Ted Cruz

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Reserving the right to object, for the same reasons I articulated a minute ago. I am quite sympathetic to the concerns raised by the Senator from Oregon. He is right. There are threats against State and local officials. Those threats are serious, and they deserve to be dealt with seriously. In my view, violence is never acceptable, and that is whether I agree with you politically or I disagree with you politically. We should debate civilly, with respect, with decency, and violence should never be the answer. So just as I did with his previous amendment, I extend my offer in the hearing we convene to consider the issue of State and local officials to consider how best to expand the protection. I am interested in expanding the protection to as wide a universe as is feasible, as is practicable, but that answer is not yet worked out. State and local officials is a universe that comprises tens of thousands, if not more people than that. We should have hearings and consider the effect before passing legislation that, if the bill got expanded, would engender an objection to this bill and kill the entire bill altogether. Because I don't want this body to do nothing and to fail to take a reasonable, commonsense step to protect the security of Members of Congress and their staffs and because I very much want to pass Senator Klobuchar's legislation--which I might note, Senator Klobuchar is a Democrat; I am a Republican. This is bipartisan legislation. Because this amendment at that time, I believe, would imperil the Senate doing anything right now, I object.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in recess until 5:45 p.m.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, for the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation I report favorably the following nomination lists which were printed in the RECORDS on the dates indicated, and ask unanimous consent, to save the expense of reprinting on the Executive Calendar that these nominations lie at the Secretary's desk for the information of Senators.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed a report for S. 414, ADS for Mental Health Services Act, on June 24, 2025, before receiving the formal CBO score on the bill. The committee received the CBO score today. I ask unanimous consent that the accompanying CBO score be printed in the Record.

