Floor Statements

Mr. President, reserving the right to object. The American people voted to get spending under control.

Two in three Americans say that a major problem that we face today in this country is government inefficiency. And I agree. Three in four Americans support eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending; and there is plenty of it.

We need to review how much money we spend. We need to see where it is going. We need to see what is effective and what is not. This is common sense. Families have to do it. States do it. Washington ought to do the same thing.

Every family audits their own budgets, their own spending. Every CEO audits their business operations.

President Trump and Republicans are doing exactly the same thing, and it is something that the Federal Government has not done for a long time.

Let me be clear. I am a doctor; I support so much of the good work being done by the National Institutes of Health and through the universities around the country. It is essential that America continues to lead the world in medical innovation.

I am a strong supporter of continuing smart investment in our National Institutes of Health. Americans deserve better care. Americans deserve better prevention and, of course, better transparency.

So the total budget for the NIH is almost $48 billion. Hard-working taxpayers deserve smart scrutiny and serious transparency over that kind of money.

There is indisputable evidence that there is wasteful overspending of administrative costs associated with medical research, and this is why I am here saying this must stop. In 2024, Harvard University spent $135 million of government grant money on overhead costs. Clearly, we can do better. They used hard-working taxpayer dollars to pay for heating bills, electricity bills, for maintaining buildings. They used it to cover payroll for people not involved in research. This is money that should have been spent on advancing researching for cures.

Harvard's overhead costs related to the National Institutes of Health research--69 percent of the money goes for overhead. That is taxpayer money, Mr. President. That is one university, one year. Clearly, we can do better--if you look at that all across the country.

Imagine all the new cures we could find if we just spent the money efficiently. That is what is at stake today, and that is why I am here on the floor of the Senate.

Democrats don't want to have a serious debate about wasteful Washington spending. Instead they are wasting the Senate's time on predictable distractions like this one. And, therefore, Mr. President, I object.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer) and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Tuberville).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer) and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Tuberville).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), and the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Young).

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

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer) and 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 come to the floor today, having just seen the Democrat leader come to the floor to talk about the Senate budget resolution, and what I heard the minority leader say was that none of it is accurate.

Let me tell you: I have the budget resolution with me--the key portions--five pages long. That is it--five pages long. Every American can read it. They can read it for themselves. The resolution focuses on three things and three things only: No. 1, securing the border; No. 2, restoring peace through strength; No. 3, unleashing American energy. It is not complicated. It is common sense. Americans overwhelmingly support these goals. That is why Republicans in the Senate are moving forward.

So let's talk about border security.

This budget allocates $175 billion to secure our border. Now, that includes funding for President Trump's successful Executive orders to deport criminal illegal immigrants. Border Patrol agents and ICE agents need the resources to do it. There are currently more than 600,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records in the country today. President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem are moving at lightning speed. They are moving to deport them. They are moving to make our communities safer. Their strong actions have led to double the number of arrests of illegal criminal immigrants compared to the arrests under President Biden. These arrests are making our communities safer, and they are sending a message to would-be illegal immigrants all around the world to ``don't come here.'' Actually, these people are turning around and going back to their own homes. Illegal border crossings between the United States and Mexico are at their lowest rates in the last 5 years.

The actions of President Trump are working. They are working so well that the Trump administration says it is running out of money for deportations. Border czar Tom Homan told us just that. Secretary Noem told us that as well. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told us that. Attorney General Pam Bondi has told us that.

Senate Republicans are acting quickly to get the administration the resources that they have requested and that they need. The budget will allow us to finish the wall. It also takes the steps we need for more border agents. It means more detention beds. That

alone will keep dangerous criminals off the streets. It means more deportation flights. That way, we can get dangerous criminals out of our country.

Now, let's talk about national security because the reconciliation bill that we are talking about allocates $150 billion to restore American peace through strength.

We live in a dangerous world. The threats against the United States are higher than we have seen in decades. There is a threat of terrorism. You saw the danger of terrorism in New Orleans earlier this year. There is the threat from the Chinese Communist Party. They are rapidly building up their military. Meanwhile, over the past 4 years, weak leadership from the previous administration undermined our military and our military strength. There is a real threat today from Iran. They are the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, and they are also racing toward a nuclear bomb.

Weakness invites conflict. Strength deters war. This budget is a big step toward rebuilding our military, to protecting our Nation, and we need to do that after 4 years of weakness.

We are already seeing a surge of young people who want to join the military. Recruitments are up. Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, recruitment is at its highest levels in 15 years.

With this budget, America will be stronger. Our military will be more lethal and more intimidating.

Now let's talk about energy and American energy dominance. This bill will take the handcuffs--the handcuffs--off of American energy producers. The previous administration caused painfully high prices with its energy mistakes, its blunders. It locked up affordable, reliable, American-made energy. We can never forget Joe Biden saying he wanted the EPA to prioritize climate over American energy, energy that was affordable, available, and reliable. Terrible mistake. Wrong for the Nation. We are here to correct that.

Families suffered from soaring prices. The economy struggled under those regulations of the previous administration. Passing this budget allows us to reject the energy failures of the last 4 years. It puts a premium on energy that is affordable, reliable, and American.

