Mike Crapo

Mr. CRAPO

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the previous rollcall vote scheduled at 11 o'clock be started immediately.

Mr. CRAPO

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I object.

Mr. CRAPO

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I rise in opposition to S. 2383, the Creating Access to Necessary American- Canadian Duty Adjustments Act, and S. 151, the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes on Imported Goods Act of 2025. I agree with my colleagues, who will speak in just a moment, that tariffs should be more targeted to avoid harm to small businesses. I made precisely that point at a hearing in the Finance Committee in May. Similarly, with less than 2 days to go to the August 1 reciprocal negotiation deadline, I appreciate that my colleagues, as well as our constituents, may be nervous about what comes next. However, at this juncture, these two bills are counterproductive to helping American families and businesses of all sizes. The President's historic trade negotiations are bearing fruit. President Trump already announced new trade deals with major trading partners, including the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Japan, and the European Union. I urge other trading partners to reach a deal by August 1. Consequently, S. 151 and S. 2383 are counterproductive to the progress that President Trump has achieved and is poised to continue achieving in ongoing negotiations with our trading partners. On April 30, the Senate rejected the IEEPA disapproval resolution on reciprocal tariffs for the same reasons. For these reasons, I again object.

Mr. CRAPO

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent that all votes after the first vote tonight be strictly 10 minutes in length.

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII and as if in legislative session, it be in order for Senator Sanders to make motions to discharge S.J. Res. 41 and S.J. Res. 34, and if made, the Senate vote on the motions to discharge in the order listed at 9 p.m. today; further, that following the disposition of the motions to discharge the joint resolutions, the Senate vote on the motions to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar Nos. 172 and 282 and that the mandatory quorum calls be waived; finally, that if cloture is invoked on any of the nominations individually, all postcloture time be expired and the Senate vote on confirmation of the nominations at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the Democratic leader, no earlier than Thursday, July 31, and if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. CRAPO

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to complete my remarks before the 11:30 vote.

Mr. CRAPO

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum calls with respect to the Kimmitt and Monarez nominations.

Mr. CRAPO

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the motion to invoke cloture of Mr. William Kimmitt, who is nominated to serve as the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade. In this role, Mr. Kimmitt would lead the Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration. This Agency promotes U.S. exports, attracts foreign investment, and counters unfair trade. Mr. Kimmitt is well-qualified to lead the International Trade Administration. In addition to his private sector experience, Mr. Kimmitt served at the Office of the United States Trade Representative during President Trump's first term. As a counselor to the U.S. Trade Representative, he advised on important trade policy and legal matters, including the United States- Mexico-Canada agreement. At his nomination hearing, Mr. Kimmitt said he understands ``how trade policy affects real workers, real businesses and the long-term competitiveness of the United States.'' He pledged to bring this perspective ``to every aspect of his job,'' and I am confident that he will do so. I thank Mr. Kimmitt for his commitment and for his responsiveness throughout the nomination process. I strongly encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me today in voting to advance Mr. Kimmitt's nomination. I yield the floor.

Mr. CRAPO

Mr. CRAPO. Reserving the right to object, I am the chairman of the Finance Committee, the committee they are trying to pull this bill out of. The fact is that I completely agree with the objective of my colleagues on the floor today that we need to get transparency in the prescription drug pricing system. Americans deserve a transparent, affordable, and accessible prescription drug market. Far too often, the current system fails to meet those needs. It is not only, though, because we haven't got ads on TV saying the list price of the drug--I don't have an opposition to just doing something like that--but it is much more complex. Vertically integrated health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, and other intermediaries suppress competition, pocket valuable drug discounts, and increase prices for consumers--all unrelated to the list price of the drug. Last Congress, the Senate Finance Committee, which I chair, advanced a number of our bipartisan proposals to reform our broken prescription drug supply chain. Senator Grassley has just referenced those proposals, and he is a strong ally and advocate of those. These policies would ensure that patients, not middlemen, benefit from the negotiated price of drugs--not the price you see if you just look at the list price, the negotiated price of the drugs. With bipartisan support and cooperation, we can pass that package by the end of this year, but we need bipartisan support to move forward and do it. While well-intended, the proposal before us today risks confusing patients further by requiring disclosure of list prices in advertisements that no consumer should pay--none. A drug's list price includes none of the discounts, rebates, or other price concessions found in net prices, which continue to decline even as other prices grow. Rather than broadcast and validate a list price, Congress should ensure that patients can share in the savings reflected in the net pricing points, enabling both increased transparency and reduced out- of-pocket costs at the pharmacy counter. What I am saying is that this is complex, and we are working and have a working solution. I stand ready to work with the administration and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on an effective method to increase transparency and access to relevant information that patients need to make important choices about their own health but not to pull a bill out of our committee when we are already working in committee to get the right and most effective solution put into place. For those reasons, I object to my colleague's request.