Mr. CRUZ

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

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I rise in support of the nomination of Arielle Roth to serve as Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA. Having worked closely with Arielle, I can attest personally that there is no one better to lead the NTIA and to advise the President on telecommunications issues. As the telecommunications policy director to the Senate Commerce Committee, Arielle led my legislative and oversight efforts on communications and broadband policy with integrity, creativity, and dedication. I am not sure I have ever met someone as passionate about telecommunications law and policy as Arielle. Her work ethic is indefatigable, only rivaled by her dedication to public service. President Trump's administration and the American people are blessed to be getting her talents in this new role. Arielle will play an integral role in the management of the Federal Government's use of electromagnetic spectrum. She will work closely with Federal Agencies to protect critical uses of spectrum, whether for national defense, weather forecasting, or transportation, while identifying opportunities to free up spectrum for commercial use. As I have stated before, American leadership in spectrum is vital to the security of global telecommunications networks, to our own national security, and to our economic success. NTIA also plays a crucial role in administering billions of dollars for Federal broadband programs, including the $42 billion BEAD program. President Trump and Secretary Lutnick have charted a new course from the prior administration's inaction and ideological hand-wringing. With Arielle at the helm of NTIA, I have no doubt that BEAD will succeed in its mission of connecting Americans to the internet as expeditiously and efficiently as possible. Arielle's qualifications show that she is the right person for this job. Her telecommunications experience dates back to her time as a legal fellow at the Hudson Institute's Center for Economics of the Internet. Then, for 4 years, Ms. Roth served at the Federal Communications Commission as the Wireline Advisor for then-Commissioner Michael O'Rielly. She next turned to Congress, where she worked on telecommunications policy at the House Energy and Commerce Committee and, later, as legislative counsel to our former colleague Senator Roy Blunt, a long-serving member of the Senate Commerce Committee. Arielle has been a tireless and expert advocate in defending and promoting key conservative values. She has consistently fought to defend the taxpayer, to defend free speech, with particular passion to defending kids online. Arielle was key in delivering policy victories many said were impossible. Simply put, her experience both in Congress and at the FCC makes her ideally suited to lead NTIA. Arielle will serve President Trump and Secretary Lutnick well in their mission to advance government efficiency, economic growth, and innovation. The American people will benefit enormously from her service. I strongly urge my colleagues to support Arielle Roth's nomination to be NTIA Administrator. She was voted out of the Commerce Committee with bipartisan support, and my hope is that she will be confirmed on this floor with bipartisan support. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, public broadcasting has long been overtaken by partisan activists, plain and simple. This isn't just an abstract critique. NPR and PBS have revealed their leftwing bias time and time again. When blowing the whistle on NPR, Uri Berliner, a former senior editor-- himself a leftwing Democrat--wrote that ``NPR has always had a liberal bent. . . . An opened-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR . . . we don't have an audience that reflects America. Exhibit A: After the New York Post broke the Hunter Biden laptop story, NPR ran political cover for the Democrats, refusing to cover the story. We don't want to waste listeners' and readers' time on stories that are just pure distractions. Mind you, the story was true; that is why they didn't want to cover it. As for PBS, its coverage of last year's DNC was only 12 percent negative; the RNC, a staggering 72 percent negative. If you want to watch leftwing propaganda, turn on MSNBC, but the taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize it. I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, Texas is grieving. Our hearts are shattered on what transpired in the early hours of Friday, July 4. In just a few hours, over 1.8 trillion gallons of rain fell upon central Texas. The Guadalupe River--ordinarily a beautiful, peaceful, calm river--rose nearly 30 feet in less than an hour. The result was utter and complete devastation. As we stand here today, there are over 100 Texans confirmed to be dead, and that number is still expected to rise. We have 27 girls and counselors confirmed dead from Camp Mystic, and that number, likewise, may well rise. Many in this body may not be familiar with the Hill Country where this happened. I want to tell you a little bit about it. Hill Country is in central Texas. I love every part of our great State, but I think Hill Country is, by far, the most beautiful part of our State. As the name suggests, there are rolling hills, beautiful rivers, and for a century, the Hill Country has been a place where young people across Texas have gone to summer camps. There are some 40 summer camps just in Kerr County. And it has been a place where young girls, young boys go to make friends, to learn independence. Camp Mystic is one of the most storied camps in Texas. It is 100 years old, founded in 1926. For 100 summers, Camp Mystic has hosted girls. It is a Christian camp, and it trains young girls in teamwork and camaraderie, in independence. And it produces some of the most incredible friendships--lifetime friendships--you have ever seen. Many Texas summer camps, at the end of what is often a monthlong session, there is a closing ceremony that is typically 1 or 2 days. And I will tell you, it is an incredible thing to see Texas women coming back to these girls' camps, because you will regularly see a