Floor Statements

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Utah (Mr. Curtis), the Senator from Alaska (Ms. Murkowski), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum calls with respect to the following cloture motions: Calendar No. 168, H.R. 5371; Executive Calendar No. 460.

Mr. President, today is day 16 of the Schumer shutdown. Democrats have an opportunity to end the charade today. We will be voting in the next few moments.

I expect they won't. Why? Well, for starters, the minority leader believes ``every day gets better for us.'' I am not sure who the ``us'' is, but that is what he believes. He must be talking about Democrat leadership, Democrat politicians. He can't be talking about people all across the country--not the people who work every day to keep our country safe, not the Federal workers who aren't getting paid. Oh, no, he can't be talking about them when he refers to ``every day gets better for us.''

What Senator Schumer and Democrats in this body are really saying is this: Every day of this Schumer shutdown strengthens their alliances with the far-left activist groups. These radicals hold the reins on today's Democratic Party. They are driving the stage coach. Schumer is not leading this. Jeffries isn't leading this. The people that are driving the stage coach are the leftwing activists, and they are driving it over the cliff.

Let me give you another reason why I suspect Democrats will, once again, refuse to reopen the government. It is because the far-left activist groups are pressuring the Democrats to keep the government closed until after their radical anti-America rally, which is going to be held this weekend.

The rally, which some have labeled the ``I Hate America'' rally, is going to take place Saturday, and there will be rallies in DC and across the country. We just heard from the minority leader on the floor, inviting people to attend these rallies, to participate in what I have referred to and others have as the ``I Hate America'' rally. He is a cheerleader for these far-left activist groups and their causes. All these rallies are going to be led by the far-left activists and all will be calling on the Democrats to keep the government closed.

The Democrats in this body are beholden to every single one of these far-left activist groups, groups like #ResistTrump and American Atheists.

Here is a headline from POLITICO:

Chuck Schumer's critics are satisfied--for now.

The article goes on to quote the head of the far-left activist group called Indivisible. This group is organizing Saturday's radical rally. The leader of the far-left group says of the minority leader:

He hasn't surrendered yet. I call that progress, and we're

cheering him on now.

Well, 7 months ago, that same person had a very different message for the minority leader. That same person said:

Senator Schumer should step aside as leader. Every Democrat

in the Senate should call for him to do so.

So what changed? Well, Senator Schumer started toeing the line of the far-left group. He shut down the government in spite of the fact that 13 times, when Joe Biden was President, he voted for a clean resolution to keep the government open.

What changed? Well, the minority leader is now the puppet of the radical, extremely dangerous, scary wing of his party. He huddled with the far-left activist group for months before this shutdown. For months, they orchestrated, organized this shutdown in Senator Schumer's office. They organized a war room for the shutdown. They are calling the tune. Senator Schumer even gloated to Punchbowl News:

We thought about this long in advance.

This isn't something that just happened. They had been planning this. This is premeditated. This is a political game for Senator Schumer and the Democrats, and it is a dangerous game for every other American.

People aren't receiving paychecks because Senate Democrats want to prove their allegiance to the far left. Democrats want a standing ovation this Saturday when they address the radical wing of their party; the wing that is holding the reins and holding them tightly; the wing that is extreme, dangerous, and scary; the wing that is pro-crime and anti-America. That is what we are facing.

Senate Democrats want to be cheered on for holding hostage the paychecks of the TSA agents and air traffic controllers.

Meanwhile, Americans are sick and tired of Democrats' dangerous political game. They just want to get back to work. Today, Democrats are going to have an opportunity to prove they aren't beholden to the far left of the party. We are going to have a vote. We are going to vote on a bipartisan appropriations bill to fund the Department of Defense, to fund the warfighters, the troops, the people who keep our Nation and our allies safe. This bill has already come through a bipartisan Appropriations Committee. The vote was 26 to 3. Twenty-six voted for it, only 3 voted against it. We are bringing that same bill to the floor today, and we are going to see if the Democrats are going to work with us on a bipartisan appropriations bill. They claim they want regular order. They claim they want things to work together. And it is a bill that they have said themselves is necessary.