Mr. CRAPO

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

Mr. CRAPO

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call with respect to the Cole nomination.

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

Mr. CRAPO

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I congratulate Troy Gugel, who is retiring after a remarkable, 40-year career with Micron. Troy's ideas, talents, and experience have contributed to the success of this pioneering Idaho company and shaped the memory and storage technology sector. Troy, who started with Micron on February 4, 1985, after graduating with a degree in electronics, was part of its transition from a local Boise corporation to an international, premier semi-conductor producer. He started as an equipment repair technician working his way through a series of promotions before going back to school part-time to earn another degree in business management as he moved into more project management roles in research and development. He is concluding his career as a principal engineer specializing in TPG IE Modeling. As the company and Troy progressed, he worked under five Micron chief executive officers, starting with Joe Parkinson and ending with Sanjay Mehrotra. Interestingly, Troy went skydiving with Steve Appleton twice when Steve was developing an interest in flying and skydiving. Troy's career spanned the downturns as well as the years of company growth where economic forecasts exceeded expectations. He has been a member of the workforce that has seen the company grow from a computer memory and data storage producer to rise as a leader for producing the enhanced memory solutions for AI-driven technologies changing our world, homes, and lives today. Throughout his career, Troy has handled important technical tasks, bettered himself through his continuing education, and directly contributed that added knowledge to his field. He also personally contributes to Idaho's leadership in innovation and our State's consistently high ranking in patents held per capita. Troy has a remarkable five U.S. patents related to photolithographic metrology method; unique photolithographic processing technique; immersion photolithographic defect reduction and novel process techniques. I thank Troy for his enormous contributions of his time and ideas to discovery and development for Idaho and our country. I should also mention that Troy's wife Margaret Ballard is a long-time and greatly valued member of my staff. Realizing that staff service to our constituencies often carries over to family time over the years, I know Margaret joins me in thanking Troy for his steady support. Congratulations, Troy, on an outstanding career of contributions to an essential field of innovation. I wish Troy the best as he embarks on his retirement.

Mr. CRAPO

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Risch and I be permitted to speak for up to 1 minute each regarding the recent tragedy in our State.

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, the Senate has important work to accomplish today to prevent a more than $4 trillion tax hike on American workers and families, and we will accomplish that goal. However, while business continues here, life for the North Idaho community of Coeur d'Alene remains at a very painful standstill as we mourn the horrific loss of two firefighters. Yesterday afternoon, firefighters from Coeur d'Alene and Kootenai County were responding to a fire on Canfield Mountain. Upon arrival, they were ambushed by gunfire. Two brave firefighters were murdered. Another has already undergone surgery for gunshot wounds. As we continue our work today, I ask my colleagues to join me in sending your prayers for that firefighter's full recovery, for the deceased victims, for their families, and for the entire North Idaho community grieving this heinous act.

Mr. CRAPO. As we close, I would like to thank my colleagues from Washington as well as all of you. Many of you have come up and expressed your sentiments today. I would say even the Federal workers were there, the FBI and others. There was a huge influx of support from those who put their lives on the line every day, and some lost their lives yesterday. Because of that, I ask you to join us for just a moment of silence and prayer. (Moment of silence.)