The Federal Government will also see its revenues increase as we produce more American energy. And the Presiding Officer knows that Wyoming is America's energy breadbasket. America is a superpower of energy, and we need to act like it.

If you listen to the Senate Democrats, it is abundantly clear that they don't support these goals of American energy dominance. They don't. They haven't. They still don't.

Democrats also are opposed to securing our border. They are opposed to rebuilding our military. They are opposed to unleashing American energy. They are standing in the way of commonsense priorities that Americans overwhelmingly support. They are a party in a panic mode. Their high prices and their open border agenda are completely out of touch with the American people.

Now, Democrats used this very process, reconciliation, a few years ago. And what was their purpose? They wanted to raise taxes and pass trillions of dollars in wasteful Washington spending. They wasted taxpayer money. They subsidized electric vehicles for the rich. They sent stimulus checks to criminals like the Boston Marathon bomber. It is almost unbelievable.

The Federal Government is too big. It spends too much. Republicans will end this wasteful Washington spending. We will get America back on track. After 4 years of high prices and open borders, our Nation and Americans deserve a path to safety and prosperity. Starting with this Republican budget, that is what the American people will finally get.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman).

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following amendments be the next amendments in order; that the amendments be reported by number, with no amendments in order prior to a vote in relation to the amendments. The first is Bennet No. 540, followed by Schiff No. 316, then Sullivan No. 1029, Schumer No. 776, Ossoff No. 407, Wyden No. 308, Baldwin No. 276, and Reed No. 172.

Mr. President, I ask to amend the request that it be the Wyden No. 1156.

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 order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, the world is seeing that President Trump's Cabinet picks are strong and that Republicans are confirming them and doing it very quickly. By the end of today, we will have confirmed 18 of President Trump's nominees. They are bold, and they are well-qualified. Now, this is more nominees than President Obama had confirmed by this time in 2009, and it is more than President Biden did in 2021--more than twice as many than Joe Biden did.

Americans voted for a bold, new direction. They wanted to see that here in Washington and across the country, and Senate Republicans are delivering.

Yesterday, the Senate confirmed Howard Lutnick to be the Secretary of Commerce. He is going to kick-start the golden age of American manufacturing.

We are also on track to confirm Kelly Loeffler today to be the Administrator of the Small Business Administration. She is a former colleague of ours in the Senate, and she is a voice for Main Street America.

The Senate will soon vote, as well, to confirm Kash Patel. He is the nominee to be the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The United States is seeing increasing threats from terrorism. The previous FBI Director told the Senate a year ago ``I see blinking lights everywhere.'' On New Year's Day, 14 Americans were killed in a terrorist attack in New Orleans. That is why the Senate must act quickly to confirm Mr. Patel. We need to continue to act with speed and urgency.

Once confirmed, Mr. Patel will begin working to restore trust in one of America's premier law enforcement Agencies. Regrettably, today, only two in five Americans say they hold a favorable view of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. That needs to change. Kash Patel will reform and refocus the FBI to get it focused on its core mission, and that core mission is to fight crime. He is going to reshape the Bureau so it no longer is a tool for political attacks. He will rededicate the Bureau to keeping Americans safe.

He is a uniquely qualified nominee. He began his career as a public defender in Florida. He defended the constitutional rights of some of the most dangerous people in the country. He later joined the Obama Department of Justice as a counterterrorism prosecutor. He investigated and prosecuted cases that protected our Nation from very serious threats. He received several awards for excellence for bringing terrorists to justice. He saw the power of the FBI to keep Americans safe, and he also saw how the power of the FBI could be abused.

In Congress, Mr. Patel led the investigation that exposed that the FBI was spying unlawfully on President Trump's 2016 campaign. Special Counsel John Durham's investigation later backed up Mr. Patel's side of the story. Durham found ``the FBI failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law.''

This abuse of power was a breach of Americans' trust in the FBI. Kash Patel is going to restore trust by returning the FBI to its core mission of investigating and fighting crime. At his confirmation hearing, he said he is going to work to cut in half the number of rapes, drug overdoses, and homicides in the country today. This is something that every law-abiding citizen in this country should welcome.

For Democrats, however, this seems to be unacceptable. They claim he wants to weaponize government. That is blatantly false. It was the Democrats who turned the FBI into a political attack dog against their political opponents. The FBI pressured social media companies to censure the Hunter Biden laptop story. It partnered with Joe Biden's Department of Justice in the targeting of concerned parents who

protested woke school board meetings. It targeted Catholics as domestic terrorists and spied on them at church. It put politics and personal gain over service to the country.

Mr. Patel will end the weaponization and restore transparency. He believes crime is bad, that two tiers of justice are unacceptable, and that equal justice under the law is good. To Democrats, that is taboo. To the rest of the country, that is common sense.

Americans want the FBI to fight crime. Kash Patel is the man to do it. If you want to defend our constitutional rights, confirm Kash Patel. If you want justice and accountability, confirm Kash Patel. If you want to keep our communities safe, we need to confirm Kash Patel. He is a man of integrity and fidelity to the rule of law. I look forward to voting to confirm him.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran) and the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Sullivan).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer), the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Hoeven), the Senator from Mississippi (Mrs. Hyde-Smith), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran), and the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Sullivan).

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

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran) and the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Sullivan).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran) and the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Sullivan).