Remember, Senator Schumer, last year, didn't bring a single appropriations bill to this floor of the Senate, in spite of the fact the 12 bipartisan bills passed out of the committee. He refused to bring any of them to this floor to fund the government when he was majority leader.

I wonder whom he is going to side with today. Senate Republicans this year already approved three appropriations bills to fund the government. This would be the fourth. Democrats are holding the government hostage. They are holding the American people hostage. Republicans are committed to reopening the government.

We are going to vote against that today. We are holding votes on our bipartisan, clean continuing resolution, one that Democrats have voted on 13 times in favor of when Joe Biden was in the White House.

I believe that Democrats have an opportunity, as well as an obligation, to end the Schumer shutdown. We should end it today.

I yield the floor.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Cassidy), the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Tuberville).

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 Louisiana (Mr. Cassidy), the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Tuberville).

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 North Carolina (Mr. Budd), the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Cassidy), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn), the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Tuberville).

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

Mr. President, today is day 15 of the Schumer shutdown. Here we are, over 2 weeks into this, and the Democrats continue to play a dangerous game. The Schumer shutdown continues to put lives at risk, and it is doing it each and every day.

Every day an airplane takes off and lands, there is increased risk because of the Schumer shutdown. Thousands of air traffic controllers across the country keep us safe. Right now, they are working, but they are not getting paid. Yesterday, they received a partial paycheck, and it was their final paycheck until Democrats end the Schumer shutdown.

It is not just air traffic controllers. It is TSA agents. It is Border Patrol agents. It is ICE agents. It is FBI agents. They have also received their final paychecks. These are the people that we expect to make life-and-death decisions, and they shouldn't be distracted by financial matters that are affecting them as a result of the action by the Democrats in this body.

As of today, there is one bank that I want to refer to that serves members of the military. They serve Federal workers. They serve their families. They say that during the Schumer shutdown, 70,000 members have come asking for loans. That is 70,000 families of military and Federal workers who need extra help to make ends meet because Democrats have blocked their paychecks.

A recent headline from the Wall Street Journal reads ``Furloughed Federal Workers Turn to Side Hustles to Survive Shutdown.'' People with full-time government jobs are desperate for the actual income that is necessary because their regular paychecks are being withheld by the Democrats. These are workers who are struggling to make ends meet, and they are not going to see another dime until Schumer and the Democrats end this shutdown.

These people, when they go to work--life-or-death decisions--need clear heads and clear minds to do their jobs. They shouldn't have to worry about the distractions of putting food on the table and keeping the lights on because the government is shut down. They shouldn't have distractions; they should be focused on their job when they are at work, not having to be worried about what is going on at home because the paychecks haven't come because the Democrats have stopped the flow of their paychecks.

One air traffic controller was very blunt about this and the consequences of the Schumer shutdown. He said:

The financial anxiety doesn't just hurt morale; it directly

affects safety.

This is an air traffic controller.

Sometimes that small moment where your mind is elsewhere

can have serious impacts.

That is what we are dealing with today. This is the seriousness that the Nation is facing while the Democrats and Chuck Schumer play political games, and it is a dangerous game.

Let me tell you what is going on at airports across the country because air traffic controllers aren't getting paid thanks to Chuck Schumer and the Democrats.

In Burbank, CA, the air traffic control tower was unmanned for 6 hours. Flights were grounded.

In Nashville, similarly, hundreds of flights were delayed in 1 day because the air traffic control tower went dark.

In Charlotte, nearly 2,000 flights have been delayed since the start of the Schumer shutdown.

Airport after airport.

In Atlanta, the Nation's busiest airport, air traffic controller staffing challenges and delays are mounting with each passing day.

More than 53,000 flights have been delayed nationwide because of the Schumer shutdown.

Most air traffic controllers live paycheck to paycheck, as do most Americans. Senate Democrats expect them to work for free. Why? Because the minority leader says: ``Every day gets better for us.'' The Democrats say that every day gets better for them. Better for whom? Not better for the American people, whose lives are put in danger as a result of what the Democrats are here doing despite the needs of the Nation.

