Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following resolutions, which are at the desk: S. Res. 452 and S. Res. 453.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Thursday, October 16; 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, notwithstanding rule XXII, the cloture motions, with respect to the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 168, H.R. 5371, and Executive Calendar No. 460, ripen at 11 a.m., and if cloture is invoked on the Mooty nomination, all postcloture time be considered expired and the Senate vote on confirmation at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the Democratic leader, no earlier than Monday, October 20; and, finally, that the cloture motion, with respect to the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 136, H.R. 4016, ripen at 1:30 p.m.

For the information of my colleagues, Senators should expect two rollcall votes at 11 a.m. and a further vote at 1:30 p.m.

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 move to proceed to Calendar No. 168, H.R. 5371.

Mr. President, I want to join my colleague Senator Grassley from Iowa and, before I begin, mention the release of the hostages on Monday. After more than 2 years in captivity, the final 20 living hostages were returned to Israel and reunited with their loved ones.

To see the peace process moving forward is an occasion for immense gratitude, and I hope that both sides will

adhere to the terms of the agreement so that this can mark the beginning of an end to the bloodshed. That includes the prompt and respectful return by Hamas of the remains of the deceased hostages.

I know that President Trump, without whom this would not have happened, Secretary Rubio, and others continue to work to hammer out the remaining steps of the peace process. That will have to include disarming Hamas and ensuring that the organization plays no future role in governance in the Gaza Strip.

My prayers are with the President, Secretary Rubio, and all of those on both sides who are working to make peace a reality.

Government Funding

Mr. President, ``Every day gets better for us.'' So said the Democrat leader in an interview published on Thursday, hours before Democrats, once again, voted to keep the government closed and to deny servicemembers a paycheck. Federal workers, including law enforcement officers, missed part of their pay last Friday, but, hey, at least, life is getting better for Senate Democrats.

A CNN article from Thursday said that Democrats are preparing to keep on with this shutdown for ``several more weeks.''

I guess Democrats are not going to be satisfied until military families and government workers are lining up at food banks or visiting payday lenders or simply charging necessary items like milk and bread on their credit cards to be repaid later, if they can, along with the big interest charges that come with that.

But, hey, while military families and government workers may be deeply stressed, at least, life is getting better every day for Senate Democrats.

I could, at least, understand a little bit more where Democrats are coming from if Republicans were asking them to swallow a lot of new Republican policies to reopen the government.

But Republicans aren't asking the Democrats for anything. We are not asking them to support any new Republican policies. We are not asking them to swallow any partisan policy riders.

We have put forward, and the House has passed, a clean, nonpartisan CR. That is the bill Democrats are rejecting.

And, by the way, you certainly don't have to take my word for it that we put forward a clean bill. Here is what one mainstream news publication said last week:

It's important to note that Democrats instigated this

shutdown. They rejected a ``clean'' funding proposal and

demanded significant and expensive health care policy changes

in exchange for their votes.

It's important to note that Democrats instigated this

shutdown. They rejected a clean funding proposal and demanded

significant and expensive health care policy changes in

exchange for their votes.

Yes, that pretty much captures it right there, in a nutshell. Democrats like to whine that Republicans aren't negotiating, but negotiation is what you do when each side has a list of demands and you need to meet in the middle.

Republicans, as I and a lot of other people have pointed out, haven't put forward any demands. Only Democrats have made demands--by the way, very expensive demands--and they have taken government funding hostage in an attempt to force through their partisan measures.

I remember when Democrats used to care about the effects of a government shutdown. In fact, I could fill a whole speech--many speeches, actually--with quotes from Democrats talking about how terrible shutdowns are.

I used to think they were sincere in those opinions, but it has become abundantly clear that their previous statements weren't based on principle but on political advantage.

Democrats were against shutdowns when it suited their political purposes, and now that it suits their political purposes, they think, to keep the government closed--now they support shutdowns.

I suspect their political calculations are flawed because, after all, 65 percent of voters think Democrats should reopen the government, instead of holding out for their partisan demands. But I guess Democrats are more worried about gaining the approval of their far-left base than about getting the approval of everyday Americans.

It is day 14 of the Democrats' shutdown. Our economy is losing billions of dollars. Federal workers, including law enforcement officers, are going without pay. Critical government programs are in jeopardy.

But, hey, at least life is getting better every day for Senate Democrats.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I enter a motion to reconsider.

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

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 460.

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

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

Mr. President, I withdraw the motion to proceed.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 136, H.R. 4016.

I send a cloture motion to the desk.

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

For the information of my colleagues, Senators should expect a vote at approximately 2:15 p.m. on the motion to reconsider Calendar No. 168, H.R. 5371.

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, before I begin, I want to mention the very welcome news that the first phase of the historic Israel-Gaza peace plan brokered by President Trump and his administration, working with allies and partners in the region, has been agreed to. This will finally mean the release of all remaining hostages, living and dead, who have been held by Hamas since its October 7, 2023, attack.

It is vital that Israel and especially Hamas implement the terms of this agreement as quickly as possible so that this can truly mark the beginning of an end to the bloodshed. I hope a lasting peace for this most war-torn of regions.

In addition to both sides adhering to all agreed-upon terms, true peace will also require that there is never again a threat to Israel emanating from Gaza.

This means that Hamas must disarm and relinquish any role in governance in the Gaza Strip, and I know the President and Secretary Rubio continue to work relentlessly to pursue peace and make this a reality.

I am grateful for this news, and my prayers today are for the successful release of all hostages, the success of this agreement, and the protection of all innocents in harm's way.

