Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call in relation to the Davis nomination.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the scheduled rollcall vote begin immediately.

Mr. President, we are down to the 34th day of this partial government shutdown. For 34 days, the men and women who are serving our Federal Government at DHS have been forced to work without pay and without certainty about their future.

As I said on the floor yesterday, this is the third time in the last 6 months that the hard-working Americans who work to keep us safe every day have had to worry about how they are going to pay mortgages, pay rent, buy gas, and bring home groceries to feed their kids. I think that is clearly unfair, and it is un-American.

And while the American people are standing in line for hours at the airport and watching this unfold on the evening news, they are asking a reasonable question: What do Democrats actually want to accomplish by shutting down the Department of Homeland Security?

Yesterday, I talked about some of the stories of TSA agents. They are not

getting paid. They are worried about their mortgages, their rent, putting food on the table. They can't send their kids to camp. They can't go on vacation. And I think, in 5 days, on the 27th, they lose a full paycheck.

But let's talk about some of the other people.

Let me talk about Ambria Britt. In a CNN story published yesterday, Ambria Britt, who has multiple sclerosis and cannot stand for long periods, told a reporter that she was forced to pay a stranger to push her wheelchair through the jammed line.

She arrived at Hartfield-Jackson Airport on Friday, expecting to use the accessibility line like she normally does. Instead, she found pure chaos. On Friday, in Atlanta, the line spilled out of the security checkpoint, past the main security screening area, and into the airport's atrium. Unable to stand, she had to pay a complete stranger to push her wheelchair through the jam.

She said: Normally, I just go straight through.

She told CNN: I just don't understand. Pay your workers, because we need them.

Ambria is right. People do not understand why Democrats are forcing this on them. I think we owe it to folks to expose the why behind this terrible shutdown because the answer matters.

Thankfully, my colleague from Vermont recently gave us an answer to this question during his recent appearance on C-SPAN's ``Ceasefire'' program.

Now, the junior Senator from Vermont is a wonderful person to work with. We have worked on bills together during my time at the Senate, and I always felt like I could have good conversations with him about the issues.

But what he said to C-SPAN is pretty revealing. He gave the rest of us a peek--a peek--into the thinking behind Democrats' deciding to shut down DHS. So let's take his statements one by one.

The junior Senator from Vermont began by saying:

In all candor, with what has happened with ICE, I think it

is very hard for us to come to some agreement.

Now, that is honesty. It has been clear to me and a lot of people for a long time, that Democrats do not have any intention of working with Republicans to find common ground on reforming ICE operations.

President Trump has made offer after offer to Democrats to address their concerns with ICE. I know the junior Senator from Alabama has tried to meet with them multiple times. President Trump is trying to meet this moment with reasonable reforms to how ICE operates.

Unfortunately, my Democrat colleagues won't engage. In fact, they have only met with Republicans to negotiate one time.

Now, it is clear why. As the junior Senator from Vermont said, there isn't a belief among Democrats that they will accept any term proposed by Republicans.

So we have now established that this shutdown isn't about working in a bipartisan way to solve problems.

Let's move to the next statement from my colleague from Vermont.

He said:

The other reality is that ICE got forward funded, about 3

years, in the One Big Beautiful Bill. So this is--ironically,

it's not really affecting ICE.

Here, the junior Senator from Vermont is admitting that this shutdown, which Democrats caused by claiming that they needed to defund ICE to force bipartisan reforms, isn't actually impacting ICE agents at all.

Now, the folks at ICE that don't only work in law enforcement are being hurt. Now, there are a lot of people at ICE that are not law enforcement. They aren't covered by the money my colleague referenced in the Big Beautiful Bill. So the support staff, the public affairs staff, HR, IT professionals, leadership--none of them, it is my understanding, are being paid, in addition, more than 50,000 TSA agents that aren't getting paid--they are all being hurt by the Democrat DHS shutdown.

Just to make sure we are all keeping track, the junior Senator from Vermont said:

In all candor, with what has happened with ICE, I think it

is very hard for us to come to some agreement.

Then he said:

The . . . reality is that ICE got forward funded . . .

three years, in the One Big Beautiful Bill so this is,

ironically, it's not really affecting ICE.

So in these two sentences, my Democratic colleague from Vermont has now said that Democrats don't have the intention of reaching a bipartisan solution with Republicans. And he knows that the Agencies at the center of this dispute--ICE and CBPs--are not running out of money. They are fine.

Now, there are people at ICE and CBP who are not getting paid, and yet here we are. TSA agents, most of the people at DHS, everyone at ICE who isn't law enforcement, they are going hungry. You heard the stories. They don't have the money to pay their rent, pay their mortgages, put food on the table, pay for dance recitals, pay for camps, pay for sports--none of these things.

Now, here is what he said next:

If we were able to open up the rest of government and focus

on the ICE issue, it may allow us then to have a discussion

that I think is overdue. The border is secure now. It wasn't

under Biden. You say that and that's true.

So we know that. We know that, under Biden, the border was completely wide open and criminals just flocked into this country and not one of my Democratic colleagues said a word. They never want to talk about Laken Riley, Rachel Morin, Jocelyn Nungaray--murdered by illegal aliens.

Now, he ended his point by saying this:

It's ripe for us to have a sensible discussion about a

reasonable immigration plan, in a reasonable way to deal with

folks who don't have legal status.

Now, I am from a State that we have a lot of immigrants, right? I believe in immigration reform. I am always willing to have a conversation about it. I have actually proposed changes to TPS. I have proposed things that have always been blocked by my Democratic colleagues.

And we ought to fix our immigration system so the only people that come into our country are people who actually want to work, not go on American programs, and want to help build our capitalist country. I think that is the ones who should be allowed in. Unfortunately, that is not the type of reform the Democrats are holding out for. They want amnesty.

My friend, the junior Senator from Vermont, is talking about amnesty. He is talking about using a government shutdown, using the paychecks of TSA workers, using 3- or 4-hour security lines, using the pain felt by disabled Americans like Ambria Britt who had to pay a stranger to push her wheelchair through security as leverage--as leverage--to open a conversation about amnesty to people who are in this country illegally.

And here is the part that should make every American's blood boil: There is no Democratic proposal. I haven't seen it.

Mr. President, have you seen it? I haven't seen a proposal. I haven't seen anything--no plan, no bill, no written offer. Weeks and weeks of offers from the White House and dozens of failed Senate votes, and the American people still cannot read a single piece of paper that says what Democrats actually want.

The only thing Democrats keep harping on is banning ICE from wearing masks, so let's dig into that point now. This is important because it really exposes the disconnect between political posturing and human consequences. Democrat Senators introduced legislation to ban ICE agents from wearing masks during enforcement operations and required them to display their names or badge numbers at all times. House Democrats introduced a companion bill, and several States introduced or passed similar measures.

Now, on the surface, this sounds like accountability, right? I actually agree with making sure badges are visible for uniformed law enforcement officers. That seems like a commonsense idea to me, but let's talk about ICE agents not being allowed to wear a mask.

Now, there are radical anti-ICE activists. You might know that, Mr. President; I think most people do, right? They are all over the country. They have built and maintained websites that catalog photographs of alleged ICE employees organized by State, searchable by region. That should scare us. They encourage their fellow activists to hunt our law enforcement and give them all the tools to do so.

Now, here is what has already happened: ICE has reported a 1,000- percent increase--that is a tenfold increase--in assaults on officers. That is even more than tenfold, isn't it? Yeah, tenfold. And an 8,000- percent increase in death threats against officers and their families.