CNN recently published a shocking quote from a Democrat staff member. Maybe it is a member who is sitting on the floor right now in the U.S. Senate. A Democrat staff member said this, published by CNN. A staff member, a Democrat, said that the Democrats aren't going to change course with the Schumer shutdown strategy until ``planes [are] falling out of the sky.'' That is the approach of the Democrat staff to the Democrat Senate, that they are not going to end the shutdown until there are ``planes falling out of the sky.''

Mr. President, is that where we are now because of what the Democrats are doing to this country? The shutdown doesn't end until planes are falling out of the sky.

Today's Democrat party has completely surrendered to the radical left. They have abandoned the American workers, the American people, American families. Those workers and families want to keep America safe. The safety of the American people has now become a punch line for the Democrat party in this Nation.

The far left is controlling today's Democrat party--make no doubt about it. These people are radical, extreme, dangerous, and scary, and they are coming to Washington this weekend. And they have told us how dangerous they are by admitting that their shutdown strategy will not change until planes are falling out of the sky.

Innocent people are collateral damage in this dangerous political game the Democrats are playing.

Democrats will have their ninth opportunity today to reopen the government. They will have their ninth opportunity to vote for a bipartisan, clean continuing resolution--a clean continuing resolution that they voted in favor of 13 times when Joe Biden was President.

Democrats are going to have their ninth opportunity to pay the brave men and women who keep our skies clear and who keep our borders secure and keep our communities safe.

Democrats have an obligation to reopen the government, and they need to do it before there are planes falling out of the sky.

I yield the floor.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Marshall), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

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

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

Mr. President, today is day 14 of the Schumer shutdown, and Democrats continue to betray the American people.

Let me read some of the headlines I have seen over the last several days. The Military Times writes: ``Military families seek out food assistance [during] shutdown anxiety.''

An Axios headline warns that there could be ``insufficient funds for food stamps.''

A local New York TV station reports: ``Government shutdown threatens food access for Long Island's most vulnerable.''

And the Wall Street Journal reads: ``Thin Air-Traffic Staffing Spurs Delays at U.S. Airports.''

Anxiety, concerns about food, concerns about our airports, these are real-life impacts of the Schumer shutdown, and the pain is getting worse each and every day.

And what does Senator Schumer do? He treats it as a game. A game. Lives are in the balance; treats it as a game. He bragged about shutting down the government. Bragged about it. It was carefully planned, and in a carefully planned interview with Punchbowl News, he gloated.

He said:

Every day gets better for us.

That is what Schumer said.

Every day gets better for us.

Who is the ``us''? Certainly not the American people.

The Washington Post pointed out: This is a dangerous political game-- because it really matters to the American people, even though it may be just a game being played by the Democrats in this body.

You take a look at this and say: Whose lives are getting better every day? Certainly not the lives of the men and women in uniform who are worried about their paychecks. They are the ones who protect our country.

It is not our Border Patrol agents. Oh no, it is not getting better for them each and every day. They are busy keeping out illegal immigrants.

It is not the air traffic controllers who keep our skies safe. No, it is not getting better for them each and every day. It is not the military families who are lining up at food banks. Oh, no, it is not getting better for them every day.

So I ask again, when Chuck Schumer tells the press that ``every day it is getting better for us,'' whose lives are getting better by what he is doing and the Democrats are doing to the American people?

Whose lives are getting better every day because of the Schumer shutdown? It is not the American people.

It is fascinating. You know, we go home on weekends. We talk to people at home. They are concerned about what is happening to their lives during the time of a government shutdown.

They are not worried but are concerned about what they see happening here in Washington, where they see the Democrats beholden to the far- left, radical, extreme, dangerous, scary wing of the party because that is what is happening here in this body.

You look across the aisle, we see an entire group of Democrats being held hostage. Who is this group? Well, it is the Marxists, anti-ICE, anti-America wing of the Democrat Party that are controlling the party. The ``us'' the minority leader is talking about are them. That is whom he is talking about. They are running the Democrat Party right now.

