John Barrasso

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Hawley), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz).

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz) and the Senator from Montana (Mr. Sheehy).

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz) and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, following up with what the majority leader just said, I have here the Washington Post from this morning, and they have an editorial. And what they have in bold print says: Democratic leaders play a dangerous game. That is what the Democrats are doing. We just heard the majority leader talk about what we are trying to do, what we are facing, how Chuck Schumer is being held hostage by the liberal groups that set up the war room with him. And what we see is a dangerous game being played and threats to the American people. This goes on to say: There is a clean funding bill on the table. This is the Washington Post, this morning. There is a clean funding bill on the table. Only a handful of Senate Democrats need to vote for it. The minority leader is leading the Democratic Party into a box canyon. You can't get out, and it is a dangerous game. And it is not just dangerous for them; it is dangerous for the American people. That is where the danger lies. So I come to the floor because the American people are facing an immediate crisis, and they know why. Anybody watching knows why. It is because Senate Democrats have now voted five times against a clean, bipartisan continuing resolution that would open the government today. This is day 8 of the Schumer shutdown--day 8. The country is held hostage by the Democrats, and they are playing a dangerous game. This isn't a game, but that is what the Democrats have turned it into. So the question before us is simple: What have the Democrats accomplished during this dangerous game that they are playing? On October 10, on Friday, in 2 days, Border Patrol agents and other Federal workers will receive only half a paycheck. That is the result of the Democrats' dangerous game. It will be their last paycheck until the Schumer shutdown ends and Democrats vote to reopen the government. They could do it today. The House of Representatives passed a clean continuing resolution at current funding levels. Democrats voted 13 times under Joe Biden for a continuing resolution to keep the government funded. A continuing resolution funds our military, pays for law enforcement, continues food assistance for moms and young children, and keeps small business loans flowing. Thirteen times they voted for this. Now they reject it because they want to please their radical, extreme base--the base that has put up a war room that Chuck Schumer has bowed down to. That is what we just heard from the majority leader--that they are the ones calling the shots--and that is why we find ourselves in this situation. Democrats are demanding radical, new policies before they allow the government to reopen. I have seen their demand letter--$1.5 trillion in new expenses, as the majority leader just outlined here on the floor. Their ransom note is filled with liberal policies. I look at it--it is stitched together like Frankenstein's monster: $1.5 trillion in reckless new spending; free healthcare for noncitizens; free Medicaid for working-age, able-bodied adults who refuse to work. There are over 5 million of these individuals in the United States, and yet they refuse to work. And the Democrats want them all to get free Medicaid. Fifty billion dollars the Democrats want to cut from vulnerable rural hospitals, hospitals in rural communities. Do the Democrats not care at all about those communities even though there are rural communities in their States? They are beholden to the big cities and the mayors, the sanctuary cities that control the Democratic Party. That is what we are dealing with here. That is why the Washington Post calls what the Democrats are doing--as I pick it up again, Mr. President--``a dangerous game.'' They are holding the American people hostage to extract far-left wing concessions. They are telling our servicemembers their paychecks are negotiable. They are telling small businesses their dreams are collateral damage in a partisan fight. They are telling mothers and young children that WIC benefits are leverage for the far-left demands of healthcare for noncitizens. Republicans remain committed to ensuring families receive the support they deserve. The Democrats have chosen repeatedly to keep the government closed for political purposes only. American families are feeling the pain nationwide. In Georgia, more than 100,000 Federal employees are wondering where they will find the money to pay their bills and buy their groceries. In Arizona, 344,000 children enrolled in SNAP face uncertainty. The benefits are running out. Time is of the essence. Shutdown Democrats are telling these families their problems aren't urgent. Well, they are urgent to those families, and the Democrats don't seem to care. In New York, almost half a million individuals who rely on WIC will lose access at the end of this week. It is