Mr. CRAPO. Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. CRAPO. This is something we will hear a lot of today, and this will just be the first shot at it. The bottom line is, billionaires are going to pay the same amount of taxes after this bill as they paid before this bill. They are going to pay the same amount. This notion about billionaires getting tax cuts at the expense of everybody else is just the politics of class rather than the politics of fear. The rest of the argument is the politics of fear. The reality is, the reforms we are putting into place are to try to rein in control of wasteful and fraudulent and abusive spending that actually diverts resources away from the people who these programs really deserve to receive. I urge a strong ``no'' vote against this amendment. Vote on Motion to Commit

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, more of the politics of fear. Rural hospitals and providers not only deliver essential healthcare services in their communities but also strengthen local economies, employing hundreds of individuals and supporting regional business development. Unfortunately, for far too long, some rural hospitals have struggled to achieve financial stability, even with a wide range of targeted payment enhancements. These issues predate the consideration of the reforms that we are including in the legislation today. Let me be clear. This amendment is intended to derail this very bill. The Finance Committee has a long tradition of coming together on bipartisan issues, like bolstering our rural healthcare system. I look forward to working with all of my colleagues to advance permanent solutions to provide rural providers, from telehealth to innovative reimbursement models. Today, we need to pass this essential legislation, and I oppose this amendment. Vote on Motion to Commit

Mr. CRAPO. Madam President, Republicans are restoring integrity to the Medicaid Program by closing loopholes and preventing States from exploiting Medicaid Federal match rates. States' provider taxes for nursing homes and immediate-care facilities are not phased down under this bill. Additionally, the bill repeals the harmful Biden administration's nursing home staffing rule that would have forced the closure of nursing homes and long-term care facilities. I urge my colleagues to vote against this amendment. Vote on Motion

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, Republicans are strengthening Medicaid and setting it on a more fiscally sustainable path by targeting waste, fraud, and abuse. This bill does not take Medicaid away from children, the elderly, the disabled, or the medically frail, adults caring for children and elderly relatives, or any recipient the program was originally designed to help. It increases eligibility for home- and community-based services, which will increase access to mental health or substance abuse disorder treatments. If this motion were adopted, it would delay a vote on this bill and stand in the way of Republicans' efforts to prevent a $4 trillion tax hike on working families and deliver additional tax relief to the middle class. I urge my colleagues to vote no. Vote on Motion

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, no decision has been made about tariffs in this bill. More importantly, none of the President's tariffs rely on any authorities made from a prior reconciliation bill or are contingent on this bill. We can and should have a debate about the precise approaches, including how best to incorporate tariff policy, but this is not the appropriate vehicle to have a serious debate on trade. If adopted, this motion would commit the whole bill to a delay and stand in the way of our efforts to prevent a $4 trillion tax hike on working families and deliver additional tax relief to the middle class. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to vote no. Vote on Motion to Commit

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, Democrats contend that they want to increase and extend the child tax credit and ensure that big corporations and the ultrawealthy pay their fair share. Despite the rhetoric behind these claims, I remind my colleagues that Republicans created the child tax credit, expanded its availability, and doubled the amount of the credit in the TCJA, which we are working on tonight. This bill not only makes that doubled child tax credit permanent but also increases it, providing significant relief for families. In addition, as a result of the TCJA cutting taxes for, overwhelmingly, the majority of Americans, with the middle class receiving the largest proportional benefit of these cuts, Republicans made the Tax Code more progressive, not less. The legislation before us makes those tax provisions permanent. Americans deserve more than empty platitudes. They deserve meaningful tax relief and meaningful results. Vote on Motion

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, going back to endless subsidies is not sensible energy tax policy. Allowing adversarial nations and the industries that have been fairly industrialized to benefit from incentives intended to benefit Americans is doubly unfair. I urge my colleagues to vote no. Vote on Amendment No. 2717

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, supporting an all-of-the-above energy policy does not require excess subsidies to certain technologies, as has been the case in the years since the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act. This bill ends the mistake of endless subsidies for favored energy sources. Phasing out subsidies from mature industries is prudent and responsible. Americans have been paying for these subsidies for decades, and it is time these industries compete on a level playing field. This bill provides American businesses of all kinds broad-based incentives to grow and hire, including businesses that generate energy and produce the products that help them to do that. I urge a ``no'' vote. Vote on Amendment No. 2719