Government Funding

Mr. President, we are now 9 days into the Democrats' government shutdown--9 days in which Democrats have had multiple opportunities to support a clean, nonpartisan CR--sitting right here at the Senate desk--to reopen the government; something that has been passed by our colleagues in the House of Representatives, that has achieved 55 Senators, a Senate majority. Out of 100 Senators, 55 Senators support this 24-page resolution sitting at the desk, which could open up the government today because as soon as the Senate passes it, the President will sign it into law.

This is the same nonpartisan measure that, as I said, passed the House 3 weeks ago, no partisan riders, no gimmicks, no partisan policies, Republican policies, anything like that--a simple resolution, 24 pages long, to open up our government and make sure that the Federal employees and the American people who depend upon them get paid.

The President is ready to sign it. All it takes is a handful of Democrats. There are three Democrats who have already supported this clean continuing resolution. Just a handful more, and we can end this shutdown in a matter of hours.

Fifty-five Senators, a Senate majority--a majority of the 100 U.S. Senators, a majority of the House of Representatives, the President of the United States is prepared to sign it. That is how straightforward this proposition is.

We have already seen plenty of negative impacts from the Democrat shutdown. A whole new wave of pain begins tomorrow if Democrats don't act because if we fail to fund the government by the end of day today, American servicemembers begin going without their paychecks starting tomorrow.

That is right. If Democrats can't bring themselves to reopen the government by the end of the day, our troops--the people who protect and defend this country--will start missing their paychecks. To say that that is unacceptable is an understatement.

Many of our servicemembers are serving in harm's way at this moment. All of them stand ready to rush into danger at a moment's notice to protect the rest of us. They and their families make numerous sacrifices to serve our country. The idea--the very idea--that they won't get a paycheck because Democrats can't bring themselves to accept a clean, nonpartisan CR is beyond the pale.

If the government remains shut down after today, instead of getting our troops paid, they are going to have to continue stretching what money they have saved. Unfortunately, sometimes that is not very much.

As one advocate for military families put it, ``This isn't just a financial hardship--it's destabilizing for households and military readiness alike.''

``Military readiness.''

Many families have already begun to visit food banks near bases, and it is even harder on families with a loved one who is deployed. Amy Palmer, who runs an organization that helps military families in Colorado, said families of the deployed ``are having to navigate this alone. They're used to getting the paycheck . . . and paying bills on behalf of their entire family, and with that servicemember deployed and not really having that support system from them . . . it is really hard.''

It is not just our troops who are going to be missing a paycheck. Civilian workers will also be missing part of their pay starting this Friday, including law enforcement officers like the members of our very own Capitol Police. Food banks and other nonprofits around the country are bracing for increased demand from Federal employees, especially here in the national Capitol region.

I remember when the Democrat leader was a passionate opponent of government shutdowns because of their impact on Federal workers. I am pretty sure that was just 6 months ago.

Other Democrats used to be concerned about the impact on Federal workers as well. A few years ago, our Democrat colleague from New Jersey--himself, a former career Federal worker--had this to say:

I worked through multiple shutdowns, including, you know,

having to work and show up every day without getting paid. .

. . I mean, it's just so scary to think of the fact that this

is going to hurt people.

Yet Democrats aren't showing the slightest interest in reopening the government to ensure troops and Federal employees get paid.

Later today, we are going to have another vote on the clean continuing resolution to open up the government. As I said, we are a handful of Democrats away from passing this continuing resolution and reopening the government, a handful of votes away from paying our troops, and we are going to see if that matters to Democrats.

We will see if Democrats choose to pay America's troops or if they, once again, bow to the demands of their far-left base, which is telling them to hold out, or their strategists who are telling them that they are ``winning'' the shutdown.

Well, based on the reporting this morning, Democrats couldn't care less whether military families miss a paycheck tomorrow.

In an interview posted this morning, the Democrat leader said:

Every day gets better for us.

``Every day gets better for us.''

This isn't a political game. Democrats might feel that way, but I don't know of anybody else that does. The longer this goes on, the more the American people realize the Democrats own this shutdown.

A Morning Consult poll finds that ``voters increasingly blame Democrats for the government shutdown.''

In the latest Harvard-Harris poll, 65 percent of voters think Democrats

should reopen the government instead of holding out for their partisan demands.

But Democrats are apparently being told to hold the line by their far-left base, and so this shutdown drags on.

We can solve the issue of troop pay and every other problem we are seeing today--today--by passing this clean, nonpartisan CR and sending it to the President. He is ready to sign it. If Democrats would only agree, we could reopen the government in just a few hours, literally, pay our troops, pay our Federal workers, and stop this madness.

And this notion that somehow in this political game, the Democrats believe, according to their leader, that ``every day gets better for us,'' that is not the experience of the American people. It is time to end this shutdown and reopen this government. Let's pass this CR today.

I yield the floor.

Recognition of the Minority Leader

Mr. President, I have a motion to reconsider.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all en bloc amendments be considered to the Wicker-Reed substitute amendment No. 3748.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all time be yielded back.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I ask that the Senate execute the order of October 8 in relation to the Mascott nomination. I ask unanimous consent that all subsequent votes be 10 minutes in duration, and I would advise our colleagues that we intend to enforce that.

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session and execute the order with respect to Calendar No. 115, S. 2296.

I would reiterate that last vote was a 10-minute vote that took 27 minutes. People should stay close to the floor. Ten-minute votes, OK? Ten-minute votes.

Thank you.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I move to proceed to calendar No. 168, H.R. 5371.

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