Floor Statements

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 376, S. Con. Res. 33.

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

Mr. President, tax day was last week, and I would like to read a brief excerpt from a Washington Post article.

The title of this article: ``Tax refunds shoot up as Americans take advantage of new deductions.''

And here is the excerpt:

Karen Richardson, 68, has had a predictable tax return

since she retired from her job administering government

benefits four years ago. She lives on a fixed income and

usually owes some money at tax time, so she was surprised to

get a $1,000 refund this year due to the senior deduction.

``The Big Beautiful Bill worked for me,'' she said, ``I

didn't think it applied to more than the richer people. . . .

I really didn't think it applied to me.''

Well, as Ms. Richardson and many other hard-working Americans have discovered, the Big Beautiful Bill, the Working Families Tax Cuts, does indeed apply to them. It worked for them this tax season, and it will work for them in future tax seasons.

In 2017, Republicans overhauled our outdated Tax Code so that it would work better for our economy and for American families alike.

We cut tax rates across the board, doubled the child tax credit, and nearly doubled the standard deduction. And all of this made a significant difference to working families' tax bills. But this relief was scheduled to expire at the end of 2025, which meant that starting this January, Americans would have seen a lot more of their paychecks going to the Federal Government.

Republicans were determined not to let that happen. And so last summer, we passed the Working Families Tax Cut to prevent a massive $2.6 trillion tax hike on Americans making less than $400,000.

But we didn't just prevent a tax hike. In addition to ensuring that Americans can keep enjoying lower tax rates, Republicans passed a number of additional tax relief measures. We boosted the standard deduction again. We increased the child tax credit and linked it to inflation so its value will never go down. We instituted no tax on tips. We instituted no tax on overtime and more.

And hard-working Americans are reaping the benefits. This tax season more than 30 million seniors claimed the new bonus deduction for older Americans. More than a million taxpayers bought an American-made car and were able to deduct an average of $1,800 in auto loan interest on that new vehicle. More than 25 million American workers were able to deduct overtime pay from their taxes, resulting in substantial tax savings.

And more than 6 million workers were able to deduct their tips from their taxes. And that doesn't even count the parents who were able to

take advantage of the enhanced child tax credit or the new tax- advantaged accounts for their child or all the Americans, all of the Americans who benefited from our further increase in the standard deduction.

The Working Families Tax Cut is working for working families. The New York Times recently interviewed a number of taxpayers. The Times reported:

Many of the taxpayers said they had received their largest

refund in years, money that is going toward paying down

credit card debt, catching up on bills, padding savings

accounts or covering the cost of a vacation.

``money that is going toward paying down credit card debt, catching up on bills, padding savings accounts or covering the cost of a vacation.''

That was our goal with this bill, to take some of the pressure off, to free up money that families could use to do things like pay down debt or put away for a rainy day or take a much-needed vacation. Thanks to the Working Families Tax Cut, Americans now have a little more breathing room in their budget.

And whether we are passing tax relief, new measures to make prescription drugs more affordable at the pharmacy counter, or legislation to address the cost of housing, Republicans will continue to work to make life more affordable for hard-working Americans.

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 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 Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 681, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the resolution.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the preamble be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 21; 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 the Senate recess from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly conference meetings.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to immediate consideration of H.R. 8322, which was received from the House.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time.

I know of no further debate on the bill.

I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Madam President, I understand there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

I now ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the Calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Monday, April 20; 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., that the Senate proceed to executive session and execute the order of April 15 in relation to Calendar No. 671, Andrew Davis, and the Senate vote on confirmation of the nomination; finally, if any nominations are confirmed during Monday's session of the Senate, that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Madam 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, one thing you can always count on is that Democrats have a lot of nerve. The Democrat leader has been out and about, this week, criticizing Republicans for taking up reconciliation legislation to fund border security and immigration enforcement.

This was his quote:

Republicans are dragging the Senate through a partisan

circus just to avoid basic accountability for ICE and Border

Patrol.

