Floor Statements

Mr. President, it is my honor to rise today to pay tribute to Temple Beth Sholom of Las Vegas, as the synagogue and its members celebrate their 80th anniversary during 2026. In 1946, the first Jewish congregation was established in southern Nevada, meeting and worshipping at the Las Vegas Jewish Community Center. As the city of Las Vegas grew in the 1950s, so too did the Jewish community, leading to the construction of the first Temple building, which gave the community a new home to worship in. The congregation formally named it Temple Beth Sholom. Now, 80 years later at its current location in Summerlin, Temple Beth Sholom remains a vibrant and active Jewish congregation hosting daily minyan services and weekly Shabbat services, as well as celebrating life cycle events throughout the year. Education is also a key pillar of Temple Beth Sholom's service to the community, with classroom learning for children of all ages, and active USY and Kadima youth programs as well. More importantly, Temple Beth Sholom serves the Las Vegas Jewish Community through hosting various educational and social events throughout the year, welcoming all of the southern Nevada community to participate.

To Rabbi Felipe Goodman, musical director DJ Sinai, board president Elliot Blut, and all of the Temple Beth Sholom congregation and team that keep it running, I join citizens across Nevada and the Nation in sending our sincere congratulations on 80 years of Temple Beth Sholom being a pillar of the Jewish community in southern Nevada and wish them many more years of success.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, as we enter spring and schools across the Nation approach their spring breaks, millions of families will soon be traveling. They will be relying on our airports to travel to visit family, to go on vacation, but unfortunately, they will be met with longer lines because Washington Republicans refuse to pay our TSA agents.

That is right--the Department of Homeland Security is currently without funding because Washington Republicans would rather see it shut down than pass commonsense--just commonsense--guardrails on ICE. In fact, every Senate Republican present voted just this past weekend against paying our TSA agents.

As a result, the American people are paying the price. When TSA staffing levels drop because officers aren't getting paid, wait times at airport security checkpoints--well, they stretch longer and longer. This doesn't just inconvenience travelers; it undermines security and directly threatens jobs and businesses and livelihoods.

The situation is so dire at our airports that the Trump administration is going to send untrained ICE agents to our airports-- untrained ICE agents--to try to do the job of our highly trained TSA agents.

That is why I rise yet again with a simple, practical proposal to pay hard-working TSA agents, pay them right now. They deserve it. If we cannot move forward with funding for the entire Department of Homeland Security, we should at least be able to come together on this. The Trump administration and Senate leadership are having ongoing negotiations on the guardrails on ICE, and TSA officers should not be caught in the middle of that fight.

So today, I am asking my colleagues to take just a simple step: Pass my legislation right now to pay TSA workers so that commercial air travel remains safe and functional.

Let me say this: Claiming that you will not agree to pay TSA agents because this bill doesn't fund the entire

Department--well, it is, frankly, just an excuse because if Washington Republicans truly believe that, then why did they agree to literally fund everything else in our government except for DHS?

If it has to be all or nothing, like they are now claiming, then why agree to fund parts of our government where we have an agreement and leave DHS unfunded?

I can tell you why. It is that they know it is the right thing to do. They know that other government employees should not be penalized for the President's mass deportation agenda.

That is exactly why we are asking for this today. Don't penalize TSA and the traveling public for the fact that you refuse to rein in ICE. Have them be held accountable. Have them be trained, transparent, and accountable like every other law enforcement agency in this country.

So, as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 362, S. 4127; that the bill be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I reserve the right to object.

I think we would all agree that it would be better to fund the DHS as a whole rather than piecemeal, but you won't agree to commonsense reforms. In fact, the President himself said, this weekend, that he will not agree to any reform or funding of the DHS, and he is holding other bills hostage. So it is on the President's desk. The President has clearly interjected himself in this by putting ICE in our airports when we can fund the entire Department of Homeland Security and continue the discussions on ICE, which are going back and forth with the President and his team and leadership, and be done with it.

In the meantime, if we pass my piece for right now, we can at least pass the TSA, but the President has interjected himself again. He doesn't want guardrails. So I want to just, at least, prevent those TSA agents from missing another paycheck.

In the meantime, get ICE out of our airports.

Therefore, I object.

Mr. President, you know, I find this really disappointing. Paying our hard-working TSA officers shouldn't be controversial. It is not partisan. The funding isn't controversial. People in my State and in every State are waiting 3 hours, maybe more than that. They are missing their flights.

Everyone here has the power to do something about it. My Republican colleagues have the power to do something about it. They don't have to wait for the President. So, if Washington Republicans--my Senate colleagues--really wanted to do what was right by their constituents regarding the TSA workers, you would have passed my bill to pay the TSA officers, instead of punishing them and the American people because of your inaction.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today to express my strong opposition to the SAVE America Act.

Let me be clear right off the bat: I believe in protecting the integrity of our elections. I believe our elections should be, and are, safe and secure. And I believe we must always make sure there is no meddling in our elections.

Every eligible American deserves to have their voice heard at the ballot box, and they deserve to have confidence in our democratic system.

So this is not a Democrat or Republican value. Free and fair elections are the foundation of the United States of America, and protecting these free and fair elections should be something every elected official should support, but that is not what this bill is really about. It is not what this bill is really about.

The hyperpartisan so-called SAVE America Act, it isn't about making our elections any safer. It is not even about keeping our elections free and fair. It is quite the opposite. This bill is about making it harder--making it harder--for eligible Americans to vote and shrinking the size of our electorate to benefit Republicans.