already Wednesday. We are talking about pregnant women. We are talking about new mothers. We are talking about young children. They depend on this program. In Illinois, every week the shutdown continues, it costs the State's economy over $500 million. That is jobs lost, paychecks missed, opportunities evaporated. In Michigan, small businesses face delays of $92 million in loans because the Small Business Administration is frozen due to the shutdown. These businesses are the backbones of our communities and our economy. They should be able to make payroll, keep their doors open-- not as the Democrats continue to play what has been termed ``a dangerous game.'' In Nevada, for each month the shutdown continues, consumer spending from lost wages will fall by over $200 million. It is money that won't flow into local businesses, won't pay rent, won't put food on the table. In New Jersey, telehealth programs are on hold. I am a doctor. Without these programs, patients could be put at greater risk. In New Hampshire, workers maintaining our nuclear attack submarines-- they face furloughs and unpaid work. Look, this goes beyond missing a paycheck; this is about national security. The Schumer shutdown--the dangerous game that he is playing-- puts America's safety at risk. At airports nationwide, we are already seeing the direct effects of the shutdown. Flights are being delayed. Security lines are growing longer. Even the head of the Teamsters union, Sean O'Brien, says that Democrats' political theater is something he can see right through. He said: A shutdown will hurt working people. Period. American workers are not bargaining chips. That is the leader of the Teamsters union, Mr. President. He goes on to say: Senators should stop screwing around and pass the House- passed clean, short term funding bill. That is where we are today. He is right. But regrettably, Senate Democrats are treating the American people as bargaining chips, as hostages, and that is why they sent the list of demands as ransom. Democrats have now voted five times against opening the government, five times against supporting our military, five times against paying law enforcement officers, five times against food assistance for women and infants and children, five times against the small business loans that help Main Street. Five times, Democrats have looked at the mounting damage of the Schumer shutdown and shrugged their shoulders. That is the situation we have today. The American people overwhelmingly say Democrats should pass a clean continuing resolution and end the shutdown immediately. There is a clean, bipartisan resolution before the Senate ready for a vote right now. It reopens the government today. It would protect the paychecks and the programs the American people depend upon. It would end the uncertainty that is gripping millions of American families. The question is not whether the Democrats can end the shutdown; it is, Will they have the integrity to do it or will they continue to play this dangerous game with our Nation and with our families? Nominations Mr. President, on a separate matter, before Senate Democrats shut down the Federal Government, they shut down the very Senate floor on which I stand, and they did it by freezing the confirmation process. For months, their blockade created a growing backlog of qualified nominees, so many of whom have come out of committees with bipartisan votes; nominees for positions that, during prior administrations, sailed through the Senate by unanimous consent or by voice vote--but not with this Democrat minority, oh, no. So in September, Senate Republicans broke the blockade, and now the blockade is being cleared. At the peak of the Democrat obstruction, more than 150 well-qualified nominees, approved by Senate committees, were waiting for a vote on the Senate floor. Yesterday, we confirmed 107 of those nominees, and we did it in a group. This is one of the largest confirmations in the history of the United States. Now there are only 26 nominees on the Executive Calendar. Our committees are hard at work to approve more nominees, and we are going to confirm them in short order. As of this morning, President Trump has had 298 nominees confirmed in his second term. By comparison, at this point, Joe Biden had confirmed only 201 at this point in his first and only term. President Trump had confirmed only 183 nominees at the same time in his first term. So the Senate's constitutional duty of advice and consent is now back. President Trump now has his team confirmed and ready to be sworn in. From Assistant Secretaries, to Ambassadors, to U.S. attorneys, the Federal Government is in a better position today to keep our Nation safe and secure and prosperous. Senate Republicans are going to continue to work to get America back on track no matter what obstacles the Democrats continue to throw in our path. I yield the floor.

Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz).

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz).

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Mullin), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz).