And in the process, they are running our country into the ground. In the same interview that Senator Schumer gave last week to Punchbowl News,

when he said that ``every day it is getting better for them,'' he also said and admitted, he said:

We thought about this long in advance.

The far-left wing of the party, long in advance, planned for this shutdown, and they did it with Chuck Schumer in his office. They organized a war room. They orchestrated the shutdown that brought all of this pain on the American people.

The minority leader handed the reins to that far-left wing and now they are the ones driving the stagecoach and they are driving the stagecoach over the cliff. And it is a mistake and it is an error and it is hurting the American people. And they don't seem to care because they are treating it as a game, even though it is a dangerous game, as the Washington Post points out.

So what does all this mean in this big political game? Well, there is one person trying to save his own hide, and we know that is the minority leader, especially as we get closer to this radical rally that is scheduled in Washington on October 18.

Democrats don't want to disappoint the radicals who are descending upon this city next weekend. This is the far-left activist group. It is called Indivisible. You may have heard of them.

This is what one of the organizers of the radical rally had to say. He said the head of the group clearly exposed their threat to the minority leader.

He said:

Millions will be out there cheering you on, or they'll be

calling for new leadership.

And they are controlling the party. They are calling the tune, and we see the Democrats dance, not for the American people but for the far- left wing of their party. And they are holding the reins. They are telling the minority leader: You keep this shutdown going or you pack up your office and leave.

They don't seem to care that the American people are suffering, not one bit. What we see is the minority leader playing politics and choosing politics as a game over doing what is right for the American people.

And the Democrats are playing a dangerous game, and it is hurting all of us. And why are they playing the game? Because one of them is trying to use it for political gain.

We could end this shutdown today. We are going to have a vote here this afternoon, an opportunity to end the shutdown. And the pain and the suffering and the anxiety that the American people are feeling-- when I say ``American people,'' I am talking about American citizens who are all around the world defending us, keeping us free.

All we are asking is for a vote on a clean continuing resolution. The Democrats did it 13 times when Joe Biden was in the White House. They are not willing to do it now because they have an organized, orchestrated plan to shut down the government, keep it shut down.

Now, some Democrats have voted with us. We have had a bipartisan group. It has 55 votes on the votes that we have had. We need five more Democrats. I don't expect the minority leader to ever join that group to open the government, ever, no matter how obvious it is, how necessary it is, how much pain he is causing.

But that is what we have and that we are facing today, and we have a chance just this afternoon, 5:30 this afternoon, on a vote of this body to pick up and pass the bipartisan bill, a continuing resolution that they have done 13 times in the House and the Senate when Joe Biden was President.

And yet the Democrats in this body have been voting no, time after time after time. We need a few more Democrats, a few who care about helping the American people and care more about helping the American people than they do about helping the minority leader.

He has a political disaster on his hands. That is not a problem for all of us. But we are suffering the consequences of the toxicity of that position of the minority leader within his own party, in his effort to try to find absolution at a time causing significant pain and grief for American people who are struggling to get by, facing a loss of paychecks, a loss of nutrition, a loss of care for their children, a loss of help for small businesses. You can go down the list.

All of this could be resolved today with a simple vote for a continuing resolution to open the government once again. That is what we should do today.

That is the right thing for this body and the right thing for our country.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Cassidy), the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

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

Mr. President, I come to the floor having just listened to the minority leader talk, and I read in Punchbowl News, this morning, the minority leader making a statement to Punchbowl.

He thinks the Democrats have momentum. His statement is:

Every day gets better for us.

That is what he said in an interview from his office, yesterday, when he was interviewed by the news. He said:

Every day gets better for us.

Who is us? Not better for the American people. Who does he mean by us? Not the military who is not getting paid, not the Border Patrol that is not getting paid, not the air traffic controllers who aren't getting paid. Who is us?

He is playing a game. The Washington Post talked about it, just yesterday, in that headline in their editorial page: Democrat ``leaders play a dangerous game.''