This bill would impose strict restrictions on Americans' ability to vote--restrictions so severe that a woman who gets married and changes her last name could be barred from voting because her last name doesn't match her birth certificate. Think about that. You take your husband's name. Now you can't vote because your current last name doesn't match your birth certificate.

You know, you see Donald Trump and Washington Republicans, they are so, so afraid of being held accountable for their actions and their jobs and what they are doing that they are trying anything that they can possibly do to prevent people from voting in order to increase their odds in this year's midterm elections.

They know their actions to raise gas prices, cut your healthcare, increase costs with illegal tariffs--groceries up, rent up, utilities up--they are not popular with the American people, and that is why Trump first tried to rig congressional maps in red States like Texas and Missouri to give Republicans an advantage.

And when that didn't work, Washington Republicans--well, they decided to push a hyperpartisan bill. You heard me right. Instead of working to improve your lives, to improve lives of Americans by lowering costs at the kitchen table, by expanding access to healthcare, and face the voters on the merits of their work, they would just rather restrict the electorate. In other words, they just want to stop people from voting and at a time when families are struggling--they are struggling to make ends meet--when people are being squeezed by rising prices at the grocery store, now at the gas pump going higher and higher every day and, well, at the doctor's office, if you still have insurance.

Washington Republicans have chosen to focus all of their efforts-- every single one of them--on preventing people from voting. Washington Republicans are not lowering your costs. They are not helping working families get ahead. Instead, they are making it harder for Americans to exercise their constitutional right to vote.

So let's not kid ourselves here. Washington Republicans are using this totally unnecessary and harmful bill, well, as a distraction, a distraction from the fact that families are struggling to keep up with the rising costs of their lives, a distraction from the fact that gas prices are going up every single day, a distraction that groceries are more expensive, and they are going up every single day, along with the price of gas.

It is a distraction from the fact that too many Americans are just worried about how they are going to afford their healthcare and their medication and what tough choices they may have to make in order to make ends meet.

These are the things that really keep people up at night, and these are the things that the Senate should be focused on. And so Trump and Washington Republicans have done absolutely nothing to lower the price of your groceries or your gas and nothing to make sure that your healthcare is more affordable. Washington Republicans simply don't care about your monthly bills going up and up. Instead, we are debating a bill that does absolutely nothing to make life more affordable for anyone.

So what should we be doing? We should be working together to protect against real threats to our elections like foreign interference, voter intimidation, and making sure that every legal vote is counted, not creating new obstacles for Americans who are simply trying to exercise their constitutional right to vote.

We should be working together to address real threats and the real challenges that American families are facing today. It is taking care of your family, kids going to school, rent, groceries, utilities, opportunity.

We should be working together to address those financial pressures that families are under to come up with the good solutions, good policies that will actually make a real difference for people in their lives at their kitchen table, and that is really what we have been elected to do.

And so we owe it to the voters to do that, and we also owe it to the voters to protect their right to vote in future elections.

So, to be clear, I will not support policies that make it harder for eligible Americans to vote. So I urge my colleagues to reject the SAVE America Act and get back to focusing on what actually matters to the American people: lowering everyday costs, making life more affordable and a good future more attainable.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I object.

Mr. President, you know, I appreciate my colleague, but we have had more than 2 weeks. So where have you been? Where have you been?

This is a nonstarter. Come to the table. Let's give ICE the same training as local law enforcement, as our FBI. We want ICE agents that are transparent, trained, and accountable, not acting above the law.

So now we are almost a month into the Republican shutdown of Homeland Security. The Republicans control the White House, the House, and the Senate. So let's remember how we got here. Donald Trump and Kristi Noem were so, so eager to carry out their cruel mass deportation agenda that they actually cut training for ICE officers from 5 months--imagine this--to 47 days. Why 47 days? Well, you can't even make this up-- because it honors Donald Trump, who is the 47th President. So you cut down 5 months to 47 days. What are you thinking about adequate training?

By cutting training and increasing recruitment, Trump and Kristi Noem sent thousands of untrained agents with their guns and their badges into communities all across this country. They added deportation quotas for these officers to meet, and Trump and Kristi Noem pushed these untrained officers to round up as many people as they could wherever they could, and that included legal immigrants and American citizens. That is right.

Instead of deporting illegal, violent criminals--something we do all agree on, by the way--they went after legal permanent residents, visa holders, law-abiding citizens, with devastating consequences when we saw two of our fellow Americans brutally murdered in Minneapolis.

The American people were rightfully horrified and angry, and they demanded accountability, which is exactly what Senate Democrats are pushing for.

We proposed a commonsense, basic idea that ICE officers, well, should just be required to follow the same standards as our local law enforcement--all of my colleagues here--your law enforcement has to follow. That is it. Simple. We want ICE officers to wear body cams, end roving patrols, use judicial warrants, and to respect people's rights. It should be a no-brainer.

Democrats have been ready and willing in good faith to enact these commonsense reforms, fund the Department, and keep our country safe, and, shamefully, our Republican colleagues have refused to pass these reforms. They would rather see the Homeland Security Department shut down than pass commonsense guardrails to hold ICE accountable, rein them in, and as a result, the American people are paying the price. Travelers at our airports, seeing longer lines. TSA officers are being forced to work without pay.

As the Senator from Nevada, you are right--I know just how serious the situation is. My State relies heavily on tourism. More than 50 million visitors travel to Nevada every year to attend conventions, visit our beautiful public lands, enjoy live entertainment, sports, and we support hundreds of thousands of hospitality workers.

Air travel is the gateway to our economy, so when TSA staffing levels drop because officers aren't getting paid, wait times at airport security checkpoints stretch longer and longer. It doesn't just inconvenience travelers; it does undermine security and directly threatens jobs, businesses, and livelihoods across our State.