grandmother and a mother and a little girl, all of whom attended the same camp. It is a tradition that has stitched together thousands of Texans all across our great State. I will tell you, for me, this is not abstract and theoretical. This crisis hits very, very close to home for me. For a decade, my daughters have gone to camp in Kerr County, in Hunt, TX. They have gone to camp just a couple of miles away from Camp Mystic. Just last week, my wife Heidi was in Hunt picking up my youngest daughter Catherine. She picked her up from camp. It was a wonderful time; it was joyful. This week, hundreds of little girls were dropped off at camp--this previous week--to start their next session, and in the early hours of July 4, the waters came rushing in, and it cost their lives. I spent all of yesterday in the Hill Country. I met with first responders. I met with people who demonstrated extraordinary heroism. I met with people on the ground. When this flood first started occurring and we were getting reports of just how bad it was, within hours I was on the phone with Texas Governor Greg Abbott. I was on the phone with Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. I was on the phone with Nim Kidd, the Texas Director of Emergency Management, and then I called President Trump. And I told him: It is still early, but the reports we are getting of what is happening in Texas are utterly and completely devastating. This has the potential to have an enormous loss of life. And I said: It is critical that we have every Federal resource and asset. I will tell you what President Trump told me, he said: Ted, whatever Texas needs the answer is yes. And the Federal Government responded. In the hours after the flooding began, there were over a dozen helicopters in the air, coastguardsmen and National Guardsmen, Texas Department of Public Safety. They performed over 850 rescues. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet Coast Guardsman Scott Ruskan. Scott Ruskan saved 165 girls. He helicoptered into Camp Mystic, landed on an open field in a very dangerous landing terrain where many of the girls had gone because it was the highest ground in the camp. Scott spent 3\1/2\ hours in the dark of night with torrential rain pouring down upon him with little girls surrounding him, many of them in their pajamas, many with one shoe. They had been pulled out of bed. Little girls crying, weeping, scared, terrified out of their minds. Some girls singing hymns together. Scott stayed on the ground with them and helped 165 girls into helicopters. Each helicopter could carry roughly 15 girls, so one after the other, helicopters came in and landed, and he helped the girls get on the helicopter and helicopter out of there. When I talked with Scott yesterday, he said he had just got off the phone with a mom and dad and a little girl who was one of those 165. And Scott, like many Coast Guard swimmers--if you have had the opportunity to meet Coast Guard swimmers, I describe them as a combination of a Navy SEAL and a California surfer. Coast Guard swimmers are some of the most incredible heroes we have. Scott told the press this week, he said: I am just a dude. Which is very fitting for a Coast Guard swimmer. It is what many of them would say. But he told me those parents were crying and saying: You saved our daughter's life. And they said: You held our daughter's hand as she was scared and as you helped get her on the helicopter. Yesterday, I went to Camp Mystic. I walked the grounds. It is the most horrible thing I have ever seen in my life. I have never seen devastation like this. The river sits--and yesterday it was quiet; it was beautiful. The Guadalupe River, I have floated on dozens of times. The Guadalupe River, girls, boys, they go to swim and canoe, to have fun. It was calm and peaceful yesterday, but the morning of July 4, it rose with a ferocity that the cabins at Mystic, just about every one, was 8 feet deep in water. I could see the water where it rose. It shattered out the windows. The force of the water pulled furniture out of the cabins. I cannot imagine the terror those girls experienced. One cabin, a cabin with the youngest campers, it was called Bumble Inn, a sign on the outside with a picture of a bee. Outside that cabin were 17 lone white Latin crosses. On each one of them was written the name of someone who lost their life. That entire cabin is either confirmed dead or missing. And the names of those little girls, all third graders, two of those names are girls who go to school with my daughter, third graders from Houston. One of them lived a block away from me in Houston. The final cross on the right has the name Dick Eastland, who is the director of the camp. He graduated from the University of Texas 50 years ago. He has been running the camp for 50 years. And in the early hours of July 4, he was driving his Suburban trying to rescue girls, and he drowned, just a couple hundred yards away from where I was, in deep water. He had a lifetime of caring for young girls. It is not surprising to those who knew him that he gave his life trying to save the lives of those girls. I will tell you, I stood in front of those crosses and just wept. While I was there, there was a mom and dad who came and knelt in front of one of those crosses. They leaned over and kissed the cross, and then the mom walked to the cabin and looked in the window. And the cabin, everything had been cleaned out by the force of the water. She just stood there and wept. You looked across the cabin, and there were multiple families, moms and dads going through belongings. Throughout the camp, you could see foot lockers with glitter names put on the foot lockers. You could see pillows. You could see flip-flops and Crocs, and you could see hundreds of stuffed animals. These were little girls. I tried to leave the families alone and respect their grief. I don't know how many of them were moms or dads who were collecting the belongings of their daughter who had lost their life. There were some girls who were walking around going through the belongings. I assume they were either campers who had survived or siblings of those who had lost their lives. For