Floor Statements

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, over the last few weeks, we have all had a chance, my colleagues and I, to spend extra time in our States, talking to our constituents and reporting back on what we have been doing for the American people here in Washington.

And Republicans have a lot of good news to share. Among the things we have already delivered for the American people is permanent tax relief for working families, real security at our southern border, critical support for America's farmers and ranchers. And we are just getting started.

I always appreciate being able to travel South Dakota far and wide during these State work periods. It is a pleasure to visit communities around the State and hear directly from South Dakotans about the issues our country is facing.

Summertime is fair season in South Dakota, which means agriculture is front and center. I stopped by the Turner County Fair in Parker, the Sioux Empire Fair in Sioux Falls, the Central States Fair in Rapid City. On Monday, I was at the State Fair in Huron, SD.

Senator Hoeven came south for the Brown County Fair in Aberdeen, where he joined me for a great discussion on the support for farmers and ranchers we provided in the One Big Beautiful Bill. And, of course, I made sure he got the famous Tubby Burger, which is a favorite at the Brown County Fair.

At Dakotafest in Mitchell, I joined Senator Rounds and Congressman Johnson for the Farm Bureau's annual ag policy forum. We discussed how farmers are still struggling with high input costs and depressed commodity prices, causing upside-down margins for their operations.

While crop yields are strong and the One Big Beautiful Bill adjusted reference prices to ensure that commodity programs more closely reflect market conditions, there is more work

to do. That includes boosting agriculture through trade opportunities and increased market access.

We had a lot to report to farmers and ranchers about the One Big Beautiful Bill, from strengthening commodity programs and crop insurance to supporting livestock producers facing losses to raising the exemption threshold to save more farms and ranches from the death tax.

And we are going to keep on working to build up strong family farms and ranches in America.

I also had the opportunity to visit some small towns in South Dakota, walk down Main Street, and meet small business owners in these communities. In Hoven, SD, I stopped into Salon 54, Brew 54, and more, and the Plains Commerce Bank on Main Street. I also stopped into city hall--one of my favorite ways to learn about a community's needs and how I can help.

In Mobridge, I toured the local hospital and attended an event supporting small businesses with Grow South Dakota and Akipton. Small businesses aren't always easy to run, but they are the backbone of our communities. Mr. Bob's Drive-In and Shorty's One Stop in Selby are two more small businesses that I visited this past month. I also stopped by Bauer's Super Valu, Buttercup Coffee Shop, and Blondie's Tables and Taps in Faulkton, SD. It was a great way to catch up with entrepreneurs, workers, and customers of these small businesses.

And there is a lot of good news in the One Big Beautiful Bill for small businesses and their employees. No tax on tips and overtime is welcome news to servers, busboys, bartenders, and the millions of workers who earn tips or put in extra hours to earn overtime pay.

And permanent tax relief in this bill means lower tax bills in working families in every corner of South Dakota.

For small businesses, permanent tax relief will help free up cash to invest in their workers and grow their businesses. And investment incentives like bonus depreciations will help businesses, farmers, and ranchers invest in new equipment for their operations.

I had a lot of good conversations these last few weeks, but some of my favorite moments come when I have a chance to just say ``thank you.'' I had the opportunity to do that a few times this last month. I met with first responders from the Aberdeen Fire Rescue and law enforcement officers from the Rapid City Police Department and Pennington County Sheriff's Office to thank them for serving.

I got to participate in annual ag appreciation event at the Sioux Empire State Fair and the Central States Fair, shaking hands with hard- working farmers and ranchers.

And it was humbling to reflect on the service of South Dakotans past and present at the battleship South Dakota Memorial Day of Honor and to be on hand for the 28th Bomb Wing change of command ceremony at Ellsworth Air Force Base.

It has been a busy few weeks back home in South Dakota and for all of my colleagues as they moved across their States these last few weeks. And now it is going to be a busy few weeks here in Washington. We are setting our country up for a stronger and more prosperous future, and I can't wait to see the benefits for my State of South Dakota and for our entire country.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, this week, the Senate is beginning consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026. This annual Defense bill is one of the most important things we do each year, and I appreciate the hard work that Chairman Wicker and our colleagues on the

Armed Services Committee have done to put forward a strong bipartisan bill and get it ready for the floor.

Mr. President, the last few years demonstrated that the world remains a dangerous place. And as new challenges have arisen, we also had troubling reports on the state of our military's readiness to meet those challenges. We have aging equipment, insufficient munitions, lagging recruitment, excessive bureaucracy that delays the delivery of new weapons. Our readiness and capabilities have not been heading in the right direction.