That is why I rise today with a very simple and practical proposal. If we can't move forward funding the entire Department--sitting down, negotiating in good faith, which you have had plenty of time to do already--we should be at least able to come together to pay the hard- working staff of one of its most essential components: TSA.

Let's not have TSA officers in the middle of this fight. They don't deserve it. We all agree their salaries should be funded, so let's fund it. Let's do it.

Today, I am asking my colleagues to take a simple step. Let's pass my legislation right now and pay the TSA workers so that commercial air travel remains safe and functional and our TSA agents receive the pay they have earned.

I am introducing this bill today with Commerce Committee Ranking Member Cantwell so we can finally get our airports moving again. If Republicans are going to insist on shutting down the Department of Homeland Security, they should at the very least join us in ensuring that the traveling public does not pay the price.

They even implied in their own tweet that they are for funding TSA, so let's see if that is true, because, you know what, tweets are easy. Tweets are easy. Talk is easy. Will they back up what they say with their votes? We are about to find out.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 4073, submitted earlier today, and that would fund the TSA; that the bill be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, we can fully fund DHS right now--right now--if Washington Republicans will just agree to commonsense reforms for ICE--the same ones that local law enforcement have: Identify yourself. Wear a body camera. It is good for the agent and for the community. Get full training. Respect our Bill of Rights. We want them to be trained, transparent, and accountable like every other law enforcement officer in this country.

I find it extremely disappointing that you haven't come to the table for those commonsense reforms so far. We can let the TSA and other parts of Homeland go and continue to negotiate. Let's remember that the Big Beautiful Bill gave tens of billions of dollars to ICE. They are not running out of money or any pay anytime soon.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, here is a fact that Donald Trump seems to not understand or care about: families in Nevada and all across this country being squeezed--being squeezed--by high costs. Nevadans are struggling to afford even the most basic things from groceries to rent to healthcare.

This isn't just in Nevada. All across the country, housing costs are up; healthcare costs are up. Even the most basic, unavoidable expenses like electricity have even gotten more expensive. But if you ask Donald Trump, he says affordability--and I am going to quote here--is a ``hoax.'' It is a ``con job by the Democrats.'' He even said--and I am going to quote again--``prices are coming down tremendously . . . inflation is stopped.''

I am going to ask everybody here at home today: Do you think affordability is a hoax? Do you feel like prices are going down? Don't listen to Trump. Just take one look at your grocery bill this week. It is clear he isn't paying attention to hard-working people because the price of your groceries has done nothing but skyrocket.

Donald Trump, he ran for President on lowering prices. Since he got into office nearly a year ago, Americans have spent on average well over $1,000 more because of Trump's cost-raising tariffs. He was supposed to lower prices on day one. Well, we are a lot further than day one.

I want to be clear about what these tariffs really are. They are an additional tax on hard-working families, and they increase prices across the board. Just look at housing. Due to Trump's tariff taxes, the price of construction materials, appliances, and furniture have skyrocketed, gone through the roof. When you raise the cost of lumber, steel, and other materials builders rely on to build new homes, you slow down construction. And when supply can't keep up with demand, prices go up. That is not just ideology; that is simple economics.

Similarly, Trump's self-imposed taxes have increased your costs at the grocery store. You are paying more for the essentials you rely on most: coffee, produce, meat, so much more. Trump and his billionaire buddies, who probably haven't gone grocery shopping for themselves in years, don't care about the price of groceries. Well, they might not care about paying more, but seniors on fixed incomes do; parents trying to feed their kids do; workers whose paychecks aren't keeping up do. They are the ones being hurt by these reckless tariffs. So Donald Trump may not care, but everyone else I know cares--and it matters.

That is why I introduced my No Tariffs on Groceries Act. This bill, it is simple--simple. It would exempt your groceries from Trump's tariffs, meaning the costs won't be raised because of the tariffs. So it is time that Congress reasserts its authority over trade and pushes back against Trump's cost-raising tariffs.

I know a few things: Groceries are not a luxury; food should never be a bargaining chip; and working families should not be collateral damage in Trump's reckless trade wars. This hits everyone at the kitchen table. Every person needs to eat. You shouldn't be collateral damage in Trump's reckless trade wars. Let's prove this Chamber can still act on the issues that are most important to American families at their kitchen table. If they care about that and they want to lower costs for everybody, let's pass my bill right now.

Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be discharged from further consideration of S. 3229 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; that the Rosen substitute amendment, which is at the desk, be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, food should never be a bargaining chip. People's kitchen tables, their refrigerators should never be a bargaining chip. This is not a partisan issue, feeding people in the United States. We should not be mixing natural resources with the essential things that we need like food.

Are my Republican colleagues--if they want to lower prices, they can start--they can start--by this one small act of letting this bill go through. They can help me lower prices right here, right now. I am very disappointed. This bill would lower prices at the grocery store for hard-working families all across America. And by stopping it from passing, you and your Republican colleagues--well, I am afraid you are telling the American people that their kitchen table isn't your priority and that Washington Republicans would rather bow to Trump than pass legislation to lower at least one section of grocery prices and make food more affordable for their constituents.

Again, this isn't partisan. People in my State and yours are being crushed by rising costs. Washington Republicans have the power to do a little something about it, but they choose not to. So if you really want to do what is right by your constituents, if you want to do right by kitchen tables across this country, Republicans would stand up to Trump, stand up against these reckless tariffs on food, and support my legislation.

I yield the floor.

Reserving the right to object.

Reserving the right to object.