the past several days, I have spoken to multiple family members whose daughters had been missing, and the panic that any father, any mother feels when you don't know where your child is; that hole in their heart that will never be filled. Texas is grieving from a wound unlike any I have ever seen before, but I also want to bring a word of hope. In the face of all of this despair, in the face of all of this suffering, we saw extraordinary acts of heroism. I have spent 13 years in the Senate representing Texas. Texas is a large State--31 million people. Many natural disasters have struck Texas, from hurricanes to tornados to wildfires, and consistently, over and over again when you go to a disaster, you see the same thing, which is Texans coming together just helping each other. I talked to you about Scott Ruskan, the coastguardsman. I met yesterday the parents of another teenage boy. He was 14. He was at La Junta Camp, which is another boys camp there in Hunt. He was 14. He was awakened at about 3 in the morning. Water was rising. The camp was flooding. And his counselors told him come help rescue the little boys. So he went to the younger boys' cabin and helped them swim through the water. These parents that I talked to yesterday, they were in tears. I asked them: Is your son OK? He was. Thankfully, the La Junta campers survived. And I said: Listen, he will always live with this trauma; you will always live with this trauma. But I said: To the extent it helps, he will also always know that at age 14, he helped save the life of 7- and 8- and 9-year-old little boys. And there will be boys and, one day, men who were living because that teenage boy risked his life for theirs. I heard another story of a counselor who was in water up to his neck, holding with both hands mattresses on the water, on top of both mattresses was a camper. All three of them survived. At the end of the day, I drove by a store called Hunt Store. The Hunt Store is an iconic store right there. It is a store we always stop by. It is a store Heidi and Catherine stopped by last week at the end of camp. The Hunt Store has been completely gutted. The floodwaters just cleaned it out. The sign up top that reads ``Hunt Store'' had been changed. And now it reads: ``Hunt Strong.'' It is a beautiful statement. In the parking lot of the Hunt Store, there were people gathered eating. There was a giant trailer with a barbecue smoker and grill. From several Texans--big dudes with beards. They looked like ZZ Top. They weren't from Hunt; they were from Rockport, TX. Rockport, TX, is down on the gulf. And back almost a decade ago, when Hurricane Harvey hit, Rockport was devastated. And those folks from Rockport said they remembered that when their houses were destroyed, people from Hunt, TX, came down and offered them food and prepared them food. And I have got to tell you, I remember when Hurricane Harvey happened. I was in Rockport multiple times, and I was at those food trucks. I didn't know the folks providing them were from Hunt. But the folks from Rockport said: They helped us out when we were in need; we have got to help them out. That is who Texas is. In the parking lot of the Hunt Store, there was a car that had written on it on the windshield: Isaiah 43:2. When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you. I will tell the Presiding Officer, there are many Texans right now who just need love; they need prayers. I would ask everyone to pray for the moms and dads who are grieving, who are missing their baby girls; for friends and family, hug them, love them. They need your support. They just need a shoulder to cry on. There is nothing you can say that will bring their babies back. Just down the street from the Hunt Store is a church. It had in front of it a sign: ``Free lunch and dinner, barbecue. All are welcome.'' I have to say, that is the responsibility of the church to care for those in need, to feed and clothe and help those who are suffering. The church should do that every day but especially in the face of a crisis. Texas will come through this. Kerr County will come through this. On my street at home, almost every house has a tree in front of it with a ribbon to mourn the girls from Camp Mystic. There was a video on the internet that was posted of a schoolbus full of girls from Mystic after the flooding. And they are driving along, and one of the girls is filming the disaster, the devastation along the side of the river. And the girls are singing hymns. They are singing Christian hymns rejoicing. I have to tell you, if you can listen to those hymns, you can see those girls singing those hymns and not be reduced to tears, I can't imagine that you can. Our State is hurting, but we will come through it. For all of our colleagues who have reached out and said: We love you; we are standing with you, thank you. We need that support. We will come through it. And we will come through with a spirit of what is on the sign above the Hunt Store, ``Hunt Strong,'' ``Texas Strong.'' We will come through this together. I yield the floor.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. There are many important elements to One Big Beautiful Bill, but none over time is likely to have as big an impact as this specific provision that the Democrats are trying to strike tonight. Across America, millions of children, especially low-income, African- American, and Hispanic children are trapped in failing schools. They face crime and violence and despair. Without the ability to learn and prosper, they are denied a fair shot at the American dream. School choice is the civil rights issue of the 21st century. Every child, regardless of race or wealth or ethnicity, deserves access to an excellent education. This tax credit provision will unleash billions of dollars every single year for scholarships for kids to attend the K through 12 school of their choice. Sadly, every Democrat in this body will oppose these scholarships because they are more beholden to teacher union bosses than they are dedicated to fighting for kids. Dr. King's dream will take a major step forward tonight as every kid in America will have a chance at an excellent education.

