Floor Statements

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, it took 15 votes for Kevin McCarthy to become Speaker of the House of Representatives. It may not have been historic, but it was a sight to behold. To finally become Speaker, Kevin McCarthy made all kinds of commitments to the MAGA extremists in his Republican Party.

One of the promises he made to the hard-right holdouts in order to become Speaker was that House Republicans

would use their razor-thin majority in the House to try to freeze Federal spending in fiscal year 2024 to fiscal year 2022 levels. Let me bring that down in plain English. This means cutting $130 billion out of the Federal budget that Congress just passed last month--$130 billion is nothing to sneeze at.

Now, how are they going to do it? What is on the Republican agenda in terms of cuts? Speaker McCarthy won't say and neither will the House Republicans. What they have said is they plan to use the debt ceiling as leverage to try to get their way.

What is the debt ceiling?

Let me give you an example. Last night, you went to a restaurant with your family. You had a wonderful meal, and you paid for it with your credit card. In a couple weeks you are going to get a bill from your credit card company saying now it is time to pay for that wonderful meal. That is our debt ceiling.

If we don't pay those bills on a timely basis, it raises the question as to whether we are credible or reliable, and those people who loan us money, if they worry about whether the United States is going to pay its debts, they are going to demand higher interest rates to protect their purchase of U.S. securities. That is the bottom line.

We have never--underline ``never''--defaulted on our national debt and debt ceiling in our history. As a consequence, the United States enjoys a solid reputation for financial stability. Well, Speaker McCarthy has decided to put that on the chopping block.

Let's get right up to the eleventh hour and see if we are going to extend the debt ceiling. It is within his power to stop it, and that is his threat. What we have said to him is: If you have something, a plan for cutting spending or raising taxes, which is unlikely--if you have a plan for cutting spending, be honest with us and tell us what it is.

Some of the proposals are incredible. There is an actual proposal to create a Federal--that is national--sales tax of--listen--30 percent. A 30-percent sales tax. So if that loaf of bread cost five bucks at the grocery store--and in Springfield, some of them do--instead of paying $5, you will pay $6.50. Did you think prices were already going up for food in the grocery store? Tack on 30 percent and see how it feels.

And the problem with this is not just the notion of a national sales tax of 30 percent; the problem is, who will pay it. Do you think the richest people in the world give a toot about grocery bills? They don't. But folks who are struggling paycheck to paycheck, trying to feed hungry kids, do. They can tell you week to week what is going on in the grocery store, and it is not very encouraging.

So one of the Republican plans for reducing Federal spending is creating a national sales tax of 30 percent. I am not making this up. This is one of the proposals which Speaker McCarthy has agreed to call as part of his response to the debt of the United States. MAGA Republicans are threatening to use the credit worthiness of the United States as a bargaining chip in a political debate here on Capitol Hill. And, I am sorry to say, if they go the direction we expect they will, it will go beyond a national sales tax.

They are talking about cuts in some of the most important entitlement programs in our budget. What are those programs? Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans' benefits. The list goes on. And it gets down into the heart of this economy. It gets down to whether or not the vast majority of retirees in the United States of America will have enough money to get by. Food bills are going up, the gasoline bills have gone up in the past, and this idea that we are going to cut Social Security benefits--the Republicans are on the wrong track.

Refusing to pay America's bills for the first time actually won't cut the national debt. It will end up in increasing interest rates and will increase the debt by $80 to $150 billion, and that is just a start. Millions of Americans can lose their jobs, and it can push us into a recession if we default on the debt. Workers with 401(k) plans will see huge losses in their retirement savings, and a new 30-year mortgage on a home will cost an additional $130,000, on average. Are people going to buy homes? Not likely. But people who own homes will see the values of those homes diminished, all because of this reckless strategy of confrontation by Speaker McCarthy.