That is what we have here. And what does the minority leader say? ``Every day gets better for us.'' Who in the world is ``us''? Is it this group that has organized the shutdown? They have talked about having an orchestrated group of the far-left wing, the terrorist wing of the Democratic Party organizing and orchestrating the shutdown, planning for weeks in the minority leader's office, closely coordinated. It is hurting the American people, but the minority leader has said it is getting better for them.

Look, how can they brag about the damage that they are doing to the American people, whether it is women on the Women, Infants, and Children Program needing food; whether it is small businesses applying for loans through the Small Business Administration; our troops; our Border Patrol. But, boy, from what I see from the minority leader and where he is trying to lead this country, it is a perfect quote for the shutdown: It gets better for them every day. I will tell you, it is rubbish, and it is hurting our country.

Thirteen times we have voted to open the government, keep it open with a continuing resolution, in Joe Biden's term, and now they are not going to do it because Donald Trump is in the White House. That is what we have in this country today--a political game being played by the Democrats because they think that every day gets better for them.

This isn't right versus left; this is right versus wrong. That is what we are facing in this country today. There are 1.3 million soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, coastguardsmen--guardians on Active Duty to protect our Nation, protect our freedoms. They are going to miss their paychecks, but Chuck Schumer says it is getting better for them.

For the brave men and women in uniform, one date looms large. It is October 15. Normally, October 15 is payday. This year, under the Schumer shutdown, where it is getting better for Schumer every day, it is going to be a day that paychecks don't arrive for every one of them.

Nine days ago, October 1, servicemembers of the ranks got their last paycheck, and it is going to be their last paycheck until the dangerous game, the political game that Schumer and the others are playing ends and government reopens. We could do it today with a vote. We are going to have an opportunity to do it.

And it is wrong. It is just wrong to do this as a game because it is getting better for them every day--or so they think.

This Friday, October 10, tomorrow, Border Patrol agents and other Federal workers will receive only half a paycheck. The Democrat leader says it is getting better for them.

Seventy-two percent of military families say their most pressing concern is missing a paycheck.

Half a million military families relocate to new duty stations each year. For them, costs can be crushing. Moving costs the families an average of $8,000 out of pocket. Normally, this is reimbursed--may not be for a while.

Chuck Schumer says it is getting better for them every day.

Under the Schumer shutdown, military families are going to be forced to stretch out the budgets, dip into savings, and take out loans. This adds to financial stress and strain.

At Fort Hood in Texas, the local food bank is seeing a 34-percent spike in demand just since the shutdown began. Military families are lining up for food, diapers, and baby formula. One employee there said the situation in Fort Hood had never happened, ever.

Maybe they are just stocking up because they know that, for the Democrats, they think it is getting better every day. That is what they are aiming for.

What in the heck are they thinking? Well, those people that have planned and organized all of this are thinking: Hey, we have a big rally coming to Washington, a ``No Kings'' rally coming up on the 18th. Getting better for them every day. Let's just hurt the military more; the Border Patrol more; the women, infants, and children more--hurt them because it is getting better for them every day.

Who is the ``us''? It is the leftwing of the Democratic Party; it is not the American people.

That is what we are focused on here. I want to focus on opening the government up for the American people. We have offered a clean continuing resolution at current funding levels, at Biden's funding levels, current levels. It reopens the government, pays our servicemembers.

Republicans want to reopen the government. We have voted to not shut down the government. We want to make sure our troops don't miss the paycheck on October 15. Not the Democrats because they think it is getting better for them.

The date on their calendar is not the 15th, which is the date on the calendar of every military member; their date is

October 18. That is the date when the most radical, leftwing activists are going to descend upon Washington. They are coming to protest President Trump. And the Democrat leader and his leadership team are hoping they will actually receive cheers from that group because it is getting better for them every day. That is what they say.

This shutdown is all about politics. That is what it is all about. It has been planned and orchestrated and organized for months.