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 2602 and ask that it be reported by number.

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, a few hours ago, we had an agreement. Blackburn-Cruz was set to pass. It was a compromise that would have imposed a 5-year moratorium on State regulation of artificial intelligence. When I spoke to President Trump last night, he said it was a terrific agreement. The agreement protected kids, protected the rights of creative artists. But outside interests opposed that deal. Communist China, which desperately wants to beat the United States in the race for AI, hated the deal. Liberal politicians, like Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass and ``Comrade'' Mamdani, who are all eager to aggressively regulate AI, all hated the moratorium. Randi Weingarten spoke out against the moratorium. So did transgender groups and radical leftwing groups that want to use blue State regulations to mandate woke AI. In this body, your word is your currency. Our deal would have passed easily. But a couple of hours ago, the other side backed out. I recognize that many of my colleagues would prefer not to vote on this matter. Therefore, I withdraw the Blackburn-Cruz amendment, and I would suggest that Blackburn No. 2814, the motion to strike, be adopted by voice vote.

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, Senate Republicans are providing the FAA, in this bill, with $12.5 billion to transform the air traffic control system--a concept that is incredibly popular with the American people and badly needed. The January 29 midair collision was a tragedy, and it should never have happened. The Senate Commerce Committee is leading the investigation into what went wrong and how to prevent another accident. The introduced text updates the rent calculations for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the entity that runs the two airports owned by the Federal Government. The Federal Government originally calculated the rent in 1987 at $7.5 million, massively below market rates. This bill increases that to $15 million, still dramatically below market rates. By comparison, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is paying over $100 million in rent annually to New York City. On top of that, Dulles is about to start subleasing extremely valuable land, and the Federal taxpayers are not going to see a dime of that money. This amendment is nothing more than an earmark for Northern Virginia, and I urge my colleagues to vote no on this amendment.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, for the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation I report favorably the following nomination list which was printed in the Record on the date indicated, and ask unanimous consent, to save the expense of reprinting on the Executive Calendar that this nomination lie at the Secretary's desk for the information of Senators.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I rise today having introduced a joint resolution designating the month of June as ``Life Month'' to honor the dignity of every human life and to thank those who protect the most vulnerable. It is also a time to renew our national commitment to defending the unborn. Three years ago, the Supreme Court made a historic advance in the cause of life. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the Court overturned Roe v. Wade--a flawed decision that for nearly 50 years enshrined one of the most disturbing notions in our constitutional history; that the Constitution somehow protects the right to end the life of an unborn child. The fact is Roe had nothing to do with the Constitution. It was invented from whole cloth. It was the product of judicial activism--nine Justices legislating from the Bench--and that dangerous path took decades to correct. Thankfully, in 2022, Roe was overturned. Dobbs did not impose any new policies from the Bench. Instead, the task of protecting life falls where it always should have been, not in the hands of unelected judges but in the hands of the American people. We the people now bear the duty, not just a legal duty but a moral duty, to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. I am reminded of how important this fight is every January when thousands gather in Washington, DC, for the March for Life. People from across the Nation come together and walk miles and miles and meet with endless offices and organizations on Capitol Hill to march for the unborn and the protection of life. They remind us that this is a movement of conviction, of compassion, and of courage. Walk into any pregnancy resource center in the country, and you will see these values in action: volunteers counseling scared young mothers, shelves stocked with diapers and baby clothes and supplies, medical care offered without a dime of government funding. You will find pastors and priests comforting families, foster parents opening their homes, and women who have walked through the pain of abortion using their voices to offer hope and healing. Life is not an accident, and it is not a coincidence. It is a joy and a blessing from God. Life is the foundation of every other right we hold dear. Without it, there can be no liberty, no prosperity, no pursuit of happiness. That is why defending the right to life is a serious responsibility. Designating June as ``Life Month'' is our way of saying that a just society is measured by how it treats the most vulnerable among us. Let June be the month when we recommit to the American ideal that every single life has dignity--every little boy, every little girl; that there is no person who is beneath the law's protection; that we are a nation not of death but of life--a nation that chooses life--and that is a cause to celebrate. I yield the floor.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I have five requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, for the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation I report favorably the following nomination lists which were printed in the RECORDS on the dates indicated, and ask unanimous consent, to save the expense of reprinting on the Executive Calendar that these nominations lie at the Secretary's desk for the information of Senators.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, I remember, as a kid in Sunday school, thinking what it would have been like to live in Israel in the age of the apostles, in the time of miracles. And yet, perhaps we have been transformed to another time of miracles. Yesterday, I was at the White House, where President Trump signed into law bipartisan legislation--my legislation--the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which I authored with Senator Amy Klobuchar to protect women, to protect teenage girls, to protect young people online from nonconsensual intimate images. We saw both parties come together and pass landmark legislation, and just a moment ago, 24 hours later, we saw the same thing happen. So I thank my colleague from Nevada for moving for this to pass by unanimous consent. And I want everyone to reflect on what you just saw happen because it is consequential. Last year, in the midst of the Presidential campaign, President Trump, at a rally in Las Vegas, announced his policy proposal of no tax on tips. And the Presiding Officer will recall that, the week after he announced that, he came and had lunch with the Republican Senators, and he told us the backstory of where the idea came from. He said he was sitting at a hotel in Las Vegas, getting ready to go to his rally, and he said he was having lunch there. And he said a waitress came by, and he said: She was beautiful; she was beautiful-- which I believe him. And he said she was complaining about the burden and the paperwork of paying taxes on tips and how challenging it was. And he said he pulled out a pad of paper, and he just wrote on the pad of paper: No tax on tips. He said: What do you think of this? And she said: Great. And he went to the rally, and he announced it. And as he told us, the entire crowd went nuts. Now, I have to say, when he announced that policy, I thought that was policy genius. The next week, I drafted legislation to implement no taxes on tips, and I introduced it in the Senate the very next week. And within days, both Senators from Nevada joined my bill as cosponsors. As the Senator from Nevada just described, she told me on the floor-- she said 25 percent of all workers in the State of Nevada are tipped workers. And this is commonsense, bipartisan tax reform. Look, I think we ought to be fighting for waiters and waitresses. We ought to be fighting for bartenders, taxicab drivers, Uber drivers. We ought to be fighting for beauticians and nail salon workers. We ought to be fighting for all the men and women who are working and working hard. We ought to be fighting for casino workers. Sorry to leave them out. As a longtime poker player, I certainly don't want to leave them out. But we ought to be fighting for blue-collar workers across this country. And I will say, I have been urging--I have urged the House of Representatives and I have urged the White House that we should take up No Tax on Tips in the House and pass it. And I said: Look, if the House passes it, I think there is a very real chance the Senate will pass it. It is bipartisan legislation. And what we just saw is the Senate passing No Tax on Tips 100 to 0. Every Democrat voted yes. Every Republican voted yes. And, by the way, the backstory--just kind of pulling the curtain back on how this process operates--the way the process operates is, when you are seeking to pass something by unanimous consent, you circulate what is called a hotline, and every Senator gets the chance to say: Are you going to object? And on the Republican side, every Senator said: Nope, good by me. And on the Democrat side, every Senator said: Nope, good by me. And so this is now passed, and we are sending it to the House of Representatives. Here is the good news. With what we just saw now, the certainty that we will see No Tax on Tips become the law of the land, I think, is very close to 100 percent. As the Senator from Nevada mentioned, it is included in the House's One Big Beautiful Bill, and whether it passes freestanding or as part of the bigger bill, one way or another, No Tax on Tips is going to become law and give real relief to hard-working Americans. So I am proud of what the Senate just did, and I commend Democrats and Republicans, even at a time of partisan division, coming together and agreeing on this commonsense policy. I think that is terrific for workers in all 50 States. I yield the floor.