We have begun to turn that situation around, most recently with a significant investment in our national security in the One Big Beautiful Bill. This year's NDAA, along with sustained investments in the years to come, will help us continue to reverse that trend so that we have a military capable of deterring and defeating today's threats and tomorrow's.

This year's National Defense Authorization Act boosts America's shipbuilding, and that includes additional combat ships and submarines that are essential to delivering American power anywhere in the world. It strengthens the Air Force fleet, including authorizing funding for new fighter jets and delivery of the B-21, the next-generation long- range strategic bomber that will soon make its home at South Dakota's own Ellsworth Air Force Base. And it supports the construction of the Golden Dome missile defense system to keep America's homeland safe from attack.

We are also continuing efforts to bolster our munitions supply. It became clear in recent years our supply of munitions was not where it needed to be for a prolonged conflict. It puts robust requirements in place to ensure we are adequately stocked.

This NDAA will also help us build up the capabilities that our military needs to fight the wars of the future. It supports improved drone capabilities along with defenses against the same, integrating artificial intelligence, and restoring a credible deterrent in cyber space.

While capabilities are important, they are of little use without the people using and directing them, so this bill also supports the men and women serving our country. It provides them with the 3.8-percent pay raise and includes provisions to support military families who are also making sacrifices for our country's defense.

Then there is recruitment, which this bill strongly emphasizes. In the last few years, our military was having a tough time recruiting individuals to serve. While some of those challenges have subsided since January, thanks to President Trump's leadership, this bill focuses on getting more Americans to consider serving our country in the military.

This year's NDAA also takes some important steps to change the way business is done at the Pentagon. The NDAA clears away more than 100 outdated bureaucratic hurdles in order to streamline the Department's acquisition processes, the most significant reform, literally, in generations. It encourages a wider array of companies to do business with the Pentagon, ensuring that our warfighters have the best equipment that American innovation can produce. And it helps eliminate bureaucratic redtape by empowering executives at the Department of Defense to make decisions at the speed of innovation. I appreciate Chairman Wicker's leadership on these overdue reforms which will help ensure America's military reaps all the benefits of American innovation.

Mr. President, there is a lot more I could say about the content of this bill and what it does for our military. Before I close, I want to say a few words about the process this bill has had thus far and what will play out in the coming days. I have talked more than once this year about my commitment to regular order. I am proud that this year's NDAA is on the regular order track. The Armed Services Committee held a markup where Members had the opportunity to amend the bill. The bill passed out of the committee in a bipartisan vote of 26 to 1. Now it is here on the floor where Senators will once again have the opportunity for debate and amendment. At the end of this process, I am looking forward to the Senate passing this bill to strengthen America's military and safeguard our national security in the 21st century.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, it has been a very busy year here in the U.S. Senate. From confirming President Trump's nominees to repealing burdensome Biden administration regulations, to passing the One Big Beautiful Bill, to preventing a massive tax hike on hard-working Americans, Republicans have been hard at work delivering on the mandate we received from the American people.

The Senate has taken, so far, 499 votes this year, more than in any Congress at this point in the last 35-plus years. In fact, we have taken more votes in 2025 already in 8 months than the Senate has taken in a full 12 months for most--all but 2--of the past 36 years.

But we have a lot more work to do, and we are going to get it done. That starts this week with consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act, one of the most important pieces of legislation that we consider every year.

That will be followed by continued appropriations work so we can get the government funded by the September 30 deadline. We have already done some good work on appropriations. In fact, for the first time in years, we went into August having passed 3 of the 12 appropriations bills. The last time that happened--a single appropriations bill passed before the August break--was 2018.

But needless to say, there is a lot more to do. And I hope that our Democrat colleagues will resist the calls from within for a shutdown and work with us to fund the government.

Along with the National Defense Authorization Act and funding the government, we have another important task to accomplish in the coming weeks and that is making major headway on confirming more of President Trump's nominees. Thanks to a lot of hours here in the Senate to overcome Democrat obstruction, we went into August having confirmed 135 of the President's civilian nominees, more than had been confirmed by this point in his first term. But there are a lot more nominees to go.

I am here to tell my Democrat colleagues that their historic obstruction cannot continue. When voters elect a President, that comes with certain expectations, one of which is that a President will be able to fill up his or her administration with his or her nominees. And, historically, the Senate has reflected that by confirming most of a President's civilian nominees by unanimous consent or voice vote, which means without obstruction and blocking. President George H. W. Bush had 98 percent of his civilian nominees confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote here in the Senate, and so did President Clinton. President George W. Bush and President Obama both had 90 percent of their civilian nominees confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote. But things changed during the first Trump administration. Democrats started obstructing nominees who had previously been confirmed without a drawn-out process.