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Utah (Mr. Curtis) and the Senator from Montana (Mr. Sheehy). Further, if present and voting: the Senator from Montana (Mr. Sheehy) would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, the American people reject what is going on here, and that is the Schumer shutdown. We are now in day 7 of the Schumer shutdown--7 days of wasted time and growing hardship for the American people. There is a new Harvard-Harris poll that has just come out, and it makes it loud and clear. And what is loud and clear is that 7 in 10 voters in America oppose the government shutdown. Americans overwhelmingly say Democrats should accept a continuing resolution at the current levels of funding until the actual spending bills are passed. It is interesting because 13 times in the Biden administration, the Democrats did exactly that, and it is the thing they are refusing to do right now. Americans don't want their government closed. They want it open. They want it to work for them. They want a nation that is safe and secure and prosperous. They are sick and tired of Democrats holding them hostage with partisan and unreasonable demands. What do the Democrats want? What did their demand letter say? It said they want free healthcare for illegal immigrants. This is opposed by an overwhelmingly large number of Americans. The Democrats shut down the government, and they think they are hurting President Trump. In fact, the Schumer shutdown is hurting people all across America. Across this country, Americans are feeling the pain. There are headlines that tell the story, and I have a few here. One in New York says ``Gov't shutdown threatens food access for Long Island's most vulnerable.'' Another in Nevada says ``Government shutdown threatens food stamps, jobs, national security.'' In New Jersey, one reads ``Hospital-at-home, telehealth programs on hold amid government shutdown.'' In New Hampshire: ``At least 1,800 NH federal workers to be furloughed or fired during shutdown.'' They are not statistics. These are families. These are our troops. These are seniors. These are veterans. These are mothers with young children, working families, patients all across the country. And the stresses upon American families are mounting as a result of the Schumer shutdown. Paychecks for our servicemembers--well, they run out in days. Reports already show there are signs of financial distress. Every day this shut down continues, the damage drags on. Financial stress will lead to financial crises for many families. Temporary hardships will lead to lasting harm. The American people don't want it. They can't afford it. They want it to end. Democrats have now voted five specific times to keep the government closed. Now all you need to do is read their ransom note. Democrats are demanding taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants. And who do they want to hurt in the process? They want to cut the funding for rural hospitals in my State and yours. That is how they want to pay for healthcare for illegal immigrants. That is their price to reopen the government, to get back to the normal workings of Washington and our government. As a result, the Democrats are holding the American people hostage. There is a simple solution to the shutdown. The House passed a clean continuing resolution--current spending levels, bipartisan support--to fund the government through November 21. Why November 21? Well, I just heard the minority leader say there has been no discussion between Republicans or Democrats on the continuing resolution. Well, in fact, there has been, and it is the deadline date of November 21 because the chairs and the ranking members of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the House Appropriations Committee all said they needed 7 weeks to finish the bipartisan work on the appropriations bills. So, yes. Senator Collins, Senator Murray worked together on the clean continuing resolution. It is interesting because what we see are the Democrats fearing the wrath of the far-left wing of their party. That is why they are not voting to open the government. The clock continues to tick. Every day Democrats hold out is another day wasted, another day we ought to be making sure the government is open. I hear the Democrats say they want to negotiate. Well, open the government. We are ready to negotiate. Every day the Democrats choose to keep the government closed is another day spent ignoring and rejecting the priorities of the American people. If Democrats actually wanted to negotiate, they would reopen the government today. It is that simple. So, today, we are going to vote for the sixth time on a clean continuing resolution, something the Democrats approved 13 times when Joe Biden was President. Senate Democrats have a choice: Vote yes to end the Schumer shutdown or vote no, and tell the American people why their pain and their opinion just doesn't matter to the Democrats. Let me end where I began: 7 out of 10 Americans oppose this shutdown. Americans overwhelmingly say Democrats should accept the clean continuing resolution that we are voting on here today. The American people have spoken. They want their government open, and they want it open now. It is time that the Democrats listened to them. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Utah (Mr. Curtis), the Senator from Montana (Mr. Sheehy), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis). Further, if present and voting: the Senator from Montana (Mr. Sheehy) would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, it is very obvious that Democrats are losing the Schumer shutdown. Even their media allies are turning against them. Here is an editorial from today's Washington Post. The headline is ``The shutdown conversation no one wants.'' The Washington Post editorial board, today, wrote this: Democrats have demanded that Republicans agree to extend the covid-era insurance subsidies without proposing any way to pay for it. They go on to say: The Congressional Budget Office estimates this will cost $350 billion over the next decade. Now, that is the Washington Post talking, not Republicans. So it is no surprise that Democrats are avoiding this conversation. Obamacare is broken. Obamacare is a failure. And now Democrats are holding the American people hostage to prop it up. The Biden bonus COVID payments are a bait and switch. Democrats created them in 2021, but they did it as a temporary COVID program. They extended them temporarily to 2022. They set an end date from this year, when they extended them once again. Now, these same Democrats are demanding that they become permanent, at a cost of $350 billion. It is unacceptable. This is a system that is riddled with waste, with fraud, abuse, and corruption. Big insurance companies are rewarded with direct payments from the Federal Government to the insurance companies. Hard-working taxpayers are left holding the bill. In many of these policies, there are no premiums, no deductibles, no income limit, no accountability. Even families making a half million dollars a