Floor Statements

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, as of tomorrow, we will be one month away from the opening date for Trump Accounts. These are new tax-advantaged investment accounts for children created by the Republicans' Working Families Tax Cut.

And as of a few days ago, parents can now download the new app for Trump Accounts. The app will allow parents to track current and projected account balances; schedule automatic account contributions, whether that is $20 a month or $200 a month; and, eventually, choose among multiple broad-based investment accounts, all designed to make investment easy.

The app also offers several modules to educate children and parents on investing and to boost financial literacy.

Trump Accounts, as I said, were created as part of the Republicans' Working Families Tax Cut law. We call it the Working Families Tax Cut for a reason--because that is whom we were focused on with this legislation.

We prevented a massive tax hike on Americans making less than $400,000; made lower tax rates for hard-working Americans permanent; increased the child tax credit, which we had already doubled in 2017; implemented no tax on tips and no tax on overtime to give American workers a further break on their taxes; instituted a new bonus deduction for seniors and more.

All of these measures were designed to help everyday Americans and to make life a little easier for working families and help put their dreams within reach. Trump Accounts are a part of that.

These tax-advantaged accounts were designed to allow parents to save for their children's future beyond their education: to give kids a nest egg, whether large or small, to help them buy a home or start a business, to help them pursue their American dream.

And if kids choose not to withdraw money once they reach adulthood, they can use these accounts as retirement savings, a financial priority for every American.

To get savings started for a lot of families, kids born between 2025 and 2028 will receive a free $1,000 for their Trump Account, should their parents choose to open one and opt into the money.

That money alone will grow over a kid's childhood. And then, of course, parents will be able to add, as desired, anywhere from a few dollars to up to $5,000 a year.

And parents are not the only ones who can make contributions. Employers will be able to contribute to Trump Accounts for their employees' kids. And multiple philanthropists are also offering initial contributions for a lot of American children.

All of this is designed to give kids a leg up in the world of savings and investment and, as I said, a head start on their American dream.

Musician Nicki Minaj attended a Trump Account summit with the President a few months ago. She grew up in a housing project in a family that faced its share of financial struggles, and now she is raising her own family. And she has said of the Trump Accounts:

This program will benefit everyone, decreasing the gap for

future prosperity between children who traditionally aren't

born with a full bank account and children who are.

``[d]ecreasing the gap for future prosperity between children who traditionally aren't born with a full bank account and children who are.''

Increasing opportunity, opening new paths to prosperity, ensuring that working families can keep more of their hard-earned money, that is Republicans' mission, and the goal of the Working Families Tax Cut.

I am proud that working families are benefiting, and I look forward to seeing the opportunities that will be unlocked next month when Trump Accounts kick off.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 417, S. 2.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 5453 and ask that it be reported by number.

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

Mr. President, as we begin our proceedings this morning, I want to take a moment to recognize a milestone here in the Senate.

On this day 40 years ago, C-SPAN broadcast the U.S. Senate for the very first time. On June 2, 1986, the American people were able to turn on their

televisions and see the Senate come to order and their Senators engage in debate until the gavel dropped later that day. Gavel-to-gavel coverage. That is the C-SPAN way.

And over the last 40 years, C-SPAN hasn't missed a beat. It has captured 43,830 hours of Senate proceedings, broadcast 169,000 speeches by hundreds of U.S. Senators who have served in these Halls, and captured the moments--large and small, historic and human--that make up the U.S. Senate.

On that first day 40 years ago, the Senate was considering an education bill, and what a fitting topic of discussion for C-SPAN's first day covering this Chamber. Education is C-SPAN's entire mission.

C-SPAN urges its viewers to ``make up your own mind.'' And for 40 years, C-SPAN has enabled the American people to make up their own minds about what we do here in the Senate.

It has helped countless American students see the legislative process in action, and it has ensured that what happens here is lost neither to the day's news cycle nor to history.

And I trust that C-SPAN will continue to offer the American people a front row seat to the Senate for many decades to come.

South Dakota

Mr. President, C-SPAN captures a lot of our work here in Washington, but just as important is the work that Senators do back in our States.

Last week, the cameras were off here in the Chamber, and Senators were back at home hearing from the people that we all represent.

I spent last week back home in South Dakota traveling around my State and hearing directly from South Dakotans. I had a chance to catch up with mayors of Webster and Lennox.

Mayor Danny Fergen of Lennox took me around the city. He showed me new housing developments in Lennox. I saw that city's infrastructure needs, and we went down Main Street to a few businesses--including El Mariachi restaurant.

I also spent some time up in northeastern South Dakota. As I mentioned, I met with the mayor of Webster Mike Grosek, and I dropped by a few local businesses that are benefiting from the permanent tax relief Republicans delivered in the Working Families Tax Cut.

I went to the Three22 Kitchen & Cocktails in Aberdeen and saw the Main Street expansion that the owners had undertaken, including the first rooftop lounge in the city.