This is truly outrageous. After doing absolutely nothing all year to prevent a massive spike in healthcare costs, Senate Republicans now want to go home for yet another weekend and do nothing, just like the House Republicans have been doing for the past month while families find out how much their healthcare costs are going up for the next year.

Senate Republicans are just acting as if it is business as usual. Well, I am here to tell you why it is not business as usual.

This Saturday, the day after tomorrow, is November 1, the beginning of open enrollment for families who buy their healthcare through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.

Many hard-working families rely on the ACA's enhanced premium tax credits just to be able to afford their healthcare policy. But, unfortunately, they will expire this year and must be extended to keep healthcare costs from rising for everyone.

It is not a handout. It is not welfare. It is a tax cut that helps lower the costs of healthcare for families in all of our States--all of our States. And without these, healthcare costs are going to go up for everyone, and many will be priced out of care.

I implore my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to see reason, to understand that this is not a partisan issue. Americans--well, all of us--are one medical diagnosis away from catastrophe. Strokes, cancer, heart attacks don't care if you are a Democrat or a Republican. It is why we need to make sure all of our constituents are able to afford a healthcare policy. It is not unreasonable.

But if an appeal to humanity doesn't work, maybe an appeal to your political instincts will. Six of the ten States that have the most amount of people receiving the enhanced premium tax credits are States with two Republican Senators, including Florida, which is at the top of the list; Texas; North

Carolina; Tennessee; South Carolina; and Ohio. So this isn't just good policy; it is critical for your own constituents.

Isn't that why we were all elected? Not to go have gold-plated dinners at the White House to celebrate not taking action on American's healthcare, protecting American's healthcare. We were elected to help families, to stand up for them, and make sure that they could thrive and reach the American dream, and it is about damn time we remembered all of that.

So, no, we should not act like this is business as usual. We should work to find a path forward that protects healthcare access. And if that means we need to be here all weekend, so be it. And if you disagree, I want you to be on the record saying you want to go home for the weekend right as families are confronted with higher healthcare costs.

Everybody here knows me. I am usually pretty mild-mannered. I am willing to work with anyone, and I remain willing to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to prevent healthcare costs from going up in the future.

But I am fed up. The dysfunction in this place is going to have real consequences when people lose their healthcare coverage. And I am done. I am just done. We need to figure this out, work in a bipartisan way-- not next week but right now.

Therefore, while I do not object to the Senator's motion on housekeeping matters for the Senate, I will not provide my consent to adjourning the Senate today without a vote so that Members of this Chamber can make clear whether or not they are willing to give up one weekend to roll up their sleeves and work together to prevent a massive spike in healthcare costs.

Thank you.

Mr. President, Nevadans work hard for their money--really hard--especially right now, when they are being squeezed by rising costs as a result of Trump's chaos and his reckless economic policies.

Nevadans pay taxes with the expectation that the Federal Government is going to work for them and provide critical services when they need it--services that are shamefully being disrupted by the Republican government shutdown. Instead, their taxpayer dollars are being wasted on gold-plated dinners at the White House, two--count them, two-- private jets for Kristi Noem, and, unbelievably, a potentially multimillion-dollar illegal payment to Donald Trump.

So you heard that right. In the middle of a government shutdown that he caused because he refuses to take action to prevent a spike in your healthcare costs, Donald Trump is seeking $230 million in payment from the Department of Justice. For whom? Well, for himself.

He is going to use your money to pad his own pockets, instead of working with Democrats to take action to make sure that you and your family can go to the doctor without breaking the bank.

Trump has even acknowledged that ``it's awfully strange to make a decision where I'm paying myself.''

And I want to go one step further. It is not just ``strange.'' It is outrageous.

Mr. President, $230 million--all while families are worried about paying their bills, putting food on the table, and wondering if they will be able to afford their health insurance for next year.

Instead of paying himself, why doesn't Trump put that money toward SNAP benefits, since his administration has decided to renege on its promise to provide the funding to prevent Americans from going hungry? The President has the power to do this.

So, today, I am introducing a resolution condemning Donald Trump's decision to pay and enrich himself with your tax dollars. You got that right. He is going to pay to enrich himself nearly a quarter of a million dollars--from Donald Trump to Donald Trump--off the backs of the American taxpayer.

And if my Republican colleagues--who like to stand up here and talk all about cutting costs, cutting wasteful spending--if they want to practice what they preach, they will support my resolution. They will stand up to Donald Trump and say, finally--finally--with the gold- plated dinners and the ballrooms, et cetera, that enough is enough, and it is time to put the American people first.

So let's show the American people that at least this Chamber still knows the difference between serving the public and serving yourself.

So let's pass my resolution right now, today. We can do it.

So I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 470, which is at the desk. Further, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

This is extremely disappointing. By blocking my resolution, Washington Republicans are saying that they approve of Donald Trump paying himself a multimillion-dollar settlement using taxpayer dollars.

Millions of Americans are missing their paychecks, worrying about paying their bills, losing their SNAP benefits, and wondering if they are going to be able to afford their health insurance next year.

My Republican colleagues have lost their way and should be ashamed of themselves for standing up and allowing this lawlessness to happen. Like I said, my Republican colleagues like to stand up here and talk about cutting wasteful spending. This $230 million, I would argue, is exactly that. So if they wanted to practice what they preach, they would actually support my resolution, stand up to this wasteful spending of the President, again, approving himself to pay himself nearly a quarter of a million dollars, and we can show the American people that all of us know the difference between serving the public and serving just one individual--President Trump.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to complete my remarks prior to the scheduled recess.

I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to display three charts simultaneously.

Mr. President, on October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists shocked the human conscience when they carried out a brutal attack on Israel that murdered innocent men, women, children, babies; an attack during which terrorists raped innocent women; an assault during which Hamas took hundreds hostage, including Americans and Holocaust survivors.