year, they still qualify for these Biden bonus COVID payments. This is reckless, permanent new spending. The American people can't afford it. The American people know it. And even the Washington Post knows it and has reported on it today. Democrats lost the election. They have lost their media allies, and now they have lost the argument. On a related matter, here we are on day six of the Schumer shutdown. Senate Democrats have now voted four separate times to keep our government closed. Radical Democrats are shutting down the government with an outlandish list of demands, and the Presiding Officer has seen them. Included in that list is giving free healthcare to illegal immigrants. When the interests of Americans and illegal immigrants collide, Democrats always seek to benefit the latter at the expense of the former. Think back to the last Democrat primary for President, back in June of 2019, when they were having a big debate on live television. There were so many candidates that they actually had to do it on two separate nights to get them all on the stage. Every running candidate for President was asked in that one debate if their platform would give free healthcare to illegal immigrants. Every single Democrat candidate on the debate stage that night raised their hand and said yes. Every one of them promised to give free healthcare to illegal immigrants. Senator Bernie Sanders was on the stage that night; he raised his hand. Senator Gillibrand of New York was on the stage that night; she raised her hand. Yes, free healthcare to illegal immigrants. Those are current Members of the U.S. Senate who voted to shut the government down. They voted four times in the last 6 days. And it is more than talk. When Democrats get power, that is exactly what they are going to do. Look at California. In 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom expanded State- sponsored healthcare to illegal immigrants. He actually bragged about it. So there is no hiding from this. One year later, the Los Angeles Times reported that, by doing this, costs had tripled. It was a headline dated March 13 of this year. It says: Cost of undocumented healthcare in California is billions over estimates-- They go on to say-- pressuring Democrats to consider cuts. Instead of $3 billion a year, the California healthcare system costs taxpayers $9.5 billion, by providing healthcare to illegal immigrants. California financed its healthcare for illegal immigrants through a money laundering scheme aimed at the Federal Government. They used it to increase the State's Medicaid payments from the Federal Government directly to the State of California. This is money vacuumed away from hard-working Americans and from the vulnerable people in this country, our friends and neighbors, who need Medicaid the most. What did California do with it? They used it for illegal immigrants, not for U.S. citizens. President Joe Biden and the Democrats--they went even further. Apparently, they weren't liberal enough in doing that. Joe Biden created multiple illegal parole programs when he was President. It was a blatant attempt at amnesty by the sleight of hand. Parole is supposed to be rare, it is supposed to be temporary, and it is supposed to be case by case. And I am talking about the flood of illegal immigrants that have come into this country across our southern border. People saw them on television. Joe Biden abused Presidential parole authority and turned our law on its head. Democrats made noncitizens who were paroled eligible for free healthcare. Look no further than the illegal immigrant who murdered 22- year-old nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia. He crossed the border illegally in 2022. The Biden administration released him into our country instead of removing him. The Biden administration paroled him for what they claimed were ``urgent humanitarian reasons of significant public benefit.'' And then he murdered a nursing student. Joe Biden made Laken Riley's killer eligible for taxpayer-funded healthcare. Democrats even promised free healthcare as an enticement to attract illegal immigrants to our southern border. It was a magnet. Well, Democrats have now shut down the government. Why? To defend a system where Laken Riley's killer can get taxpayer-funded, free healthcare. That is who they are. Those are their beliefs. That is their commitment--not to the American people but to the illegal immigrants. Well, Republicans closed the loophole. Our working-families tax cuts put in place strong eligibility verification requirements. So that person can't qualify anymore or anyone like him. It also ended the gimmicks that allowed California to fund healthcare for illegal immigrants through higher Federal Medicaid payments, the way they syphon money from the Federal Government into California to pay for illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, what we have seen is that President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem rightfully terminated all of these Joe Biden categorical parole programs. He should have never let them in in the first place. Now we have terminated it. The Supreme Court was called into play in an action here. The Supreme Court upheld this decision by the Trump administration after several rounds of leftwing lawfare. President Trump is securing our border. He is putting American citizens first, not illegal immigrants. That is the difference between our parties. Democrats want to undo all of that. That is why they are holding the Nation hostage by shutting down the government. That is what this fight is all about. Let's be clear. By shutting down the government, Democrats are putting illegal immigrants ahead of American citizens--ahead of our veterans, ahead of our military, ahead of our seniors, ahead of our children. It is reckless, it is radical, and it is wrong. It is time for it to end. So today, the Senate is going to vote for a fifth time on our bipartisan continuing resolution, and we want to reopen government. It passed the House with bipartisan support. The Senate this evening will have a simple choice once again: vote to reopen the government and put America first and Americans first or vote with Senator Schumer to put illegal immigrants ahead of the American people. Voting with Chuck Schumer tonight will keep the government closed. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Utah (Mr. Curtis), the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Kennedy), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis). Further, if present and voting: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis) would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Utah (Mr. Curtis), the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Kennedy), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis). Further, if present and voting: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis) would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Utah (Mr. Curtis), the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Kennedy), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran).