The Washington Post editorial said it best: The Democrats are playing ``a dangerous game.'' They are choosing politics over the paychecks of the American working men and women who protect our Nation. And this weakness defines today's Democratic Party. They are radical. They are extreme. They are dangerous. They are scary. They are out of touch. But they think it is getting better for those people every day.

They are holding our military hostage. Why? Because they want to impress the leftwing activists. It is indefensible.

Servicemembers now have to worry about putting food on the table so that the Democrats and Senator Schumer can try to satisfy the far-left, liberal wing of the party, who will never be satisfied until this country is destroyed. That is what they want.

It is no surprise that 55 percent of Americans say Democrats are shutting down the government just to please their radical base.

The Senate can reopen the government today, but we need a handful of Democrats to join us. Democrats voted 13 times for a clean continuing resolution under Joe Biden. They know that the Schumer shutdown--it is reckless, it is radical, and it is wrong.

Democrats don't seem to care because, according to Chuck Schumer, ``Every day gets better for us.'' As a result, the Democrats are threatening America's safety, our security, and our prosperity.

The American people don't want the government closed. Chuck Schumer does because every day gets better for him.

Two in three Americans demand Democrats accept the continuing resolution at current funding levels. It is the right thing to do. It is fair. It is reasonable. It is time Democrats listen to them. It is time to open the government so the troops can get paid.

That is what this is all about--a political game being played by the radical left. And they believe it is getting better for them each day, and Chuck Schumer--this wasn't some offhanded comment; this is exactly what he said yesterday in a sit-down interview with the press in his office. These were planned words and orchestrated to appeal to the people that he is trying to appeal to, who are not the average American who just wants to go to work, just wants to get paid a fair wage for a fair, full day's work, and defend the country.

So I know who the ``us'' is when he says ``us,'' and it is not the American people; it is not the hard-working people of your State or my State who want to get up, go to work, get the kids to school, put food on the table, and live in this greatest country of all times.

That is what we are dealing with, and that is why I came to the floor this morning, because when I heard this comment by the minority leader, I could not let it stand, and the American people deserve better.

Electric Vehicle Subsidies

Mr. President, on a separate matter, I want to talk about something else.

In July, President Trump signed into law the working-families tax cut. That legislation stopped a $4 trillion tax increase, it secured our border, it unleashed American energy, and it slashed wasteful Washington spending.

I thought one of the most egregious subsidies we eliminated was the electric vehicle tax credits. Under Joe Biden, Washington provided lucrative, luxury tax credits to prop up EV sales. The Biden car bribes forced working families to subsidize vehicles that people didn't want, couldn't afford, and weren't very practical in my State.

I have fought against these costly EV handouts for years. I introduced bills to repeal them, and I was joined by my Republican colleagues. I especially want to recognize the senior Senator from Ohio, Senator Bernie Moreno.

Hard-working families should not be forced to bankroll luxury vehicles for wealthy elites. Republicans in Congress acted decisively. We terminated the EV tax credits. We deliberately chose September 30 as the end date for the subsidies. This quick termination meant significant savings for taxpayers--$200 billion in savings over the next 10 years.

But, as the saying goes, the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. In Washington, we have to follow up and fight to protect taxpayers and taxpayer dollars even when the intent of Congress is clear. That is where I really want to point out the hard work of Senator Moreno, because that is what the Republicans are doing.

In recent weeks, Senator Moreno and I read troubling news. There was a last-ditch effort to game the system in the final days before the cutoff date. We immediately wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to alert him about the issue and to address the problem. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who is chairman of the Commerce Committee, also raised his concern with the Treasury Department about the subsidies.

Major car companies responded to the letter, and they changed their policies, and I encourage all companies to follow their lead.

Republicans are going to continue to protect taxpayers and ensure these subsidies are gone for good. Here is the reality: The subsidies were never needed in the first place. Look at what has happened since Congress ended them. Tesla has actually lowered its prices. They have done it by stripping out luxury features, like vegan leather seats and ambient lighting. Hyundai slashed nearly $10,000 off of their Georgia- built model. This is precisely how fair market competition works.

Americans elected Republicans to end Washington wasteful spending. We are keeping our word.

