Floor Statements

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Moreno), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

Further, if present and voting: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis) would have voted ``yea.''

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

Further, if present and voting: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis) would have voted ``yea.''

I ask for the yeas and nays.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell) and the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Utah (Mr. Lee) and the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul), the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Risch), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Scott), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

Further, if present and voting: the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham) would have voted ``Yea'', the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty) would have voted ``Yea'', and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis) would have voted ``Yea''.

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Cassidy).

Mr. President, the pending amendment No. 4287 contains matter within the Budget Committee's jurisdiction. I, therefore, raise a point of order against the amendment pursuant to section 306 of the Congressional Budget Act and ask for the yeas and nays.

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty).

Further, if present and voting: the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty) would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. President, on the Senate floor today, right now, are six bipartisan appropriations bills--six--bills to keep America safe, bills to keep our government funded and government open, bills that the Senate Democrats have helped draft, bills that the majority of the House Democrats have voted for.

These are bipartisan bills, and they fund the rest of government for the remainder of the fiscal year. Every Senator should vote yes. Americans are counting on our government to stay open, to keep people safe.

Today, Senate Democrats are threatening to block these bills, not just to vote against them but to actually block us even getting the bills to the floor for debate.

So, once again, Democrats are threatening to shut down the government. If the vote we are about to take here today in the Senate doesn't succeed, if the bill stalls out, the government will shut down tomorrow night--Friday night--about 36 hours from now.

Let's talk about the painful consequences because here they are: no funding for FEMA. Now that is the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It would be disastrous to shut down FEMA in the middle of a major winter storm. It is affecting half the country, and it appears that another storm is along the way.

A shutdown would mean no paychecks for our troops, once again; no money for TSA agents or air traffic controllers. This is at the time the country is trying to get back on the move again. These are the consequences, and they are painful.

Now, we all remember the Democrat shutdown at the end of last year. That was the longest shutdown in the history of the American government. It was the politics of pain delivered by the Democrats.

The last Democrat shutdown was about covering up the many failures of ObamaCare. This Democrat shutdown would be about prioritizing illegal immigrants over American citizens. The Democrat shutdown does not change the immigration law, nor will it halt immigration law enforcement.

Even Senate Democrats admit that publicly. That is because Republicans already put into law the largest investment in border security and immigration enforcement in the history of this Nation.

Let me be clear: The vote that we are going to take, in just a few minutes, to advance the six bipartisan appropriations bills allows us to avoid a shutdown, to keep the government open, to make America safer.

The bills that are on the floor fund disaster assistance through FEMA. They hire thousands of new air traffic controllers. They fund TSA agents, the Coast Guard, and our military. They give our troops a well- earned and well-deserved pay raise. They support housing assistance for vulnerable families. They improve roads, bridges, and ports across the Nation. They upgrade our Nation's outdated air traffic control system. All of that is in front of us today.

These bills are the product of the Senate working the way it was designed to work. They reflect months of bipartisan committee work and good-faith negotiations.

I applaud Senator Susan Collins of Maine. She is the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. These bills are the product of her determination to deliver for the American people.

It is time for the Senate to vote yes, and every Senator should vote yes to avert a painful shutdown.

Republicans are going to keep working with Democrats to keep the government open. This Nation deserves safety and security, not another government shutdown.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, all across the country, people are starting to fill out their tax returns. Usually, this is a time of the year that the American people dread but not this year. This year, it is different. It is different because of legislation that we passed and that was signed into law on the Fourth of July.

The reason it is different this year is the American people will be getting bigger and bigger tax refunds than they have in the past. This financial relief is the direct result of the Republicans' Working Families Tax Cuts law. The tax cuts are dramatic. Republicans pledged to cut taxes. We did it for middle-class families. These are people that need a much needed boost in the money in their pockets. We delivered.

The Tax Foundation estimates that the average refund this year will be about $1,000 higher than it was last year--$1,000 for each one of these refunds. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent believes that the refunds will be even larger than that. In total, American families will receive this year in refunds about $100 billion more than last year. This is money going directly into the pockets of American families. Working families know best how to use that money. Families know what money they want to spend, they want to save, they want to invest. Let's let the American people make that decision, not the government.

Republicans' policies mean Americans keep more of the money they earned. That is what they have been telling us for years. And all of these policies were signed into law as part of the Working Families Tax Cuts law: a permanent lower tax rate on Americans; a permanent increase in the standard deduction; a permanent increase in the child tax credit--$2,200 for each child each year; no taxes on tips for waiters or barbers or bartenders or other tip workers; no tax on overtime for nurses and firefighters, police officers, coal miners, linemen; higher payments for millions of seniors living on Social Security.