A Dallas gunman fired multiple rounds at an ICE field office from a nearby rooftop and used apps specifically to track the locations of ICE agents before the attack. In San Francisco and LA, a mob surrounded ICE agents in the street and at their offices. These agents were assaulted and threatened.

Now, ICE agents are just like you and me. They are normal Americans. They have got families, and they love their kids. If they have grandkids, they love their grandkids. They have great neighbors, great friends, and they are simply doing the job that they were hired to do to keep every American safe.

They are doing what police do, what sheriffs do: They are working every day to enforce the laws of this country that we pass, but many of my Democratic colleagues want to see them as monsters.

Now, here is the difference: The TSA workers, they are going to work every day enforcing the laws, trying to keep us safe, and they are under a lot of stress because they are not getting paid. The ICE agents might be getting paid right now, but they are being attacked by-- Democrats act like they are monsters. Their families are worried about them. They are worried about getting a threatening midnight phone call because an activist website posted their loved one's photograph and home address, so their families are worried.

That is what the mask ban would enable--not accountability; exposure. And for people who are already doing their jobs under impossible conditions, that additional threat is not a policy debate; it is a danger to their life.

Now, let's be clear: I don't think any of us want ICE to wear masks. I wish they didn't have to. But if wearing a mask keeps a law enforcement officer and their family safe from being attacked by radical anti-ICE activists, I am all for it.

Now, I support measures that keep our police accountable to the people they serve and protect. I believed that when I was Governor. We started bringing body cameras in when I was Governor of Florida. The White House has proposed body cameras, and I completely agree with that proposal. Cameras create accountability.

When I just flew through the Denver airport, I saw a couple of the law enforcement officers. They had cameras, and they thought it was the greatest thing in the world--complete accountability for everybody, them and for the public. Cameras create accountability through recorded evidence and supervisor review without turning every officer into a target for harassment and violence.

Democrats still impress that they want to ``have a conversation.'' They want to ``discuss.'' Meanwhile, most of the more than 260,000 workers at the Department of Homeland Security are going without paychecks, and your gate security lines stretch around the block.

Now, Democrats can disagree with us on immigration enforcement, and that is their right. But shutting down an entire Federal Agency, refusing to pay the hundreds of thousands of people who simply want to show up and serve the Federal Government by protecting the American people all to force a so-called negotiation on immigration policy that we have never seen written down, that is not governance; that is hostage-taking.

And let me remind you: The average salary of a TSA agent--Mr. President, what do you think the average salary is? $50,000. Now, these are the folks Democrats are withholding paychecks from, Americans making about $50,000 a year.

What do we make? U.S. Senators, we make 174,000 bucks a year. And I have tried--I have had a bill--No Budget, No Pay. My Democratic colleagues have always blocked it because they refuse to go without being paid, but they are OK with other people not being paid. So while the folks at TSA are working-class Americans fighting every day to live their dreams, guess what the average net worth for a Democrat in the Senate is? About $3 million.

Now, I am not here to shame anybody. I am glad they worked hard, they got rich, they have been successful in life. I worked my butt off, I have been very successful, and I don't apologize for it for a second. But in addition to donating my entire Senate salary every year, I am also not the one sitting here today denying a paycheck to the more than 260,000 hard-working Americans at DHS.

Now, I think my Democratic colleagues ought to have skin in the game. The last time Democrats shut down the government and hurt our Federal workers, one of my Democratic colleagues said that he couldn't go without his Senate paycheck because he has a mortgage to pay. Well, guess what? So does every Federal employee at DHS. They are either probably paying the rent or they have a mortgage. The people Democrats aren't paying right now, they have bills to pay.

It frustrates me, it makes me sick that a Member of the U.S. Senate that voted to say somebody else can't get paid, they said they have to get paid. I think that is insulting. Imagine how it makes someone at TSA feel to hear that: A U.S. Senator needs to get his paycheck when he is making 174,000 bucks, but you at DHS, good luck. I think that is pretty disgusting. I don't think, if Congress shuts down the government, Members should get paid.

Now, I have a bill to make that happen. I had a colleague that had a similar bill earlier today. My No Budget, No Pay Act would keep everyone in this Chamber from getting a paycheck if we can't provide them to the hard-working men and women who work in our Federal Government.

Look, I think there needs to be personal consequences for politicians that want to play games with other people's lives and cut off their paychecks, so I think we need to pass my No Budget, No Pay Act. Again, this is a simple proposal that says if Members of Congress can't complete our basic constitutional job of funding the government--the whole government, not part, not some but all of it--we shouldn't get paid.

So I urge my colleagues to consider this: What about the mortgages of DHS workers? What about their grocery bills? What about their kids' camp? What about their daughter's dance recital? I think we ought to care about them.

So I don't get it. I can't see how a Democratic colleague can get on a plane, fly home, probably go to the front of the line, look at these unpaid TSA agents in the eye, walk to the gate in front of all of them, pass Americans who just waited in line for 4 hours, and not feel some shame.

More than 260,000 American families are going without a paycheck, but my Democratic colleagues are still cashing theirs. Democrats shouldn't be shutting down the government and risking others' paychecks without being willing to put their paychecks on the line too.

So I am not going to ask for a UC, but I wish at some point we would pass my No Budget, No Pay Act so we all have skin in the game. If Republicans, Democrats--whoever--are going to shut down the government, then they ought to do the same thing that they are doing to other people to themselves.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today for the hard- working American families who are struggling to make ends meet. These are hard-working American families who are struggling to make ends meet because they are victims of Democrats' political theater.

I grew up in public housing and watched my parents struggle to make ends meet. I saw my adopted dad lose his job. I remember when my dad had his car repossessed.

When these things happened, I felt the panic my parents dealt with in trying to keep food on the table for me and my siblings when the next paycheck wasn't guaranteed. I don't wish

what my family went through on anyone. I actually ran for Governor of Florida and the U.S. Senate because I wanted to change this country so fewer families grow up with the struggle that mine did.

So it makes me furious to see what Democrats are doing right now with this political stunt of shutting down the Department of Homeland Security. It has been more than a month since this shutdown began. This is the third time in the last 6 months that the hard-working Americans who work to keep us safe each and every day had to worry about how they are going to pay mortgages, pay the rent, buy gas, bring home groceries to feed their kids.

It is unfair, and it is un-American.

I think every American has probably felt the squeeze from this shutdown when they go to the airport. TSA's staffing shortages have gone through the roof, and that has meant longer screening times at airports across the country.

Lines are stretching out the door and wait times are skyrocketing into hours. People in Atlanta are missing 6 a.m. flights when they showed up to the airport at 3 a.m. in the morning.

But the Federal employees--the ones who show up to work every day to keep the rest of us safe--are the ones going through the worst of all this shutdown.

A union official who represents workers at TSA said:

A lot of employees that I've talked to don't have any money

in their bank account. They've already missed half a check,

so they don't know what bill to pay.

This week in my State of Florida, the good folks over at Feeding South Florida distributed food to Federal workers who aren't being paid because of this reckless shutdown.

Think about the situation that Democrats in the Senate have put DHS workers in. What if your boss called you tonight and said: Listen, I need you to come in tomorrow. Your job is absolutely essential to the security of our Nation. We need you to help us keep people safe. Millions of people around America rely on you to show up so they can be safe.

But management decided not to pay you, and we don't know when management will decide to pay you.

What would you do? Who would you call? What would you do when your rent was due? How would you feed your family? What would you do about that car payment coming up? What would you tell your child when you couldn't afford their upcoming field trip or sports lessons or were forced to cancel the thing that your little boy or girl was really looking forward to?