Let me repeat that:

Republicans are dragging the Senate through a partisan

circus.

Is he serious? Because the shoe is entirely on the other foot. Democrats, through their stubborn refusal to seriously engage in bipartisan negotiations and their ultimate refusal to fund law enforcement at all, have forced us into a position where the only way we can fund law enforcement and border security is through reconciliation.

A big priority of mine, when I became leader, was conducting appropriations through regular order. And despite Democrats' decision to shut down the entire Federal Government for 43 days in the fall, we were well on our way to passing all of fiscal year 2026 appropriation bills--all 12.

We had a bipartisan deal on DHS funding--DHS funding for the entire Department--that included additional funding for body cameras for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, deescalation training, and increased oversight of ICE funding.

But then Democrats reneged on that agreement. But did Republicans then move to reconciliation? Not at all. We bent over backward to reach a new deal with Democrats. The White House repeatedly--repeatedly-- offered a robust package of reforms, and we spent weeks--weeks--trying to negotiate.

But Democrats weren't interested in negotiation. A good example of that is that one of the offers that was made by the White House wasn't responded to by Democrats for 18 days. Eighteen days we kept coming out here saying: Come on. Give us a counteroffer here. You want reforms, you want changes made; let's sit down and figure that out.

Just more stall, delay, obstruct.

I would say they were interested in nothing but their exact list of demands with no compromises, but I strongly suspect that Democrats were never interested in a deal at all.

And, in fact, after weeks of stonewalling, Democrats eventually made it clear that no deal was happening, which meant that either Republicans acceded to Democrats' refusal to fund law enforcement and border security or--or--we pursue the only option left to us, which is funding law enforcement and border security through reconciliation.

If Democrats want to be the party of defunding law enforcement and open borders, then so be it. But we are not going to join Democrats in their irresponsible refusal to fund key parts of the Department of Homeland Security.

Democrats refused to fund the deportation of criminal illegal aliens, individuals guilty of things like murder, assault, and sexual crimes against minors. They refused to fund drug interdiction and efforts to fight human trafficking. They refused to fund border security. That is right. They refused to fund the Border Patrol. These are all critical security priorities.

So Republicans are going to fund them through reconciliation because the Democrats have left us no other option. And to prevent Democrats from voting to defund law enforcement once again in September, we are going to fund border security and immigration enforcement for the next 3 years.

If you want to see a partisan circus, look no further than Democrats' 43-day government shutdown in the fall. Remember what that was about-- what that was over. It was over a clean, nonpartisan funding bill. And the Democrats' shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security happened because they couldn't take yes for an answer.

Our national security, the functioning of our government, the salaries of government workers, all--all--have been repeatedly sacrificed this year thanks to Democrats' partisanship.

I would say that the Democrat leader should be embarrassed by what his party has done to the Federal Government and to the Senate itself.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following Senators be permitted to speak prior to the scheduled rollcall vote: Senator Heinrich for up to 5 minutes, Senator Klobuchar for up to 5 minutes, and Senator Smith for up to 15 minutes.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be suspended.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to 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 was very sorry to hear of the death of Christina Harris-Jones, director of the Senate Employees' Child Care Center. By all accounts, Ms. Harris-Jones was exactly the kind of person you would want to head up a center like the SECCC: knowledgeable, dedicated, warm, and deeply committed to early childhood education. She joined the SECCC during a challenging time, while the repercussions of the COVID pandemic were still being felt, and provided a sense of stability and security for staff and parents alike.

During her tenure at the center, she enriched the resources the center provides with extracurriculars like music and gymnastics. She also focused on team enrichment, ensuring that her employees had access to professional development opportunities and promoting work-life balance. Above all, she made the center a place where you could feel comfortable dropping off your son or daughter in the mornings. My thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones and family, and most especially with her beloved daughter Christiana who, like her mom, serves Senate families at the SECCC.