Importantly, all the tax changes that I just mentioned apply retroactively. It is on last year's earnings, so the benefits are going to be realized in this year's tax returns. That means that Americans are paying lower taxes not just in the future but right now, today, and just about every single taxpayer in America is going to benefit.

Republicans' Working Families Tax Cuts law breaks Americans free of the punishing taxes of Joe Biden's unaffordable economy. That was an administration of high prices and high taxes. America hasn't experienced such a dramatic turnaround since Ronald Reagan reversed the failures of Jimmy Carter.

Moreover, last year, Republicans blocked the Democrats' goal to raise taxes by $4 trillion. Every single Democrat in the U.S. Senate--every single Democrat in this Chamber--voted to increase taxes by $4 trillion. Had Democrats succeeded, our Nation wouldn't see this largest tax cut; they would have seen the largest tax increase in American history--a $4 trillion tax increase. Not a single American would say that a $4 trillion tax increase was something they could afford, but the Democrats wanted to force-feed it down the American people's throats.

Democrats are proven to be the party of high taxes. It is getting worse. Last week in Virginia, they swore in a Democrat Governor. In the State of Virginia, Democrats now control the house, the senate, and the Governor's mansion, and they are determined to steer it hard to the left. Virginia is a roadmap to the radical policies that Democrats want to pursue nationwide.

So what do they want to do? They want taxpayers to fund instate tuition for illegal immigrants. There they go again. The Democrats--the people that wanted to defund the police, the people that shut down the government to support illegal immigrants--now want to send instate tuition to illegal immigrants.

Democrats want to raise taxes anywhere they can think of it. They are going to do it in barbershops, nail salons, drycleaners, and gyms.

Mr. President, in your home State of Montana, how do you think this would fly there?

Democrats want to raise sales tax by 11 percent on all firearms and ammunition. That is what the Democrats are doing now in their effort in Virginia. That is their model. That is where they are heading. They even want to introduce a backdoor carbon tax--a tax that would increase families' electric bills by over $1,000 a year. That is going to wipe out the refund increases families are going to get. The State of Virginia wants it taken away from the benefits people are receiving.

It is astonishing. You can't believe this. They want to ban gas- powered leaf blowers because they don't want to use the gasoline. Don't use gasoline. At the same time, they want to tax the battery-powered lawn equipment. So you can't use gas, and you have to pay more taxes when using batteries.

These are far-left policies, and these things just prove the Democrat Party remains radical, extreme, dangerous, and scary. That is where they want to take the country. This is what their record reveals, whether they are the radicals now that have taken over the government in the State of Virginia, whether they are in New York City, whether they are in California, or the Democrats right here in this Congress.

Fortunately, for the pockets and purses and paychecks of Americans, Republicans are focused on making our country more prosperous. We promised to deliver prosperity for all Americans. That is exactly what we are doing. And the bigger refunds that Americans are going to see this year prove it.

I yield the floor.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito), the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty), the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Justice), the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Kennedy), the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Risch), and the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker).

Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty), would have voted ``Yea'' and the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker) would have voted ``Yea.''

Mr. President, I rise today to honor a leader grounded in the traditions of the American West from my home State of Wyoming. Ruby Calvert has dedicated a lifetime of service to public broadcasting, most recently serving as the chair of the Board for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. As the Corporation for Public Broadcasting prepares to conclude its work following 58 years of service to the American people, I wish to recognize her accomplishments and commend her service to the people of Wyoming.

Ruby Calvert's education reflects the strong Wyoming roots that have guided her career in public service. Ruby's mother Dessie Bebout, a legendary World War II veteran and longtime postmaster in Shoshone, instilled in Ruby a love of serving others at an early age. She earned a bachelor of arts in English and secondary education from the University of Wyoming, where she developed the communication skills and instructional grounding that would later define her work in public media. She also completed postgraduate coursework in public administration and broadcasting, further preparing her for leadership roles that required discipline and a clear understanding of public service.

Ruby devoted more than three decades to Wyoming PBS, beginning at the station's founding in 1983. Over the years, she served as director of programming, general manager, and president of the Wyoming PBS Foundation. In those roles, she strengthened local production, expanded educational programming, and ensured that our State had a credible public media voice.

Her work underscored the fundamental Western belief in local decision-making, that governance should be closest to the people. Ruby understood that public broadcasting works best when it respects local communities, local values, and local accountability. She championed programming that told local stories and served viewers who are often overlooked by national media markets.

Ruby has held a long record of public and civic service at the national, State, and local levels. She served two terms on the national PBS Board from 2008 to 2014, where she also worked on the station services, interconnection, national policy advisory, and station diversity committees. Governor Jim Geringer appointed her to the Wyoming State Board of Education, where she served from 2000 to 2006 and chaired the board for 2 years.