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran).

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz) and the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran).

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, America is now in the middle of the Schumer shutdown. Two in three Americans oppose it. Democrats are holding the American people hostage. They are demanding $1.5 trillion in new spending, and that is just to keep the government open for 4 short weeks. That amounts to $48 billion a day. Here is what the Democrats are demanding. They are demanding more taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants. At the same time, they are taking away money from vulnerable hospitals in rural communities in my State and in yours. Under Joe Biden, Democrats opened our borders. Ten million illegal immigrants flooded across. Under Chuck Schumer, Democrats have now closed the government. They did it to give free healthcare to illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, Democrats are demanding the repeal of $50 billion of the rural hospital fund. This has been set aside as a lifesaver for our small community hospitals. That is who this fund has been set up to help, like the one I was at last week, in Pinedale, WY. It is our first hospital in the county, ever. The closest hospital is 85 miles away. This is a needed, vital resource in rural Wyoming. In addition, Democrats are demanding $350 billion in permanent new spending for Biden's bonus COVID payments. They created these payments in 2021. They promised they would be temporary. They said they are there for the COVID emergency only. They extended them once so they would end at the end of this year. Clearly, COVID is over, and now they want these Biden bonus COVID payments to become permanent, to go on forever. These payments are riddled with waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption. We have seen it. We have documented evidence. Unlike most insurance, there are no premiums, there are no deductibles. Democrats also removed the income limit. The money goes straight from the government to the insurance companies. The bill goes directly to the hard-working American taxpayers. The Democrats' price to reopen the government is all of those things I have mentioned, plus more. What we are doing as Republicans is proposing to reopen the government for 7 weeks at the current funding levels. The House has already passed it. Republicans and Democrats have voted for it in the House and in the Senate. President Trump is ready to sign it. It takes 60 votes in the Senate to reopen the government. We have voted repeatedly over the past several days. Each time, a few level- headed Democrats have joined Republicans in the vote. It is time for more Democrats to join us today. There is only one person standing in the way, and that is the minority leader. He is holding the American people hostage. He fears retribution from the radical, socialist left. It is easy to see why. The radical socialist left--including Senator Sanders, Senator Warren, and AOC--they have become the Democrat leaders in this shutdown. They are the ones running the party. While the government is stuck in this Schumer shutdown, the people paying the price are the American families. Veterans will face longer wait times for appointments. Members of the military and Border Patrol agents will continue to protect our Nation, but they will do it without pay. Some wildfire prevention, which is critical this time of the year, will stop. Wildland firefighters will remain on the job unpaid. Mothers will lose access to vital programs that help feed their children. Sick patients on Medicare and Medicaid may lose home healthcare services. Small business owners will not receive new Federal loans because the Small Business Administration is unable, during a shutdown, to process them. The American people, all across this country, are feeling the pain of the Schumer shutdown. Their request is simple. They are asking Senate Democrats to do what they have done 13 times under Joe Biden--to vote for a clean continuing resolution that will reopen the government. All it takes is a few more Democrats--people who are willing to put the country first. We are about to vote today on another clean continuing resolution, like the Democrats did 13 times when Joe Biden was in the White House, and that is the one to reopen the government. Republicans are going to vote for it. Democrats have the opportunity today, in just a few short minutes, to do the right thing for the American people. Let's see if they do. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, Senate Democrats have now dragged us into the Schumer shutdown. When I say ``us,'' I mean all of us as Americans. It didn't have to happen, and it certainly doesn't need to continue. Americans are overwhelmingly against the shutdown of our government. New polling from the New York Times and Siena just came out, and the polling proves it. Here is the key finding: Two out of three Americans believe that Democrats should not shut down the government, even if they don't get their trillion-dollar ransom fee paid, which of course they won't. Only 47 percent of Democrats support the shutdown. That is not even a majority of Democrats. Senate Democrats are on the wrong side of Republicans, they are on the wrong side of Independents, and they are on the wrong side of their own party. There is only one good option to reopen the government, and that option is a bipartisan, clean continuing resolution that we will vote on this morning. The House already passed it with bipartisan support. President Trump is ready to sign it. Senate Republicans voted yesterday in an attempt to pass it. It failed yesterday, and we are going to offer it again today. All it takes to reopen the government is cooperation from just five more Senate Democrats. We picked up three Democrats last night, so there are clearly cracks on their side of the aisle and movement toward our side. That will continue. We are ready to vote for it again and again and again to make sure we can reopen the government for the American people. And there is bipartisan--broad bipartisan support to open the government. That is what the New York Times revealed, and that is what the vote revealed last evening. If five more Democrats join us today, the shutdown is over because, remember, it takes 60 votes in the Senate to get something like this passed and accomplished. And all we are asking is to reopen the government for the next 7 weeks. Democrats supported these same funding levels before; now they claim the levels aren't good enough. Democrats are now demanding $1.5 trillion in new spending--new spending--for just reopening the government for 4 short weeks. That is $48 billion of new spending each and every day of the 4 weeks in the Democrats' proposal. This is a direct attack on hard-working American taxpayers who voted against wasteful Washington spending in the elections in November. Think back to previous continuing resolutions just like this one. I can think back to 13 of them during the time Joe Biden was in office at the White House. Thirteen of these passed. The minimum number of votes was 65. We voted to keep the government open, bipartisan. When Joe Biden and Barack Obama were President, Democrats said shutdowns were dangerous, destructive, and desperate. Those are the words of the Democrats: ``dangerous,'' ``destructive,'' ``desperate.'' Listen to those words. Listen to what Chuck Schumer said. He said: Passing a clean CR . . . [would] avert a harmful and unnecessary government shutdown. He also said: If the government shuts down, it will be average Americans who suffer [the] most. But yesterday he stood here in the well and then voted to shut down the government. Senator Patty Murray of Washington is the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. She has said that ``a shutdown solves nothing.'' She went on to say, and it ``hurts everyone.'' Yesterday, she voted to shut down the government. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has said that a shutdown ``is the last resort for those who can't otherwise win their fights through elections [and] can't win their fights in Congress.'' Well, yesterday, she voted to shut down the government. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said: There is a time and place to debate health care . . . but not when the funding of the federal government, and all the lives that are impacted by it, hang in the balance. Well, yesterday he voted to shut down the government. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is a Member of the Senate Democrat leadership. She said: Shutdowns are not good for the economy. Yesterday, she voted to shut down the government. Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii said: I've seen the same thing over and over again. He said: Shutdowns don't work. . . . No one wins, but Americans have a lot to lose. Yesterday, he voted to shut down the government. Those were Senate Democrats' words when there was a Democrat in the White House. Yet last night, when it mattered, Democrats ignored their own warnings. Either their memories are short or their principles are situational. The costs they described are now a reality. Border Patrol agents are showing up to work; they are not getting paid. The Border Patrol union warns that shutdowns threaten their ``capacity to maintain the most secure border in our Nation's history.'' Veterans' healthcare is going to be impacted. Low-income families will lose vital benefits to help buy groceries. Republicans are committed to reopening the government with a clean continuing resolution. That will allow us to finish the appropriations process the right way. When he was majority leader, Senator Schumer broke that process, the appropriations process. Last year, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed--the committee, not Chuck Schumer, but that committee passed 11 of 12 appropriations bills, many of them unanimous, always bipartisan, and what happened? Senator Schumer let each and every one of them rot and die in his Senate desk drawer. He shut down the appropriations process, and now he wants to shut down the government. Republicans have restored the appropriations process. For the first time in 4 years, the Senate passed appropriations bills