So I am going to continue to work with my Senate colleagues and the Trump administration to keep this loophole closed, to enforce the law, and to protect hard-working taxpayers.

I yield the floor.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Hawley), and the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Schmitt).

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Hawley), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Cotton), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), and the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Cotton), and the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz).

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz) and the Senator from Alaska (Ms. Murkowski).

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

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz) and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Hawley), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz) and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz).

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz) and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz) and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

Mr. President, following up with what the majority leader just said, I have here the Washington Post from this morning, and they have an editorial. And what they have in bold print says:

Democratic leaders play a dangerous game.

That is what the Democrats are doing.

We just heard the majority leader talk about what we are trying to do, what we are facing, how Chuck Schumer is being held hostage by the liberal groups that set up the war room with him. And what we see is a dangerous game being played and threats to the American people.

This goes on to say:

There is a clean funding bill on the table.

This is the Washington Post, this morning.

There is a clean funding bill on the table. Only a handful

of Senate Democrats need to vote for it.

The minority leader is leading the Democratic Party into a box canyon. You can't get out, and it is a dangerous game. And it is not just dangerous for them; it is dangerous for the American people. That is where the danger lies.

So I come to the floor because the American people are facing an immediate crisis, and they know why. Anybody watching knows why. It is because Senate Democrats have now voted five times against a clean, bipartisan continuing resolution that would open the government today.

This is day 8 of the Schumer shutdown--day 8. The country is held hostage by the Democrats, and they are playing a dangerous game. This isn't a game, but that is what the Democrats have turned it into.

So the question before us is simple: What have the Democrats accomplished during this dangerous game that they are playing? On October 10, on Friday, in 2 days, Border Patrol agents and other Federal workers will receive only half a paycheck. That is the result of the Democrats' dangerous game. It will be their last paycheck until the Schumer shutdown ends and Democrats vote to reopen the government. They could do it today.

The House of Representatives passed a clean continuing resolution at current funding levels. Democrats voted 13 times under Joe Biden for a continuing resolution to keep the government funded.

A continuing resolution funds our military, pays for law enforcement, continues food assistance for moms and young children, and keeps small business loans flowing.

Thirteen times they voted for this. Now they reject it because they want to please their radical, extreme base--the base that has put up a war room that Chuck Schumer has bowed down to. That is what we just heard from the majority leader--that they are the ones calling the shots--and that is why we find ourselves in this situation.

Democrats are demanding radical, new policies before they allow the government to reopen. I have seen their demand letter--$1.5 trillion in new expenses, as the majority leader just outlined here on the floor. Their ransom note is filled with liberal policies. I look at it--it is stitched together like Frankenstein's monster: $1.5 trillion in reckless new spending; free healthcare for noncitizens; free Medicaid for working-age, able-bodied adults who refuse to work. There are over 5 million of these individuals in the United States, and yet they refuse to work. And the Democrats want them all to get free Medicaid.

Fifty billion dollars the Democrats want to cut from vulnerable rural hospitals, hospitals in rural communities. Do the Democrats not care at all about those communities even though there are rural communities in their States?

They are beholden to the big cities and the mayors, the sanctuary cities that control the Democratic Party.

That is what we are dealing with here. That is why the Washington Post calls what the Democrats are doing--as I pick it up again, Mr. President--``a dangerous game.'' They are holding the American people hostage to extract far-left wing concessions. They are telling our servicemembers their paychecks are negotiable. They are telling small businesses their dreams are collateral damage in a partisan fight. They are telling mothers and young children that WIC benefits are leverage for the far-left demands of healthcare for noncitizens.

Republicans remain committed to ensuring families receive the support they deserve. The Democrats have chosen repeatedly to keep the government closed for political purposes only.

American families are feeling the pain nationwide.

In Georgia, more than 100,000 Federal employees are wondering where they will find the money to pay their bills and buy their groceries.

In Arizona, 344,000 children enrolled in SNAP face uncertainty. The benefits are running out.

