Floor Statements

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 when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned, to then convene for pro forma session only, with no business being conducted, on the following dates: Monday, May 4, at 6:45 a.m.; Thursday, May 7, at 10 a.m.; further, that when the Senate adjourns on Thursday, May 7, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Monday, May 11; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, 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, at 5:30 p.m., the Senate proceed to executive session and execute the order of April 29 in relation to S. Res. 690 and that the cloture motions filed today ripen following disposition of S. Res. 690.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.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, we need law enforcement. Nowhere was that more evident than on Saturday night, when a gunman attempted to storm the White House Correspondents' Dinner in an attempt to kill the President, individuals in the line of succession to the Presidency, and civilians who got in the way.

We need law enforcement. We need the police officers who patrol our streets, the first to respond when someone is in danger or needs help. We need the FBI agents who investigate Federal crimes, from money laundering to kidnapping. We need the Secret Service agents who protect the President and Vice President and other dignitaries. We need sheriffs' offices and transit police and ATF agents, and, yes, we need the Federal law enforcement officers who patrol our borders and take dangerous illegal aliens off of our streets.

You could be forgiven for thinking that I am stating the obvious. Ask most Americans, and I think you would find they say: Of course--of course--we need law enforcement.

But that doesn't always seem to be obvious to my Democratic colleagues.

The ``defund the police'' movement and ``abolish ICE'' movements were both embraced by Members of the Democrat Party, and now Democrats are at it again.

The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down because Democrats decided they don't want to fund border security or immigration enforcement. They refuse to fund the Border Patrol. They refuse to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They are refusing to fund any physical presence at our borders or any agents to take dangerous criminal illegal aliens off of our streets.

Not only that, the Democrat leader made it very clear that his party doesn't ever--he doesn't even, I should say, respect the work these law enforcement agents are doing.

``Nobody in this country respects ICE and Border Patrol,'' the Democrat leader said on the floor last week. And when asked to clarify his comments to say whether he really thinks nobody respects agents who put their lives on the line to, for example, stop dangerous individuals from crossing the border, the Democrat leader declined to answer. He declined to answer.

And I guess it is no surprise. Declining to fund these key law enforcement Agencies is a pretty good clue that Democrats don't respect the sacrifices these agents make to protect our country.

Why do we need law enforcement officers? Because there are dangerous individuals out there who choose to do harm. That is just a fact of living in a fallen world. And no government program or liberal fantasy is going to erase that reality.

And just as there are dangerous individuals already in our communities, there are dangerous individuals who would like to make their way illegally across our borders: drug traffickers, human traffickers, other criminals, terrorists.

Border Patrol agents stop them. And when dangerous individuals do make their way into our country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents work to take these dangerous individuals off of our streets.

Democrats may not like this reality. They may not like the fact that we need border security and immigration enforcement. But the fact remains that Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are two Agencies that play a key role in our safety.

And the enormity of what Democrats have opted for cannot be overstated: no agents--zero agents--at the border; no one--no one--to stop dangerous individuals from making their way into our country; and no one--no one--to catch and deport these dangerous individuals if they do make it in.

Republicans, of course, are not going to let that happen. As long as we are in charge, we are going to do everything we can to protect our borders and keep dangerous criminal illegal aliens off of our streets.

And that is why, after weeks and weeks of attempting to negotiate a funding agreement with Democrats before they ultimately walked away, we are now set to consider a reconciliation bill to fund border security and immigration enforcement for the next 3 years.

We have passed the budget resolution that will open the way for the final bill, and I hope my colleagues in the House will pass it in short order.

We need law enforcement. It is too bad the Democratic Party doesn't always agree.

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, before I begin, I want to mention how pleased we are to be able to welcome King Charles and Queen Camilla to the Capitol today.

A special relationship between our two nations has been a long and fruitful one, and I think it is fair to say that over the course of our Nation's history, we have had no closer ally than Great Britain.

We have stood together in war and in peace and, together, opposed the enemies of the free world. And I am confident that we will continue to stand together for centuries to come.

Mr. President, this week is National Apprenticeship Week. This week, we celebrate the pathways that apprenticeships provide for many Americans to attain their American dream, to find a good-paying job, and to do meaningful work.

Working in the trades or in manufacturing is, indeed, meaningful work. No matter how far technology advances, we are still going to need builders, doers, and makers.