Earlier in her career, she served on and chaired the Riverton Memorial Hospital Board from 1996 to 2000 and was an officer of the Riverton Rotary for 6 years. Ruby has also served as a trustee of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West and currently sits on the museum's education and interpretation advisory committee. In addition, she is vice president of the Wind River Cultural Centers Foundation, established 3 years ago to support 3 Fremont County museums. Her dedicated service also includes time on the board of directors for America's Public Television Stations and on former Senator Mike Enzi's academy appointment committee.

That same dedication carried over to her national service. First confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2018 and reconfirmed on a bipartisan basis in 2022, Ruby brought practical experience and fiscal discipline to the CPB Board. Elected chair in 2024, she led during a consequential period for public broadcasting. Guided by respect for taxpayers and a clear understanding of CPB's statutory mission, Ruby demonstrated principled leadership.

Ruby and her late husband Edward have three children Chad, Kara, and Chris. I am proud to know Ruby, her family, and to call her a friend. I thank Ruby for her decades of dedication to Wyoming. She served as a national voice for Wyoming's values. Her legacy will endure in the communities she served and in the standard she set for responsible public service. I wish her and her family the very best in the years ahead.

Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to McKinley for her hard work as an intern in my Washington, DC, office. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office as well as to the State of Wyoming.

A native of Maryland, McKinley was raised in Washington, DC. She is currently a junior at the Madeira School in McLean, VA. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months.

I want to thank McKinley for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her journey.

Mr. President, I rise today to stand with the brave people of Iran. These are people who have been in a fight for their freedom. For the past 2 weeks, they have taken to the streets in 185 different cities in all 31 of the Provinces in Iran. It is unlike anything their country has seen in a generation. Iranians are rejecting the poverty, the repression, and the ruin that have been brought forth by four decades of tyranny.

Americans stand with them. I think free people everywhere are watching. From Europe and South America to right here in the United States, we bear witness to the contrast--and it is a dramatic contrast--between the Iranian people's bravery and the Iranian regime's brutality. The regime's answer to these legitimate protests--we have seen it--has been mass murder. Ayatollah Khamenei has unleashed his Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and they are doing tremendous damage. He has unleashed them to massacre his own citizens.

Credible reports estimate that thousands--perhaps tens of thousands-- are dead in Iran. This surpasses the death toll of previous crackdowns throughout the Iranian regime's history of bloodshed. Tens of thousands of protesters have been thrown into prison, we understand. The regime has shut off internet and phone access.

And the regime is doing that because it is anxious to hide its crimes. It has failed. The truth has gotten out. The world is seeing it.

For decades, Iran's government has been the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. The world knows it. And now it has turned that same terror onto its own people.

I applaud President Trump's leadership on Iran. President Trump's strategy has brought Iran to this breaking point. He withdrew from a failed nuclear deal. He destroyed Iran's nuclear program. He rebuilt the sanctions the previous administration had torn down. President Trump has made a significant difference around the world and certainly in Iran. Maximum pressure has strangled the regime's revenue, and it exposed its weakness. A weak Iran is a safer America.

The Ayatollah has a history of paying his henchmen--Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other terrorist groups. Iran kidnaps American citizens and holds them for ransom. We have seen this. Iranian-backed militias killed one in six American troops during the war in Iraq. Today, it continues to target our troops throughout the Middle East.

Iran's allies and enablers today are in Beijing and in Moscow. They share Iran's hatred of our freedom and our people. They share its determination to undermine our strength. That is why it is important for us to stand with the people of Iran. Their coconspirator from Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, is now behind bars, thanks to a brave military action led by our Commander in Chief.

What is happening in Iran today will determine the future of this entire axis of aggression. It is opposed to what we do as Americans, as free people.

President Trump has made it very clear where the United States stands: Those who massacre innocent citizens will be held to account.

This week, President Trump announced that any country that trades with Iran will face tariffs of 25 percent. We must continue to take action to help the people of Iran. In recent weeks, the United States has successfully seized several tankers that were smuggling oil from Venezuela.

What were they doing? They were smuggling it in violation of international sanctions.

Well, we must now do the same with Iran's vast so-called ghost fleet and stop them with the same resolve. Those vessels smuggle Iranian oil in defiance of sanctions. Cash from the oil fills the regime's war chest. It funds its murderous ways. Every dollar that we deny Iran's government is one less bullet that they can fire at their own people.

The regime in Iran today is weaker, and it is weaker than it has been at any time since their revolution of 1979. The Iranian grip on power is slipping. The world sees Iran as true evil, and we must stand with those who risk everything for freedom.

That is what it means when we talk about American peace through strength. When America stands for freedom, our Nation and the entire world is safer.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty) and the Senator from Florida (Mrs. Moody).

Further, if present and voting: the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty) would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 300,

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk for the motion to proceed.

Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Mr. President, I now ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the papers with respect to H.R. 1834 be returned to the House of Representatives at their request.