in August, passed three of them. Senator Susan Collins of Maine deserves special praise and thanks for this achievement. Passing a clean CR will allow the Senate to finish our bipartisan work. The American people want their government open. They want it reopened. They want it to remain open. They want it working. So today Democrats are facing a clear choice; they can govern in the best interest of the American people or they can continue to grandstand for their retweets and their likes from their liberal base. Republicans are united in our commitment to reopen the government. How long it takes, how costly it is, that is entirely up to the Senate Democrats. A bipartisan offer, a bipartisan bill that already passed the House is right here in the Senate for a vote today. The President is ready to sign it to reopen the government. It is time to pass the bill today and end this Schumer shutdown. Waiving Quorum Call Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to consent to waive the mandatory quorum calls with respect to Calendar No. 167, S. 2882, Calendar No. 168, H.R. 5371.

Mr. BARRASSO. I yield the floor.

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

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, we just heard the minority leader come to the floor of the Senate, once again, refusing to admit it is the Democrats who are driving America into a shutdown. Let me remind everyone what Senator Schumer, himself, said in 2013. That was when the government faced another government shutdown. This is his quote. He said: What if I persuaded my caucus to say, ``I'm going to shut the government down unless I get my way?'' It's a politics of idiocy. His words--a shutdown is ``idiocy.'' They are his words, not mine. So, today, Republicans are committed to keeping the government open. We are going to vote to do that again today. The House has already passed a clean continuing resolution with bipartisan votes, and it keeps the government open and functioning for the next 7 weeks. It allows Republicans and Democrats on the Appropriations Committee to continue their bipartisan work on a full year of funding for our Nation. This is where Senators from both parties have a very important part to play. The continuing resolution is now in the Senate. Senate Republicans support it. Senate Democrats should join us and vote yes to keep the government open because, if not, the government shuts down at midnight tonight. Democrats have no problem voting for 13 clean continuing resolutions, just like the one we have here today. They did that when Joe Biden was President. Now they refuse to do what they did 13 times for Joe Biden. Instead, they are demanding a ransom. Senator Schumer has come to the Senate with a ransom note. He is asking for $1 trillion just to keep the government open for 4 short weeks. This proposal is a far-left wish list. The Democrats in this body know that they are responding to the demands of the far-left, radical wing of their party--radical, extreme, dangerous, scary people who want to take this country far, far to the left and are happy to see a government shutdown. They are demanding a government shutdown by the Democrats in this body. So what do they want to do with this trillion dollars that is in this wish list--this ransom note--from the minority leader? Well, they want to spend $400 billion to keep Biden bonus COVID payments forever-- forever. They want to repeal reforms that strengthen Medicaid. It strengthens Medicaid for the people who need it the most. That is not what the Democrats want. They want it to go to people who are unwilling to work, want to sit home, want to get free healthcare. These are able- bodied individuals who refuse to work. Democrats say: Give them healthcare, no responsibility, none whatsoever. Oh, and they want to spend billions of dollars for overseas projects related to their obsession with extreme climate policies. The minority leader made a statement today on healthcare that I found to be preposterous because I am a doctor. I practiced medicine for 24 years. I was in a rural hospital in Wyoming just this past week. The Democrats' proposal--the ransom note that they have provided--wants to repeal the critically important $50 billion rural hospital fund. Every Democrat in this body voted against a $50 billion rural hospital fund. Just a few minutes ago, the Senate minority leader came to the floor. He said one of his Members went to some rural communities in his home State and said that the healthcare providers there are really concerned. Well, then those healthcare providers haven't been informed by the Democrat Senators from that State about what is in the bill that passed this summer and the incredible resources that are being made to make sure that rural hospitals can be sustained, to stay afloat, to stay open to provide healthcare. The Democrats are so against rural communities of this country. They view them as the enemy, the red counties. They are so fixated with the big cities and kowtowing to the big city mayors that they actually introduced a bill in July. It is stunning. They call it Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act. It is preposterous