These aren't hypothetical questions for the more than 50,000 TSA agents Democrats are forcing to work without pay right now. But don't just think of them as a number. These are Americans, and here are some of their stories.

Alondra Galvan is a single mom and a TSA officer currently working without pay because of the partial government shutdown. She has been working for TSA for 2 years. Here is what she said:

It's very frustrating for everything, from financial

restraints to mental instability. There's times at night I'm

like what am I going to do, how am I going to do it.

She says:

I'm a single mom right now. My son usually goes to spring

break camps, and I can't afford that right now because

there's no money coming in, and I just don't know what to do

anymore. There's no babysitter. I don't have money to pay a

babysitter, so it's all around bad.

She is not alone.

There are food banks for DHS employees springing up all over the country--in San Diego, Pittsburgh, Chattanooga. Demands have been so great in Las Vegas that supplies are now limited, and they are looking for more donations according to one report.

``Most people have drained through their emergency funds'' said TSA agent Johnny Jones.

``The majority of TSA agents live paycheck to paycheck'' he said.

``A lot of them still have loans or debts from the previous shutdown'' he said.

In Omaha, NE, one man started a GoFundMe page to raise donations so he can buy meals to deliver to TSA employees at Eppley Airfield.

Airports across the country are asking for gift card donations so the people who keep our economy going, the people who make it safe and possible for other Americans to visit their families, do business, or go on vacation can keep scraping by while Democrat politicians in this Chamber can put on a show for the news cameras and fight for illegal aliens.

In Nashville, one TSA supervisor noted people are ``starting to get eviction notices.''

She summed the entire situation up when she told the same newspaper ``We are forgotten.''

I want to tell you another story I read about in the Christian Science Monitor. In an article published 2 days ago, they wrote about a woman named Susan. That is not her real name. She asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution at work. Her story is real, and it is fully verifiable.

Susan is a single mother. She has a teenage son. Next month, she will mark her 10th anniversary as a TSA employee. That is 10 years of showing up, 10 years of being the one who checks the bags, scans the boarding passes, and stands between the traveling public and whatever threats might be lurking.

Before the longest government shutdown in American history last fall, the 43-day shutdown--Susan had finally paid off all of her debts--all of them.

For a single working mother, that is pretty amazing.

Susan went through years of sacrifice, years of careful budgeting, years of telling her son ``no'' or ``not yet.'' And she got there. She was debt-free.

Then the fall shutdown came and the one after that and now this one. Today, two of Susan's credit cards are maxed out. She has three- quarters of a tank of gas left and enough food in the house to make it until yesterday.

She has $1.15 in her bank account. Still, when talking to a reporter for the Christian Science Monitor, she said she was one of the more fortunate ones.

She said ``We just dig in and hope that we get paid before we get evicted and our cars get repossessed.''

Susan is still going to work every day. She is still showing up to protect the traveling public. She is doing it on empty pockets, maxed- out cards, and on borrowed time. She considers herself one of the lucky ones. Think about what that says about the people who are less fortunate than Susan.

Democrat Members of the U.S. Senate: These are our fellow citizens. These are patriotic people who made the decision to serve our Federal Government, and you are torturing them.

Meanwhile, every Democrat Senator who voted to start this shutdown is getting paid. The average salary of a TSA agent is around $50,000. U.S. Senators make $174,000. While the folks at TSA are working-class Americans fighting every day to live their dreams, the average net worth for a Democrat in the Senate is nearly $3 million.

I am not here to shame those who worked hard and have been successful in life. I worked my butt off during my life, and I have been very successful, and I don't apologize for it for a second. But in addition to donating my entire Senate salary every year, I am also not the one sitting here today denying a paycheck to more than 260,000 hard-working Americans at DHS.

The last time the Democrats shut down the government and hurt our Federal workers, one of my colleagues on the left said that he couldn't go without his Senate paycheck because he has a mortgage to pay. What the hell do you think the hard-working people at DHS have to do? They have bills to pay. They have mortgages. They have to pay the rent. They have to buy groceries.

It makes you sick. It makes you sick to hear a Member of the U.S. Senate who voted to not pay people say something so insulting. Imagine how it makes someone at TSA feel to hear that. A U.S. Senator needs to get his paycheck to pay his mortgage, but if you are at DHS, good luck. I think that is disgusting.

If Congress shuts down the government, Members shouldn't get paid. I have a bill to make sure that is how it works. My No Budget, No Pay Act would keep everyone in this Chamber from getting a paycheck if we can't provide them to the hard-working men and women who work in our Federal Government. There needs to be serious personal consequences for politicians that want to play games with people's lives and cut off their paychecks. We need to pass my No Budget, No Pay Act.

After hearing about the suffering Democrats have caused for the TSA agents that I talked about earlier, how can anyone here oppose this? Sadly, the answer to that question is the same as the answer to the question of how we got here in the first place.

I don't get it, but Democrats want to defund the police and shut down ICE and CBP. Why? Because the brave officers in these Agencies were simply doing their jobs and enforcing existing U.S. law.

Here is what happened: During the Biden administration, Democrats allowed the office and power of a mentally incapacitated President to be hijacked by unelected radical staffers. Once these staffers seized the levers of power without President Biden even realizing it, they opened our southern border and actually allowed or encouraged millions upon millions of illegal aliens to flood into the United States. They let criminals in, rapists, murderers, child abusers, drug dealers. They all flooded in. They let drugs pour over the border and poison the American people. And my Democrat colleagues did nothing to stop it.

It was a national disaster, and the American people saw that it was intentional and would ruin our Nation, so they elected President Trump. They elected President Trump to take the White House and Republicans to take control of Congress because the American people knew we would clean up Biden's mess and secure the border.

The agenda wasn't a surprise. President Trump ran on securing the border and getting criminal illegal aliens out of our country. It was probably the biggest reason they elected President Trump.

Now that he is executing on that agenda, I don't get it, but Democrats can't stand it. He is undoing all of their work to let illegal aliens flood across the border, and he is doing it without passing any new laws. He is simply allowing ICE and CBP to do their jobs and enforce the laws that are already on the books. It is incredible what simply letting people do their jobs can accomplish.

Now, because radical Democrat mayors and Governors won't work with ICE and in some cases are actively encouraging resistance against our Federal law enforcement, there has been conflict.

Two Americans, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, lost their lives in incidents with Federal agents. It is horrible. I wish it never happened in this country. My heart goes out to their families.

If we didn't have illegal sanctuary cities in the States, ICE would be able to peacefully detain individuals at jails. That is how we do it in Florida. We don't have issues with ICE. But there are liberal mayors and Governors who want to put the concerns of illegal aliens over American citizens and American law enforcement. It doesn't make any sense to me.

President Trump has made offer after offer to Democrats to address the concerns they have with ICE actions that they have forced to happen. President Trump is trying to meet this moment with reasonable reforms to how ICE operates. He has even said he will bring ICE agents to help our TSA agents. But Democrats aren't engaging.

There are violent illegal aliens in our country. We have to remove them. If you don't believe me, here are three names: Rachel Morin, Jocelyn Nungaray, Laken Riley. Rachel Morin, Jocelyn Nungaray, Laken Riley--a mother and a child and a college student--all murdered. Three lives that were shattered. Three families that were devastated. Why? Because of the horrific violence caused by an illegal alien.

These are the people that ICE is targeting, and in my mind, it is worth it. If ICE can save one person, if ICE can prevent another woman from facing the same fate as Rachel Morin, Jocelyn Nungaray, and Laken Riley, it is worth it.

I don't get it, but Democrats insist on protecting illegal aliens with sanctuary policies while they spit in the faces of American law enforcement officers who risk their lives every day, every single day, to keep us safe.

It is happening here just outside Washington. Last month, a 40-year- old mother from Fredericksburg, VA, was stabbed to death. She was stabbed to death while standing at a bus stop in Fairfax County, VA. Her name was Stephanie Minter.

On a Monday morning, a mother was ripped from her children by an illegal alien that officials in Virginia refused--they refused--to let ICE deport.

Stephanie's alleged killer had a long criminal record. He was a known violent criminal who Fairfax County described as being ``a danger to the community.'' But not only was he never handed over to ICE, he was let off the hook again and again. He had more than 30 arrests to his name--charges of malicious wounding, assault, drug possession, identity theft, firing a weapon, contributing to delinquency of a minor. Over and over, the charges were dropped, and he was released.

But this injustice in Fairfax County wasn't limited to the alleged killer who murdered Stephanie Minter. The Center for Immigration Studies found that from October 2022 through February 2025, the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center freed more than 1,000 deportable individuals in direct defiance of over 1,150 ICE detainers.

Fairfax County ranked third in the entire Nation for refusing to honor ICE detainer requests, and soon, all of Virginia could follow suit, because the same week that Stephanie Minter was murdered at that bus stop, new Governor Spanberger ordered the termination of all 287(g) agreements between State agencies and ICE.

Think about that for a second and ask yourself, how could this happen in America?

Sadly, this is the reality facing Americans in Democrat cities, counties, and States. According to DHS, sanctuary jurisdictions across the country declined to honor 17,864 ICE detainer requests in 2025 alone--nearly 18,000 in 1 year.

In California alone, over 4,500 criminal individuals have been released since January 2025 despite active ICE detainers. The crimes those individuals were associated with include homicides, assaults, burglaries, and sexual offenses.

In New York, ICE has documented cases where individuals with records including rape, strangulation, and burglary were repeatedly released by sanctuary policies.

First, Democrats pass sanctuary laws to protect violent illegals that they know their Soros-funded prosecutors won't go after. Now Democrats are trying to destroy ICE completely so that the very system of brave law enforcement officers, which was established to save the lives of individuals like Stephanie, Laken, Rachel, and Jocelyn, could no longer protect our families.

I don't know why the Democrats want to defund our law enforcement. I don't understand why they want to watch as TSA agents suffer without pay. I don't know why Democrats are fine seeing Americans wait hours in line for a flight. The thing I struggle with most is, I don't know why the left is so hell-bent on protecting illegal aliens while letting a mother like Stephanie Minter be stabbed to death at a bus stop. It doesn't make sense to me.

I think it is time for Democrats to come to their senses and fund

Mr. President, let's remember who shut down Homeland Security. The Democrats shut down Homeland Security. They voted to shut down Homeland Security. They wouldn't fund it, and they wouldn't fund it because they don't want ICE to be able to do their job. It is a problem the Democrats caused because the border was completely open for 4 years. So, if we do one part and don't do the rest, we know what is going to happen: ICE will never get funded.

With regard to masks, law enforcement does use masks because they have to protect their privacy sometimes. There is doxing going on. Think about it. All of us have security, probably. I have been swatted, and maybe

my colleagues have been swatted. Think about these agents. They don't have security at home when their families are at home. There are websites out there that, when they find a picture of an ICE agent, they are putting it up on these websites to try to intimidate their families and intimidate their kids.

Sure, I think we ought to always have reasonable restrictions on how law enforcement works. But ICE is busting their butt to solve a problem that was caused by having 4 years of completely open borders, and nobody on the Democrat side wanted to talk about it. Now ICE is trying to do this job and clean up the mess, and, all of a sudden, Democrats want to put all of these rules on them so that they can't even do their job. That doesn't make any sense.

I want to tell my colleague--I mean, the White House proposed things, and for so many weeks, Democrats didn't come back with any proposal. So I am glad there are conversations going on now, but, in the meantime, all of these TSA agents haven't gotten paid, and some ICE agents are not getting paid. This is completely unfair.

Mr. President, I rise today to speak about something that unifies our country.

Here in the Senate, often, we talk about things we disagree on. We are going to talk today about something Americans agree on. The American people overwhelmingly want election security. They want our border to be secure. They want our elections to be secure. They want to feel that their government is acting with integrity and fairness and to have a representative government that protects its people.

I rise in support of the SAVE America Act. For many of us, this isn't a new fight. My good friend Senator Lee and I have been working to pass the SAVE America Act for years because

we know this isn't just about election security; it is about protecting the future of our Nation for all American families.

The SAVE America Act is very simple. First, you need an ID to vote. Second, you need proof of citizenship to register in our elections. These aren't controversial ideas. In fact, a vast majority of Americans, no matter their party affiliation, their race, their gender--you name it--support these ideas. Why wouldn't they? Americans want to know that our elections are both free and fair and that our democracy is safe. They believe in our country and that citizens can make good decisions. They want to know that their votes count and are not diluted by someone who is not a U.S. citizen.

Americans deserve that because this question cuts to the very core of who we are as a country. To survive, a republic needs its citizens to know and trust that their vote is secure, that their vote matters, and that they can trust the outcome. People have died for the sacred right to vote, and that sacred right should not be diluted by non-U.S. citizens.

And if Americans can't trust their elections or who is legally allowed to vote in them, then they can't trust that their elected officials actually represent them.

Yet, somehow, congressional Democrats, funded by George Soros and forever cowering to the radical left, are ignoring--they are ignoring-- the will of the American people. The minority leader tried to say this bill was a ``dagger at the heart of our democracy,'' even though the mayor of the largest city in the State he represents requires not one but two forms of ID just to shovel snow. I would say not passing this bill and allowing illegals to vote and the integrity of the election to be undermined is the real dagger.

That is why the SAVE America Act is crucial. The fact is, so much of what Democrats are saying about this bill simply--it is not true. Democrats are lying to all of us, and they know it. It is the same tired playbook they have tried time and time again.

So let's unpack their arguments. You are going to hear them say this is ``Jim Crow 2.0.'' Yep, that is right. We have once again reached the point where Democrats claim the thing that they don't like is racist.

It is wrong, it is insulting, and the Democrats know it. Everyone knows it, but they hope the American public won't notice. And here is why this is so wrong: What Democrats are really saying is that the 83 percent of Americans who support voter ID laws are all racist.

And let's remember, it was the Democrats who passed Jim Crow law, not Republicans.

Everyone who is paying attention can see what they are doing. Democrats are openly calling most of America racist, and the mainstream media acts like that is normal.

But the Democrat attacks on hard-working Americans aren't done. After they call us all racist, they double down and say: The SAVE America Act is an attack on married women.

There has been a lot of talk recently about what is fair to women in America. The Democrats have said that the SAVE America Act is bad for married women. Liberals have also claimed that biological women need to shut up and accept that biological men can compete against them, shatter their dreams--sometimes their bodies--and steal their championships. Democrats somehow say that is fair, but it is sure not fair to biological women.

And the most deranged members of the radical left have now convinced Democrats in Congress it is OK to tell little girls that God made them wrong and allow the mutilation of their bodies before these children can truly comprehend or consent to the consequences of hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery.

Now, I am not a woman. I can confidently say that because, unlike the Democrats, I know what a woman is. And I am married to an amazing woman. We have raised two incredible, smart, and strong women who now have families of their own. They are independent and can make decisions for themselves. They don't need anyone to tell them how to run their lives. And I am lucky enough to have one little girl in my life who calls me grandpa. Even at 5, she is very comfortable telling me what to do.

While I am not a woman, I do have pieces of advice for the Democrats: One, stop telling Americans that women can't figure out how to register to vote because you want to keep illegals voting. Women are smarter than Democrats think they are, much smarter. And, two, stop destroying women's sports by telling Americans that women can physically compete with biological males.

Stop telling Americans that just because a little girl wears shorts instead of dresses and wants to hang out with the boys instead of the girls that it is OK to permanently disfigure her. It is disgusting, and every Democrat here knows it, but they are too cowardly to tell the truth to the radical lunatics running their party.

Thankfully, when we pass the SAVE America Act, we will end these dangerous attacks on women by Democrats for good.

Look around and acknowledge what the Democrats are doing. They are saying to women: Don't support the SAVE America Act. You will never figure out how to register to vote again.

Do you realize how insulting that is? Do you think I would ever look at my wife or my daughters and granddaughter and think they aren't smart enough or, in the case of my granddaughter, won't be smart enough to do what they need to do?

Now, I am not going to stand here and let Democrats in Washington claim that these amazing, strong, smart women cannot figure out how to register to vote. This is nothing but a made-up talking point from Democrats because they want to allow illegals to vote. It is real simple.

I am tired of hearing Democrats use every excuse in the book to allow illegals to vote in our election.

Now, we all know the Democrats can't win on their radical ideas, so they have to try to weaponize our elections. That is wrong.

Americans who are perfectly capable of showing their ID to board an airplane, visit a doctor's office, and prove their citizenship deserve secure elections.

We are only here today because Democrats have created a system in this country that has totally failed the American people, and Americans want secure elections. We must make sure Americans can have the faith that their vote counts and that the election results reflect the will of the people. We must put simple standards in place that a majority of Americans approve of and that will help Americans trust that our elections are free and fair.

And why wouldn't Democrats want to make certain that elections in the United States of America are free and fair? We want that for every other country in the world. Why wouldn't we want it here?

The fact is, over the last decades, Democrats' priorities are totally out of whack with what Americans want. Under the Biden administration, Democrats purposefully opened our borders, and our country was flooded by illegal aliens, the same illegal aliens that Democrats are now putting above Americans as they do everything in their power to destroy this bill.

Then when Democrats saw how enraged the American people were about their wide-open borders and all of the crime they were allowing into this country, the left claimed we needed new laws to fix it. As we all know, in the case of our border security, that was a complete lie.

But for election security, we do need new laws because the ones we have aren't strong enough. And President Trump, on his own, can't secure elections.

President Trump secured our border, and now, Congress must secure our elections.

The facts are simple: Illegal aliens should not vote in American elections. We know it is happening, and we must do everything we can to stop it.

Democrats still say it is racism, but they say everything is racism when they don't like it. Is it racist that before I board a plane, I have to show my ID? Is it racist that in order to buy certain medicines, apply for a job or a bank account, check into a hotel, rent a car, purchase a lottery ticket, order a drink at a bar, or get into the DNC convention--or shovel snow for goodness' sake--that we, as Americans, have to show ID? Absolutely not, and anyone telling you otherwise is lying.

Now here is my simple question for Democrats: Why should voting in our elections, something that dictates the direction of our country and is essential to building trust in government, have a lower ID standard than buying a six-pack of beer or a lottery ticket? The answer is simple: It shouldn't.

When the minority leader isn't calling minorities and women too stupid to show ID and register to vote, he has claimed that we can't pass this bill because President Trump is trying to rig the elections.

He is lying, and he is telling on himself. The minority leader and the Democrats think that stopping illegal aliens from voting in American elections is rigging the system. Now that is a remarkable thing for them to admit, but when they tell you who they are, we have to listen.

What is clear to me is Democrats don't think they can win. They don't think they can win unless we allow people who are not legally allowed to vote to cast a ballot.

Clearly, the minority leader is more concerned about what passing the SAVE America Act would mean for his future as majority leader than he is about election security, faith in our democracy, or delivering for the American people.

Democrats, George Soros, and the radical left will try to convince you that their opposition to this bill is about fairness and integrity; it is about protecting American democracy. Don't listen to them.

It is not fair for illegals to vote in American elections. I don't get to vote in the French elections or the British elections or the Canadian elections.

It is not fair to let men compete in women's sports. It is not fair to allow the mutilation of children with gender reassignment surgery for minors.

The fact is that fairness, integrity, and our future are on the line. It is this bill that will protect them, and it is what Senator Lee and I and so many others are fighting for today as we once again call on this body to pass the SAVE America Act. I urge my colleagues to support it.

I yield the floor.

I rise today to fight for working families and businesses. Congress is DC's legislative body. It says so right there in the Constitution, article I, section 8, clause 17 reads:

[The Congress shall have Power . . . ] To exercise

exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such

District . . . as may . . . become the Seat of Government of

the United States.

This means we have a constitutional responsibility to fight for those living here in our Nation's Capital, just like any legislator should fight for the people living in their State. That is why I am bringing this resolution to the floor today.

The DC City Council has decided to deny the people of DC the benefits we passed in President Trump's Working Families Tax Cuts Act. That is absolutely absurd.

These tax cuts, like the no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and the senior tax deduction are especially helpful to families struggling to get by and those starting out, trying to make a better life for themselves.

It helps the thousands of service workers here in DC, the law enforcement that protects us every day, and the grandparents who are watching their grandkids while their children are at work. It lets them keep more of their hard-earned money. But the DC Council has decided to benefit from these people instead of helping them. They have decided they deserve these people's money more than the people do. This isn't right. Not only does this hurt people by preventing them from keeping more of their hard-earned wages, but it also hurts the economy. And it will end up hurting the city as a whole.

When I was Governor of Florida, I cut taxes over 100 times through tax cuts just like the ones in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act. As a result, we turned the Florida economy around. We added nearly 1.7 million private sector jobs. We paid down a third of the State's debt and actually invested a record amount back into communities and public services.

Instead of people leaving the State to find a job that allowed them to support their families and live their American dreams, families started coming to Florida to do just that. By cutting taxes and regulations and letting Americans keep more of their hard-earned money, we can turn this economy around just like we did in Florida. That is exactly what President Trump and Republicans are trying to do.

I meet with businesses and hard-working Floridians often. They talk about the impact no tax on tips and no tax on overtime are already having.

They talk about how they are able to plan for expansions and more hiring, creating more jobs that would support families and give back to their communities. This is the kind of growth and support that the DC Council has denied its citizens and small businesses. Biden's and Democrats' inflation-causing policies are still being felt, especially by those who are already struggling to make ends meet.

President Trump and Republicans are doing all we can to make things better, affordable, and lower costs for these American families. We do that by cutting taxes and regulations, not by denying people more of the money they have earned.

My resolution would reject this policy that would crush American families, workers, and businesses.

I urge my colleagues to do our constitutional duty to the people of DC and support this resolution.

I move to proceed to Calendar No. 315, H.J. Res. 142.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Reserving the right to object.

Mr. President, I rise today to object to the motion made by my colleague from Massachusetts.

We don't need to nationalize our elections. My Republican colleagues and I have been fighting Democrats' attempts to nationalize our elections for years now.

The States have the ability to run elections. My State of Florida is actually a leader in election security and timeliness to the point that my last election was called within minutes of polls closing.

My colleagues are only bringing this to the floor as an excuse to score political points by attacking President Trump. President Trump and Republicans are working to deliver on our promises to the American people: securing our border, protecting communities and elections, and bringing down the cost of living despite Democrats fighting us on every turn. This is just another example of Democrat distraction, not serious policy, and for that reason I object.

If my colleague from western Massachusetts wants to defend democracy and protect elections, I offer him an alternative that I, and a majority of Americans, would support. There should be some commonsense, national standards in place to ensure Americans know their elections are free and fair and that their votes are not diluted. That includes requiring voter ID, something 83 percent of Americans support.

You need an ID to board an airplane, buy certain medicines, apply for jobs and bank accounts, check into hotels, rent a car, donate blood, and purchase a lottery ticket. Why should voting in our elections have a lower verification standard than purchasing a lottery ticket? Surely, we can also agree that requiring proof of citizenship makes sense. And if a State has a noncitizen on the voter rolls, they should be removed.

Now, the minority leader thinks that is racist to make people prove citizenship to vote. Just remember, every Member of this body and all of our friends in the House had to prove their citizenship to take office. Yes, even my colleague from Massachusetts had to prove he was an American citizen to take his seat in the U.S. Senate and represent the good people of his State.

So are the requirements for being elected to the U.S. Congress racist? I cannot imagine the Senator from Massachusetts believes that to be true. We are all here to represent U.S. citizens, and we should be certain that it is only U.S. citizens who are able to cast a vote for any of us to be here.

The SAVE America Act puts these commonsense ideas into place to make our elections more secure and fair. I invite my colleagues to support my UC and pass the SAVE America Act. Why wouldn't we want to make certain that elections in the United States of America are free and fair?

President Trump and the American people are all on board with the SAVE America Act. The House will pass it shortly. We can get this done today and deliver for the American people.

Passing the SAVE America Act is an essential step to our democracy, ensuring free and fair elections nationwide. We must get it done.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that upon receipt from the House, that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the House message to accompany S. 1383; further, that the Senate concur in the House amendment, and that the motion to reconsider be made and laid upon the table.

While I am clearly disappointed, this is the most commonsense bill there is.

So none of us get to vote for the President of France. I would vote for Macron, but I don't get to. Nobody that is not a U.S. citizen should be voting in our elections.

And we have to use ID for everything: Board a plane, get a lottery ticket, go to a doctor, they ask you for your ID. This is common sense. We don't want

any fraud in our elections. All we say is just show your ID when you go vote, make sure you are a citizen to register, show your ID to vote.

So I am disappointed that my colleague doesn't support this. I can't understand why he wouldn't support some commonsense standard like this, but I am going to keep working, and we are going to get this passed.

Mr. President, I call up Lee amendment No. 4234 and ask that it be reported by number.

Mr. President, I would like to thank my colleague Senator Lee for working with me to stop Democrats' wasteful spending in this package and bring accountability for the American people.

Our Nation is nearly $39 trillion in debt, running $2 trillion deficits, and spending billions of dollars--up to 10 percent of our Federal spending--on fraud and abuse.

This waste is fueled, in part, by billions upon billions of wasteful earmark spending by Democrats who treat taxpayers' cash like candy. We should be looking at each dollar to make sure it is spent wisely.

I did that as Governor of Florida, and I was able to balance our budget.

Let's start by looking at one earmark, $500,000 for new immigrant community empowerment in New York City. This is an organization that serves immigrants who are here illegally. Why should the American taxpayer foot the bill to support illegals in sanctuary cities when so many American citizens are struggling themselves?

We will never get inflation under control and interest rates down until we balance the Federal budget. I ask my colleagues to support my amendment to stop wasteful spending and wasteful earmarks.

Mr. President, I want to first thank my colleague from Florida, Senator Moody. I am proud to work together with her to protect Florida's shores, which is very, very, very important to Floridians.

As Floridians, we know that our beaches and coastal waters are vital to the State's economy, environment, tourism, and military community. I have worked for years, both as Florida's Governor and U.S. Senator, to keep oil drilling off our coast. We do not want oil drilling on our coast.

In 2018, I was proud to work with President Trump, during his first term, to extend the moratorium on oil drilling off Florida's coasts through 2032, and I have fought to codify this action since I got to the Senate.

Florida's shorelines are not only an iconic and pristine part of the State's environment; they also generate jobs in the area and support billions in tourism revenue.

Florida's beaches alone contribute more than $127 billion per year to the State's economy, just in tourism spending. People come from all over the world to enjoy our beaches. And 2.1 million jobs held by Floridians are tourism-related jobs.

Our coasts are also a critical national security point for military training with the Gulf Test Range. Anybody that has done testing, if you have served along the Panhandle, you know how important the military training is on the testing there for the Gulf Test Range. This range is an essential part of the Department of War's military training and is supported by several military communities along Florida's Panhandle.

It is the largest multidomain military training complex in the country, where our Armed Forces can conduct advanced military testing, training, and evaluation of air and weapons systems. There is no place in the world like being able to test and train off the coast of Florida.

The administration is right. We need to unleash America's energy, including American oil, but we can do that without sacrificing America's most important military training ground or hurting Florida's economy or shoreline.

I recently wrote a letter that was signed by the entire bipartisan Florida delegation--it is led by Senator Moody and me--urging President Trump to continue his commitment to keeping Florida's coast off the table for oil drilling and uphold his moratorium.

Along with Senator Moody, I will always fight to keep oil drilling off of Florida's coast to support our economy, our environment, and our Nation's military readiness.

I look forward to continuing to work closely with the President, Senator Moody, and all our colleagues on this important issue.

I yield back to my colleague from Florida, Senator Moody.

Mr. President, when I talk to families in the State of Florida and around the Nation, I often hear how they are struggling to make ends meet. The cost of healthcare is up. Owning a home has become nearly unattainable.

The former administration pushed the American dream further and further out of reach for so many families all across our great Nation.

I grew up in public housing, and my family didn't have much. I look across the country and see families just like mine growing up, doing everything they can to make ends meet. But I knew back then that I had the opportunity to do anything because the American dream was alive. As Governor and Senator, my goal has been to keep the American dream alive so every family can have the same opportunities I did.

That dream and those opportunities don't exist under socialism. When crazy radicals in New York City and across this country villainize capitalism and push socialism, they forget they have benefited from the very system they criticize.

Socialism has never worked. It is an old, barbaric, discredited idea that failed every time it has been tried. Look at Cuba and Venezuela and the many families that fled those brutal regimes to live in my State of Florida. It kills those opportunities.

We need to drive down costs. The answer isn't more government; it is less. We don't need more government decisions. We need fewer government decisions. We need to do what we did in Florida--cut taxes, reduce government regulations, and grow jobs.

The United States was built on individual freedoms and opportunities and the right of every individual to pursue the American dream, despite coming from nothing, just like I had the opportunity to do. That is what this great country stands for.

This resolution is a stark reminder for the far left: Socialism is a failure, and Americans will always reject it.

As if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H. Con. Res. 58, which was received from the House; further, that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I actually was born in the great State of Illinois and lived in public housing there. I grew up in a family that could have benefited from things like Medicaid and the Food Stamp Program. We didn't have those. Those are great programs, and that is not socialism. Socialism is when we take from one group

and we just give to another with no real basis for it.

We want safety nets, but socialism is a failed ideology. Nothing in this resolution suggests that Medicare is socialism. Nothing says Social Security is socialism, because it is not. But it is a failed ideology and the antithesis of the American dream.

We have all been blessed. We grew up in a country that believes in capitalism. I invite any of my colleagues that believe socialism is good to visit Cuba or Venezuela. I don't see many people flocking there. I see them flocking out of there to my great State and other States.

If you want to come and talk about socialism, come to my State, especially in the city of Miami, where so many people had to flee because they had no country.

Socialism is a proven path to tyranny, starvation, as my colleague brought up--so many things in the resolution--death. I am always going to fight for capitalism.

We weren't able to get this passed. I don't think it suggests that great programs like Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, Medicaid-- these things are not socialism. But when you are trying to destroy the dream of this country that you can start from nothing and be anything, we should all be in favor of supporting capitalism over socialism.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I want to, first off, thank my colleague from Wisconsin. You know, not only has he worked hard to try to do what all Republicans have been doing to open up this government; he has also worked his tail off to try to get people paid.

It is hard for me to believe that the Democrats don't want to pay people that are working. I mean, I don't care whether, you know, it is the military or the FAA or people that work here on the Senate floor, the people who work in our offices, Capitol Police, everybody should get paid. There is nobody that shouldn't get paid.

I want to thank my colleague for working his tail off for trying to make that happen, and I am really disappointed that my Democratic colleagues are not willing to do that.

Here is where we are. The government has been shut down for 39 days because of Democrats--not Republicans. Republicans voted to open up the government; Democrats voted to shut down the government. We voted time and time again. Republicans have voted to open the government, and Democrats have voted to shut down the government and not pay food stamps, our troops, our air traffic controllers, or Capitol Police, the people that take care of us.

I have also tried to pass my ``No Budget, No Pay'' bill. So if Democrats want to fund the government and pay our Federal workers and our troops--if you ask the average American do they think the same people that have said they don't get paid or they don't get their food stamps, do you think they are saying: Well, I want to make sure they get paid? Absolutely not.

And of course, when I brought that to the floor, Democrats blocked it.

So what are the Democrats telling our families? They don't care about you or your family. It is clear. They don't care if you can put food on the table, pay the rent, pay the mortgage, make sure your children get healthcare. They are saying they do not care.

They are heartless. They don't care about members of our military who are trying to provide for their families while protecting country; they don't care about moms who rely on SNAP to feed their kids this month; they don't care about the Capitol Police who are keeping them safe every single day; they don't care about the millions of Americans who planned to fly that are now losing money on canceled tickets, unsure of their safety in the skies, and have to scramble to see and spend or decide: Should I go home at Thanksgiving?

And think about this: Do you think when there are fewer flights, the price of air travel goes down or goes up? It goes up. They don't care about Federal workers, including their own staff who are visiting food banks to make ends meet or are surviving on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and rice and beans.

They come to work every day because--all our staffers are coming to work every day even though they don't know when their next paycheck is going to happen. Not only are Democrats saying they don't care, they have also said that ``each day gets better for us'' and ``there's no reason to surrender.''

How does that make you feel when you have been relying on food stamps? How does it make you feel when you are worrying about paying the mortgage or the rent?

Millions of struggling Americans who don't know when they will be able to feed their families or know how they are going to pay the mortgage or pay rent--Capitol Police--and think about it. The Capitol Police, Democrats see them each and every day. When you walk around the Capitol, you see them. When you walk into the buildings, you see them. And they can look them in the eye and say they voted to make sure the Capitol Police didn't get paid. I mean, I can't imagine how they can do that. Democrats think that every day they refuse to fund the government and instead choose to use Americans as leverage to extend these expiring Biden COVID subsidies and send money directly to insurance companies.

And look at this, has it worked? Everybody should invest in these insurance companies. Look at the money. Look at the dramatic increase in stock prices. Guess what. As Senator Johnson just said, the money goes directly to the insurance companies, and there are millions of Americans that don't even know they are getting the insurance so they never used it--just pure 100 percent profit.

Do the Democrats suggest there is any fix on that? Absolutely not.

Democrats want you, as a taxpayer, to pay for abortion. They want you to pay for trans surgery. It makes no sense.

They don't want you to know that they shut down the government. They want to blame it on somebody else, but think about it. Fifty-two, fifty-three Republicans voted to open it, and all but 3 Democrats voted to close it, time and time again.

Now, as Senator Johnson said, Republicans want to address healthcare costs. President Trump said it this morning; that he wants to address the problems of ObamaCare.

What happened with ObamaCare is they said--let's think of the lies here: You didn't lose your doctor, biggest lie of the year; you are going to save $2,500 a family, it skyrocketed. Premiums are up. Copays are up. Deductibles are up.

You know, back when ObamaCare started, if you had a $3,000 deductible, that was a catastrophic plan. Now you can have a $10,000, $5,000, $14,000 deductible under ObamaCare. That is not a catastrophic plan?

Well, President Trump said this morning, he wants to address the problems of ObamaCare and stop sending massive checks to insurance companies and give the money directly to Americans.

He said:

I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds

of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking

Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare

provided by ObamaCare BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT

Mr. President, first thing I want to do is thank all the Senators that are speaking tonight.

I can't imagine voting not to pay somebody. In my State, here is what is happening. We have people that are not getting food. At church on Sunday, the pastor asked if we would actually bring in a whole bunch of food because they knew because of what the Democrats are doing, people would not get their food stamps. So all the food banks, they need way more food.

I was talking to a reporter today in Tampa. He said the line is unbelievable at one of the food banks he was at in Tampa today. When I think about these people that are not getting their food stamps, I think of my mom. My mom was a mom of five kids. We lived in public housing. I never met my dad. She had to go to markets and stores and ask for food. She never got food stamps, but she had to go ask for food.

Just think about what is going on around our country. There are people right now worried about if they are going to feed a 2-year-old little kid. Can you just imagine what that mom

is doing? I mean, I just can't imagine how anybody ever could vote to shut down the Food Stamp Program to not feed kids.

Let's think about all these people not getting paid. I will give you my experience. When I was 19 years old, I got married. I was E-2 in the Navy, and I was making 332 or 334 bucks a month. That same person today--my wife and I, she was making 75 bucks a week as a legal secretary. So those people, if something like that--I didn't have $25 in the bank. They wouldn't have said: Oh, it is OK not to pay the rent.

Any costs we had, no one would have said: Oh, don't worry. You don't have to pay it now.

That is what is going on with our military. They have mortgages. Their kids have school costs. Their kids want to play sports. They might have medical bills. And my Democratic colleagues are saying they don't care. I mean, did they ever live that life? Have they ever lived a life where they were worried, paycheck to paycheck, how they were going to pay for food, for the rent, for the mortgage? Do you think all the lenders are going to say: ``We know the government is shut down so you don't have to pay your mortgage''?

I just think--I don't know how you could not have a heart to open up government. We can have a policy disagreement every day, and we should. But to not make sure people get their food stamps, not make sure people are showing up today, as Senator Cruz said, trying to keep us safe in the skies or our military that is trying to keep our freedoms, and the Democrats don't care if they get paid or not--just think about it.

Since I got up here--this is my seventh year--I have had a bill that says No Budget, No Pay. The Democrats have blocked it, including yesterday, because they want to get paid, even though they are making the decision that other people don't get a paycheck. They are not willing to give up any of their pay because, as one of them said, he has a mortgage; why would he be expected to give up his pay? Well, they are doing it every day to all the Federal workers. I just can't imagine doing that.

I say to my Democratic colleagues: Open the government. Pay our workers. Make sure people get food, have food on the table. Don't ever, ever, ever in your wildest dreams do that to people in our country. It is wrong to do what you are doing.

Senator Schumer came out and said he had a proposal. It is a joke. It is a complete joke. I will tell you why. Let's think about what they want to do. For us to be able to make sure that we start paying people, they get food stamps, they want to make sure insurance companies continue to get rich. So their proposal doesn't do anything.

Right now, people don't lose their ObamaCare subsidies. It is people that make over 400 percent--that is over probably $128,000, $130,000 a year--get subsidies for their healthcare. You could be a millionaire, you get a subsidy. He wants to make sure millionaires get a subsidy for people possibly to get any food.

He knows Republicans are not going to continue to support a program that pays healthcare for illegals; that is wrong. It has taxpayers paying for abortion; that is wrong. It has taxpayers paying for trans surgery; that is wrong. Making sure--there is supposedly about 4 to 5 million people who don't even know they have these subsidies because it is going directly to an insurance company with no responsibility by a consumer. All you have to do to sign somebody up is know their name, their birth date, their address. Sign them up, and insurance companies get all the money. Why would we ever support something like that?

I want to thank my colleagues. I can't imagine. It is heartless to not make sure people have food. It is heartless to make sure people don't have money if they are working. If the Democrats vote against Senator Johnson's simple bill to pay people that are busting their butt to keep our freedoms, to keep us safe, do all these things--I don't know how you can go home and feel good about what you are doing.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, this is an interesting conversation, but Democrats have had 37 days to stop the most important issue that this Senate should be focused on right now, and that is the shutdown, but they would rather spend their time playing politics and attacking the President instead of doing what is best for the American public.

Democrats have caused the longest government shutdown in our Nation's history for one reason: They hate our President. They hate him. They don't care that their actions are stopping our troops, Capitol Police, Federal law enforcement, and air traffic controllers from getting their paychecks. They don't care that they are causing chaos and delays at our airports or that 42 million people--42 million people--rely on SNAP benefits and can't put food on the table.

Now, I think about growing up. I was blessed. I had a wonderful mom. But we lived in public housing. I didn't know my dad. She really struggled to put food on the table.

In my State of Florida and all across the country, we have people worried about putting food on the table right now. Little kids are worried about getting dinner tonight, and it is because the Democrats have decided to shut down our government.

So I represent the people of Florida and Americans across this country who are sick and tired of these political games. What we ought to be doing is feeding our families, paying the people who are working their tails off, and opening our government. Therefore, I object.

And I am shocked that my colleague doesn't want to worry about the 42 million people that are not getting SNAP benefits, the Capitol Police that are protecting us that aren't getting paid. These people have mortgages; they ought to get paid.

So, Mr. President, I rise today with my bipartisan and commonsense No Budget, No Pay Act. It is a simple proposal that says that if Members of Congress can't complete one of our basic jobs of funding the government, we shouldn't get paid. This shouldn't even be necessary. We should just do our jobs. But as we sit here, over a month into the Democrat shutdown, it is clear we need something to hold Congress accountable.

Every year, we are tasked with putting together a budget with the expectation that it is on time and it fits the needs of the American people.

The American people elected us to come together, look at what we are collecting in revenues, and put together and pass 12 appropriations bills and use those dollars effectively.

I was Governor of Florida. Every year, we passed a budget, we balanced a budget, and we did it on time. The last time Congress passed all 12 appropriations bills on time was--what is your guess? Three decades ago. Congress has failed, time and time again, to do its most basic job.

I came to fix this. I ran on a plan to make Washington work better for families, which included my No Budget, No Pay Act, and I have been fighting to get this passed since I got here in 2019 and have been met with resistance from many of my colleagues since I got up here.

But, unfortunately, Democrats have thrived in the dysfunction and have fought endlessly to keep the status quo. They pass massive spending bill after massive spending bill, which has caused massive inflation in this country. They raised taxes and expanded the government. We now have--how much debt do you think we have now? Thirty-eight trillion dollars. We are running a $2 trillion-a-year deficit.

Now they are using the same dysfunction to shut down our government. They are prioritizing a liberal wish list over the needs of the American people. And they are more than happy, it seems, to deprive Federal workers, TSA, FAA, and law enforcement of their paychecks, while Members of Congress still get their own paychecks.

Democrats are happy to stop 40 million people from getting their SNAP benefits. I just can't imagine little kids worrying about where their meal is going to come from tonight.

These Democrats voting to shut down the government are still getting paid. We should not get paid if we don't do our job.

This is the problem with Washington. Any working American will tell you: If you don't do your job, you don't get paid except here.

Members of Congress consistently fail one of our basic duties of funding the government on time and still get a paycheck even when others don't.

Senate Democrats have now voted against funding the government 14 times in the last 5 weeks. They have voted, time and time again, to continue the longest shutdown in our Nation's history and stop people from getting paid. But they are still getting paid. Democrats shouldn't be shutting down the government, risking others' paychecks without being in the same boat.

I ask every one of my colleagues to support passage of my No Budget, No Pay Act to tell every Member: Do your job. Fund the government or do what other people end up doing--forgo your taxpayer-funded salary.

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 88 and Senate proceed to its immediate consideration. I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

I want to commend my colleague for deferring his paycheck. I think it is the right thing to do. If he is willing to defer his paycheck, why wouldn't he allow my bill to pass so all of us should defer our paychecks until the government gets open again?

The right thing to do is open the government and figure out how do we improve our healthcare system. Our healthcare system is out of control. The costs are out of control. ObamaCare has completely failed us.

Remember when ObamaCare was passed? President Obama said: You won't lose your doctor--the biggest lie of the year. Gosh, you are not going to lose your plan. You completely lost your plan. You are going to save $2,500 a family. No, your costs have skyrocketed. Copayments are up, deductibles are up, and premiums have skyrocketed.

What we have to do is we need to sit down in a bipartisan manner and say: How do we actually fix the cost of healthcare? You don't do it by shutting down the government and making sure our military doesn't get paid, TSA doesn't get paid, FAA doesn't get paid, Capitol Police don't get paid, all our Federal workers don't get paid, and we prevent 42 million people from getting food stamp benefits.

If we want to fix healthcare, which we should do in a bipartisan manner, we should sit down once we open the Federal Government.

So I am disappointed that my colleague--I commend him for deferring his paycheck. That is the right thing to do. But we should do that for every Member of Congress until we open our government.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, today is day 28 of the Democrat shutdown--a shutdown caused by the Democrats' complete blind hatred--complete hatred--of Donald Trump. They are spending more time attacking President Trump than fighting for the American people, who are harmed by their shutdown.

Democrats have voted for weeks to deprive our men and women in the military of getting their paychecks. They are stopping Capitol Police, Federal law enforcement, air traffic controllers, and essential Federal employees from getting paid.

In just a few days, 42 million people receiving SNAP benefits may not get the benefits they rely on because the Democrats will not support the continuing resolution that most of us don't like.

It is the Biden funding.

Further, my Democrat colleagues are willing to do anything they can to attack President Trump instead of voting to reopen the government and stop this recklessness.

The American people are sick of the political games at their expense, and so am I; therefore, I object.

If my Democrat colleagues want to make sure people are not being harmed by losing SNAP benefits or going without paychecks while they show up to work day after day, then they would vote to reopen government. Unfortunately, they have elected to not do that.

So I hope my Democrat colleagues will come to their senses and vote this week to reopen the government.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that, notwithstanding rule XXII, all postcloture time be expired and the Senate vote on the confirmation of the LaCour nomination at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the Democratic leader, no earlier than Wednesday, October 29; further, that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.