Floor Statements

I announce that the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Bennet), the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Coons), the Senator from Michigan (Mr. Peters), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen), and the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Wyden) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Michigan (Mr. Peters), the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen), the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Wyden), the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Coons), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Bennet) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Bennet), the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Coons), the Senator from Michigan (Mr. Peters), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen), and the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Wyden) are necessarily absent.

Mr. President, I would like to comment on the statement on Israel just made by my friend and colleague from the State of Wyoming.

I am proud of the fact that President Harry Truman was the first President to recognize Israel's right to exist, and I certainly concur with that sentiment to this day. The creation of the State of Israel after World War II was almost inevitable if this group of people were to exist.

The Holocaust was a reminder of the prejudice against many of the Jewish faith and the enduring struggle which they have been engaged in for decades, if not centuries.

It was the right thing to do.

There have been times in history when Israel stood with us when we desperately needed their help, and there have been times when we have disagreed with their policy. That has never diminished, for me personally or for our Nation, our commitment to Israel's right to exist and our commitment to the values that Israel stands for in the Middle East and around the world.

What happened on October 7 was horrific--horrific. Some 1,200 innocent Israelis were killed, butchered, murdered by terrorists under the flag of the Hamas movement. And, unfortunately, they took hostages as well. I don't know the exact number, but I believe it was over 250 hostages who were taken. Some still remain in captivity under the control of Hamas.

Israel is defending itself, and it has a right to do that. Israel certainly has a right to exist, and no terrorist organization on its border should be allowed to do so with impunity.

My concern--and it was expressed graphically, dramatically, in last Sunday's ``60 Minutes'' program. I commend that program to those who would like to see what is happening on the ground in Gaza.

It is estimated that 50,000 people have been killed or seriously wounded among the Palestinians. That goes way beyond any members of Hamas or any terrorist organization. They are innocent people, the Palestinians in the Gaza area, who are simply trying to exist. They are fighting every possible element, not only an act of war with armaments killing innocent people, a large number being women and children, but also the fact that they are restrained from leaving that area and going to surrounding countries, which don't want to see the controversy exported to their borders.

Secondly, there is the simple question of humanitarian assistance for the people in Gaza. There is a disparity in the reports from the area. Some report that the humanitarian aid is being held back from the Palestinians--innocent Palestinians--to the detriment of their hospitals and feeding their people. Some suggest that a famine is underway in some parts of Gaza.

I don't have any personal knowledge, but, I will tell you, the scenes that were depicted last Sunday on ``60 Minutes'' are heartbreaking.

Two doctors from Chicago had gone there risking their lives to volunteer to try to save the children and those who have been the victims of Israeli bombing. And I am sorry to say they have not been as successful as they would have liked to have been. But they reported to us graphically what is going on there with the lack of medical supplies, the lack of hospitals and basic food and sustenance that is needed by the people in that area.

By every single measure, this war has to end. If it is going to continue until every Hamas terrorist is killed, I am afraid there will be thousands and thousands of innocent Palestinians lost in the process. Why? Because the Hamas soldiers hide themselves among the general population and use them as their shield. It is a dastardly, deadly strategy which has cost so many lives.

Those of us who voted to restrain the weapons that were going to be sent by the United States to Israel did it with the understanding that there were particular weapons--for example, the detonation bombs that weigh a ton or more--that could kill innocent people and have, over and over again.

This war must come to an end. This cease-fire should be resumed, and the hostages returned immediately--all hostages returned immediately. I am not making any excuse for Hamas, but I have to tell you, after meeting with the doctors who have been there, it breaks my heart to think this continues every day, and innocent people are in the midst of this gunfire and losing their lives.

Whatever your cause may be, wherever you stand politically, we should all keep them in mind as we decide what our future course of action will be.

Mr. President, on a separate topic, I want to address the Trump tariff tax--Trump tariff tax. It started this week. It is already changing not only the economy of the United States but the world. It has been a reckless undertaking, creating pure chaos.

I received a phone call yesterday from a business leader. I won't identify him, but he was desperate. He said to me: President Trump and his people don't understand a supply chain. I am not selling T-shirts, he said. I am selling sophisticated products that require chemicals and electronics that are rare to find. And, sadly, some of the minerals which are desperately needed in my production effort are virtually controlled by China.