For people everywhere and especially Jewish people, this brutal terrorist attack shook us all to our core. It shattered our hearts, and it led to our collective grief--a grief that has lasted for years as we awaited the day when these innocent hostages could be reunited with their families.

Since the aftermath of October 7, I have had these posters in the lobby of my office to remind every single person who walked through the doors that innocent people were still being brutally held by Hamas terrorists. These signs have been a reminder of who started this war and how it was kept going for so long.

For more than 2 years 739 agonizing days, families in Israel, in the United States, and around the world have lived every waking moment-- every waking moment--in anguish, waiting, praying, advocating for the safe return of their loved ones taken hostage, again, by the terrorist organization that is Hamas. Those folks never stop; they never tire. They traveled across continents and oceans to make sure that the world would never forget their commitment to freeing their loved ones and that their voices would be heard and that their loved ones would be brought home. So their mission was not to stop speaking out until they were reunited with their loved ones.

I had the honor of meeting these families many times over the last couple of years both in Israel and here in the United States. I have had the honor of meeting mothers and fathers who showed me photos of their missing children, of meeting brothers and sisters who refused to give up hope, and even meeting survivors who escaped captivity and still found the courage to tell their stories when it wasn't pretty or easy, and they will spend the rest of their lives healing.

I have also met with families of innocent people who were taken hostage and murdered and whose bodies Hamas refused to return to their loved ones. I sat with them. I have listened to their gut-wrenching stories and cried with them and promised them that America and Congress would never turn away.

As a mother, as a wife, frankly, as a human being, I can understand their fight, their desire to be reunited with their loved ones and just how deep that pain is for them. That is why I worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle and across two different administrations to continue shining that light on the need to return hostages to their families, to their communities.

This week, that day finally came. After many long, painful months of negotiations, a cease-fire deal has been reached--one that has resulted in the return of all the living hostages. This is a testament to the resilience and relentless work of families, allies, advocates who never stopped speaking out and standing up.

I am deeply grateful to the Trump administration for reaching a deal to make this day possible for these families.

This is a testament to what we can do, what can happen when we put politics aside and care for each other as human beings, when we have empathy for each other.

While we have been overjoyed to see the images of hostages being reunited with their loved ones--it has brought us to tears--let us not forget those who haven't been so lucky, because Hamas continues to hold the bodies of dead hostages, including Americans Itay Chen and Omer Neutra.

I met their families. I felt their pain. And we cannot forget them. We cannot forget these families--families who will never get to see their loved ones, families who never got to say goodbye, that one last ``I love you'' before a loved one went off to a music festival to enjoy an evening concert.

We must remain clear-eyed that our work is not over. The agreement is still in its early stages, and now is not the time to sit idly by.

I hope the Trump administration and my colleagues in Congress on both sides of the aisle continue to provide support and enforce guardrails to see this through. We must remain committed to ensuring the quick return of the deceased hostages to give their families, well, maybe some sense of closure that they need and they deserve.

We must make sure that Israel's security remains ironclad; that Hamas, terrorists--Hamas are terrorists, let's be clear--they can never again threaten innocent lives and that no terrorist organization should be using civilians as shields or bargaining chips. We should demand this much. No terrorist organization should ever use civilians as shields or bargaining chips, as we have seen.

At the same time, we must also act to ease the immense suffering of innocent Palestinians in Gaza. They need access to humanitarian aid, to food, to medicine, and the chance to rebuild their communities free from Hamas terrorist control and oppression.

Most of all, we must not let this fragile moment pass by without redoubling our commitment to peace, a lasting peace that ensures safety, dignity, and self-determination for both Israelis and Palestinians.

So, this week, as we mark this moment of long-awaited relief, let us remember, our work is not done, for peace is not achieved in a single day. It is built with strength and courage of those who refuse to give up on it, for the hostages who survived, and for those who tragically did not, for the families who waited, for the families who advocated for the return of their loved ones, and for the people who continue to pray for a peaceful future.

May this step be the first sign of change as we move toward an end to violence, toward a future where Israeli and Palestinian children alike can grow up knowing not war but embracing hope, a hope for a peaceful tomorrow. It is my hope as well.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, for the residents of southern Nevada and so many others, October 1 is no ordinary day. On October 1, 2017, my hometown of Las Vegas was struck by an unimaginable tragedy that forever--forever--changed our communities. We experienced an attack on a scale far worse than anyone could ever have imagined, a devastating tragedy that ripped families apart and destroyed lives.

During any given weekend, the Las Vegas Strip is buzzing with tourists and visitors from around the world, and that was the case on October 1, 2017. That night, tens of thousands of people came to Las Vegas to attend the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival, enjoy a fun night out with friends and good music. The weather was beautiful. But in just 10 minutes--10 minutes--their lives and our entire State would be changed forever. Ten minutes was all it took for a gunman to open fire on an unsuspecting crowd, killing 58 innocent people, injuring thousands, and leaving a permanent scar on the hearts of everyone in our State and on the hearts of the families and friends of those injured and killed.

In the years since, we have lost two more individuals as a result of this tragedy, which remains the deadliest mass shooting in American history. So I want you to think about what that means. The families of the victims of that tragedy had their world shattered in just 10 minutes--10 minutes that day that changed their lives forever--families who now don't get to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, holidays; families, and I think this is one of the hardest things, who never got to say goodbye to the people they love.

And that night also changed the lives of everyone in our city: people who were attending or working at the festival, Nevadans who were just driving down the Strip, and the first responders who ran toward danger to help save lives.

