporations and billionaire CEOs.

Democrats believe that no one should go bankrupt because they got sick and needed to see a doctor. So Democrats are here to say we are willing to fight for families who need healthcare. If Congress is going to pass a budget for the U.S. Government, then Democrats want saving healthcare for millions of Americans just to be part of that deal. Democrats have made that clear, and Republicans have refused even to talk about it.

Trump is already doing his best to shut down government or at least to shut down the parts of government that he doesn't like. Since day one, Trump has been trying to illegally wipe away millions of dollars for programs that Congress already agreed to fund. Trump and his buddy Elon Musk have fired tens of thousands of Federal workers. Trump is declaring American cities as ``war zones'' and sending troops to invade communities.

Trump is playing King time and time again, and Republicans in Congress are bowing down and letting him do it.

While all of that is going on, Republicans in Congress want Democrats just to sign a blank check and hand it over to Trump and let him continue to shut down whatever he doesn't like and to destroy our democracy. They want us to agree to a budget, knowing full well that Trump will then turn around tomorrow and delete this part or that part or whatever he doesn't like, just like he has already done.

Why would we play along with that farce? Why would we throw our support behind a deal that, any time, any day, Trump could just decide he doesn't feel like honoring it? And why would we do that without getting anything in return to help American families who are struggling with high costs, particularly the healthcare costs that Republicans are driving up? To do that would be a betrayal of the American people.

Senate Democrats are holding the line for families. Senate Republicans decided they would rather take orders from a wannabe King and shut down the entire government instead of helping out families who are getting squeezed on healthcare costs. It really is that simple.

Make no mistake, this Trump shutdown will hurt people. Because of Republicans, children across this country could lose access to childcare through Head Start. Because of Republicans, the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center will now stop enrolling patients in clinical trials that could be their only shot at treatment. Because of Republicans, air traffic controller hiring will stop, at a time when we are already dealing with a dangerous shortage. Because of Republicans, park rangers and thousands of other civil servants won't get paid. Because of Republicans, Donald Trump's corruption and chaos will continue.

So what is next? Well, Democrats want to keep the government open, and we want rollbacks of the Republican cuts that will cost 15 million Americans their healthcare coverage and drive up insurance costs for everyone else.

This isn't partisan. This is a righteous fight on behalf of everyone who needs healthcare, everyone who might need to go to the hospital, everyone who counts on a community clinic or a home health aide, whether they are a Democrat, a Republican, an Independent, or a ``none of the above.''

We are in this fight for Americans and for American healthcare, and it is only the Senate Republicans, led by Donald Trump, who stand in the way.

I yield the floor.