To my knowledge, there is no artificial intelligence that can climb an electric pole; there is no chatbot that can fix a toilet; and there is no app that will install your home's HVAC system.

Skilled jobs are in-demand jobs, and they are going to be in demand for a long time to come. And we need to invest in and support the next generation of skilled professionals.

That is one of the things that Republicans did last year in the Working Families Tax Cut bill. That landmark piece of legislation made a significant investment in American workers, starting with investing in education and training programs that support skilled jobs.

For decades now, the 529 education savings plan has been a powerful tool for parents to save for their kids' education. At first, 529s could only be used for college; but in 2017, Republicans expanded the eligible uses of 529 plans to include K-12 expenses as well.

And in last year's Working Families Tax Cut, Republicans expanded 529s again and gave Americans flexibility to use their savings for vocational and continuing education programs as well.

On top of that, we doubled the withdrawal limit to $20,000 per year, giving Americans even greater flexibility to choose a program that suits their needs and their dreams.

The expansion of 529s complements the creation of new Trump Accounts in the Working Families Tax Cut. Trump Accounts provide parents with another option to invest in their children's future.

The money in those accounts can be used for education, to buy a first home, or to start a business when a child reaches adulthood. They are just one more way to give the next generation a head start on their American dream.

And speaking of creating options and opportunity, beginning this summer, Americans will be able to take advantage of the new Workforce Pell program created by the Working Families Tax Cut.

Most people are probably familiar with the traditional Pell Grant Program. Pell grants offer need-based financial aid for students in undergraduate degree programs. And until now, they have generally been limited to students in those programs.

Workforce Pell will provide financial assistance to Americans in shorter-term skills and career training programs. It will help workers pursuing skills for in-demand jobs at various stages of their careers. And it will be available to those just joining the workforce, those looking to grow and advance in their careers, and those who may be looking to switch careers, even if they have already earned a bachelor's degree.

And this innovative new program will help grow the workforce for a number of important jobs: careers in healthcare like phlebotomy and paramedicine, truck driving, childcare, welding, and numerous other skilled professions that provide pathways to success.

In addition to supporting the education needed for more Americans to pursue careers in the trades and in manufacturing, the Working Families Tax Cut also supports their success once they are in those jobs.

The pro-worker and pro-growth tax policy in the bill allows American workers to keep more of their hard-earned money and supports the small business growth, job growth, and entrepreneurship that mean more opportunities for Americans to get ahead.

The Working Families Tax Cut made lower tax rates permanent, which means bigger paychecks and bigger refunds for hard-working Americans.

And then there is no tax on overtime, which allows workers to keep more of the money they earn when they spend extra hours on the job. It is not uncommon for workers in manufacturing and the trades to put in more than 40 hours a week. So no tax on overtime is going to deliver significant tax savings to many of these Americans.

And then there are the pro-growth tax policies in this bill, like permanently lowered tax rates for small businesses. The 199A small business deduction is also now a permanent feature of America's Tax Code. It allows small businesses, farms, and ranches to reduce their tax burden and invest more in their operations and in their employees.

And then there is full expensing for new equipment, which is now permanent thanks to this bill, and supports businesses upgrading and replacing machinery and other equipment that is essential to their work.

This landmark bill also allows for full expensing of new factories and factory improvements. And we have seen a number of manufacturing investments being made across the United States since this bill passed last year.

One of the pillars of the Working Families Tax Cut is providing Americans with more opportunities to get ahead. And everything I have mentioned this morning is about cultivating opportunity, whether it is investing in education, supporting good-paying jobs, encouraging entrepreneurship, and promoting an economic environment where businesses can grow and create those good-paying jobs.

That is what the Working Families Tax Cut is all about, and this story is only just beginning to be written.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the cloture vote on the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 373, S. 4344, occur at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the Democratic leader, no later than Friday, May 1.

Mr. President, let me just say to my colleague from Oregon that, obviously, there are, I think, constructive conversations going on right now about how to address some of the concerns that he has raised on this. But I would also say that, by midnight on Thursday, this authority goes dark. It is authority that our military leadership and intelligence leadership rely on heavily to keep the United States safe, and so I hope we can find a way to proceed with this in a fashion that doesn't allow this authority to go dark at midnight on Thursday.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Executive Calendar No. 5, S. Res. 690.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the scheduled recess begin immediately.