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.

I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Duckworth) is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Duckworth) is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Duckworth) is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Duckworth) is necessarily absent.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I would like to insert an opportunity to speak for 5 minutes after Senator McConnell and then yield to the Senator from Oklahoma for 45 minutes.

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, on Monday April 9, 2018, at 7:07 a.m., a tiny little message to the Senate arrived: Maile Pearl Bowlsbey became the very first baby born to a Senator, bringing joy to her father Bryan and to her amazing mother, my colleague, Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth.

With this blessed arrival, this Chamber faced the reality of Senate parenthood. And tonight, just moments ago, we made the decision to allow Maile to help us make Senate history. Tonight we changed the standing rules of the Senate so that Senator Duckworth, and any other Senator who has an infant, can bring their child to the floor of the Senate during a vote.

Senator Duckworth can keep her responsibility under our Constitution and vote as a Senator without giving up her responsibility as a mom at that moment.

I think it will do us good in the Senate every once in a while to see a pacifier next to the antique ink wells on our desks or a diaper bag next to one of these brass spittoons which sits on the floor--thank goodness, never used. Perhaps, the occasional cry of a baby will shock the Senate at times into speaking up and even crying out on the issues that confront our Nation and the world.

We certainly revere history in the Senate, but part of our history is recognizing change--the change that brought the first woman to the Senate, the change that brought disabled people to the floor of the Senate, and changes that will come to it in the future. These adaptations have made us a better Senate and more reflective of the people we serve.

I just can't say enough about my colleague Senator Tammy Duckworth, an amazing woman who served her country, activated in the Illinois National Guard as a helicopter pilot in Iraq. When a grenade was shot into the cockpit and blew up and caused her grievous injuries, many people wondered if she would survive. She not only survived, but she prospered. She is determined and brave. She now is the mother of two little girls--something just short of a miracle--and that motherhood is something that is a source of great joy to all of us who count Tammy as a friend and a colleague and a great leader in the Senate.

Let me also give special recognition to two of my colleagues who made this resolution possible. Senator Amy Klobuchar worked closely with Tammy

Duckworth on this issue and is our ranking Democrat on the Senate Rules Committee. Amy put in a lot of hours and good humor, and I thank her from the bottom of my heart for helping our colleague. And special thanks to Senator Roy Blunt, the Republican chairman of the Senate Rules Committee. Roy Blunt told me from the start: I support this resolution. It will come right out of the Rules Committee to the floor so we can move on it quickly. When Tammy Duckworth returns from maternity leave, we will be able to accommodate her little girl and, if it becomes necessary, to bring her to the floor during the course of a vote.

Let me close by saying that today we officially say to Maile Pearl Bowlsbey: Welcome to the world and welcome to the U.S. Senate.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, today, as millions of Americans in Illinois and across the Nation finish filing their taxes, I come to the floor to discuss the most recent tax reform bill considered by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

Last year, Republicans followed through with their promise and used a special procedural approach called reconciliation, which allowed them to bring a tax reform plan to the floor outside of regular order and without committee hearings and the ordinary amendment-invoked process. Democrats were not really participants in this but only observers, under the reconciliation process. That tax plan has now become the law of the land, and now we know what it is doing. It has created a massive tax giveaway to the largest multinational corporations, to the wealthiest corporate CEOs, and to well-connected campaign donors.

In passing this plan, Republicans said that if they could just cut taxes enough for large corporations, these corporations would invest in America, give breaks to their employees, and create more employment. The benefits of these tax breaks to the corporations supposedly would trickle down to workers in the form of higher wages, and the economy would explode, creating new jobs.

The tax plan was voted on favorably by every Republican in the U.S. Senate, and it added $1.5 trillion to the national debt, to fund these massive corporate tax cuts. So what did the corporations do with their tax cut benefits? They turned around and took their taxpayer-funded tax cut and gave their wealthy CEOs and shareholders a raise. So far, in 2018, large corporations have announced over $235 billion in stock buybacks--far outpacing the rate of companies announcing one-time bonuses for their workers. Not only that, but more than 100,000 employees in large corporations have actually been terminated. You couldn't get further from tax relief for working families if you tried.

It gets worse. The Congressional Budget Office reported last week that the Republican tax plan will actually cost another $300 billion beyond the $1.5 trillion estimate. Our children and grandchildren will pay off the cost of this tax cut for the wealthiest people in America and the largest corporations. So much for the promise that these tax cuts would pay for themselves. It will cost us roughly $1.9 trillion over 10 years for these tax cuts for major corporations and wealthy people. This is a burden our children and grandchildren will bear.

So what are we hearing now when it comes to the budget? Just last week, after seeing that the plan they voted for was expected to add $1.9 trillion to the deficit, Republican Tennessee Senator Corker said: ``If it ends up costing what has been laid out here, it could well be one of the worst votes I've made.''

The so-called fiscal conservatives here in the Senate didn't seem as concerned about the deficit when they

were voting for a 10-figure increase that would go to cut taxes for wealthy people and large corporations. But make no mistake--as predictably as night follows day, we now have a renewed call in the House of Representatives for a budget amendment--a constitutional, balanced budget, ``stop me before I sin again'' amendment. Now that Republicans have exploded the deficit, the absolutely vital public assistance programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are now at risk. If there is a balanced budget amendment, they have said that we have to get to the basic programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to make up the difference. I think it is unconscionable to give tax breaks to people who are well off and comfortable and then to cut the basics of human existence for many senior citizens in Social Security and Medicare.

The devastating first act of the Republican tax plan and fiscal conservatives, as they define it, has exploded our Nation's deficit and provided enormous benefit to those who, frankly, don't need it. We can't let the second act be a balanced budget constitutional amendment that will end up pillaging the basic programs that help low- and middle-income Americans the most in the name of fiscal responsibility.

I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Duckworth) is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Duckworth), is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Duckworth) is necessarily absent.