One-quarter of our entire national debt--that is $8 trillion worth of debt--was accumulated during the administration of Donald Trump. One- fourth of the entire debt of the United States in its 230 years of existence--one-fourth of it--was accumulated in those 4 years. Of course, there was money spent on the COVID crisis. I understand that. But there was also a $2 trillion tax cut under President Donald Trump. Who got the tax cut? Most of it went to the wealthiest people in America and the biggest corporations. It is the tried and true Republican approach--cut taxes on the rich and hope for the best.

The last time the United States had a balanced Federal budget, incidentally--was it under a Republican President? No, it was a Democrat, Bill Clinton. The fiscal year 2001 Federal budget had a $128 billion surplus. Remember what Republicans' fear about the deficit was back then? They told us. The Republicans claimed that paying down the national debt too quickly would hurt the economy. They were critical of us in either direction--either too much debt or not enough.

So instead of using the fiscal year 2001 surplus as a downpayment on the national debt, Republicans--you guessed it--passed a huge tax cut in those days overwhelmingly benefiting rich people and powerful corporations. They said, and they always say this: Those tax cuts will pay for themselves--the same bogus claims they make about all their big tax cuts for the wealthy. Instead, 7 years later, the last budget George W. Bush sent to Congress contained a $1.4 trillion deficit.

The same thing happened when Ronald Reagan was President. Republicans passed huge tax cuts for the wealthy and promised that they would pay for themselves. If we could just get the rich a little richer, then working families would be better off. Instead, they produced the biggest budget deficit that America had ever seen.

So do they have a credibility gap on that side of the aisle when it comes to deficits? They sure do.

Rich Lowry, the editor-in-chief of the National Review, once the ``Bible'' of American conservatives, commented on what the MAGA strategy means. In an op-ed last week, he wrote:

It's very strange not to seriously pursue a deeply held

goal when you have unified control of Washington, then to

insist on trying to achieve much of it in one fell swoop when

you barely have control of one chamber in Congress.

But here we are. This is the Republican pattern.

In the last fiscal year, under President Biden and a Democratic majority, we actually reduced the deficit by $1.4 trillion, the largest 1-year drop in American history under President Biden.

Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce the cost of healthcare, prescription drugs, and energy for American families, and to strengthen our Nation's energy independence with safe, new energy solutions.

The Inflation Reduction Act also cuts the deficit by more than $300 billion. We are not ignoring the problem. We are trying to address it seriously--the smart way to reduce the deficit: cut where you can, invest where you must, and make sure it is fair for middle-class and lower income families, not a boondoggle for the superrich in America.

President Biden kept his promise to not raise taxes on anyone making under $400,000. Democrats added a 15-percent minimum tax for wealthy corporations. It just was hard to take that these wealthy corporations and profitable corporations were paying nothing on taxes--that is right, nothing--leaving the middle class to pick up the tab in America.

Compare that to the new MAGA majority in the House. During their first week on the job, House Republicans proposed to increase the budget deficit by $100 billion by making it easier for wealthy individuals and big corporations to cheat on their taxes.

Think about this: The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says that the IRS has 2,284 fewer skilled auditors to handle the sophisticated returns of wealthy taxpayers than it did in 1954. Seventy years ago, we had fewer auditors.

I believe the vast majority of Americans does their level best to file an honest tax return and pay their fair share of taxes. It boils my blood and theirs, too, to think that the tax cheaters are getting off the hook because the cops are not on the beat.

Historically, Republicans have taken away those auditors; have taken away the checks of the big, wealthy individuals and corporations. And they, of course, are tempted to cheat. Why let that happen when the vast majority of American families is doing the right thing? House Republicans just voted for a bill that will add $100 billion to the deficit to take away these auditors. That is not the way to balance a budget, and it is not fair to American taxpayers.

If that is not enough, as part of the deal, Speaker McCarthy also promised MAGA hard-liners that the House would vote on that jumbo-sized national sales tax, which I spoke about. As Grover Norquist, who is quite a conservative and quite a man on the issue of taxes, said: It is a political gift to Biden and the Democrats to consider a national sales tax. Well, we say: If this is a gift, no thanks.