But even so, both President Trump and his first administration and President Biden had more than half of their civilian nominees confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote without a long, drawn-out process.

Well, fast forward to 2025. As of today, September 2, President Trump has not had a single one--single one--of his civilian nominees confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote, not a single one. By this point in his administration, President Biden had 76--76--confirmed without dragging it out and delaying and blocking and obstructing. When I say that President Trump's nominees have faced a historic level of obstruction, I am not being political or hyperbolic. I am doing nothing more than stating the bare facts. Between the calendar and committees, we currently have nominees pending for a total of 302 civilian positions. And 95 percent of those positions--95 percent--were confirmed by voice vote at least once during the previous three incoming administrations. Yet Democrats seem unwilling to expedite consideration for a single one.

This cannot continue. The American people elected President Trump. And like any President, he deserves to be able to fill up his administration. In fact, we owe the voters nothing less. That doesn't mean rubberstamping every nominee, but it does mean an end to the ridiculous--and I mean ridiculous--delays on every nomination, including on nominations the Democrats ended up supporting in significant numbers. I say that, ``supporting in significant numbers,'' because let's be clear here, the Democrat leader might like people to think Democrats are holding up all these nominees because they are, in his words, ``historically bad,'' but, in fact, at least some Democrats have ultimately voted in favor of many of these nominations. Mr. President, 61 out of the 135 civilian nominees confirmed received at least one Democrat vote on the final confirmation, and fully half of the civilian nominees currently on the calendar were reported out of committee with bipartisan support. Democrats aren't holding up nominations to minor administration positions out of principled opposition; they are holding them up because they don't like President Trump. That is not a good reason.

Democrats' obstruction is not only preventing voters from getting the administration they elected, it is also slowing down the essential business of the U.S. Senate. Over August, my colleagues and I discussed various ways of addressing this problem and expediting confirmations. There are a lot of options on the table, none of which, I might add, would be necessary if the Senate Democrats treated this President the way that Republican and Democrat Senates have treated Republican and Democrat Presidents for all of American history. In fact, you have to go back a long way in the annals of history to find a time--in fact, moving back as far as the Hoover administration--as far back as I think we can find records and data, to find a President who didn't have at least one of his nominees confirmed here in the Senate by voice vote or unanimous consent at this point in their administration.

In fact, the majority of Presidential confirmations were conducted on a bipartisan basis for a long time here in the Senate, and there is no reason we couldn't go back to that right now. All it takes is a little behavioral change and a willingness to acknowledge President Trump won an election. The American people voted for him, and they expect him to be able to populate his administration with the people that he wants to serve in many of these positions.

But if Democrats continue to obstruct, if they continue to drag out the confirmation of every single one of the nominations of the duly elected President, if they continue to slow the Senate's business to such a drastic degree, then we are going to have to take steps to get this process back on a reasonable footing.

This is not sustainable. You can't run a government this way. It has never been done before ever--ever--in history. This is not a sustainable business model. In one way or the other, it is going to have to get fixed.

The Democrats can play ball the way every Democrat and Republican Senate has, going back as far as we can find in the annals of history, or things are going to have to change around here. It is as simple as that. The ball, I would say, Mr. President, is in the Democrat's court.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 262.

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

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 291.

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

I ask consent that the Senate resume legislative session.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call with respect to the

motion to proceed to Calendar No. 115, S. 2296.

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

Mr. President, yesterday afternoon, we reached an agreement with Democrats on an appropriations package, and I am pleased to report that as of last night, we passed three of the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills: Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, Legislative Branch, and Agriculture. Those are the three appropriations bills that we were able to pass last night.

I would say it is a very good start on appropriations, and a striking contrast, I might add, to last year when the Democrat leader failed to bring a single appropriations bill to the floor for a vote, notwithstanding the fact that 11 of the 12 passed out of the Appropriations Committee with big bipartisan margins.

And I want to thank Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Collins, as well as Senators Hoeven, Boozman, and Mullin. I also want to thank Senator Moran, who had done outstanding work on the Commerce-Justice- Science appropriations bill. And that would have passed last night had it not been for the opposition of a single Democrat Senator.

Thanks are due to all the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which has now reported out 8--8--of the 12 fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills.