Mr. CRUZ

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

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I rise today with both sorrow and gratitude in my heart to honor and celebrate the life of an extraordinary woman, the Honorable Diana Denman. Diana has rightly been described as the ``Godmother of the Texas Republican Party.'' She was a fierce warrior for freedom, but she was also a radiant spirit, a source of wisdom and kindness, and the embodiment of grace, conviction, and truth. Diana was a patriotic American. She loved this country. She was a true daughter of Texas and a very dear and cherished friend. Diana was born in Abilene, TX. Her grandfather, Jefferson Davis Sandefer, Sr., led Hardin-Simmons University for decades, and Diana often said she inherited her lifelong passion for service and scholarship from his example. But Diana's journey took her far beyond Texas. She left Abilene for Washington to study at George Washington University, from which she graduated with a degree in journalism. From there, she traveled to Hollywood to be an actress. She worked with legends like Cecil B. DeMille as well as a young actor named Ronald Reagan. Ever quick with a smile and a story, Diana used to say that the very first vote she ever cast for Reagan was for president--of the Screen Actors Guild. That vote was the start of a lifelong commitment to conservatism. From Reagan's 1976 campaign to his election and through the Presidency, Diana stood shoulder to shoulder with the movement for freedom and optimism that defined the era and which we so badly need today. She later served in the Reagan administration in roles ranging from the Peace Corps to the National Museum Services Board. She did not see that as a break in the work she had been passionately doing. She brought to Washington the same conviction as President Reagan, the same impulse that had brought both to Hollywood--that politics requires persuasion, that it requires winning hearts and winning minds, that we need to tell stories, that we need to bridge the gaps between generations, between communities, between ideologies. Diana knew exactly what and why she was doing. When she was nominated by President Reagan in 1986 to be a member of the National Museum Services Board, her bio read: Since 1983, Mrs. Denman has been vice chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. She owns and operates a ranch in San Antonio, TX, and was formerly an actress in Los Angeles,