In the last 2 years, America's economy broke records and created 11 million jobs--the strongest job creation in the history of this Nation. The Nation's unemployment rate is near a 50-year low. Gas prices are finally coming down. Inflation is just starting to ease, and the deficit is going down. We need to keep the country and economy moving in the right direction, not devastate Social Security and Medicare and certainly not impose a national 30-percent sales tax.

Speaker McCarthy is meeting with President Biden tomorrow for the first time since he became Speaker. He needs to show up not just with platitudes but with a plan, in writing, as to what the Republicans want to put on the table.

What is the Republican plan? Are they going to cut Social Security and Medicare? Mr. McCarthy said ``no, no way,'' on a Sunday talk show this weekend, but the math doesn't add up for his fiscal goals unless he goes after the entitlement programs.

If you are going to do that, Speaker McCarthy, be honest with the American people. Are the Republicans planning to slash money for education? healthcare? veterans? transportation? clean water? In the first two decades of this century, thanks in large part to the National Institutes of Health, cancer deaths went down by almost one-third in the United States--saving an estimated 3.5 million lives. Are we going to cut medical research, Mr. Speaker?

Speaker McCarthy and MAGA Republicans need to level with the American people.

Speaker McCarthy, my ask is very simple: Put your plan on the table.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. 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.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the order of the Senate of January 24, 1901, the traditional reading of Washington's Farewell Address take place on Monday, February 27, 2023, immediately following the prayer and reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

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.

Madam President, I have one request for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, February 1; 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, that the Senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly Democratic caucus meeting.

Mr. President, rollcall votes are expected during Wednesday's session.

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 order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, as chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, I am responsible for legislation in the Senate relative to law enforcement and criminal justice. It is an awesome responsibility, and I think about it quite a bit because the first thing all of us want is the safety of our families and our communities. It is the first question asked: How safe is that area of Chicago? How safe is that part of Springfield? It is a reality, and it is a natural reaction.

I have had, during the course of my congressional career, the opportunity to meet many of the men and women in law enforcement. Let me tell you, there are some outstanding people who literally get up in the morning and put on that badge and risk their lives. They go out for just a routine traffic stop, and they could end up dead. That is the reality of police work in a dangerous world, particularly in a world awash with guns, as we are in the United States.

Having said that, acknowledging that reality, I also know that there are cops who are doing terrible things. That was brought home to America vividly over the last several days. You see, videotapes and DNA evidence have changed our conversation about law enforcement and justice. We now know just what happened--not an account of what happened; we know what happened. We see it on videotapes over and over and over again. And we know sometimes that people who have been found guilty of crimes and are serving long sentences--it turns out the DNA evidence proves it couldn't possibly have been them who were responsible. It is a gross miscarriage of justice for the person who is incarcerated--and even worse, the fact that the person who is culpable, blamable, who should be prosecuted, may somewhere be on the loose. Videotape and DNA have changed it.

Many Americans are struggling with feelings of grief and disbelief after they watched the videotapes of Tyre Nichols being beaten to death by a group of Memphis police officers.

Mr. Nichols, a 29-year-old father of a young son, worked the second shift at a FedEx facility with his stepfather. He loved skateboarding and photography. He loved his mother so much, he had her name tattooed on his arm. He had no criminal record. One friend told a reporter Mr. Nichols was even thinking about being a police officer to try to make the system better from the inside.

The videotapes of the deadly assault on Mr. Nichols by Memphis police officers on January 7 are horrific and sickening. They show at least five officers attacking Mr. Nichols with their fists, boots, batons, Tasers, and pepper spray, while yelling contradictory orders to him. They continued pummeling Mr. Nichols even as he screamed in pain, begged them to stop, and called out for his mother. One officer kicked him in the head so hard that the officer was limping afterwards.

When the beating was over, another officer propped an apparently unconscious Tyre Nichols up against the side of the squad car while the others laughed, fist-bumped, and tried to justify their awful behavior.

It took 20 minutes for an ambulance to arrive, even longer for medical aid to be rendered. Tyre Nichols died 3 days later in a Memphis hospital. An independent autopsy revealed he had ``suffered extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating.''

The killing of Tyre Nichols follows years of devastating tragedies and needless loss. Who can ever forget George Floyd? When I saw the videotape of what happened to him and saw that policeman with his knee on his neck stare straight at the camera--I will never forget that. Or Breonna Taylor, shot in her apartment.

In my own home State of Illinois, Laquan McDonald. A videotape that was held back from the public for over a year finally was brought to light, and people saw that he was shot in the back repeatedly, over and over again. There are so many others. For George Floyd, he was murdered as he lay on a curb in Minneapolis. Tyre Nichols was chased down and beaten to death.

Black Americans in particular are forced to live through trauma with every new incident of police violence.

I applaud the Shelby County district attorney for moving swiftly in seeking the indictment of the five police officers. A sixth officer connected to the incident was suspended today.

I agree with the attorney for Mr. Nichols' family, Ben Crump, that the response by prosecutors could be a ``blueprint'' for how such cases should be handled in the future if, inevitably, there are such cases.

We shouldn't wait for months to bring charges. There is no excuse for delayed justice when the heinous acts occur and the facts are as clear as the videotape.

I also want to extend my deepest condolences to Mr. Nichols' family, especially his mom and his stepfather, who have responded with dignity and grace to this unimaginable ordeal.

Before the videotapes were released, they called repeatedly for protests to be peaceful. I would like to think that I would have the strength to do that, having just lost my son in those circumstances, but the Nichols family did, and throughout our Nation, almost without exception, their wishes have been respected.

But prosecutions and peaceful protests cannot be the only response to this tragedy. Americans--especially Black Americans--are exhausted by the injustice of officers who abuse their authority. They are tired of the systemic failures that can lead to a young man being beaten to death after a questionable traffic stop.

As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I am committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to finally confront these problems with meaningful legislation.

We need to have an honest conversation with law enforcement officers about screening, training, inherent bias, use of force, and consequences for unjust actions.

We need to prohibit deadly and dishonorable police misconduct. We must recruit and train the next generation of law enforcement to protect and serve everyone in America: Black, White, Brown, and everything in between.

We have made some very modest progress. Last December, Congress enacted and the President signed a bill on

law enforcement deescalation training. It provides for grants and training for law enforcement deescalation tactics. It is not enough. We must do more.

In the last Congress, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey led an effort to build bipartisan support for policing reform legislation that national police groups and civil rights advocates could endorse. He worked with Tim Scott, a Republican Senator from South Carolina.

They invited me and Senator Lindsey Graham into their deliberations. They were close to making some progress toward our goals, but even if you look at their goals, which I believe were good, they are not enough. Simply to say we are going to ban choke holds or we are going to deal with warrantless searches in a different way doesn't get to the heart of the issue. What is in the mind of these policemen when they are executing their job, doing their duty? Is it the right way to approach things?

These efforts must continue now anew. We owe it to all of the families who have lost loved ones in these horrible acts of brutality and to the families who fear that their loved ones could be next to pass a law that will help ensure justice and accountability in our policing system.

The vast majority of law enforcement officers are appalled and angered by the deaths of Mr. Nichols and others. They deserve our thanks, and I believe they will support bipartisan efforts to prevent such abuses and punish those who commit them.

As I mentioned, Tyre Nichols loved photography. He loved photographing the world as he saw it. One of his favorite images--which appears again and again in his photos--was the image of a bridge. It is time for Members of the Senate to bridge our differences and pass policing reform so that Tyre Nichols' death will not have been in vain.

I yield the floor.

I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker), the Senator from Maryland (Mr. Cardin), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), and the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) are necessarily absent.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.