In the chaos and confusion of that night, our heroic first responders, our police officers, our firefighters, and our paramedics ran toward the scene. They saved countless lives. I know taxi drivers ran; everyone ran to try to help people escape. And in the midst of this darkness, we saw our community--my community--go above and beyond to help.

Our entire State rallied together. We saw lines of people around entire blocks, waiting hours to donate blood, willing to donate blood to save the lives of complete strangers in the middle of a mass casualty.

I remember that day going to the line to talk to people and try to comfort folks in the midst of those first few days. There was a woman in line to give blood, and I went up, and I talked to her. She started crying. She put her arms like this. She goes: I don't have much but blood; blood is all I have to give, and I am here.

She started crying. I started crying. It was such a moving moment. She goes: This is what I can give--her arms outstretched.

And so I want everyone to think about that; that the hearts of so many, in a tragedy, go out to those they don't even know, to do what they can and give what they can, coming from the heart. And these selfless acts of not just this woman--this is just one story of so many that I was proud to hear and be a part of--this showed the country why we are Vegas Strong. And I am here today to honor the memories of those whom we lost as a result of that terrible night on 1 October and everyone else who was impacted. As we remember and reflect on this event, we must also commit ourselves to action to make sure that no other community in the Nation goes through what we went through.

In the last few years, we have, so sadly, seen shootings at universities--including UNLV in Las Vegas--in schools, in places where people go every day, like supermarkets and churches. We saw that just this weekend. And just this year alone, there have already been 53 school shootings in the United States.

So it is clear we need to act, and there are things we can do on a bipartisan basis. The 1 October shooter relied on bump stocks. They are just dangerous devices that attach to guns to make them fire bullets even faster so that a shooter can fire more bullets in a shorter period of time in order to inflict as much pain and carnage as possible.

And I hope we could agree that nobody wants that--no one wants that.

In response to this unprecedented tragedy in 2017, President Trump issued a Federal rule that banned bump stocks, and it did help save countless lives from these deadly modifications. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court overturned this commonsense Federal ban, allowing these dangerous bump stocks to flow into our streets once again.

This puts more lives and communities at risk, which is why I helped introduce bipartisan legislation earlier this year to restore this commonsense Federal ban on bump stocks because we have the power to do something. So let's pass this bipartisan bill and save lives before the next tragedy hits another unsuspecting community because, trust me, nobody wants to go through this--no community. Nobody wants to give this speech. Nobody wants to look in the eyes of the families. No one wants to go to that reunification center. No one wants to go to the hospitals. No one wants to see the memorials grow and grow, time after time. No one wants to see this in community after community every single day. There has to be some common sense about what we can do.

So, as we approach the eighth anniversary of the 1 October shooting, I would just ask all of my colleagues in this Chamber to remember and honor the memories of the victims, their families, their loved ones, and everyone whose lives were forever changed that night. I also ask that we come together as Republicans and Democrats, in a bipartisan way, just to save lives by passing our commonsense bill to ban bump stocks. I think it would make a difference.

And I just pray that those out there watching find comfort in remembering that their loved ones' memories serve as a blessing to them and that we will always continue to honor them.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, we are just a few hours away from the start of a government shutdown that could have been prevented by Washington Republicans just talking to us, but Donald Trump and Washington Republicans chose to, once again, put politics ahead of the American people. They won't come and talk to us.

After slashing Medicaid and taking healthcare away from families who need it the most, Donald Trump and Washington Republicans are now shutting down the government because they refuse to come to the table, they refuse to have a conversation, and they refuse to work in a bipartisan way to stop a massive spike in healthcare costs for hard- working families--for all of you. And that is it. That is it. This is why Trump is about to shut down the entire Federal Government.

You know, my dad often said: If you don't have your health, you don't have

anything. And it is clear that Donald Trump and Washington Republicans want you to have nothing--nothing--because they are doing everything they can to take away healthcare from as many Americans as possible. And for every American, everyone out there: Your healthcare premiums are about to double--about to double--for everybody, across the board.

So while Republicans, those folks here in Washington, fight for billionaires, Democrats are here fighting for you--for your healthcare, for your ability to see a doctor, to see a doctor and get your prescriptions without breaking the bank.

In my State of Nevada, over 110,000 Nevadans get their healthcare coverage through the Affordable Care Act's marketplace. We know it as Nevada Health Link. Nearly 95,000 of those families are able to afford their premiums using Nevada Health Link thanks to what we call the enhanced premium tax credits.

So I want to be clear because there is a lot of misunderstanding here. It is not a handout. It isn't welfare. It is just a tax break that helps lower the costs for nearly 95,000 Nevadans so they can afford to buy an insurance policy, so they can go to the doctor when they are sick and have a copay and go to the pharmacy to get their medication for a copay, so they can just afford their insurance. And we are talking about hard-working families, small business owners, and workers who don't get healthcare through their jobs--so many of them.

And these enhanced tax credits, they are about to expire. They are about to expire this year. And if Congress fails to act, healthcare costs across the board will double for everyone--everyone. So when premium costs go up, many families won't be able to afford it any longer, meaning they will lose their care. And for the ones who can afford it, their deductible is going to be so high they are never going to meet it, and they are still going to be paying out of pocket in ways they can't afford.

You know, more than 38,000 people in my State alone are probably going to lose their coverage right away, all because Washington Republicans just refuse to extend this tax credit allowing them to purchase their own insurance.

Families, sadly, are going to be forced to make impossible choices. They will be forced to delay care. They will skip doctor visits. They will cut their medications in half. They will cut those pills or give themselves half a shot of insulin to make ends meet. These choices are real. They are real for these families, and sometimes they have tragic consequences.