Time is of the essence. Shutdown Democrats are telling these families their problems aren't urgent. Well, they are urgent to those families, and the Democrats don't seem to care.

In New York, almost half a million individuals who rely on WIC will lose access at the end of this week. It is already Wednesday. We are talking about pregnant women. We are talking about new mothers. We are talking about young children. They depend on this program.

In Illinois, every week the shutdown continues, it costs the State's economy over $500 million. That is jobs lost, paychecks missed, opportunities evaporated.

In Michigan, small businesses face delays of $92 million in loans because the Small Business Administration is frozen due to the shutdown. These businesses are the backbones of our communities and our economy. They should be able to make payroll, keep their doors open-- not as the Democrats continue to play what has been termed ``a dangerous game.''

In Nevada, for each month the shutdown continues, consumer spending from lost wages will fall by over $200 million. It is money that won't flow into local businesses, won't pay rent, won't put food on the table.

In New Jersey, telehealth programs are on hold. I am a doctor. Without these programs, patients could be put at greater risk.

In New Hampshire, workers maintaining our nuclear attack submarines-- they face furloughs and unpaid work.

Look, this goes beyond missing a paycheck; this is about national security. The Schumer shutdown--the dangerous game that he is playing-- puts America's safety at risk.

At airports nationwide, we are already seeing the direct effects of the shutdown. Flights are being delayed. Security lines are growing longer.

Even the head of the Teamsters union, Sean O'Brien, says that Democrats' political theater is something he can see right through.

He said:

A shutdown will hurt working people. Period. American

workers are not bargaining chips.

That is the leader of the Teamsters union, Mr. President.

He goes on to say:

Senators should stop screwing around and pass the House-

passed clean, short term funding bill.

That is where we are today. He is right. But regrettably, Senate Democrats are treating the American people as bargaining chips, as hostages, and that is why they sent the list of demands as ransom.

Democrats have now voted five times against opening the government, five times against supporting our military, five times against paying law enforcement officers, five times against food assistance for women and infants and children, five times against the small business loans that help Main Street. Five times, Democrats have looked at the mounting damage of the Schumer shutdown and shrugged their shoulders. That is the situation we have today.

The American people overwhelmingly say Democrats should pass a clean continuing resolution and end the shutdown immediately.

There is a clean, bipartisan resolution before the Senate ready for a vote right now. It reopens the government today. It would protect the paychecks and the programs the American people depend upon. It would end the uncertainty that is gripping millions of American families.

The question is not whether the Democrats can end the shutdown; it is, Will they have the integrity to do it or will they continue to play this dangerous game with our Nation and with our families?

Nominations

Mr. President, on a separate matter, before Senate Democrats shut down the Federal Government, they shut down the very Senate floor on which I stand, and they did it by freezing the confirmation process.

For months, their blockade created a growing backlog of qualified nominees, so many of whom have come out of committees with bipartisan votes; nominees for positions that, during prior administrations, sailed through the Senate by unanimous consent or by voice vote--but not with this Democrat minority, oh, no.

So in September, Senate Republicans broke the blockade, and now the blockade is being cleared. At the peak of the Democrat obstruction, more than 150 well-qualified nominees, approved by Senate committees, were waiting for a vote on the Senate floor. Yesterday, we confirmed 107 of those nominees, and we did it in a group. This is one of the largest confirmations in the history of the United States. Now there are only 26 nominees on the Executive Calendar.

Our committees are hard at work to approve more nominees, and we are going to confirm them in short order.

As of this morning, President Trump has had 298 nominees confirmed in his second term. By comparison, at this point, Joe Biden had confirmed only 201 at this point in his first and only term. President Trump had confirmed only 183 nominees at the same time in his first term. So the Senate's constitutional duty of advice and consent is now back.

President Trump now has his team confirmed and ready to be sworn in. From Assistant Secretaries, to Ambassadors, to U.S. attorneys, the Federal Government is in a better position today to keep our Nation safe and secure and prosperous.

Senate Republicans are going to continue to work to get America back on track no matter what obstacles the Democrats continue to throw in our path.

I yield the floor.

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz).