Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 10, 2025; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each; further, that notwithstanding rule XXII, Senator King or his designee be recognized to make a motion to proceed to Calendar No. 203, S.J. Res. 82, and that the Senate vote on the motion to proceed at 11:45 a.m.; and that following disposition of the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 203, S.J. Res. 82, the Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 4, S. Res. 532.

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that we stand adjourned under the previous order.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I come to the floor just having listened to the minority leader talk about our nominees for various positions in the Trump administration, and I am happy to report that this month, December of 2025, we will confirm nearly 100 more of President Trump's qualified nominees. This is going to bring the total number of nominees confirmed this year to nearly 420--we will surpass 400--and this far surpasses the number that Joe Biden confirmed in his first year in office.

One of these highly qualified nominees is Arjun Mody, whom I would like to talk about now.

Arjun is an extraordinary leader and a trusted friend. Arjun has been nominated to serve as Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Now, in choosing Arjun, President Trump has chosen the very best. I have known him for 15 years, and he has helped shape my work in the Senate. He ran three of my Senate leadership offices, and in each one, he transformed how we served the Members of this body.

Prior to that, Arjun worked for Senator Elizabeth Dole of the Presiding Officer's home State of North Carolina and for Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas.

When you hire staff, you need people you can trust completely. I saw Arjun earn that trust in moments both big and small.

Here is the truth about Arjun: If something needs to get done, he is going to get it done with excellence. He doesn't just know policy and process; he knows and understands people. He doesn't just build high- impact teams; he builds loyalty among the teams. He doesn't just work hard; he works well with everyone.

When the stakes are the highest, he always delivers results. I have watched Arjun take on the toughest challenges and find solutions that other people have missed. That is exactly what Social Security needs right now in our Nation because for 90 years, Americans have relied on Social Security--not just for income but for the independence these people have earned. They count on it to keep a roof over their heads and to put food on the table. That promise matters, and it needs leaders who understand both its importance and its challenges.

Arjun is going to modernize the Social Security Administration, he is going to help strengthen its core mission, and he is going to ensure that payments are timely, accurate, and secure. At the same time, he is going to work with this committee, with the Senate, and all across the government. Most importantly, he will never forget that behind every case number is a person and that every beneficiary matters, whether they are a senior, whether they are a survivor, or whether they are someone with a disability. Social Security works because Americans can trust it month after month, year after year. With Arjun, that trust is in capable hands.

I have trusted Arjun to lead my staff, and the President has trusted him to strengthen Social Security. Now I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to trust him with their vote.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Young).

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

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call in relation to Executive Calendar No. 3, S. Res. 520.

Mr. President, you just heard the minority leader. He came to the floor, and he said that the Democrats want a 3-year extension--3 full years--for Biden's COVID bonus payments with absolutely no change to the law; not a single reform to deal with the waste, the fraud, the abuse, and the corruption of these payments from ObamaCare, not a single one. They want to send billions of dollars-- actually, it is likely to be $100 billion--directly from the U.S. Treasury to insurance companies. Insurance companies are highly profitable, and that is their position: just send more U.S. dollars to insurance companies, just do a direct transfer of money.

Should I remind him--does he need to be reminded that the COVID problems are over? But they want to send another $100 billion of Biden COVID bonus payments directly to insurance companies.

Remember, the Democrats shut down the Government of the United States for 43 days because of healthcare, because of ObamaCare. Actually, they wanted, at one point, to give money to illegal immigrants for healthcare. That was part of their demands, free healthcare for illegal immigrants, shut down the government, deny the American people the services they need, transportation, all of those things.

Think of the damage they did to the economy, the damage they did to the country by forcing the American people--43 days of the politics of pain and now the ongoing pain of having to live under ObamaCare with this failed healthcare system that we are living with today.

ObamaCare is a program that undermined healthcare in America. Democrats are saying they want to talk about ObamaCare. Let's talk about what has happened for the last 15 years. I am a doctor. I practiced medicine for 24 years in Wyoming before coming to the U.S. Senate. The Democrats refused to tell the American people--refused to even admit it to themselves, living in denial--that ObamaCare is broken, and it broke

healthcare in America. ObamaCare is a failure. ObamaCare is unaffordable.

Let me point out, not a single Republican voted for ObamaCare, not one. Premiums for people on ObamaCare have gone up over 220 percent since ObamaCare became law 15 years ago. For people that have ObamaCare, their deductibles have doubled. A family of four now pays $10,000 more for the coverage today than it did before ObamaCare.

Competition for selling insurance in the United States has collapsed. In rural counties in my home State of Wyoming, your home State, Mr. President, of Oklahoma, people lost so many of the options they had to buy insurance. The insurance providers have dried up. Today, many counties are left with one provider only for people to buy from. Some counties have none. Rural hospitals are struggling.

More than 100 rural hospitals have closed since ObamaCare became law. Hundreds more are at risk because of the devastating effect of ObamaCare on healthcare in our Nation.

Let's go back and recall what President Obama told the Nation as he was promoting ObamaCare and every one of the Democrats voted for it, every single one of them. He said: If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. He said: If you like your policy, you can keep your policy. These are the things that the President of the United States told the American people when Obama was in the White House. He went on to say probably the biggest lie of all. He said your insurance premiums would go down by $2,500 a year for families.

Every single one of these was a lie. The American people see it. The American people--even the New York Times said that ``ObamaCare is pricey.'' They said that about a month ago. The Washington Post admitted that ObamaCare was never affordable. These aren't my words; these are the words of the New York Times and the Washington Post.

How do Democrats continue to cover up the failure, to continue to mislead the American people? They tried to do it with government subsidies. They tried to cover up the failures of ObamaCare with government-paid subsidies--not to the American people but directly to the American insurance companies.

When they found out those subsidies weren't enough, what did they do when those juicy subsidies weren't carrying the day? They said: Let's add new subsidies on top of it, which is what they are talking about extending. Those new juicier subsidies today, they want to extend those for 3 more years.

They put them in place during COVID. They called them the Biden COVID bonus subsidies. Now they want to make them permanent. They want to extend them 3 years. Now they want to make them permanent, have the American people--have the Treasury of the United States send more money to insurance companies as the cost of healthcare continues to climb.

When Biden was President, Democrats created these Biden COVID bonuses, new subsidies, added on top to prop up ObamaCare because it was falling. ObamaCare was toppling. Democrats said: We can't have this. Let's send hundreds of billions of more dollars to insurance companies.

Let's be very clear: The money does not go to the American people. It is a main line straight from the U.S. Government Treasury into the bank accounts of big insurance companies. The American people, the consumers, are cut out of the equation. American consumers have no way to say how the money is spent, and they need to have a voice in this. They have the government writing big checks.

There is no incentive to control costs. Zero incentive to compete. As a result, insurance companies continue to raise premiums as high as they want, and their profits continue to go up.

These increases aren't because the Biden COVID bonuses are expiring, although that is what the Democrats are trying to say. Remember, Democrats chose the date of the expiring of these subsidies when they put this into law in 2022. That is what they did. They had the House, Senate, White House and said: We are going to put more money in--even they realized COVID was going to be done by the end of this year--so they set this up as an expiring date. Now they realize: Oh, no, ObamaCare continues to topple over. We need to prop it up with more government money to insurance companies.

The end of these Biden COVID bonuses explain about 4 percent of next year's projected 20-percent spike in insurance premiums. These huge premium increases explain why the stock prices of insurance companies have soared for 500 to 1,000 percent since ObamaCare became law. That is what we are seeing. That is the reality of this. Big insurance companies, not the American people, are whom the Democrats continue to support financially.

Democrats created a system with zero accountability. Now they want to extend this broken system with these additional subsidies for another 3 years with zero reforms, nothing. They are not going after the waste, not going after the fraud, not going after the abuse. Oh, no, Democrats are happy paying massive subsidies, and for everybody, for people making over a quarter of a million dollars a year, people making over half a million dollars a year. Nope, keep sending the money over to the insurance companies for all their rich, fat-cat friends.

The Biden COVID bonuses are not improving patient care, I will tell you that as a doctor. For every taxpayer dollar spent on these subsidies, Americans believe they get about 34 cents of value. Where does the rest of the money go? Waste, fraud, abuse, and, yes, corruption.

How do we know there is corruption? Last year, the American people filed over 200,000 complaints with the Federal Government about that specific thing. They complained because they were unknowingly signed up or switched into ObamaCare plans, things they didn't choose, they didn't want, they didn't ask for. Those are 200,000 that complained. How many more were there that didn't know about it or didn't know enough or whom to complain to? Insurers signed up individuals for insurance plans they didn't even know they had. Biden COVID bonuses are an expensive, fraud-ridden failure, and the Democrats want to extend them for another 3 years.

Continuing to pour billions of dollars more into the pockets of big insurance companies without meaningful protection against fraud will not lower costs in healthcare. It will not help the American people. Republicans believe Americans deserve high-quality affordable care. It is not what people got under ObamaCare, not at all.

Republicans believe taxpayer dollars should go directly to hard- working people, not to the big insurance companies. Give buying power to the people. Let people make decisions. I trust the American people. You want to empower Americans to make their own decisions about healthcare, certainly, and about their own families and what the needs are for their family, what is right for them.

There is a clear divide between the Democrats and Republicans on healthcare. And on one side of the aisle, you have Democrats protecting a broken system with not a single plan to lower costs. On this side of the aisle, we have Republicans fighting to give people what they wanted all along, the care they need from a doctor they choose, at a price they can afford.

I yield the floor.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Tuberville).

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

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Banks), the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Cassidy), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. McCormick), the Senator from Florida (Mrs. Moody), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Scott), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Tuberville).

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

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Montana (Mr. Daines), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), the Senator from Mississippi (Mrs. Hyde-Smith), the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Kennedy), the Senator from Florida (Mrs. Moody), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Tuberville).

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, on Thanksgiving Day, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom should have been at home celebrating the holiday with her family. Instead, she lost her life, murdered 1 day before Thanksgiving. Her killer is an Afghan national--someone Joe Biden flew into this country without proper vetting.

Sarah served in the West Virginia National Guard. She wore the uniform of the U.S. Army. She was murdered on American soil by someone who never should have been here.

This is the tragic cost of Joe Biden's open border policies. It is also a sign of national security weakness. For 4 years, Joe Biden and pro-crime Democrats turned our border into a New York City subway turnstile--no fare enforced; just hop right on in. It was routine for 10,000 illegal immigrants to flood across our Nation's southern border on a daily basis. Criminals, gang members, drug traffickers, terrorists--they all came in. For these failed policies, Americans have paid the price: Laken Riley in Georgia, Rachel Morin in Maryland, and many, many others.

Today, President Trump and Republicans are ending the chaos, securing the border in record time, and getting America back on track. We acted fast. We started here in the Senate with the Laken Riley Act. It was the first piece of legislation President Trump signed into law. It mandates that illegal immigrant criminals be detained and moved.

Republicans ended catch-and-release. We stopped the illegal invasion into our country. For the past 6 months, zero--zero--illegal immigrants have been released into our country. Under Joe Biden, it was often 10,000 a day.

For the first time in 17 years, the backlog of immigration cases is actually going down. Immigration judges can finally do their job. Open border, rubberstamping judges are gone. Interior enforcement is making our communities safer. Seventy percent of ICE arrests are illegal immigrant criminals. They are individuals charged with or convicted of crimes in the United States.

During the week of Thanksgiving, ICE worked overtime. They arrested a convicted murderer in California, a convicted rapist in Tennessee, and a convicted drug trafficker in Delaware. Every one of these arrests makes our country safer. These criminals and many more are off our streets because Republicans have acted.

We didn't just secure the border for today, we secured it into the future because, in July, Republicans passed and President Trump signed into law the largest border security investment in American history, $170 billion. The law finishes the wall, it provides $75 billion for ICE, and gives our agents the resources they need to continue to deport illegal immigrant criminals. Our law helps train, hire, and retain Border Patrol agents. It even gives them a bonus.

Republicans have made a generational investment in American border security. Every Democrat in the Senate voted against it. Republicans voted

to deport illegal immigrant criminals; Democrats voted to keep them in our communities. Republicans voted to secure the border; Democrats voted to keep it wide open. Republicans voted to hire Border Patrol agents; Democrats voted for free healthcare for illegal immigrants.

The dangers from Joe Biden's open policies remain today, and it is serious because millions of illegal immigrants are still here. Among them are criminals, cartel members, drug dealers, and terror suspects. We are tracking them down, and we are sending them home.

The damage Democrats have inflicted on our country runs deeper than most Americans realize, more than they know. Let's look at the situation right now in Minnesota. This week, the New York Times reported that immigrants from Somalia living in Minnesota have been defrauding American taxpayers out of $1 billion--$1 billion--living in Minnesota, immigrants from Somalia.

Investigators from the magazine City Journal found where the stolen money went. As they say, ``follow the money.'' According to their reporting, the largest funder of al-Shabaab--which, as you know, is a terrorist organization affiliated with al-Qaida--the largest funder of al-Shabaab is the Minnesota taxpayer. How could that be? How could it be that American taxpayers are funding a group affiliated with al- Qaida? Taxpayers didn't know it, weren't aware of it.

Here is how the scheme worked: Fraudsters created fake companies that exist only on paper. They billed the government for services never provided, or they enrolled children in programs that they didn't need. Then they funneled the stolen money out of our country. Some went to buy luxury cars and real estate, some went directly to al-Shabaab. This was organized, systematic theft. It went on for years under Democratic leadership, and then it exploded under Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and her Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz, the current Governor of Minnesota.

No one stopped it until President Trump was elected. Then, this is what happened: In June, President Trump appointed Joe Thompson as the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota. Thompson immediately began bringing charges. So far, dozens of defendants have been charged. This is what Thompson discovered.

He said:

What we see are schemes stacked upon schemes draining

resources meant for those in need.

``[m]eant for those in need.''

Safety net programs, draining those resources.

``The depth of the fraud,'' he went on, ``takes my breath away.'' It should take away the breath of all Americans when they see what was going on in Minnesota. The most fascinating thing is it doesn't take the breath away of the Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Oh, no, on Sunday, he was on ``Meet the Press'' talking to the Nation. You would think he would have expressed outrage. No, he made excuses. Instead of condemning the fraud, condemning the theft, condemning the funneling of taxpayer money overseas to a terrorist organization, he claimed the problem was President Trump. He must be back on his old talking points from the campaign where Trump won in a landslide.

Walz said we need to be ``careful'' about how we talk. Think about that. American taxpayer dollars funding terrorism funneled out of the country, and Democrats want us to be ``careful'' about how we talk. He is worried about our tone.

Here is what the Minnesota Governor will not tell you. Many of those charged have close ties to Minnesota Democrats. He doesn't want you to look over there, oh, no, including the socialist Squad member Representative Omar. That is why Democrats want to sweep it under the rug, want to hide it from public view: No, no. Look at President Trump. Don't look at us.

This is what is wrong: When Democrats prioritize open borders, what do we get? Waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption. And the Democrats look the other way. Because President Trump won, we are bringing these criminals to justice.

According to the latest Harvard-Harris poll, 8 in 10 Americans support deporting illegal criminals. That includes 7 in 10 Democrats. I am not sure how many of those would fit in this Senate Chamber on the Democrat side of the aisle, but 7 to 10 Democrats across the country are supportive of deportation of illegal immigrant criminals. Three in four Americans want the government to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse and corruption. I am not sure who doesn't want us to eliminate that. Three out of four Americans say get rid of it, and I agree. Seven in ten support closing the border with enhanced security, and that is exactly what we are doing.

It is not complicated. Americans oppose illegal immigration, support border security, and want criminal illegal immigrants removed. Republicans work for the American people, not for the open border activists across the aisle.

Americans deserve secure borders, deserve safe communities. That is what Republicans are continuing to deliver. We are securing Americans borders, protecting American families, and we are making America safer.