Well, naturally, with the battle over the tariffs underway, China has decided to cut off American manufacturers from the availability of those critical chemicals, and that means restraining the production in the United States of some very important and worthwhile products.

He said to me: What am I supposed to do?

I said: I don't know.

I don't know if anybody in this administration has thought through what they have started.

We clearly may reach a point soon--and I hope it happens--where Donald Trump says: Fine, I want to declare victory. We are going to reverse course. It is going to be business as usual between the United States and the world.

I think it is highly unlikely that he will do it, but anything is possible with this man.

This much I do know: The damage Donald Trump has done to the international reputation of the United States is immeasurable. You see the leaders in these countries and what they are saying. They thought that they were close friends and allies of the United States, and now they appear to be adversaries, and there is a strategy underway to punish them.

Canada, for goodness' sake? Is that what the last election was about--our relationship with Canada? I consider Canada not only a good neighbor but a great neighbor, an ally of the United States, a partner of the United States, over and over again, when we have engaged in conflict. And to say now that we are virtually in an economic war with Canada is unimaginable. What is going on with this administration?

And, of course, there are many other countries as well.

The European Union will never be the same in terms of its relationship with the United States. And I can't blame them at all. They are basically saying: We cannot trust the United States' leadership, if Donald Trump can do this to us, in a matter of weeks, as the new President of the United States.

We have seen the tariff in China go from 34 percent to 104 percent, and the Chinese are going to make us pay for that, as they have promised they would.

I am not surprised. If the shoe were on the other foot, that is exactly what

we would be saying too: You can't push us around. We are a sovereign nation.

So what is the difference here between making a speech on the floor of the Senate and actually doing something to impact this tariff war that Donald Trump has started? The difference is four--four Members of the U.S. Senate on the Republican side.

If any four will step forward and say: Enough. We have a constitutional opportunity and responsibility when it comes to tariffs and our dealings with foreign countries, and we, as four Republicans, will join with the Democrats in engaging in a bipartisan discussion over how to go forward from here. If they don't step up--if four Republicans don't step up--then Donald Trump will continue this tariff war at the expense of American businesses and American workers and American taxpayers and our reputation in the world. That much is at stake.

Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley law, which imposed tariffs on the world in June of 1930, and then President Hoover went fishing. President Trump signed off on these massive tariffs and went on to play golf at Mar-a-Lago. I don't get it.

This is the most serious economic and trade situation we have faced in modern times. Businesses are desperate looking around at how to resolve this in a fashion to keep themselves in business and to employ critical employees. This is the moment when we should be gathering together and talking about, specifically, where we are headed. But the best I can tell is that we are putting at risk our constancy, our reliability, and the trust of nations all around the world because of this undertaking.

If the President Trump tariff tax continues unabated, it is going to destroy this economy--period, end of quote. We are dealing with many people who feel that we are already in a recession or headed to one quickly.

Will there be four Republicans who will step up and say: Stop. We cannot do this without some thoughtful consideration of what impact it is going to have on our economy?

If four of them will step up in the House and four in the Senate, we can make history together on a bipartisan basis and come up with something that is thoughtful and avoids this terrible chaos and the reckless conduct of this administration to date.

President Trump has played many roles in his career. He played a billionaire real estate mogul on the hot, hit reality show ``The Apprentice.'' On January 6, 2021, he played a cheerleader, ramping up an angry mob of insurrectionists to storm the U.S. Capitol. But his latest role may be the most outlandish. He calls himself a doctor.

On Thursday, after the President's so-called ``Liberation Day'' of tariffs, he took to social media to announce to the world:

I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand) and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily absent.

Mr. President, I am the son of an immigrant from East St. Louis, IL. As a reminder to myself, I keep my mother's naturalization certificate on a table behind my desk in the U.S. Capitol. She came to the United States from Lithuania, fleeing oppression from the Soviet Union, when she was just 2 years old. Little did she know that her youngest son would go on to become a U.S. Senator.

This might be my personal story as the son of an immigrant, but it also is the story of America--the American dream. You can find stories like this everywhere, even in places you might least expect them. Take the story of McDonald's. Next week, McDonald's is celebrating 70 years of selling hamburgers, strengthening communities, and connecting people. Since 1971, Illinois has been home to the headquarters of McDonald's, but the multibillion-dollar hamburger chain's history with the Prairie State does not begin there.

In the 1920s, Richard ``Dick'' and Maurice ``Mac'' McDonald, two sons of Irish immigrants, headed to California to try their luck in Hollywood. By the 1940s, they had pivoted to the drive-in restaurant industry, opening their first McDonald's restaurant in San Bernardino, CA. With their simple menu and signature Speedee Service System to efficiently serve a large number of customers, McDonald's soon became the talk of California. It was a success, and people noticed.

One of those people was Ray Kroc, a traveling salesman from Oak Park, IL. Kroc also was the son of immigrants, his parents were born in Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic. Ray became enamored by Dick and Mac's business model and had a vision of expanding the chain across the Nation--with a goal of opening 1,000 restaurants in the U.S. Before long, Ray returned to Chicago with the rights in hand to establish McDonald's restaurants throughout the country. On April 15, 1955, Kroc opened his first McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, IL--the City of Destiny. Its first day of sales was $366.12, equivalent to about $4,374 today. A global franchise was born.

While this liberal arts lawyer is far from a high-rolling stock broker, I am not shy to say that I knew McDonald's was going to be a success. Not because of any sophisticated financial analysis or detailed market research--I just knew the McDonald's in East St. Louis was one of the few restaurants that always had a line.

Today, McDonald's operates 36,000 restaurants in more than 100 nations, and it bolsters economies across the country and world. And there are few more recognizable logos than the McDonald's Golden Arches. Crisscrossing the State of Illinois requires driving hundreds of miles on interstate highways. And after long stretches on the road, I have made my fair share of stops at the Golden Arches. So many stops, in fact, that my wife Loretta and my chief of staff conspired to institute a rule: No more pit stops at McDonald's.

You also are sure find McDonald's on your international travels. In fact, I remember being in Moscow when the first McDonald's opened in Pushkin Square. It was January 31, 1990, and I remember seeing the dreary grey colors of the former Soviet Union punctuated by the Golden Arches. It was a vision of hope for many, representing the possibilities available under a free society.

But the reach of McDonald's goes beyond hamburgers and french fries. If you are a parent whose child is dealing with the devastation of illness, you have heard of Ronald McDonald House. Providing housing, resources, and support for families with children who are ill or injured, the nearly hundreds of Ronald McDonald House programs across the world keep families traveling for their child's medical needs cared for and together. And McDonald's helps make this effort a reality.

The story of McDonald's is one of three sons of immigrants using their drive, ingenuity, and ambition to go from a local drive-in restaurant to one of the most profitable businesses the world has ever known. While the days of 15-cent hamburgers and 20-cent cheeseburgers may be gone, the economic contributions and storied history of McDonald's continues to strengthen Illinois and our Nation. I am grateful Chicago is home to such a treasured American franchise that reminds us of the promise of America.

Congratulations to McDonald's on 70 years of leaving a lasting impact.

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 (Mrs. Duckworth) is necessarily absent.

Mr. President, the Senator has left the floor, but to follow up on the comments of the Senator of North Carolina, I would just say that we should all be reminded of the fact that half of the people in America do not know that their futures lie in the Dow Jones average. They may not own stock or they may own it in a retirement account and not follow the stock market on a day-to-day basis. What they do worry about is whether or not they have enough money for groceries and gasoline for the car, to pay the rent or the mortgage, and perhaps to sock away a little money for the educations of their kids. Those are the fundamentals.

I think many of them are concerned, as I am, that the volatility of our economy, at this point, does not point in the right direction. It raises a question as to whether or not decisions are being made, particularly on tariffs, that are going to have an impact on ordinary working American families--a negative impact on that basis. I think that we all want to be sensitized to that fact.

You can watch CNBC, and you can commune with the economists of note, but for most people, it is pretty basic: Do I have enough money to get to the next paycheck? A lot of people struggle with that every single day. That is the reality that we are faced with.