because that act alone repeals the $50 billion for the rural hospital communities. They didn't just do it once with their bill in July; they have done it again with a ransom note from Chuck Schumer to the Republicans, saying that if you want to keep the government open for 4 short weeks, get rid of this rural healthcare hospital lifeline. Hospitals all across my State and yours realize it is important for their sustainability to provide healthcare in rural communities where the next hospital may be 100 miles away. That is something foreign to the other side of the aisle who ignore, so often, the rural communities in their own States, who can say they can ignore them; don't campaign there; don't go there; don't talk to those people. It is the big cities that sustain us, and we are going to actually punish the rural communities by stripping from a successful piece of legislation $50 billion set aside for rural healthcare in this country. What the Democrats are proposing is an outrageous shakedown, and that is why we are going to have a shutdown because they refuse to keep the government open while we are working on bipartisan funding bills. Everything they are doing is focused on satisfying the most radical, extreme, dangerous, scary part of their party. In March, I believe, Senator Schumer did the right thing. He voted with Republicans to keep the government open. What happened? The far left immediately attacked him for doing the right thing. Nancy Pelosi said: I myself don't give anything away for nothing. She was even against it. AOC questioned why he would ``hand away our leverage for free.'' Eighteen of Democrats' own candidates who are running right now in open seats for the Senate in 2026 were questioned by one of the newsletters in town. They all said they refused to say whether they were going to vote for him as leader of the Democratic Party. So now, according to an Axios report from last week, what we have seen the minority leader do is he built a private war room--their quote, ``private war room''--with liberal groups to orchestrate a shutdown. When I hear the minority leader come to the floor say: Oh, we don't want to do it, he has been orchestrating this, according to this news report, for months, orchestrating with his liberal private war room. He and his staff have been meeting with these groups every week for the past 2 months to plan the shutdown that begins tonight at midnight. Senator Schumer is doing exactly what he once called the politics of idiocy. He is threatening to shut down the government unless he gets everything that he wants. Well, Republicans are not going to pay the ransom, and the American people aren't going to pay the ransom. We are not going to sell out our Nation's servicemembers, our law enforcement officers, our seniors, our air traffic controllers. Let me remind everyone who pays the price for a Schumer shutdown. The American Legion warns of a shutdown that will ``directly affect the lives of veterans and their families.'' They will pay a price for the Schumer shutdown. Vietnam Veterans of America put it plainly: For veterans, a shutdown is . . . an immediate disruption of care, support, and progress on life-saving initiatives. They will pay a price for the Schumer shutdown. The National Fraternal Order of Police says a shutdown ``will cause major disruptions for programs that fund public safety efforts in our communities.'' They will pay a price for the Schumer shutdown. The National Association of Police Organizations adds: Federal law enforcement officers, who are working to protect our cities and communities from violent crime, drugs, and guns, will be putting their lives on the line without getting paid. They will pay a price for the Schumer shutdown. The Association of Mature American Citizens warns that seniors on fixed incomes will face ``backlogs and service disruptions.'' They will pay a price for the Schumer shutdown. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association says farmers and ranchers will lose ``predictability and stability'' as harvest season begins. They will pay a price for the Schumer shutdown. The National Grocers Association warns that vital programs feeding low-income families and children will run out of money. This is the reality of a Schumer shutdown. Here is the bottom line: Republicans are fighting for veterans, for servicemembers, for law enforcement, for Border Patrol agents, for senior citizens, and for rural hospitals. Democrats are willing to shut down the government for illegal immigrants, climate extremism, and wasteful Washington spending. Twelve years ago, Senator Schumer decried the politics of idiocy. If Democrats shut down the government at 12 midnight tonight, the idiocy will be theirs. The House has done its job. It passed a continuing resolution to fund the government. President Trump is ready to sign it. It is time, today, for the Senate to pass it. The American people are watching. I urge my Democrat colleagues to join with us. Tear up the ransom note. Keep the government open. Otherwise, Democrats will own the Schumer shutdown. The American people will suffer the costs and the consequences. I yield the floor.