I visited ``Quite Possibly the Coolest Store Ever!''--the Hitch'n Post--a family-owned business that has been an icon in Aberdeen for over 50 years and was recently named one of America's best western retailers.

And then over at the Meathouse in Andover, I had a conversation about the local agricultural economy with the ranchers who run that business and who take pride in their home-raised beef.

I have always valued the opportunity I have had lately to spend some time hearing from South Dakota's young people. This past month, I have been in classrooms in Winner and Rapid City and Sioux Falls, and we have had a number of school groups visiting Washington, DC, as well.

I attended the Dakota Relays at the beginning of May and then the State track meet this past Friday.

And last week, I had the privilege of speaking at Boys State at Northern State University and then at Girls State at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.

It is always a pleasure to get to talk with young people and to hear what is on their minds and what their dreams are for their futures. And I suppose that is because, on any given day here in the Senate, that is what our focus as Republicans boils down to: cultivating a brighter future for young people and for all Americans, a future that is secure with greater prosperity and more opportunities to get ahead.

That is our focus here in the Senate, and it is what we continue to work toward every day.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 3; 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 if Senator Whitehouse or his designee makes a motion to proceed to S.J. Res. 188, the Senate vote on the motion to proceed at 2:15 p.m. tomorrow.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

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

Mr. President, enforcing our Nation's laws is not optional. Securing our borders isn't optional. Supporting the men and women who do this important work--funding law enforcement--isn't optional either. That should go without saying, but unfortunately, Members of the Democrat Party have made it clear that they disagree. Incredibly, Democrats have refused to provide a single penny for border security and immigration law enforcement for fiscal year 2026--that is zero dollars for a physical presence at our Nation's border; zero dollars to deport criminals who have made their way into our country illegally. If Democrats had their way, illegal immigrants would be allowed to flood across our Nation's southern border entirely unchecked.

I guess we really shouldn't be surprised. After all, it is hardly the first time Democrats have demonstrated that border security and immigration enforcement are at the very bottom of their priority list. For decades now, Democrat-led cities and States have implemented sanctuary policies that prevent local law enforcement from cooperating with Federal immigration authorities. These policies have had deadly consequences. Yet Democrats have defended them and continue to uphold them across the country.

Then there was the crisis at the southern border. There were 4--4-- straight years of recordbreaking illegal immigration at our southern border under Democrats and President Biden.

The New York Times reported:

After Mr. Biden became president, migrant encounters at the

southern border quickly doubled, then kept rising. New

arrivals overwhelmed border stations, then border towns, and

eventually major cities like New York and Denver.

That from the New York Times.

Contrast that with today. Illegal crossings have plummeted to a trickle, and as of the end of April, not a single illegal immigrant has been released at the border and into our country for an entire year.

But Democrats are apparently determined to bring back unchecked illegal immigration. To do that, they are embracing the far-left ideologies of ``defund law enforcement'' and ``abolish ICE.'' These were once considered fringe positions among Democrats. Today, they are basically the official positions of the Democrat Party.

The junior Senator from California said in January:

I'm not giving ICE or Border Patrol another dime.

The junior Senator from Massachusetts told a crowd in February:

We know that we must defund and abolish ICE.

One Democrat Senate candidate has even said:

Dismantling ICE is the moderate position.

This is today's Democrat Party--a party in thrall to its far-left base and a party that has completely abandoned its national security responsibilities when it comes to enforcing immigration law and securing our borders.

Needless to say, as long as Republicans are in charge, we are not going to let Democrats defund border security and immigration law enforcement. So we are moving forward with a bill to fund these important responsibilities for the remainder of the Trump administration so that Democrats cannot again put our Nation's security and Americans' safety in jeopardy.

I don't know who Democrats think benefits from blocking funding for Border Patrol and ICE. The American people certainly don't benefit from there being no law enforcement at the border. They don't benefit from human traffickers and drug smugglers being able to enter our country unchecked or from rapists, murderers, and other criminals being allowed to live freely in our country.

Democrats' position puts illegal immigrants in danger as well. Border Patrol agents are the ones pulling illegal immigrants out of the Rio Grande and rescuing dehydrated migrants in the desert. But Democrats don't support these agents' work.

If Democrats' position helps anyone, it helps the cartels, the coyotes, and other criminals who prefer to act without risk of detection and apprehension. And I suspect that is why we haven't heard much from Democrats in recent weeks about the core of this legislation. Democrats haven't exactly demonstrated an eagerness to come to the floor and defend open borders, and I strongly suspect that is because at some level, they know their position is completely indefensible.

President Trump and Republicans have cleaned up Democrats' mess at the border. We have secured the southern border and put criminals on notice that they will no longer be living freely in our country. And we plan to keep it that way.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, the postcloture time with respect to Executive Calendar No. 736 be expired and the Senate vote on confirmation of the nomination at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the Democratic leader, tomorrow; further, that the cloture vote with respect to Executive Calendar No. 743 occur following disposition of Executive Calendar No. 736; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I understand that there is a bill at the desk that is due for a second reading.

Mr. President, in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I would object to further proceeding.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 727.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.