Since the beginning of this year, Democrats have been trying to work in good faith with Washington Republicans to extend these ACA enhanced premium tax credits and protect Americans' healthcare coverage. We have even introduced bills to extend the tax credits. We have tried to pass them right here on the floor. And at every turn, Washington Republicans have refused. They have refused to hear your voice, refused to listen to you.

My phone is ringing off the hook about people scared to death about losing their health insurance. And earlier today, when given an opportunity to keep the government open and extend the credits, every Republican voted no.

Instead of working with Democrats to keep healthcare affordable, Washington Republicans are holding the government and the American people's health hostage to score political points.

So I am going to be clear here. We will not be bullied by Donald Trump, and we will not be bullied by Washington Republicans into sacrificing your healthcare--the healthcare of American families, of our children, of our seniors, of our friends and neighbors--not now, not ever. Trump can't bully us into taking away your healthcare.

Nevadans sent me here to fight for them, not to cave and let Washington Republicans and Donald Trump take away your ability to go to the doctor and get your medication.

Everyone--everyone--should have access to affordable, quality care. Healthcare is not a bargaining chip. It is not a political weapon. It is a lifeline. And Washington Republicans have the power--they have the power--to prevent this shutdown today. Just come and talk with us.

So I urge them to do their jobs: Come to the table. Have a discussion. Have a negotiation. Extend the ACA premium tax credits. Put people over politics. The time is now.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, when parents send their kids to school, they rightfully expect that they will be safe and protected. Parents expect their kids to bring home knowledge, not polio. They expect them to share stories, not measles. They expect them to get smart, not smallpox.

The reality is, this has been the case for decades because we have had vaccines to safely and efficiently keep students protected against these terrible, terrible diseases.

Unfortunately, there is an extreme movement that relies on conspiracy theories that is trying to overturn commonsense, science, vaccination guidelines, and make children vulnerable to life-threatening illnesses.

Earlier this month, Florida announced it was rolling back longstanding vaccine requirements--longstanding vaccine requirements-- for schools; requirements that have prevented the death of more than 1 million children in the last 30 years alone--1 million children. Think about that number. Protecting them from devastating diseases like measles, polio, and whooping cough.

Removing these safeguards will cost kids' lives. There is no other way of putting it, parents will bury their children.

It will bring us back to a time before vaccines, when parents prayed their child would be spared from polio so they wouldn't have to spend the rest of their life in an iron lung. That is not freedom. Living inside of an iron lung because someone refused to get a vaccine is anything but being free.

As my dad used to say: When you don't have your health, you don't have anything. These extreme policies will lead people to die as a result.

Let's also be clear: This is not what parents want. In fact, more than 80 percent of parents support vaccine requirements for schools to prevent diseases like polio, measles; to prevent

diseases like mumps, rubella, smallpox, hepatitis, and a number of other diseases that we don't even think about anymore on a daily basis.

That support crosses party lines. In fact, three-quarters of Republican parents agree schools should require vaccines for measles and polio, including 73 percent of parents who identify themselves with the MAGA movement.

Even my Republican colleagues have spoken up about this, saying:

It's a horrible idea. . . . It's been policy.

I am going to quote again:

Vaccinations have proven to be helpful in preventing the

spread of [diseases like] measles, polio, and other things.

This was a Republican:

My children are vaccinated, my grandchildren are

vaccinated. I don't agree with that.

These extreme policies are not only way out of step with science, they are way out of step with the very families that these Florida politicians claim to represent.

What is happening in Florida is not an isolated case. And what happens there, it won't stay there. It is part of a broader effort to weaken our Nation's health. Disease knows no boundary and is, unfortunately, an equal opportunity predator.

At the heart of this dangerous misinformation campaign are people like the Secretary of Health and Human Services, R.F.K., Jr., who has built a career by spreading lies about vaccines and spreading rhetoric that has been debunked time and time again by doctors and scientists.

In fact, he fired, just recently, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because she allegedly stood up to his anti-vax efforts. Since then, the CDC has made it practically impossible for healthy adults in many States to receive the COVID-19 vaccination if they so choose--if they so choose.

This goes beyond getting rid of COVID vaccine mandates. It actually imposes a new Republican mandate that no one can receive the vaccine, and it does not matter even if they want to. This goes above and beyond, forcing everyone to bend to their will. It is not freedom. It is imposing their radical beliefs on everyone else.

Because of Secretary Kennedy's willingness to push lies and conspiracies that will hurt our health, the Senate must speak out against what he is doing and what Florida is doing and make it clear we support making vaccines accessible and that we support making sure our children are vaccinated against polio, smallpox, rubella, and other life-threatening illnesses.

Washington Republicans cannot and should not stay silent while extremists in Washington and in Florida are trying to make it more likely that children--children--won't receive critical vaccines.

That is why I introduced a resolution opposing these extreme policies, reaffirming something the overwhelming majority of Americans already know, and this is this: Vaccines save lives. Vaccines protect kids. Vaccines protect every American, and every American deserves the freedom to access them.

This is about the safety of our children. It is about making sure diseases like polio and smallpox remain eradicated. It is about standing up for the overwhelming majority of parents--Republican, Democrat, Independent alike--who want their children just protected from these horrific, terrible illnesses.

So, today, I am calling on my colleagues in the Senate to join me in this effort. Let's send a strong bipartisan message that we reject this extreme, dangerous agenda.

If all of my Republican colleagues disagree with what Florida is doing, let's do more than just give a disapproving statement to reporters. They have something they can do about it. I am going to give them the opportunity--Washington Republicans--to do something to protect our kids. Let's pass my resolution by unanimous consent right now to protect the children of the United States.

So, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 389, which was submitted earlier today; further, that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, this is very disappointing. We know that childhood diseases have been eradicated in so many ways because of these vaccinations. And we often know that the way that they are available or the way they are paid for relies on the recommendations from the U.S. Government. So we do put children at risk, and we are saying, in the case of COVID, that people may not get them.

But I remain disappointed. This is really disappointing. By blocking my resolution, Washington Republicans are saying they are OK with extreme policies that can make vaccinations inaccessible, unaffordable, roll back vaccine requirements for schoolchildren, and put us all at risk for diseases like measles, polio, and smallpox, to our families, to our communities, to those most vulnerable.

I don't believe this is a partisan issue. Disease is an equal opportunity predator. Diagnosis can change your life this fast. So it isn't partisan.

The overwhelming majority of parents, including three-quarters of Republicans, support school vaccine requirements. Blocking my resolution ignores parents, ignores science, and it puts kids at risk.

Before some Washington Republicans try to insinuate that because they didn't personally block this resolution, they may support it--it has been introduced, and everyone is welcome to support it today. So if you believe schoolchildren should be able to access vaccines, you can cosponsor my resolution today.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, Senator, we do agree that cracking down on outsourcing and supporting American workers is an important goal and one that does deserve serious debate. I am willing to work with you in a bipartisan way to help address this issue that is hurting our country.

But for some things, this isn't the way we make laws. There is a process. A bill is introduced. It gets reviewed and considered by committee, brought to the floor, worked on with colleagues. We may have different considerations in Nevada than we do in Ohio versus Mr. President's State of Utah.

So what we want to do is work together in a bipartisan way, not rush this complex legislation through by unanimous consent. So you have my commitment to move forward. I am with you, but I am objecting today.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, last month I traveled up and down my State to speak directly with Nevadans about how Washington Republicans and their devastating cuts to Medicaid are going to hurt our communities.

From the University Medical Center in Las Vegas to Northern Nevada HOPES in Reno, I heard firsthand from medical providers about how worried they are about the cuts being made to their funding by the Republican budget law.

According to a report, Nevada hospitals are set to lose up to a half a billion dollars from the Republican Big Beautiful Bill. At a time when our State is already facing a dire shortage of doctors and nurses, we are going to lose up to a half a billion dollars because of Washington Republicans' irresponsible bill.

And remember, Washington Republicans did this so they could pay for even more tax breaks for billionaires.

In Las Vegas, I met with doctors and leaders at the only level 1 trauma center in the entire State of Nevada.

Our conversation made it clear: These Medicaid cuts will be devastating for the hospital's finances, and they will make patients less likely to seek preventative care, often waiting until it is too late.

This will strain our hospital's resources even more and could have terrible consequences for individuals and their families.

There is a similar story in Reno where I visited the Northern Nevada HOPES, a nonprofit community hospital center that serves families in need. The staff there painted a harrowing picture. When Medicaid is cut and people don't have access to health insurance, what do they do? They delay care. Minor conditions become severe. Emergency rooms overflow, and the financial and human cost escalates.

And as their CEO Sharon Chamberlain said:

This is not a budget issue. It's a public health emergency.

And let's be clear: No amount of innovation, no amount of

efficiency can fully offset the damage caused by policies

that strip coverage of those that need it the most.

These are not abstract worries. They reflect real fear and an urgent concern from families, medical staff, and local leaders. And what is worse, these stories aren't unique to Nevada. The looming crisis is going to hurt communities all across this country.

Republicans, time after time, put politics and tax cuts for billionaires over people's health, over communities' health. And make no mistake, people will die because of the Republican cuts. And it really doesn't have to be this way.

I have joined my Democratic colleagues in helping to introduce a bill to overturn the cruel Republican Medicaid cuts and protect Nevadans, Nevada's families, Nevada's children, everyone--to protect their access to healthcare.

Our hospitals and community clinics, the people on the frontlines of our healthcare system, they work so hard, they care so much, and they are sounding the wake-up call. It is not just their fight; it is our fight.

So let's pass this bill and repeal the damage being done to our healthcare systems before it is too late.

The health of Nevada families is on the line. The time to act is now.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, today I rise to welcome His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to our Nation's Capital. Visiting from Greece, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was elected in October 1991 as the 270th archbishop of the 2000-year-old church founded by the Apostle Andrew. He has demonstrated extraordinary leadership within the Orthodox Christian community and across the global religious and environmental landscapes.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was ordained as a deacon in 1961 and a priest in 1969. Throughout his ministry, he served as an assistant dean of the Theological School of Halki, personal secretary to Patriarch Demetrios, Metropolitan of Philadelphia, and later Metropolitan of Chalcedon, before being elected ecumenical patriarch in 1991. He has steered spiritual unity among Orthodox Christians, convened the first Synaxis of Orthodox primates in 1992, supported the restoration of autonomous churches in Eastern Europe, and granted autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in 2019.

The Patriarch's role extends far beyond his ecclesial leadership. Widely known as the ``Green Patriarch,'' he has pioneered the integration of ecological awareness with theological ethics, declaring environmental destruction a sin, establishing an annual Orthodox Day of Prayer for Creation, and convening numerous international symposia blending faith, science, and environmental stewardship. His efforts have earned him global recognition, including the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal and the Templeton Prize.

Patriarch Bartholomew's tireless work ethic and dedication has bridged religious traditions, championed interfaith dialogue, advanced environmental justice, and fostered unity among diverse Christian communities. On behalf of Nevada's Greek Orthodox community, it is an honor to welcome him to Washington, DC.