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, for the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation I report favorably the following nomination list which was printed in the Record on the date indicated, and ask unanimous consent, to save the expense of reprinting on the Executive Calendar that this nomination lie at the Secretary's desk for the information of Senators.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. CRUZ

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

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I rise today to call up my resolution to undo a regulation about appliances, which was imposed by the Biden- Harris administration weeks after American voters had overwhelmingly rejected that administration and its policies and which, if left in place, would increase costs and limit the options of everyday Texans and everyday Americans across our Nation. After the election, President Trump and the new Republican Congress systemically moved in exactly the opposite direction to decrease costs and to expand the options of Americans. Indeed, on January 20, in his Executive order on American energy, President Trump made it the policy of the United States ``to safeguard the American people's freedom to choose from a variety of goods and appliances, including, but not limited to, lightbulbs, dishwashers, washing machines, gas stoves, water heaters, toilets, and shower heads, and to promote market competition and innovation within the manufacturing and appliance industries.'' What refreshing common sense that was missing from the previous administration. My resolution deals with a rule imposed by the Biden-Harris Department of Energy in December, after the election, and which deals with what they describe as the energy efficiency of non-condensing tankless gas water heaters, which millions of Americans rely upon in their homes. The Biden-Harris administration knew that they were increasing costs on Americans. Indeed, that is what they were deliberately doing. They acknowledge that because of their rule, the cost of each affected unit would increase by at least $200--and industry experts say the true increase is double even that estimate. The administration's own numbers show that as many as 40 percent of affected customers would experience a net cost increase over the appliance's lifetime. They didn't care, and it is worth discussing some of the reasons they didn't care about the hardship they were inflicting on hard-working American families and why it is so important today for the Senate to pass my resolution to undo their actions. First and foremost, hypocrisy. The Biden administration believes in rules for others but not for themselves and conveniences for themselves but not for others. This was an administration that believed in shutting down businesses and banning events all across the United States because of COVID but exempting themselves and what they cared about. If you were at an antifa riot, the COVID virus could not affect you, but God help you if you wanted to go to church, clearly, everyone in the congregation was going to die of COVID that day. The American people saw that hypocrisy play out again and again, including with appliance regulations such as gas stoves, and, indeed, the hypocrisy played out again with the water heater regulation that my resolution will overturn. Left in place, this regulation would force American consumers to either pay more for these heaters or, if they can't afford to pay more, to shift to less efficient models. Democrats used to pitch themselves as the party of the working class, as a blue-collar party. No more. Today's Democratic Party is the party of rich coastal elites, and the blue-collar working men and women, Mr. President, that elected you, that elected me--blue-collar workers are now the base of the Republican Party. Second, corruption. The administration used regulations, mandates, and grants to enrich their allies, including especially radical climate activists. Just to give you an example in one of these infamous ``gold bar schemes,'' Biden's EPA funneled $2 billion--that is billion with a ``b''--into Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams' ``Power Forward Communities.'' They said the money was going toward purchasing new home appliances for low-income families to help ``the decarbonization of homes.'' But that funding was only available to families who worked with Power Forward Communities after the grant was issued. Biden's very generous, taxpayer-funded gift went to Stacey Abrams' coalition in a brazen attempt to buy Georgians' votes. And, third, power. For advocates of these regulations, limiting consumer choice is the point. It is a feature, not a bug. Their goal is to control the choices and freedoms of Americans. I believe it should be you, the consumer, that makes those choices, not unelected bureaucrats in Washington. Last year, I spoke on this floor about a different Department of Energy appliance regulation. That regulation was about gas furnaces. It would have required over half of American households to purchase new furnaces, which they also didn't care about. Their goal was to target the natural gas industry. Today's vote is about protecting such fundamental issues as fairness, consumer choice, and affordability. I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote yes, especially if you care about blue- collar workers, if you care about families struggling to make ends meet. Vote yes and vote to end this government mandate driving up the costs on Americans across this country. I yield the floor.

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the previously scheduled rollcall vote occur immediately.