The Senate is currently in its best place on appropriations in years, and I am grateful for all those who worked cooperatively and in good faith to make last night's votes happen. It is good to have the Senate back on a regular-order track on appropriations, and I will continue to work for a regular-order process as we continue, and I hope that Democrats will join us in that effort.

It was disturbing to hear the Democrat leader threaten to shut down the government in his July 8 ``Dear Colleague'' letter. And I hope--I really hope--the Democrats will not embrace that position but will continue to work with Republicans to fund the government.

As I said, we are in the best place we have been in years, but we have a lot of work to do. And I hope that we will be able to continue the good work we began last night with continued bipartisan cooperation.

Mr. President, I wish I had more good news or better news to offer this morning on the nominations front. I wish I could say that we had also reached an agreement on a nominations package yesterday, but, unfortunately, the Democrats continue to engage in their historic obstruction.

[F]or decades, Democrats and Republicans have regularly

cooperated to swiftly confirm the many, many individuals

selected by each President to serve in their administration.

Regardless of the party in the White House, both sides have

long agreed that a President deserves to have his or her

Administration in place, quickly.

That doesn't mean we don't disagree. But it does mean when

nominees are held up, opposed, or blocked--it's for a

legitimate purpose, not for leverage in partisan games, to

score political points at the expense of public safety.

Now let me repeat that last line:

But it does mean when nominees are held up, opposed, or

blocked--it's for a legitimate purpose, not for leverage in

partisan games, to score political points at the expense of

public safety.

Now, interestingly enough, those last lines aren't mine. Those are the words of the Democrat leader just 3 short years ago. And I wish--I truly wish--it was the philosophy of the Democrat leader and his party still espoused today. But, instead, they have embraced a historic level of obstruction, slow-walking every single one of President Trump's civilian nominees, including--including--nominees who have ultimately received substantial Democrat support. That is the very definition of the partisan games the Democrat leader deplored just a few short years ago.

And so just to put a fine point on that, I want to show you where we are relative to history with regard to nominations.

As you can see going back to the Presidency of George H. W. Bush--41, as he is affectionately described--98 percent of all the nominees were confirmed either by voice vote or unanimous consent. That was also true of the Democrat President Bill Clinton. George W. Bush, 43, had 90 percent of his nominees confirmed either by voice vote or unanimous consent. And President Obama--so we went Republican back to Democrat-- also had 90 percent of his nominees confirmed either by voice vote or unanimous consent.

Now, that started to drop off in the first Trump administration down to 65 percent. It dropped down to 57 percent during the Biden administration.

But what is really striking is here we are 6 months into--more than that really now--this current administration, and that right there, a big fat zero, is what the Democrats have allowed in terms of nominees either confirmed by voice vote or unanimous consent.

Now, under any circumstance, I understand there are strong disagreements with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle--don't like the President, all that; there is certainly that element--but this is historic and unprecedented obstruction when it comes to allowing someone who has been elected by the people of this country, in a fairly significant, I would argue, mandate, an election, to get their person in place to do the jobs that the American people elected that President--President Trump--to do. And so you cannot, under any circumstance, defend that.

Now, you can say--you know, we can argue, and these numbers are not moving in the right direction, which is why I would argue we have got to change the process by which we do this; otherwise we are going to continue to deteriorate to where any President who comes in here is going to be very, very hard-pressed to do the job the American people elected him to do.

But, really, that one right there, that big fat zero, sticks out in a very big and significant way.

And I wonder how Democrats' continued determination to slow-walk President Trump's nominees will play with the voters who, after all, as I said, elected President Trump with the thought that he would be able to fill up his administration.

Democrats need to get serious about agreeing to a nominations package to confirm a number of these outstanding nominations, and I would tell you--and they are well aware of this--that a lot of the nominees on the current backlog are nominees who have bipartisan support; in some cases, broad bipartisan support, multiple Democrats voting for these nominees coming out of the committee. There are a whole bunch of those that are backed up on this backlog.

And so I sincerely hope that they will change their tune and decide to work with this administration to make that happen; otherwise, I mean, I have said this before, and I think it is true. We are setting records around here for hours in session. We are setting records around here for number of votes cast--I mean, not by a little, by a lot-- relative to previous Senates, and a lot of it has to do with that statistic I just pointed out.

It is time for that to change, and we are not asking a lot. We are just simply saying: Treat this President, at least on some level, in the way that previous Presidents, both Democrats and Republican Presidents, have been treated in the past by both Republican and Democrat Senates.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.